Weekly Mews: October Wrap-Up & What Should I Read Next? (November's My TBR List Poll)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by the wonderful Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. As well as Stacking the Shelves hosted by the great Team Tynga's Reviews and Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.

I am afraid to tell you that the fall weather seems to finally be here to stay because then it might not and summer will be back. This weekend we will set the clocks back an hour, and so it seems only fitting fall would want to stay, right? Let's hope!

October In Review: October was a challenging month, and it is with mixed feelings that I bade it goodbye this week. Mouse was sick earlier in the month, and discovered the magic of going to the nurse's office. It meant a call went to mom or dad, and she would get picked up. We caught on quick to that, however, but then it was wanting to spend recesses in the nurse's office because it meant spending time with her friend who had a healing injury and couldn't play outside. She had all of us pretty worried, complaining of stomach pain every day. All of this on top of her grieving for our family cat, Parker. A talk with her teacher, the school's health tech, the doctor, plus putting two and two together, everything seems to have gotten back to normal. Thank goodness for open communication between school staff and I.

Work continues to be stressful. I will not bore you with details, but it's a cross between the bureaucracy and the work itself. I had to deal with a couple of very rough situations towards the end of the month. The kind that make me rush home and hug my daughter even tighter and longer than usual. Life is so fragile and children so vulnerable.

Halloween isn't a particular favorite holiday of mine, but for some reason I was very excited to see it come this year. Maybe because I needed something to look forward to. I took a vacation day Halloween Day, and was able to see my daughter in her school's costume parade. We passed out candy and went trick-or-treating that evening. I even dressed for the occasion!

Reading wise, it turned out to be a better month than I anticipated. My lack of interest in reading  at the start of October fortunately gave way in the face of good books. I did not read very much with my daughter, unfortunately, my own illness making it hard to read out loud, and so my husband gladly stepped in. For myself, I read a number of good books, and polished off two novellas in the final days of the month just because I could.

Here is what I read last month:

Solely For Me:

• The Fire By Night by Teresa Messineo
• Miss Jane by Brad Watson
• The Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander & J.K. Rowling (audio)
• Death in the Stacks by Jenn McKinlay
• Cinder by Marissa Meyer
• Bitten by Deceit by Shawntelle Madison
• Forbidden by Elle Thorne

Read With My Daughter:

• What Does It Mean To Be Kind? by Rana DiOrio, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch
• The Prince Says "I Love You!" (Sight Words Book 1) by Thea Feldman
• Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey
• How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath, Mary Reckmeyer, illustrated by Maurie J. Manning  
• Sing Your Song! (Nella the Princess Knight) by Kristen L Depken, illustrated by Nneka Myers
• Biscuit Finds a Friend by Aylssa Satin Capucilli and Pat Schories
• The Summer Nick Taught His Cats to Read by Curtis Manley and Kate Berube
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October 2017 Favorite: It is hard to pick a favorite as I liked everything I read. There was Death in the Stacks, which was light and funny--perfect for my rather depressed mood. But then The Fire By Night was so raw and great. I think, though, I will have to go with The Last Christmas in Paris as my favorite for the month. This historical epistolary novel touched just the right spot with my romantic heart and love for history.

Book Reviews Posted in October (but not necessarily read in October):

• The Fire by Night by Teresa Messineo
• Bookish Thoughts from Anjin: Mage, Book One: The Hero Discovered, Volume One by Matt Wagner
• The Girl With a Clock For a Heart by Peter Swanson
• Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
• Last Christmas In Paris by Hazel Gaynor & Heather Webb
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Gin and Panic by Maia Chance
• Mouse's Corner: The Too Scary Story by Bethanie Deeney Murguia

Non-Book Review Posts in October:

• My Parker
• Weekly Mews: September Wrap-Up & What Should I Read Next? (October's My TBR List Poll)
• Where Is Your Bookmark? (The Last Christmas in Paris & A Little Friday Fun)
• October 2017 TBR List Winner
• Tuesday Favorites: A Favorite Book I Want to See Turned Into a Movie & Top Ten Books On My TBR Shelf With Some Sort of Food in the Title
• Wishing For Wednesday: The Secret, Book & Scone Society & A Spoonful of Magic
• Where Is Your Bookmark? (Death in the Stacks)
• Tuesday Favorites: Not So Much Unique Titles as a Common Word Shared - Books Read With Daughter in the Title
• Wishing For Wednesday: Charles Dickens, An Orphan Raised by Wolves & A Lady of Deception
• Where Is Your Bookmark? (Cinder by Marissa Meyer)
• Tuesday Favorites: My Top Twelve Novels Featuring Witches/Wizards

How did your October shape up reading wise? What was your favorite book you read in October?

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New to My Shelves: The November My Lit Box arrived this week. I am loving the boxes that include journals. Did you know I love journals? This month's box includes Erika L. Sánchez's I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a book I have a feeling I will be able to relate to. Also, included is the Letting Go journal and a pen that either says "Over Achiever" or "Under Achiever" depending on which way you hold it.

Lust & Wonder by Augusten Burroughs is my Going Postal Book Group's selection for this round. It arrived in the mail just yesterday:

E-books purchased in October:

Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar

A Tangled Mercy by Joy Jordan-Lake

The Keeper of Secrets (Horowitz Chronicles #1) by Julie Thomas

Lady of Silver (Blood and Silver #1) by Shona Husk

Warrior of Fire (Blood and Silver #2) by Shona Husk

Running Out of Space: Sunblinded One by S.J. Higbee

Caraval (Caraval #1) by Stephanie Garber

Books for Mouse:

What Does It Mean To Be Kind? by Rana DiOrio, illustrated by Stéphane Jorisch
Thelma the Unicorn by Aaron Blabey
How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids by Tom Rath, Mary Reckmeyer, illustrated by Maurie J. Manning
Sing Your Song! (Nella the Princess Knight) by Kristen L Depken, illustrated by Nneka Myers

My bookish magazines also arrived in the mail this past week!

What I Am Reading: I went back and forth what to read this week, but finally settled on Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva. I figure it is time to start on the many Christmas related books I have stacked up on my nightstand (or Kindle, depending).


What I Am Listening To: I am about halfway into Leigh Bardugo's Wonder Woman: Warbringer at the moment and quite enjoying it. I hadn't expected it to be a modern tale, and so that was a surprise.


What I Am Watching: The Walking Dead is back! It's gotten off to a more or less slow start compared to seasons past, although it has been action packed. It's good to see everyone again. I am also all caught up with sitcom The Good Place, which I have come to really enjoy. The Christmas Hallmark movies have started up again too--and why do I find myself watching them on the weekends when before I could never stand them? I rather like them though, as predictable as they are.

What Is Happening Off the Blog: Soccer practice was cancelled this week (too tired after Halloween, maybe?). Mouse's school had its annual Fall Festival, which my husband was able to attend with us this year. Mouse had a great time. My mom is visiting from out of town this weekend and finally is getting to see her granddaughter play in a soccer game. Mouse has one more after this before the season is over.

I am still in the process of updating my list and LibraryThing catalog of all the books I own. I have an official count on the books on my bookshelves downstairs (excluding the children's books). I am too embarrassed to tell you how many there are (it's a good mix of books I have read and those I haven't).  The next part of the project will be to get all the books on shelves upstairs logged.

I received an e-mail on October 31st about a hostage situation at an elementary school in the town where I live. The school wasn't initially named, and so you can imagine the set off panic bells that set off. I was relieved when I realized it was not at my daughter's school, although no less concerned for those involved. Luckily, no children were hurt. A parent evidently had taken a teacher hostage, barricading themselves in a classroom. Hours later, a report came in that the police had fatally shot the disgruntled parent. The teacher is okay (minor injuries), thankfully--at least physically. A substitute teacher who had tried to stop the parent was treated for a broken nose. What a scare for everyone involved! It especially hits home because it involved a first grade teacher, which is the grade my daughter is in. Luckily, the kids were at lunch at the time, and so there were no students in the classroom at the time.

My Gracie

Around the Blogging Community:

• Over at Mel's Shelves, blogger and author S.J. Higbee shares a few irresistible sounding Sci-Firecommendations ~ Blog Tour/Top Ten List: Running Out of Space by S.J. Higbee
• Cara's thoughts on this book have me wanting to rush out and read it ~ REVIEW: SMALLER AND SMALLER CIRCLES BY F.H. BATACAN
• Mikaela opens the conversation about memes ~ The Controversy of Blog Memes
• Katie addresses one author's complaint about ratings, and I couldn't agree with her more ~ This Confession Gets Two Birds
• A few must read recommendations from Beth Fish ~ 7 Books to Diversify Your Reading List

Tell me about what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your week? Do you have anything planned for this coming week?

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Thank you for helping me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

In honor of this being  Sci-Fi Month, November Nonfiction, and with the Annual HoHoHo Holiday/Winter Readathon taking place mid-month, I decided to center this month's choices on those three events (even though I am not participating). I enlisted the help of my husband in narrowing down my choices because so many sounded tempting. I look forward to seeing which book I will be reading this month!

Rule of Luck by Catherine Cerveny

A thrilling new science fiction series -- perfect for fans of character-driven SF adventure. Linnea Sinclair, author of the Dock Five Universe novels calls it "an edge-of-your-seat ride."

Year 2950. Humanity has survived devastating climate shifts and four world wars, coming out stronger and smarter than ever. Incredible technology is available to all, and enhancements to appearance, intelligence, and physical ability are commonplace.

In this future, Felicia Sevigny has built her fame reading the futures of others.

Alexei Petriv, the most dangerous man in the TriSystem, will trust only Felicia to read his cards. But the future she sees is darker than either of them could ever have imagined. A future that pits them against an all-knowing government, almost superhuman criminals, and something from Felicia's past that she could never have predicted, but that could be the key to saving -- or destroying -- them all. [Goodreads Summary]

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence

A Gen-X librarian's laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving collection of love letters and break-up notes to the books in her life.

Librarians spend their lives weeding. Not weeds, but books! Books that have reached the end of their shelf life, both literally and figuratively. They remove the ones that patrons no longer check out, and they put back the ones they treasure. Annie Spence, who has a decade of experience as a Midwestern librarian, does this not only at her Michigan library but also at home, for her neighbors, at cocktail parties—everywhere. In Dear Fahrenheit 451, she addresses those books directly. We read her love letters to Just Kids and Frog and Toad Storybook Treasury, as well as her break-ups with The Giving Tree and Dear John. Her notes to The Goldfinch and The Time Traveler’s Wife feel like classics. Through the lens of the books in her life, Annie comments on everything from women’s psychology to gay culture to health to poverty to childhood aspirations. Hilarious, compassionate, and wise, Dear Fahrenheit 451 is the consummate book-lover's book. [Goodreads Summary]

Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne

There's no place like Haven Point for the holidays, where the snow conspires to bring two wary hearts together for a Christmas to remember.

It's been two rough years since Andrea Montgomery lost her husband, and all she wants is for her children to enjoy their first Christmas in Haven Point. But then Andie's friend asks a favor—to keep an eye on her brother, Sheriff Marshall Bailey, who's recovering from a hit and run. Andie will do anything for Wyn, even park her own misgivings to check on her grouchy, wounded bear of a brother.

Marshall hates feeling defenseless and resents the protective impulses that Andie brings out in him. But when a blizzard forces them together for the holidays, something in Marshall begins to thaw. Andie's gentle nature is a salve, and her kids' excitement for the holidays makes him forget why he never wanted a family. If only he and Andie can admit what they really want—each other—their Christmas wishes might come true after all. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read any of these? Which one do you think I should read this month? 

Thank you for voting! I hope you all have a wonderful November and Happy Reading!

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© 2017, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.