Which books are worth the read and which should you skip? Find out what books I’ve been reading lately and whether I recommend them.
October is almost over and, boy, do I have some thoughts!
I’ll keep my political thoughts to myself though I have plenty of those right now. However, the books I read this month were all over the place. It was definitely highs and lows this month with long stories that I devoured and a few books I don’t think anyone really ought to read.
Scroll down to see which books I loved and which ones I hated, and, as always, be sure to let me know what you’ve been reading lately in the comments!
October 2025 Reading List
Buckeye
Patrick Ryan
In the excitement of the Allied victory in Europe during WWII, Cal Jenkins and Margaret Salt share an intimate moment that will affect their families for generations to come. Haunted by his inability to fight in the war, Cal lives with his wife Becky, a seer who helps families connect with the dead they have lost. Meanwhile, Margaret’s husband is serving on a Navy cargo ship when she gets word that the unthinkable may have happened. Over the ensuing decades, Cal and Margaret’s secrets haunt their families since nothing can stay secret forever in a small Ohio town.
Buckeye presents an interesting story of two marriages plagued by troubles and poor decisions in this multigenerational historical fiction tale. For the most part, Patrick Ryan does an excellent job creating realistically flawed characters though I thought Margaret’s actions were hard to swallow. Buckeye is a slow-build novel with a lot of focus on the characters’ backgrounds. My only complaint is that I wish I had been able to emotionally connect more with the characters.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 2 September 2025
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The Book of Lost Hours
Hayley Gelfuso
In the time space, a massive library exists filled with books containing the memories of those who have died. The library is only accessed by special watches once passed from father to son but now in the hands of the government. Trapped in the library as a child, Lisavet begins to collect memories when she realizes government agents are entering the library to destroy books to tell their version of history, But the arrival of an American spy will make Lisavet realize how much she is missing.
Unfortunately, I struggled to love The Book of Lost Hours. I failed to connect with Lisavet in the first half of the book which was made even more difficult when she makes some dramatic decisions I disagreed with that shaped the rest of the book. I was also disappointed that the villain was so very one-dimensional. However, I still think The Book of Lost Hours is worth a read for its creative mixture of time travel, historical fiction and spy thriller, its intriguing plot, and its thoughts on censorship.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 26 August 2025
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All the Way to the River
Elizabeth Gilbert
Author of the bestselling memoirs Eat, Pray Love and Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert returns with a new memoir about finding freedom. In 2000, Gilbert met Rayya and soon the two friends became inseparable. After a tragedy, they both realized they were in love. But the pair of addicts fed off each other, sending them both toward disaster. Gilbert tells her story of passion and craving and the yearning for freedom from addiction.
Since I disliked Eat, Pray, Love, I was planning to skip Gilbert’s newest memoir until I saw Oprah choose it for her book club pick. From the moment I read the letter from dead Rayya in the introduction, I knew I should have gone with my gut instinct. All the Way to the River feels like Gilbert’s attempt to assuage her guilt and justify her horrible decisions. I get that addiction is beyond awful and Gilbert had some good perspective on this issues. But Gilbert and Rayya’s self-justifications were unconscionable. Rayya convinces herself she is sober while drinking every day. Gilbert actively plans to murder cancer-stricken Rayya. Simply put, All the Way to the River is a story of the disturbing codependent life between two women – one who dies of cancer though not as quickly as the other would like.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 9 September 2025
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The Hallmarked Man
Robert Galbraith
In the eight book of the series, Private Investigators Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott take on a case of dismembered corpse found in the fault of a silver shop. While the police claim it belongs to a convicted armed robber, Decima Mullins swears it belongs to her boyfriend who disappeared. The more Cormoran and Robin investigate, the more complicated the case becomes. Meanwhile, Robin is becoming serious with her police officer boyfriend forcing Cormoran to decide if he will finally share his feelings with her.
By now, the series has basically devolved into Cormoran and Robin’s relationship first with a mystery as an afterthought. Not that I mind but some readers probably do. Throughout the book, Cormoran is consumed by thoughts of Robin and determined to confess is love but he finds himself haunted by his previous relationships. However, I swear if the next book leaves their relationship in basically the same spot as the last two books, I will throw it across the room. The mystery in the silver shop was convoluted with a rushed conclusion but I enjoyed all the moving pieces. A solid entry for fans of the series as long as you don’t mind its almost 1,000 page count.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 2 September 2025
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Once and Again
Rebecca Serle
The women of the Novak are each given a special gift at birth: they have a ticket that can turn back time just once in their life. At fifteen, Lauren learns about this special ability when her dad is killed in a car accident. From then on, Lauren’s feels caught between her mom who lives in constant fear and her carefree adventurous grandmother. When her husband spends the summer in New York, Lauren moves home to Malibu. After running into her ex, Lauren begins to wonder about the path she chose.
If I hadn’t picked up an advanced review copy, Once and Again would have been a guaranteed dnf for me. The novel was so poorly written I only made it a quarter way through before I started skimming. This is my fifth Rebecca Serle book so I know she can write but I could not handle the tedious overly descriptive storytelling that completely lacked any flow. Every little thing was laid out in mind-numbing detail: a paragraph about the restaurant decor, another about the meal, another about her absent husband’s favorite coffee order. To make it worse, the point-of-view shifts were jarring and hard to follow, Lauren’s choices were infuriating, and I really felt no emotional connection to any of the characters. Overall, the good premise could not be saved be the distractingly poor writing.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 10 March 2026
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From the Backlist
The Courting of Bristol Keats
Mary E. Pearson
After the death of their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters struggle to make ends meet. When Bristol receives a letter from a mysterious aunt, she finds herself caught up in a fantastical faerie world. With the possibility that her dad may be alive, Bristol agrees to train under the fae king Tyghan to see if she has a magical ability his kingdom so desperately needs. Unknown to Bristol, Tyghan is the reason her parents were on the run and he has is own reasons for wanting to find her father.
The Courting of Bristol Keats is a fantasy romance that is fun to read but doesn’t feel very original. I think my biggest complaint is that it felt like Pearson didn’t split her duology properly. Although she had built up an interesting fantasy world and laid the groundwork for an action-heavy ending, the climax focused solely on relationship troubles with little involvement of the larger plot. I’ve already picked up an advanced copy of the sequel so we’ll see how I feel about the first book once I read The Last Wish of Bristol Keats.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 12 November 2024
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Immune
Philipp Dettmer
You get a cut on your foot or you feel a tickle in your throat and suddenly your body finds itself in a battle against outside invaders. Science writer Philipp Dettmer takes you into the immensely complex world of your immune system. Each chapter dives into a facet of the immune system, showcasing the layers of defense, strategy and self-sacrifice needed to keep your body safe.
Hooray for science. Philipp Dettmer does an excellent job simplifying the complicated immune system. His warfare metaphor paints a vivid picture as he takes you step-by-step through such a complex system. Immune is entertaining, informative, and beautifully written to help a regular person feel the wonder of the body’s evolution ability to fight off disease.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 28 September 2021
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Legend
Marie Lu
In a nation perpetually at war, two teenagers from opposite ends of society are brought together in a clever game of cat-and-mouse. June comes from the wealthy elite, destined to become one of the military’s top leaders. On the other hand, Day was raised in the slums and has risen to be The Republic’s most wanted criminal. When June’s brother is murdered, Day is the prime suspect and June will do whatever it takes to avenge her brother’s death.
Reminiscent of The Hunger Games and Divergent, Legend is fast-paced dystopian fiction for teens. Marie Lu goes light on the details of the overarching complexity of the world but I think she is saving it for the later books. Instead, Legend mainly focuses on two highly intelligent teens with superior athletic abilities and, of course, good looks. The narrative races along with plenty of action and instant attraction between June and Day that makes the story easy to read and kept me intrigued enough to want to read the sequel.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 29 November 2011
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An Abundance of Katherines
John Green
Recent high school grad Colin has been dumped nineteen times by girls named Katherine. Once considered a child prodigy, Colin hasn’t amounted to the high expectations he set for himself. Taking a road trip with his friend Hassan, Colin sets out to create a mathematical formula that will predict the future of any relationship. When Colin and Hassan make a detour to a small town, they find love and friendship and a path forward in an unexpected place.
An Abundance of Katherines is my least-favorite of John Green’s coming-of-age books. I hated all of the characters; they were loud, crass, self-absorbed and really smart idiots. Seriously, where do you find nineteen Katherines? Although I couldn’t stand almost anything Colin did, Hassan was a decent sidekick. The story felt like a complete waste of my time except it did check off one of my reading challenge prompts. My only takeaway is that I don’t want my kids to be anything like these ones. It reminded me of the importance of teaching teens about community and citizenship so they can transition to adulthood with a sense of belonging.
My Rating:
Publication Date: 21 September 2006
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Currently Reading
I always seem to have multiple books going at once. Here’s a peek at what I’m currently reading.
My To-Read List
What’s up next for me? Before I let you go, here are a few of the titles I’m hoping to get through this upcoming month.
Be sure to come back next month to see which ones I read.
Which Books Did You Read in October?
What books did you love this month? Which books can you not wait to read? As always, let me know in the comments!
More Book Lists to Enjoy:
Holly Kukkonen says
I just finished Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley. I have enjoyed all of her books and thus was no exception. Lots of suspense, surprising climax.
I hope you enjoy Beyond the Beautiful Forevers, if one can enjoy a book about abject poverty.
Have you read anything by Tracy Kidder?
Susan Cassidy says
I love your blog and recommendations!! I love when you wonder how different books even get published. Too many extraordinary books much too little time to waste any time on unworthy books! When Henna, Oprah, Reese, GMA pick a BOTM I shy away from those!!
Keep doing what you do!!
Susan
Ann says
Currently reading Buckeye and liking it. I appreciate your review of All The Way To The River. I’d picked up my hold copy from the library, started it and for no particular reason, did not get far. I always have way too many books lined up to read and, your review confirmed it was time for me to move along. My next read will probably be The Turtle House for book club. Our library is reading it as part of a community reads initiative across the county. We get to meet the author Amanda Churchill at a local book festival in November. Always cool to meet the author and hear their story. In the past we met Stacey Swann, who wrote Olympus, Texas. She was actually from a small town up the road. I’ve had an ARC of The Turtle House sitting in my room, that I’d found in a Little Free Library. So it was meant to be.
I just put holds on Nobody’s Girl and A Guardian And A Thief (I do follow Oprah’s picks). And I am still waiting to read Broken Country! Our library had a cyber attack (truly, no idea what that even meant) and only recently got back on track. So I fell behind on new releases.
But I read Lonesome Dove! That was the silver lining. Going back and reading books off my shelves that I’d always meant to get to.
Ann says
I rambled on and forgot to mention other books I have read in October! Monday Monday (2014) by Elizabeth Crook, which Hannah of @booktalketc recommended. It is an older book about the UT Austin tower sniper, that I was not familiar with. The shooting occurred in August 1966 (I was 5). It was about a woman victim of the shooting and how her life changed and unfolds because of the event. I subsequently went down a rabbit hole about the shooting, that I was only vaguely familiar with. Some of what I found hit close to home. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. I’d had a copy sitting at home and had always heard of the title. It had lots of layers to it. Renee from @itsbooktalk recommended it. And lastly I read Anita Desai’s Rosarita, having seen it on Obama’s Summer reading list. It is a quick novella (if anyone is trying to reach a reading goal!) full of beautifully descriptive writing. And I will finish Buckeye (it will be a 2025 favorite) today. These books helped me out of a bit of a reading slump I was in after Lonesome Dove.
Micheline Heckler says
I have four books to read for the Challenge 2025. I have been doing them for the last three years. I am thinking of Challenge 2026. I don’t know if you are open to suggestions but if you are, I have a couple of ideas.
1. One time you mentioned reading “around the world”.
Three or four challenges “around the World. Each one about a story happening in a different country. It could be country of your choice like “Around the World-Italy”, etc. or we pick our own countries.
2. Three prizes winners: one Pulitzer Prize, one Nobel Prize, one Booker Prize from the last five years or from any year.