Thankfully, this month went by smoothly without any more quarantines in our household. I have been reading every spare minute I could this month because my October calendar is a little on the full side and I am not sure how much reading I will be able to get in. I always get people who are skeptical about how much I read. Isn't it exhausting to have to explain it all the time? It is the same old, "No, I don't skim-read. Yes, I listen to audiobooks. Yes, those count as reading."

Every morning I read a section of whatever Tolkien book I am on and a daily grief section during breakfast. After I get my kids ready and sent off to school, I head to the gym, where I start listening to my current audiobook. I am at the gym for about an hour, then I run any errands (yep, I listen to the audiobook while doing that too.) Then it is time to get work done on my blog and for the magazine. If I have time, I get a good parking lot at the school and I read until my kids are done for the day. After we get home, I start chores while listening to an audiobook and my boys play and take a break. Then it is homework and dinner time. If we have gymnastics or taekwondo, I read during practice. (Because of COVID, we have to stay in the car anyway.) After dinner and practice, we like going to the park or for a walk. Before bed, I read to my boys. We are currently reading The Percy Jackson series. We just started The Lightning Thief and they love it!--In fact, they both yell, "Foooooood," all the time now, thanks to Grover. After bed at 8 pm, I am reading. And depending on how good the book is or how tired I am, I don't stop reading until 11 pm or 12 am. So on a regular day I could listen to 4-6 hours of an audiobook and read 4-6 hours of a book. Obviously, this isn't guaranteed. When my son was quarantined, that number was cut in half, if not more. Some people read fast. Some read slow. Some read a book a day. Some read a book a year. It is all reading and we should all just share the love, not critique people for how much or how little they read. For me, reading is a safe place, so I tend to spend more time in books than anywhere else.

I have read 25 books this month. 9 of the books were audiobooks and 16 were regular books. I also had one DNF this month.

DNF~ Dominion by Matthew Scully. Scully was very preachy about how much he loved animals, but yet he supported, praised, and excused politicians who passed legislation that are actually detrimental to animals and their ecosystems. And man, did he have it out for Peter Singer author of Animal Liberation. So I stopped reading because I could not handle the hypocrisy anymore.

Now for the books that I read!

Audiobooks:

The Only Plane in the Sky by Garrett M. Graff ~ 5 stars ~
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman ~ Review Coming Soon ~
The Greatest Beer Run Ever by John "Chick" Donohue ~ Review Coming Soon~
The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware ~ Review Coming Soon ~
The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore ~ 5 stars ~
The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte ~ Review Coming Soon ~
New Spring by Robert Jordan ~ Review Coming Soon ~
Dune by Frank Herbert ~ Review Coming Soon ~
The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth ~ Review Coming ~

Currently Listening: One by One by Ruth Ware

NetGalley Reads:

Ghost Sightings by Brian Innes ~Review Coming Soon
Horseman by Christina Henry ~ 5 stars ~
The Rage of Innocence by Kristin Henning ~ 5 stars ~
The Last House on Needless St. by Catriona Ward ~ 2 stars ~

InD'Tale Reads:

The We and The They by Kyra Ann Dawkins ~ 4.5 stars ~
The Accidental Duke by Barbara Devlin ~ 5 stars ~
Exiled Duke by K.J. Jackson ~ 4.5 stars ~

Books:

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat ~ 5 stars ~
Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena ~ Review Coming Soon ~
The Dressmakers of Auschwitz by Lucy Adlington ~ 5 stars ~
The Children of Hurin by JRR Tolkien ~ Tolkien Tuesday ~
The Unfinished Tales by JRR Tolkien ~ Tolkien Tuesday ~
My Captive Highlander by Vonda Sinclair ~ Review Coming Soon ~
Highlander Unbroken by Vonda Sinclair ~ Review Coming Soon ~
Slaughterhouse by Gail A. Eisnitz ~ Review Coming Soon ~
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin ~ Review Coming Soon ~

Currently Reading: The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall

What was your favorite read this month?

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