What I Read: October

October was a bit busy with parent teacher conferences and all the craziness that goes along with it. I was so glad to have reading to help me relax! I love seasonal or holiday-themed reading so I enjoyed reading and listening to spooky books this month. I got through some good ones!

Books:

• Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty- I put this on hold last spring when I saw it was going to be released this summer. I didn't have super high expectations since I didn't really like Nine Perfect Strangers, her last novel before this one. But this was back to her old form. I loved it. I would love to see her write a book centered on Savannah with how she ended this one. Like how Joshilyn Jackson wrote a book with Rose Mae Lolley as the main character after her little cameo in Gods of Alabama. I love seeing things from a different character's perspective!
  

• The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red by Joyce Reardon- A friend loaned me this book to read and I saved it for October because I like to read spooky books in October. The idea was really interesting and the story that inspired the book was so cool, but the writing was just kind of blah. I thought it was okay.

• Destined by P.C. & Kristin Cast- This was book 9 in the House of Night series. They are really stretching these books out. There are 12 but the action honestly could have been like 6 or 7 books. Since I'm prepared for the book to stretch out with all the action at the end of the book, I'm back to enjoying them. It was super annoying there for a while that the book was mostly boring and then all the action was at the end. I liked how this one went into some of the lesser characters more.
  

eBooks:

• The Last (Endling #1) by Katherine Applegate- I read this aloud with the kids. Katherine Applegate is one of my favorite children's chapter book authors so I was excited about this one. It keeps Carter's attention, but Elise isn't quite as interested. She pops in and out paying attention at times and then asking questions she wouldn't have if she had been listening to the story.
  

• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry- When I was at the book store with the kids I found #3 and #4 in The Giver quartet. I was super excited because I had totally forgotten there were more books in the series. I bought those books and then found this one as an ebook through the library. I like how the book follows different characters so I wasn't let down with how the stories of the characters from The Giver played out.

• The Passenger by Lisa Lutz- I wasn't super impressed by The Swallows so I wasn't sure how I'd like another Lutz book. I went into The Swallows hoping for something like The Spellman Files. This one had me hooked from the first page. I got my Covid booster and was bed ridden for about half the following day. I spent the whole time reading this book and ended up finishing it. It was so good!
  

Audiobooks:

• The Guncle by Steven Rowley- I wanted something enjoyable and fun so I picked this one. It was so good and I really enjoyed it. Just a fun and uplifting story even with all the sad things that happen to the main characters. I really enjoyed it!
  

• Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand- I kept seeing this book on our Quick Picks shelf at the library. I really liked Summer of '69 by Hilderbrand and I also enjoyed her Winter Street series. I decided to get it as an audiobook. It was really good. I did feel like the family's characters had a lot in common with her characters from the Winter Street series and she seems to always have a character addicted to Ativan which I find a bit annoying. But the premise of this book was really good and I enjoyed how it was set up.

• Dark Places by Gillian Flynn- I love Gillian Flynn, especially in October. Her books are always so creepy and I love the way she writes her characters. This one started with a jump rope rhyme and I was immediately hooked.
  

• American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan- What could be creepier than a book about a serial killer? I spent a lot of this audiobook planning out how I would attempt to escape from a serial killer. Running in the pitch black of the morning listening to this audiobook may not have been my wisest choice. I keep the volume low and only wear one headphone so every little noise I'd hear, spooked me!

• Hidden by P.C. & Kristin Cast- I liked reading a vampire book during October so after I read book #9 I decided to listen to book #10. I'm getting close to finishing the series! I'm invested enough in the characters I want to finish the series to see where she leaves them, but it's getting a bit old how they are stretching the books out to make the series last longer!