October Books

Well as it stands I’ve read 34 books towards my goal of reading 50 this year. (Originally it was 75, but well — that just WASN’T gonna happen.) 16 is probably a manageable amount of books to read for some people in the next two months, but something tells me during the holidays I won’t be finding the time to read two books per week. Stranger things have happened though. Like, hey, reading 5 books in October. When’s the last time I did that?

No idea.

Here is what I finished:

Perfect Bait by Michael Fowlkes – This book just sounded like it was going to be fast-paced and super thrilling. It ended up being a bit slow to start and more violent than thrilling. But at the end I did like some of the characters and the story was entertaining in parts. Lots of boat talk though, and I’m really not that intrigued by boats I guess.

 

 

Prospect Park West by Amy Sohn – I already told you all about this here. Super fun brain-candy. It is $6 on Amazon right now, and I will tell you straight that it is totally worth $2 lattes.

 

 

 

 

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper – So most of Jonathan Tropper books are thematically about the same things: family dynamics, relationships with people, flawed individuals figuring their stuff out. And I guess in some ways this could seem repetitive, except that he just has such a way with words and such witty humor that I don’t really ever *feel* like his books are repetitive. Also: why I keep reading them.

 

 

 

 

I Shouldn’t Be Telling You This: Success Secrets Every Gutsy Girl Should Know by Kate White – I don’t know, sometimes I just like reading cheesy advice books. And since I am particularly fond of Kate White’s fiction, and I mean she was the Editor In Chief at Cosmo at one point, so I thought it might be interesting to thumb through. It was a super quick read, I finished it in about a day and half, but I didn’t find the advice particularly relevant because I am already pretty deep into my career. But I thought it might actually make a fun gift for someone just out of college, or potentially navigating the corporate world for the first time.

 

 

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger — Okay seriously, WHAT THE HELL? I don’t even know why I picked up this book (Wait yes I do, it was because when I read about it here I thought, “Hmmm…might be intriguing.”) But the thing is, I don’t like graphic novels. Like, at all. Sorry, I just can’t get into them. And this one was…well, weird. And kind of dark. And sure it resonates with book lovers and has kind of a neat concept, but also…it’s just really freaking weird and I didn’t love it. Good think I just sat down and read it in one sitting.

*****

Clearly it was quantity over quality this month. The good news, November is already shaping up to be full of quality! Anything good you’ve read lately that you can’t put down?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

13 Responses to October Books

  1. Stephanie says:

    Seriously, Holly? I sit down and have coffee in one setting not read an entire book. You kill me. As a matter of fact I haven’t been able to read a trashy magazine in one setting and I don’t even have a job. Read on sista.

  2. sizzle says:

    Hmm, I love Niffenegger but I’m not sure I’d be into a graphic novel (probably my husband would). I loved Time Traveler’s Wife and want to read Her Fearful Symmetry. I finally had down time on the honeymoon and blew through Just Kids by Patti Smith (loved), Gone Girl (was ok for a poolside book but I never liked any of the characters which is hard for me), and The Night Circus (which I think could have been shorter but I do so love a circus-themed book). Now I am reading Loving Frank. I’m on a roll. 🙂

    • Holly says:

      I am completely undecided on Niffenegger and this book did NOTHING to clarify that for me. I liked Time Traveler’s Wife (the book SO MUCH MORE than the movie, which was just MEH and entirely different topic) but Her Fearful Symmetry actually kind of made me mad at the end. If you read it, WE MUST DISCUSS. Honeymoon reading sounds blissful! The Night Circus is totally on my list just out of sheer curiosity. So many different reactions I just have to figure out my own. I love a book like that.

  3. PaulaB says:

    We recently watched the movie “The Way Back” so I had to read the book on which it was based: The Long Walk, by Slavomir Rawicz. Amazing Gracie, Half Broke Horses, One Way Ticket to Anywhere rounded out my October reading, all very worthwhile! Oh, and I discovered the Jane Austen mysteries, starting with Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor: Being the First Jane Austen Mystery by Stephanie Barron. Fun!

  4. Cami Sebern says:

    Holly,
    I think you would like books by Louise Erdrich. I highly recommend her. Also, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

    Hugs,

    • Holly says:

      What’s your favorite Erdrich book? I had to read a few in college and loved them, which made me want to pick up Shadow Tag a few years ago when it came out, but I couldn’t get into that one. She has such a huge collection, can you even pick a favorite? 🙂

      And I really enjoyed The Fault In Our Stars! (You’ve got my reading number, Cami…haha) I just picked up An Abundance of Katherines and started reading John Green’s tumblr. He’s an interesting guy.

      • Cami Sebern says:

        Well I have enjoyed all of them. If you haven’t read The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, if I had to pick a favorite that might be it. Now, for a book I don’t recommend to just anyone because if you read the description it is pretty far out there, but I LOVED it and I have recommended it to Mel because she heard of it and was asking if anyone had read it. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson is one of my favorite books of all time. Look it up at Amazon and see what you think. Another of my all time favorites is The Book Thief by Markus Zusack. Right now I am reading The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. It’s about what happens to a young 13 yr old girl when the earth starts slowing down and how it affects everything and everyone around her. So far I am really enjoying it. If you really want a long list of books, email me and I can send you lots of titles to put on your list.

        Happy Reading!!

  5. I am still slogging my way through the 1100+ page biography of the Bronte family. It’s really picked up steam now that we’ve hit th 1840s (chew on that for a minute), and I actually stayed up until 1:30 a.m. the other night because I was on an exciting part (where Charlotte was writing Jane Eyre). Dave called me a dork for saying the sentence, “I was at a really exciting part in my Bronte biography.”

    Yeah, pretty nerdy.

    I also started reading Anne B’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” because (a) I was inspired by reading about her writing it and (b) we voted at the library yesterday, there was a line, and I snagged a book from the library to entertain me while I waited to vote.

    Double nerd.

    • Holly says:

      “I was at a really exciting part in my Bronte Biography.” BAHAHAHA I totally get that.

      #nerdsunite

  6. Mallory says:

    I see Blood, Bones, and Butter up there! I loved that book. I like any book about kitchens or food, I think. I checked out “Kitchen Confidential” today, just for the heck of it.

    I always love your book posts!

    • Holly says:

      Yes, Blood Bones and Butter was AWESOME! (Confession: That is an old pic. ha! Most of those have been read already.) But I’m with you — food books are always a good read. I happened to listen to Kitchen Confidential on audio and since it was narrated by Bourdain himself, I’ve now decided that he and I are friends. That’s how it works, right? Regardless, it was a good read!