What I Read — October 2023

October, the best month of the entire year. Words can’t describe the feeling of October and how I yearn for it all year, for the shorter days, the scent of firewood and smoke crackling in the crisp autumn air, and the world transforming into a vibrant tapestry of oranges, yellows, and crimsons. It's nature throwing a grand party, and we're all invited to celebrate the magic of fall. Speaking of magic, there are few things better than a cozy night at home, snuggling under the blankets with a warm cup of tea and a good book. Here’s what filled my nights as the temperatures dropped:

The Burning Girls
C.J. Tudor

Stats: Horror, 335 pages

Quick summary
The quiet village of Chapel Croft has a dark history. Five hundred years ago, a handful of residents were burned at the stake for their beliefs, including two young girls, known as the burning girls. Thirty years ago, two young girls vanished without a trace. A few weeks ago, the vicar hung himself in the nave of the church. After an incident at her own parish, Reverend Jack Brooks and her teenage daughter are more or less told they’ll be moving away to Chapel Croft so that Jack can become its new vicar. The town’s reception is less than pleasant, and the more Jack tries to learn about her new community, the more danger she starts to uncover.

What I thought:
This one caught my eye on Bookstagram, and it threw me out of a reading slump. A lot of what I’ve read lately has felt like it was dragging or circling around the same point again and again, but this was a true page-turner. All of the characters are, in Gen Z terminology, sus AF. It’s also now a mini-series on Paramount+ so I definitely wanted to read the book before watching the series.

Who should read it:
Anyone looking for a thriller or horror book is going to like this twisted tale.

Starling House
Alix E. HArrow

Stats: Fantasy Horror, 312 pages

Quick summary
As an orphan, Opal is accustom to skirting the rules and doing whatever she needs to keep her and her brother, Jasper, together. In the dying town of Eden, Kentucky, known only for the coal mines and its residents willing to turn a blind eye to evil, Opal is drawn to the Starling House, the mansion on the outskirts of town, owned by the late Eleanor Starling, an eccentric author of The Underland, a fantastical story about the beasts of Hell. One night, Opal gets caught looking into the house by its last living heir, Arthur Starling, who should tell her to go and stay far away, but just can’t bring himself to watch her leave.

What I thought:
As you’ll see further down, I’ve already loved another book by this author (The Ten Thousand Doors of January), so I was not so patiently waiting for this book to release at the beginning of October. This fit the bill perfectly for a gothic, noir autumn read with a touch of fantasy. I’ll note that there are no witches in this book (I know you are all shocked)… just evil beasts unleashing chaos in a dusty Kentucky town. I love how Harrow writes, almost like poetry in prose. For example, this line makes me quake: Apparently his question marks are still lost at sea, all souls feared lost.

Who should read it:
Obviously anyone in search of the perfect autumn read, but also the usual romance readers looking for a bit of a genre-bender.

Four Thousand Weeks
Oliver Burkeman

Stats: Philosophy, 7 hours and 56 minutes

Quick summary
Four thousand weeks. That’s it. That’s the shockingly small amount of time the average person has on Earth. Almost in an anti-productivity spirit, Burkeman invites us to reevaluate our priorities and reframe our relationship with time, including our desire to control it.

What I thought:
The same Reddit thread that recommended How to Keep House While Drowning recommended Four Thousand Weeks as a gentler approach to self-help. I’d be lying if I told you this book didn’t send me into an existential crisis, but honestly, that’s a good thing. I think all too often we get so caught up in a future that isn’t promised to us, denying ourselves the joy we can have right now. I think this book has the potential to make you feel more hopeless, but maybe that’s the reality slap we all need from time to time to start living our lives here, now, in the present.

Who should read it:
I need someone else to read this so I can have a deep, meaningful conversation about it.

Good for a Girl
Lauren Fleshman

Stats: Memoir, 7 hours and 56 minutes

Quick summary
Fleshman, a world-renown elite runner chronicles her life on the track, from her childhood days when she loved to run for the fun of it, to the darker days of the Olympic trials when years of disordered eating finally caught up to her.

What I thought:
This is a raw, moving memoir. The author definitely didn’t take the easy way out and chose to speak out against the multi-billion dollar sports machine, exposing how sponsorship contracts can negatively impact young girls and women, often forcing them to choose between putting dinner on the table and the health of their bodies. Honestly, I was outraged by Nike’s treatment of female athletes like making them work for free during pregnancy and the harsh contract cuts made to their pay if they didn’t perform. It made me think twice about the brands I’m willing to support.

Who should read it:
People who love memoirs.

The Invisible Hour
Alice hoffman

Stats: Fiction, 240 pages

Quick summary
Mia was born and raised cut off from society in the Community, led by her narcissistic, mercurial adoptive father, Joel. She’s always dreamed of a life “West of the Moon,” and then one day she opens a copy of The Scarlet Letter, which eerily seems to tell her story.

What I thought:
I once had a boss who refused to play Christmas songs on our Top 40 station because it would be “like forcing milk down our listeners’ throats when they were drinking a Diet Coke.” And that’s how I felt reading this book. I was so invested in the first half, and then at 50 percent it morphed into a completely separate story. I should have seen it coming with the MC’s weird obsession with Nathaniel Hawthorne (sleeping near his grave and whatnot). Honestly, I think had the characters and plot been a bit better developed for the time travel portion, I would have loved it, much like The Ten Thousand Doors of January. Instead it was disjointed with the novel ending suddenly. Also, there was a lot of subtle commentary on women’s bodily autonomy that I don’t disagree with but it felt weirdly preachy amidst a fictional, magical realism novel. Let me just say, I’m glad no one was around to catch those heavy eyerolls.

Who should read it:
Go read The Ten Thousand Doors of January instead.

HAVE YOU READ ANYTHING LATELY THAT YOU’VE ABSOLUTELY LOVED? LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR SUGGESTION! I’M ALWAYS ON THE HUNT FOR THE NEXT GREAT BOOK, WHETHER IT’S FICTION OR NONFICTION!

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