Well, would you believe it how October galloped away with me! I only read 7 books, in spite of commuting and its inherent delaying tactics. That is perhaps the lowest number since I started recording my reading on the blog and on Goodreads – and probably reflective of starting two new jobs at the same time and also having children on holiday for part of the month.
Out of the 7 I managed to finish, I have to admit that the vast majority were crime novels (5), while the remaining two had criminal elements and themes. Humph – this doesn’t bode well for any railway professionals who might have the temerity to ask for my opinion about their services, especially given the high cost of commuting. 4 books by women, 3 by men, 2 in translation.
October Reads
Eva Dolan: This Is How It Ends -standalone from one of my favourite new writers
Lloyd Otis: Deadlands – debut novel about a serial killer in 1970s London, no review forthcoming but an interview with the author will be up on Crime Fiction Lover shortly
Adrian Magson: Rocco and the Nightingale – delighted to finally have a new book in this series set in 1960s rural Picardie, review to come on CFL
Jenny Quintana: The Missing Girl – less thriller, more a carefully nuanced coming of age story, with beautifully observed sibling rivalry and collusion
Peter Høeg: The Susan Effect – an entertaining enough premise – having the ability to make people open up to you and tell you their life stories (I seem to have that to a certain extent, but of course this is exaggerated in the book), but the conspiracy theory and the ending gets a bit silly
Ariana Harwicz: Die, My Love – upsetting insight into a disturbed mind, full of pain and depression, very emotional and riveting
Fay Weldon: The Life and Loves of a She-Devil – a quick reread to cheer on this subversive fantasy revenge story
November Plans
The #1968Club is taking place this week and I intend to (re)read The Wizard of Earthsea, which was published in that year and which meant the world to me when I was a child.
I need to write and update the #EU27Project – must finish it before Brexit is finalised… and I seem to be as slow and muddled about it as our beloved negotiators! But at least I have better and less selfish intentions than them, or so I believe.
I am also ploughing on through two mammoth reads: Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled and Miklos Banffy’s They Were Counted. They might take me all month or even last until the end of 2017.
Fingers crossed, I might be able to attend a masterclass with the wonderful Scottish writer and poet Kathleen Jamie in Geneva this coming month (I have applied but have to wait to see if I’ve been accepted). So I am planning to indulge in some of her work, especially poetry
Last, but not least, I have two Nordic literary events coming up (which will probably mean more books added to my groaning shelves). The first of these is the launch of the book Love/War by Swedish writer Ebba Witt-Brattström by Nordisk Books. Described as a feminist story which allows women ‘to see through male dominant behaviour’, and based on the author’s own bitter divorce, how could I resist it? The second launch is the by-now-legendary Orenda Books and Ragnar Jonasson’s latest novel in the Dark Iceland series Whiteout.
findingtimetowrite 
I feel your pain regarding the commute. Hugely expensive and services are terrible 😦 But like you I read on the commute – hooray!
The Kathleen Jamie masterclass sounds wonderful – fingers crossed for you. I’m so excited about Whiteout too 🙂
I hope you make it to Geneva – I love Kathleen Jamie’s nature writing. And I’m still hoping we’ll wake up from the Brexit nightmare…
Oh I do hope you get that place with Jamie. I have read a book of prose pieces by her so I fully understand why you’d want to do that masterclass. Wonderful mind, vision, weaver of words.
Like you, I read the Hoeg. It didn’t make my blog though, interesting, but, as you point out, too silly!
I have hit a reviewing slump more than a reading slump. Too much work demand has eroded time needed to craft reviews, and then I find unless a book is spectacular in some way it loses its remembered edges, unless I write the review before starting the next read. I really need to not down some basic ideas on paper, enough to be able to form a typed up review later!
What is the #1968 club?
You’ve got quite a busy month coming up, Marina Sofia! I do hope you get accepted for that masterclass – it sounds fabulous. As for your October reads, I’m not surprised you’re a fan of Eva Dolan’s work. I think she’s very talented, and I love the way she draws her characters.
October? What was October???? Look forward to your thoughts on The Wizard of Earthsea – I haven’t read it in decades!!!
I read the first Dark Iceland book and really enjoyed it. BTW when things get rough, the tough read crime.