Hello everyone! Today I am going to talk a bit about the books I plan to read in October. I am planning on doing two month-long readathons. First is Spooktober, a readathon focused on reading mystery, thriller and horror books in October and Victober, a readathon centered around reading Victorian classics. The links will be below for the readathons!
First, I will show my Spooktober TBR. I have chosen to be Team Mystery. I haven’t thought of a book for every prompt but I will show which ones I have and I will figure out that last one as I go. Comment down below and let me know if you are doing this readathon and what team you are on!
Last month, I did terribly at sticking to my TBR but I am hopeful for October.
Spooktober Readathon: Team Mystery
Read a crime novel: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
Synopsis: Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard. The problem? All passengers remain accounted for and so, the ship sails on as if nothing has happened, despite Lo’s desperate attempts to convey that something (or someone) has gone terribly, terribly wrong.
Read a book by Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None
I specifically chose this team because of the Agatha Christie prompt. I have been determined to get into the genres of mystery and thiller this year and I have been wanting to pick up a classic Agatha Christie for a while. PLUS, I was already planning on reading this one in October.
Synopsis: First, there were ten—a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a little private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal—and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. A famous nursery rhyme is framed and hung in every room of the mansion:
“Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he’d stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none.”
When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.
Read a book with a murder in it: A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahirhttps://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1463675717l/25558608.jpg
I am not exactly sure there is a murder in this one but I have been wanting to squeeze it onto my TBR and I saw another person put it for this specific prompt so I am adding it.
Synopsis (of book one, An Ember in the Ashes): Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free. Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear. It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do. But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy. There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
Read any mystery book: Even if We Break by Marieke Nijkamp
I recently bought this book and I do know it involves a game and some form of a mystery and it is always nice to read books right as you buy them!
Synopsis: FIVE friends go to a cabin. FOUR of them are hiding secrets. THREE years of history bind them. TWO are doomed from the start. ONE person wants to end this. NO ONE IS SAFE.Are you ready to play?
Read a spooky book that’s been adapted into a movie: Invisible Man by HG Wells
This was the last movie I saw in theatres pre-COVID. I have heard that the book is completely different from the movie and I can’t wait to dive in. Invisible Man is also Victorian classic.
Synopsis: This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows.
Team book: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Synopsis: Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train…
Secondly, I have Victober. This is a readathon dedicated to reading Victorian classics. I haven’t delved into Victorian classics very much but I am always looking for new classics to try. I am not really trying to stick to the prompts but some of my books do fit them.
Victober:
Invisible Man by HG Wells
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
This is one that I have gotten from the library multiple times but have never actually started it. I have seen the movie more times that I can count. I am actually curious to know which adaptation my readers love of this movie. Comment down below and please let me know your favorite! Mine is the 1997 one with Richard Dreyfuss and Elijah Wood.
Synopsis: The story of Oliver Twist – orphaned, and set upon by evil and adversity from his first breath – shocked readers when it was published. After running away from the workhouse and pompous beadle Mr Bumble, Oliver finds himself lured into a den of thieves peopled by vivid and memorable characters – the Artful Dodger, vicious burglar Bill Sikes, his dog Bull’s Eye, and prostitute Nancy, all watched over by cunning master-thief Fagin. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery.
The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde
I love reading Oscar Wilde’s stories. I am not much into shorter stories but I do live Oscar Wilde’s. I have read The Importance of Being Earnest, An Ideal Husband, The Canterville Ghost, and The Picture of Dorian Gray by him. I am using this one for the prompt to read a new book by an author you love. I wasn’t sure what to read next by him so I just picked one with multiple stories in it.
Synopsis: A haunting, magical fairy-tale collection, in which Oscar Wilde beautifully evokes (among others) The Happy Prince who was not so happy after all, The Selfish Giant who learned to love little children and The Star Child who did not love his parents as much as he should. Each of the stories shines with poetry and magic and will be enjoyed by children of every age
Last month I joined in the Passed It Classics book club and they just so happen to be reading the Victorian classic Jane Eyre this month. They read Wuthering Heights last month, which I already had read before but I read it again. I personally do not like Wuthering Heights and I don’t think I will love Jane Eyre either but I will give it a try and I hope to be pleasantly surprised.
Synopsis: Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard. But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Rochester hiding from Jane? Will Jane be left heartbroken and exiled once again?
Other Books on my TBR:
I have been dying to get my hands on this book since I heard of it. All I have heard is that the MC is trans and the love interest is a ghost. That is all I need to know.
Synopsis: Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free. However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
I recently found out this was a book and I had to get my hands on a copy. My favorite actor is James McAvoy. When I saw he was in the movie Filth, I just rented the movie and saw it. It is now one of my absolute favorite movies of all time and I can’t wait to read the book version! Please know there are trigger warnings for a lot of things in this novel and the movie.
Synopsis: With the Christmas season upon him, Detective Sergeant Bruce Robertson of Edinburgh’s finest is gearing up socially—kicking things off with a week of sex and drugs in Amsterdam.
There are some sizable flies in the ointment, though: a missing wife and child, a nagging cocaine habit, some painful below-the-belt eczema, and a string of demanding extramarital affairs. The last thing Robertson needs is a messy, racially fraught murder, even if it means overtime—and the opportunity to clinch the promotion he craves. Then there’s that nutritionally demanding (and psychologically acute) intestinal parasite in his gut. Yes, things are going badly for this utterly corrupt tribune of the law, but in an Irvine Welsh novel nothing is ever so bad that it can’t get a whole lot worse. . .
Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
It is the 28th today and I am still only 282 pages into Way of Kings but I hope to finish it in October and read Words of Radiance. So far for the Stormlight Archive readalong they have not announced a live show date for Way of Kings so, I think I will be safe being so behind.
Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Another readalong I want to join this month is for the Wheel of Time. I will link the announcement of this below where they announce the readalong for the first three books. I am excited to get into this series. I know it is really, really long but the books are shorter than Sanderson’s so, it shouldn’t be so bad.
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
This one is really low on the priority list but I hope to squeeze it in this month. I have heard by SO MANY people that this is the best book in the series and I really want to get to it. My TBR is already quite long but I am keeping my fingers crossed!
Synopsis (of book one): Feyre’s survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price …
Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre’s presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.
Spooktober: https://twitter.com/spookyreadathon/status/1296106138908405760
Victober announcement videos:
-lucythereader: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-Gr-idpezw
-Books and Things: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD0-QV0kxmE
-Kate Howe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eidSDkBuwXE
Passed it Classics Twitter: https://twitter.com/PassedClassics
-Wheel of Time readalong announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdHoBtXBlrM
My Original Post: https://allithebookgiraffe.wixsite.com/allithebookgiraffe/post/october-tbr-ft-spooktober-victober
Alli the Book Giraffe 
