October went by in what felt like the blink of an eye, even though it wound up being more of a slower paced month. The month was a fun one, with a few birthdays and some holidays. For my family, it started out busy and slowed as the month went on. I also had some family visiting Manhattan from overseas, and I took the train in to see them. I haven’t gone into NYC in about a decade, even though it’s not even an hour away by train. Things have changed a lot since I was there last, and I was so surprised to discover they *finally* got a glow-up for the flipboard of incoming LIRR trains. IYKYK. 

The really awesome thing about the visit is that they were in midtown Manhattan, and it happened to be the Hispanic Day parade. It wasn’t just fun, but it was really cool to show my family from abroad something that NYC is known for—the diversity and how it is celebrated. For the rest of the month, when I wasn’t reading, I caught up on some new shows that I’ve gotten into, like 911: Nashville, High Potential, The Following (that one is a wild ride), and Black Snow (yes, just because of Travis Fimmel). 

I really worked hard on my health issues: following doctor’s recommendations, having a breakthrough in therapy, going to physical therapy regularly, and doing my best to work on my sleep issues. I’ve been having trouble sleeping for years, and it has gotten progressively worse, and the sleep doctor told me that there is a form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that has been shown to help insomnia. I’m at the point where I am willing to try anything. She’s a psychotherapist associated with a pretty big teaching hospital not too far from me, so she’s always my first go-to for solid mental health recommendations. I also started listening to sleep hypnosis podcasts when it is bedtime, and to my utter shock, they actually help! How have I not ever heard about these before? I also enjoy sleep stories, so if you have any favorites, please let me know!

October was a good reading month for me, considering how much time I spent out and about, living life. I didn’t get through my NG ARCs as quickly as I’d like, but I was able to read my way to a lot of different destinations this month. Also, I was able to balance out reading ARCs and reading books from my public library. On top of all of that, I am continuing to practice learning a third language (at least to conversational fluency), and spoiling my pups rotten.

Here’s some of my October highlights:

• I discovered something new about NYC, which happens every time I visit.
• Finding a balance between blogging and self-care is starting to feel possible!
• My reading for the month took me far and wide: to New York City; Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan; the bogs of northwest England; Algeria; Jonesborough, Tennessee; the Upper Peninsula in Michigan; Turkey and Syria; Battambang, Cambodia; the Congo; and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Here’s my breakdown of monthly totals for October: 

October Totals:

• Books read: 14
• Books DNF’d: 0

Genres Read in October:

• Classics: 1
• Fantasy: 3
• Historical Fiction: 3
• History/War: 1
• Horror: 1
• Memoir: 2
• Mystery: 1
• Politics: 2

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 6
• 2025 releases: 8

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 9
• Nonfiction: 5

Format Read:

• Print: 3
• Digital: 1
• Audio: 10

Age Range:

• Adult: 13
• YA: 1
• MG: 0

The best book I read this month was Hostage by Eli Sharabi.

Here’s what I read in October:

1. Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World by Mark Waddell (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
2. Hostage by Eli Sharabi | Goodreads | Amazon
3. Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara | Goodreads | Amazon

1. Ghosts of Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino (Libro ALC) | Goodreads | Amazon
2. Bog Queen by Anna North (Libro ALC) | Goodreads | Amazon
3. I Took Her First by Samantha Hayes (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
4. I’ll Make a Spectacle of You by Beatrice Winifred Iker (Publisher ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
5. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley | Goodreads | Amazon
6. Voidwalker by S.A. MacLean (Beasts of the Void #1) (Publisher ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
7. Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon | Goodreads | Amazon

1. The Lie That Binds Them by Matthew Ward (The Soulfire Saga #3) (Publisher ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
2. The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon | Goodreads | Amazon
3. The Gendarme by Mark Mustian | Goodreads | Amazon

1. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad | Goodreads | Amazon

How was your October? Anything fun or exciting happen for you?