October TBR

I'm back with another TBR! If you missed my September TBR, you can check it out here. I really enjoyed writing that one, so I decided to do it again for the month of October!

Last month I actually stuck with my TBR pretty well! I read all of the books I listed except Once and for All by Sarah Dessen. Instead, I read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Go Set a Watchman was on my TBR, and after reading that one, I was dying to read To Kill a Mockingbird. I would never have imagined reading To Kill a Mockingbird for fun five years ago when I was forced to read it, but this time, I loved every page! It was such a good book. I couldn't even reconcile this fascinating, gripping story with the dull one that I had read all those years ago. I think I was just at a better age for really understanding all the nuances of the book.



But, the downside of rereading To Kill a Mockingbird after reading Go Set a Watchman meant that I was just even more upset by Go Set a Watchman. I truly believe that publishing it was a big mistake. But, to be fair, it did get me, and probably many others, to read or reread To Kill a Mockingbird, so there's that.

Anyway, back to my October TBR! First up is one that I am really excited about, for multiple reasons. It is Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang. It sounds like such a charming, fantastical, heart-warming story (my favorite!). It's not being published until November, but I recently became part of Book of the Month club and am getting an early copy (I feel so special!). (Book of the Month club has been so much fun. I definitely recommend checking out their website if you haven't heard of them. I've never looked forward to the first of the month so much before! Also, just in case you happen to decide to join... it would be super awesome if you used THIS LINK to sign up because then I'll get a free book!! Thanks a bunch.)

Okay, next up is one that I am already about half-way through. It's called Wild Swans by Jung Chang. I'm reading this one for my Modern Chinese Literature class that I'm taking this quarter. Usually I wouldn't put school books on my TBR list, but I'm really really liking this one. Also, it's very long and for now all of my reading time has been devoted to it.

This month I also want to read Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok. I got a copy of this book at a thrift store for free!! Also, I've been reading a lot of Chinese literature (Lisa See's The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane in addition to Wild Swans) so I'm in the right frame of mind for this book.

I also put The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood on hold at the library. I can't remember what made me decide to do that... a recommendation from a friend? A YouTube video? I forget. But regardless, it sounds really interesting so I'm excited to read it. Also, I've never read a book by Margaret Atwood, who I know is a very popular and accomplished author.

Last up -- The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Now, you may be thinking a whole bunch of things about this pick. One, it's crazy long (973 pages!!!!!!!). It may be the longest book I have ever read. (Previously, this record was held by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix at 870 pages.) Two, it's, from what I hear, R-rated and pretty gruesome. BUT I have also heard that it is an incredible story and the pages (all 973 of them) fly by. So I'm going to give it a go anyway. I wanted to buy this one instead of checking it out from the library because it will take such a long time to read. I was lucky enough to find a copy at the thrift store recently and I'm going to try to start it this month. (Emphasis on start. Definitely not finishing this one in October. A more reasonable goal is probably just by the end of 2017!!)

Oh man, I could talk about books forever. BUT, now that school has started, I've got some homework to do, so I'll check in again next Sunday!