October has passed faster than I had expected. The early part of the month went pretty smoothly and that was when I got the majority of my reading done. I knew I wouldn’t be getting a lot of reading done this month anyway, so I wasn’t disappointed. The first part of October was mainly devoted to helping my mom switch all of her healthcare providers into our own county, since she might need to rely on handicapped-accessible transit to attend appointments. We live near the county border, but there are two transit companies—one within our township and the other within our county. So she’s been attending medical appointments where I go, and I try to make our appointments back to back so it is easier for everyone.

Then I took a little 2 week vacation to Florida to visit family. My oldest nephew was having a milestone birthday, and since I’m very close with him and my other nephew (they are only 6 and 9 years younger than me), I surprised him by flying down. His mom picked me up and brought me to his daughter’s softball game, and he was so surprised in the best way. My oldest brother (his dad) also came down on his motorcycle for about a week, and there was a surprise-ish birthday party for my nephew before we took the kids trick-or-treating. I got to see my aunt and uncle, one of my nephews’ high school friends, and really enjoy myself. It has been incredibly relaxing to just not have to be the adulty adult for two weeks. I also plan it that way so I can spend one week at each nephew’s house and hang out with their kids. It has been wonderful, and my only responsibilities are to ensure that both nieces had braids whenever they wanted, and I chose to prepare dinner each night because I love to cook and it makes their life a little easier. So while I have been couch-surfing, I figure I might as well do something nice for them. I also brought down gifts which I have been collecting for them all year long, which took up almost an entire one of my checked bags.

I can’t speak to the weather in New York since I’m still in South Florida, but it is HOT! The weather report for Halloween said the weather would ‘cool down to 79’ and I burst out laughing along with everyone else that heard it. Luckily there was a breeze and I’ve mostly stayed inside. Last time I came was around Thanksgiving of 2024, and the weather in Florida was perfect for me then—not too hot, not humid, but still sunny and beautiful. This time was pretty hot and it rained more days than not; if you’ve ever seen how hard the rain comes down in Florida you’ll understand, if not it feels like a monsoon. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see my youngest great-nephew play a soccer game since both got rained out, but I did get to watch my younger great-niece play softball twice and retain the title of ‘the cool aunt.’

I’m heading back home tomorrow, and I feel refreshed and relaxed and ready to take on the adulty adult title at home. It is perfect timing, since my nephews and their families are probably ready to get their couch back, and I miss my mother and my pups! Another one of my nieces has been staying with my mother to help out, and I haven’t seen her since last time I traveled to Florida two years ago. I’m excited to see her too, and wish my family was all local. But it was so worth the trip.

I have listened to sleep podcasts nightly and even some during the day, branching out of true crime and into history and other areas that interest me as they arise. My nephews are very into YouTube and have introduced me to some hilarious videos. They both like F1 racing and I did some proofreading for one of their blog posts, which required me to understand what he was discussing, so I was primed to crack up at some of the videos they played. One of them was about the F1 women’s racing league, and I discovered my new favorite word: clam-slammed. Right after I played it for my nephew’s wife, we went to the supermarket and nearly got clam-slammed by a lady racing out of an aisle as we happened to be walking past. This trip has been full of laughs, and it was my first time to trick-or-treat with the little ones.

Every one of my reads came from NetGalley this month, even the DNF’d one, and I have made actual progress on my ARCs with the number outstanding going down. Although I typically travel through books each month, this month was reserved for my own real-life travels and I didn’t pressure myself to spend lots of time reading while I was here. I prefer to devote my time to the family members I am close with but don’t see often, and the last vacation I took was the same.

Here’s some of my October highlights:

• My reading took me to an Anishinaabe reservation in Minnesota; Chicago, Illinois; Eastern Kentucky; and Tennessee.
• I read 5 books, with only 1 DNF.
• I didn’t read any nonfiction books.

Here’s my breakdown of monthly totals for October:

October Totals:

• Books read: 5
• Books DNF’d: 1

Genres Read:

• Horror: 1
• Mystery: 2
• Romance: 1
• Romantasy: 1

Backlist vs. New Releases:

• Backlist books: 0
• 2026 releases: 5

Fiction Vs. Nonfiction:

• Fiction: 5
• Nonfiction: 0

Format Read:

• Print: 0
• Digital: 5
• Audio: 0

Age Range:

• Adult: 5
• YA: 0
• MG: 0

My favorite book of the month was Love You to Death by Jenna Levine.

Here’s what I read in October:

1. Love You to Death by Jenna Levine (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon

1. Another Name for Red by Amber Blaeser-Wardzala (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
2. Brimstone Hollow by Archer Sullivan (Annie Gore #2) (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon
3. Deathbringer by Sonia Tagliareni (Deathbringer #1) (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon

1. I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon

1. The Laboratory Assistant by Natalia Loya (NG ARC) | Goodreads | Amazon

How was your October? Feel free to share anything about your month in a comment.