Books of Octobers Past
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”
― George R.R. Martin
Books don’t become any less exciting with time—good ones, anyway. They change the colors of an otherwise dull day, or year, or life.
Classics are evidence that a story can be visited several times and always manage to surprise. While I still have not achieved my goal of reading all the classic books, the ones I’ve crossed off the list have mostly been worth it.
(This year, I read Pride and Prejudice for a fifth time and realized that I cannot stand Elizabeth Bennett. That is a matter for another post.)
I’m nearly finished with my 2023 Goodreads reading goal, and believe that I will exceed the number. Since I’ve been trying to make a habit of writing, I can’t spend as much time hiding in other stories. Still, in my opinion, a good book is worth procrastinating with.
Though I can’t recap all of this year’s reads in one blog post, I will update you on what I have read in the past month, and what I am reading now.
Here are the three books I most recently finished:
All Hallows Eve by Michael Penning–I’ve been seeing advertisements for this spooky story on Facebook and decided to find out if it lived up to all of that. I don’t normally read spooky stories, and I have a hunch that All Hallows Eve is mild as far as horror novels go (I’ve never touched a Stephen King, so I wouldn’t know); however, I enjoyed the book more than I expected to, and hope to read the next installment. It’s a must if you enjoy witchy tales!The Mermaid’s Sister by Carrie Anne Noble–this was the first eBook I purchased when I got my first Kindle, and I remembered the title in September. I couldn’t recall much about the book, except that I had liked it, so I decided to order a used copy for my bookshelf. I enjoyed it, though not as much as the first time. I believe the reason why is that, as I grow writing-wise, I also grow as a reader–and on the second read, I found some things to be a bit frivolous (and disliked the mermaid character immensely.) While I did enjoy the second read of The Mermaid’s Sister, I know I’ve read better books since then.Sealskin–honestly, this is one of the books I mean when I say I’ve read better books. It’s got to be one of my favorite reads of the year. Check out my review here.As for what I am reading:
The Village Healer’s Book of Cures is another book about witches, though it has a different tone. The witch, at least thus far, is not a villain. I am enjoying the crisp, snappy writing style and the pacing of the story. Perhaps I am going through a witchy-book phase?A Wicked Conceit–last year I found the first three Lady Darby books at a thrift store, and what a treat! I haven’t been hooked on a series for a long time, perhaps not since Harry Potter (yes, it’s been that long.) I confess, a good reason why I follow it is the romance subplot. Most mysteries on their own read blandly to me; there must be an interesting protagonist or a compelling setting. In this case, there are both, plus a swoon-worthy romance!Tea is another thrift store find. The title intrigued me, for obvious reasons, though I’m not sure what to expect from it. I’ll try to blog about it when I finish!These three books, obviously, have not been finished yet; the reviews are incomplete, so take all of these comments with a grain of salt.
How are you doing with your reading challenges? Have you read any of these books?
