Books Read in October

 

NOTE: I know I usually post my reading list on the last day of the month, but this month’s list is being posted early because I have way too much going on tomorrow, not the least of which includes Halloween stuff! So here is an early Happy Halloween!

 

The month of October was another whirlwind month! I started a new gig and there were some other things that were also keeping me busy. One of them is preparing for the launch of an imprint at Twisted Dreams Press that I will be in charge of. It is scheduled to debut next month and I am very excited about this!

 

But October has been a difficult month for me, too. For most of the month, I fell into a deep depression. Yes, I kept functioning and doing all the things that I had to do, but I had that lingering sadness really hit me hard. So hard, in fact, that I had no energy to decorate for Halloween, which is unusual for me because I usually go all out for Halloween every year. I practically turn our house into a Halloween house every October! I love Halloween and I always look forward to decorating our house for it on the first day of October. But not this year. I was just too depressed. I am still dealing with the grief of my brother’s passing, but I am also upset over all of the terrible things that have happened this year. I mean, my son’s dog died, we were hit with some major car repairs that went to shit because we ended up having to sell the car anyway because it couldn’t be fixed, I wasn’t able to get the surgery to correct the damage to my right eye because it cost too much, I was passed over for an acting gig, I fell out of my habits of working out and regained weight I lost, a whole mess of bad stuff happened at the press, my heart condition got worse, my youngest was in a car accident (he is okay but just traumatized), a book I had scheduled for publication in June of this year has been moved to June of next year, some of my book releases were delayed, a planned trip to California to attend a Halloween festival my sister is hosting was canceled, the publication schedule for the Week of Terrors anthology series was messed up and pretty much canceled and the books will not be coming out in subsequent months due to low submissions rates, I had to shell out more money just to save my monthly newsletter, and a host of other things. Not to mention the HORRIBLE state of the country thanks to our horrible president, who continues to do horrible things without any accountability at all. (Much respect to the brave souls taking a stand against him.)

 

When chatting with the family recently, we all agreed that this has been a bad year.

 

You know, I’m not even holding out hope that 2026 will be better. That’s what I said at the end of 2024; “maybe next year will be better.” But after one after another of bad years, I’m done even hoping that the new year will be better.

 

Though I’d like to think so.

 

But some good things happened this month, too. My youngest turned 18. I got back an old gig. My pitch was accepted at a major magazine. I broke into some new markets. I was able to write articles for the disability community again. My youngest started fostering a kitten and may be adopting her. We got another car after the one totaled in the accident was hauled away. A book I edited was published. I did well financially with my freelance writing. And I finally had a bit of energy and maybe a little excitement for Halloween because I eventually put up a few decorations. (I wonder if my husband, who is not much for holiday decorating, is relieved by this.)      

 

Oh, and I read a lot of books this month too. This month, I read 14 books and I finished reading two. I think it helps that I have a gig reviewing books. That’s one of the things that gets me reading so much! It has been a good experience and I’m grateful for the opportunity to read more books that I might not have otherwise known about, as well as being able to read books I otherwise would not have been able to buy or borrow so that I could read them.

 

So, yes, some of the books I read were books I wrote reviews for. Others were for research, pleasure reading, and to read for Halloween.

 

Here is the list of books I read and finished reading this month. The number in the list picks up from where I left off last month, so the number of books I have read so far this year which is reflected in this list is accurate.

 

 

120. There Will Be Other Summers by Tegan Anderson

121. Frame Story by Domenic Migliore

122. FINISHED READING: The Last Night in Amsterdam by Melanie Atkinson

123. Harvest of Eyes by Clifton Wilcox

124. Tell Me How It Ends: A Horror Collection by Desiree Horton

125. Mail-Order-Monsters: Crash Course by Silvia Acevedo

126. Horton's Halloween Hauntings: 14 Tales of Halloween edited by Chisto Healy

127. The Profitable Author: 1,001 Ways to Build a Business You Love Around Your Books by Sharon Woodhouse

128. Aftermath by Madi Huffman

129. Walk On by Nan Evenson

130. Wicked Things: A Collection of Halloween Horror by Amanda Ruzsa

131. The Rot That Binds Us by Amanda Ruzsa

132. A Boy and His D.O.G., Book One: Raining Robots by Jordan Hines, with Jerri Hines

133. FINISHED READING: Semiosis by Sue Burke

134. Hauntings: A Collection of Short Horror Stories by S.E. Howard

135. Writing Monsters: How to Craft Believably Terrifying Creatures to Enhance Your Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction by Philip Athans