I started my new job! Wow! A small pat on my own back for achieving this, and now onto our regularly scheduled programming. So far in October, I have four completed books. Thankfully, I hit my reading goal earlier in the year (150 books!) and am not stressing about this month being my slowest of the year. That being said, I definitely have missed all the normal reading that I do and will be thankful when I get back into a normal rhythm. The books are…
- My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand
- The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons
- 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand
- Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas
These were four very good books. I picked up My Lady Jane on a recommendation from the Currently Reading Podcast, and because I’m an anglophile who will read anything about the Tudors. Except Wolf Hall. That book makes my brain hurt. The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett was on a From the Front Porch episode (I think, don’t quote me) and was surprisingly good for being about an old lady who finds meaning in life. 28 Summers has been sitting in my kindle library since, you guessed it, the summer. Elin is a go-to author for me when I get into reading ruts because her stories are fresh and propulsive (and sometimes sexy!). Empire of Storms is a part of the Throne of Glass series that I have been reading with my online book club. It’s book 5 in a 7 book series and I am already dreading the whole thing being over.
In a world that sometimes has many no good, very bad books, I am happy that the four I’ve managed to finish this month were all 4+ star reads. That almost never happens! Go me! In my September recap, I said I wanted to read a bunch of ~spooky~ / fantasy reads in October. Well! I have now further proven the power of the jinx. (Side note: jinxes are real. I believe in this 100%. Insert anti-jinx handshake from Gilmore Girls that I do with my friends). By saying that there were specific books I wanted to get to, of a specific genre, I dug myself into an anti-reading hole. I couldn’t get excited about any of them! I don’t know what gives, but I chose to blame it on the job change and move right along. Vampires have year-round allure, anyway.
I will try to get to some spooky books in the second half of the month, and if I only pick one it will likely be something by Naomi Novik! I will report back, as always. I did start reading The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix, which is really fun and definitely spooky. I am about halfway through and while it isn’t scary it does have your traditional Halloween fantasy elements (mysterious creatures, magic, unknown ancient parentage, the like). I haven’t read any of Garth Nix’s other books, so leave a comment if there’s one you think I’d enjoy!
SJP Books 