Books I Read in October

+ a podcast about BookTok

Nov 04, 2024

My own personal list of substack subscriptions consist of fashion and book newsletters. I love Culture Study and this ep on BookTok is timely! Give it a listen.

Listed in the order I read them! (didn’t link these this month… sorry! You can just copy/paste them in Google. 😅)

Tidal Creatures by Seanan McGuire. Think: Moon gods are fighting Greek gods, a coven gets involved, as well as alchemists trying to hunt them all down. This is the 3rd book in this series. Might not be for everyone, but if you like magical elements, deep but easy to follow writing / stories, this is it. I will also read anything and everything by McGuire (or anything other her other name: Mira Grant).
The Singer’s Gun by Emily St. John Mandel. Think: Boy who’s family sells stolen goods for a living wants out - he steals someone’s diploma and gets a corporate job, an FBI investigation gets launched, he wants out, moves to an island, gets blackmailed into doing one last mob style job, and will he or won’t he get found out? Like all all other Emily St. John Mandel books highly recommend reading this one. Each of her books reference each other in subtle ways - in this one I found one singular reference to another book and it felt so satisfying.
The Future Library by Peng Sheperd. Think: The last forest in the world is in a protected park. The keeper launches an initiative for authors to write stories in honor of the trees, but will this keep humans from cutting down the trees? I don’t have words for this short book because it was really good. Peng has a great way with words and I loved this story.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Think: The Greek Story of Achilles….. Good read, I went through this quickly. Not much else to say here!
Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson. Think: Author of crime novels writes a meta style novel investigating a crime within his own family. You know when something is trying very hard to be funny that it becomes a little excessive? That was the vibe of this book for me, overall good, would probably read the next in the series if all my other book choices aren’t available from Libby.
The Book of Doors by Gareth Brown. Think: Books infused with the magic of time travel, joy, safety, and pain, being sought and sold on a book black market. Only time travel can save them! Honestly, started very slow and I did not see this coming. Ended being a pretty good story.
Bad Monkeys by Matt Ruff. Think: Double-crossed, double-crossed secret service agents with a bit of magic tossed in? Honestly this was really weird and I kinda like it more for that.
Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan. Think: Extremely rich, social-status obsessed matriarch attempting arranged marriages for her children, family bonds, lots of name drops for school lineages and fashion. (that had me looking up some brands!) and, finally, true love. Kevin Kwan has a great ability to write a witty, sarcastic page turner that isn’t a fluff book. He got his start with Crazy Rich Asians and each book since has been just as good.