Hi bookworms, how’s it going? It’s been another quick week here with more windy, mild conditions. Our dog Willow has been out sunning herself with the pumpkins on the front stoop. She’s apparently protecting them, lol. It’s almost Halloween (already?!) and I realize I haven’t read any ghoulish kind of fiction this month. I usually like to pick up some kind of spooky thing. Though I did read the crime novel The Death of Us this month and watched The Lost Bus movie about the fire in California, both of which have some scary elements to them. But it’s not the same as a Shirley Jackson kind of tale or a movie or book that’s got haunted houses and ghosts causing havoc in the night. Have you read any this month? What would you recommend (either book or show)?
And I know it’s late October, but it’s better late than never to talk about a recap of my Summer reading Challenge. The ones pictured above were the 15 books I picked at the end of May that I hoped to get to. And I did finish them all except for one, which was Tim Winton’s novel Juice. That novel alluded me and it’s not easy to find, but I still plan to read it sometime. The rest were all quite good and I didn’t find any duds among the bunch. It’s hard to rate which ones I liked best or that stood out to me (most were four stars), but I’ve tried to list them below in some kind of order of which I thought were strongest. I’m still tinkering with the order.
- Audition by Katie Kitamura — it’s up for the Booker
- A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst — an unreal lost at sea true tale
- Nesting by Roisin O’Donnell — an Irish women’s abusive marriage and escape
- Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall — a British love triangle gone wrong
- The Death of Us by Abigail Dean — a married couple’s struggles after a home invasion
- Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie — the lives of four African women who are at a crossroads
- Heartwood by Amity Gaige — an all out search for a lost hiker
- Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh — a hit-and-run accident upends a women’s life in Shanghai
- The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali — a lasting female friendship set during the political upheavals of Iran
- Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid — the early days of female astronauts in the space program
- So Far Gone by Jess Walter — an older reclusive man journeys to protect his grandkids from a militant group
- Tilt by Emma Pattee — a pregnant woman’s journey across her city in the aftermath of a major earthquake
- The Last Secret Agent by Pippa LaTour — a female spy’s true tale of her days in Nazi Occupied France
- The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight — a woman at the University of Edinburgh tries to find out secrets about her parents
So there you have it. All in all, it was a pretty lively summer of reading with these books. And I pretty much liked them all. Did you read any of these?
And now I’ll leave you with a review of what I finished lately.
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie / Knopf / 416 pages / 2025
Synopsis: Each segment of the novel follows a different African woman during the pandemic who are all friends — Chiamaka, Zikora, Kadiatou, and Omelogor — as they come to crossroads in their lives and figure a path forward.
Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer who recalls her past lovers and struggles with her choices and regrets. While Zikora is a lawyer in D.C. about to experience motherhood for the first time and upset that her partner has left. Whereas the outspoken Omelogor leaves a job of fraud in Nigeria to enter an MBA program in the States, only to find herself angered by her righteous classmates. And most disturbingly, Kadiatou is assaulted by a prominent man while at her hotel cleaning job and it blows into a public scandal.
My Thoughts: This was one of my last books on my summer reading list, lol. I thought there would be more interaction between the four women and it would be about their friendship, but no, the segments for the most part are pretty separate and it’s mostly about each of their lives and what they experience separately. It almost seemed like linked stories of the women, all of which have echoes of feminist themes.
I listened to it as an audiobook and the different narrators enlivened the story, and the first half with the women Chiamaka, Zikora, and Kadiatou I was engaged with. But then the latter half with Omelogor and a final part with Chiamaka went a bit off the tracks for me. My mind wandered and it sort of exhausted me as it went on too much. So the early parts kept me interested and the later parts tired me a bit. It seems I might have liked her 2013 novel Americanah slightly more, but I was glad to have finished this one too as I liked the women generally and the book’s feminist themes.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read any of these and what did you think? How’s your reading been?
Willow is a cutie… protecting the pumpkins! 😉 I read four in your summer list and three more are potential reads in the first few months of the new year. It seems you liked Dream Count but with caveats. Just curious, what would be your rating? Happy reading and enjoy your week!
Hi Carmen, thanks Willow is a pretty sweet dog. And the pumpkins are ready for Halloween, lol.
It was a bit hard for me to rate Dream Count. Just based on my liking of it — it’s around a 3.8. It would’ve been a four but her books seem overly long and get a bit tiresome. I enjoyed the first three segments of the book. And then later my mind began to wander. Perhaps it was not the book? Enjoy your reading.
I really liked the book Dream Count. I thought the characters were effectively portrayed.
For example, I wrote: “ The poorest woman in the story, Kadiatou, works as a hotel maid in New York, and her high-profile experience is based on the much-publicized rape of a hotel maid by the famous French banker Daniel Strauss-Kahn, in 2011. However, the author created an entirely different background for the character and her reaction to the events and the cancellation of the prosecution of the perpetrator, imagining an original persona into existence”…
https://maefood.blogspot.com/2025/04/april-is-here.html
Hi Mae, thanks, I’m glad for your review and thoughts on the book. You’re right that the characters are effectively portrayed. And it’s interesting that the rape is based on those by Daniel Kahn, which she talks about in an author’s note at the end. What the case does to Kadiatou is like a second crime after the rape. I thought her parts were strong. It was probably just me about the book going on a bit long with Omelogor and Chiamaka.
I appreciate your thoughts on the book since it makes me see things anew.
If you still have all four pumpkins then Willow is doing a grand job of protecting them. She’s so cute.
Of your impressive list of books I have read Heartwood, started Broken Country and the library due date came up so it went back. The Last Secret Agent is in my holds but I suspended it because i have been reading so many other things. I like how they have that feature – suspend and keep your place in line.
I just finished Sylvia Plath’s book The Bell Jar because my classic spin was a bust. I tried, but life is too short to keep plugging away when I have so many I want to read. The book was A Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford by the way. Many people liked it. I didn’t.
Thanks Tina, Willow is a pretty sweet girl … and the pumpkins are still there!
I’m glad that the summer reading list went pretty well this year. They were a good mix of action stories and also dramas and character plots. So I liked the mix. I’m looking forward to finishing PW this year and being free in my reading next year.
I’m curious what you thought of The Bell Jar. It’s been so long since I read it. I will look for whenever you review it. I recall it being good and sad.
Have a great week.
If you want a fun short ghostly novella, my sister and I wrote one called Ghosts of Grayhaven. It’s available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. It’s got a secret cemetery, a vengeful ghost and an awesome dog in it. And it reads fast. 😀
Hey thanks Lark. I just bought your book on Amazon and it’s being sent to my Kindle. 🙂 I like to support my fellow Bloggers/writers and also I need a ghostly tale. It looks good. By the way, I didn’t realize you have the same last name as me, lol. Have a great week.
I’m listening to Heartwood — an exciting story!
Hi Joy, Glad you’re checking out Heartwood. It is a pretty good one!
Have a great week.
These all look great. I have a few on my TBR. I am currently listening to a Carissa Broadbent fantasy and reading a Julie Clark book.
Hi Hena, thanks for stopping by. My summer list seemed a good mix this year, some action, some dramas. I will stop by your site and see your reads. Cheers, have a great week.
I like the picture of Willow guarding the pumpkins. Surprised no one has thought up pumpkin flavored dog food yet. I think dogs would like it.
I think for Halloween I know I really liked Darcy Coates’s novel The Haunting of Ashburn House. It’s horror but not extreme horror and it has a good ending.
Hope you have a great Autumn and Happy Halloween!
Hi Kathy, thanks, Willow would be happy eating pumpkin flavored food. In fact, we sometimes feed her (and Stella) some pumpkin food out of a can (per our vet) as apparently it helps their digestive tracts. Who knew?
Thanks for the title & spooky book – I will look for it at the library. It’s getting brisk outside now, so it’s nice to have a spooky one.
Hope your autumn is good too. Happy reading.
I already have 4 of the books on your summer reading list on my TBR list, but now that I’ve read your descriptions, I’m going to add: The Lion Women of Tehran and Tilt.
Willow looks so sweet sunbathing among the pumpkins.
Hi Olivia, hope all is well overseas. Congrats on your residency!
And thanks, Willow is happy and loves to sunbathe. 🙂
I think you would like both books, particularly maybe Tilt as it is fairly short and has some action to it. The Lion Women is pretty epic over several decades but is a tale of bravery, friendship, and has some tragic elements to it. I’m always interested to hear tales of resistance out of Tehran.
Have a great week.
Lovely dog and lovely fall colors in your header picture. Fall has not properly arrived yet here in southeast Texas, although the temperatures have moderated somewhat. As for reading, I have not read any of the books on your list, although I might get to some of them later. Truth to tell, I’ve found it hard to focus on reading for pleasure recently as I’ve been both mesmerized and appalled by the news of the day. Here’s hoping for happier days ahead.
Hi Dorothy, thanks the fall is pretty nice up here. And I can totally relate that it’s hard to focus. I really have had to cut back on my news intake in order to live life at all. It’s really upsetting, so I feel I try to stay informed generally speaking, but I don’t spend much time on it. Otherwise my head would explode. take care, and enjoy your garden late in the season.
Audition is a book I’m very curious about. I just started and put down (for now) the new book by Kiran Desai, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. Desai will be speaking in Houston in November. Both books are up for the Booker. Maybe hearing Desai speak will motivate me to read her latest book. Or maybe seeing who wins the Booker will motivate me to read that book.
I read and enjoyed Dream Count. It was after hearing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie speak.
Hi Deb, Audition is a bit of a puzzle, it’s quite short and I’m still a bit puzzled by the book … but it’s a bit creative how it’s put together. And it’s very cool that you will be hearing Kiran Desai speak (as you did Adichie). Hers is a long novel so I’ve moved it to read in the new year. I sort of have picked Desai to win the Booker though I haven’t read it yet. We will wait & see. I’m glad you liked Dream Count … I found it a bit overly long but the women’s stories engaged me for the most part. Maybe I can find Adichie’s talk on YouTube. Have a great week.
Lovely photo of Willow. The only spooky or ghoulish stories I have read this year are a few short stories, and none of those were very scary.
I would like to read Audition before they announce the Booker Prize but I am pretty sure I won’t get to it before 2026. I have a copy of Tilt. Put a bird on a cover and I want to buy it, which makes no sense.
I still think I want to read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but I have recently purchased a copy of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, so I will read that and see how I like her writing.
Currently I am reading At the Table of Wolves by Kay Kenyon. It was suggested by my son and combines alternate history and paranormal occurrences. Set in 1936 in Great Britain and Germany. It is good so far; I am just afraid it will have a cliffhanger ending because it is part of a trilogy.
Hi Tracy, thx glad you like the Willow photo 🙂 Tilt is quite a story — dramatic. I think you might like it. Though I found the lead woman had sort of a rough mouth at first, which made her unlikeable, but then later I came to like her more. She grew on me. See what you think.
Atmosphere was enjoyable for a summer kind of read. Some action & drama. I havent read The Seven Husbands novel so I can’t compare. You’ll have to let us know about that one. I didn’t like all of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s other books; disliked her novel Carrie Soto Is Back.
I look forward to your review of the Kay Kenyon book. I don’t know her but her book sounds pretty gripping. 1936 would be a scary time in Europe. Hope you enjoy it.
Have a great week.
We had wind here this weekend, but it’s pretty calm now, thank goodness. Always a concern when the gusts get above 50 with all these trees (and 3″ of rain in 24 hrs.). This month is flying… I keep thinking were still in the first half! I haven’t read anything scary, but we watched A House of Dynamite the other day and that was intense!!
I’ve added a lot of your books to my tbr list. Atmosphere, Broken Country, The Death of Us, Heartwood, Nesting, Rabbit Moon, Marriage at Sea, and Dream Count (which I just found in our community library) are all sounding good to me!
My reading was going really well (The Correspondent and The Names were both big winners), but then I had a couple that were pretty disappointing. I was just starting another novel, but I’m going to set it aside since I know I can’t finish it quickly. I’m going to dive into Nonfiction November a few days early. That is, if the World Series doesn’t keep me up until close to midnight again! Last night’s epic game was fun to watch, but I’m not used to staying up so late anymore. I went straight to sleep instead of my usual hour of reading. But, yay for the Dodgers!! Let’s see if they can get another win tonight, but in 9 innings instead of 18!
Tell Willow she’s a good dog!
Hi Lesley, Willow is a pretty good girl. And Ha Ha – We are rooting hard for the Blue Jays and they tied it up tonight! Wow it’s exciting. I haven’t watched this much baseball in years, but we are invested now. The Dodgers are tough, but the Jays are fighting.
I’m glad you’ll be adding a few of these novels to your tbr. And it’s a good idea about moving on to Nonfiction November. I think I will do the same.
I can’t believe you had 3″ of rain — we’ve had much wind but it’s been very dry. And you’re brave to watch House of Dynamite — seems too scary to think about right now, lol. The world seems so uncertain, sigh. Have a great week.
Yeah, House of Dynamite was a bit unsettling given the current events in the US. Thankfully, baseball is a good distraction. If anyone is going to beat the Dodgers, I’m happy that it might be the Jays. Yay, Canada!! We’ll see how it goes in the next game or two. Honestly, I think the Jays are playing better than the Dodgers. Great offense! Enjoy. 🙂
Yeah Lesley, the World Series has been really fun to follow; we’ve been watching each night. Exciting for Canadians. It’s been so long since the Jays have done anything and won it. Now they have given themselves a chance. It’s still far from decided but we’ll be rooting them on. Hope you enjoy it.
I have Stephen King’s Holly on my TBR shelf, I should add it to my list of November reads along with the nonfiction.
I like Dream Count and thought the audio was a good way to read it.
How it is November tomorrow?!
Hi Helen, it’s crazy … time has been flying by. It seems I have no idea where half of Sept and all of October went. It was like a blink of an eye.
I enjoyed the different narrators of Dream Count on the audio book. It just went on a bit much for me. But overall it was an interesting listen.
I hope you enjoy Holly. I will look for your review once you’re done.
Happy Halloween today!
We went with fake pumpkins this year as our dog failed at protecting the real ones from marauding squirrels every single year! Happy Halloween!
You definitely had a lively summer with a host of great books. I still need to read Atmosphere. I just haven’t been in the mood, but I know I will get to it.
I really liked Americanah and have been thinking about adding Dream Count to the list, but not sure. Your review makes me still not sure 🙂 So many books to choose from. Must choose wisely.
Hi Jane, just now saw your message, thanks. The squirrels eat your pumpkins? That’s bad, argh. Luckily our pumpkins are still alive out front. We don’t have many squirrels here … but have other critters like skunks and foxes.
Atmosphere was better than I thought it’d be. It’s a little melodramatic but still I found the story – especially for a summer read – worthwhile.
If you really liked Americanah, you will probably also like Dream Count quite a bit. I’m curious to hear which novel you’d like more. I guess you should add it to your list. I thought the story went on a bit long for me …. but maybe you’d not mind it. See what you think. Cheers!