on the bookshelf :: October

Between rest days for wisdom teeth, travel, and the kids disappearing to my folks place in the holidays, I managed to get a surprising amount of reading done in October. NINE books finished in the last month, that’s almost summer holidays level reading! I was aiming for 52 books read this year, and am already at 51, so I’ll call it a successful bookish year with two months remaining.

ON THE BOOKSHELF THIS MONTH

Ladies Rest & Writing Room – Kim Kelly // A shortish listen that I’d picked for bookclub, I enjoyed it up until the last chapter when it took a major turn that felt shoehorned in, and rather out of character. Aside from that ending though, it was quite a pleasant listen.

Four Points of The Compass – Jerry Brotton // Another quick listen I picked up on borrow box, this non-fiction was an interesting look at the development of direction in cartography, and how different cultures consider different directions their “true north”

The Royal Librarian – Daisy Wood // one of my mother’s day read, it was semi-predictable but still a good read. It was heartbreaking and uncomfortable in parts, as war books tend to be, but offered a different perspective from the characters. Some characters felt a bit underdeveloped, but overall it was a good story.

The Last Caretaker – Jessica Strawser // This was my travel read when I went to Sydney – half on the plane down, half on the plane home. It was intriguing, not always predictable, and had me hooked the whole way through.

The Secret of The Brighton House – Cathy Haywood // The first of two bookclub books this month, it was a good story, and a sad look at the impacts of post-natal psychosis in an era where even the most routine of mental health struggles were stigmatised.

Grave Talk – Nick Spalding // our second bookclub book I liked less than the first, though it was readable and I ended up crying at the end. It was a friendship story of the ways we cope with grief, and learning to move forward even when it feels impossible.

The Ripple Effect (+ 2 sequels) – Cally Jackson // I found this on kindle unlimited and it was a light and fluffy time travel story. It feels like it takes a whole lot of inspo from The Time Travellers Wife, though slightly less sophisticated in its execution. The first book was the better of the three, though the cliff hanger was blunt and clearly designed to send readers to book two. Book three felt like the series had jumped the shark, and even as an Aussie reading an Aussie author’s book set in Brisbane, I found the slang overdone (three instances of the word “spew” in one paragraph? Not a fan). I’m going to file this one under “there’s a reader for every book and I am not this book’s reader”. I did finish all three, so at least I can rest easy having helped support a local author earn a dollarbuck (or whatever fraction amazon pays for real life) ((yes my kids are currently obsessed with Bluey why do you ask)) (((yes my kids are 11 & 14)))

CURRENTLY READING – We Solve Murders (Richard Osman) // this was a birthday gift from my eldest and it’s delightfully funny in the way that only a murder mystery can be.

CURRENTLY LISTENING TO – The Restaurant At The End Of The Universe (Douglas Adams) // you didn’t series think I wad going to stop after the first book, did you?

What are you reading at the minute?