This month we said a sudden goodbye to my aunt and my boyfriend and I embarked on a potentially exciting but stressful adventure (all will be revealed soon). I created space for advertising on this site. I read in patches and albeit that the Readathon went as it usually does (not much reading time), it afforded me another book this month. It’s getting dark, it’s getting rainy, and I’m not sure how to end this sentence clause because I’m running on very little time at the moment – but I will miss October because it’s not been so bad, weather-wise, after all. I currently have three books on the go. I’m starting to wonder if ‘currently’ numbers are a sign of how stressed a reader is.

The Books

Non-Fiction

Michael Palin: Around The World In 80 Days – In 1986, Palin undertook a journey to replicate, as much as possible, the race of Phileas Fogg. Brief and a bit dated now, but still good and very informative.

Tom Kizzia: Pilgrim’s Wilderness – Kizzia tells the story of the quasi-religious Hale family, where (in Alaska at least) problems began with ‘simple’ disputes over property, and ended in revelations as to the children’s treatment that shocked previous supporters. You couldn’t say this is a nice book, but the story ends well and Kizzia’s style is very readable.

Fiction

Andrew Blackman: On The Holloway Road – A man discontent with his life embarks on a journey with a notorious local, aiming to find true freedom in a country full of restrictions. Excellent.

Debbie Dee: Tiy And The Prince Of Egypt – A wealthy but regular girl saves the heir to the throne from death, and travels to the capital to begin schooling and a new life granted her by the Pharaoh. A rather good introduction to Ancient History for children and teens.

Lucienne Boyce: To The Fair Land – A wannabe author seeks the writer of an anonymous bestseller to improve his own chances, and finds it’s not quite as he’d thought. Not bad, but it has its issues.

Meike Ziervogel: Magda – A fictionalised take on what may have happened in the last days of the Goebbels, surrounded by relevant background information. Brilliant and edited to perfection.

Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt (ed.): Rags & Bones – An anthology of retellings in short story form, featuring the likes of Neil Gaiman, Melissa Marr herself, Kami Garcia, and Saladin Ahmed. A stunning and at times exceptional collection that I would highly recommend to anyone who likes fantasy, paranormal, and horror.

I’ve three favourites this month: On The Holloway Road, Magda, and Rags & Bones. If pushed, I’d probably say the latter wins by a smudge, because of the variety. All three of those books are amazing, it’s just that they are so different. I wasn’t so keen on To The Fair Land – I did enjoy it, it is just a case of this month being rather exceptional.

Quotation Report

If one has an issue creating names, they can always do as Neil Gaiman has with his contribution to Rags & Bones and use the backdrop as a good excuse. Indeed it may just create a similar sort of humour. And while we’re at it, if you’re in a medieval-ish setting, it’s likely the girl has blushed because she’s suggested the prince will wake the princess with a kiss – not with the bucket of water the dwarf considered appropriate. In the 1980s, Michael Palin shared a train with two other people apparently also known as Michael Palin. But it was the camel and its owner, again both called Michael, that may have surprised him the most when he went Around The World In 80 Days.

Apparently November and winter are set to be atrocious so I suppose I’ll be reading enough. I’ve read a fair number of books so far this year, more than the last, and I hope to reach the next whole number on my list before the arrival of that holiday that begins with a C. I’m not typing it out, it still feels far too early, whatever the shops say. It is possible that even if I read whenever I can November may be scant, books-wise. I guess I’ll see.

What was your favourite book this month (or week if you round-up each week)?