In Summary: Every Book I Read This Month Was a 5-Star Book.
It was actually a pretty quiet October, on the reading front. I've been simultaneously reading a few books, currently, that I'm just not motivated to speed through.
Concerning the books below, I read the two fiction books in a single weekend (different weekends, obvi), and the nonfiction was one I read throughout the month while I had breaks at work.
I also spent any free time at home re-reading a potty training book. Can that count toward my non-fiction for the year? LOL I've read it twice in 2020.
Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone
I could. not. put. this. book. down. It was so good! I grabbed it as an ebook deal probably 6 months ago because someone recommended it on IG and I just left it on my Kindle unread because library holds were constant and consistent. I was looking for a quick read a few weekends ago and it was less than 300 pages, so it fit my need.
I really did read it in one day. I mean, it wasn't perfect, but it was so good and fascinating. Almost like a less-murder-y female version of Dexter. I already have the sequel on my TBR list.
A must-read. I didn't find the portions about the latest news happening in 2020 to be as poignant as the information about the earlier 20th century. I definitely was able to fill in some knowledge gaps. I'd love to hear more from Candace's grandfather. He sounds like such a truly wise man.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
This was actually a perfect pairing for Blackout, if you like matching your fiction with nonfiction. I couldn't put it down. I gave it 5 stars without question. I was the only person around who didn't like The Mothers (the main character really bothered me with her wishy-washiness, if I remember correctly). That's why I was hesitant to try this one. It was so good though, and fascinating because you could see the problems from all angles and the choices the characters were making were never easy ones and always led them down an un-returnable path, if that makes sense.
And then a Did Not Finish:
It wasn't that I didn't want to read it. It really did pull me in at first, but then it started to lose me because YA is one of those genres where I just don't "get" the attraction.
Right now, I have Anxious People, The Night Swim, and Mexican Gothic on my shelf, ready to read. I also need to do a count/review of what I read this year to see how many I need to read in the next two months to hit my 2020 Reading goal. I generally have DNFs mixed into my Goodreads, so the number there is rarely accurate and I have to do a manual count. Exciting, right?
