What I Read In October

If you wanted to find me as a child there were two places to look, my bedroom where I’d be reading a book or the public library where I’d be reading a book. I’m so grateful to have the education and ability to read, but most importantly I’m grateful to have SO MANY books available to read.

I borrow most of my books from the Sacramento Public Library with the Libby App. I read a combination of audio books and ebooks. I’ll also occasionally purchase a book either because I want to support the author, like Elise Blaha Cripe, or because I find it at a great price at a used bookstore!

I’m often asked what I’m reading, so here is my list for October. Let me know what you are reading too. I love to read what others recommend, it’s a great way to know more about what makes someone who they are!

So, here you have my books in order that I read them this month!

I love reading Young Adult literature. They often address current issues in a direct way. The Poet X is the story of a young Dominican girl in Harlem struggling with her relationship with her mother, her body, and the church. It’s beautifully written in verse.

Our life experiences are very different, but our decades are very similar. Kelly tells her story in a raw and real way. I laughed and cringed along with her.

My fourteen year old son is not happy I read this book. While I was waiting for this to arrive from my library holds list, my husband forward me an article about it. I’ve struggled with my technology and social media dependence and this book arrived just in time. We’ve since unplugged one day a week and are loving how it impacts our family. Tiffany shares her ten years of unplugging each week along with her reasoning and strategies to make it work.

I’d highly recommend listening to this. If you’ve read other Malcolm Gladwell or are familiar with his podcast, Revisionist History, be warned this is very different for him. He opens the book with the story Sandra Bland. It doesn’t get any easier after that as he shares a number of legal cases demonstrating how poorly we know each other and how that inhibits our interaction. It’s an important book with a more important message.

Okay, this is another Young Adult novel, but admittedly this wasn’t the deepest or most important book I’ve read this year. It was an interesting story of two people traveling across country together and what they discover about themselves. An entertaining and easy read.

I can define my 2019 reading with two kinds of books — young adult literature written in verse and immigrant stories. Other Words for Home combines both in the beautiful story of a young girl who must leave her father and brother behind in Syria for the safety of her American uncle’s home. It explores the pain of being separated from family, the unknowns of friends living in a war torn area, and the perils of being different in America. Every word was beautifully crafted.

If you follow Marc and Angel Chernoff this book will sound very familiar. It reads like a collection of their blog posts and is broken into numerous chapters. A simple, uplifting read.

I somehow avoided reading this when it came out about fourteen years ago. Maybe it was having an infant in the house? If you love grammar or use words, this is still relevant and funny. I think it’s the only time I’ve ever laughed out loud at a book about grammar!

Do you ever read a book and wonder, “how on earth did I pick this one up?” That would be Hollow Kingdom for me. This is a zombie book told from a crow’s perspective. Yes, you read that correctly. He is a witty crow. Although not my typical genre, this was a delight to read. It’s absurd and funny and completely whacko different with an important (and daunting) final message. Read it and then let’s get together for coffee and talk about it!

Yes, I read about crows and then I read classics. This is actually the revised edition of Moveable Feast written by Hemingway’s grandson. It includes material not in the original published book and also uses a different order of chapters. Reading it now after having visited Paris was a special treat knowing I’ve walked exactly where Hemingway did.

I still use a paper planner to organize my life, so bullet journaling has been on my radar for a while. Carroll weaves instruction for bullet journaling together with reasons why you should consider it in a convincing and compelling way. I’m sticking with my Get To Work Book because I love it, but after reading this I have numbered each of the pages, written an index, and grabbed a few more ideas from his pages!

Speaking of the Get To Work Book! The last book I devoured in October was by Elise Blaha Cripe, who is a Sacramento native and designer of the Get To Work Book. I’ve read a lot of books on setting goals, managing time, etc. This is at the top of my list for practical, realistic, and matter of factness. I walked away with concrete ideas I am putting into place. Get a physical copy of this one because you’ll want to have it around to reference.

What did you read in October? What’s on your list for November? Share in the comments below.