Rebecca

Reading Recap: October

Some months your reading surprises you – sometimes because you read a lot, or not much at all; sometimes because of great star ratings, or mediocre selections. October was a month where I read a lot more than I realized and had a really good selection of books. I’m not sure I can remember a month where I had 4 5-star reads before now, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Read on to see what I read and how it rated.

Titles & Star-Ratings (with format!):
📖 A Botanist’s Guide to Flowers & Fatality (Kate Khavari) ⭐⭐⭐
📖 A Talent for Murder (Peter Swanson) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
📱 The Third Gilmore Girl (Kelly Bishop) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📱 We’ll Prescribe You a Cat (Syou Ishida) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 Kiss Me at Christmas (Jenny Bayliss) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🎧 Delphine and the Silver Needle (Alyssa Moon) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
📱 The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year (Ally Carter) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📱 Bringing Down the Duke (Evie Dunmore) ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
🎧 A Christmas Duet (Debbie Macomber) ⭐⭐ 1/2
📖 Beyond Ivy Walls (Rachel Fordham) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 What Does it Feel Like? (Sophie Kinsella) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I’m really impressed with October, especially since it felt like a month where I was barely reading and/or what I was reading was taking a long time to finish. But if you dug into dates read, several of these I finished in a few days/quickly {although a few did take a hot minute to get through}. My reading time may have been sporadic and patchy-feeling, but obviously something worked. Here’s hoping the mojo continues!

It’s been so fun mixing festive reads in; the world needs a little sparkle these days. I’ve not gotten as many of my fall reads knocked out as I’d thought, but it’s still fall so I’ve got time.

One other fun thing about October: I had a decent little book haul. {Maybe it was retail therapy, maybe it’s just that hibernation impulse wanting a bigger stockpile}. My preorder of Pride and Prejudice in Space was delivered and it is absolutely stunning. We’re talking gorgeous. I cannot wait to dive into this one soon! I also added another Austenesque read to my Kindle, thanks to a giveaway hosted by the lovely Meredith of Austenesque Reviews.

How did your October reading go? What was your biggest surprise read? Are you moving on to festive books now that November has arrived or are you waiting a little longer?

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21 comments

  1. I managed to double my usual number in October! I’m usually good for four books a month and last month I read eight! Seven were Christmas novellas, seven fabulous reads! I did manage to get in a novel, Harriet Wolf’s Seventh Book of Wonders by Julianna Baggott. It had been hanging out in my TBR pile for quite awhile so I finally gave it a chance. Really glad I did. Incredible writing! Looks like you read some good ones too 🙂

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    • Huzzah for fabulous reads and Christmas novellas! 🙂 And I love when a book that’s been lingering on the TBR hits in a special way, like it was worth the wait 🙂 Sounds like we both had great months, and here’s to good reading in November as well! ❤

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  3. Well done on such a fantastic reading month. It’s wonderful that you found so many five star reads and got through so many books. I really want to try one of Peter Swansons books sometime and something by Sophie Kinsella. I’m glad you’re managing to fit in your festive reads too. I didn’t read as much as I wanted as I got completely side tracked trying to organise my TBR for the last week or so. But I did find a new favourite of the year with my arc of North Is The Night. I can’t wait until I can share my review for it as it was incredible 😍 I hope you have a wonderful November and discover some more favourites.

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    • Thank you, thank you! I was surprised and impressed 😀 This was my first Peter Swanson, but definitely not my last – he’s got a Christmas novella I’m going to try to work into my festive reading. (Gotta love Christmas with a side of murder! LOL!) Sophie Kinsella is so, so good – I’ve read her for almost 20 years (eek!), and this one is so very different but still so good, very moving to consider it’s so autobiographical. Wahoo for organizing TBRs! I should probably do that but … chaos is working(ish)? 😉 Here’s to a month of fabulous November reads! 😀

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      • Good luck getting hold of a copy. I hope it ends up being another hit. I’ve got a couple of his books on my TBR but didn’t know he’d done a Christmas one 😂 oh wow I imagine you’ve read a lot then? I remember being intrigued by the Undomestic Goddess and I enjoyed the Shopaholic movie so I’d be interested in checking the books out. It’s lovely having authors that you’ve followed for years, especially when they can still create things that feel new. And if it’s working then I’d leave it how it is. Organising TBRs is just too overwhelming 😂 yes, definitely 🥰 and I hope you have lots of books to hibernate with 😅

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  4. I did not read as much as I wanted in October but I also was reading books with my daughter and working on a book of my own. I am impressed with your list!

    I don’t like to hold off on reading Christmas books at least until the middle of November if not until after Thanksgiving.

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    • I impressed myself a little, lol 😉 My husband had to work late several nights, which meant extra reading on the couch for me, and it paid off, ha.

      A girlfriend of mine has me tell her all the new Christmas books I’m excited about and then she takes the list and places library holds for after Thanksgiving 🙂 It’s fun, because as I start reading them earlier I can be like “uh nope,” or “wait, this one was awesome!” 🙂

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    • It was a surprisingly good month, and I love that 🙂 Oh yay, I hope you enjoy We’ll Prescribe You a Cat – I was delightfully surprised by it 🙂 Hope you have an amazing November as well ❤

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  6. Wow! You had a great reading month. We both read Kiss Me at Christmas, which was just cozy and fun….the perfect escape I needed! I am glad to see you enjoyed it, too. Bring on more holiday reads this month!

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