WRAP-UP | October 2017

Can you believe October is over?! I actually can, as time never seems to fly by for me, even when I’m busy. I had a lot going on this month, but I still managed to get a good bit of reading in. You’ll noticed I was pretty focused on my spooky theme! In fact, I’m still reading a few Halloween-related things, so that will carry into November!

 

 

“I watched my dad think about this. He looked like he was going to suggest that we have something for breakfast that you do not need milk for, like sausages, but then he looked like he remembered that, without milk, he couldn’t have his tea. He had his ‘no tea’ face.

‘You poor children,’ he said. ‘I will walk down to the shop on the corner. I will get milk.'”

 

 

And so, my absolute devotion to anything created by Neil Gaiman continues. This was such a hilarious, endearing read. If you have children, this little novel will result in fits of shared laughter. It’s so inventive and fantastic! Plus, the illustrations by Skottie Young are awesome!

 

 

 

 

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”

 

 

This was my very first experience reading Lovecraft! After somehow stumbling across super cool YouTube videos “of Cthulhu rising” created by film students, I became interested in the mythos. I had never really heard of it before. I did enjoy this book, although I must say, there were parts during which I was quite bored. I definitely had to push through some moments. I think this was in part because I expected it to be more suspenseful and horrifying. In reality, this entails a lot of paperwork, drawings, and receiving people’s accounts of the creature from the narrator’s perspective. It was good, but definitely not what I thought it would be, and I wasn’t gripped. Don’t roast me everyone, but I’m not sure I’ll pick up anything else by Lovecraft. If you are a fan, I would so appreciate you letting me know in the comments which of his works you really love! Maybe this was the wrong place to start? I am, however, fascinated by the quote above!

 

 

 

“They ran it in slo-mo with the song ‘Kids’ by MGMT playing in the background, like we’re some kind of hip high school murder club without a care in the world. The thing went viral within a day.”

 

 

 

 

Okay, so I have heard very mixed reviews about this one, but gosh, I loved it! It was better than I expected, and I found the plot interesting and surprising. Aside from that, I thought the character growth Addy and Cooper each experienced was well done. And, um, I was living for a certain couple (I don’t want to say anything else because this isn’t a full review and therefore shouldn’t be soooo full of spoilers). Oh and bonus—a character with a bearded dragon! I have one, and this was the first time I’ve read anything with one in it! So that was fun. Anyway, I really enjoyed this one. I might even read it again!

 

 

 

“She called for her fiancée and told him not to take on so, and that they would still be married, even if he was but a prince and she a queen, and she chucked him beneath his pretty chin and kissed him until he smiled.”

 

 

 

 

Introducing Gaiman book number two for the month (yes, there’s more coming). This was such a delightful retelling, and this edition’s illustrations … Chris Riddell is masterful. I found this an enchantingly beautiful story from start to finish. I can already see myself rereading it over and over again.

 

 

“It was not very characteristic of Hercule Poirot to ask the opinions of others. He was usually quite satisfied with his own opinions. Nevertheless, there were times when he made exceptions. This was one of them.”

 

 

 

 

 

It had been so long since I’d read anything by Agatha Christie, and I’m kicking myself for it! The last (and only other) time I read one of her books was when we read And Then There Were None in school. I remember really liking it too, especially for assigned reading. So the question stands, why did I stray for so long? I obviously read this particular one in October for its title, and it didn’t disappoint! It was perfectly Halloweeny, and incredibly interesting besides. And I so enjoyed how old-fashioned it all was.

 

 

 

“Ye assume incorrectly, hedge-born applejohn. Alaster sounded offended at the suggestion. I do not feed off the filthy souls of humans. They taste of sunlight and peppermint. Blech.“

 

 

 

 

I positively adored this novel. It was everything I had heard and hoped—and more. This is a fantastic middle grade, with all of the atmosphere you want out of an October read. Plus, it has quite a few elements that I found happily unique, for a book in general, but especially for a middle-grade novel.

 

 

“Maybe there’s that one book you no longer own because you gave it away to a dear friend. And then, too, what you select today may be completely different from what you would assemble tomorrow—but that’s the beauty of the exercise. It’s a snapshot of you in a moment of time. You could build an ideal bookshelf every year of your life, and it would be completely different. And just as satisfying.”

 

 

Art and commentary focused on literature—what’s not to love? Through a look at the bookshelves they put together when asked to create their ideal bookshelf and their explanations of why they chose what they chose, notable figures (whether writers, chefs, or professional skateboarders) show how literature helped them find themselves. This gorgeous coffee table book is a must for any bibliophile’s collection, purely for the visual wonder. However, it also offers inspiration, motivation, and thought-provoking insight into the intimate lives of some of the most successful people out there.

 

 

 

“‘We cannot stop to play, Master Bod. For soon enough, tomorrow night comes. And how often can a man say that?’

‘Every night,’ said Bod. ‘Tomorrow night always comes.'”

 

 

 

 

And here’s book three of what I think I should deem “Gaiman October”. This was such a wonderful story. I feel like I could (and probably will) come back to it time and again. It makes you think about mortality in a new way. I deeply wish I had read this as a child, because I feel like it has impacted my worldview in such a unique and positive way, and it would have been even more powerful for me as a child, I think. The chapter titled “Danse Macabre” was my favorite part.

 

 

“The news hit social media first, as it always did: There’d been an accident at the high school.

UPDATE: There was a body.

UPDATE: It was a student. 

UPDATE: It was Osborne’s favorite student.“

 

 

 

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would, but I don’t know if it’s something I would reread. Now, my opinion definitely is influenced by the fact that I am a complete wimp (like, it’s pretty bad), so this did get in my head and freak me out a little! There was also one element of this that made almost no sense to me, but I don’t want to get into that because of spoilers. I might do a full review on this one though!

 

 

Would you be interested in reading a full review on any of these books? Let me know in the comments!