I had several more DNFs in October -- I'm clearly getting better at putting down books I'm just not that into. But I also read some really great books this month. Demon Copperhead was long, and took me at least two weeks to read, so my number of books read definitely went down a bit this month. But that book was worth it. Here's what else I read (and finished) this month.

Five Stars

The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved everything about this book. First off, I almost always love anything by Jennifer Weiner, she just tells the best stories. And secondly, I particularly loved this storyline of a woman finding herself, her confidence, her path forward through sports/athletics. I was sad to put this down when I finished it because reading it just made me so happy.

Four Stars

Forever Hold Your Peace by Liz Fenton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was such a fun and fast read. A young couple gets engaged in Italy after knowing each other for only a few weeks. When they get their divorced parents together for a meet-the-parents moment back in California over brunch, things go extremely sideways and not just because at least two of the parents think the engagement happened much too fast.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A modern take on David Copperfield, set in in the heart of the opioid epidemic in Appalachia. This was a great and heartbreaking book, but it was really long, which is why I only gave it four stars instead of five. There were a few parts of Demon Copperhead's story that I thought could have been condensed a bit, but overall, I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to see if Demon ever caught a break in life.

Wicked Witch Murder by Leslie Meier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This cozy witchy murder mystery was perfect for this time of year. After failing to finish so many books last month, I was happy to find a book that I was excited to pick up again every time I had to put it down. The book opens with the mysterious death of the leader of a local Wiccan coven. Lucy Stone is a reporter intent on getting to the bottom of the mysterious death before any more trouble gets stirred up.

Three Stars

Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your Baby To Love Good Food by Gill Rapley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this up because in like two months we have to figure out how to introduce solid food to our kiddo. I wished this book had a bit more how-to and bit less theory/convincing that this was the method to use. (I was already fairly bought in to this method, so this book was probably better for someone that wasn't sure which approach they wanted to take).

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don’t know if it was just me, but it took me a minute to realize this was a story in a story, and for the first bit of the book that left me kind of confused. Once I got past that, I enjoyed Lara telling her daughters the story of her romance with a famous actor when she was in her 20s. I liked the way the author didn’t need to beat you over the head with Covid to know this book was set during the pandemic and it’s what brought all Lara’s daughters home

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