The Queen in the Cave by Júlia Sardà

Sarda is one of my favourite children’s book illustrators. As usual the art is great. The story was alright. A bit dark for a children’s novel and the message was a bit muddled.

November 17, 2025.

Learn Japanese with Paul Noble for Beginners Complete Course by Paul Noble (Narrator)

First started this in June but had too much going on then so I restarted in October. This was probably more detailed than I needed. I did learn the basics of Japanese grammar and syntax. I only needed to know service phrases. Japanese is difficult and different than my other three languages. As excited as I am about going to Japan, the language is intimidating. The Paul Noble language books have been a great discovery this year. I was recommended by Japanese person who said that their partner learned a lot from them. I can see why.

Oct 23-Nov 17, 2025.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield

Literary queer horror. Not recommended to people who are afraid of the deep dark sea and claustrophobia. Other than that, this is really a grief novel. It’s very sad and well done. On the slow side even though it is short. I appreciated what it was trying to do though.

November 17- 19, 2025 on Kobo Clara BW and Kobo Libra 2.

Healing Through the Vagus Nerve: Improve Your Body’s Response to Anxiety, Depression, Stress, and Trauma Through Nervous System Regulation by Amanda Armstrong, Maria Liatis (Narrator)

This was fine. I already meditate and do diaphramatic breathing. I need to review the text for the recs. The book spent a bit too much time on how to to know if your vague nerve is stressed. It did edge slightly into the woo woo.

1.75x. Nov 14-19, 2025.

Dim Sum Palace by X. Fang

Wonderful children’s book about dim sum which is one of my favourite meals in the world.

Nov 9, 2025.

Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley (Narrator)

I have been a Gastropod listener for many years. This was a long audiobook about the history of refrigeration, the current cold chin, and possible future. Very interesting and well done. Twilley’s Mid-Atlantic narration was good as usual.

Nov 7-14, 2025.

If You Run Out of Words by Felicita Sala

Children’s book about a daughter and father. Sweet.

Nov 14, 2025.

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

This was a journey. I did not really like this book until about the halfway mark and then, somehow, it grew on me. I did not care for the characters or the history lessons. There was some dry humour. I cannot tell if Rushdie loves or dislikes women, but they were some of the more interesting characters in the book. Most of all, I enjoyed the writing and how the writing was able to shift between realism and magical realm, and between first and third person. It did remind me of Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. It almost became relaxing to read as I felt the writing was taking me on a train ride through the protagonist and India’s history. I would not really recommend it for everyone and I am not in a rush to read Rushdie again. Still, there was some good storytelling.

November 8-16, 2025. First 40% on kobo Clara BW.

Kristy’s Great Idea (The Baby-sitters Club Graphic Novel Series #1) by Ann M. Martin with Raina Telgemeier (Illustrator)

Like many millennials, I grew up with the Babysitter’s Club books around me. I only read a couple of them growing up and was not obsessed with them. In the last ten years, there was a revival of the books, and through podcasts and the Netflix TV show, I became more interested than when I was a kid. I found this graphic novel of the first book in a friend’s rental building library. It was a great evening read for the end of the weekend. I am not a huge fan of Telgemeier’s art but this did the job.

Nov 16, 2025.

The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis, John Cleese (Narrator)

This a classic of religious satire and human behaviour. I have read other Lewis adult works and this was fine. it was hard for me to get into because of the style and humour. When I found the abridged Grammy winning John Cleese narration, it helped me get into it more. I listened to it in tandem. It had amusing moments.

November 28-Nov 2, 2025. Read on Kobo Libra 2.

The Curse of the Boyfriend Sweater: Essays on Crafting by Alanna Okun (Narrator)

A knitting memoir from another millennial knitter. It was good for my evening walks.

1.5x. Nov 3-6, 2025.

Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney, Aoife McMahon (Narrator)

Oh, Sally Rooney. Conflicted here. After Normal People and this novel why she has so many fans and I think I am a fan too. Her writing was so good that it distracted me from the not good stuff. I did not like most of these characters or care about them. I really disliked Felix whose only decent quality was that he loved his rescued dog. He reminded me too much of an ex and other f*ckbois. Simon was fine but too much of a cipher for most of the book. Alice and Eileen were almost indistinguishable from each other and they wrote too overwrought emails. Nobody has a good relationship with their siblings in the two Rooney novels I’ve read so far. Most of the characters have passive-aggressive or estranged relationships with their parents. In most (all?) of these Irish novels that I’ve read this year, Irish families were dysfunctional and derisive. It felt excessive here though as none of the four characters seem to like their families. Yet, I still really want to read more Sally Rooney. There is something very compelling about her writing from the descriptions to the dialogue. Her prose worked for me even though everything else did not. It is odd but I am really looking forward to the next one.

31% on audiobook. Narrator did a great job here and in Normal People. Oct 25-27, 2025.

24 Hours in Ancient Athens by Philip Matsyzak, Gareth Richards (Narrator), John Telfer (Narrator)

I listened to 85% of this narrated by Gareth Richards but my first copy of the audiobook was incomplete. I was able to find another copy for the remainng 15%. It was narrated by John Telfer though. I actually really like Telfer from listening to his narration of the Sherlock Holmes almost 20 years ago. As the other books, enjoyed myself as these are quick, informative, and sometimes entertaining.

1.5x. Oct 27-Nov 1, 2025.

The Sea by John Banville

This 2005 Booker prize winner is about a middle-aged man who goes back to a seaside town of his youth after the death of his wife. Most Booker prize winners do not have any plot, but they are all usually written well. This was the case here. This book had some low ratings on GR and TSG. The characters are not particularly likeable and nothing much happens. I found my interest waning at various times, but the writing was different than most things published today. Banville used difficult words well. The tone was similar to other Booker winners, but still distinct. I cannot describe the singularity of the prose. I grew to really appreciate it. I would be hard pressed to recommend this book to most people though.

Oct 17-19, 2025.

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

Like everyone else in North America, I read Catcher in the Rye in high school and disliked Holden Caulfield. Returning to Salinger more than twenty years later, I enjoyed myself much more in this short story and novella collection. Salinger is good with dialogue. The characters felt real and the writing was very good. It actually made me more curious about this family but I do not know if I will read more Salinger.

Oct 20, 2025.

How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz, Rossmery Almonte (Narrator) Kimberly M. Wetherell (Narrator)

The audiobook was great. Almonte’s narration was excellent and audio design. I found the character work was elevated by the audiobook. It was written well but the audiobook made the pathos work amazingly well. Cara ‘s story reminded me of other immigrant women I’ve met before.

1.5-1.75x. Oct 21-24, 2025.