lately with lila november 2023 | the end is near!

Hello, dear friends, and happy holiday season to you ☃️ The weather is getting colder and colder and the indoors are seeming cozier and cozier, so you know what that means: It's prime time for reading!! I know that I, for one, will likely be curling up with some good books after I finish up my finals. Speaking of books—I manage to finish three in November, which is quite good given my now years-long reading slump! I also managed to watch a bit of one of my favorite TV series, finish an audiodrama podcast, and listen to some great music, all whilst being jammed with exams and essays all month long! So let's take a dive in and see what went down!

Before anything: FREE PALESTINE!!! 🍉 For over half a century now, the Israeli government has been enacting a genocide against the Palestinian people. This is more than something that started on October 7, 2023. It's not complicated. It's genocide. And it's important that we witness, raise our voices, protest, and fight against it in any way possible. Below are a list of resources to help educate yourself on Palestine, as well as to donate to aid the Palestinian people. In addition, I've added some Palestinian influencers and journalists you can follow to learn more from and who keep track of what's going on. Peace to all and keep fighting the good fight!

• Decolonize Palestine
• Free Palestine Carrd
• Help Palestine Carrd

• Medical Aid for Palestinians
• Palestinian Children's Relief Fund

• Motaz (journalist)
• Bisan / Her Backup Account (journalist)
• Plestia (journalish)
• Subhi (influencer)

AN IMPORTANT NOTE: My family is currently experiencing a severe financial emergency, and so at the moment I can't pay for blog hosting. Due to this, I will be posting here on hardcoverhaven.blogspot.com until at latest early March of 2024. At that point I should be able to return to posting as usual on hardcoverhaven.com. In the meantime, while hardcoverhaven.com is giving a "Deactivated" notice please do not unsubscribe from the site! Thank you for your patience.

🌈 Heartstopper: Volume Three by Alice Oseman ★★★★ First up, I finished off the third volume of the Heartstopper series. I love this webcomic turned graphic novel series (which you can read in entirety online for free btw), so it's probably no surprise that I enjoyed this. Charlie, Nick, and their friends are so adorable and I loved following them on their little life adventures!

🪄 Sabrina The Teenage Witch Vol. 1 by Kelly Thompson ★★★ I love the 90s version of Sabrina The Teenage Witch in adition to also adoring the much more recent Chilling Adventures of Sabrina so I was looking forward to reading this more peppy run of the comics that those shows have their origins in. Unfortunately, I found this comic bindup quite middling. I feel like it relied too much on readers familiarity with the characters from other iterations of the series instead of the author taking a slightly more original spin. It also felt like each of the plot points that came up wrapped up way too easily. It definitely wasn't the worst I've read, but I also found it pretty dull and disappointing still.

⚔️ Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Al Fageeh ★★★+0.5 Oh no. Y'all...I realy wanted this graphic novel to be a new favorite but alas! 'Twa not meant to be. This graphic novel is an Arab inspired YA fantasy illustrated by one of my favorite artists and written by a Palestinian writer. Sounds like something I'd love, right?! But unfortunately it didn't go as planned 😭 Now, this book went HARD on the themes, and they were beautifully crafted...but the rest of the story seemed to have been forgotten about. The characters weren't super memorable, and the plot seemed half-baked. And that might have been alright if Squire was the start of a series, but unfortunately I can't find any plans for a sequel. Altogether, this was definitely my most disappointing read of the month and it breaks my heart.

❄️ If all goes as planned, I'm planning on taking part in G's Lightfall mini readathon (which is one of her yearly Magical Readathon: Orilium events) and I'm pretty excited! I've lined up a TBR that I'm also pretty hyped for, but then again y'all know I'm a mood reader, lol! But let's check out what's on that TBR

📖 Old Tales Bookstore: A book you really wanted to read all year but have yet to get to ⇒ One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

I purchased the audiobook of this one when it was first released, but weirdly enough I didn't hear much about it until recently. That said, what I've been hearing has been great, so I'm hoping to finally get to One Dark Window.

🦔 Wallace's Wonderful Winter Wanimals: A book with snow or ice on the cover ⇒ The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

I actually read a bit of The Bear and the Nightingale last year and found it completely enchanting! So, when I learned of this prompt I immediately thought of this book! Plus what I read of this book definitely captured that magical wintery feeling, so it seems extra fitting to read it for this prompt.

🗡️ Shank & Shawl Legitimate Retailer: A book stolen from someone else’s TBR ⇒ Only A Monster by Vanessa Len

This is the selection that was "stolen" from someone else's TBR and, unfortunately, it's the one I'm feelin' least. But despite the fact that I'm not really in the mood to read Only A Monster, I'm hoping I end up enjoying it anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️

⚔️ Smith & Friends & Sons Arcane Goods & Such: Last book added to your TBR ⇒ The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

I just recently purchased an audiobook copy of The Hurriscane Wars and it's been the latest book I've been in the mood to read, so I guess it counts for this prompt. I'm super intrigued by this book, especially since I think it's partially based off Philippine geopolitics? I think?? Regardless, it seems really interesting and the cover is GORGEOUS!

🔮 Occult Premonitions: Use a random tarot card generator to pick a book ⇒ Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

For this prompt I pulled the card The Magician, so I decided to read a magical book. Since I'm already halfway through Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries and the book takes place in winter, it seems fitting to try and finish it for this Lightfall readathon.

🧶 Owl Cat Craft Cafe: Listen to an audiobook while crafting ⇒ Assistant to The Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

A cute book for a cute craft! I'm also partially through this audiobook and it very much gives off ✨cozy romantasy✨ vibes. In other words, it's perfect to curl up with whilst cozily crafting! And as for the cozy craft in question, I'll probably work on my hand embroidery or my knitting.

🛞 The Wheel of Time Season 2 ★★★★ In November, I watched another two episodes of this series and I left off right as the story was picking up, so I can't wait to continue watching in the upcoming month! I feel like the start of Season 2 has been such a glorious slow burn, but now everything is starting to ocme together and I'm excited to see where the story takes these characters.

🦅 Birds of Empire Season 1 ★★★★★ I finished up the first season of this absolutely AMAZING fantasy audiodrama just in time for Season 2 to be announced and I couldn't be more excited!! Birds of Empire has become one of my favorite audiodramas and it never ceases to astonish me how well written and produced it is. If you have yet to listen to this podcast, I'm begging you to do so ASAP!!!

Alina discussed booktok and overconsumption (Video)

J.D. recommended 20 YA Chistmas fantasy books to curl up with

Bianca showed off her 2024 Notion reading tracker

Morgan rated bookish things

Neide highlighted the oldest backlist books on her TBR

Molly made a bookish gift guide for 2023

Elli shined a light on books to read after watching Sex Education

Rosina highlighted trans and nonbinary romance novels

Sofi celebrated her blogiversary by pairing coffee and book recommendations

Zalia told us all about 6 types of librarians and which type we would be

Krysta lamented the removal of the Middle Grade category from the 2023 Goodreads Choice Awards

Sumedha shared about her digital organization system

November was...intense, for lack of a better word. It was bookended by physics exams and, on top of that, in between those two exams I had not one, but TWO essays due in my English course as well! Not to mention that my finals are the first week of this month, so I also spent a good deal of time prepping for those. So I'm not exaggerating when I say that I'm now severely sleep deprived and running on fumes 😭 Despite my chaotic coursework and exam schedules, I did manage to get together with a friend, eat some great Thanksgiving food, and celebrate my 29th birthday, so those were tiny bright spots. First off, my friend and I got together and explored some local indie bookstores and it was really nice to catch up with her. Then, my family and I made a delicious feast for Thanksgiving, which is a food event I look forward to every year. Finally, my 29th birthday was on the 28th of November. I didn't really do much, but I did get a new planner for 2024 and some stickers to decorate it with, and that was really nice. So, all in all, November wasn't the worst month, despite its hectic nature.

As I mentioned, the first week of this December is when all of my finals occur, which includes a choral performance, a research paper for my English course, and a final exam in physics, all one after another. But, looking at the silver lining, once I get those three things out of the way I'll have one entire glorious month to rest, relax, and recouperate! Once I have said free time, I'd love to go ice skating on the National Mall and go to see the National Christmas tree with friends, if possible. But, of course, we'll just have to see where life ends up taking me this upcoming month.

• How was your November?
• Did you read anything memorable?
• Do you have anything planned for this December?