4/5 -
A fun graphic novel about a mysterious bottle of wine, and the MC's quest to find its origins. Based on some true events, I found the extra information at the end very useful. To my knowledge, this book is only available in French...

Soft pick for my first book of December...
While it is presented as a novel, it's based on the real story of the author, who was illegally adopted in a clinic in Bilbao, where her adoptive parents are from.
To my knowledge, this book is only available in French and German. The story is quite interesting, but the back and forth between past and present, how the book is organized didn't work for me...

Wow!!! I read a lot this month!!! I also exploded my Goodreads challenge, but the year isn't over yet ;) So many books I'm looking forward to reading.

4/5
Quite a dark and sad tale about trying to fit in, trying to make friends. Abandonment, loneliness, rejection, bullying are common themes throughout. Also guilt.
I think this story will stick with me for a while.

2/5
This book is more about the author's experiences and biases about loneliness than an actual “journey through American loneliness“ (I was expecting more an overview and study of this issue)
I found it hard sometimes to see what her actual point was. And the book is badly constructed...
Quite disappointed, because this subject is fascinating, but she only scratched the surface, and managed to bore me...

We follow Céleste, first courrier, then caretaker of Marcel Proust, at the beginning of her employment.
Really well done graphic novel, to my knowledge not available in English, based on the souvenirs of Céleste Albaret.
I love the illustration style of Chloé Cruchaudet. Definitely going to look for the second part of this book. It offers also some insights into the life of Proust.

I feel it's a great introduction to the philosophy of Thoreau. The introduction and the panel discussions offer even more context. I liked the simplicity of the illustrations. It definitely makes me want to read more.

3.75/5
While the first half of the book, recounting Lee's life as a housekeeper and then as a member of the family, is long, and can seem a little off topic, it actually makes sense when you come to discover the previous life of Lee.
It's well written and well constructed. There are subjects brushed in this book that I definitely want to know more about.
Tomorrow, my book club will meet the author, so looking forward to a great discussion.

3.5/5 - A2/B1
In this book, Tahar Ben Jelloun rewrites Perrault's tales, changing their setting to middle eastern culture and also injecting more topical subjects (racism, religious extremism, women's rights, etc.)
I like that type of rewriting exercises, I always find that interesting to see how a tale can be adapted, changed, simply read differently through time.

3/5 -soft pick
Ana Penyas draws and talks about her two grandmothers, a little bit about their life, but mostly about their present: the solitude of growing old, the health issues leading to even more solitude.
I liked the illustration style for this graphic novel, but I was left wanting more, and a little bit disappointed.

So-so read for me... So I won't read the rest of the series.
While there is a lot of creativity, I wasn't much taken by the plot or by the universe created...

These volumes 2 and 3 of this series didn't disappoint.
We follow the MC on his quest to become a kafna, a protector of books. I really enjoy how the author is building the world step by step through her series, just at the right dosage.
Again, it's a series that a lot of book lovers would love, because it's about books 📚

3.5/5
Honestly, what I loved about this book was the art, and the conversations around art between two generations: one discovering it, and one far more knowledgeable, guiding.
I would have been totally satisfied with a simple story of a grandfather initiating his granddaughter to art. The more I was advancing into the story, the less it was holding water...

I think this manga, intended for young adult, will enchant any book lover.
Fantasy isn't usually my cup of tea, but it blends perfectly in this manga. I have the two other books in this series at home, so I most certainly will read them.

Yesterday I went to Ollie's, a discount store, and found these two great books, perfect for early Xmas shopping on a budget.
The tagged book is just perfect, so poetic, so cute. I'm sure the child it is destined to will love it.
A Stack of Alpacas is also a really fun book. I loved the ending, so funny.

Beautifully illustrated children's book about Monet. A great introduction to a great artist, showing kids the backstage of creation, how hard work can produce something magical.

Very cute story with a young Emily Dickinson as the main character. Informative, it includes actual poems by Dickinson. It is also beautifully illustrated.

3/5
Cute and fun book to read with a touch of magical realism.
People with different problems find their way to a peculiar clinic where a cat is handed to them as a prescription.
If you like cats, it should be a fun read.
For some reason, I have NO problem with magical realism when it's by a Japanese author, but otherwise I'm quite impervious to it... Am I the only one!?

Beautiful book made for the 2025 exhibition of Hockney at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. This exhibition focused mainly on the last 25 years, but the essays at the beginning of the book do a good job retracing the entire art career of David Hockney.
His work is beautifully presented on quality paper. The only thing that made this book hard to read was that all essays were at the beginning, I would have preferred them spread out with the art pieces.

When you go crazy and check out a HUGE number of books out of the library...
First time I ha to use the basket to bring the books to my car, luckily I had heavy duty bags in my trunk...
Wish you all a CRAZY reading season ;)

Reading time after having cleaned a part of the house ;) Some French magazines for kids, and I'll go on with Mona's Eyes, which I really enjoy so far.
The weather here in San Antonio is very nice 🙂

3.5/5
This manga follows a cat and his mistress through their daily life. Through the eyes of her cat, the readers can witness her solitude, her mood going down, how her work life goes, etc.
I think the cat as a narrator/witness is a very good idea. It's an adulting story, referencing to living alone for the first time, and solitude/isolation that comes with it.

Very good album for kids to understand how an exhibit is organized. It's also a very colorful book, perfect to catch kids' attention.

Good reading month ;)
I just put on hold a very high number of books at my local library... So my November reading should also be interesting!
Definitely recommend the three books 📚 pictured.

Wish you all a lovely reading month 💟

Creative and well-written plot. I would have liked perhaps a more detailed plot. I feel that it would have helped me getting more emotionally engaged.
Overall, I appreciated my journey through this book.

2/5 - Level A2/B1
What a disappointment!!!
Florence Aubenas writes about the brutal murder of a pregnant woman in a small town. Ten years of investigation, the lives destroyed, she mainly focuses on the life of one of the suspect, an actor with a marginal lifestyle.
Very slow beginning, then a total lack of direction: what is the point of this book? Denouncing the slowness of justice? The biases of investigators? Something about our society? Dunno

2.5/5
I liked the 1st part when she puts into context the sculpture, when she gives info about Degas which offers a better understanding of the work itself, and its harsh reception at the time.
I didn't like the digressions: pointless comparison of hardship, emotional judgements... These made it harder to read. I would have preferred more emotional distance from the writer, more structure too. In the
end, we don't know much more about the model

2.5/5
If it had been marketed as fiction, my rating would have been higher.
But read as a fiction, this book is emotional and interesting, it's a nice story about the friendship between an elephant and his caretaker. The main thing that bothered me while reading it was the lack of chronological elements. Also, a lack of nuances in describing the bad characters (very manichean). Too much pathos at times, but I learned a lot about elephants.

A new bookstore opened in San Antonio, Book Nerd, that's where I found this cute book ;) A perfect gift for the kid of one of my best friend! Of course, before picking it, I read it, and I found the story super sweet and engaging: Aggie moves in alone in a house, but with the house comes a ghost...

Excellent collection of short stories, all well-written.
Of course, as in any collection, I connected more with some stories than others. But even my least favorite, “Why won't women just say what they want?“, led to an interesting conversation at bookclub.
I also like that she focuses on moments in her characters' life, not wrapping anything in a cute little bow like so many writers do.

2/5
One of my pet peeve is a misleading title... And this book is the perfect example. It's actually a book about Wright's experience of Texas: it is filled with anecdotes. It's between a memoir, a travelogue, and an opinion piece.
It's a pan to me, because it's a lot of name dropping without a clear structure, or a clear objective. Very disjointed writing.

4/5 - Really enjoyed this historical fiction, very well written. Inspired by the life of Martha Ballard, this book is set in Hallowell, a small town in Maine, in 1789, during a long cold winter. Through Martha, midwife and healer, we get to know the inhabitants, their secrets, the hidden politics of the town. The book begins with a body discovered in the icy river, a man allegedly accused of the brutal rape of a woman.

My Storygraph recap for September! Not as much reading as I would have liked (life gets busy sometimes). Two children's books in my top three, and Sad Tiger, a non-fiction book about Neige Sinno's experience and inner thoughts as a victim of child abuse.

I found this book during a book sale, and I had never heard of this French writer, who published at least a dozen books in the 70-80s.
While I didn't like the plot/story, I found this book quite well written, and I would definitely read another of his book. It happens, I guess...
Now, it's time to read while having a good breakfast, and a warm tea 🍵

3/5
It's quite a hard book to define. The narrator is from Montreal, and every summer she goes to the Inuit in the North to take care of kids. Through vignettes, we discover the roughness of life there: the violence of nature, but also the violence of men.
Why so-so? The first part is all over the place, the second part has actually a plot. Perhaps too many subjects into one book?
Pic: wildlife in San Antonio while walking

2/5
Book club selection. I read it to the end, but unless you're a fan of Jeopardy or of Trebek, I can't say I would recommend it.
Sometimes, you can read biographies or autobiographies of people you know nothing about, with whom you have no connection, and still get teachings from it, take something/anything from it, but for me it wasn't the case with this book...
For me, it's a pan, but I put so-so because it depends why you read it.

3/5 - re-read
I read this book when it first came out, but outside the doors, I didn't remember anything.
It's the perfect example of how your taste can change over time. I had put 5/5 at my first reading, but while I still like the book, my current score is 3.
I still like the doors, putting the focus on after they reached a new destination, but I found the second part lacking in nuances, and complexity, with convenient ellipses. I wanted more.

Beautiful book in French about empathy, loss, and support.
We witness a unique bond between a grand-mother and her grandson, in which listening plays an important role.
I loved the illustrations, the message, everything.

Final book in the Darko series, can't believe I finished this series of five books!
Overall, I enjoyed this series, it was nice to see the evolution of Darko, and also to discover the Ghanaian culture.
This last book was interesting, but the ending felt a little bit rushed, I would have liked more developments.

After reading four essays, I decided to bail... Usually, I like reading essays, seeing other people's point of view, but here it seems I can't connect: lack of definitions, issues with how the ideas flow, sometimes caricatural depiction lacking nuances. But most importantly, no “haha, that's an interesting point“ moment.

Excellent testimony in which Neige Sinno reflects on her experience as a victim of sexual abuse as a child. What happened, her attempts to understand what happened, how to write about it, how she looked for answers in literature, the continuous impact on her life, etc. This book contains a lot of thoughts, very well explored, on a very difficult subject. Very interesting!

I've been quite busy this month with work... So I haven't read as much as I wanted to. But despite it all, it was quite a good reading month. The three books on the pic were excellent, I 100% recommend them.

2.5/5
While some parts are interesting, I found the writing style weak, and annoying at times. I like the idea of the cat narrator, but it was very lengthy at times, repetitive also.
While I love cats, I'm not a fan of the pictures inside of the disguised cat, I preferred the documents at the end of each chapter, these were far more interesting.

Slow morning today, I caught up some on your lovely reviews, I actually stacked several books ;) Thanks for the recommendations 📚
I took the picture before catching up on the feed, and it was a lovely piece of lemon cake with coffee, and now, I'm going to read some of my stack while enjoying non vocal music from Spotify.

In this novella, based on a true story, Éric Faye recounts beautifully and poetically how the main character, a single man in his fifties, discovered a woman was using his place when he was absent...
The themes of solitude, intrusion, and meaning of life are very well explored despite the brievety of the book.

4/5
Excellent novel about an isolated teen living in Mayotte. Written with different voices, we discover his story, from his early childhood to the present.
Trigger warning: this book is violent, but very realistic. That's what I liked about it. The different characters are well-built, the change of tone between characters is impressive.
Beautifully written, the author used her experience there to write this book.

So-so for me.
While it's a cute story, it's too much Hallmark-like for my taste. While I could empathize with the difficulties faced by the different characters, I found most of the characters too stereotypical, not developed enough. The role played by the octopus is interesting, but I wished she had gone all in, and told the whole story through the eyes of the octopus.

3.5/5
Beautifully illustrated book on general knowledge.
A very enjoyable book to browse, a perfect coffee book table giving facts from knots to clouds.

Kumiko, 76, decides to leave the assisted-living home to find a place of her own without telling her daughters. She feels the shadow of death close by, and tries her best to fight it off.
A lot of themes in this graphic novel: growing old, ageism, death, friendship...
I enjoyed the illustration style. This story is universally relatable, and I liked the humorous tone too.

Last Saturday, I went to buy some books 📚 at the Book Cellar in San Antonio (friends of the central library), and I bought mostly books in French, only one book in English...
And yesterday, I went back for their book sale. Guess what I bought? Yep, a lot of books in French (picture to come next week)