november 2023 wrap up // a letter from coco

happy end of november, my sweet friends! i hope you’ve been doing well, and staying safe — and keeping warm if it’s cold where you are! 

what caitlyn calls the “ber” months has become the “itis” months for me; i had bronchitis in september + october, and now i’m currently down with laryngitis. i’m really, really hoping that i don’t have another -itis in december, because i’m quite frankly really tired of constantly being down with the plague. still, november wasn’t all terrible — i went to boston to visit one of my best friends, went to a concert, got to see a musical, and went to see a friend in the nutcracker! i did end up having to sell my concert tickets to the japanese house, which i was really looking forward to, on account of laryngitis, and reschedule some other fun things (like hockey games!) i had planned, but that’s okay. while in boston, i picked up the myth of sisyphus by albert camus, which i’ve been meaning to read for ages, so hopefully i’ll get around to reading that soon! oh — and most excitingly, i got to see some wild turkeys out on the streets of boston! 

i knew going into november that i’d be pretty busy, and that i wouldn’t have a lot of time to read, but i never would’ve expected to only read 6 books this month. i didn’t particularly have any standout favorites this month, but i did really love listening to Finale: Late Conversations with Stephen Sondheim by D.T. Max on audiobook! 

here’s a full list of what i read in the last month:

1. better than fiction by alexa martin (★★★☆☆)
2. the christmas appeal by janice hallett(★★★★☆)
3. kaikeyi by vaishnavi patel (audiobook; ★★★★☆)
4. finale: late conversations with stephen sondheim by d.t. max (audiobook; ★★★★☆)
5. cleopatra and frankenstein by coco mellors (★★★★☆)
6. the undertaking of hart and mercy by megan bannen (audiobook; ★★★☆☆)

one of my close friends is coming into town this week to visit me for the weekend, and we’ve got another concert lined up! i’ve also got my birthday, and another kraken game lined up, which i’m super stoked about! mostly in december, i’m just hoping to finish my rereads of les misérables, and the night circus — anything else will be a wonderful bonus. i’m thinking of maybe rereading the hunger games, and finally reading the ballad of songbirds and snakes too, but we’ll see how things go! 

this month, i’ve mostly been listening to sabrina carpenter’s fruitcake ep, which is the perfect christmas album, as well as bleachers’ modern girl and alma mater, in the end it always does by the japanese house, and of course, 1989 (taylor’s version)! 

in case you’ve missed it, here are some posts i wrote this month:

• 10 books i want to finish before 2023 is over
• review: a british girl’s guide to hurricanes and heartbreak by laura taylor namey

and some posts i wanted to highlight:

• this in the intersection: palestinian lgbt in media rec list from readsrainbow that i couldn’t recommend more highly.
• a reminder that there is a St. Martin’s Press boycott going on; you can find out more about it here.
• i’ve been a cozy fantasy, romantasy mood lately, and a cat a book and a cup of tea’s review of til death do us bard immediately put this one on my radar + on my tbr list for next year!
• i’ve seen a lot of gwen & art are not in love on my feeds lately, but keep forgetting to formally add it to my tbr! i loved reading confessionsofaliteraryaddict’s review!