What I Read in October
October is gone! And boy did I up my reading. Well, again — a couple of these things were speedy reads, and others were mostly finished prior to October. So I guess I didn’t change my reading habits all that much.
In any case, here’s all of it: what I liked, what I didn’t like, and the verdict.
- Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout. The follow-up to Strout’s excellent Olive Kitteridge, I was fully prepared to love this book. And it did not disappoint. Olive is getting older, but it’s the same structure as the first book — short stories that are unconnected individually, but connected as a whole. What I Loved: Olive Kitteridge, man! Just the woman herself. She’s so fully formed on the page. As is every other character that inhabits her world. Also, I loved the meditation on growing older and approaching death. Like, without feeling like I was being hit over the head with it. I truly felt like I was an eighty-five year old woman wearing poopy pants. What I Didn’t Love: A few bits about some of the stories. Just weird sex stuff. But truly, this was an excellent read. Read It or Skip It? READ. IT. And also Olive Kitteridge.
- The Yellow Wallpaper, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. A short story read via the Serial Reader app for the Novel Pairings podcast. A woman is left in a room with weird wallpaper to recover from just…being a woman? What I Loved: The gradual unraveling of the main character as she first loathes and then comes to form an obsession with the yellow wallpaper in her bedroom. What I Didn’t Love: Um, I don’t know. It’s kind of creepy and depressing and the end is weird. Read It or Skip It? Go ahead and read it. It doesn’t take much time at all.
- The Fall of the House of Usher, by Edgar Allen Poe. Another short story. Dude goes to his old pal Roderick’s house, Poe-esque shenanigans ensue. What I Loved: Broody atmosphere! The mystery of the place! What I Didn’t Love: The language was a bit difficult for me to understand, but the Novel Pairings podcast episode helped me understand what I’d missed. Read It or Skip It? Give it a read, especially in October if you really want to lean into the creepy vibe.
- A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle. My first Sherlock Holmes novel! A quick, fun read involving Mormons and a convoluted revenge plot. What I Loved: I actually felt bad for the murderer by the end of the story. (No spoilers!) Plus it was just fun in general. Who doesn’t love Sherlock, right? What I Didn’t Love: Um, the complete shift in the middle of the story that left me wondering if the guy behind the Serial Reader app had somehow messed up and put in an entirely different book. Also, he’s not very nice to Mormons. Understatement of the year. Read It or Skip It? It’s super fun. Give it a read anyway. Or choose a different Holmes if you don’t want to deal with the Mormon stuff. I don’t think you can go wrong.
- Tell Me More, by Kelly Corrigan. Essays on “the 12 hardest things” the author is learning to say — “tell me more” being one of them. (Also “yes,” “no,” “I don’t know,” and my personal favorite, “it’s like this”.) What I Loved: The stories. The humor. The heart. The life lessons learned. What I Didn’t Love: Honestly, nothing. This was a wonderful before-bed read. I looked forward to reading it every night, and often stayed up way too late trying to finish each chapter. Read It or Skip It? Definitely read it.
- Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Lady goes to her cousin Catalina’s (marital) house, Poe-esque shenanigans ensue. Truly a take on The Fall of the House of Usher with some Telltale Heart thrown in for funsies. What I Loved: Spotting all the references to Poe since I knew what I was looking for. Also the CREEP factor! What is going ON at High Place? What I Didn’t Love: The violence at the end was a bit icky, and from a critical perspective, I didn’t love the main character NoemÃ. I just felt like the author was trying to make her more 3D by saying, “Look! This girl loves a good party and she’s smart!” but it fell flat for me. There wasn’t enough detail to each aspect of her personality, if that makes any sense at all. Read It or Skip It? I might actually recommend skipping it.
- Ghost, by Jason Reynolds. Short and sweet. Poor kid named Castle shows a track team he can run and is invited to join. His life is quickly touched by the coach, who cares. What I Loved: Just the heart to this book. I was choking up as I finished the last section on audio while emptying the dishwasher. I’ve read some Jason Reynolds stuff in the past and haven’t been a huge fan, but this book was the exception. Castle/Ghost is a tough kid, but you see his excuses for being tough, and how truly vulnerable he is underneath. What I Didn’t Love: The open ending. Come on! Does he win the race? No? I understand the reason Reynolds ended it where he did, but still! Read It or Skip It? Read it! It’s so sweet.
Same invitation as last month: I’d love to hear what your favorite book you read this month was. Drop me a hey-o in the comments below!
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