Reading Wrap Up for October 2019

Recapping all the books I read in the month of October.

But wait, there's more!

[HardcoverHearts]

Get it done, indeed!!! It looks like you had a great reading month. Congrats.

[MatthewSciarappa]

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell is my favorite classic 💕

[uesue]

I've had Cranford on my self for a while, you convinced me to finally pick it up!

[shawnbreathesbooks]

Haven’t read Cranford- can’t wait! North and South is great but I really loved Wives and Daughters!

[whatjennsreading]

I’ve been meaning to read Gaskell for a while, and I was going to start with Wives and Daughters, but hearing people talk about Cranford this month has made me more excited to start with that one. And sooner rather than later.

[ameliareads]

I have read both novels by Sally Rooney. In both cases I wasn't overwhelmed by the writing and couldn't see why everyone was raving about it. Conversations With Friends ended up with a three star rating, so I thought maybe Normal People would convince me more and I would finally understand the hype. Well, I finished it, mainly because I did it as a wonderful buddy read, but rated it one star. It made me so cross.

I loved the Miss Fisher TV series, watched all seasons, but have never been interested in the books. Like you've said the character is very vibrant and also feminist in the series. But cosy mystery books usually don't work for me either.

[ReadingWithMoe]

I need to read more Elizabeth Gaskell, I loved North and South. Adding Cranford to my tbr!

[RickMacDonnell]

CHANT WITH ME, EVERYBODY


GAS-KELL GAS-KELL GAS-KELL GAS-KELL GAS-KELL

[SavidgeReads]

Shame about The Woman in White. I would have skipped the forward's and prefaces. I have only read one Gaskell and I didn't gel with it but think it was about the timing of reading it, rather than the book itself. I have ONE LAST story to go in Black Light.

[alldbooks]

Really enjoyed reading A Light in August it’s you!

[reginalemoine]

Novella: Since you’re going to be reading A Ladder to the Sky, I suggest Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice. It will illuminate some of what Boyne is doing in the first section of Ladder in regard to the struggle between art and integrity and sexual obsession. Plus, I may be biased, but I kind of think it’s the greatest novella ever written.

Gaskell: I liked North and South, but it’s not a favorite for me the way it is for lots of readers. I suggest Wives and Daughters. Although Gaskell died before she finished it, the ending is still satisfying and you’ll be able to see where she was going.

The Woman in White: Lots of Victorian novels have a good bit of padding due to the serialization process. Authors had to submit specific word/page counts for every installment, so if they were short they added details to bring up the word count without revealing parts of the plot before they wanted to. Although I’m not a huge Dickens fan, I think he pulls that off better than most.

I always look forward to your wrap ups. Six books in a month is still great, especially when you’re grappling with Faulkner and a chunky Victorian novel.

[readerofacertainage]

Normal People was a slog. About half way through, I started to skim read and skip chunks of the book. I did read the last 5 or so pages and wondered why???!!! A frustrating book. Perhaps I’ll stick an eyeball on Conversation with friends pages to see what I’m missing or not getting.

[jacquelinemcmenamin]

I didn’t take part in #Victober this year as I’m struggling to read piles of unread books before 2020. I’ve started my non fiction reading early. I’ve just finished
The Blowout by Rachel Maddow
Highly recommend it. It’s about fracking, fraud and political law breaking.
Cranford was adapted for tv here. You might be able to source it online. It had Judy Dench & all star cast.
I’d also recommend on Netflix
An Innocent Man
Mindhunter

[thoughtquake]

Hi Greg. I'd like to recommend a Canadian novel about an intersex character that I recently read & enjoyed - 'Annabel' by Kathleen Winter.