Always With a Book

Month in Review: October 2023

 

Hello November! October seemed to fly by and I’m not sure how we only have 2 months left in the year. Right now I’m on vacation and am loving life. It’s been quite relaxing and I’m getting lots of reading done. Of course, I’m not getting those reviews written, but they will get done at some point!

Publishing tends to slow down as we near the end of the year, but I’m already gearing up on 2024 books…it’s so hard to fathom that I’m already receiving and requesting books that come out in 2024 but that’s how it works. And there are some amazing books coming out in the new year! This month is all about catching up, getting ahead and fitting in some Nonfiction for #NonfictionNovember and some #NordicNoir for #NordicNoirNovember. It’s going to be a great month of reading!!!

 

READING STATS:

  • Read this month: 27
  • Year to date: 246

 

  1. Lone Women — Victor LaValle (audio book)
  2. The Intern — Michele Campbell (e-book)
  3. Being Henry — Henry Winkler (audio book)
  4. American Girl — Wendy Walker (audio book)
  5. The Leftover Woman — Jean Kwok
  6. The Christmas Guest — Peter Swanson (e-book)
  7. The Lost Village — Camilla Sten (audio book)
  8. Hallowe’en Party — Agatha Christie
  9. A Sliver of Darkness — C.J. Tudor
  10. Murder by Degrees — Ritu Mukerji (audio book)
  11. A Friend in the Dark — Samantha M. Bailey (e-book)
  12. Blood Sisters — Vanessa Lillie (audio book)
  13. The Fiction Writer — Jillian Cantor (e-book)
  14. It Takes Monsters — Mandy McHugh (audio book)
  15. When I’m Dead — Hannah Morrissey (audio book)
  16. The Christmas Appeal — Janice Hallett
  17. Lights Out — Elise Hart Kipness
  18. Vampires of El Norte — Isabel Canas (audio book)
  19. Christmas Presents — Lisa Unger
  20. Silence for the Dead — Simone St. James
  21. Lay Them to Rest — Laurah Norton (audio book)
  22. Just Like Mother — Anne Heltzel (e-book)
  23. Blood Betrayal — Ausma Zehenat Khan (audio book)
  24. The Prisoner — B.A. Paris (audio book)
  25. Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank — Elle Cosimano (e-book)
  26. The Engagement Party — Darby Kane (e-book)
  27. Road of Bones — Christopher Golden

 

MY TOP 5 OF OCTOBER: 

***I saw this on a friend’s blog and really liked it, so I’m adding it to my monthly wrap-ups.

  1. Favorite book(s) of October – these books are the ones I absolutely loved and will be recommending to everyone. They will be staying on my shelf and might even be rereads at some point in the future.
    • Being Henry
    • American Girl
    • The Leftover Woman
    • Blood Sisters
    • When I’m Dead
  2. Biggest Surprise of October: How much I ended up enjoying Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Canas. I’m not usually one for vampires, but I had heard the author speak about her book at a book preview event and it just sounded like something I wanted to try and I’m so glad I did. Now I’m very eager to read more from this author!
  3. Biggest Disappointment of October: Nothing…it was a great reading month!
  4. Favorite Part of Month – I did a bunch of author chats in October on IG LIVE and I just love doing those. This month I chatted with Wendy Walker, Jean Kwok and Elise Hart Kipness. It’s so fun being able to hear all about each author’s writing process, their inspiration’s for the books and more. I already have a couple set up for November and am hoping to get more scheduled soon.
  5. 5 Books I’m most looking forward to reading next month:
    • Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann – I have been wanting to read this one, and now that the movie has just been released, I am determined to read the book before seeing the movie. Plus…it’s #NonfictionNovember and I’m leaning heavily into nonfiction this month!
    • Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly – Another nonfiction book! This one I’ve had sitting on my shelf for quite a while but I’ll be doing a bookclub with my niece on this one…she has the YA version and I have the adult version. I’m quite excited to read and discuss it with her!
    • Buried Angels by Camilla Lackberg – November is also #NordicNoirNovember and I’m all for that. This is the 8th book in Camilla’s Fjallbacka series and it’s the next series I’m going to try to get caught up in.
    • The Girl by the Bridge by Arnuldar Indridason – This is the 2nd book in Indridason’s Konrad series. I started reading it when I got it earlier this year, but put it aside to read something else and I really want to finish it. Now’s the perfect time!
    • Sanctuary by Katrine Engberg– This is the 5th, and final, book in Katrine’s Korner and Werner series and I’ve been meaning to read it ever since it came out earlier this year.

***All the books I’m looking forward to reading in November have already been published.

 

 

So tell me, what was your favorite read of the month? What are you looking forward to reading in November?

 

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