I am back! It probably does not surprise anyone to hear that I had a particularly bad month, since I’ve been pretty MIA for the last month. October used to be my favorite month of the year – the weather is starting to cool down and spooky season is so fun. But this year, October seemed to really have some sort of vendetta against me. First there was a lot of drama in my life, which was not unexpected since it was surrounding a particular event. I told myself I could survive three weeks and then I got to relax. Literally had it on my calendar. And on the very day I had marked as the day I can finally rest, I tested positive for covid for the first time. Which wiped me out for another two weeks. (As of today, I am finally mostly recovered.)

Needless to say, October and I have some bad blood now. I’m still a little salty about it. Not only was I miserable all month, I only managed to read three books. Which means I am very behind on my reading goal and it’s somehow already November and I am stressed. I just keep telling myself everything is fine while trying not to cry as I look at the massive stack of books I meant to read this year and still haven’t gotten around to. I do plan on spending November trying to get back into the swing of things. Fortunately, I have discovered I’m not so much in a reading slump as I am in a fiction slump, which does bode well for Nonfiction November (stay tuned for my reading list next week).

For now though, let’s talk about what I did manage to cram in last month. All of which were audiobooks because I couldn’t stop playing Ooblets and needed to listen to my books without putting down my Switch.

What I Read

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson

This book has been on my reading list forever. I’m pretty sure I picked it up before I started this blog. Of course I have purchased and read another Erik Larson book while this one collected dust on my shelves. It’s one of my worst book habits. But I decided this was the year I would finally read it, and what better time to read nonfiction about a serial killer than October? This book is about H. H. Holmes and the murders he committed in his murder castle (look it up) during the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. I love true crime, but I just didn’t get into this one quite as much as I was hoping. Still gave it four stars, but I think the fact that I was familiar with this story going in prevented me from being as interested in it as I wanted to be.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

I decided to pick up a fun Halloween read before I started the scarier books (none of which I ended up actually reading this month). This one looked cute and I liked that it was a diverse read. Apparently I didn’t read the synopsis very well. What I thought was going to be a cute story with some light romance… got kinda spicy at the end. I was not expecting it. And to be honest, I don’t particularly like listening to spicy books on audio. I have no problem reading spicy books, but having someone read steamy scenes to me is not the most comfortable experience. That said, this was a pretty cute book, and I did enjoy it. Solid three-star romance. I’d read from this author again.

Dinosaurs by Lidia Millet

I wanted something short to squeeze in one more book on the final day of the month and for some reason this called to me. Probably because of the title. And it was fine. I liked the audiobook narrator, and it was an easy book to finish in a day. It’s one of those books where nothing really happens, but thankfully I’d read a couple reviews and knew that going in. So it didn’t bother me. I don’t think it’s a particularly memorable book, but I did like it. Another three-star read for this month. This was my first experience with Lydia Millet, and I’m open to trying more of her work. Really not a Halloween read, but I feel better having gotten to one more book in October.

What I’m Currently Reading

Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan 

I picked this up in September after learning about it when I put together my women in translation post back in August. I didn’t get very far in before the reading slump started to hit and haven’t picked it back up yet. But I was really enjoying it, so I really want to finish it this month!

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

Spoiler: this was the first book I picked up for Nonfiction November. I’ve been wanting to read it for a while and a lot of you have recommended it as well. I was a little worried since I’ve been in such a slump lately, but I flew through the first fifty pages yesterday, so I have high hopes going into this month.

What I Watched

The Watcher

I’ve been really loving all the true crime series coming out lately, and this was no exception. I was already familiar with the story of The Watcher, which is so creepy and intriguing. So when I saw this show – with such an amazing cast – I immediately binge watched it. I think it’s my favorite recent Ryan Murphy project. And yes, I’m including both Dahmer and the newest season of American Horror Story (is it just me, or is it not really that scary?)

Hocus Pocus 2

I was a kid during he 90s when the original Hocus Pocus was a staple on TV during the month of October. I still watch it every year. So I was pretty excited about this one. And as much as I love this cast, I just didn’t quite like this one as much. I know some of the 90s jokes in the original didn’t age particularly well, but it’s a classic for a reason. I still liked this one. But I hope they don’t try and make a third one (I’m not quite sure whether they were trying to set that up with how this movie ended – what did you think?)

The Good Nurse

I’m a big fan of both Jessica Chasten and Eddie Redmayne. So even though I wasn’t particularly interested in this story (not sure why since it’s yet another true crime adaptation), I watched it anyway. And it was interesting, but I wasn’t particularly invested. I think I wanted it to be just a little darker. But if you like true crime like I do, I still think it’s worth checking out.

I think I might have jinxed it last month when I hoped October was a better reading month than September, so I’m just going to leave this here. I’m hopeful for November, though. It can’t get much worse at this point, so fingers crossed.

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