Reading is my longest-standing, and also my favorite, hobby.  I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book.  Here are my reads for October, 2011…

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern – A. Ma. Zing.  The Night Circus was easily the best book I read all year.  Perfectly drawn characters, an epic challenge, a magical circus, all bound together by a love story for the ages.  I can’t even think of how best to describe the book.  All I can say is, I was entranced from the first page to the last, and I’ll read it again and again for the rest of my life.  And recommend it to absolutely everyone.

State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett – Readable, exciting and thought-provoking story of a research pharmacologist who journeys into the heart of the Amazon to find out the truth about what happened to her dead colleague, and on the journey discovers truths about her own past.  I’m a fan of Ann Patchett’s work and while this wasn’t my favorite book of hers (that’d be Bel Canto, which I loved), her newest release was a very enjoyable read.

Wildwood, by Colin Meloy – Harry Potter aside, I don’t normally go for kids’ adventure fantasy.  But when I heard that Colin Meloy wrote a book, I had to check it out.  I love his music and I figured anything that came out of his brain would be kooky, weird and darn entertaining.  This story about a 12-year-old girl who goes on an adventure and finds a secret world outside Portland, Oregon – where her baby brother is being held captive by a murder of crows and an evil Dowager Governess – is too cute.  (Yes, the villain is a Dowager Governess.  This is Colin Meloy.  Of course there would be a Dowager involved.)  Wildwood was a fun read and I can’t wait for the next book in the trilogy!  Bonus: while I wait, I will have my Decemberists CDs to entertain myself.  Thanks, Colin.

Persuasion, by Jane Austen – I downloaded the last Jane Austen novel I had yet to read for my trip to England and started it on the way to Bath, because it’s set in large part in Bath.  This is Austen’s final novel and it was a little more somber than her earlier works.  The heroine is unhappy for long stretches of the book and doesn’t really have sisters to fall back on (she has sisters, but they are jerks).  But it’s still Jane Austen, so it still all comes out right in the end!  I enjoyed it very much.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare – I chose this to read in Cornwall after visiting the Minack Theatre, a theatre built into the side of a Cornish cliff.  (Sadly, there were no plays being performed at the time – it was the off-season.)  The setting was amazing and the “master builder” of the theatre, Rowena Cade, chose to create a theatre after becoming involved in local productions, starting with… you guessed it… A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  It’s always been my favorite Shakespeare play – pure fun from start to finish.  I loved reading it through this time and imagining it being performed at the Minack Theatre.  Maybe someday I’ll get there for a performance.

The Code of the Woosters, by P.G. Wodehouse – My favorite Bertie and Jeeves novel was my choice for the days I spent in the Cotswolds.  In it, Bertie’s Aunt Dahlia demands that he visit the town of Totleigh-in-the-Wold (almost certainly in the Cotswolds) to steal a cow-creamer from the intimidating Sir Watkyn Bassett.  While there, Bertie inadvertently finds himself engaged to Sir Watkyn’s soppy daughter, Madeline.  Uh-oh!  Much hilarity ensues and, as always, Jeeves saves the day.

Joy in the Morning, by P.G. Wodehouse – One Wodehouse novel is never enough and when I get started, it’s hard to stop.  On the plane home I re-read the story of Bertie’s journey to the sinister town of Steeple Bumpleigh… a town which contains the terrifying figures of Aunt Agatha, Uncle Percy, Lady Florence Craye (molder of male minds and occasional fiancee of Bertie), Edwin (Boy Scout and plague upon the human race) and Stilton Cheesewright (Bertie’s Oxford pal who has become a policeman and is now itching to arrest Bertie for something).  Yikes!  Good thing Bertie has Jeeves.

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt, by Caroline Preston – Saw this on a book blog and immediately ordered it.  A novel in the form of a scrapbook filled with vintage photos, menus, maps, tickets and other memorabilia from the 1920s?  Sign. Me. Up.  It was a charming story and an absolutely gorgeous book.  Loved.  Loved loved loved.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had a better month of reading.  Ever.  I started out with The Night Circus and finished with The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt – two of the most creative, imaginative books I’ve read in the course of my entire reading life.  Oh and in between those?  Some Colin Meloy, some Jane Austen, some Shakespeare, some P.G. Wodehouse.  Part of me wants to throw in the towel because I’ll never top October, 2011 in terms of reading fun.  Ever.  Wait, what am I saying – quit reading?  Never.