Victober Musings: Wrapping Up October

This is a snapshot of my entire month
Coffee, pizza, candles (and books)

I love a good readathon, but I loathe following prescribed lists. With that said, my Victorian October reads were all over the place-  like my hair on windy day's run.

This month, I recreated a Goodreads account. I know I know. I've gone on and on about how I didn't like the interface and I don't really like other people commenting on Goodreads about my reads (weird I know), but storygraph kept crashing on my phone. THEN, I moved back to paper journaling for my books and it was really inconvenient. I was out at the hospital and could not remember what other books I said I would read next, and so I created a private Goodreads account- and the new interface if better. Trash, but better.

October was filled with sleepless nights, loads of anxiety, and massive change. In other words, enter the escapist fiction.

I spent a lot of cool nights with Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton. I was so overwhelmed with sorrow as I read that novel. That is one sad book. I adore Gaskell's writing and the worlds that she creates, but I decided to put a hold on Ruth by her and save it for lighter times.

Mary Barton definitely had some Tess of the d'Urbervilles vibes, but I fear Ruth may actually have MORE.

Classics from this month

Classics I finished this month:

1. Volume IV: Sodom and Gomorrah by Marcel Proust - he really starts this one off with a bang
2. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell - loved this book. Broke my heart. 
3. Victorian Ghost Stories by Mary Elizabeth Braddon and Elizabeth Gaskell -creepy
4. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen -thousandth reread. LOVE it.
5. Volume V: The Captive by Marcel Proust - 2 volumes left

Cozy Mysteries I finished this month:

1. A Freshly Baked Cozy Mystery Series (enjoyed every one)
1. Apple Pie a la Murder
2. Trick or Treat and Murder
3. Thankfully Dead
2. Pumpkin Hollow Cozy Mystery Series (enjoyed these a little less, but still enjoyed)
1. Candy Coated Murder
2. Murderously Sweet 

I also read

1. Obsession by Clarice Lispector (a short story) - loved
2. Verity by Colleen Hoover (with the additional chapter) - hated

This month I downloaded all manner of books

I picked some classics by Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Gaskell, Dinah Mulock Craik, Kahlil Gibran, Cute Christmas Stories, Novels by Simone St. James, a few steamy Harlequin category romances, etc.

This has been a month of deeply remembering how vital my reading is to my well-being. My life is so stressful, and I need a balance now of intense classic literature + literary fiction, interspersed with romance novels and a few cozy mysteries.

I have to work on not burning out on cozy mystery series, and am just taking my reading as it comes. Now that I'm back on my private Goodreads, I am able to better track (or should I say more easily track) my reads, so my wrapping up November should be a bit easier.

As I craft my November TBR, I am filling the slots around my Reading Template. I'll post my TBR tomorrow. 

Happy reading and slow living.