Happy October, friends! š Autumn and its attendant colors and spooks are upon us. š Iāve been a little sad to see the summer flowers in my garden starting to fade, but Iām very excited for fall. September has already been a great start to the cozy season.
Itās been a busy month full of bookish adventures. It was so much fun to meet up with the lovely Kate Howe for afternoon tea, and of course this month my new illustrated book, The Book of Cymbeline: A Kittenās Tale from Summer to Fall, came out. Iām excited to announce that the paperback version is now also available on Amazon!
Apart from The Book of Cymbeline, most of my bookish energy this month has gone into All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, which was our book club pick for September. I was a little apprehensive about the more practical side š of the life of a farmyard veterinarian, but ultimately I found the book to be wonderfully charming, heartwarming and humorous. From the beautiful scenery of the Yorkshire Dales to the matter-of-fact grit and generosity of the Dalesmen farmers to the quirks of life as a vet, Herriot has so much appreciation for the beauty and meaning he encounters, and he describes his days in such an engaging way.
Our book club pick for October is My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, which should create a great āaura of forebodingā for the Boo to You Readathon 2022!
Boo to You is, of course, inspired by Halloween magic in the Disney Parks, and for this fifth incarnation of the readathon, weāre going all in on the Haunted Mansion theme. The challenge is simple: choose a book (or books!) to read based on a line or phrase from the Haunted Mansionās fabulous ride script, including the classic song Grim Grinning Ghosts. Itās been so much fun to see peopleās TBR picks so far! Hereās whatās on my list, apart from Daphne du Maurierā¦
āOur library is well-stocked with priceless first editions - only ghost stories, of course.ā
Kate was recommending The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde, which I think should be an excellent ghost story and a great Victober crossover too! If I have time, Iād also love to get to The Middle Window of Elizabeth Goudge, which has some haunting and time travel elements that should make it a good fit for the Haunted Mansion library.
āShrouded in a daft disguise, they pretend to terrorize.ā
I purchased a copy of Grimmās Fairy Tales by Wilhem and Jacob Grimm for last yearās Boo to You Readathon but never got around to it - looking forward to diving into it this year! Iām sure there will be plenty of ādaft disguises.ā
āWeird glows gleam where spirits dwell.ā
This line seemed to match well with the eldila from Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, which I really enjoyed reading for the first time earlier this year. Iām excited to start on the second in the space fantasy trilogy, Perelandra, this month.
āHurry backā¦hurry backā¦ā
There are plenty of directions you could go with a ghost bride-inspired read! Iāve been wanting to give Victorian author Charlotte Mary Yonge and The Heir of Redclyffe a try. From the summary I read online, there is some movement and a āhurrying backā so I think it should work!
Will you be participating in Boo to You or any of the other great readathons happening this October? Let me know down in the comments!