Physical: 6
Audio: 4
Mix: 4
DNF: 1

In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to go with a zombie reading theme this month. But since I am scared of the horror genre, a zombie theme means that most of the books in October rose from the depths of the DNF list to come back to life. My experiment showed that the timing and format of books truly makes a difference. I’m happy to report that many of the books I was wishy washy on actually passed the second chance test. (To be fair, I only picked books that had a legitimate shot.)

Format: Mix of Audio/Physical
Genre: Sci-fi/Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
October Quest for Redemption: I never quit this book, but I thought about quitting this book. D’oh! So this was a slow-and-steady story, but I finished it!

I picked this book because it falls in the “secret projects” category of Brandon Sanderson novels, and Tress of the Emerald Sea was my favorite book of the YEAR. Unfortunately, this book did not create the same magic in my head. While the premise was fantastic (waking up in a parallel dimension without memories), this trip through a portal was often a slog. There was humor, but it was often based on a recurring joke that got pretty old. The middle part of the book got really in the weeds of world building. It was cute, but it wasn’t the Tress-like delight I was anticipating.

Format: Mix of audio/physical
Genre: Contemporary Romance (rated PG-13 tops)
Rating: 4/5
October Quest for Redemption: Success! I quit this book because of the audio book’s male narrator. Imagine saying the name “Bree” in the skit of SNL’s The Californians over and over. The surfer dude was killing the vibe. Once I got the physical copy from the library, I was able to fly through the book. I’m glad I didn’t give up on it, because the ending picked up into a Hallmark movie style.

Look, this is a contemporary romance that can make adult characters sound like teenage angst. It’s annoying and cavity-inducing from pure sweetness. Sometimes it reads like “OMG YOU GUYS – HE DOESN’T EVEN LIKE ME LIKE THAT”. However, if you are in the mood for a closed-door (but still plenty of tension) rom-com, this will do the trick. It’s a friends-to-lovers banter-filled adorableness that could cut out 200 pages if one of them would shut up and say “I like-you-like-you”. If you need a fast rom-com, it’s not bad.

Format: Physical
Genre: Children’s Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
October Quest for Redemption: I had recently quit another book by this author that was adult fantasy, so I gave her another shot with a children’s book. It was okay.

It had been too long since I did a read aloud with the boys, and this book had a giant cat on it. An obvious pick. However, it took way too long to introduce the reasons for why this cat was magically growing (Spoiler: Just Random Magic). The characters were cute, but the boys lost interest pretty quickly. In fact, I finished it off on my own and summarized it for them. No regrets.

Format: Audio
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
October Quest for Redemption: In a reverse of The Cheat Sheet scenario above, this time I needed to swap out the physical book for the audio.

I will totally admit that I messed up with this series. I quit this book, read the 5th one, and then came back when realized I needed the 4th one completed for it all to make sense. Long story short, this series is super uneven in pacing, filled with a ridiculous amount of characters, and riddled with cliffhangers. It’s like four books have been shuffled together. As much as I should probably drop it all together, I will almost certainly read the next book in the series.

Format: Physical
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4.25/5
October Quest for Redemption: I quit another Freida McFadden book this year, but I kept hearing about how much people LOVE her and this book was popping up everywhere. I’m glad I gave her a second chance (but it might be a while before I try again).

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t *that*. I hate to write anything about it, because spoilers would ruin the creepy experience. I raced to finish this book, but I didn’t want to pick it up at the same time. If you want a messed-up-psychological-thriller, this is a good one.

Format: Audio
Genre: Cozy Fantasy
Rating: 2/5

It’s a book about dreams, and it will put you to sleep. The cover and the summary lured me in, but this was a snooze. I’m all about cozy fantasy low stakes, but this was NO stakes. Seriously, there was no conflict and barely anything happened. I kept waiting for a plot, but it was pretty much only world building. It’s a cool world, but I definitely missed the point.

Format: Physical
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
October Quest for Redemption: Confession time. I had only heard good things about this book, but I absolutely hate the imagery of fish out of water. The cover kept me from a great book for the last 12 years. However, I saw that they were making a movie on Disney+. The trailer was so good that I immediately checked out the book.

Wow. As a fifth grade teacher, I really missed the boat on this book. It pulls of the wonderful feat of representing disabilities and diversity without pandering in a condescending tone. While the ending got a bit far-fetched and obnoxious, the first 75% of this book was amazing. It shows the harsh realities of growing up and being different, while also demonstrating empathy and what happens when people lead with compassion. I loved it and can’t wait until the movie comes out next month.

Format: Audio/Physical Mix
Genre: According to Wikipedia – “Tragedy” (Fun!)
Rating: 2.5/5
October Quest for Redemption: I picked this up at a thrift store and have started it at least 4 times. I’m glad to check it off the “classics” list, but it’s not the must-read I thought it would be…

Well, that was….fine? If you like miserable people, lots of fancy words, and the phrase “old sport”, this book is for you! The most hilarious part of this book is that I was unspoiled for a plot that is 99 years old. Hardly anything happens for 100 pages and then it goes off the rails. I am baffled why this is common high school literature, but yay for nerdy English teachers? What a weird little book.

Format: Audio/Physical Mix
Genre: Mystery
Rating: 1.75/5
October Quest for Redemption: I started this book and then got a nasty case of flu-Covid. It ruined the vibe. It did not pass the quest for redemption experiment.

I really wanted to like this book, but I was so annoyed by it. Maybe I need to finally give up on the “senior-citizens-are-quirky-and-above-the-law” genre. It’s obviously not for me. The huge cast and loose ends throughout this book are incredibly frustrating. Throw in random suicides and unlikeable characters, and I’m ready to quit the series. The overall writing was entertaining, but I was relieved when it was over.

Format: Audio
Genre: Mystery-ish Detective-y
Rating: 1.75/5

My sister recently recommended the Apple TV show based off of this book. As I was listening to the audio book, I had the rare thought of “this would actually make a better TV show”. For a novel, it was doing way too much – too many characters, side plots, crass descriptions… While it had some interesting plot twists, it was just plain unpleasant (trigger warning for language, body parts, sex, child death, murder, and more!). It would need the action sequences and Vince Vaughn humor of television to turn this plot around. It was interesting to see what Carl Hiaasen did with adult fiction, but this was too adult for me. Give me Hoot back.

Format: Physical
Genre: Children’s Fantasy
Rating: 3.5/5

I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It had so many delicious ingredients and the artwork was stunning. However, the characters fizzled and the last 20% was a bit disappointing compared to the amount of effort I had invested into this world. It has many similarities to Narnia or Harry Potter, but it was just frustrating in the end.

Format: Audio
Genre: Nonfiction
Rating: 3.25/5

This is another book that I wanted to rate much higher, but something was just missing. I used to be a pretty big history nerd, so I found these stories fascinating. The idea of telling the stories of lesser-known characters in history was intriguing and I was very impressed with the research and topics covered. However, it was too much. The organization of this book was so confusing. She jumped around chronologically, connected some stories while abandoning others, and broke the fourth wall with pop culture references and modern slang. I can even tell you who the “twelve unsung Americans” are from the title because SO many characters, events, and tangents were dumped in each chapter. It was overwhelming. Yet, the themes of the past are more than relevant today, and this was a fantastic reminder of how much (recent!) history is overlooked and forgotten.

Format: Physical
Genre: Middle Grade Fiction/Poetry
Rating: 5/5

Wow. This was unexpected. If you would have told me that a book written in free verse – that was also a minefield of bullying, fat shaming, and middle grade triggers – would somehow creep into my top 10 books of the year, I would have laughed in your face. This book was just vulnerable and awful and wonderful. I definitely wouldn’t give this to a young person and walk away, but it would help explain the need to have empathy for others and work as a good conversation starter.

Format: Physical
Genre: YA Fiction
Rating: 3/5

I enjoy the challenge of reading what my son’s book club is reading, but that doesn’t always mean I enjoy the book, haha. This novel was a boring journey through grief. The characters did eventually grow on me, but – whew – realistic sad fiction is not my jam. And again with the fish cover! Bwahahahaha.

The Quit List

This is a book that might be on the Redemption Quest List for another month. A guy landing on the surface of a planet where the inhabitants have to outrun the sun sounded intriguing. I tried, but I just couldn’t get into it.

I cannot believe it’s November when I post this. Here’s hoping to finishing the year with some real winner books! Happy reading!