October #wrapup

 

Hey my lovelies, hope you've all had a good week and Happy Halloween for tomorrow! It is now time to do my October #wrapup with you all and share my thoughts on my spooky season #tbr. I actually can't believe it is now the end of October, it only feels like yesterday I decided to take part in the October bookstagram challenge and shared my October #tbr with you all, and now it is officially the run-up to Christmas! Where has 2020 gone?! I hope your October has been a productive and positive month, I know it can be difficult to feel either of these things during current times but I promise, you are doing an amazing job and you are exactly where you need to be! So here we go guys, lets get into my October #wrapup... 

✨ The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

My first book of the month and by far my favourite! I am actually ashamed to admit it has taken me until now to read this absolute classic. I won't lie, I went into reading this book with high hopes, and it did not disappoint! It was the perfect novel to kick off spooky season with and I was pleasantly surprised. As someone who isn't the biggest gothic reader, or lover, I am a hard critic when it comes to classics ticking all of my boxes, but this delivered on all fronts. Stevenson created the most perfect cold, haunting London atmosphere with street lamps and cobbled streets, and the eerie atmosphere throughout the novel was subtle and even beautiful, with images of blood (eg. cold winds bringing blood to Mr Utterson's checks), full moons, and howling winds. It was straight to the point, a quick and easy read, kept me hooked along the way and was superbly crafted which are all incredibly hard things to do in an increasingly wide and varied literature world. It was spooky but in an understated way, which made it all the more accomplished. It is evident that Stevenson bore the idea of the split-personality and I can now see and understand how the novel has shaped the stories that have been born in the centuries to follow. The story of Jekyll and Hyde is masterful, accomplished and accessible, all the three things you expect and want from your classical fiction!

✨ 'Goblin Market' by Christina Rossetti

Another top-notch read from October. This is one of my all-time favourite poems and one I will return to time and time again. It is beautifully written with vivid and stunning imagery throughout, and is an easy, quick read. The rhyme gives the poem a nice rhythm which makes it both a pleasure to read and means it moves at a quicker pace, which is good considering it is a longer poem. It almost reads as a short story which is an incredibly difficult thing for a poet to do whilst not losing the reader along the way. The emphasis on fruit and nature imagery creates connotations of fertility, womanhood and sensual imagery, which ultimately makes the poem about sisterhood, companionship, friendship, sacrifice, defiance, love and devotion. If you have not read the poem then you're probably wondering why it's on a spooky season #tbr, but Rossetti's creation of the goblins throughout the poem are haunting and taunting, where the reader can constantly hear them chanting in the background. For me, the poem balances both beautiful imagery and a taunting atmosphere which is why it is well-deserving of it's high place on my October #tbr.  

✨ One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey

Where do I to start with this one. I could talk about this novel in so much depth and analysis that I'd be writing forever so I'm just going to keep it short and sweet for the purposes of this wrap-up. I put this novel on my #tbr this month to offer a different perspective/alternative setting that provided a more sinister atmosphere. If you want a book that will make you feel uncomfortable, but is not necessarily your typical "Halloween/spooky season novel", then this is the one. Kesey's novel is set in a psychiatric hospital in Oregon during the 1960's, a pivotal time in America's history for both the Civil Rights Movement and the controversial deinstitutionalisation movement. Now I won't lie, I was shocked at the storyline of this novel and it wasn't entirely what I was expecting, but there most certainly needs to be a trigger warning regarding mental health and psychiatric "care" along with this one. The novel has a really interesting background to it, particularly Kesey's biography and own personal experience working in a mental health facility and recreational drug-use, which you can clearly see the impact of throughout the novel. I'm still not sure how I feel about this one, and would definitely tread with caution as it won't be for everyone and is a difficult read, so I would love to know your thoughts below if you have read it. 

✨ Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Now... I have a slight confession to make... this was a #tbr fail. I have tried reading Riggs' highly acclaimed novel once before but did not get very far, and I have unfortunately had the same problem this time around. I really don't know what it is, whether it's the writing style or actual storyline itself, but I just can't get on with this novel! Unfortunately, this one has been left unfinished for the end of this month, but I am going to persevere and carry on reading it alongside other books on my next #tbr and I can hopefully consolidate and share a more comprehensive review when I have finally made my way to the end! I have spoken to some of my fellow book lover friends and they seem to have the same problem with Riggs' novel, so let me know in the comments below whether you have managed to get to the end and what your final thoughts were. 

So there we go guys, a short and sweet October #wrapup of my spooky season #tbr. I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts and have enjoyed whichever books you have read this month, whether you have mood read or created a spooky season #tbr for yourself. Let me know in the comments your most recent favourite read and whether I need to add it to my list or not! Looking forward to getting back into the swing of reading normally and sharing my thoughts on some new books with you all. Next week I have some really exciting content coming up which I have been planning for ages, so I hope you are all looking forward to that (maybe some beauty and fashion content coming your way)! I hope you all have a wonderful week and see you soon for another blog post. Lots of love xoxo