It’s officially October, and that means the days are getting shorter, my TBR list is getting longer, and the book buying season has officially begun (because let’s be honest, who DOESN’T spend the colder months on their couch reading??). And, you know what that means: it’s time to develop a short-term TBR list. An October hopefuls list, that is.
I have plenty of books that are already on my physical TBR list, and with November coming up in just a short timespan, I know I’ll be buying more books as my birth-month approaches. For me, that means I need to get a handle on my physical TBR before I have more books that I know what do with (not that that would be problem).
So, without further ado, here are the books on my list that I’m HOPING to tackle during October. Though, as most of you know, I’m a mood reader and where my “October hopefuls” end up usually results in the same spot they started with on the shelf, collecting dust.
This month, I’m going to set a October hopefuls goal of 5 books. I usually average about 6-9 books per month, so this gives me a little extra wiggle room to add in other books I want to read (i.e. get distracted by at the library).
Book One: Finlay Donovan Is Killing it
Finlay Donovan is Killing It is old news, especially with the second book having recently released (which is what people are talking about these days). Overall, I’ve kind of ignored this book mostly because I hated the cover. The pink gives serious pepto bismal vibes. But, my boss (who is literally one of the coolest people I know) read this book in September and she really enjoyed it, so I figured I’d take it out from the library and I’d give it a shot.
As it’s currently October 1st and I have read the first 100 pages of this book tonight in one sitting, I’d say that this one is going to be a winner for me. Though the cover was giving straight up chick lit vibes, this book definitely reads more “murder-y” than I was expecting and so far I’m loving it.
The premise here is that Finlay, a newly single mother of 2, is a writer of chick lit thriller books. She’s struggling to make ends meet, let alone finish her latest book. But, when a meeting with her publisher leads to an opportunity to make 50,000 big ones, Finlay is soon questioning everything.
Book Two: The Lost Coast
I recently saw The Lost Coast on a trending list for books about witches, so I picked it up off of Thriftbooks. This book was published in 2019, so it’s not particularly new, but it wouldn’t be October without at least one witchy book.
My understanding is that this book is about a girl and her mother who move across the country without much of a plan…instead they close their eyes and point a finger at a place on the map. But, when they move to the town they pick, they find that maybe things weren’t as random as they thought--A witch coven seems to have cast a spell to get them there because the main character has something they need.
This book is giving me YA vibes, which I don’t really love. In the last few years, I haven’t been reading a lot of YA for whatever reason, and I worry I won’t connect with the plot. But, this book does have a lot of LGBTQ vibes from the synopsis and I feel that it could be a really interesting take on the average witch story. So, we’ll see.
Book Three: The Thursday Murder Club
Ahh, The Thursday Murder Club. This book has been on my TBR for literal months now and I have yet to get to it. Someone recommended it for fans of Only Murders in the Building and I’ve been OBSESSED with that show since it came out. It was only natural that I flew to Amazon to have this vibe-y book overnighted…where it has sat on my TBR shelf since.
This book is about a bunch of friends in a retirement home that meet once a week to discuss unsolved crimes. It’s never been more than something to keep them busy–until they find themselves in the middle of their very first live case and the friends have to catch the killer.
I’m hoping this one won’t be too close to Killers of a Certain Age (you can read my review of that book here), as I’d like something that’s a little different, even if it’s in the same wheelhouse, if you catch my drift.
One thing I’m really looking forward to with this book is the uber-short chapters. Something about shorter chapters makes me want to devour a book even faster, so I’m hoping this book lives up to it’s hype.
Book Four: The Chain
The Chain has been such a booktok sensation lately, and if you know me, you know that I tend to avoid booktok books now unless they are starkly raved about literally everywhere. I’ve read one too many terrible booktok books this year and I’ll be honest–it’d be nice if I never read one again. But, I doubt that will happen because I have an addition.
Anywho, this book is a thriller (because it’s Spooky Season, duh) and the premise is that a child has been kidnapped and the parents can’t get their child back unless they kidnap another child. If they don’t, their own child will be murdered. Thus, The Chain.
This book has kind of mixed reviews, but it seems super intriguing and it was only 5.99 during Book Outlet’s sale last month. So, let’s see what the hype is about!
Book Five: The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
I picked up The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly for one reason and one reason only: it’s about a cult.
Without an inkling of research, I saw this book on a recommendation list for books about cults, and immediately ordered it. Since ordering it, I’ve realized that it’s straight up YA and I don’t know how I feel about that. If I’m honest, one of the reasons I can’t stand YA is because I hate how the books are printed. The margins drive me crazy, even when the story is fantastic.
Anyway. This book is about a young girl who is in juvenile detention. An FBI investigator approaches her about making a deal, but that means she’ll have to divulge her secrets first. And, it seems like she has some pretty dark ones.
I know absolutely nothing about this book and I’m very curious to see where it leads.
October Hopeful Book Six
I don’t think I’m going to be sly enough to manage SIX read books on my TBR, but I figured I’d add A Tale For The Time Being for shits and giggles.
This book has been on my TBR since spring (or maybe even longer) so I’m making it one of my October hopefuls in the hope that I might actually get to read this book at some point.
I bought this book at Barnes and Noble because it sounded really good, and it’s pretty much sat on my shelf since. I recently saw someone on Booktok recommending it, which reminded me that I had it, and now I’m determined to actually see if it lives up to it’s goodreads reviews (which are pretty high, to be honest). Plus, Read At Midnight wrote a pretty incredible 5 star review about the audiobook, so I’m really curious after such positive feedback.
The premise here is that a lunchbox washes up on the shore of a remote island, and inside is a diary of a 16-year-old Japanese girl. The woman that finds the lunchbox reads the diary and becomes enthralled with the young girl’s story and her fate.
Will it be a favorite of mine? I have no clue. But, I won’t find out unless I actually pick up the book, so on the October hopefuls list it goes.
In addition to this incredible list of books that I most likely will sway from during the month of October, I also received Hester and As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow in my Book of The Month box, and I highly doubt that any one of my October Hopefuls could keep me away from those. Plus, I have nine books out at the library currently, and every time I go into work (I work at said library), I come home with more.
What will October have in store for my reading list? The world may never know.
Godspeed, my friends, and happy reading.