October 2026 Reading

Halloween has passed, so here we are in November.  Yes, I’m doing my reading log late.  It’s because I spent 11 hours yesterday in a car.  (And, for the record, even though I do this because my younger son needed some kind of reason besides it being an assignment to do reading logs, I am not actually in school any longer and I don’t care if this being late goes on my Permanent Record.  So there.)

Anyway:  I read ten books in October.  Five of them were audiobooks.  I continue to listen my way through Agatha Christie.  This time, I heard The Hollow, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and The Secret of Chimneys.  All three were good examples of her work, although I expect Roger Ackroyd is one of her most famous.  Hugh Fraser continues to be my favorite reader.  The other two audiobooks were Terry Pratchett:  Wyrd Sisters and Pyramids!  Of the two, I preferred the former to the latter, but both are funny and insightful and 100% worth listening to.

 

Despite my overburdened to-read shelf, some books jump the queue.  The existence of a new Louise Penny novel causes this to happen.  Miss Wolcott’s Ghost was fabulous and I definitely stayed up past my bedtime to finish it on the day it arrived.  While I enjoy all Penny’s books, I do prefer the mysteries to the more political thrillers, so this one was tailor-made for me.  I will take any opportunity to hang out with the citizens of Three Pines, no matter what they’re doing, but if they happen to be solving crime, so much the better.

Another exception:  walking into the bookstore and discovering that there's a new T. Kingfisher.  Daggerbound is awesome and hilarious and wonderful.  What's not to like about a gay romance between a former monk/scholar and a guy trapped in an enchanted sword?  Go read it.

 

One of my church book groups is currently discussing, chapter by chapter, Theology:  The Basics and Theology:  The Basic Readings by and edited by, respectively, Alaistair McGrath.  As a group, we’re not done yet, but I finished the books because I needed to tick things off my list.  The books do exactly what they say they will.  I feel like I have had an introduction to various theological concepts and like I have had a chance to read some primary sources.  McGrath is a lucid writer and explains things well.  I am just not that into theology.  (My personal belief does best when it is allowed to lurk by itself rather than getting examined and dissected.)  (Plus, one of the few tenets of my belief that I can successfully articulate is that God is bigger than my understanding.  This makes theology at best an intellectual exercise and at worst a waste of time.)  I’m just not a fan.  No shade on the books themselves and if you’re into theology, I’m sure it’s a reasonable place to start.

 

Finally, I am getting a jump on my 2027 theme reading.  2027 is the Year of Noticing and Exploring.  I know the theme does not really roll off the tongue, but nonetheless I’m doing it.  In terms of reading, I’ll be learning about how we notice things in the first place and I’ll be reading about various explorers.  In the latter category, I read Anthony Bale’s translation of The Book of Marvels and Travels by John Mandeville.  Sort of.  In the sense that Mandeville probably didn’t exist and has more candidates who could have been him than Shakespeare has (but Shakespeare was real and did in fact write his own works).  The Book is partly a straightforward travelogue and partly… not.  There are miracles and weird creatures and odd happenings all over the place, plus Prester John.  The book was hugely influential in its day, cited by both Chaucer and Shakespeare (yes, I know they lived in different centuries, but that just speaks to the staying power of Mandeville).  The tone is chatty and almost gossipy, down to the “well, I can’t say for sure, but I heard…”  Niche, perhaps, but a fun read.

 

October total:  10

Fall 2026 to date:  19

2026 Year to Date:  101