Welcome to the October wrap up! How did your month go?
Kriti’s October Book Selection
Books for the holidays
I had a great time in Cancun and read three books, relaxing on the beach:
The Name-Bearer by Natalia Hernandez | Goodreads
This is the first book in an indie fantasy duology, Every generation, a young child is taken from her family and taught the ways of the Flowers of Prophecy, becoming the Name-Bearer. When the monarch is pregnant, the child goes to the Flowers and gets the name of the future ruler. But when the Flowers refuse to give the name to the Name-Bearer, what follows is a story of finding oneself while struggling with the repercussions of decisions of forces one does not control. Though not an official buddy read, I chatted with Ariel about The Name-Bearer as I was reading it.
The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers | Goodreads
I am a huge fan of Constance Sayer! A Witch in Time (review) is a story I still think about. I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to review The Star and the Strange Moon! The story of an actress from the 1980s who gets stuck in the 1880s set of her film, this story has romance, a secret society of movie enthusiasts, a movie that is aired once a decade, a supernatural villain, horror and much more. I am excited to share my review later this month.
Foxfire by Rowan Hill | Goodreads
Coupled with the cover art, the name of the book portrays the mood and setting of the book very well. Those lights in the sky are important in this story. I loved the folklore side! Two of the main characters represent the modern generations of the arctic where they feel less connected to their cultural legends compared to the earlier generations. Foxfire is an exploration of what happens when man tries to enforce owners. A very special review+interview coming next week.
Flight books:
What books have you read on the plane? Flights are a great time to catch up on reading, especially the daytime trips. On the plane I made solid progress on:
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang | Goodreads
This literary fiction thriller was fantastic! I could not put it down. A White author steals a manuscript from her dead Asian American “friend”. Publishing is in love with the story and ready to help her through hard questions. But when self-esteem and faith drop, June starts to believe that her popular bestselling author status can only come from stealing more of Athena’s works. It is one of those books that is bound to make you mad and rile you up. It definitely got me.
The Future of Us: The Science of What We’ll Eat, Where We’ll Live, and Who We’ll Be by Jay Ingram | Goodreads
In the introductory chapter of the book, The Fog of the future, through a mix of facts, funny conversations, news articles, Jay Ingram establishes the tone and theme of the chapter to come. The writing is enjoyable and easy to fall into. This intro was a short meditation on how technologies have changed us over time and how for many of the areas mentioned in this book, the advances and research cannot be considered in isolation. We have to talk about the ethical and social implications of the technologies that we may introduce. I was prepared for a ride into many aspects of our future, what I did not realize was how much I was going to learn about the past and present as well.
Rereads:
Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking by Jon Acuff | Goodreads
I adore Soundtracks. If I could give a ‘Book that Motivated me the Most’ or ‘Book that changed me’ hands down, the awards would go to Soundtracks. This was my third time reading this book and I am finally going to bring you guys a review in the new year. I love the humor, the personal stories from Jon as well as people he has talked to. I have been speaking the anthem for a year now and the whole reason I picked up this book again was to get a refresher on how I have been doing. I also marked out ideas that I had completely forgotten about to add to my practice.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini | Goodreads
With Murtagh releasing this month, I debated rereading the first four books of The Inheritance Cycle. I worried that I would not like this series. I did love it all those years back though… Well, giving it a shot was an amazing experience. I was a new person but also the same. I enjoyed thinking of other fantasy worlds that I have visited since I read this book a decade ago. I will focus on reading at least two more of this series in November.
Most anticipated book: The Way I am Now by Amber Smith
I was waiting for a weekend to get lost in The Way I am Now and I was not disappointed. This book is newly added to my midnight list.The follow up to The Way I Used to Be (review), this book is a deep dive into relationships when the person we love is struggling. Whether it is a recovering alcoholic spouse or parent, or a loved one part of a rape trial, trauma sometimes sneaks up on us. A beautiful story about supporting the people we love. Review next week. Add it on Goodreads.
Everything else:
Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson | Goodreads
If you are looking to get lost in the wonders of a magical hotel, Midnight at the Houdini is a captivating tale that will sweep you right in. An easy read, it pays homage to The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern amongst other fantasy worlds and the classic, Alice in Wonderland.
The Hexologist by Josiah Bancroft | Goodreads
I don’t think I have ever read a book with a husband wife duo in fantasy! This world is so much fun. It’s a steampunk kind of feel with lots of machines and pollution. The magical creatures and mystery plot are engaging and immersive. The writing is beautiful. I got quite a few laughs. Another review planned for this month!
You guys are getting pampered with lots of new releases this November. 😀
Total TBR: 390 (Oct 1) -> 409 (Nov 1)
2 books from my commitments TBR:
2 books from my personal TBR:
Writing & Blogging
Updates on TBP (to be posted – reviews that I have written but not yet published to the blog) and TBW (to be written – books I have read but not yet noted down my thoughts about).
TBP: 22 (Oct) -> 23 (Nov)
TBW: 6 (Oct) -> 8 (Nov)
This month began with my birthday and some reflection on year 29. Top books included!
In case you missed it, the non-fiction feature of October was The Future of Us by Jay Ingram. I shared my discussion with Ariel about Monstrilio and Emily and I chatted about The City of Brass. Other reviews to check out are The Bandit Queens and Our Wives Under the Sea.
If you want to follow the Giller Prize, check out the shortlisted books here.
There were a few guest posts this past month! I enjoyed working with Klara on hers about historical fiction. Lucy talked about NaNoWriMo which was insightful too.
I had expected to do a lot more reading than reviewing in October while traveling and getting back to the normal routine. I wrote some short reviews for some pending books but the favorite was writing about Eragon after the reread.
I have much writing to do in November, considering all the amazing books I have already told you I am reviewing on the blog. I am excited!!
The Noteworthy: A random collection of findings
- November is my Taylor Swift Bookish month! I am pairing up songs with book prompts. Follow along on my Instagram or Facebook.
- Cancun was beautiful and it reminded me of a lot of parts of India. Spending time at the beach was super relaxing. We did an ATV ride in the jungle!
- A new recipe I tried out this month was hoisin chicken noodles.
- Clinton and I are jumping between a bunch of shows: Hell’s Kitchen season 4 (is addictive), Gen V (the show related to The Boyz, gorey and crude as ever) and Loki (end of time and the one who remains, very cool).
Ariel’s October
This year has felt super strange when it comes to reading. I’m reading a lot but not a lot at the same time, and I’ve slowed down to not worry about the numbers and instead the quality of my reads. I can’t believe it’s already November! I have a few arcs coming up these next few months so I’m going to start working more consistently on reading those. Overall it was a solid month for reading!
Books Total: 7
Ebooks: 2
Physical Books: 1
Audiobooks: 4
Library Books: 4
Netgalley Arcs: 2
Physical Arcs: 1
Notable Favorites:
Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology ed. By Shane Hawk
Just Like Home by Sara Gailey
The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R. M. Romero
Not books:
Favorite TV Show this month: Severance
Favorite Video Game this month: The Lamplighters League
Did you have a faborite book in October?
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