Finally, we are in October! The best month of the year. Do you want to know why?

No.1: Autumn. The greatest season of all.

No.2: It’s my birth month, and everyone loves their birth month, especially since it means gifts – I already have books that I’m giving to myself on the way.

No.3: It’s when I started my blog and also these monthly wrap-ups (changes coming next month!).

No, I’m not going to say Halloween not because I don’t like it, instead because it’s not celebrated in Portugal the same way it’s celebrated in other countries. Although, I’m still planning on reading some spooky books – I might not do Halloween, but I’m not a monster. Before I continue to talk about my passion for October, I need to tell you all about the books from September.

Wrap-Up

When I think about September, I think I had a pretty good month. I wanted to read all the time, was in the best mood, no reading slumps, but then I really thought about what I actually read, and then I realised it was just okay. I read two books, and I still need to finish another. Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs, the third book in the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series, was a long stretch to finish at the beginning of the month. I may write a post more in detail about the whole series, but summing up, I didn’t want to actually read the rest of the series so it was a bit boring. I skimmed a few parts of it to move the story along and get over it as quickly as I could. And I finally can say I’ve read the entire series – no I’m not counting the upcoming books nor will I read them.

Then I started reading Welcome to Rosie Hopkins’ Sweet Shop of Dreams by Jenny Colgan, and I have yet to finish it. The pacing is slow for at least half of the book which is taking me more time then I was expecting to. In between, I read Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia as a breeze. In three days, I was done with it. I loved it and… hated it. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but I’ll talk about it in another post – my goodness, I have a lot of posts to write.

Caught on my Radar

Strangely enough, in September I didn’t discover many “new” books. One that stood out to me was The Brighton Mermaid by Dorothy Koomson. This book was just translated to Portuguese, and the story sounds very promising. Two best friends, Nell and Jude, discover a body of a young woman on the beach that becomes to be known as the Brighton Mermaid. A few weeks after Jude goes missing. Twenty-five years later, and still hunted by the events on that summer, Nell decided to discover who was the Brighton Mermaid and what happened to her best friend. I always wanted to read a book that actually took place in Brighton, and this one seems perfect to start off.

The Echo Room by Parker Peevyhouse is so strange and mysterious that reading it is the only way to solve my problem. Rett and Bryn wake up locked inside a room with no recollection how they got there or even who is the other person. At first, they don’t trust each other but has the days go by and they keep waking up in that locked room, they have to work together if they want to escape. And then they are once again back in that room hiding from what’s outside.

Sometimes, not very often, I enjoy reading comic books, they are quick, beautiful, and have great stories in them. Although I don’t read many graphic novels – if I ever read one, and yes there is a difference. Blankets by Craig Thompson was one that I recently heard about, and I think is better as anything else to start with, especially in this time of the year. The story follows along two brothers and their coming-of-age stories in this isolated town. There are romance, self-discovery, playfulness, tragedy, and questions about faith. And the best part is set in Winter, I guess I just found a book for December.

TBR

October is the spookiest month of the year everyone knows and also the first one to kick off the cosy nights – even though the weather missed the memo *sight*. So me being a mood reader, I want to read cosy books, and not forgetting some spooky towards the end of the month. And here is when things get complicated. I created a TBR for Autumn, not just for October but for the entire season which goes until December. Even though I think it’s a little ambitious for myself, I have more than 2 months to accomplish it. I’ve already started reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See and I’m slowly making my way throw it. Set in late 1880s China, it follows the becoming of a woman and her relationship with another one as they only communicate through a secret written only known to women in their fans.

After this book I also hope to read Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, the first book in the Robert Langdon series, The Fates Divide by Veronica Roth – yes I still need to read this book – The Affair by Amanda Broke, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, always perfect to cosy up with, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although I’m waiting for some books to come in the mail which I may add to this list Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.

On other news, I’ve decided to try Scribd for free during a month and if you ever heard about it you already know how dangerous it is. If you’re thinking “what on Earth are you talking about?” allow me to fill you in. Scribd is a monthly reading subscription for ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more – like Audible from Amazon. And if you ever tried an audiobook you know how handy they are. I can be doing a puzzle or drawing or cleaning or any other activity and listening to a book at the same time, which opens a door to a lot of possibilities. And since I’m trying the app, I want to take the most of it so my TBR can become much wider and very unpredictable. Until now, my “go to” books are Sadie by Courtney Summers since the audiobook is being recommended everywhere, and Turtles All the Way Down by John Green just because I never read a book, and I’m too lazy to make an effort to read it.

Before the month ends, BooksandLala on Youtube hosts every year the Spookathon, a week-long readathon all about spooky and thriller books. I don’t want to pass on the opportunity to participate even if I don’t do the challenges, it’s a motivation to read more, and I intend to take advantage of it. Closer to the readathon, I may publish a post specifically about my TBR, but so far I have Coraline by Neal Gaiman, Charlotte Says by Alex Bell, a companion novel to Frozen Charlotte that I read last year, and Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie as certain books I want to read. I didn’t even saw what are the challenges and if any of these books fit in or not. Again, either way, I want to read these books closed to Halloween no matter if they are part of the readathon.