October 2018 Wrap Up!

First off – HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! This is my second favourite holiday (close second to Christmas of course!) and it’s actually not going to be too bad outside for trick or treating today! Usually it’s either raining or snowing, and today it’s not supposed to do ether! YAY!! October was prepping to be an amazing reading month. It even started off really good! And then the bad news came that my ultrasound showed something strange and needed a follow up CT scan. My anxiety is bad on a regular day, but waiting for the results made it impossible to function. So I didn’t read as much as I hoped. But – GOOD NEWS!!! Monday I got the results and it was NORMAL! I couldn’t have been more relieved. I have to make an appointment to go over the results but I was assured that the cancer isn’t back and this isn’t a new form either! Now that my anxiety is on a manageable level, maybe I can have a better November! But, for now, let’s talk about what I read in October:

HOUSE OF LEAVES by Mark Z. Danielewski – 1 star

Well…… now that was interesting! I started this book 2-3 years ago and it haunted me. Not in the way that you imagine though! I needed to finish it and I couldn’t seem to get into the story to actually finish it! I had done a lot of research and there was such a huge following with this book. SO many websites dedicated to it that picked it apart and pointed things out. People had tattoos and seemed obsessed! But because I hadn’t finished it, I didn’t know why. Well, I finished it, and I STILL don’t know why lol! This book was manic and confusing. Maybe that was the point? But for me it fell flat. I absolutely LOVED the portions about the house, and I think I would have loved it if it was just a novel from their perspectives. But everything else was so confusing and distracting and I didn’t care for it. I didn’t do a full review because I was just so perplexed.

MISTBORN – THE FINAL EMPIRE by Brandon Sanderson <—– click for full review – 5 stars!

Now this book was downright INCREDIBLE!!! Everyone had been screaming at me for so long to read this and now I’m wondering why I waited so long! The magic system was so unique and well developed, the writing and characters were immersible, and I fell in love! I actually started book 2 and I’m liking it just as much 🙂

A HEAD FULL OF GHOSTS by Paul Tremblay – Reread – 5 stars

I finished this one last halloween and haven’t stopped thinking of it since. The ending was something that haunted me and stuck in my mind and I wanted to reread it and see if I could piece things together. Knowing how it ends didn’t make the ending any less terrifying and I enjoyed the hell out of this one for the second time!

SCREAM ALL NIGHT by Derek Milman <—– click for full review – 4 stars

This was a very unique reading experience! It was full of the cult classic horror film fan club feel, full of emotion, and a really strange (and wonderful) setting! Set in a castle where the films are produced, we were able to see how this castle was used as a movie studio. We also got to see how the actors were like a family. It’s not really scary at all, despite the title, but it’s still an atmospheric and emotionally charged read for October 🙂

HAUNTED by Chuck Palahniuk – 2 stars

There’s no review for this one either as it was just one of the weirdest books I’ve ever read. It was plain GROSS actually. I’m usually all in for gore and guts but this one seemed to have no sense to it. I have a feeling that I’m not the audience for this author 😦

THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Paul Tremblay <—– click for full review – 3 stars

Yes, that’s two books by Paul Tremblay this month! Sadly though, this one didn’t measure up to the amazing experience of A Head Full of Ghosts. This one was good, and the atmosphere and climate of the book had this skin crawling undertone, but I couldn’t separate the 2 reading experiences. There was just something about this one that didn’t quite live up to his other book.

THE WANDERERS by Meg Howry <—– click for full review – 3.5 stars

I seemed to have chosen a lot of really unique books today. This was unlike anything I’ve read before. First of all it was way different than I was expecting. I was expecting more adventure but it ended up being far more character driven. I actually really enjoyed this for that reason yet because I expected one thing and got another it caught me off guard a little bit. It was also really slow in some spots. But there was also a lot of speculation and wonder which made this book stand out in my mind! I didn’t necessarily LOVE it, but I’m still glad I read it!

EMPRESS OF ALL SEASONS by Emiko Jean – review coming on November 7th

I really enjoyed this one! Having finished it a couple days ago, I haven’t really stopped thinking about it. I keep going back to the characters, their past, and the seasonal rooms. This book was stunning and I can’t wait to share my review and author Q&A on my blog tour stop!

As for the TBR unhaul challenge……….. OOPS! I was so caught up in my anxiety and reading spooky books that I didn’t get to one of the books. My anxiety brain wouldn’t let me get to the last one. This month I needed to read Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (which I did read and LOVED!) and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It’s ok though! If you remember in the Introduction post – I have a save for the year! I just have to read it this month or else it’s gone for good. So November it is! Here’s how the challenge is going so far:

TBR UNHAUL TOTALS:

BOOKS READ – 8

BOOKS UNHAULED – 3

Turns out I read more than I thought this month! I also read 50% of Catwoman by Sarah J Maas but I DNF’d it. So that one technically doesn’t count. I hope (now that I have gotten clear results from my CT scan) that I’ll be even more in the mood to read in November! I have some CHUNKY ass booked planned for next month so I hope so! LOL! What was your favourite read in October?

Until next time, happy reading!