Good Books and New Music - October Favourites

Nov 4, 2021
5 min read

Hello pals, and happy Thursday! It is the first blog post of the month, and with it comes a new monthly wrap-up. As usual, I will be dividing this wrap-up into categories: books, music and lifestyle.These are things that I have loved during the month, and hopefully these will help you discover new things, or be inspired to find you own favourites.

Without further ado, let's look back on the things I enjoyed this month.

Books

I have read nine books in total this month, which is a lot better than the two I read in September. I would say that nine is a high number for me, but still close to my average reading month? What helped me get the number on the higher side is that I have read three middle grade books in the same series and that I tend to go on a binge when I read middle grade series.

Among the books that I have read, you will find:

Six four-stars books
Three three-stars books

Unfortunately there are not five-stars books this month, and honestly I am a bit disappointed by it because I am really craving a five-star read at the moment. That being said, I did enjoy all of the books I have read.

Among the four-stars books, there are two japanese novels: The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa and The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. I got both of those books during my trip to London at the end of September and was very excited to pick them up. I was very intrigued by Natsukawa's novel because of its title. I am a big cat person, so any book with a cat on the cover and the word cat in the title is sure to get my attention, but when you add the word books to the mix, I do not even need to know what the book is about: I need to read it. And I am very glad that I did. It is such a sweet book and will appeal to every book lover. It really tries to remind you why you enjoy books in the first place and with it's magical setting, it does exactly that. Ogawa's novel on the other hand is one that I have been meaning to read for a long time. I have heard such great things about it, and everytime I found myself in a bookstore this past year, I have contemplated getting it: and I finally did! I really enjoy japanese literature, especially magical realism, and I have yet to find one that is not a four or five stars book!

The next couple of four-star books are part of the middle grade books series I mentioned earlier. When I was younger, I used to love the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore, which follow a young boy called James who gets recruited in an organisation that trains young spies. It has been a series I have been meaning to read again for a long time and I finally was able to start my reread. The first book The Recruit was as good as I remembered - though very early 2000s in some of the characters' behaviours. The third book Maximum Security was also really good and a book that I read very quickly.

The last two four-stars books are The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides and Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. I really enjoyed The Silent Patient, a lot more than the Maidens (you can find my review for it here). While it follow a similar narrative structure, the plot twist felt a bit more natural and I just really enjoyed the story itself. As for RWRB, I know that it is a well-loved novel in the book community, and I really enjoyed it, but I could not give it five-stars. Mostly, this was because of the way it was written and how it felt like a fanfiction that, yes had its moments, but was not properly developped in places and deserved a bit more focus on other plot points and characters.

The three three-stars reads are all very different from one another. The first one is the second book inthe Cherub series: Class A. It was fun, and like any middle grade book it was easy to go through, but I thought it maybe lacked a bit of the fun in the first book. Then , I read People Like Her by Ellery Lloyd, for which you can find my review here. And finally, The Familiars by Stacey Halls, which was probably one of the book I enjoyed the least this month. It was not bad, but I just could not get into the story, and coudl not bring myself to care about the characters.

Music

There are three main artists that I have been enjoying this month - on top of my usuals of course.

The first artist I have been listening to a lot this month is Matilda Mann. At the end of September, I went to see dodie in London and she had two opening numbers. While I really enjoyed both, and my friends and I danced around to Will Joseph Cook, there was something about the softness in Matilda Mann's songs that just stucj with me. I have listened to her songs on repreat since, and I love her music. It is very calm and sweet, and if you like folk type music I really recommend that you give her a listen.

Another album I have discovered is Slowmotionary by Ethan Gruska. This album is incredible, and one of those album that you should listen to in order all at once to get a full experience. He plays with sounds and music so perfectly and manages to create an eerie beautiful atmosphere throughout the entire album, an absolute masterpiece. For reference he has - among other things - produced Phoebe Bridgers' albums, so if you like her music you will probably enjoy his as well.

Finally, and because it was October and spooky season, an album that I have listened to a lot is the soundtrack from the Rocky Horror Picture Show (as well as the movie). It is a bit of a tradtion for me to listen to this album around October as I love musical theatre and Halloween. It is a perfect match. I also try to watch the movie around Halloween - especially since I get scared easily and horror movies are not for me at all, Rocky Horror is a good compromise.

These are all the things that I have enjoyed this month. What have you been reading in October? Is there something that you have discovered you want to share? I would love to hear from you! As usual, you can comment on here or find me on Instagram to tell me all about it.

Until next time xx