Reading List : October

I love October. I love fall. I love Halloween, well not the scary bits, but the dressing up and having fun and getting treats bits. I also really love fun Halloween-esque books and save them up particularly for this month. I am not a horror lover, in fact I really hate that kind of stuff. So these are not your typical haunted forest, ghosts and gore kind of stories. Just the way I like it. Instead they are fun, kind of scary, kind of intense, mostly kid's stuff, full of adventure and magic. Here they are, the books I will be churning through this month.

"Midnight in Austenland" by Shannon Hale
I picked this one because I really liked Austenland, and wanted to revisit the dressing up and acting as if it were Regency England. This novel fits for October though, because it leans more towards the Bronte style of Gothic writing with a little more darkness, mystery, and perhaps murder. Right up my mild Halloween ally.

"This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein" by Kenneth Oppel
Confession time: I really like the Matt Cruse trilogy written by this author. Hubby and I listened to it on a road trip a few years ago and, though I was reluctant to like it at first, I have come to really, really like it. So that is reason numero uno as to why I chose this new series to start. Also it is a reinvention of the Gothic novel, a prequel to Mary Shellys Frankenstein, and is giving me heart palpitations just thinking about it. I can't wait!

"The Witch's Daughter" by Paula Brackston
This is a book I selected from my Pinterest board. This is one of the cases where I completely and fully judged a book by its cover. Sorry to say I am sometimes THAT kind of reader. Anyway, I liked it enough after reading the back cover to reserve and pick it up from the local library. We will see how that works out in the end.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
This is just an October classic for me. I will have these books on tape, these well worn pages, the soundtracks, and these movies on repeat all month. Also am thinking of skipping the trick or treating and simply going with a "Hallows" Eve celebration of butter beer, floating candles, and a movie marathon. Who is with me?

So have you read any of these books? What did you think? Or, even better, what is on your October reading list? Do you have any traditional Halloween must reads? I need to know because I plan to churn through these in the first week, they all sound so good.

February Blogger Book Club

Hello February! You are the month of love. You are the month of red hearts and paper doilies. You are the month of chocolates and flowers. For some, you are the month of single awareness or lost loved ones. So, for my set list of books for this month I have tried to choose books about love, love, love. Why? Because I love love. I like it in all stages of awkwardness and growth. I like how affection develops and blooms. I like how it is different for everyone. Love! 

February Book Club Books:

Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict  by Laurie Viera Rigler

It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

January Blogger Book Club

I don't know if anyone would be interested, but I was thinking of opening up a blogger book club. This year I want to read a lot of books, 52 to be exact. That is one book a week and it sounds crazy, I know. Time is not a commodity I have in excess, but I do have Audible, Kindle, and a library card in my book reading arsenal. This year I have decided it is time to put them to good use. 

So how would a blogger book club work? Honestly, I have no clue. The basics of a book club include reading the same read and discussing it with a group. Sounds simple, and it is when you don't have the world wide web between you. A blog would make discussing a book difficult unless you want to navigate a long stream of comments. I really don't want to do that. So if local book readers want to meet in person, that is one thing, but for all the online buddies what could we do? Ideas? Instant messaging? :) You can easily see how this would gets complicated and likely wont hold up.

Ok, so maybe a blogger book club would be more about moral support. It wouldn't matter if you read one book, two, or fifty-two. It wouldn't even matter if you were reading one of the books on the monthly list. Rather it would be all about reading, commenting, and giving recommendations. There is very little I like more than a good book recommendation from a like minded literary enthusiast. So what do you say? What are you reading? What are your 2013 goals as far as reading is concerned? Anything good so far?

We can post reviews at the end of the month of the books we read and then do a linkup. That way we can see what friends are reading, what they liked, and what we can skip. Sound good? Okay. Look for a linkup post at the end of this month and we will see how this goes. 

For me I am looking at these four books for January:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman