October Reading Wrap Up

October Reading Wrap Up

Haven’t done one of these for ages – so, without further ado, welcome to my October 2016 reading wrap-up

Total Books Read: 15

Physical books: 5

E-books: 10

New for me Authors: 7

Australian Authors: 5

Best Book of the month:

I read three ‘A’ books this month. I give ‘A’s 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 that I utterly recommend that you read it. If I give a high score to a book it means that it is a top example of whatever genre it belongs to. Someone else may turn their nose up at giving an ‘A’ 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 an ‘A’ 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 I had 3 top reads. These were – The Fairytale Curse by Marina Finlayson (YA Fantasy), The Art of Keeping Secrets by Rachael Johns (Women’s Fiction) and Spell Booked by Joyce & Jim Lavene (Cosy Mystery). However, I can only have one ‘Best’ book and this month it goes to THE ART OF KEEPING SECRETS by Rachael Johns – see review here.

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 that fitted this description, so Longbourn by Jo Baker and The Fairy Wren by Ashley Capes are going to share the dubious honour of being my least favourite books this month. Please remember that this is just my personal opinion and you may find that they may very well be perfect for you.

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, Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Historical (set over 50 years ago), Science Fiction, Dystopian, and General Fiction (not sure where to put it). Many of the books were a blend of two or more genre.

The majority of authors read were female – however three males do feature and they are Ashley Capes, Scott Cramer and Jim Lavene. I don’t deliberately set out to not read male authors – in fact male authors are in my top 10 of the year reading list every year.

The Australian authors I read this month were Marina Finlayson, Ashley Capes and Racheal Treasure (they are all new authors for me as well) along with Rachael Johns, Ilsa Evans and Sharon Robards. 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 three of my Australians Marina Finlayson, Ashley Capes and Racheal Treasure, along with husband and wife team Joyce & Jim Lavene, Nancy Volkers, Scott Cramer, Jill Thames and Jo Baker. I would happily read most of these new authors again – not sure about Ashley Capes and Jo Baker – but never say never.

The Reading List:

So let’s get onto what this post is about – what did I actually 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

The Fairytale Curse by Marina Finlayson – YA Fantasy

The Art of Keeping Secrets by Rachael Johns – Women’s Fiction

Spell Booked by Joyce & Jim Lavene – Cosy Paranormal Mystery

B (4 stars) = Really Good Read

The Scottish Ferry Tale by Nancy Volkers – Romance

Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer – YA Dystopian Science Fiction

Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister – Women’s Fiction

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

The Rouseabout by Racheal Treasure – Romance

September by Rosamunde Pilcher – General Fiction

Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance by MC Beaton – Cosy Mystery

Each Way Bet by Ilsa Evans – Women’s Fiction

Murder in Half Moon Bay by Nancy Jill Thames – Cosy Mystery

Playing with Fire by Sharon Robards – Historical

Raindrops on Roses by Millenia Black – Romance

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

Longbourn by Jo Baker – Historical

The Fairy Wren by Ashley Capes – General Fiction

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

Advertisement