Here’s the list. The books I liked the most are at the top. If you click the titles of the paragraphs, you’ll get to the full reviews.

1. Short stories by Daphne du Maurier

They are dark, deep and atmospheric. They brought a lot of beauty and mystery into the colder days. I can definitely recommend all stories from this edition.

2. The Birds by Daphne du Maurier

Right, the second place is taken by du Maurier too. She is like those actors who jump on the stage and take all the prizes. She’s indeed that outstanding, as well as her novelette The Birds. I made a research about this book, looking into the accusations of plagiarism and comparing it to other works of the same name. Follow the link for more information.

3. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

I’m not sure if the shorter days are turning me into a reader of gothic or I just have a natural inclination to this genre, but my third most favourite book of the month is gothic again. The Little Stranger is a story about a noble family, a local doctor and a dilapidating creepy mansion. I had an audiobook version of the story and absolutely loved the narrator’s performance.

4. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

A contrast to all the gothic above, The Rosie Project is light, funny and heartwarming. It’s a modern story about an autistic scientist who’s setting off on a quest to find a perfect wife for himself.

5. Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Bone Gap is an unusual item on this blog because it’s a young adult novel. This book showed me that young adult genre doesn’t necessarily mean simplistic or primitive. It’s a story about a small town with some magical powers. It’s about human nature, relationships and the ways people see each other. I liked the actual story and the bigger ideas of the book.

6. The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

The Seven Sisters is the first book in the series about seven sisters (with a book per sister, I guess) who are discovering their true histories after their adoptive parent dies. The first book travels through time and continents and has several love stories in it. It’s well-written and interesting. Even though there’s not too much romance, there’s still too much of it for my personal liking, so I won’t continue with the series, but I’m sure many people will love the book.

7. Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller

This book takes the final position among the books I liked because I can’t say I liked it that much. It was beautifully written, with a very deep exploration of human mind and psychology but I didn’t like the aftertaste of the story and the personality of the characters.

There are two more books that didn’t make it to the list above because I didn’t like them. I’m happy I have read them as a part of my experiment and research.

1. The Birds by Frank Baker

This is the book that Daphne du Maurier was accused of plagiarising. There’s a definite similarity between the two books. Both have birds attacking people and changing the course of human history. Frank Baker’s work has much more philosophy in it. It’s full of deep ideas and contemplations but it’s unbearably boring to read. The style of writing is a torture. I’m glad I had a chance to compare the two works myself but I can’t recommend Frank Baker’s book to anybody.

2. Uprooted by Naomi Novik

It’s a much loved book among fantasy readers but I had to push myself to find things I could like about it. Even though I found some, they were still overshadowed by those I disliked. I’m glad I took this leap into fantasy because next time I will take a more careful step into this genre.

I also listened to a couple of curious programs that are not actually audiobooks but I found them awesome anyway. In order not to overload you with information, I’ll post about them in a separate post, so stay tuned.

Off to the final month of the year! Hopefully I will discover more fantastic books to tell you about.

If you are interested in more book lists, you can read:

1. The books I bought on Black Friday
2. The books I read in October
3. The books I read in September

General information about The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger is a story about a noble English family living through the days of their financial decline in their quickly dilapidating mansion. A local doctor befriends them during a professional visit to the family’s only servant. The doctor watches how the family is trying to stay true to themselves while their house is falling apart, and some strange and scary things start happening in it.

There’s now a movie adaptation of the book but it looks like the movie isn’t even remotely as deep and multilayered as the book is (and the doctor looks about 15 years younger than he should be). Here’s the trailer if you are interested.

I listened to the audio version of The Little Stranger, and I’m sure that I liked the book so much, largely thanks to the Simon Vance who was reading the story. His narration is perfect. He created different intonations and melodies for each character. They are very distinctive but not overplayed. In fact, he sounds so natural, I sometimes forgot he was not telling his life story but reading a work of fiction aloud.

What I liked about the book

The atmosphere

The atmosphere is palpable. You can breathe in the cold humid air, see the fields and admire the old mansion. When the scary things start happening, they frighten you not because of what they are, but because of how real they feel.

The characters

The characters are very well developed and deep. It’s hard to believe they are not real people. I was almost brought to tears when something horrible happened to one of them because I had grown so fond of this character.

The most awesome thing about The Little Stranger

The most awesome thing about the book is its story. The events can be interpreted in several different ways. I’m sure each reader will perceive the book differently. To some it will be a creepy gothic story, to others it will be purely psychological. To someone else it will be something more. The author never spells things out for you. It doesn’t mean that there are open endings or gaps left by a lazy writer for a reader to fill in on their own. You have to be really vigilant and careful to see what’s really going on. That’s why I think this book is genius. The Little Stranger will definitely make it to the best books I’ve read this year. I was actually so impressed with the ending I created a separate discussion page (spoiler warning for that discussion page). I would really love to discuss the ending with others who have read the book. Please, visit the page if you finished the book and share your thoughts!

What I didn’t like about The Little Stranger

There was really nothing I disliked. If I wanted to be truly meticulous I’d say that there could be more action in the first part of the story. I found it developing rather slowly there. That being said, I was so immersed into the whole atmosphere, the house, the characters that I didn’t really need anything else. I was enjoying the book completely.

Would I recommend The Little Stranger?

I would urge everybody to read The Little Stranger. Although this book is a bit slow for a typical thriller, I think it might still be liked by those who like reading thrillers. I would definitely recommend it to anybody who loves gothic literature, classic stories and the atmosphere of old England.

1. The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley

The Seven Sisters is my first attempt to get into some series. I picked up The Seven Sisters because it sounded dynamic and adventurous.

It’s a story about several sisters who were separately adopted by a rich man. Their childhood passed on a private island in a castle-like house. They grew up very different, each with their own talents and aspirations. When their father dies, he leaves them letters with clues on how to discover more about their ancestry and history. The Seven Sisters is the first book in the series, and looks like it is focusing on the eldest sister only. Thus, my guess is, there is a book per a sister.

The Seven Sisters is indeed full of action that takes you through different countries and different epochs. It’s slightly too romantic for my liking, but I’m quite enjoying the overall story.

(An update: I finished the book, so you can now read my review of The Seven Sisters.)

2. H. P. Lovecraft

I’m also going through Lovecraft’s short stories right now. They are truly, high-class scary. They are also quite thought-provoking. I like it when there’s a higher purpose to being scared. I’m quite enjoying the stories so far.

3. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger is very atmospheric, dark, beautiful and gothic. It’s about a noble family living in a grand but quickly dilapidating house. A local doctor befriends them. Together they start witnessing horrible mysterious events happening in the house. I’m listening to the audio version of the story. The narration is perfect! There’s a lot of feeling and intonation in the voice but nothing is overplayed.

(An update: here’s a link to my review of The Little Stranger)

4. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

When I want a break from everything gothic I read The Rosie Project. It’s hilarious and kind. It is about a man with Asperger’s syndrome who’s looking for a wife. Whenever I read it, I hear the voice of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. If you are a fan of Sheldon you will also like this book. (An update: my review of The Rosie Project.)

There are samples of a few more books on my Kindle. Besides almost all the books with beautiful covers have arrived. Thus, I’m in no lack of books for November. I’m aiming to be even more selective with my books this month, so that in the end I can recommend the most of them to you. How is your November going on? Are you reading anything?