Fall Reading Roundup 2022
I’m gonna be honest with you: I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump these last few weeks. I’ve been reading a lot slower and taking more time in between books than I normally would. As someone who identifies as an avid reader, this is tough to admit.
But it happens to most of us. Reading slumps happen and we can’t always explain why.
However, I did get through some pretty interesting books over the fall and that is what I’ll be sharing with you today.
Here are the books I’ve read in the last three months
Your Time To Thrive by Marina Khidekel
If you’ve been reading my blog for some time you know I’m a sucker for personal growth. In fact, I wrote a post not too long ago sharing my favorite personal growth book recommendations. This book I’m about to talk about is on that list.
Your Time To Thrive teaches readers how to create habits so they can accomplish the things they set out to do. Now, I’ve talked about books like this before. But what I love about habit-forming books is that different perspectives give you different ways to build those habits.
In this book, for example, the author explains why building certain habits will help you. In the section about learning to communicate better, she offers several habits you can try, why they matter, and how you can go about doing them.
For me, scientific evidence and real-life examples make these books stand out. And this book is full of them. She also goes on to say that you’re not required to do every single habit they mention. But they do suggest you start with at least one or two from each section.
If you truly want to build better habits, small microsteps are where you need to start. And that’s the ultimate premise of this book. To teach you those microsteps; those seemingly insignificant changes that, when done for a while, will lead to fulfilling results.
Devil In Ohio by Daria Polatin
I picked up this title after watching the Netflix series it is based on. And when I saw that the author created the show, I was even more excited. Mainly because authors, when writing their own scripts, tend to follow the book more than an average screenwriter would.
Case in point: Jessica Knoll wrote the script for her book, the Luckiest Girl Alive, which was amazing if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s on Netflix.
But this is one of those rare cases where I actually preferred the show to the book. Let me example…
While the book was well-written and interesting, the show went deeper into the supernatural tone that the trailer promises. The book is also told from Jules’s point-of-view with minimal chapters following the mother (played by Emily Deschanel in the show).
We got more in-depth flashbacks, and the ending was far different in the show than in the book. Now, Polatin has spent years working in film and television, so she knows that the audience for TV differs slightly from a book audience. She shows that knowledge by giving more depth to the show.
This doesn’t mean the book is bad by any means. You get way more into Jules’s head in the book than you do in the show. And her role, in the end, plays a bigger part than it does in the show. I wish Polatin would have included Jules more in the climax because the relationship she builds with Mae would’ve made it more exciting.
But as we all know, writers and creators can’t please everyone. And while I thoroughly enjoyed the show and recommend it, I wasn’t as grabbed by the book, though it was still a fascinating read.
Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by Shea Ernshaw
I’ve never read any other of Shea Ernshaw’s books, but I follow her on Instagram because her aesthetic is *chef’s kiss* and she also offers a ton of amazing writing insight. It’s through her Instagram that I learned she was writing a sequel to Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and that it would center on Sally.
I think many of us who are fans of that movie got really excited when we learned this because Sally’s character is so full of wisdom, kindness, and bravery. You can’t help but want to know more about her.
That’s what Ernshaw does in her sequel, Long Live the Pumpkin Queen. Told from Sally’s point-of-view, we get a firsthand experience of her feelings about becoming the Pumpkin Queen of Halloween Town after she marries Jack. It’s not as easy as she originally thought.
Not long after their honeymoon, a new threat enters Halloween Town and Sally is the only one who can stop it. I won’t say more than that because if you haven’t read it yet, I don’t want to spoil anything.
Overall, I enjoyed this little sequel. It was nice to finally get Sally’s story and I fell more in love with her. I actually rewatched the movie after reading this book and it helped me appreciate Sally all the more. Mainly because we finally get to learn more about her and her thought process.
If you were a fan of the movie, do yourself a favor and give this book a read.
The Tiger and the Cage by Emma Bolden
I love a good memoir that plays with structure and this one by the poet, Emma Bolden, does exactly that. It’s not a common memoir that you may have read before, but that’s what makes it so amazing.
Throughout the book, Bolden recounts her decades-long fight with endometriosis. It all leads up to her total hysterectomy. She debates about getting it for several months because it means she could not conceive a child.
But in between her hospital visits, her countless incompetent male doctors, and her trying to live a somewhat normal life with this excruciating pain, she comes to learn that she is also asexual. Asexuality is a minor topic within the book. It’s primarily about her struggle with this pain and the many diagnoses different doctors gave her. But as an asexual, I appreciated the insight into this part of her story.
To me, this memoir is about a woman surrounded by male doctors who do their best to “fix” her but have no clue as to the true pain she endures. How could they when they don’t have a uterus that is rebelling against you?
What I loved most about Bolden’s memoir is the structure and the writing itself. Her poetry background shines through in the sentences and the chapters, usually no more than 2 to 3 pages, are almost like short breaths. As if the short chapters are all she can manage before the next wave of pain comes.
If you enjoy memoirs about the medical field, this is a must because, like Bolden, and her parents, you’ll want to strangle these doctors for being so clueless and close-minded to her own experience.
I’m hoping to have better reading luck in the coming weeks. If not, I’ll ride the slump out until it breaks. What else can I do?
Have you ever had a reading slump before? What do you do to get yourself out of it? Please comment below as I’m open to suggestions.
