I set a new record this month! Unfortunately, it’s a record for the LOWEST number of books I’ve read in a month in the almost three years that I’ve been tracking my reading.  I think there are two primary reasons for this “failure.” First, I have been quite busy and my brain is too tired to read when I get home from work and evening obligations. Second, I feel like I’ve been in a reading slump since mid-September. I haven’t loved the books I’ve picked up lately so I was less eager to keep reading.

So, with that said, here are the four books I read in October.

A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle) – I really wanted to love this. There are some beautiful lines of inspiring writing. But I’ve come to learn that fantasy is just a genre than does not and probably will never resonate with me. Oh well.

This is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live (Melody Warnick) – I had some apprehension going in to this one because it is set in my beloved Blacksburg. The problem is that the author writes about Blacksburg as the town she didn’t love at all! I actually really enjoyed this one and appreciated the journey Warnick went on to love the place she lives.  It’s fun reading about your hometown since you’re able to picture all the places described in the book.  Also, the last couple chapter made me sob.  I love Blacksburg so much.

The Alice Network (Kate Quinn) – I think this one is being made into a movie and I think it will be a good one.  If you like historical fiction, especially set around the World Wars, you’ll like this book.  Each chapter goes back and forth between two characters and time periods, but it is easy to follow.

If I’m Found (Terri Blackstock) – This is the second book in a Christian suspense trilogy. I read the first about a year ago and really enjoyed it, but I think I’d forgotten too much of the plot of the first book.  I recommend waiting until the third book comes out this spring and reading all three at once.  It’s not award-winning fiction, but it’s a good, fast-paced story that keeps you wanting to know how it ends.

And that’s all the books I read last month. I hope November brings me out of this funk. Happy Reading!