October 2022 Book Haul

So I entirely forgot to update my Book Haul in September, so we're just gonna skip right ahead to October and pretend September never happened? I don't recall what I got or why anyway...so...moving on: 

I acquired 23 books in October: 

1. Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong - Book of the Month selection for October. It looked good. A woman cannot die, and uses that to her advantage and looks into a series of murders in Shanghai. I saw it on BookTube and was immediately intrigued and couldn't resist when it came up on Book of the Month's selections. 

2. CUNT by Inga Muscio - My roommate asked if we could put this on our reading pile when we saw what it was about. I am curious myself. It's entirely about the history of the word. I do enjoy a good nonfiction periodically and with this, I will learn how this word came to be the curse that it is today. It looks intriguing and I cannot wait. 

3. The Celtic Tradition by Caitlin Matthews - Some of my family history is Celtic. So this was more a good way to look into traditions of my people! Picked it up from a friend of mine who was going through her bookshelves to slim down. 

4. Old World Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi - It was among the three Grimassi books that I was specifically given by my good friend, TS. I have no idea what to expect. I've heard many good and bad things about Grimassi. Some people love him, other people hate him. I don't know at all what the premise is, but I am looking forward to adding this to my witchcraft collection. 

5. The Cauldron of Memory by Raven Grimassi - The second of the three. I don't know anything about this one either. TS really just spoiled me absolutely silly. I will definitely let you all know what I think of this when I actually get to it. 

6. Ways of the Strega by Raven Grimassi - The third, and the best of the three. I knew this one was coming. Sort of? She had told me that she had a book for me on Italian witchcraft. Much like the Celtic book, I have Italian ancestry and I am interested in learning more about the folk magic of the places my family comes from. So when she handed it to me, I was quite excited. This is going up early on the to be read list. 

7. William Wordsworth ed. by Antonia Till - I have been meaning to read more poetry, and get into the classics...and this book was being given away to a new home. I am somewhat intimidated by the fact it is 1120 pages long. Talk about a chunker. However, I think, depending on the section, it may be easier to get through than some other huge books as it is poetry. I'll give it a try to see what I think of it. 

8. The Odyssey by Homer - I know somewhere in my house I have an old edition of this book, however, I have it on trusted authority that this was the ultimate translation as of yet. When I saw it in the books up for grabs, I immediately snatched it. I follow the Greek pantheon in my craft and I like to read the ancient works. It is directly what they thought of the gods and how they interacted over how scholars today think they did. I am excited!!

9. The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon - I remember seeing this kind of peak on BookTube a few months ago, then it fell again. I only made it to the word "transgender" in the synopsis and immediately blew my monthly credit for Audible to get it to listen to while on my road trips or whatever else we're up to. It looks good.

10. The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch - I have absolutely no clue. My best reading buddy suggested it and it was available on Audible, so I figured I'd get it and give it a go. I'm not sure when exactly I'll get to this...but yeah. That's all. I know nothing other than they like it and we have a similar reading taste. Hopefully I'll like it as well. 

11. Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier - I will totally admit to being attracted to the cover at first. Then I read the synopsis and was very intrigued. I kind of want to know what's going to happen. It reminds me of several other books that I've read in the not too distant past and I'm quite curious about how it's going to go. Of course I can see who the romantic interest is meant to be immediately. 

12. Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson - I own and have read Sorcery of Thorns which I thought was very good. So when I saw this at Page After Page (at the Maryland Renaissance Fair), I had to pick it up. It was in my cart online, but as a fan of instant gratification, I couldn't resist getting it immediately over waiting. I cannot wait to start this one. It may be among my print book selections in November. 

13. Priestess and the Pen by Sonja Sadovsky - I have read multiple of Marion Zimmer Bradley's books and when I saw her name in the subtitle, it immediately drew my attention. This is kind of the theme I'm working with this year for my writing project in November. Almost...proper representation of witchcraft in modern fiction. I'm greatly looking forward to my thoughts on this book. 

14. Commonwealth by Anne Patchett - I would swear at one point or another in history, I had this. I can't remember or find it in my logs. So I bought a new copy of it. I've heard it's good and it was only $10 at Second Story Books...so I figured I may as well pick it up, right? Right. I can only hope I like it. I cannot remember the synopsis at all. 

15. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline - I already own and have read the first book in this series and I was looking so forward to reading the second one. I finally got my hands on a copy of it. I don't even care that the editions are different at this point (a normal pet peeve of mine). 

16. White Teeth by Zadie Smith - Much like The Hangman's Daughter, I have absolutely no idea what I'm getting into. It was $7. Worth the risk in my opinion. It had a huge following on BookTube a few years back so let's see what I think of it. 

17. The Bondmaid by Catherine Lim - Right now brain is saying "Chinese Romeo and Juliet" which I am entirely sure is wrong. I saw it and had to have it because it looked simply wonderful. I don't know much else about it other than the fact that the book centers around a young woman who had been sold into slavery at the age of four and how she falls in love with the young master of the house as she grows up and what becomes of the relationship between them. 

18. American War by Omar El Akkad - Completely bought it because it was a Book of the Month selection (from April 2017). Fits well with a few of the other books that I've acquired in the recent past. It involves America basically fighting itself. I didn't know a thing about it and I'm looking forward to it now. 

19. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - I know I leant a John Steinbeck novel out. I can't remember if it was this one or East of Eden. If it was the other one, oh well, now I have two copies of this and will just loan it out. If not...then I have replaced the one I gave away! I really need to start keeping better track of when I loan out books. 

20. Secrets from a Stargazer's Notebook by Debbie Kempton-Smith - I spent a weekend (plus) up at a retreat in Massachusetts (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong), and we learned a bit about our own star charts and how to read them to see just how it influences our lives. I started reading this while we were still there and was absolutely taken with the way she presents astrology. Naturally the minute I was home, I ordered a copy of it. (had to excuse myself for taking a picture when phone were sort of not allowed, as I knew there was no way I was gonna remember it). 

21. In the Woods by Tana French - This was me making and uh-oh. I had picked up The Likeness and Faithful Place which it turns out are volumes 2 and 3 in a series where you kind of have to start from the beginning or you won't have a clue what's happening. You could probably muddle your way along, but that just seems silly. So I went on an app I haven't used (at all, since downloading it) and found a reasonably priced copy of the first book so that way I could start this series. I've heard a lot of good things about Tana French and the Dublin Murder Squad books. I am greatly looking forward to it. 

22. Eye of the Storm by Jack Higgins - This is the only one (so far) that I did not purchase for myself. I got it for my father, so there won't even be any updates or anything on it. I have no idea what it is about. I have never heard of the author before in my life, and odds are I'm never actually going to read it, but it was one he wanted and it was fairly affordable from Thrift Books. So....yeah. 

23. Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco - This was one that I have been looking forward to for a few months. The seventh book by Ms. Maniscalco and the third in the Kingdom series, I preordered this back in February. There was a small hiccup in the delivery, but now that I've got it, I cannot wait to get into it!!