October CalendarCAT

The most well-known holiday in October is probably Halloween. In India where I live, we have 2 national holidays in October this month - Oct 2nd for Gandhi's birthday and Oct 31st for Diwali, the festival of lights.

Some other special days observed in October around the world are
Oct 10th - World Mental Health Day
Oct 11th - International Day of the Girl Child
Oct 16th - World Food Day
October is also Cybersecurity Awareness Month

Other symbols for October are : zodiac signs - Libra and Scorpio, birthstones - opal and tourmaline, birth flowers - marigold and cosmos.

Whatever book you read related to the month of October, if you'd like to update the Wiki, the link is here

Going with the Halloween theme, I hope to finally read Dracula by Bram Stoker.

The only horror book I have waiting is The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, so I will probably go with that

I will probably read a paranormal mystery novel since there are many on Kindle Unlimited.

October 28th is National Chocolate Day and I am aboard for that! I plan to read The Chocolate Debutante by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney).

Of course, the easiest one for October is Halloween, so I will definitely be reading something for that (also fits at least one other challenge for me). But for some variety, I might also pick something in addition.

Plenty of choice for writers born in October. I'm considering Doris Lessing and Thomas Kenneally.

I think I might read If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino who has a birthday in October.

A friend just gave me a copy of The Feast of All Saints by Anne Rice. Unfortunately All Saints Day is November 1 (hence Halloween) but Anne Rice's birthday was 4 October, so it counts for October, even if it isn't one of her vampire or witch books.

I read The Lost Continent by Tui T. Sutherland which is about dragons but also is a freedom struggle with a protagonist that eschews violence. So thought it fits with Gandhi's birthday on Oct 2nd.

I've read Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie. When I started it I didn't even realize it would fit this challenge but as I had decided to read something for Oct. 5 International Teachers day this fit. The setting is an elite girls school in England and teachers are very much a part of the mystery.

>11 clue: That is one of my fave Christie novels and I have read it several times. Another one similar to this one is Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey.

>12 LadyoftheLodge: If I've read anything by Tey it was before I joined LT. One of my friends has recommended her to me numerous times. I'll put this on my list and surprise her by actually getting started. I have a list of Christies I haven't read and I'm determined to go through the list next year, this was a good start!

I'm reading Meet Mr Mulliner by P. G. Wodehouse who was born in October.

Finished Mallorys Oracle about the murder of a group of older women in New York, as part of a fraud and insider trading conspiracy.
For UNs international day of older persons, October first.

I read Chicago's Great Fire by Carl Smith. The fire took place Oct. 8-10, 1871.

I read Pumpkin Eye by Denise Fleming and Tangles and Treason by Nancy Warren (prequel to the Vampire Knitting Club series, and well worth the read, not to mention the hot looking guy on the cover.)

Halloween

This Cursed House / Del Sandeen
4 stars

In the early 1960s, Jemma (from Chicago) has been hired by a family who live on a plantation just outside New Orleans. Jemma is a teacher and assumes that she will be tutoring. The Duchon family are all light-skinned Black people and although they say they are “proud coloured people”, they look down on Jemma’s darker skin. Jemma also has an ability to see ghosts, and there appear to be a few around this plantation. She is in for multiple surprises the longer she stays with the backwards Duchons, and only one of those surprises is what they have hired her for.

This was really good. I was pulled in early on, and the surprises continued to come. The Duchons are a piece of work, though I think the author does do a good job of showing multiple sides to a couple of them, and there are reasons why some of them are the way they are. Given the time period and place, there is some historical fiction thrown in to this horror/ghost story, as well, which I quite like.

I just read Doctor Sally by P.G. Wodehouse, who was born on October 15, 1881.

I read Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald in honour of Women's History Month.
Misery piled on misery; tragedy on tragedy. I should have guessed as much when I saw Oprah’s recommendation. I disliked every character in this multigenerational saga. It’s difficult to understand all the rave reviews.

Halloween

Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow / Christina Henry
3 stars

In Sleepy Hollow, Ben(de) is the granddaughter of Brom Van Brunt and Katrina Van Tassel (and was raised by them), but thinks of himself as a boy. When Ben and a friend find a dead boy in the woods, with head and hands cut off, Ben starts to wonder if he should be wandering through the woods at all. It’s not long before a second dead boy appears in the woods… this one a boy who had been taunting Ben and Ben had been seen to fight back. Even with all this going on, Ben seems to be fairly safe in the woods via some kind of protector. In the meantime, he is constantly fighting his grandmother on being too much like a boy and it’s about time he started acting like a girl and learning the things he’ll need to know as he gets older and gets married.

I listened to the audio. I liked that the author brought in a trans character. With the dead kids being found in the woods, it was a bit creepy at times. However, as often happens with me and audio, I got distracted and missed things. I did like how it ended, though. Overall, I’m rating it ok.

I read two short stories by Isaac Singer, born in October, 1811: Gimpel The Fool and The Spinoza of Market Street.

Hi there - I am new to this group and though a long time member of LibraryThing I haven’t been on for many years.

So dipping my toe in the waters again. Trying to remember how things work 😀

I am going to readChaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan for October - is set in a year round Halloween Town.

November CalendarCAT is here. https://www.librarything.com/topic/364899#n8644433

This evening, I read Sadie When She Died by Ed McBain, who was born on October 15, 1926--98 years ago today.

I've read The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George and Witches of Halloween by Amorette Anderson.

I think you would have to be in the right mood for The Chocolate Debutante by M C Beaton. Luckily I was ready for it's silly lightness and enjoyed it immensely.

I just finished Rough around the Hedges by Lish McBride, which is a contemporary paranormal romance that feels Halloween-adjacent. One of the main characters is a hedge witch, and the other does arcane/magical piercings. Secondary characters include various mages, a werewolf, and a minotaur. Definitely cozy rather than scary, though!

I read North Woods. Everyone in my group thought this counted as a Halloween read because of the supernatural elements. I have to say I wouldn't have associated this with Halloween, but I'll take the win;-)

I've read Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr who was born in October.

I’ve read Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan - a cosy mystery set at Halloween in a Halloween themed town

Inspired by bookworm3091's introduction, I found a book set in India marking Diwali, October 31.

Death at the Durbar by Arjun Raj Gaind
In 1911, while elaborate preparations are being completed for the Durbar, to celebrate the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary, a dancing girl is found murdered. Maharaja Sikander Singh, a self-styled detective, is commandeered to investigate and find the culprit quickly before the arrival of the King and Queen.

This is an excellent book, filled with details of India’s elite and the British colonial rulers. I knew when I recognized names that there was a good deal of truth in the tale - connected to the Durbar and characters, not the murder - which was confirmed by the author’s note at the end. It was a terrific portrayal of the colourful Indian history during the Raj. I particularly enjoyed descriptions of the cars used, as well as the denouement. A wonderful story and writing style. I will be on the look out for more by Gaind.

I just finished The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope, a Tam Lin retelling in which the climactic events occur on All Hallows' Eve.

The National Day of Spain is celebrated on 12 October, and it's also one of the days referred to in the title of Cinco días de Octubre. Set in the early days of Franco's dictatorship, it is a very chilling tale.

I've just finished The City in Glass by Nghi Vo which is an October new release.

My choice for this month was Being Henry by Henry Winkler whose birthday is October 30th.

Halloween/True crime

The Nomadic Devil / Genoveva Ortiz
3.5 stars

Israel Keyes was a serial killer. This short story/novella delves into his home life and the crimes he committed (and some that he may have committed). It is part of a true crime series that is meant to be an easy style of reading to make it more accessible to more people.

I have not heard of this guy before, but I always find these books interesting. I dislike how short they are, though. It would be nice if they could go into more detail in these books, but at the same time, I “get” what they are trying to do. These books also include a bit of a biography, as well, but I also like reading biographies, so I’m ok with that.

Although I am only sharing it now, I read Dracula by Bram Stoker for the October CalendarCAT.