Reading Life: October 2018

I’m not sure what happened to the month of October, but here we are in November already! I felt like I spent the whole month preparing for the next event: Amelia’s birthday, visitors, a new pet, fall weather/activities, a medical procedure and recovery, Halloween, the upcoming holidays, etc. And in between, not a whole lot of reading happened, but c’est la vie. There’s always hope for the next month!

Read in October

I’m still tracking and taking daily photos of what I’m reading, even if they rarely make it to the blog or social media. But if you want to see time-lapse videos of what I read each month, check out my Instagram feed @ladykatiestitchery!

 

October 2018 Thoughts

Finished:

Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, by Amy Kaufman

Start date: 10/1/2018
Finish date: 10/5/2018
Source: Here to Make Friends podcast
Genre: Nonfiction
Format: Library book
4 stars

Don’t ask me why I waited to start watching the Bachelor (and adjacent shows) until after 20+ seasons had passed; I don’t really have a good reason except that there was a recap-podcast-hole in my heart when the last season of Game of Thrones ended and I had nothing to listen to anymore. And with multiple hours of shows per week and many, many recap podcasts available, I got sucked in. This book delved into everything I never knew I wanted to know about the Bachelor franchise, which just so happens to cover a lot of pop culture issues that interest me, like reality tv, feminism, behind the scenes, modern romance, etc. Lots of fun, dishy stuff alongside an examination of why it’s so compelling. And it’s well-written and smart, I promise!

…

A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles

Start date: 10/6/2018
Finish date: 10/28/2018
Source: Parents
Genre: Fiction
Format: Library book
5 stars

During the Russian revolution at the turn of the century, a gentleman in Moscow is sentenced to house arrest in a hotel for life instead of execution; the next few decades chronicle his quiet adventures while the outside world goes through the consequences of an uprising. This novel is the definition of a slow burn but even when it was meandering it was so delightful and charming. I had no idea where it was going until it finally picked up about 200 pages in, when all the characters started connecting and all the little details started paying off.  It’s entirely different from Towles’ first book Rules of Civility but both are new favorites that I can see myself re-reading.

…

Still Reading:

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng

Start date: 10/29/2018
Source: Southern Festival of Books
Genre: Fiction
Format: Hardcover

I keep hearing good things about this one, so I picked it up without knowing much about the plot while I was at the Parnassus tent during the Southern Festival of Books. I had a bit of a reading hangover after finishing A Gentleman in Moscow so nothing seemed appealing, but after a couple days I am already a fan.

…

Books read in October: 2
Books read in 2018: 38
Still reading: 1

So that’s what I’ve been reading during the tenth month of 2018!

I’m always looking for more book recommendations – are you reading any good books?

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