October 2022 Reading

Thinking back to October, I’m reminded what a gorgeous month it was. It was an amazing start to fall – beautiful foliage, cloudy and rainy days. Perfect for curling up inside with a wonderful stack of books. It’s fun to look back on October because November has started out decidedly un-fall like. It has been slightly muggy and relatively warm (yesterday it got to the mid-70s!). I keep telling my family to soak up the sun while it’s here and it’s a great opportunity to get outside, but inwardly I’m groaning. I’m anxious for it to feel like fall again. And I know it will! Until it does, I will bask in my memories of October which, of course, means thinking about what I read. It was an excellent month of reading and worth the reflection!

I tried to read only from my TBR in October and wouldn’t allow myself to pick up anything shiny and new. It wasn’t easy! So many new books were calling to me, but I managed to stick to the stack I curated at the beginning of the month. The purple checks are the books I read, the dashes are what’s in my current rotation, and the x is one I decided against. (That strange purple arrow on Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was meant to be a check mark. Not sure what happened!)

I’m very proud of that stack of library books on the right. It was my priority because of their due dates and I read almost all that I intended. I’ve returned the book on the bottom, The Lacuna, to the library unread because I’ll be reading it with a group of blogging friends in 2023. And I managed to read 5 books that I own, which is always a challenge for me because library books and their due dates seem to rule my reading life!

Here’s exactly what I read in October:

Kirsten’s Surprise | Frankenstein in Baghdad | Trust | The Plague of Doves | Beloved | The Painted Drum | Kirsten Learns a Lesson | Lonesome Dove | Fugitive Pieces | The Wild Hunt | Captain Underpants | Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell | Fresh Water for Flowers | The Secret History

Highlights from October:

+ I finished two super chunkers: Lonesome Dove and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I loved both of them! It’s amazing what you can get through when you break these large books into small chunks. I read 4 chapters a day of Lonesome Dove and 40 pages a day of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and was surprised by how well I was able to balance my other reading alongside these big guys. (I started Lonesome Dove in September, but finished in October so I didn’t read ALL of them both in October.) I’ve always hesitated to plan out long reads like this but I’m a complete convert now. I have BIG plans in 2023 that I’ll be sharing here soon.

+ The Secret History was an excellent way to kick off the spooky season. This was a reread for me and I enjoyed it immensely — I was engrossed by the characters and the setting, as well as all of the cozy details scattered throughout. This is such a fun book and worth revisiting. (30 times for some people!)

+ Fresh Water for Flowers has been added to my list of yearly rereads. Early spring is probably the perfect time of year to read this heartwarming book that’s full of flowers, gardens, and seizing the day. And it takes place in France, which is one of my favorite settings. I was so happy to have found this little gem.

+ I read two Louise Erdrich books in my effort to catch up with the Erdrich-Along. There’s no doubt that Erdrich is a genius and I’ve loved immersing myself in her this year. I’m looking forward to attempting to become a completist of her work!

+ Bronwyn and I read two American Girl books in October and we’re nearly finished with the Kirsten series. Bryce has been enjoying Captain Underpants books before bed (and honestly, so have I). It’s such a privilege to read aloud to my children!

And here’s an update on my TBR (you should be able to click to make it bigger). You’ll notice that I didn’t finish a lot of books that I’d actually planned to read in October, but that was because I was working hard to finish up the TBRs I had for the previous months. And I did a pretty good job! I’m pleased with how the month played out even though it was really hard to stick to a plan! I’ve enjoyed using the blank pages of my Moleskine weekly planner to list out my TBR in 4 month increments like this. It’s been helpful to pull from lists for previous or future months based on library availability and I like seeing the spread for planning purposes. It’s something I hope to continue in 2023.

---

And that’s a wrap for October! I hope to be back on Wednesday with an update on what I’ve read in the last week. Until then – take good care!