October Reading Wrap Up

October Reading Wrap Up

Welcome to my October reading wrap-up

Total Books Read: 18

Physical books: 3

E-books: 15

New for me Authors: 12

Australian Authors: 4

Best Book(s) of the month: I only had one ‘A’ book this month. I give ‘A’s (or 5 stars) to books that, regardless of genre, are complete page turners for me, that have me reading late into the night, suck me straight into the story and leaves me wanting more at the end; and of course, it should go without saying, I utterly recommend you read it. If I give a high score to a book it means it is a top example of whatever genre it belongs to. Someone else may turn their nose up at giving 5 stars to a light and fluffy romance, but if it is the best example of a light and fluffy romance then it is just as worthy of a 5 star score than a dreary angst ridden book that wins some great literary award. If I give a high score to a book it means it is a top example of whatever genre it belongs to. So this month it was PALACE OF TEARS by Julian Leatherdale, and I think unless something comes along that blows it out of the water – this will probably be my book of the year!

Least Favourite Book(s):

I say ‘least favourite’ because my lowest ‘score’ still means it is very readable, but for one reason or another I found it a bit of struggle to stay focused and finish. This month there were two books that fitted into this category – The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks and Touch not the Cat by Mary Stewart. Of these Touch not the Cat has won the dubious honour of being my least favourite book of the month. This is just my personal opinion and you may find that it may very well be perfect for you, and The Secret Chord is getting rave reviews elsewhere at the moment.

General Summary:

Because I am an eclectic reader I read many different genres, sometimes at the same time! This month the different genres covered were Young Adult, Romance, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical (set over 50 years ago), Contemporary Fiction (set in the last 50 years), General Fiction (not sure where to put it) and non-fiction. Many of the books were a blend of two or more genre.

The Australian authors I read this month were Steven Herrick, Julian Leatherdale (they are both new authors for me as well) along with Geraldine Brooks and Kate Forsyth. Just to clarify an Australian author is defined by me as either an Australian born author no matter where they live and write in the world now, or an author who currently lives and writes in Australia even though they have been born elsewhere.

Finally, the 12 ‘new-for-me’ authors this month were two of my Australians Steven Herrick and Julian Leatherdale, along with J.A. Lang, Lowell H. Press, Rose Pressey, Sarah M Barton, Yangsze Choo, Ita Ryan, Aya Ling, Vaseem Khan, J. A. Whiting and Leslie Leigh. I would happily read all of these new authors again.

The Reading List

So let’s get onto what this post is about – what did I read during October? Here is the list of books that I read during the last month (each group is in the order I read them):

A (5 stars) = Excellent Stuff – a real page turner and hard to put down

Palace of Tears by Julian Leatherdale – General Fiction

B (4 stars) = Really Good Read

Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle by J.A. Lang – Mystery

Melody and Murder by Leslie Leigh – Mystery

Never Forgotten by Terri Reid – Paranormal Mystery

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen – Contemporary

Princesses Don’t get fat by Aya Ling – Fantasy

Killer Summer by Sarah M Barton – Mystery/short stories

The Drowned Kingdom by Kate Forsyth – YA Fantasy

The Cat on the wall by Deborah Ellis – Contemporary YA

IT Can Be Dangerous by Ita Ryan – Mystery

The Sweet Dreams Bake Shop by J A Whiting – Mystery

C (3 stars) = Above Average – very readable and enjoyable

The Kingdom of the Sun and Moon by Lowell H. Press – YA Fantasy

How to Date a Werewolf by Rose Pressey – Paranormal Romance

Bratwurst and bicycles by Steven Herrick – Non-Fiction

The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan – Mystery

The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo – Historical

D (2 stars) = Average – it was OK, a bit of a struggle to finish

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks – Historical

Touch not the Cat by Mary Stewart – Mystery

So onward to November – Woo Hoo! I wonder what book goodies I will discover this month?

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