Reviewed: What I Read in October

A little late, but here are the books I read in October. Putting this together surprised me because I didn't feel like I read much last month, but combining the audiobooks with the physical, it looks like I got through a nice handful. 

Reading Riches: Everything I Read This Month

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Our book club pick for October turned out to be the perfect read for fall. I remembered bits and pieces of the story from the movie, which I watched back in 2018, but the book was so much better— isn’t that almost always the case?

The story takes place on a small island off the coast of England in the years following WWII. A group of residents forms a literary society as a clever excuse to gather after curfew, during a time when public meetings were mostly prohibited. Eventually, an author on the mainland becomes acquainted with them and considers writing about their story. She begins corresponding with them through letters, and bit by bit, we learn the story of the literary society and its members.

The cast of characters is completely charming—each one interesting, layered, and so well-drawn. Getting to know them was easily my favorite part of the book. I want to know them in real life! The friendships that form between these people, and how deeply they come to need one another during such a difficult time in history, is really what makes the story shine.

I’ve been on a self-imposed WWII book break for about three years now, but I’m glad I made an exception for this one. It offered a fresh setting and perspective that I hadn’t come across before, and it felt surprisingly refreshing.

My rating: 4/5

The Screwtape Letters 

by C.S. Lewis

In the twenty-some years since becoming a Christian I have heard this book recommended, quoted, and referenced countless times. I felt like I’d gathered enough secondhand knowledge to write a book report—yet somehow, I’d never actually read it myself! So I finally did, and at the most opportune time. (Also always the way!)

The story unfolds through a series of letters written from a senior devil in Hell, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, who is a junior tempter. Screwtape offers detailed advice on how best to lead the man Wormwood is tempting astray, responding to the man’s circumstances and explaining how to twist each moment to create an advantage for evil.

From what I’ve gathered over the years, most readers find this book to be like looking in a mirror, and I felt the same. The baldly direct language packed a strong punch. For me it was the right book at the right time.

My rating: 5/5

Gilead 

by Marilynn Robinson

Another book that has been on my TBR for many years! Set during the mid-1900s, this is another book told in a series of letters from an elderly pastor to his young son--letters he writes knowing he won’t live to see the boy grow up.

While I really enjoyed Gilead, I have to admit it was a mercy that I listened to it on audiobook; otherwise, I’m not sure I would’ve finished it! It’s a slow, quiet book—deeply contemplative. Even so, I found myself thinking about it often between listening sessions. I kept coming back to its reflections on human regret, the ways we hide from ourselves, and what truly matters when life is stripped down to its essence, something I think we all begin to see more clearly when we’re faced with our own mortality.

My rating: 3/5

The Overstory 

by Richard Powers

This was recommended on a What Should I Read Next? podcast and sounded intriguing. The Overstory follows a group of seemingly unconnected characters and shares vignettes of their lives, showing that they all have one thing in common: each of them has had a connection with trees. 

It’s a beautifully told story that spans hundreds of years of American history and traces a line across time to highlight many ways that trees are a part of our stories.  I think the author wove the stories together so well. It seemed like he was trying to remind readers that we’re all part of a larger story and that the things around us should not be taken for granted.

The reason I DNF'd The Overstory after listening for nearly 10 hours is that it became heavy-handed with the trees-have-feelings preaching narrative at the same time the intrigue was wearing off for me. There are probably not many eco-fiction novels that stay in my comfort zone in that respect, so I really don't blame the author. I DNF'd The Bee Sting for the same reason. 

My rating: DNF

The Silent Patient 

by Alex Michaelides

There are a few genres that I tend to steer clear of and thrillers are one of them. While this book isn't something I would naturally pick up, it has received so much praise I wanted to give it a try. The premise is this: After a murder in the openening scenes, the lone witness goes mute and stays that way for years. Later, a psychologist learns that this witness resides in the insane asylum that he works at, and decides to investigate the murder and help the witness tell her side of the story.

I really liked it! It was an easy listen that pulled me in to the narrative and surprised me at the end--a perfect story to keep me company while I planted garlic and did other odd jobs in the garden. 

My rating: 3/5

The Correspondent 

by Virginia Evans

As I was compiling my reviews for this post, I realized something funny—I read three books written in letter format this month! I didn’t plan it that way, but it made for such a thoughtful, reflective month of reading.

The Correspondent was actually the first of those letter-style books I picked up, but I’m saving it for last here because it deserves the spotlight. I adored this book.

Seventy-three-year-old Sybil Van Antwerp has long made sense of her life through letters—to her brother, friends, authors she admires, even one person she’ll never actually send a letter to. But when unexpected correspondence from her past forces her to confront old grief, a secret legal case, and the question of forgiveness, she realizes that the “small” act of writing may hold the key to finally moving forward.

I listened to this story during the week that I was down with illness and just sat there, still, for twenty minutes after it ended. The full-cast audiobook is absolutely stunning—especially the woman who voices Sybil. I haven’t read (or heard) a story that moved me this deeply in years.

This one is, without question, the best book of 2025 for me.

My rating: 5/5

Library Additions: The Books I Bagged in October

I added quite a few used books to my library in October, and nearly all were on my TBR list! 

Jeff and I spent a day in Salt Lake and stopped at the Salt Lake City Public Library's used book store. I found a few books on the dollar rack including Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. A library volunteer told us about a big used book sale happening on December 5th and 6th, featuring an enormous room filled with used books. (While that would be fun to check out, it's a little far to drive for a book sale alone.) 

The rest of the books pictured were found at Goodwill and the DI thrift store for $1 each. I was happy to find a nice copy of Letters of a Woman Homesteader, which a friend recommended earlier this year.

The book I'm most excited to read is These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881 - 1901. This is a book that I only recently learned of and recommended to my book club for next year. Then I found a copy at the thrift store! 

Marked Passages: Thoughts That Made Me Feel, Think, or See Things Differently

I have to think that when it comes to seasons, we all get one round. We are born and grow through childhood in spring, we live those glorious, lively, interesting years of our twenties, thirties, forties in summer. We settle in to ourselves in autumn, that cool but not yet cold time. Rich and aromatic. And in winter, we age, brutally, and die. One turn of the seasons per person, unless it’s cut short.

- from The Correspondent

The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of man, and His compulsion is our liberation. 

-CS Lewis in “Surprised by Joy”

You can know a thing to death and be, for all purposes, completely ignorant of it. 

- from Gilead

Light griefs are loquacious, but the great are dumb. 

- Seneca

We're already a third of the way into November, but it was nice to revisit the stories that kept me company last month! I hope you're all enjoying a cozy fall.