Happy belated Halloween! The weather is always inconsistent at this time of year; sometimes we’ve trick-or-treated in the snow and freezing rain, other times it’s been 85 and super gross. This year, it’s been right in the middle, kind of a mix of both. It was in the 80’s right up until Halloween itself, and then the temps plummeted, and we trick-or-treated in windy 50-something degree weather. Not bad at all, in my book! (Of course, I was dressed in a large sloth onesie, so I was toasty warm the whole time!)

Is there any month, anywhere, for anyone, where they’re like, “Yeah, it’s been slow and boring, nothing going on”? That’s sure not the case around here. Work, studying, desperately trying to fit house stuff and hobbies and reading in all the available cracks possible, it never ends! I’d like to hit pause on time and just be able to chill out with a huge stack of all those awesome books I see at work but don’t have enough time to read, haha!

Anyway, let’s get this recap started, shall we?

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Books I Read in October 2024

1. How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C Foster

2. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (read out loud to my daughter)

3. My Antonia by Willa Cather

4. There Was Night and Then There Was Morning: A Memoir of Trauma and Redemption by Sara Sherbill

5. Holes by Louis Sachar (read out loud to my daughter)

6. Stone Soup for the World: Life-Changing Stories of Kindness and Courageous Acts of Service by Marianne Larned 

7. Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad (read out loud to my daughter)

8. Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn (read out loud to my daughter)

9. Hate Follow by Erin Quinn-Kong

10. Coraline by Neil Gaiman (read out loud to my daughter)

11. The Story of English by Robert McCrum

12. The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson (read out loud to my daughter)

So, not a TON of my own reading this month, but my younger daughter and I are absolutely blowing through books! I’ve been reading her a ton of favorites from when I was younger, and she’s loved them (though she thought Coraline was just weird). My Antonia was a reread for me; I first read it when I was 12, and it was a different experience this time around. There Was Night and Then There Was Morning was a book I found while looking through the list of new/on-order books at work; I put it on hold immediately when I got home. Stone Soup for the World is a Chicken Soup for the Soul type book; it’s from the late 90’s (and somehow ended up on my shelves; I think it came in a batch of books I got from Freecycle); it was supposed to be uplifting, but mostly, it just made me sad, because really, not much has improved, despite all these people in the book working so hard to make changes in society. Wait Till Helen Comes, Stonewords, and The Great Gilly Hopkins were all books my librarian grandmother gave to me when I was young, and I read them over and over and over again, so it was awesome to share them with my daughter. Gilly is just an utterly heartbreaking read as an adult and a parent with some miles under my belt; I had a hard time reading the last two chapters because I kept crying. If you’ve never read this one, I highly recommend it. 

Most of the books I read from my own shelf were longer, more challenging reads, so they also took longer; that, along with less reading time, explains the small total this month.

Twelve books this month; eight fiction, four nonfiction. One was from my TBR; ten were from my own shelves! I’ve had to refill the top shelf of my living room bookshelf (that’s the shelf I reserve for what I’m reading next) several times now, which feels pretty good.

Bookish Things I Did in October 2024

I spent a LOT of time at various libraries near me, both as an employee and as a patron; does that count? I also tossed another seven or eight books in various Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood.

State of the Goodreads TBR

Doing awesome here, despite the fact that my new (amazing!) boss has turned me on to some Reader Advisory tools that have made me go, “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKS!” Last month, I had three books on the TBR; right now, it’s just at two! One, I’m going through day-by-day as intended; the other, I’m on hold for at work! 

Books I Acquired in October 2024

None!

Current Podcast Love

Still making my way through Myths and Legends. Excellent storytelling, great narration. Super relaxing and enjoyable, and it’s like having someone read me a bedtime story as I fall asleep! 

Stephanie’s Read Harder Project

Ugh, I don’t think I’ve made any progress on Leaves of Grass this month. Too busy. Maybe November? *nervous laughter*

Real-Life Stuff

Work is AWESOME. I love what I do. They have me working up at the front counter now, so I get to do fun things like sign people up for library cards, take payment for damaged books (it happens, and we’re not judging you for it!), direct people to what’s where in the library, check books out to patrons, and answer a zillion questions – some of which I know the answers to, and some which I have to ask my co-workers, who are seriously just the best people. Have I mentioned how lucky I feel to have this job? It’s seriously like winning the lottery. Even on days when we’re super busy and I’m literally running (to the point of sweating! You don’t think of library work as work that you have to dash all over the place for, but believe me, I’ve put some MILES on my shoes, and a ton of it in a hurry!) all over, I still love every single second of it. 

I’ve got future plans for other things, though, so I spend a lot of time studying, and that’s going well; I’m over a third of the way through the biggest book, and I’m pleased at the progress I’m making. (Once I’m done taking notes from there, I’ll just be studying my notes. I’m an excellent note-taker!) It feels good to be using my brain again, you know? 

My younger daughter is doing SO well in school this year. Last year, her first year back, was a struggle, both socially and academically (more of finding her place and learning to take direction and criticism from her teachers than anything else), but this year? She absolutely loves going to school every day, and she has a really wonderful friend group, so I couldn’t be happier with the progress she’s made. Emotionally, too, she’s learned to self-regulate WAY better than she has in the past. She’s a different kid than she was last year, and it’s been nothing short of miraculous to witness. I’m so proud of her, and so happy about how much she’s grown and how much better our relationship is.

So things are going well here for me at the Library household; I’m just busy, busy, busy, almost every moment. Not a lot of downtime around here, but I’m staying afloat in the midst of the chaos. : )

Wishing you a happy, healthy, safe November, with all the great reads you could hope for!