And we’ve finally hit November. Well, almost a week ago, technically – but the last weekly wrap-up was in October completely, so yeah.
I think I’ve been decently consistent with my posting over the past week, though I haven’t been reading as much as I might’ve liked. I dunno why really, last week was a little bit busy with Halloween, and then I had hardly any free time this weekend. So that’s probably why.
Anyway, let’s get into it.
Tuesday 10/31: The Graveyard Book Review / Halloween
Last Tuesday, I finally uploaded my review for The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. A perfect little ghost story for Halloween. I gave it ★★★✯☆.
Tuesday also happened to be Halloween. So here’s a belated Happy Halloween🎃👻🐈⬛🕸️💀🦇 to everybody who missed the post!
On Wednesday, I posted my reading wrap-up for October 2023. To anyone who doesn’t know, it’s when I go over my StoryGraph stats. For the first time ever, I’m pretty sure I actually posted it on the first of the month!
Last Friday, I posted my review for Lightlark by Alex Aster. A somewhat controversial YA fantasy novel that was released last year, that I finally decided to read, just in time for the sequel. I gave it ★★✬☆☆.
Yesterday, I posted my contribution to Spell the Month in Books. (I know, it was a day late. Shut up.) Spell the Month in Books is a monthly post created and hosted by Jana @ Reviews from the Stacks.
So, even though last week wasn’t nearly as productive as I had wanted it to be, I’m still happy with what I got done, for once. This coming week, however, I’m definitely aiming to do way better.
Concerning books on my TBR, I’m gonna start reading Nightbane by Alex Aster as soon as it goes live on Kindle eReaders. Then I’m probably gonna read Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett – one of the books I got from my book haul this past weekend. I’m also planning on starting the second arc of One Piece sometime this week.
I don’t really know what else I’m gonna do this week. The only thing that I’m sure about is getting some of the ingredients for stuff I’m planning to make for Thanksgiving. I like to shop early for this holiday – we’re also gonna get almost all of our groceries for the next two weeks this weekend – because the grocery stores (and Walmart) are freaking insane the week of Thanksgiving. And I don’t want to get caught up in that.
So yeah, I hope to both read and post better this coming week. 🤞🍀 Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you have an excellent day/night!
I don’t think I’ve ever posted a monthly wrap-up on the first of the month yet. Or maybe I’m wrong? I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter much. It’s time to begin the October Reading 2023 Wrap-Up!
I read so, so, so much during this past month. It’s my bookish peak of the year so far! I’m so happy with myself – I don’t think I’ve ever read 13 books all in the same month before! I guess this just shows that autumn really is my favorite reading season, huh?
But yeah, without further ado, let’s get on into my statistics from The StoryGraph from last month!
October 2023 Reading
I read 13 books and 5439 pages
😐 MOODS:Adventurous was the biggest slice of pie, as it always is. Lighthearted was surprising in being the second biggest piece though – it’s never been before. The other ones were: Funny, Emotional, Dark, and Mysterious.
👢 PACE: I read all three different kinds of paced books: slow, medium and fast.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: Everything I read was between 240 and 600 pages. The majority of books I read were between 300 and 499 pages, however.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: It was once again all fiction this month.
🎭 GENRES:Fantasy, as usual, was the biggest bar of the graph. Manga, Graphic Novel, YA, and Middle Grade were the second longest bars after Fantasy. The other genres on the graph were Comics, Romance and Historical.
📄 FORMAT: This little StoryGraph pie chart is almost correct. All of the books except for one we’re all physical copies.
⭐ RATING: My median star rating for last month was 4.27. My ratings for October were all pretty varied, but they were generally higher than in September. Most of them were 4.0 and above.
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I read a ton throughout October. The time I read the least was between the 5th and the 8th, and my peak of reading was on the 20th.
So October ended up being waaayy better reading-wise – and blogging-wide – for me than September was. I’m really happy that I read so much, and with the books that I ended up reading. Here’s to keeping it up in November! 🤞🍀🥂🍻
I’m actually really excited for the books I’m almost certainly going to read this month. For one thing, Murderbot book #7 is coming out, and it’s my most anticipated book of the year. I’m also looking forward to hate reading Lightlark AND Nightbane, the latter which is also releasing this month. And of course, I’m continuing with One Piece and I’m looking forward to the next arc.
As for anything else I’m planning on for November… Other than the beginning of the holiday season and Thanksgiving and stuff, I’m not really sure yet about anything else. I’ll probably be doing some Christmas shopping though.
Anyway, thank you all so much for checking out my October 2023 Reading stars and monthly wrap-up. I hope you have an awesome day/night!
Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place – he’s the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians’ time as well as their ghostly teachings–such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.
Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead?
My Review
It’s like the people who believe they’ll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn’t work that way. Wherever you go, you take yourself with you. If you see what I mean.
First off, before I start this review, I gotta acknowledge the day, so…
Happy Halloween to everybody!! 🎃👻🐈⬛🕸️💀🦇
This book was a nice little story to read right before Halloween. (Which is what I did.) It’s spooky, yet so very wholesome.
I’ve only read a couple of Neil Gaiman novels, but out of the two I read (this and Neverwhere) I’ve liked. He has such a weird brain and I love the campy ideas in these books.
Without further ado, let’s move on to the review proper.
Pros
Bod said, ‘I want to see life. I want to hold it in my hands. I want to leave a footprint on the sand of a desert island. I want to play football with people. I want,’ he said, and then he paused and he thought. ‘I want everything.’
• The characters ▼
I love all the characters. Nobody “Bod” Owens is such a cute little protagonist. I loved reading about all the hijinks and mischief that he got up to throughout the novel. It was great to watch all of his character development as he grew up.
The ghosts in the graveyard were the best part of the novel. I loved all of their weird personalities, and the way they interacted with one another. And they were all super defined as characters.
• The story ▼
This book is heavily inspired by The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, hence the title. So, as a huge fan of The Jungle Book novel and 1967 animated movie, of course I was gonna like the plot here.
I also really like ghost stories, so this was just a recipe for a book I’d enjoy. And I loved the parallels of the themes that the two share. There’s definitely a similarity between the spirit (*cough*) of both books.
We who make stories know that we tell lies for a living. But they are good lies that say true things, and we owe it to our readers to build them as best we can. Because somewhere out there is someone who needs that story. Someone who will grow up with a different landscape, who without that story will be a different person. And who with that story may have hope, or wisdom, or kindness, or comfort. And that is why we write.
• The atmosphere ▼
The atmosphere in The Graveyard Book is impeccable. Regardless of my feelings on the way that Gaiman writes, he skillfully weaves an excellent, mildly spooky ambience.
• The artwork ▼
The pictures within add so much to the story itself. Dave McKean does such a great job. I especially like the sketchy looking aspect to them, and how they set the tone for each of the chapters.
Cons
• The writing style ▼
This one is just a personal preference. I’m not the biggest fan of Gaiman’s writing style and prose. It’s not bad, not at all, I’m just don’t really care for the way that he writes.
I do like the way he writes dialogue, however. Gaiman’s dialogue is pretty good.
Final Thoughts
‘You’re alive, Bod. That means you have infinite potential. You can do anything, make anything, dream anything. If you can change the world, the world will change. Potential. Once you’re dead, it’s gone. Over. You’ve made what you’ve made, dreamed your dream, written your name. You may be buried here, you may even walk. But that potential is finished.’
All in all, I really enjoyed The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It’s a quick and easy, mildly spooky read that’s great for all ages. It’s a nice and wholesome little ghost story with a bit of mystery plot floating in the background.
I definitely recommend this to fans of Gaiman’s other works, as well as those who enjoy a nice ghost story that isn’t really that scary. I think fans of The Jungle Book will also really like it. It’s a perfect read for the Halloween season.
Thank you so much for reading, and have a spooktackular day/night!
It’s that time of year again – the time of year where I recommend books for the season! My recommendations of autumn books of 2023! It’s the middle of October, so that means I’m gonna recommend some spooky books and/or just some books with fall vibes in general. There are a bunch of them, after all.
I also understand that, once again, it’s a bit late for this kind of post. But! I hadn’t read a couple of books on this list until the last week or so, so I wanted to actually read them before doing this post. So, sorry it’s kinda later in the month again, but I had a decent reason this time, lol.
Now, I know that I usually do these things in lists of five. The thing is though, I’ve just read too many graphic novels in the last year or so that are just too perfect for this post. So, there’s seven recs here. Deal with it, lol.
Ichabod Crane, a schoolteacher, came to Tarry Town in the glen of Sleepy Hollow to ply his trade in educating young minds. He was a gullible and excitable fellow, often so terrified by locals’ stories of ghosts that he would hurry through the woods on his way home, singing to keep from hysterics.
Until late one night, he finds that maybe they’re not just stories. What is that dark, menacing figure riding behind him on a horse? And what does it have in its hands? And why wasn’t schoolteacher Crane ever seen in Sleepy Hollow again?
I couldn’t help but to start with a classic. Sleepy Hollow has been one of my favorite spooky stories for many years. And though it’s been quite some time since I’ve last read it, I know that it still holds up even now.
If you enjoy unsettling oldies, dullahans, and just a good book for Halloween, give this one a try if you haven’t already. It’s still fantastic.
Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
Despite some of my annoyances with this series, the Shades of Magic trilogy remains one of my favorite adult fantasy series. I love, love, love these books.
Though this trilogy might not have the strongest of fall vibes, I think the books are great for the season anyway. Cuz I read them in the fall and I was feeling the cozy, magical vibes. And if your not interested in this trilogy, I think that all of Schwab’s books have some autumnal atmospheres.
A sparkling, witchy reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.
In this exuberant reimagining of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story from her own perspective. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves; Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.
But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat, and Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would you expect from a demon? And if you think Mr. Darcy was uptight about dancing etiquette, wait till you see how he reacts to witchcraft. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that when you’re a witch, promises have power…
Full of enchantment, intrigue, danger, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.
The first new book on this list! The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch is a novel completely drenched in fall vibes. You’d be hard pressed to find a better book to read during October, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Not only does this book appeal to those who crave that cozy autumn atmosphere, but it’s also an excellent historical fantasy novel. It’s also a magical retelling of Pride and Prejudice, so Austen fans have a huge chance of loving it too.
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a perfectly normal boy. Well, he would be perfectly normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor the world of the dead.
There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard: the strange and terrible menace of the Sleer; a gravestone entrance to a desert that leads to the city of ghouls; friendship with a witch, and so much more.
But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks, for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod’s family.
A deliciously dark masterwork by bestselling author Neil Gaiman, with illustrations by award-winning Dave McKean.
Yet another book that it’s been quite some time since I’ve read. Regardless, I still adore it. Anything that Gaiman writes is wonderful in it’s own way, even if I don’t always enjoy it myself. I definitely liked this one though.
This one isn’t admittedly all that scary, as it’s targeted toward middle-grade as well, but it’s still a solid book. Yet another one I’d like to read again this year before Halloween if I can find the time. For those who like The Jungle Book, ghost stories, and found family, give this a shot.
All human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone, in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil.
The disturbing Mr. Hyde is making his repugnant presence known in late 19th Century London. But punishment for his vile acts are always parried by the good, and well-respected, Dr. Jekyll. Soon, the secret relationship between the two men will be revealed.
A classic that continues to be referenced today, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde will forever be locked in literary history.
This is by far my absolute favorite creepy classic. Something about it – just the way it’s written – and especially the intriguing dichotomy between Jekyll and Hyde just has absolutely loving this novel.
If you’ve ever had any interest at all in this book, definitely read it. And also, if you like webcomics and graphic novels check out The Glass Scientists by S.H. Cotugno. It’s a brilliant and imaginative retelling, and I love it.
Two twins, one prophecy, and a whole lot of hijinks. From WEBTOON, the #1 digital comic platform, comes a fantastical story about twin siblings Dani and Dorian who have missed the bus to magic school and scramble to find a mentor to teach them before their parents find out. Perfect for fans of THE OKAY WITCH and the 5 Worlds series.
When Dani and Dorian missed the bus to magic school, they never thought they’d wind up declared traitors to their own kind! Now, thanks to a series of mishaps, they are being chased by powerful magic families seeking the prophesied King of Witches and royals searching for missing princes.
But they aren’t alone. With a local troublemaker, a princess, and a teacher who can see the future on their side, they might just be able to clear their names…but can they heal their torn kingdom?
Based on the beloved webcomic from WEBTOON, Hooky is in stunning print format for the first time with exclusive new content sure to please fans new and old.
This is one of the things I read recently. Review incoming – very soon. Hooky was such a cute, Ghibli-esque, Halloween themed story. I love the art, the characters, and the setting and story. It’s all so wonderful.
For fans of cozy Halloween and graphic novels, this is one for you. If you just like good art in general though, and are looking for autumn vibes, then also check this out.
A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.
Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.
One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.
Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.
There’s nothing more cozy than Mooncakes. It is the ultimate cottage core, fall graphic novel. With baking. And books. And witches and werewolves.
This is a sweet little story that tugged at my heart while I read it. And it has gorgeous artwork! And good queer rep if you’re into that. Definitely look into it regardless.
What books have you been reading this fall? Have any of them had any autumn or spooky vibes? Do we share any of the same favorites?
And if course, thank you to everyone so much for reading, and I hope that you have an awesome day/night!
