If September was about vacation, October was about getting back to work and dealing with house and health issues. Our attempt to adopt a pair of cats didn’t work out; unfortunately our older cat wasn’t up to the stress of dealing with newcomers, and our idea to give him some company wasn’t well-timed. We were sad giving the two cats back but it was absolutely the right thing to do.
My October reading took me around the world — to England, Cuba, rural Armenia, Scotland and India. I also caught up with some favorite authors. Here’s what I read in October:
- Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory (audio)
- A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow
- Blackout by Connie Willis
- The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton (audio)
- Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan
- Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore (audio)
- Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi
- Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl (audio)
I only posted three reviews in October, but I’m working on a few I’ll post soon. I also posted about my favorite online reading resources.
My favorite reads: I particularly enjoyed Three Apples Fell from the Sky, a novel about a very remote Armenian village, and the lives of its older residents. There was a whimsical tone to this book that kept it light and I really liked the characters.
Evie Dunmore’s Portrait might not be my favorite in the series so far, but I absolutely love her books and this one, like her others, was intelligent and sexy and had great character development and history.
Connie Willis’ Blackout was a lot of fun, and once I could keep all the characters (and timelines) straight, I had a hard time putting it down. The premise of Willis’ series is so ridiculous it’s maddening — scientists in the future have found a way to send historians back in time while making it impossible for them to impact events and change history. It’s an “everything that could possibly go wrong does” kind of story that at times made me want to scream. But Willis can write — this book plunks you down in World War II England and it made me feel like I was there, dodging bombs during the Blitz and boarding a boat at Dunkirk.
Most disappointing read: I didn’t care for Guillory’s Party of Two, even though I’m a big fan of her other books. The couple in this book, a U.S. Senator and a lawyer, never felt real to me and neither did their relationship. Maybe it’s because I have absolutely no interest in dating someone who is either famous or a politician, and maybe it’s because I get enough of that sort of thing living and working in DC, but I didn’t particularly like either character.
I really enjoyed reading about Cuba’s history in The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. The true story of Evangeline Cisneros was fascinating, and so was the turn of the century journalism war between Hearst and Pulitzer. But I did find the writing a bit melodramatic and there was a fictional romance that I didn’t find terribly appealing. I often wish authors wouldn’t create drama when they’re writing about historical events that, in my mind anyway, have more than enough drama already.
Books for challenges:
- Beat the Backlist: Blackout, Garlic and Sapphires
- Reading All Around the World: The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba, Three Apples Fell from the Sky
What I’m reading now: I’m reading Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Fated Sky, in her series about women astronauts in a fictional 1960s. I’m also reading Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s Good Company and Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings, a memoir by a Korean-American poet.
What’s coming up: I’ll be reading O Beautiful by Jung Yun (an ARC). I hope to concentrate on nonfiction this month, for Nonfiction November, one of my favorite blog events.
Things that made me happy this month: Honestly, this was a tough month. But fall is a good food time of year, so I can say that apple cider, cider doughnuts, and apples from the farmers market are things that made me happy (I like pumpkin well enough but I’m an apple girl at heart). We also discovered “bacon marmalade” while traveling in Hawaii that is now maybe my favorite condiment ever.
We had quite a few outings with friends and family this month, so maybe things are starting to get closer to normal. We saw the film Black Panther with the music played by the National Symphony Orchestra. We visited a winery in Pennsylvania, saw comedian Ronnie Chieng, and had a birthday lunch with my Dad.
In November I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving and seeing family.
I hope you’re healthy and enjoying the fall. Happy Halloween and Thanksgiving!
