November was a weird month for a number of reasons I won’t get into here. But I surprisingly finished a good number of books and made a dent in my physical TBR. So I’m happy about that! I stayed on top of posting reviews every week, which I linked below in this November 2025 Book Blog Wrap-Up. You can check the November 2025 archive for book memes like WWW Wednesday updates.

Book Reviews

I posted four book reviews in November. From earliest to latest they are:

• Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu
• The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell
• Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia
• Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Blog Statistics

Every month I share some statistics from Google Analytics because I think it helps put expectations into perspective for other micro-bloggers like me who are out there. These statistics are from Google Analytics 4.

My top five posts for total page views are (as of the evening of November 29):

1. November 2025 Book Releases: 967 views
2. STEMinist Romance Books: 947 views
3. Arthurian Retellings Reading List: 532 views
4. Dungeons and Dragons Romance Books: 212 views
5. Book Review: Gild by Raven Kennedy: 204 views

My November views (~8,100) were nearly the same as October’s, but a couple hundred views short. I had some interesting viewership spikes on a couple posts, but no obvious referrer, so it could be bots. I also had 700 views to a 404 page on my blog? Not sure what was going on there. Anyway, I gained one follower and now have 265. Welcome!

#BeattheBacklog

I finished four books that I had on my TBR prior to 2025. Those books are EMILY WILDE’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by Heather Fawcett, SPELLS FOR FORGETTING by Adrienne Young, THE SERVICEBERRY by Robin Wall Kemmerer, and WATER MOON by Samantha Sotto Yambao. (Technically, that last book came out in January 2025, but I added it to my TBR prior to then.)

Other Bookish Items

I finished 11 books in November:

• THE WHITE OCTOPUS HOTEL by Alexandra Bell
• 107 DAYS by Kamala Harris (audiobook)
• EMILY WILDE’S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by Heather Fawcett
• THE RAINFALL MARKET by You Yeong-Gwang
• THE OTHER EINSTEIN by Marie Benedict (audiobook)
• DEMON IN THE WOOD by Leigh Bardugo (audiobook)
• SPELLS FOR FORGETTING by Adrienne Young (audiobook)
• THE SERVICEBERRY by Robin Wall Kemmerer (audiobook)
• THE ENTANGLEMENT OF RIVAL WIZARDS by Sara Raasch
• WATER MOON by Samantha Sotto Yambao
• A NOVEL LOVE STORY by Ashley Poston (audiobook)*

*Assuming I finish the last two hours of it before the end of today, November 30.

As far as physical reads go, I kept to my November 2025 TBR. But audiobooks are always a wildcard for me since it depends on what’s “available now” on Libby.

I did not buy any new books for myself during any post-Thanksgiving shopping sprees. I’m trying to reel myself in. But a week or so prior I picked up some kids books for my nephews from my local indie bookstore. So I checked that “shop small” box.

Other Media Wrap-Up

WICKED FOR GOOD: I won’t go into this too much since it’s only been a week since the movie premiered. But, in short, I liked part one a lot more. I felt a lot of the themes got lost in part 2.

FRANKENSTEIN (Netflix): I think I have like 45 minutes left of this movie, but I couldn’t bring myself to finish it. Normally I can handle something like this, but I don’t know…the whole wolf deaths just made me give up on it for now. The sets are amazing, though.

ZOOTOPIA 2: It’s not often when this happens, but this sequel was just as amazing as the original movie. Definitely go see it.

HOME ALONE: A rewatch, but a goodie. I needed some laughs and this got me there.

Non-Bookish Items

Honestly, I don’t have a lot I want to mention here now that I’ve winterized the garden. I finally got my sourdough starter up and running and baked a couple of loaves. Our house is kind of chilly in the winter, so the starter sits on a heat mat I originally bought for seed starting.

I’ve also decided to be artsy and crafts-y this Christmas. I dried some orange slices in the oven and plan on making a garland with them. I also have plans to turn an egg carton into a cute garland. A lot of this inspiration comes from northwoodsfolk on Instagram. Related to Christmas, I put up most of the outdoor lights yesterday.

I don’t usually do a lot of Black Friday-related shopping, but I indulged this year. I treated myself to an Ulta purchase, bought a few staples from Old Navy, and restocked a couple of old faithful L’Occitane items I’ve used for years. This is such an adult thing, but I bought some cozy socks from Nordic Socks, a company I’d been eying for a while. I splurged on a hair piece from Avigail Adam because I’m trying to up my Hobbit/fantasy aesthetic. And I bought a cotton beeswax-coated bread bag from Five Oaks Farm for the sourdough loaves I bake. While I despise Meta, I have their algorithm to thank for introducing me to Nordic Socks, Avigail Adam, and Five Oaks Farm (and many others I admire from afar). We also decided to finally spring for a nice electric kettle considering how much tea we drink.

How was your November?