I’m not gonna lie, this month hasn’t gotten off to the best start. And I don’t really have high hopes for the rest of it. There’s a lot going on in my life right now and I am struggling to hit that ideal blend of time, energy, and attention span required to read. So I don’t have very high hopes for October. But since it is still my favorite time of year for reading, I’m still going to attempt to fit in a least a few Halloween reads this month.

My main goal for October is to read some fun and spooky reads to get in the mood for Halloween. Because my life should have calmed down by the end of the month and I don’t want to miss out on one of my favorite holidays. And I would really like to not fall father behind on my reading goals. But I’m going to try not to stress about it too much, because my life is very chaotic at the moment. So it’ll be a relaxed reading month. I hope. Anyway, here are the books I am planning to try and get to in October:

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

When choosing my nonfiction read for the month of October, I feel like true crime is always a good bet. It is spooky season after all, and serial killers are up there on the list of scary things. This one is about H. H. Holmes, who was basically America’s Jack the Ripper. At least in the sense that he was the first scary serial killer making media headlines on this side of the pond. Basically he was a con man who committed murder to cover up the fraud. And built a hotel known as the Murder Castle – after his dark deeds were discovered – to better facilitate the murders. It was actually a pretty popular hotel at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago.

I actually already started this one, and it’s pretty interesting so far, even though I am already familiar with H. H. Holmes. Hopefully this book has a bit more information than the documentary about him that I watched a while ago. So far, we haven’t gotten to the murders, but it is interesting to learn about the killers themselves.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

Since I am in kind of a slump, I thought it was probably a good idea to pick up a fun Halloween read. This book feels like a perfect fit for that spot on my reading list. It’s about a woman named Mika Moon who has had to hide her magic her entire life. She does, however, post videos online pretending to be a witch, thinking no one will take it seriously. But one day, she’s contacted by someone who does. They ask her to travel across the country to teach three young witches. And I think there’s a romance involving a prickly librarian named Jamie. Yes, please. As much as I love the spooky murder books, I am excited for a nice Halloween-themed cozy romance.

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap

This is a debut short story collection. And it’s horror, so perfect for Halloween. The synopsis describes this book as “spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales”, and that sounds like something I’d really enjoy. I also think maybe a short story collection might work with my very limited attention span right now, so I’m happy to have discovered this one. It just looks really good. And from what I understand it’s really diverse, which I do need to read more of this year. Plus, the author just seems like someone I’d like to be friends with – her bio says she likes video games and ramen and drinks a lot of tea. Plus, she graduated with an MBA from Harvard, so pretty impressive. I’m looking forward to being thoroughly creeped out by this one.

A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson

You might have heard of this book – it’s been making the rounds in the book community for a while now. And it sounds so good! It’s dark, sapphic romance about Dracula’s wives. And while I haven’t (yet) read Dracula, I couldn’t resist this one. It’s also pretty short, which I clearly need this month. I tend to be a little overambitious with my reading, but I’m hoping this book is short and exciting enough that it proves to be a quick read. Maybe it’ll even get me more excited about finally reading Dracula (which is definitely not happening this month, but someday, hopefully).

Fever Dream by Samantha Schweblin, translated by Ruth Sepp

I had to add one more short read to my hopefuls list this month, and this one has been sitting on my shelves long enough. Plus, it’s perfect for Halloween – the synopsis says this is a “nightmare come to life” – so I think October is a perfect time to pick this one up. It starts off with a woman dying in a hospital bed. A boy sits beside her. He is not her child. Which sounds creepy enough that I kind of don’t want to know too much more. I just want to experience the weird this is this book, especially since I’ve heard the title is really accurate and I’m kind of in the mood for a Bunny-level trippy experience.

Send good vibes my way this month! I’m already behind on like all the things, but I really want to continue my Halloween reading tradition and get more into the spooky season vibes. September went by way too fast and I feel like I haven’t fully gotten in the fall/autumn mindset yet. I don’t want it to pass me by