October Books 2023
October Books 2023: 8 Books I Read this Month
By: Brittany Shields
This was another month of new/er releases!
I don’t usually read spooky books at all, and therefore don’t typically try to in October. But this year was different. This year I saved some of my TBR books that were spooky and read them in this month, and it was kinda fun to get those eerie vibes around Halloween.
Granted, I am fully aware I’m a lightweight when it comes to spooky because I don’t enjoy horror novels or demonic supernatural thrillers. These are more mild and right up my alley. More hardcore readers may be bored by them, but it was just the right mix of spooky and rational for me!
I knocked off a couple prompts for my Shelf Reflection’s 2023 Reading Challenge which I’m pretty behind on for how much time is left in the year. I need to be a bit more strategic these next couple months!
I also read a few from the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge.
Only a couple more months left to finish my reading challenges and I’m already preparing my list of prompts for next year’s challenge. I’ve got some figuring out to do!
1. Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji
Genre: Mystery/ Historical Fiction
“She willed herself to look back. He was there, just as she knew he would be… She lifted herself with her last remaining strength and jumped.”
Set in the late 1800s in post-war Philadelphia, this is an atmospheric mystery with disappearance and mysterious deaths, murder, and cover-ups.
The main character is a female physician, Dr. Weston, of Indian (India) descent during a time when females were not given much respect in the professional (or personal) world. One of the young women she has had as a patient goes missing and she works with the police as they investigate what might have happened.
Read my full review to get more plot details, read some things I learned, get a spoiler comment, and get my ultimate recommendation.
2. Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage by Nathalia Holt
Genre: History/ Non-Fiction
[Nominee for ‘Best History/Biography’ category of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge]
“It is only in death that the full measure of their accomplishment can be revealed.”
I wanted to like this book. I’m into spy stuff and this book was written with declassified files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act so I was ready to get the scoop.
Holt tracks the lives of five women who contributed to the creation and continuation of the CIA. It begins in WWII and talks about post-war operations, the Bay of Pigs, the Cold War and nuclear race, etc.
A common thread throughout the book is the inequality of women and men in this industry.
Read my full review to find out why I just couldn’t get into this one despite typically enjoying reading history, plus some bonus facts I learned while reading that were pretty interesting!
3. The Rosewood Hunt by Mackenzie Reed
Genre: YA/ Mystery
“When you’re the matriarch of the richest family in southern Massachusetts, everybody wants a piece of you.”
This was a compelling premise and a suspenseful read.
And if you are interested in a suspenseful read that doesn’t have death in it or a murder to solve, this would be a great option for you!
After her grandma’s sudden death (okay ONE death…), almost 18-year-old Lily is sent on a ‘treasure hunt’ for her supposed inheritance.
Some have said this book has The Goonies vibes (which is actually referenced in the book) or is similar to The Inheritance Games. I haven’t seen the former or read the latter, so I can’t speak to whether those are accurate comparisons.
Read my full review for more plot details, the things I liked and didn’t like, and my caution for younger readers.
4. Christianity & Science by Herman Bavinck (Translated)
Genre: Theology/ Christian Living/ Cultural
“At present, the love of truth is in a poor state among people. It is absolutely not a virtue that is innate in all by nature. In daily life, we continually learn by experience that the truth is sacrificed to self-interest. Those who devote themselves to science are usually no exception to this rule.”
Okay, so this book is not for everyone.
Herman Bavinck was a Dutch theologian that I’ve seen quoted several times so I was intrigued when I saw Crossway was translating this book.
It’s a pretty hard to read book and requires some work to truly understand everything he’s saying. To be honest, I don’t think I put in the work necessary because I came into it mentally unprepared.
Some of the main points of Bavinck’s book (to my far less educated mind) are: a critique of positivism’s claims that science is an unbiased authority on truth and reality; that science is dependent on the concept of absolute truth which is founded in Christianity; argues for Christian education.
Read my full review to get a bit more information on my recommendation and to read a bunch of quotes from the book that stuck out to me and give you a better taste of what it would be like to read it.
5. The Therapist by B.A. Paris
Genre: Psychological Thriller
[Fulfilled ‘Book with a journalist or therapist’ for Shelf Reflection’s 2023 Reading Challenge]
This book is a bit of a slow burn but definitely worth it in the end.
Alice, the main character, has moved into a house with her new-ish partner only to find out after the fact that her partner kept something from her: the previous owner (a therapist) was supposedly murdered in her home by her husband.
Alice is trying to fit into the tight-knit gated community of twelve homes— The Circle, but something is off and she starts to become convinced that the murderer is still out there and may be sneaking into her house. And everyone in The Circle seems more than content to forget anything ever happened.
Read my full review to learn some fun British words, to see how I felt about Alice and murders in houses, and to see why other reviewers’ opinion was different than mine.
6. The Curse of Penryth Hall by Jess Armstrong
Genre: Mystery
“The past was no good to anyone, and digging about in it only brought about unpleasantness. It was best to leave it where it was. Past.”
This was a good October read— a gothic mystery set in the brooding moors of the Cornish countryside in the 1920s. It gave me ‘spooky Nancy Drew’ vibes.
Ruby Vaughn, an orphaned and exiled girl from America who lives with a likable, bookish old man, is tasked with taking some ancient and “dangerous” books to a "folk healer” in the Cornish countryside.
A simple task brings her to death’s doorstep at Penryth Hall, the place of heirs and curses.
But Ruby, being a rational and logical thinker is convinced that the death cannot be explained away by a ‘curse’ and sets out to prove just that.
Read my full review to learn more about the two main characters, hear some random thoughts on the book, and see a content advisory that may influence your decision to read or not to read.
7. The Expectation Gap: Change Your Expectations to Transform Your Relationships by Jamie Hallman
Genre: Non-Fiction
“There is often a major gap between the expectations we hold and the reality of what we experience. This gap is what causes so much of the discomfort and discontentment we feel, especially in our relationships.”
Jamie Hallman has written The Expectation Gap to help readers understand how their unmet, and often unknown expectations, are affecting their relationships, often causing tension and deterioration.
There are a lot of great insights in this book that will definitely help shift mindsets when arguments or hurts occur, curb reactions, and help direct attention to the real problems and not just the symptoms of the problems.
She did a great job of informing us about the psychology of expectations and seeing how it affects our relationships. She gives good examples from her own life and gives some guidance on helping us identify our own blindspots. She points out expectations that may not be realistic and or that may need to be adjusted.
Read my full review to see some of the things that stuck out to me the most, see some qualifiers that I would give to the book, read some more quotes, get a list of related book recommendations, and see an important sidenote I got from the author.
8. The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James
Genre: Mystery/ Paranomal Thriller
[Fulfilled ‘Book with a school’ for Shelf Reflection’s 2023 Reading Challenge]
[Nominee for ‘Best Mystery/Thriller’ category of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards Reading Challenge]
“I’ve always believed that murder is the healthiest obsession.”
I specifically read this book for its supernatural bent (for a reading challenge) so I knew what I was getting myself into— and it was a great October read.
Shea, true crime enthusiast, stumbles upon an opportunity to interview Beth Greer, the acquitted but suspected serial killer in at least two murders in their small Oregon lake town during the 70s. It’s been many years since then but the murders were never solved.
After spending time with Beth in her creepy old mansion on the cliffs , Shea realizes she is now involved in something otherworldly. The faucets turn on by themselves. She hears footsteps. Cabinet doors are all open at the same angle. Her voice recorder picks up a whispered voice that says ‘I’m still here.’
She believes Beth didn’t really kill those men, but knows more than she’s telling. Unless Beth truly is the manipulative murderer the public believed her to be.
Read my full review to see more of my thoughts on the main character and my recommendation on who should be reading this book.
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