Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Use this thread to tell us your plans or opinions on October reading.

I have some major catching up to do (5 books behind) to finish the challenge, but I think October will be a good month for me! I plan to finish:
Time Out of Joint (Alternate Timelines)
Lolly Willowes (Witches)
The Trial (Author I haven't read in a while)

Start:
Western Lane (Prompt that didn't make the list)
The Psychology of Gun Violence: How Smart Choices Can Save Lives (Reading for education not necessarily for the challenge.)

Hopefully, I can squeeze in 2 more reads:
Coal Black Horse (animal in title)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2 books with opposites in title)

I have just three prompts left to finish: cover with a building or city scape (easy enough), a mystery or true crime (my favorite genres), and a book posted in the ATY best books of the month threads.

I'm behind in challenges. This month I expect to finish:
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Caused an Epidemic of Mental Illness
Mansfield Park

The Door-to-Door Bookstore – Carsten Henn – 3***
A small-town German bookseller has delivered books to his customers each evening after the store is closed. This is a lovely story of friendship, purpose, kindness and found family. It’s also about dealing with loss and grief, and about having the courage to make changes in one’s life.
LINK to my full review

I still have four books left for the year for my #20BooksBySEAsianWomen challenge. This month I am planning on reading Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See and The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan. I also plan on finishing Gold by Catherine Winters. I went to the bookstore this weekend to pick up a gift for a friend, and I found out that Dan Brown - FINALLY - has a new book out, so as soon as I finish Gold, I am reading The Secret of Secrets. For spooky season, I am going to read Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Zoraida Córdova.

I finished the ATY challenge during September's read-a-thon. Now I'm trying to read some of my 8 priority reads for this year that I haven't gotten too (I only read one for the challenge). Unfortunately, most of them are really long which is probably why I didn't read them earlier this year.

I’m planning to catch up on some classics I haven’t read yet, and I’m open to suggestions since my picks so far haven’t really hit the mark. I’m still figuring out what kind of “classic feel” actually suits me, but I do know I’m drawn to books that explore the female experience, political censorship, and social dysfunction. For example, I really enjoyed A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf, but The Stepford Wives ended up feeling a bit tiring for me. I understood and appreciated its commentary on gender roles and conformity, but it felt a bit too heavy handed or predictable in how it delivered its message. I think I prefer stories that explore those same struggles in a more nuanced and introspective way.

I am waiting to get my last two books for this year's challenge from Libby. A two week wait for one and a six week wait for the other. Otherwise, I am reading a bookclub book and 5 others. I shall probably start trying to find books for the 2026 challenge, as well.

needabook 📚𓆑 wrote: "I’m planning to catch up on some classics I haven’t read yet, and I’m open to suggestions since my picks so far haven’t really hit the mark. I’m still figuring out what kind of “classic feel” actua..."

Room of One's Own and The Stepford Wives are very different from each other, though they are both about the roles of women. I don't know if you've looked at this list of fiction on GR:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...

needabook 📚𓆑 wrote: "I’m planning to catch up on some classics I haven’t read yet, and I’m open to suggestions since my picks so far haven’t really hit the mark. I’m still figuring out what kind of “classic feel” actua..."

Have you tried Anne Brontë?

needabook 📚𓆑 wrote: "I’m planning to catch up on some classics I haven’t read yet, and I’m open to suggestions since my picks so far haven’t really hit the mark. I’m still figuring out what kind of “classic feel” actua..."

The Return of the Soldier
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
A Woman's Life
The Green Hat (it gets much better after the first 50 pages)
Antigone
Maybe The Bell Jar? I've never gotten around to reading it myself.

Continuing from September:

- Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp
-The River Why by David James Duncan
-Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
-Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus by Elaine Pagels

Beginning in October:

-The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas (audio)
-Total Power by Vince Flynn
-The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith (audio)
-Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
-Time and Time Again by Ben Elton
-Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Kendra wrote: "Have you tried Anne Brontë..."

I was thinking of her, too, either of her books. Or her sister Charlotte's Shirley.

The Dog Who Followed the Moon – James Norbury – 3.5***
In the deepest part of winter, a small pup, Amaya, gets separated from her parents. Wandering alone in the woods she comes upon a pack of wolves. And this begins the latest fable by James Norbury. Once again, he reminds us that life is about the journey, not the destination, and that all experiences are ones we can learn from. And I really love his illustrations.
LINK to my full review