Everything I Read in October 2024.

October was a lighter month of reading. Again. I have to be honest: with the election and a pretty hectic workload, my attention span has been shot, and reading on paper has been tricky. So, this list is a little bit light. I shot Bel Canto for the featured image, thinking I would have finished it by now, but I’ve not, and I feel like a bit of a failure. My plan for November (if I can ever get through Bel Canto!) is to read more “fun” books. I won’t be getting smarter, but I will be distracting myself! For me, that’s fast-paced thrillers that take my mind off work, world events, etc.!

I will say that if you are feeling stressed, listening to Ina Garten’s memoir on Audible was such a joy. It’s soothing, happy, interesting… all the things. I loved it and am in a bit of a book hangover now that it’s done.

I’d love to hear your recommendations (especially for candy-type thrillers) in the comments!

PS – Last month’s list!

Everything I Read in October 2024

Literary Fiction

Blue Sisters, by Coco Mellors

This came highly recommended to me by several people whose opinions I really value. And not surprisingly, I absolutely loved it! While it is quite dark at times (a lot of the plot centers around addiction and the three sisters’ fourth sister who died), the writing is spectacular, and I fell hard for each of the sisters. We meet the eldest daughter, Avery, a successful lawyer living in London with her wife, Chiti. (But before all that, she was a heroin addict.) Then we meet Bonnie, the pro boxer who retired early after a bad fight. And the youngest sister, Lucky, is a model who parties hard. Each sister struggles with addiction in her own way; each sister grieves second-to-youngest sister, Nicky, who died exactly a year ago. We learn about the sisters’ childhood and what motivates each of them. We see them through extremely difficult (hard to read!) fights. It’s really dark at times! But the way that Mellers captures the essence of sisterhood is pretty perfect. I loved the book and couldn’t put it down. Weeks later, I miss the sisters! I want more from these characters. Overall Score: A // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Thrillers

The Boyfriend, by Freida McFadden

This was a wild romp of a thriller—twisty and fun, I absolutely loved it! I will say that I have read a few books by this author, and she has a very distinct writing style. It is straightforward with a lot of telling, (and not a lot of showing). I don’t necessarily love her writing style. But the plot always makes up for it. This one had a great twist that hits you over the head (in the best way possible!). Sydney is 34, living in New York, and striking out, dating-wise. She’s just about given up when she meets a sexy doctor. She can’t believe her luck. But there are little signs between them that tell her he may not be serious about her. And she can’t shake the idea that he might be dangerous. When her close friend turns up dead, it seems like there could be a connection between her murder and other murders happening around the city. Each of the victims seemingly dated their killer. As Sydney begins to fear for her life, she doesn’t know who she can trust. Meanwhile, in alternating chapters, we meet a young Tom (and his high school sweetheart, Daisy). Is Sydney in danger? Is Tom a murderer? Overall Score: A- // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?, by Crystal Smith Paul

I needed a good fiction book and wow, this one delivered! This book is kind of like a mashup of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and The Vanishing Half. (Those are two of my favorite books, so this is a high praise!). The story starts a little bit slowly and is told in dual timelines. We meet Elise St. John, a wealthy Black actress in Hollywood. And then we meet Hazel and her daughter Mary Magdalene, two Black women navigating the Jim Crow south in the fifties. Hazel is a maid, working for a wealthy tobacco family. Mary Magdalene was the product of rape. In modern day, we learn that the famous white starlet Kitty Karr has passed away… leaving her entire (multi-million dollar) estate to Elise and her three sisters. This confuses the world: why would Karr do this? Is there something unsavory going on? Meanwhile, the St. John sisters have questions of their own. Elise is already dealing with stress in her own personal life (a cheating fiance, social media controversy!); the last thing she wants to do is sort out Kitty’s affairs and deal with the press. But when Elise discovers one of Kitty’s old journals, secrets that rock her world and could change absolutely everything about the world she knows come out. We go back in time to the segregated South, through LA in the sixties, and modern day. The story is all-consuming… I absolutely devoured it and found myself still thinking about it days after I finished. Overall Score: A // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

The Most Famous Girl in the World, by Iman Hariri-Kia

I wanted to love this one, but I’m not sure if I even liked it! The plot centers around an Anna Delvey-esque con artist (Poppy Hastings) and our protagonist, Rose Aslani, a young, ambitious journalist who struggles with addiction and mental health. Poppy had posed as high-society, old money, only to steal from everyone around her. Rose broke the story (only to turn Poppy into a bit of a celebrity). As the book opens, Poppy is being released from prison (after two years), and Rose might just lose everything Upon her release, several of Rose’s sources end up dead. Rose becomes convinced that Poppy is the killer. She quickly unravels (these parts were all very hard to read, so there is a content warning for suicidal thoughts, addiction, and destructive behavior). Meanwhile, Poppy’s star continues to rise, and Rose risks losing everything she’s worked for. First she’s fired from her job; are her friendships next? Can Rose prove that Poppy is guiltier than much more than people think? With the help of a handsome FBI agent, it’s a race against the clock. The plot of this was fun; I just found it way too campy and cheesy (and oftentimes totally off the rails!) for my taste. And I hated the ending! I completely understand it’s a satire, but the campiness was too much for me. It was over the top but (in my opinion) not in a good way! Add to that: I didn’t love Rose — I don’t always do well with a messy narrator. Still, the plot was enjoyable, and I’ll read anything even remotely inspired by Anna Delvey…, so maybe I am the problem! Overall Score: B // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org

Non-Fiction

Be Ready When the Luck Happens, by Ina Garten

There truly aren’t enough words for how much I loved this book! Ina Garten is obviously someone I admire and think the world of, but I loved getting to know her as a person. To hear how she built her business and got where she was today. (I had no idea that she started her career working for the government, nor did I realize she didn’t write her first cookbook until she was in her forties!). I loved hearing about her upbringing (hard to listen to, at times), and I especially loved hearing all of the ins and outs of her and Jeffrey’s relationship. They have such an incredible bond. From meeting when she was just in high school, dating, through a separation… I gobbled it up. I loved learning about how she built her business. The long hours running the shop in the summer… expanding and then deciding to move on. Cookbooks. Television. Paris. Figuring out social media and pivoting during the pandemic. I loved it all! This is one of the best audiobooks I’ve listened to in ages; I can’t recommend it enough. Overall Score: A+ // Order on Amazon.com or Bookshop.org