I love this! I have The Dry on my shelf right now and I desperately want to read it, but I have a few books I *ought* to read first so I can finish my reading challenge. Since I’m the one who hosts the reading challenge, I probably ought to finish it. Thanks for the advice on The Turnout. I was debating whether to read it, but you’ve convinced me it’s probably not for me. I tried Olive Kitteridge, but couldn’t get into it. Maybe I’m just too young for it still.

Anyway I just wanted to add, that there is a book between My Name Is Lucy Barton and Oh William!, called Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout.

I’d forgotten that one & was reminded by Ann Patchett who has Parnassus Books in Nashville. She mentioned it on her IG feed.

Also in regard to the Monkey God book, it brought to mind, River of Doubt (Teddy Roosevelt in the Amazon) and another title: The Lost City of Z. Both are very good.

I’m doing pretty good with my reading this year. Last year I overreached and had 100 books as my goal & did not make it. This year I went for 50 books & I am almost there! I’ve completed several books that fall into categories on your list. The list is so fun!

I just finished Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. It was such a pleasure to read. The physical book itself had such a nice aesthetic. Nice size, not too long & a lovely cover with White Tulips (a tie in to the story) and bold title and author’s name on front and crisp apple green color on back. It’s the little things The story was quintessential Strout. Something so simple yet brilliant about her writing. There is nothing better than opening a book and immediately being pulled in. I can only compare her to fellow Pulitzer winner Anne Tyler. Wonderful stories about intimate human relationships. In this case, we have Lucy Barton (of My Name is Lucy Barton) reminiscing in a sort of flow of consciousness about her life and more specifically about her first husband William. I would recommend reading My Name Is Lucy Barton first, although I guess you do not have to, but it is referenced often and that way you’ll better understand who the narrator Lucy is. Lucy is often speaking directly to the reader and then as the book progresses we get dialogue between Lucy & William and there are many Oh William! moments and hence the title. I could go on about this book, but will say, I think I liked Oh William! better than My Name is Lucy Barton. Oddly enough I read Olive, Again before I read Oliver Kitteridge and then went backward. I’d initially picked up Olive Kitteridge and had not finished it. Not sure why. All Strout’s books are good, but I do feel they might be best enjoyed by “older” people. The stories just seem like they’d be more relatable at middle age. This book just flowed, with some short paragraphs, rather than formal chapters. A real page turner for me. I read in two days, but could have almost read in one.

I just finished The Dry. Not sure why I had not read it before. Not my main genre, but I had read The Survivors (last year?) and liked it. The Dry was Jane Harper’s debut and what a debut! They are similar in that you have two story lines: a present day crime and one that may or may not be linked from the past. In both I also felt like the setting is practically a character in and of itself. So good. Set in Australia, for those not familiar.

These are my two most recent reads, but I started the month off with The Turnout by Meg Abbott. Excuse me, but that was a really weird book. Kind of out of the box for ReadwithJenna. I heard the author on a podcast and liked her, but this was my first time reading her and I found the book to be kinda gross and depressing. It’s fun to kind of mix things up though & this was an appropriate way to kick off the month of Halloween, I guess?!

Also read Sankofa, which was Reese’s pick for October and thankfully really liked it. I am not always a fan of many of her choices, but have found that recently I’ve liked a few. I thought the writing was really good in this one and it was an interesting story. I purchased my copy from BOTM, so it was fun to begin reading at the scheduled time.

Calling all Hayley Mills fans! See, now I really am giving away my age. Her biography Forever Young came out and it was really good. It can get a little “listy” as it very meticulously lists acting credits of hers and her fathers and other actors work, but it was so good hearing about her days working with Disney. I just love all those early Disney films of hers. Especially The Parent Trap & Pollyanna. Those are my “go to” feel good movies. This was a very honest, heart felt book and a must read for fans. It ends rather abruptly though.

For a break I could not resist reading Mary Kay Andrew’s feel good story The Santa Suit in October. Cute story. I swear it was a Hsllmark movie in book form. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is. It was kinda refreshing. I liked her book The Newcomer. This was only my second time reading her. It’s a short & cheesy in a cute way book.

I read my first Amor Towles! The Lincoln Highway was so good!! I almost thought I was not going to read it, bc I picked it up after Sankofa, which was such an easy read for me & The Lincoln Highway was so different. It is a completely different pace. It is a “real” book. Not that Sankofa isn’t, but I think we get a little spoiled sometimes with these shorter, faster paced reads & The Lincoln Highway felt like it was going to be a little tedious. I am so glad I stuck with it. I loved it. All the characters grew on me. What a great storyteller Towles is. Now I want to backtrack and read his other books. I loved the continuation of the Today show interview that Jenna Hager did with the author. I find Towles to be really interesting and likable. I also purchased a copy of Rules Of Civility. He mentioned that there is a tie in between a couple of characters in these books.

Lastly I read my first Lisa Jewell book, The Night She Disappeared. It was okay. I think I figured out whodunnit about 20 odd pages in, but it was written well enough that it kept me engaged. I suspect her books may be pumped out “formula” reads, but I should not judge, since I have not read others and I know this can be a good and comforting thing if people are fans of a particular author.

So, there you have it. October was a good and varied month for me. I don’t think I have those in the order I read them. I remember The Dry was a big help bc I was floundering for a bit. You know that awful finished one book, but can’t quite get into the next one moment; despite having lots of great options. I’m kinda there again now, at the beginning of November!

I have my eye on The Family (rumored ReadwithJenna pick) and Still Life (rumored GMA pick) as my possible November BOTM selections.

I am going to be sure and leave plenty of space toward the end of the month for Diana Gabaldon’s latest Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone. I’ve ordered a signed copy from The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale. A splurge for me, but I am such a fan & although I have copies of all the other books in the Outlander series, they are all used books. So I decided to treat myself. Her books are notoriously thick, so I’ll be sure and leave some wiggle room in my reading for this one!

Happy reading to all. I hope my tedious “Me” list will inspire somehow. Rachel I love seeing what you are reading.