Reading is my oldest and 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, 2017…

Something True, by Karelia Stretz-Waters – Tate Grafton is a barista who has given up her own career to help prop up the coffee shop that saved her when she was a teenager who’d been kicked out of her mom’s house.  She’s trying to make her peace with the fact that her life is passing her by, when Laura Enfield walks into the coffee shop and asks if there is a “women’s bar” nearby.  Laura is looking for a one-night stand, and she draws Tate in – but things get extremely complicated when their paths cross again.  So, I picked this up to fulfill a task for the Book Riot Challenge – read an LGBTQ romance.  It was okay – the writing was good, the plot was engaging and the ending satisfying – but what I realized is, romance is not my genre.  (I already knew this.)  I certainly wanted to know what was going to happen, and I kept reading even while shaking my head over the characters’ terrible decision after terrible decision.  So I’m glad I gave it a shot, but it didn’t turn me into a romance reader.

The Golden House, by Salman Rushdie – This book, Rushdie’s answer to the 2016 election, was heavily hyped and I was really excited to read it.  The book centers upon a young filmmaker named Rene who becomes one of the few people allowed into the inner sanctum of the reclusive Golden family – patriarch Nero, his young Russian supermodel wife Vasilisa, and his three troubled sons.  Rene watches as the Golden family begins to collapse.  Meanwhile, the Joker – of comic book fame – announces his candidacy for President of the United States and amasses legions of followers who respond to his insane proclamations with a chant of “Ha! Ha! Ha!”  So – the Joker parts were the most interesting to me, and there were not nearly enough of them.  The Goldens themselves didn’t really interest me, with the possible exception of Vasilisa.  It seems like, try as I might – and I do try mightily – I can’t seem to get Rushdie.

See America: A Celebration of Our National Parks and Treasured Sites, by the Creative Action Network – I picked this book up on a whim, off an endcap at the library.  The artists of the Creative Action Network have put together a collection of “See America” illustrations – one for every legacy national park and most of the smaller NPS-managed sites – in the style of the “See America” posters created to advertise the national parks during FDR’s Works Progress Administration.  The posters all echo the WPA posters in style, and each is accompanied by a one-paragraph description of the park and a map showing where it is located.  As with any art book, some of the illustrations were more to my liking than others, but I really loved most of them – no surprise there, because I love the national parks.  The only thing that bugged me about the book was that there were a few careless typos.  For instance, one national monument was noted as having been designated “by President Barack Obama in 2008” – well, President Obama was not sworn into office until January of 2009; I don’t think President-elects have the power to designate national monuments during the transition period.  And Cape Cod National Seashore was referred to as being in “Texas and Oklahoma” – which, no.  It was correctly located in Massachusetts on the map, but the text was wrong.  I felt that careful editing should have caught both of those, since they jumped off the page at me and I wasn’t reading for typos.  But other than that irritant, I really enjoyed the book.

Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng – I tore through this family saga, which opens with perhaps the most gripping line of any literary novel: “Lydia is dead, but they don’t know it yet.”  (Right?  How can you not keep reading after that?!)  The book follows the Lee family – parents James and Marilyn, whose mixed-race marriage in the 1950s caused seismic waves that are still reverberating years later, and their three children, Nathan, Lydia and Hannah.  Lydia is the favorite, and struggles with the weight of parental expectations piled upon her shoulders, while Nath and Hannah fade into the background.  When she disappears and is later found dead, each member of the family copes differently.  Everything I Never Told You is a family story disguised as a thriller disguised as a family story and is completely and utterly captivating.  I was turning pages at a breakneck pace, wanting to smack both of the parents and hug Nath and Hannah tight.  I think I finished the book in less than 24 hours – I just couldn’t put it down.

Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson – Nimona is a bloodthirsty sixteen-year-old shapeshifter who walks into the lair of local villain Lord Ballister Blackheart and offers herself up as a sidekick.  Blackheart is initially skeptical, but agrees to take Nimona on – she doesn’t really give him a choice – and she instantly ups his villain cred and gives him a leg up in his ongoing dispute with his archnemesis, Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin.  It doesn’t take Nimona long to both announce her presence and to discover that Goldenloin’s employers are up to some shady dealings.  Blackheart, for his part, is not nearly as villainous as he’s made out to be by the people he supposedly terrorizes, and Goldenloin is far from the golden hero.  As Blackheart and Nimona launch a plot to expose the Institute of Heroes for what it truly is, Blackheart finds himself caring almost paternally for Nimona.  (Awwwww…)  So, I just loved this.  It was sweet, funny, silly and touching.  Blackheart was my favorite, and I was cheering for him to get some resolution – and Nimona kept everyone, including the reader, on their toes throughout. A total delight.

Beartown, by Fredrik Backman – Backman’s books have gotten so much hype and buzz, that I felt compelled to give him a try.  Perhaps it was all that buzz, but I liked – but didn’t love – Beartown.  It should have been a story right up my alley – Beartown is a small rural hamlet that shares one obsession: hockey.  The town’s hopes and dreams for the future are completely invested in its junior hockey team, which is about to play in a major semifinal match, and the town elders hope that if the juniors win, it will bring the town enough attention to attract a hockey academy and rescue the sagging local economy.  It’s a lot of pressure to put on a group of kids, and it’s unsurprising that the semifinal match leads to a violent incident that ends up ripping the town apart.  So – it was certainly a gripping novel, and some of the characters – Amat, Peter, Bobo and Maya in particular – really did draw me in and make me care about them.  But overall, I sort of wanted more.

Dawn (Xenogenesis/Lilith’s Brood #1), by Octavia Butler – I have been wanting to read more of Butler’s work since I read the splendid Kindred last year, and there seemed like no better time to check out Lilith’s Brood after the announcement that there will be a dramatic adaptation.  Lilith Iyapo is one of a handful of survivors of an apocalyptic event that has all but eradicated the human race.  She and her fellow survivors have been plucked off Earth by a group of aliens, and kept in a suspended animation state while the aliens cleaned up the planet and prepared to reintroduce humanity.  But the aliens are far from disinterested benevolent helpers, and they plan to exact a price for their assistance to the residents of Earth.  Lilith is chosen as their emissary to humanity, and the repercussions are violent and terrifying.  Well – obviously, because this is Octavia Butler – Dawn was brilliantly written and astonishingly creative.  It was also pretty violent and weird, and while I loved the book and certainly plan to continue reading the series, I’m probably not going to want to see it play out visually on a TV screen.

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline – Another majorly hyped book, and one that has been on my TBR for ages.  I didn’t want to find myself avoiding the movie on account of not having read the story first, so I finally made the effort to get a copy from the library.  Ready Player One tells the story of Wade Watts, a teenager in 2044, whose life is consumed by a virtual video-gaming platform called “The Oasis,” and a hunt for an “Easter Egg” that was hidden deep within the system by its creator – the finder of whom will be the heir to an enormous fortune.  Years go by after the creator’s death with no progress, but one day, Wade finds the first clue – and all hell breaks loose.  Ready Player One was tons of fun – and would have been even more fun if I had gotten more than 10% of the 1980s pop culture and gaming references.  I tore through it in two days, and recommended it to Steve and my BFF, both of whom also devoured it.  And now we’ll be ready for the movie.

On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service (Her Royal Spyness #11), by Rhys Bowen – Lady Georgianna Rannoch is cooling her heels in Ireland, waiting at Kilhenny Castle for her beloved’s return, when she receives two letters forwarded from her brother’s house.  One is a plaintive missive from her best friend, Belinda, who is pregnant and alone in Italy.  The other is from the Queen, summoning Georgie to Buckingham Palace to discuss Georgie’s wish to surrender her place in the line of succession and marry Darcy O’Mara, a Catholic.  Georgie rushes to London to meet with the Queen, who seems willing to agree to Georgie’s marriage, but – typical! – has a little task for Georgie in the meantime: spy on the Prince of Wales and make sure he doesn’t secretly marry Wallis Simpson during a house party in Italy.  It’s a good opportunity for Georgie to make the Queen happy while fitting in a visit to Belinda, so Georgie willingly agrees.  But it’s 1935, times are troubled, and there is more at stake than any royal marriage – several of the attendees at the party are highly placed Nazi and Italian Fascist operatives, and Georgie finds herself conscripted into spying on more than one fellow party guest – and then when one of the guests is murdered, things get really interesting.  As always, I was absolutely delighted with the latest Lady Georgie mystery.  I love where Bowen is taking all of the characters, and I can’t wait to find out what’s next for Georgie, Darcy, Belinda and all the gang.

The Collected Plays 2010-2015 by Portland Preschoolers, by Andrew Barton – “Read a book published by a micropress” was the most baffling and confusing Book Riot Challenge task of the year.  It took me months to figure out what to read – but I sort of figured that if I could find a micropress that published one book I was interested in, then that same press would publish other books I was interested in.  (Does that make sense?)  Anyway, eventually I happened upon Two Plum Press and The Collected Plays 2010-2015 by Portland Preschoolers, which I have declared to be the greatest book ever written.  Barton compiles a collection of AMAZING plays by kids in his preschool drama class, and they are everything that is wonderful and fabulous.  My favorite play was “Paris When It Sizzles,” but I loved them all.  (Honorable mentions to “The Hamster’s Adventure With the Baby Show” and “The 3 Little Deer, the 3 Little Ponies, and the Big Bad Volcano.”)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz – Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza is looking ahead to a long and boring summer of bumming around town with no friends when he meets Dante Quintana at the pool.  The boys bond and quickly become best friends, and their parents become friendly too.  At the end of the summer, an accident prompts Dante to declare his feelings for Ari – feelings that go beyond friendship.  The rest of the story shows how Ari comes to terms with Dante’s love for him, and gradually realizes that he loves Dante.  I listened to the audiobook of this highly acclaimed young adult novel, and the narration by Lin-Manuel Miranda added even more depth and emotion to the story.  Although it took me almost the entire book to really feel invested (likely because of my habit of listening to audiobooks in short bursts and then letting days or weeks go by without returning to the story) by the end I could absolutely see what all the fuss was about.  This was a beautiful book.

Poems Bewitched and Haunted, ed. John Hollander – Looking to both read something spooky at the end of the month and check off another Book Riot Challenge task (a collection of poems in translation on a subject other than love – not all of the poems in this collection are in translation, but enough are that I think it counts) I grabbed Poems Bewitched and Haunted off my shelf.  With offerings from everyone from Homer to Shakespeare to Emma Lazarus, and on subjects ranging from witches to haunted houses to “dangerous wooers,” there’s something for every poetical taste in here, and it’s all deliciously spooky and Halloween-y.  Such a fun way to spend the last couple of days of the month – shivers abound.

Not a bad month of reading, if I do say so myself!  Twelve books – I’m still a bit behind on my Goodreads goal of 100 books for the year, but this month’s total has helped, and it also isn’t really important, so.  Lots of good ones, too!  I’m actually hard pressed to pick a highlight, or even a few highlights.  Poems Bewitched and Haunted was such a fun way to close out the month and spend Halloween.  Of course, any visit with Georgie is bound to delight, and On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service was no exception.  Ready Player One and Nimona were pure fun, and Everything I Never Told You was as gripping a page-turner as any family saga ever could be.  And now, onward to November!  I have a small heap out from the library, and I’m expecting some excellent reads to come in via the holds queue any day now, so look for those.  I’m also hoping to spend time with some comfort reads from my own shelves, and I am planning to partake in Sarah and Naomi‘s #ReadingValancy readlaong of L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle.  It’s going to be a great month as we head into the big season of cuddling up with a book and a hot beverage, so do check back in with me!