October 31, 2020
October 2020 Reading Wrap Up
How was your October reading?
October was a thirteen book reading month with one DNF. I am happy to report three five-star reads, six four-star reads, three three-star reads, and one two-star reads. Find all my September reads listed below in order of Star Rating. Keep in mind that I normally recommend five- and four-star reads on the blog; three-star reads receive mixed reviews from me for various reasons; and two-star reads are books that were not for me. One star reads are usually shelved as DNF.
My favorite read of the month is a tie between two middle-grade books: Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero and The War I Finally Won.
My favorite adult title is The Sunflower Sisters.
Did we read any of the same books?
***This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Titles are Amazon affiliate links and my available reviews are linked.
Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero by Kelly J. Baptist
5 (MG) Stars. Compelling, engaging, and heartfelt middle-grade fiction.
My review of Isaiah Dunn here.
The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradly
5 (MG) Stars. (second book in The War That Saved My Life series) Heartfelt middle-grade fiction with a “found family” theme. (This is a reread and I loved it as much as the first time!) My brief Goodreads review of The War I Finally Won here.
Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly
4.5 rounded up to 5 Stars. (ARC) Number three in the Lilac Girls series. Well-researched, compelling, and engaging historical fiction (Civil War). My review coming soon.
Lemons by Melissa Savage
4 (MG) Stars. Sweet and heartfelt “found family” read. My review of Lemons here.
The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs
4 Stars. An engaging and heartwarming “book about books” with a side of romance. My review of Lost and Found Bookshop here.
Happiness For Beginners by Katherine Center
4 Stars. Many readers love this back-list title by Katherine Center. Not reviewed.
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
4 Stars. Important nonfiction from the author of The Warmth of Other Suns. Not yet reviewed.
The Survivors by Jane Harper
4 Stars. Atmospheric, slow-burn mystery by the author of The Dry, Force of Nature, and The Lost Man. Review coming soon.
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
4 (YA) Stars. Fun, creative, and quirky exploration of free speech and language in an epistolary format.
The Dakota Series by Debbie Macomber (Dakota Born, Dakota Home, and Always Dakota)
(each one) 2.5 rounded to 3 Stars. I’ve been meaning to read a book by this popular author and decided to start with the Dakota series because South Dakota is my home state. Although the story lines are compelling, they are not a match for my taste and fell a bit short of my expectations. Not reviewed.
She Come By It Natural by Sarah Smarsh
2.5-3 Stars. (ARC) I was expecting more Dolly Parton and less Feminism. (Others have loved it, so check more reviews.) She Come By It Natural review here.
DNF (28%)
The Henna Artist (lots of others have loved it, so I encourage you to check more reviews.)
Let’s Discuss!
What was your favorite October read?
Did we read any of the same books?
Which of these books is on your TBR?
ICYMI:
October Blog Posts:
October Blog Audit Challenge: Social Networking
5 Books With Music Themes
The Lost and Found Bookshop
10 Mildly Suspenseful Books (Top Ten Tuesday Halloween Freebie)
10 Popular Books With Mature Characters
The Librarian of Auschwitz
Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero
South of the Buttonwood Tree
Convenience Store Woman
She Come By It Natural
The Story of Arthur Truluv
Beartown and Us Against You
The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett
Force of Nature
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
Let’s Get Social!
Thank you for visiting and reading today! I’d be honored and thrilled if you choose to enjoy and follow along (see subscribe or follow option), promote, and/or share my blog. Every share helps us grow.
Find me at:
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
Pinterest
***Blogs posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.
Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.
Book covers are credited to Amazon.
© ReadingLadies.com
Wow thirteen books is fantastic Carol!
A few middle grade books certainly helped the number! 😍
I agree…13 is quite a bit! Go you! I read Caste last month. The Lost and Found series looks enticing. I may give one a try. I am more into cute mystery series (Cleo Coyle, Lorna Barrett..). But, it may be time to expand to cute romance series! Great list!
Thanks for commenting! The Lost and Found is slow burn romance but, of course, has a HEA ending!
I don’t see the Jane Harper book on the list just in the picture🤨
Oops!!!! Thanks! I’ll fix it when I get home and on my laptop…can’t edit on my phone. This must be the dangers of late night posting! Thanks again for noticing!!!
Ok it’s fixed and I also found I hadn’t listed Ella Minnow Pea either! 😱😱😱 it was late and WP suffered a glitch and I copied and pasted my entire draft into a new one to start over and might have lost it then because of all that I didn’t proof carefully enough. I owe you one Laura! 😍🙌😘 Thanks!
You are quite welcome! Computer glitches are not fun especially late at night!
Thanks again for your kindness! 🙌
Now that’s what I call a fantastic reading month! Hope November will prove to be this good if not better, Carol. Happy reading! 😀
Thanks Lashaan! 🙌
I am so happy I found your blog. I love the variety of genres that you share with your readers. I am always looking for something new and different and I have added a few of these to my TBR pile. I just finished a beautiful book from Andrew Zimmerman called “Journey: A Novel.” I really resonated with this book because it’s about a guy, Paul, who is stuck in the corporate game and has kind of his sense of self and gratitude for his family and for life in general. He takes a trip to Glastonbury and has a total spiritual awakening. He even meets a soul reader who reads his true self and flips his world upside down. He has to go back to his “normal life” and figure out what to do next….. This is book 1 in the series (can’t wait for the full trilogy to be out!).
You can read more about it on his website – http://andrewzimmermanbooks.com/
Happy Reading! Hope you will check it out
Thanks for your kind words and the book rec! It sounds interesting!
It sounds like you had a great month Carol. I just added The Sunflower Sisters (it was a read now on NG). I am sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy The Henna Artist. I listened to it, so maybe it was better on audio, but, I know every book is not for every person.
I’m happy to hear you received Sunflower Sisters! When I came across the abortion story line in Henna, I just lost interest and wasn’t in the mood.
Makes sense, there were a lot of controversial things in the book.
This comment ended up in spam! Thanks for responding to my comment.
Hi Carol. I found your blog through MMD Quick Lit. Just wanted to say, don’t give up on Debbie Macomber. I really enjoyed her Blossom Street series (which inspired me to learn to knit) and some of her more recent standalone novels such as Cottage By the Sea and Window on the Bay. Give those a try.
Oh thank you for taking time to find me and comment! I know Macomber is a beloved author….I might have started with the wrong series. Thanks for offering recs! I love a series…I’ll try the Blossom Street series! Thanks for the encouragement and titles! Stay tuned…..!