Hello! I hope you’re well 🤗
I’m a little late with this one, as at the end of the month I finally hopped on board a plane for the first time and had my first holiday abroad! It was amazing, I can’t wait to do it again – but it did mean my lovely Gothtober reading momentum came to an abrupt end too haha.
Gothtober readathon proved to be amazing motivation for me this month. If I’d kept up my reading, it probably would have been a record reading month for me – but alas, life had me dropping all books and reading smack bang in the middle of October.
Nothing bad mind you – the holiday I have already mentioned, and a rather last second curve ball that I’m not announcing yet.
books finished
◍ In Darkling Wood – Emma Carroll // 🎧 // ★★★★ // middle grade magical realism featuring a fairy-wood.
◍ Into the Uncanny- Danny Robins // 🎧 // ★★★★★ // formatted like the podcast, investigates ghost stories from both skeptical and believer standpoints.
◍ The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson // 🎧 // ★★★★★ // modern classic.
◍ The Chill – Scott Carson // 📱 // ★★★★ // a haunted dam in america that gave me vibes of the ones over here in wales.
◍ The Others Ones – Fran Hart // 📱 // ★★★★★ // cosy YA romance and family drama.
◍ A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon – Sarah Hawley // 📱 // ★★★★ // magical smut romance which was pretty fun to read.
books not finished this month, carried over (this list is getting quite big…)
Bookshops and Bonedust – Travis Baldree. I have now finished my arc copy in the first few days of November, but I didn’t get around to finishing it before my holiday. I can tell you I absolutely loved it, and you need it when it releases on the 7th.
House of Breath and Sky – Sarah J. Maas – I attempted it for Orilium but didn’t get to it in time to finish within the month (especially as I then went away).
The Square of Sevens- Laura Shepard-Robinson, loved it last month, but didn’t get around to re-picking it up to finish it, as I focused on filling Orilium prompts…
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone – Benjamin Stevenson. I was really loving the vibe, but it was not the vibe my mood reader brain wanted right now.
The Cloisters by Katy Hays – I have refound the book after physically losing track of it in May, but haven’t picked it back up yet.
LOOKING FORWARDS – NOV// readathons and book clubs I’m participating in
◍ Total Bollix // I am hosting November’s live on my YouTube channel, the prompt is found family.
◍ The Bookwanderers // run by Celine @ StuffCelineReads // finishing up the autumnal readathon prompts
◍ Gerbitathon // hosted by Hannah @ LadetteM // The Sims themed readathon. At long last I’m looking at the student prompts.
This month has been a lot. Wonderful, very stressful at times (there’s been a lot of anxiety), but all good news. It kicked off with me coming home from my weekend away in Liverpool that I mentioned in the last wrap up, and then traipsing around town for various autumnal activities – going to the pub, quiz nights, markets, and of course a pumpkin farm. Rain featured in all but the pumpkin farm, which was a surprisingly hot day (it was part of a mini heatwave) that spiders apparently thrived in… so a little of the autumnal magic was taken away by the spider hoard that got literally everywhere… we had to keep brushing ourselves down and combing them out of our hair… I’m usually terrified of spiders, but somehow I was fairly chill with this development. I have no idea what came over me, but at least I got to enjoy the farm a little haha.
I also reconnected with some old friends and hosted a game night. It turned a little more atmospheric than planned, as literally the minute they were due to arrive we had a power cut due to a storm… but my candle addiction came to the rescue, and we had an evening by candlelight until the power returned. I actually loved the vibe, and will definitely do a few random evenings by candlelight over winter. It felt so lovely and warm and cosy.
Work turned into a bit of a roller coaster – there is a lot going on with re-structuring and site moves – that was also a factor with how much reading I did get done and then didn’t. But I have been on holiday for almost half the month, so a very welcome break at this point, where I went on my first trip abroad!
I went with friends and had an amazing time in Italy. We went to Naples and the Amalfi Coast – there was so much history to go see – Pompeii, Herculaneum, Napoli Catacombs, old churches (I always love the architecture of them), Castles, and old towns – it was beautiful! And the food of course did not disappoint!! I ate out so much, somehow did not turn into a pizza with the amount I consumed. I cannot recommend the area enough!
Going with friends, I also did some things I probably wouldn’t have – such as a tour day were we got a boat out to Capri (typically on the day with the worst weather – somehow only one of us was seasick haha) and faced my fear of heights by going up on the chair lift to the highest point of the island. It’s certainly a holiday I’m never going to forget, and I cannot await to plan another one! I just need to figure out where to go – I’ll probably stick with Europe for now, so at least its a little narrowed down haha.
How was October for you? Where do you recommend I travel to next?
The Bookworm's Feast 
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