Oh hello there, lovlies. Long time, no see. I feel like since August, I’ve been in a whirlwind of work and social responsibilities and I don’t see it ending any time soon. I have several started blog posts that are abandoned for one reason or another. I committed myself to a 31 Day Writing Challenge (October 19th was my last entry) as well as a 26 day Barre Fitness Class Challenge (had to do 20 within that time frame and boy oh boy, that was a doozy). Every weekend has been jam packed with Fall activities and I am le pooped. I’ve been trying to plan my birthday (11/11) and every time I think about doing something, I’m already tired.
All of this whining is simply to tell you that I only read 3 books this month. Again.
While I have you here though, have you heard of “cozy” video games? What is a “cozy video game” you ask? Why, I’ll tell you dear followers. According to the internet a Cozy Video Game can loosely be defined as follows: “Typically, a cozy game will be laid back, have minimal, if any, combat, an endearing art style, and will wrap its action around a wholesome story.” I’m all about cozy. Cozy video games, cozy mysteries. My life is hectic enough that I need something wonderful to wind down to (these books are not wind down books, maybe that’s why my reading list suffered). ALL OF THIS to tell you that you should check out Wylde Flowers because this is also a huge reason I didn’t read a lot. I’ve been sucked in!
Anywho. Here’s what I read during spooky month. Coincidentally, two are well known horror authors. That was not on purpose. I am a 24/7 spooky bitch, I do not play by the “October is the only month to do spooky things” rules.
FOR THE WOLF BY HANNAH F. WHITTEN
I sped read this book. Seriously. I could not give up because I felt like I’ve been putting so many books down lately so I just struggled through it and it was just really bad and I hated it. I don’t even know if I want to write about it. I was excited to get sucked into a fantasy story and I was greatly disappointed. It was SO incredibly slow, repetitive, and they kept hinting at a romance that never happened (spoiler?). I know it’s a series and that whole “will they won’t they” might suck enough people in but I’m not here for it. Every character was just… poorly written. The whole legend that the entire plot is based on feels both too complicated and simple at the exact same time. Don’t waste your time.
‘SALEMS LOT BY STEPHEN KING
Okay. This might be my favorite Stephen King book yet (up there with Misery). The thing that I usually can’t stand with authors (over descriptive), I love with King. Every description and person he tells you about in a book is important. Remember it. He won’t tell you something just for fun and he’ll never repeat something you don’t need to PAY ATTENTION TO. As usual, the book was a little slow going in the beginning and picked up about 60 pages in. At that point, I was hooked and unable to put it down. I knew nothing about this book before I picked it up (and it’s probably more fun that way so I won’t tell you about the monster(s)) and was pretty proud of myself when I figured it out so quickly (#humblebrag). Is it another book about a small town in Maine that’s terrorized by a monster that the town kinda sorta pretends isn’t there? Yes. And I’m okay with it. Sure, there’s a Stephen King formula that I’m starting to see for some of his books but I’m here for it because he does a damn good job. The characters are all fleshed out well and their relationships make sense (nothing seems forced). I know the mini-series probably isn’t great but man, I cannot wait to watch it just so I can re-live this book.
THE LOTTERY AND OTHER STORIES BY SHIRLEY JACKSON
I’ve already discussed my tie to Shirley Jackson back in my April 2022 in Books post. If you don’t want to go back and read that, it’s okay. The only thing you need to know is that I was and always have been incredibly cool.
I picked up this book at Left Bank Books in Seattle back in the summer of 2021. Fun fact: this book has lost the most Instagram book polls (4/5). It was finally time to read it. I walked into this book with The Lottery as the only Shirley Jackson short story I’ve ever read (and I’ve read 2 of her books). I walked into it thinking it was “terrifying” (which the front cover boasts). It’s not scary in the basic sense of the word. Her stories aren’t going to keep me up at night. But her stories really made me feel much more of the Main Character Vibes I already have going on (I am a Scorpio after all). The stories are about human nature, really. And it’s about the thoughts that people have about others that they’d never ever tell you about. If you want to know why your neighbor stopped talking to you suddenly – this book may have the answer. Don’t get me wrong, a few of the stories were proper scary (The Tooth?!) but by and large, they just made me more self conscious about how I portray myself to others. Most of them felt unfinished, which frustrated me to all hell. They were tableaus of peoples’ lives. Just random memories that happened. There are a good handful of racist terminology and interactions throughout random stories – blah blah blah it was ~the time~, I get it. But it will always make me pause and remember why I don’t particularly care to read older books.
All in all, if you’re a Shirley Jackson fan or want to poke around in people’s brains a bit, definitely give it a go.
Have you read any of these books? Have I convinced you (or not) to read any of these? What was your favorite book to read in October?
Writes with Wolves 