September Bookish Adventures
New Fall Reading Vlog & #BootoYouReadathon TBR
Happy October, friends! 🍁 Autumn and its attendant colors and spooks are upon us. 🎃 I’ve been a little sad to see the summer flowers in my garden starting to fade, but I’m very excited for fall. September has already been a great start to the cozy season.
It’s 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 Kitten’s Tale from Summer to Fall, came out. I’m 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 😅 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 “aura of foreboding” 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, we’re 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 Mansion’s fabulous ride script, including the classic song Grim Grinning Ghosts. It’s been so much fun to see people’s TBR picks so far! Here’s what’s on my list, apart from Daphne du Maurier…
“Our library is well-stocked with priceless first editions - only ghost stories, of course.”
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, I’d 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.
“Shrouded in a daft disguise, they pretend to terrorize.”
I purchased a copy of Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Wilhem and Jacob Grimm for last year’s Boo to You Readathon but never got around to it - looking forward to diving into it this year! I’m sure there will be plenty of “daft disguises.”
“Weird glows gleam where spirits dwell.”
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. I’m excited to start on the second in the space fantasy trilogy, Perelandra, this month.
“Hurry back…hurry back…”
There are plenty of directions you could go with a ghost bride-inspired read! I’ve 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 “hurrying back” 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!