What I read in October 2025
October is always a big month for me. As well as my birthday (a mixed bag – yay presents and extra attention, boo annual step increase in the feeling that I’m irredeemably bad at being a person!), it’s the month of the Colchester Fringe.
As usual, I saw six performances in a week (I can find the time and energy to exercise and eat “properly” in November, right?) that ranged from “pretty good” to “mind-blowing”, was wowed by the creativity on display, and felt especially proud of and inspired by the people I know/have known who were involved.
The Colour of Memory, by Christopher Bowden - 3.5*
Getting It Right, by Elizabeth Jane Howard - so funny. 5*
Rainforest, by Michelle Paver - 4*
Network Effect, by Martha Wells - 4.5*
Darker Days, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt - 4*
The Witching Hour, by various authors - 4.5*
Dance of the Earth, by Anna M Holmes - 4*
The Sad Ghost Club Volume 1: Find Your Kindred Spirits, by Lize Meddings - 4*
Secret Lives of the Dead, by Tim Lebbon - review coming soon! 3.5*
The Whisper of Stars, by Cristin Williams - review coming soon! 4.5*
Looking ahead…
With the Fringe finished for me and the winter weather setting in, maybe I’ll read a little more in November. Scars of Silence, by Johana Gustawsson and translated by David Warriner, and Opposite World, by Elizabeth Anne Martins, are blog tour books I’m particularly excited about. I’ve been wanting to read The Familiar, by Leigh Bardugo, for a while, and I picked the eBook up for 99p recently, so now’s my chance.