Here’s my reading list from November.

1. WATERSHIP DOWN by Richard Adams (475 p.) A childhood classic I haven’t read in years. Rabbits, adventure, daring-do on a grand, rabbity scale. I was reminded again why, exactly, this is classic. It’s geared toward children, but doesn’t particularly talk down to them. It’s bold. It’s unique–focusing on the world of rabbits but without making them too cute or cuddly. It’s just a delight. Worth reading at least once a decade.

2. TALL PINE POLKA by Lorna Landvik (440 p.) Actually my favorite of Landvik’s books–focusing on a small diner in Minnesota, with the added touch of a big, Hollywood movie production that comes to town. It’s a “cozy” kind of book without going too far into the cliched, small-town thing. It’s enjoyable.

3. ELEGANCE by Kathleen Tessaro (319 p.) An unhappy woman in London comes across an old guide to fashion called “Elegance,” and starts revamping her life to match the rules in the book. Nice.

4. HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE by J.K. Rowling (309 p.) Does this need a description? The first Harry Potter book, accept no imitations…. An 11-year old boy discovers he’s a wizard and heads off to Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry . . . you know the rest, huh?

5. ANIMALS IN TRANSLATION by Temple Grandin (308 p.) A really interesting book about how animals (appear to) view the world, written by an autistic woman. It compares the way an autistic person perceives things and draws similarities to the way animals appear to . . . fascinating, even if I question at least some of her facts, but so what? It was a great read, completely unique, and almost literally eye-opening, since it made me think of a whole bunch of things in ways I never had before.

6. TO WEAVE A WEB OF MAGIC by four separate authors (362 p.) Four short fantasy novels–some of which I like better than others–but it’s got Sharon Shinn, who I think I’ve established I love, and Patricia McKillip, so how bad could it be?

7. THIS IS ALL I ASK by Lynn Kurland (422 p.) This is about as “romance”-y as I get, and got pulled into this one because the author was one of the four from the volume just above. A quasi-medieval arranged marriage between a terrified girl who’s been abused by her father, and a recently-blinded warrior who’s fulfilling a promise to her brother, but distrusts everyone . . . as you can imagine, they get along just swimmingly . . . it’s fluff, to be sure, but decent for the type.

8. BELLWETHER by Connie Willis (243 p.) My favorite Connie Willis book. (Or, well, it’s tied with “To Say Nothing of the Dog.”) A researcher into the origins of fads gets mixed up with a biologist who wants to research randomness in monkeys . . . all while the company tries to figure out what to do to get a huge, secretive Grant . . . but meantime, you see lots of people following fads (Marriage Barbie! Duct tape! Lattes!). It’s laugh-out-loud funny and wacky all while they try to make sense out of things. Really, I love this book. I’ve read it three times so far, and have loved it each time. (And, it’s usually sold in the sci-fi section since she often writes that genre, but this book does not fit that category. It’s just good.)

9. THE HERO AND THE CROWN by Robin McKinley (227 p.) Another young adult fantasy book. Aerin has grown up as the under-appreciated daughter of the king, who finds a way to fight dragons, while something darker and more ominous seems to be threatening her kingdom . . . which sounds dreadfully dull, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not. It’s been a favorite of mine for years. Who cares if I’ve outgrown the demograpic?

10. PAWN OF PROPHECY by David Eddings (258 p.) The first volume of the “Belgariad” fantasy series, where Garion, his Aunt Pol, and Mister Wolf leave the farm in pursuit of a stolen object….

11. KNITTING BEYOND THE EDGE by Nicky Epstein (155 p.) The third book of her “edging” series, and it’s my favorite.

12. QUEEN OF SORCERY by David Eddings (327 p.) Belgariad part two. Garion is getting older as they pursue the Orb, and has discovered a talent for sorcery himself.

13. MAGICIAN’S GAMBIT by David Eddings (305 p.) Third Belgariad. The end of the quest…. but is it the end of the story??

14. TEACH YOUR DOG TO READ by Bonnie Bergin and Sharon Hogan (187 p.) Exactly what it sounds like. Big flashcards, lots of treats, and patience . . . as soon as I figure out how to laminate the things, Chappy wants to give this a try.

15. CASTLE OF WIZARDRY by David Eddings (373 p.) Book four of the Belgariad. The Orb has been recovered, but there’s still one more little thing Garion needs to do….

16. ENCHANTER’S END GAME by David Eddings (372 p.) . . . Kill the god, Torak, who is determined to rule the world. Really, no problem, right? I’ve been a fan of this series since the early 80s–it’s predictable in spots, sure, but Garion is entirely enjoyable as a character . . . how can you not like him? . . . and his cohorts are also great company. Silk has always been a favorite of mine, and Durnik, and . . . well, it’s just fun. Like comfort food.

17. THE THIRTEENTH TALE by Diane Setterfiel (406 p.) Recommended in my comments by Sherry, I very much enjoyed this book. Margaret Lea, amateur biographer, gets a letter in the mail from England’s most famous author, who’s been lying about her past for years, but wants finally to tell the truth. It’s got a Gothic feel, and mixes Margaret’s story with Vida Winter’s–who tells her life story as, in fact, a series of stories. Not “I was born…” but “Once upon a time.” And the writing? Absolutely beautiful, evocative, moving, descriptive . . . and all this in a first novel. I’ll definitely be looking for more from her!

18. THE CLAIRVOYANT by Marion Thurm (321 p.) Light and fluffy story of Vincent, a clairvoyant/medium and two of his clients, with one of whom he falls in love….

19. THE BLOODY SUN by Marion Zimmer Bradley (372 p.) An early “Darkover” fantasy book. Jeff Kerwin grew up on Terra (aka Earth), but has always longed to return to the planet he was born on, to find out what he can about his mother, and the strange, blue jewel he’s had for as long as he can remember. Imagine his surprise when he finds out that he has laran, those special, psionic powers that Darkovans do so well…

20. HERITAGE OF HASTUR by Marion Zimmer Bradley (351 p.) Another Darkover book, which tells the beginning of the Sharra Rebellion, via Lew Alton’s story and that of young Regis Hastur . . . the Sharra rebellion is a central focus for much of the Darkover series, but, darn it, always ends the same, tragic way….

21. SHARRA’S EXILE by Marion Zimmer Bradley (340 p.) The follow up to “Heritage.” Lew and his father are in exile in the galaxy, but when they are drawn back to Darkover, the Sharra matrix reawakens and causes all sorts of new trouble….

22. WORLD WRECKERS by Marion Zimmer Bradley (215 p.) A pretty mediocre one, honestly, if not out-right bad, but vital to connect the earlier Darkover books with the more recent ones, focusing on Lew’s daughter. Although, since it was written earlier in her career, the quality of the writing and the “internal” Darkover consistencies are, well, inconsistant.

23. DIVIDED BY GOD by Noah Feldman (251 p.) A look at the legal issues of religion here in the U.S., starting with what the Founders (apparently) had in mind when they initially wrote about the separation of church and state, and how that vision has evolved over the last couple of centuries. Fascinating. Especially the way it’s changed . . . it was never supposed to be about forcing/not allowing religion to be mentioned in school, or displayed in a courtroom–at the time, something like 95% of the country was Protestant–it was to avoid the inevitable conflicts if one of the many sects of Protestantism were to become the “official” religion somewhere down the road. Public schools, in fact, were initially promoted as ways to SPREAD morality and religion, even more than reading and writing, and some of the earliest court cases were about Catholics objecting to their children having to read from the Protestant Bible . . . hence the large number of private Catholic schools . . . really interesting.

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