Happy Halloween!!
# of Books Read: 10
# of Pages Read: 2,988
Favourite Book(s) of the Month: The Only Plane in the Sky, Supper Club, How We Fight For Our Lives
Frogcatchers by Jeff Lemire
Frogcatchers was my first graphic novel from Jeff Lemire, and it will not be my last. I was incredibly moved by his work and it caught me completely off-guard. Something about how the drawings were rough and the dialogue was handwritten added to the rawness of the story itself. It just felt so personal. I read it in about twenty minutes and immediately read through it again. It is one of those books that I can see myself picking up off my shelves again and again- I think I will take away something new from it every time. It has a lot to say for such a short piece of work!
Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds
If you are as big of a fan as Jason Reynolds’s novel Long Way Down as I am, I am confident in saying that you will not be disappointed by his latest work. Look Both Ways is similar to Long Way Down in theme and concept. Much like how Long Way Down takes place over the course of one elevator ride, Look Both Ways is told over ten blocks. Each chapter follows different students as they walk home from school. I thought it did an amazing job at shining a light on the difference experiences that children go through, but I do think he could have taken it a little further. I love that each chapter reads as though it were its own short story, but they were all connected. I have to take a moment to single out the second chapter- it was so moving and sweet. It actually brought a tear to my eye.
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
You are immediately thrown in to the action and at first it can be quite jarring. It took me awhile to get my bearings and to connect to the story- I would say about 70 pages. But suddenly, as I started to understand the world more and more, I fell in love with this book! It has everything- hate to love romance, atmospheric setting, witches and magic, strong friendships, etc. etc. I do think that the world and the magic system could have been explored more, but I hope that happens in the next book.
The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff
Graff has done extensive research on what happened on 9/11, and has interviewed many of the people who were affected by the events of that day. The result is this powerful, thoughtful, devastating yet hopeful work. There were a lot of heroes that day. The audiobook is a full cast and I truly think it is the best way to experience this book, even if you are not someone who normally listens to audiobooks.
How We Fight For Our Lives by Saaed Jones
How We Fight For Our Lives just won the Kirkus Prize and it certainly deserves it! This is how a memoir should be- raw, honest, and doesn’t hold back. Saeed Jones puts all of his cards on the table, and the result is incredible. Even though it is written in prose, you can tell that the author is an experienced poet- so beautifully written. It ends up being a love letter to his mother, which ultimately brought a tear to my eye.
Supper Club by Lara Williams
Supper Club is one of those books that is almost impossible to describe. It is about that struggles that woman face and their right to take up space. Lara Williams has such a magical way of describing food- I would read an entire book of just her explaining how to boil an egg or make pizza dough. I thought that each of the characters was flawed and made poor choices, but I understood them and their motivations. It is an interesting look at friendship as well.
Healthy as F*ck by Ooonagh Duncan
I am normally not a huge self-help fan, especially when they have these gimmicky titles. That said, I did take a lot away from Healthy as F*ck. Sure, there is a lot in there I have heard before, but I loved the feminist angle that this book took. It wasn’t preachy or condescending in any way. It is largely about how we have to be happy with the body that we have now, or we will never be happy with it.
Royal Holiday (The Wedding Date #4) by Jasmine Guillory
Royal Holiday is competing with The Wedding Party for my favourite book in this series. I loved that the main character and her love interest are over the ages of fifty- so refreshing and not something I often find in romance novels. I also loved that it was set over Christmastime, but I think you can read it any time of year.
Misery by Stephen King
My first Stephen King novel, and I have to admit that I really, really liked it. So much so that I just picked up The Shining! I now understand the hype around Stephen King. He is a master at creating tension and making your heart race. I was way more invested in the outcome than I ever expected to be. I actually felt myself cringing at certain scenes, which doesn’t happen to me often!
Someone We Know by Shari Lapena
This is my first Shari Lapena novel and I have mixed feelings on it. I thought she did some interesting things, I was truly surprised by the ending, and it was fast-paced, but I do not think it will be memorable. I guess that isn’t always a bad thing! My other problem with it is that all of the men where horrible and I thought that was a little lazy. It is a way to make us suspect them all without have to do much work. I am curious about her other thrillers though so I added The Couple Next Door to my TBR.
I read an interesting mix of books this month- a lot of them were perfect to read in October!
What was the best book you read in October?
I think I’m gonna have to pick up The Royal Holiday—so many people are loving it!
It is really sweet!
10 books?!?! WOW! I wish!! I really hope to read more in November. Awesome month! I really want to read Serpent & Dove but I don’t know if I want to start another series that isn’t finished yet. Royal Holiday also looks super adorable! I might try to read that during December <3
Serpent & Dove is a duology- the next book comes out in August 2020! It might be worth waiting until then and reading them both one after the other!
Royal Holiday is the perfect December read. It put me in such a good mood!
I think my favourite books that I read this month was Jane Anonymous and The Upside of Unrequited. Both pretty opposite in subject matter! I really want to get my hands on Serpent & Dove at some point. I hope you have a great reading month again in November 🙂
Thank you!
I have been meaning to read The Upside of Unrequited since I loved Simon so much. Happy you hear you enjoyed it!
I tooootally agree with your thoughts on Someone We Know. I hate the cheating trope in thrillers – it’s not normal for every person in a relationship to have a burner phone! – and think it takes away from the shock of an ending when every person is crappy and incriminated in some way. Glad to see you enjoyed some of your other reads though!!
I am actually writing a full review of the book and can feel myself getting heated! You’re so right- who has a burner phone in this day and age? And why would Amanda even have affairs with all of these awful men? So much of it felt like a stretch to me.
I haven’t read/heard of any of the books on your list this month but the concept for Look Both Ways sounds really awesome!
It’s really such a powerful book. Highly recommend anything by Jason Reynolds!
Congrats on reading so many amazing books this month!! Royal Holiday sounds so good, and I’m excited to read more of your posts in November <3
Happy Reading ^_^
Thank you so much!
It really is a charming book!
I need to try Stephen King; I’m not good with horror though 🙂
Me either! Somehow I can stomach it more in books than in movies through.
My fav books of October were Love Me Not by M.J. Arlidge and A Pack of Vows and Tears by Olivia Wildenstein.
I wish you a great November!
I am going to have to look into those! Same to you!
Wow you sure did have a great diversity in your reads!!! I am impressed 😉
Ah thanks! My reading tastes and moods are all over the place but I like it that way!
Wow, what a diverse mix of books! Somehow I haven’t read any of these?! Although I keep meaning to read some King! I hope your November is spectacular💜
Thank you! I hope to same for you!
Ahh Misery and The Shining are on my TBR! I’m glad you’re enjoying King. I’ve only read “It” by him, but it wasn’t my favorite. I definitely think I’ll enjoy his writing in other books, though, so I’m excited to get to more of his books!
I think Misery is a good one to pick up if you want to try something by him again. Bonus that it is not nearly as long as It!
Solid reading month! 👍😍
It was!
Glad you liked Misery. Much as I love Misery and other King books and films, I haven’t been brave enough to read The Shining yet nor watch the movie, so I look forward to your review. Your other finished reads especially Frogcatchers and Only Plane in the Sky, sound interesting. In fact, sounds like you had a good reading month. The only book I finished-finished this month was a book called Dreamland Barbuda which is the history of a land dispute in my country which as I discussed in my first youtube #Bookchat unfiltered vlog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d745JHFD8To was an interesting read which might be of broader interest to anyone concerned with the plight of smaller communities relative to external pressures.
The Shining is one of those books that I keep having to put down because it gets too creep! It is really good so far though!
That book sounds amazing. I will have to check it out!
You’ve had an interesting month 🙂 Best book I’ve read in October… It would have to be Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. 🙂
I really did. I have been meaning to read Rebecca for ages. So glad you loved it!
I’m so glad you liked Misery. I’ve read The Couple Next Door by Lapena, it was good-not great, but good. I’d like to read the one you posted about.
Her books seem to get such mixed reviews! I am posting a full review of Someone We Know on Sunday!
Wait—how did I have no idea that Jason Reynolds has a book similar to Long Way Down out? Gosh, I should really check it out. Long Way Down was just short, but it was so powerful. Ohh, I’m so happy that you read and enjoyed Misery this month, because I kinda wanna dip my toes into Stephen King, and the book of his that I’m most interested in is Misery! Its premise just sounds so interesting. As for some memorable October reads, I read almost all of the aftg series in October, and some of the scenes did make me actually cringe. The main character just goes through so much pain, emotionally and physically, and I just want to hug and protect him!!
I think you’ll love Look Both Ways. It is also powerful!
I think Misery is the perfect book to read as your first Stephen King. I am so glad it is the one that I went with!
Ah that sounds so great. I love connectingg to characters in that way!
That’s amazing that you read so many books in October! I can’t wait to check out some of these.
Thank you! I read some really great ones!
Stephen King is one of my favourite authors, so I’m happy to see that you enjoyed his book! 😀 I actually haven’t read Misery yet, though I really want to. Great post!
I completely understand now why he is so beloved! Misery was so good!