October Reading Wrap Up 🎃 2022

So it’s been more than 10 days since you last had a post from me, I’m sorry! Honestly I got really reading slumpy as well as just not that great overall, so I took some time away from work and from the bookish world and I’m doing a lot better for it. But I’m back with my October wrap up so let’s dive straight in!

I read very little this month, 2394 pages total but only finishing five books. Although I did read most of a few other books, those are carrying over to November (or as I’m calling it October Part 2) so they’ll be mentioned there.

First up? I finished Babel by R.F. Kuang! This was just the final 93 pages of the book that I finished up on the 1st October. I loved this book so much. It is a gorgeous dark academia set in 1800s Oxford that tackles racism, colonialism, the British empire and so much more. It’s heart wrenching, and despite being a very slow read (something I usually really don’t like) I found myself wanting more when I reached the final pages. It’s beautifully done and personally I think it deserves all the hype.

Next is The Imagination Chamber by Philip Pullman, one of my birthday books I was gifted (thank you Renette!) that is only 87 pages, and I needed a win so I thought why not! It’s a very quick read as it’s simply collections of Pullman’s extra ideas for scenes and character development within the world of His Dark Material’s and The Book of Dust. I enjoyed it a lot and I’m even more excited about the final book in the Book of Dust trilogy!

Then I read The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono, another birthday book (this time thanks go to Caitlyn!) that I picked up this month for a similar reason, it clocks at 42 pages. This one is an environmental read that is a gorgeous little ode to Mother Earth and I’m so glad I read it.

Then, the first book that I was actually on my tbr for this month, The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. Five star read this book is amazing! This is a YA dystopian written by a Nigerian author that follows young women who are marginalised for having the “wrong” colour blood. Gold. This book dives deep into identity, misogyny, and so much more. It’s an absolutely beautiful work and I’m so excited to read the second book next year!

And finally, the book that gave me no end of trouble. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I buddy read this with Kari, and without her I wouldn’t have gotten through this book! It’s a rough read. The final 250 pages I actually found mildly enjoyable, but considering this book is over 1000 pages long… that’s not exactly a glowing recommendation. This is a book that I recommend everyone reading the triggers for, but especially sexual assault and rape. I usually “hide” trigger warnings because I consider them spoilers, but it’s so severe in this book that I would be doing you a disservice if I hide those. On top of this, this book truly is just one huge essay on cathedral building with some historical fiction Follett decided to slide in. With this being such a behemoth to get through (both in page count and in content) it ground my reading to a halt. I wont’ be picking up any more Follett for a little while!

In the exact opposite of this… I got a ridiculous number of books in October because it was my birthday! I’m so grateful to everyone for all of these books, and very glad that I’m not doing balancing the books this month 😅.

What was your best read this month? For me it was The Gilded Ones, that book is absolutely fantastic and I highly recommend it!

Reading Slump

Generally when I’m slumping, and I realise it, I try to push through. This is what I’ve been doing this month (hence the ridiculous sized tbr). But I am s t r u g g l i n g to read at the moment. I’ve barely picked up my books. I’ve not actually picked up my regular read for an entire week now.

So.

I think next month has to be a small tbr. Despite that I want to read every book under the sun. I need to be realistic. And I already have 8 books on my tbr…. so I need to cut that down!

I know that if I just started reading I would get back into the swing of things. But right now? It’s just not working for my brain. So I’ll give myself the break. Accept that I most likely won’t finish up this months tbr, and see what comes next!!

How are you doing with your tbr so far this month? I’ve only finished one book…. hahaha

When you don’t want to read…

This month hasn’t been the one for me. I thought I would start out with the biggest book on my tbr to get it “out of the way” and instead it has just slumped me SO BAD. I’ve barely read anything at all. Nothing. Nada. Ziltch.

Weirdly, I am liking the book. I really am. It’s super interesting. And yet here I am… not reading. I think I need to “give up” on this one. I even took it on a train ride from Newcastle to Portsmouth (a solid 7/8 hours of train travel) and back, and read maybe 20 pages. So clearly I don’t want to sit down and read this at the moment. I’ve “discovered” this a little late in the month to catch up on my tbr. But at least I know!

I think I’m going to either stop reading Labyrinth all together (for now) or just read a chapter a day to keep myself in the story. So now I have…4 days to read the other 7 books on my tbr…. I don’t think I’ll be managing that this month. But I’m really going to aim for 4 of them. I know that’s a bit much, but I just really want to get back into reading! And if I don’t manage it, it’s not the end of the world.

How do you feel with big books? Do they put you into a slump? Or do they get you out of them?! Let me know!!

Do you DNF?

DNF – Did Not Finish, to put a book down before you read until the last page and never pick it up again.

It’s something that a lot of us can struggle with! Especially for us who make content online cause we feel like we need to read to the end to be able to properly talk about the book! I had thought that I was fine DNFing books. Reader, I am not.

I was reading Dark Places by Gillian Flynn recently, and I was bored as all hell. So bored. I skipped to the end to read what happened!!! And yet I couldn’t bring myself to DNF the damn thing. I kept thinking about how would I mark it in my bullet journal? Would I then have failed my tbr if it was a DNF? Does it still count as reading it? And so I read all the way to the end.

I will say that the end section was better than the 300 pages before it, but I still gave the book a lowwww 2*s and I probably would’ve been better off just not finishing it at all!

But I couldn’t bring myself to do it! Why not?!?! I really don’t know. It’s something I’m going to have to get better at cause I don’t want to read books I don’t like!

Let me know your DNFing tips!!

The books are too good!!

This can’t just be me with this problem? I’ve got two loooong books that I’m just barely into but really enjoying. HOWEVER, I’m going through them so slowly!!! I’m reluctant to pick them up even though when I do I really enjoy the little that I read.

Is it because I’m in a reading slump or is it cause I’m enjoying the books too much and I don’t want to speed through them? I really don’t know.

The two books are The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon and The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys. Both are absolutely amazing, Priory is a fantasy book with dragons and assassins and magic and I love it so much!!! FoS is set after the Spanish civil war in the 1930s and I’m not far enough into it to know much more! Both have multiple viewpoints from various interacting characters and I’m just adoring them both so much. Yet.

I’m still not picking them up. Ugh what is wrong with me? Who knows. This has just been kind of a rant post because I mostly post book reviews and I haven’t been able to get through these books so I’ve got nothing to review!!! #firstworldproblems