I mentioned in my October What I’m Into post that I’m leaning into the weirdness and mystery that is this time of year. I am no longer trying to stave off the desire to be in the dark, both physically and metaphorically. To that end, I selected a few books that are generally outside of my comfort zone. One was my first book in the horror genre! I was listening to October 29th episode of Laura Vanderkam’s podcast, The New Corner Office, and she mentioned that one of the reasons people are drawn to horror is that “it is an over-the-top manifestation of some things we already encounter in real life: fright, anxiety, dread.” Well, ain’t that the truth?

And I reached my Goodreads 2020 Reading Challenge goal of reading 40 books! Yay!

Read

• The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth. This book was a lot of what I hoped that it would be when Anne told me about it on my episode of What Should I Read Next. It dealt with serious themes but in an entertaining way. I read it in two sittings.
• The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren. I was browsing my bookshelves (does any one do this besides me?) and saw this romance that I had gotten early in the pandemic. It was a quick, easy read and I read it in one sitting. I think I might have liked it if it hadn’t turned two of the main characters, based on Chip and Joanna Gaines, into adulterous and manipulative people. And, of course, I kept picturing Chip and Joanna which just didn’t seem right. Thanks to Snail on the Wall for the advanced reader’s copy.
• Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski. I can’t say enough good things about this book and if I have had a conversation with you recently, I have probably already told you about this. The first few chapters alone were worth the price of the book. I was introduced to it by Brenè Brown’s podcast, Unlocking Us, and if you are interested in the content but don’t feel like reading the book, you can gain some nuggets from Brown’s interview of Emily and Amelia.
• Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth. This was my horror pick! I started it not knowing if I would be able to finish it – it’s horror, after all. While I did not enjoy the story that much, Danforth’s writing was amazing. I started it on audio, read by the brilliant narrator Xe Sands. After listening for a while, I had to see the words on the page and I was able to download an advanced digital copy (thanks Snail on the Wall) to note the sentence structure and how Sands translated that in her reading of the text. It was appropriately spooky for the season. Thanks to Libro.fm for the Advanced Listener’s Copy.
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. I LOVED this fantasy! I read the first half in one sitting and was so nervous to read the rest and because I wanted to fully experience it, I didn’t do what I normally do and read the ending first. I was sustained in this because my friend, Kari, told me that she thought I would be OK with the ending. I was and Addie is easily a contender for my best books of 2020.

Currently Reading

• The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. Continuing my fantasy reading with this gem from last year. I am doing a #BuddyRead with Donna, from I am Your Rabbit (Donna has a new way of doing Buddy Reads. Check it out here.). This was also MMD Book Club pick and I bought the book then because the cover was so gorgeous. Has anyone else done that? Listening to Harrow discuss this book is what really made me want to read it. So far, it is fascinating!
• The Brutal Telling (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #5) by Louise Penny. It’s fall and so it’s time for the next Louise Penny. That’s really all I need to say about that.

DNF’d (Did Not Finish Reading)

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Yep, it didn’t happen. Oh well.

Anticipated Reading

• Hmm, I don’t think I’m anticipating anything right now. I need to do something about this! Any suggestions?

If you are a member of the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club, be sure to check out Anne’s interview with Alix Harrow. If you’re not a member, join the fun.

And as usual, Anne does a Quick Lit post every month discussing what she is currently reading, to which I am linking this post. If you’re here because of her, I thank you and I thank her.

As Anne would say, “Happy Reading”!

enjoy life…