Hi everyone, I thought it was high time that I did an October Readathon recap since we haven’t really wrapped up the readathon so I hope you don’t mine that these images aren’t book related whatsoever but of the beautiful setting I have to do plenty of reading.
Before we kick off, I just have to mention that I almost sold this dress on my YAGA account at the beginning of the year before I realised that it would make a great summer dress in the event that I’m pregnant towards the end of the year. I’m SO glad I kept it aside because its so billowy and has the perfect elastic empire waist line that it really does make the most comfortable “maternity” dress. I’m now 32 weeks and it fits my bump perfectly. I mentioned in my latest Dress Haul video that I haven’t bought much in the way of maternity wear other than one pair of jeans, workout shorts and tracksuit bottoms because I haven’t really needed to. My maxi dresses have been so comfortable to wear and they look so lovely with a bump.
Right, back to the books! So for this October Readathon recap, I thought I’d share my reading list:
The World of Winnie Pooh, A. A. Milne:
Gosh it was lovely to revisit the stories of Christopher Robins, Piglet, Owl, Kanga & Roo and, of course Pooh bear himself. I was having a really bad day when I picked up this book to read and within minutes I was smiling again. It was like meeting up with old friends. The comfort and warmth in these precious stories in the hundred acre woods are just magnificent and honey for the soul. I loved every second.
I have had a signed copy of this book sitting on my bookshelf since it was first published and for whatever reason, had never picked it up to read it. This is such an incredible tale of a young man of 18 by the name of Jacob on the cusp of adulthood that is living with aspergers syndrome. He has so much knowledgde about crime investigation and loves to set up mock crime scenes at home but this interest of his finds him in hot water when his tutor appears to have been murdered and he has been linked to the crime scene. This book is incredible at looking at the family dynamics involved when one child in the household is autistic and will keep you wondering whether or not Jacob really could have murdered his tutor.
The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis:
The author of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and the other Chronicals of Narnia was also very well known for his writings on the topic of Christianity which I only discovered last year. I had planned to read one of these books in 2021 and so October was the perfect time. Mr Screwtape is an agent of satan and is guiding his nephew to go about tempting the human he has been assigned into a life opposed to Christian values. He does this by writing a series of letters to his nephew. This is only a short book but it took me so long to read because I at each point I was trying to decipher what was wrong with the advice being given and the impact these things have on our lives as Christians. Thinking in the reverse was quite challenging for me. I also felt that I wasn’t gripped by storyline so the pages were really dragging. While it gave me plenty food for thought, I didn’t really enjoy this book. I will try Mere Christianity and see whether I prefer that book but this one wasn’t a great one for me.
Survive The Night, Riley Sager:
Last year I read Riley Sager’s Home Before Dark as part of my Halloween Hayride Readathon and I could not put it down! Needless to say, I added Survive The Night to this year’s readathon hoping for the same thrill. It is a recent publication that definitely kept me turning the pages but the female protagonist makes a series of horrible decisions that so easily endanger her that at points you feel like shouting at the book. I don’t like women being portrayed as weak and in need of saving so I really felt frustrated by her, but I also felt so frustrated because women are smarter than this leading lady who so frequently puts herself in harm’s way. There is a great twist in this book so it’s still a good read but gosh it’s annoying at points!
(please excuse the wrong author listed in the graphic):
This is another recent publication that is typical gothic literature. Set in a seaside manor on an island off the Scottish main land, that may or may not be haunted, a new au pair has been called out from London to attend to the little girl who lives in the manor with her aunt. The au pair stars to notice very strange things happening around the house and few are willing to give her a full history of the family or the house so she starts to dig a little deeper and uncovers some disturbing secrets. This book was so good! If you love a thrill and the gothic atmosphere of an old creepy house, this book is definitely one for you. I highly recommend it!
I’d love to know the list of books you read for the readathon and which ones you enjoyed along with the ones you didn’t so please let me know in the comment section below. I absolutely loved seeing all of your Instagram updates. So many of you read so many incredible books and some that I’m very curious to hear more about. Thank you so much for participating. I’m really hoping to make this reading challenge an annual thing seeing as we all seem to enjoy it so much and given that its taken place 2 years in a row. I hope this helped increase the total number of books you’ve read this year and propelled you towards your reading goal for 2021. I still have 6 more books to read for the year to reach my goal but we’re going away for a bit of a break this week so I hope I can sit by the pool and do plenty of reading on our holiday!
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