The month that was… October 2023

October has been a busy month, in the best possible way. It started with a weekend in Ilkley and my first visit to the Ilkley Literature Festival which has just celebrated it’s fiftieth anniversary. I attended talks with Rosanna Amaka and Lucy Caldwell discussing their novels Rose and the Burma Sky and These Days respectively. Publisher Virago – also celebrating a fiftieth anniversary – hosted a panel on women and literature. Two science talks followed on genetics and inheritance, and pathogenesis and how infectious diseases have shaped human history. This was followed by a family weekend away to celebrate a birthday (not mine), and then back to Yorkshire to visit Masham.

With all of that going on, both reading and blogging had to take something of a backseat at times, although I did manage to read eight books last month, reviewing five of them. November should be a little quieter, although I do have another weekend away planned, and I’m going away for another big birthday later in the month (this one is mine 😬).

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I also posted about the books I’m particularly looking forward to from Q4.

Favourite Books This Month

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Books Acquired

I purchased five books following talks at the Ilkley Literature Festival, including one from a talk that I viewed online.

I also purchased another eight – some from Ilkley’s wonderful independent bookshop, Grove Bookshop, a couple of charity shop bargains, and two £0.99 Kindle deals!

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TBR Watch

• Books out = 8 read + 2 DNF* = 10
• Books in = 13 purchases
• Gives an increase of 3 in my TBR

*I may come back to the DNFs at a later date, but for now they have been removed from my TBR.