October’s Reads
Running total books/audiobooks/short stories read in 2025 by month end: 127.
I did not want to read this month. That is how I felt on the 1st of the month, and I was almost to the 16th with just book club reads when I realised I was still feeling it. I think it is the time of year; usually around now we are playing more games as a family and going out to Autumn-Winter festivities. It is Halloween month, my favourite time of year, the leaves are coating the paths and there just to be kicked by the dogs feet as they race through the crinkly piles. The heating is switched on, though only clicking in and out intermittently. Autumn is in full swing, and it is much colder than last year. I found it incredibly difficult to get going, so I bit into some Audibles, and made myself get to it over the last couple of weeks of the month. I made it to 14 stories, but only 4 are full length books this month, with the rest being short stories, novellas, and theatrical Audible adaptations.
I have no five star reads this month, is the first result to report. There have been a lot of solid stories, some bestsellers, and some classic stories that are difficult to find out in the wild now, but nothing that I could say was an instant hit for me. I do not know if this was down to the reading material, or my own state of mind. I am usually quite a generous reviewer I feel, but perhaps not this month.
The first story I want to mention is “Survivor Type” by Stephen King. This short story is so brutal it is almost painful, and is the one that has hovered malevolently in my hind-brain since reading. The language is stark, it is very short, and it is truly horrific.
The next story that has stayed in my mind is “When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain” by Nghi Vo. Second in the Singing Hills series, this is another beautiful, lyrical novella, with gorgeous prose and story. I did not feel it had the immediate, mind-blowing strength of the first in the series (reviewed previously), but it is still an amazing contender.
At this point, I feel I need to mention Caroline Lea’s “Love, Sex and Frankenstein”, which I enjoyed but for some reason failed to love. I usually prefer feminist pieces, and expected to love this one, which I bought on release, but I kept wandering away from it. I want to be clear, this is a really good book, a semi-fictionalised account of a true historic period. For some reason, I just struggled all month to absorb into many of the things I read.
Unfortunately, I felt exactly the same way about “Flesh” by Davis Szalay. I can clearly see all the technical accomplishments of this book; it is a truly stark entrée into a masculine mind and world view. I hated the ending, but could see the necessity of it, and there are some truly brutal scenes. This is one that I would definitely suggest reading, because it is incredibly unusual though plot, setting and perspective.
I do not have much more to say on this month’s reads. As always, I thoroughly enjoyed books read as part of a book club who are also commenting on the content. I am hoping to get more in the bibliophile mood as Winter progresses!
