Nov 24 2025
I Read Books in October.
OK this is very verbose and ambitious and definitely not some light, quaint beach read. It’s a series of interconnected (subtly, blink and you might miss it) stories about a case of flawed people experiencing rejection in different ways. I was really into this until toward the end when I reached the Main Character story, and then it blew my attention and interest into smithereens. I will say that this was some of the hardest writing I’ve ever read in terms of subject matter, while somehow still giving me moments where I genuinely laughed. There was one story that went DEEP into a gay Thai man’s kink and it was sending me back to my LiveJournal days when nothing was off limits and I wrote some seriously depraved shit but none of that even came close to this wildly imaginative smut.
I really wanted to give this a 5 but that one damn story really took me out of the zone.
2. The Dead Husband Cookbook by Danielle Valentine
Great cover but I spent much of the book asking myself, “No seriously, haven’t we already read this?” I think it’s just kind of a basic thriller. I was neither shocked nor awed but the audiobook version provided mild entertainment on my daily walks so I can’t complain. There were some genuinely creepy moments, but then way too many descriptions of meat and slaughter which ruined it for me. Middle of the road 3 stars.
3. The Watchers (The Watchers, #1) by A.M. Shine
I gave this a three only because the ending was pretty decent but I was alarmingly bored through the first 3/4 of this book. The only character I liked was the bird. I don’t think I will watch the movie (which is kind of funny because we were somewhere recently where it was on TV in the hotel – maybe Newark? – and even that seemed uninteresting yet I still picked up the book!! To my credit, I didn’t make that connection at first. Needless to say, I will not be continuing on to the next one in the series.
4. Small Spaces (Small Spaces, #1) by Katherine Arden
Sometimes we need a good, creepy Middle Grade horror in October for old time’s sake. This was really fun!
5. Ghost Camera by Darcy Coates
Oh. I didn’t realize this was a short story collection. I did enjoy the title … track? lol. But the rest were pretty lame. I was listening to this on audio and finished it at O’Hare airport during our stupid 5 hour delay and it did nothing to improve my mood. Also, one of the stories was about a plane crash, so amazing fucking timing.
6. Julie Chan Is Dead by Liann Zhang
And then I didn’t read AT ALL while we were in Romania. But I picked this one up when we got back and it was just OK. Actually, the first half was really great until the reveal (I guess?) happened and then it got really far-fetched and I quickly lost interest.
7. Heart the Lover by Lily King
You know that Friends episode where Monica is doing her erogenous zones demonstration and totally sends herself when she gets to 7? That is me telling you that this book is a 5! 5! 5! OMG FIVEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
I actually brought this with me to Romania and I am so glad I didn’t attempt to read it while on the plane or actually there because this fucking TREASURE, this MASTERPIECE, broke me. I was weeping messily at home reading it and I can only imagine the scenes I would have caused if I had been reading this in public. Lily King is a literary goddess. The way she writes her characters into existence, I felt like I was a part of it. I WANTED to be part of. It’s like feeling that aching tug of nostalgia for something you didn’t actually experience – Lily King does that.
The last sentence of this book fucking killed me. And then when I realized it is connected to her other masterpiece, Writers & Lovers, I lost my damn mind. I am crying just thinking about this book. If you take anything from this dumb book review post, let this be the one. Read this. Maybe ready Writers & Lovers first, but it’s not necessarily a must. (I recommend it though! You won’t regret it.)
(Maybe you will and if you do, don’t come for me.)
I am such a Miranda July fan-girl. This new one of hers was so gross and weird and poignant and hilarious and RELATABLE. Totally Miranda July-coded. Which also happens to be Erin Rachelle-coded. Every time I see one of her IG posts or read her latest book, I feel like we could be really great friends. She is so fucking weird lol.
I listened to the audio version of this which is narrated by July and her soft, quiet voice just really puts the bow on the package. Her writing is not for everyone, but it is for me. And I love her.
9. Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
What a waste of a great book cover. I did not enjoy this. Referring to this as horror is incorrect and deceiving. It was very boring and not even remotely scary or chilling. Sorry.
10.Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley
Sloane Crosley is up there in my Lily King god tier. This is her memoir about grieving the loss of her best friend, which happened to coincide with her apartment being broken into. The subject matter sounds like this would be extremely depressing and heavy-handed, and it IS very sad at times, but she manages to frame her friend’s suicide with these beautiful, funny, quirky vignettes to show us why she loved him, who he was, what he meant to her. The good and the bad. Definitely somber at times, and by the end, you will feel like you lost him too. You will go through all the stages with her. So beautiful and unforgettable, an amazing tribute to a best friend.
11. The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
When we were at Castle Blood, one of the items we obtained during our challenges was a plastic eyeball. “I’m actually reading a book right now about some girl who is obsessed with eating eyeballs,” I blurted out to the two strangers in our group. Why do I do these things. That statement hung in the air like a rancid fart before we all moved on with our quest in the Castle.
But no seriously, the protagonist in this book becomes obsessed with men’s eyeballs and eating them. This is an unhinged revenge mission and I loved it. FUCK GEORGE. FUCK ALL MEN, honestly.
OK I don’t know why I gave this just a 4 on Goodreads, because it was brilliantly chilling, exactly what I wanted for October! I actually purchased this for my Kindle about 5 years ago and then my Kindle broke and I’m sure there is still a way to read it but I am too lazy and forgot about it. I ended up just getting it from the library when I remembered that it existed and it was worth the wait. This was expertly craft, kept me rapt, filled me with dread, and the only far-fetched part of it in my mind was that this shit was going on when the two friends were IN KINDERGARTEN and running amok in the woods and neighborhood? I get that this was the 70s or 80s I guess, but it was still hard to picture these little Kindergartners out in the wild. I don’t know, maybe I’m just being hyper-critical because I had literally no other complaints with this book.
And those are the books I read in October, thank you for attention to this matter. – Queen ERK
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