End October 2026 Reading Update

It's the end of another month, as 2026 winds down. Let's just get right into my reading update.

Books Completed (One book completed since my last update, a total of 11 for the month. That'll probably be my last book for October, although you never know)

1. The Motive (also published as Death of a Nymph) by Evelyn Piper (Mystery / 1950).

"I've read other books by Evelyn Piper, Bunny Lake is Missing and The Nanny, both because I'd seen the movies and realized that they were books as well. I've searched for others of her books and finally found The Motive, also published as Death of a Nymph. It was originally published in 1950.

I liked it and I didn't like it. I'll start there.

Joseph (Joey) Anton, a writer, currently working in LA, hears that Shirly, who he rooms with back in New York, has been found murdered in a park near her apartment building. John decides to go back to see what happened. He inherits her dog, Stinky as he calls it. Shirley was taking Stinky out for his nightly walk when she was killed.

The story jumps from one character to another and is quite a psychological mystery. We tend to see more of what they are thinking than actual action.

Tidbits - We see Shirley before her murder, walking in the park. A man is sitting on the park bench she uses. She recognizes actor, Gavin More, and invites him to stay in her spare room (John's actually) rather than on the park bench. It's after this that she is murdered.

There is Leo, a Jewish poet, married to Mary Day, his one time nurse. Leo survived the concentration camps and believes that Mary Day, murdered Shirley. Mary Day has disappeared. Leo is desperate. Gavin tells Leo that he will find Mary Day. Leo gives Gavin a doll of Mary Day's to prove to her that Gavin is helping him.

There is Jane Greer, a friend from their school days of Shirley, who persuades Joey to read her manuscript, a biography. Is it related to the murder?

It's a rambling story that exists mainly in people's thoughts, which makes it both interesting and frustrating. For a short book, it was a relatively slow read. But as the story gets into the crucial moments, the pace picks up and all these loosely related (seemingly) events start to tie together in a neat way. 

It's an interesting story. Joey is a smart man who is reluctant to get involved but finds himself almost inexorably drawn more and more into the mystery. How everything ties together seems far fetched but also leaves you, thinking, yeah, that was neat. One of those books I'm unsure how to rate. (2.5 stars) "

Currently Reading (one of my new arrivals made it as my next read)

1. Wrong Norma by Anne Carson (CanLit / Poetry / Essays / 2024). I'm enjoying very much so far.

"As with her most recent publications, Wrong Norma is a facsimile edition of the original hand-designed book, drawn and annotated by the author. Several of the twenty-five startling poetic prose pieces have appeared in magazines and journals like The New Yorker and The Paris Review.

Anne Carson is probably our most celebrated living poet, winner of countless awards and routinely tipped for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Famously reticent, asking that her books be published without cover copy, she has agreed to say this: "Wrong Norma is a collection of writings about different things, like Joseph Conrad, Guantánamo, Flaubert, snow, poverty, Roget's Thesaurus, my Dad, Saturday night, Sokrates, writing sonnets, forensics, encounters with lovers, the word 'idea', the feet of Jesus, and Russian thugs. The pieces are not linked. That's why I've called them 'wrong'."

Upcoming Reads

1. Suicide Excepted by Cyril Hare (Mys / Inspector Mallet #3 / 1939).

"An Inspector Mallett mystery.

Inspector Mallett's stay at the country house hotel of Pendlebury Old Hall has been a disappointment. Room, food and service have been a letdown and he eagerly anticipates the end of his holiday.

His last trial is to sit and listen as the hotel boor, whose family once owned the house, sits down at his table. The next day the man is dead and Mallett unwittingly finds himself investigating the suspicious 'suicide'."

2. Catalina by W. Somerset Maugham (Fiction / 1948).

"'It was the Blessed Virgin' she cried…

Spain at the time of the dreaded Inquisition. Catalina, a destitute cripple, has been promised a miraculous cure but she becomes the centre of a storm of religious and political intrigue…

Maugham is, as always, a master story-teller and here he brings a terrible and troubled time vividly to life."

3. Heavenly Pleasures by Kerry Greenwood (Corinna Chapman #2 / 2005).

"No one has less interest in mysteries than Corinna Chapman, who has bread to bake, but they seem to be arising spontaneously in the vicinity of her bakery, Earthly Delights. Between the mouthwatering distractions of loaves and muffins, of Jason her apprentice and Horatio the cat, she's keeping an eye on the door as she waits for the exciting Daniel, her recently acquired lover, to walk back into her life.

After a week of no communication Daniel finally returns, bruised and battered from a run-in with a so-called messiah. But disturbing things are also happening close to home. Juliette Lefebvre, the owner of Heavenly Pleasures and maker of the most gorgeous chocolates in town, is distraught. Someone is spiking her very expensive chocolates. Is it an elaborate and horrible joke, or is it a warning that worse may yet happen?"

Newest Arrivals (purchased one book and also got 4 from the local Facebook Marketplace).

1. We Were Forbidden by Jacqueline Harpman (Short Stories / 2026)

"In the wake of some unfathomable war, a woman wanders the forest. She and her fellow survivors are forbidden from leaving its boundaries or pausing in their eternal march through its strange depths.

Attending a rigid French school in 1940s Casablanca, a teenage girl is barred from ever questioning the dogma she is taught to believe—her punishment for doing so will be as swift as it is shocking.

Locked in a loveless marriage in the Belgian bourgeoisie, a young woman satisfies her husband's desires, twice weekly, as required. She has not yet thought to pursue her own.

These novellas—the first works by Jacqueline Harpman to arrive in English in decades—reveal her incredible stylistic range and demonstrate once more her penetrating psychological insight. Here we find the origins of a singular, relentless voice."

2. Hang the Moon by Jeannette Walls (Fiction / 2023)

"Most folk thought Sallie Kincaid was a nobody who’d amount to nothing. Sallie had other plans.

Sallie Kincaid is the daughter of the biggest man in a small town, the charismatic Duke Kincaid. Born at the turn of the 20th century into a life of comfort and privilege, Sallie remembers little about her mother who died in a violent argument with the Duke. By the time she is just eight years old, the Duke has remarried and had a son, Eddie. While Sallie is her father’s daughter, sharp-witted and resourceful, Eddie is his mother’s son, timid and cerebral. When Sallie tries to teach young Eddie to be more like their father, her daredevil coaching leads to an accident, and Sallie is cast out.

Nine years later, she returns, determined to reclaim her place in the family. That’s a lot more complicated than Sallie expected, and she enters a world of conflict and lawlessness. Sallie confronts the secrets and scandals that hide in the shadows of the Big House, navigates the factions in the family and town, and finally comes into her own as a bold, sometimes reckless bootlegger."

3. One By One by Ruth Ware (Mys / 2020)

"Getting snowed in at a beautiful, rustic mountain chalet doesn’t sound like the worst problem in the world, especially when there’s a breathtaking vista, a cozy fire, and company to keep you warm. But what happens when that company is eight of your coworkers…and you can’t trust any of them?

When an off-site company retreat meant to promote mindfulness and collaboration goes utterly wrong when an avalanche hits, the corporate food chain becomes irrelevant and survival trumps togetherness. Come Monday morning, how many members short will the team be?"

3. The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean (Hor / Fan / 2022)

"Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries.

Devon is part of The Family, an old and reclusive clan of book eaters. Her brothers grow up feasting on stories of valor and adventure, and Devon—like all other book eater women—is raised on a carefully curated diet of fairy tales and cautionary stories.

But real life doesn't always come with happy endings, as Devon learns when her son is born with a rare and darker kind of hunger—not for books, but for human minds."

4. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (Mys / 2022).

"Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up – to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? – he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge

Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling."

There you go. Enjoy your Hallowe'en if you celebrate. And also the last two months of 2026

Time for a Reading Update

I've been focused on letting you know my 2027 Reading plans in my last few posts. Point of fact, I've already changed my plans somewhat. I'll get back to that in later posts, because I might change them even again. 😎😜

But now, it's time to update my reading, new books, etc.

Completed Books (4 books completed since my mid-month update, 3 of the 4 by Canadian authors)

1. Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (Classics / 1891)

"I've been reading Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy for about 5 months and I'm glad I stuck with it. It's not the first Hardy. I also enjoyed Far from the Madding Crowd and a collection of short stories, Life's Little Ironies. Tess was a hard one to read, not because it was written badly, but because of the hardships Tess had to endure.

I believe that all of her problems were caused by her somewhat shiftless father. Tess Durbeyfield was a field worker in the town of Marlott. Her father heard a story from a wandering minister who told him that the Durbeyfields were the last members of the Norman d'Urbervilles family, royalty basically. Tess's father talks her into going to work for the d'Urbervilles, an old woman and her son, who live on their estate. Tess takes care of the poultry and other farm work. But Alec d'Urbervilles is not a nice guy and he gradually bends Tess to his will and gets her pregnant. She runs home, not telling Alec, has the baby, which gets sick and tragically dies.

Tess leaves home for a new start and starts working at a dairy from in the Froom Valley. There she meets and falls in love with Angel Claire, the son of a Minister, who wants to avoid the religious life and instead, learn about farming so he can start up his own farm, either in England or maybe in America.

Over time, the two become friendly and Angel keeps trying to persuade Tess to marry him. She keeps saying no, as she has a 'secret', right. But Angel persuades her and they get married.

On their wedding night, at a farm house where they are about to start a new life, both of them tell each other their secrets; Angel that he'd had relations with a woman of the evening while in London. Tess forgives him and tells Angel her story. Well, let's just say that he's not as understanding. They split up and Angel heads off to Brazil to get his head straight and maybe get a farm for the two of them in Brazil.

Tess tries to go home, but can't live there now that her marriage appears to have broken up, maybe yes, maybe no. She gets work at a hard scrabble farm with one of the girls who worked with her at the dairy. It's not a great live, but Tess is surviving. She spends any money that Angel gave her to help her parents get a new roof for their house and at one point decides to go see Angel's parents. He has left money for her. Now for some reason, while she's on their doorstep,, she hears Angel's brothers talking about her, negatively, and she goes back to her farm work. On the way she hears a man preaching and lo and behold, it's Alec d'Urberville.

As you can guess, this is a mistake as now that he's back in her life, Alec won't leave her alone... Not good.

There will be hope and maybe also tragedy before this story ends. Tess is a wonderful character, strong, noble, intelligent, but that doesn't help her as her life is full of setbacks and tragedies. It's an excellent story. Hardy describes the Tess's life so very well. It's a thoughtful book, you can picture where Tess lives and works, feel the changing weather, see how hard but at times enjoyable her life can be. An excellent story by Hardy. I'm glad I stuck with it. (4.0 stars)"

2. We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed (Annual Migration of Clouds #2 / Dystopia / 2024)

"I read the first book in the The Annual Migration of Clouds trilogy a couple of years ago. We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed is the 2nd book and it was just as good as the 1st one. Even though it has been 2 years, it was still easy to get back into the flow of the story.

In a dystopic future set in Alberta, Canada, Reid Graham has been accepted for attendance at Howse University, in the Rocky Mountain. Reid suffers from an illness, CAD, that is one of the reasons for the dystopian setting. It's a virus of some sort that inhabits her body (and the majority of the people in her community of Edmonton... and all over Canada and presumably the world). The world is also suffering from a climate disaster. The hope for Reid is that by being accepted at Howse, she can help with the environmental disaster and also maybe in finding a cure for CAD.

The story starts with her on her journey, injured seriously. But she wakes up in Howse, in the infirmary. And this starts her first year at Howse. She receives injections that don't cure CAD but push it down so it kind of lies dormant.

Howse is a domed city and the students consist of young adults who have lived there all their lives and a select group of outsiders from university towns across Alberta and other locations. From her life in Edmonton, where everything is crowded and noisy, Howse is a shock; clean, quiet, sanitary. Reid persuades the university to allow her to room with Clementine, a girl from Calgary, as they both are having difficulty adjusting to the loneliness of living alone.

As Reid's year progresses, she finds many odd things about Howse. They don't talk about the past, only the future. The students from Howse seem to consider the outsiders as animals, maybe cavemen, although they tolerate them. It seems also that they have no plan to help the rest of the world outside; that they prefer the students from outside to just stay there after their 4 years study; as Reid thinks, to keep the blood supply fresh, so to speak.

Reid finds herself frustrated by this attitude. She begins to break rules; finding ways to leave the dome, even though she is punished. Clementine is a willing companion. One of the other students, St. Martin, befriends Reid, but finds it more difficult to see Reid's reasoning.

It's an excellent follow-on to The Annual Migration of Clouds. Mohamed writes clearly, developing her characters and the setting so you can really see it in your mind. The concept is fascinating and even with the ending a bit of a 'cliff hanger', leading you on to the 3rd books, it still is satisfying on its own. I've read one of Mohamed's standalones as well, The Butcher of the Forest and I have enjoyed everything. I look forward to reading Book 3 and also starting her Beneath the Rising trilogy. (4.0 stars)"

3. Driven by Mason Coile (Horror / 2026)

"Driven is a horrorish novel by Mason Coile, a pseudonym for Canadian horror author Andrew Pyper. I had previously enjoyed three of Pyper's stories; Lost Girls, The Killing Circle and The Guardians (I think that one was my favorite). I recently read an article about him, about establishing an award for speculative fiction / horror writers, upon his death in 2026. It was in that article that I discovered that he also wrote under his pseudonym and since Driven was the last book before his death, I thought I should check it out.

It's a surprising sort of story that takes you in all sorts of directions you don't expect. Jamie Newcross is wandering through life, after the death of his wife and infant daughter in a hit and run accident. He moves from apartment to apartment but has to keep moving, taking less and less with him. There is something haunting him; is in his mind or is some being? I mean, it seems to be the latter, especially when he sees fingers creeping around the shower curtain. But who knows?

Twist #1. Jamie sees an ad for a used car, a Lion, which happens to be the world's most advanced fully autonomous car. To Jamie, who is trying to bury himself away from the world and is constantly haunted, this might be perfect; maybe he can just live in the car and keep ahead of whatever is haunting him. The fellow he buys from, Quinn, is kind of shifty but Jamie buys it anyway. Re Quinn, there are some glitches with the computer system, mainly that the monitor screen doesn't seem to work, but otherwise, it's ok.

Turn #2. Jamie awakens in the car, bruised and shaken. What happened? There seems to be blood and hair on the hood of the car!! He doesn't remember anything but it seems as though, maybe the car has run over someone. It's not saying anything. Now what is Jamie to do? The car takes off on a long, meandering drive through Toronto and won't let Jamie out

Twist #3. Whatever is haunting Jamie, seems to now have inhabited the car. 

Turn #4. Jamie originally told the car to take him home, but where exactly is home? He's moved so much since the accident. Firstly it takes him to his last residence with wife and daughter, but Jamie persuades it to take him away. Next the car (Lion) takes him to his first home outside of Toronto, where his mother seems to haunt Jamie.

I'll stop the twists and turns, but they are all fascinating. The story shifts from horror to mystery, especially when Jamie takes the car to the Lion service center and discovers some things (I'm not going to ruin it by telling you what, of course). After that, Jamie is taken on a journey and the car begins to communicate more with him, or is it whatever / whomever is haunting the car.

The story moves along very nicely and could be read in a few hours and they will be hours well spent. It's a fascinating, rich story for its shortness. Jamie is in interesting character who we learn more about as the story progresses and ultimately the Lion is fascinating. It's an emotional journey with an excellent ending. The closer I got to the end, the more enjoyable and satisfying it became. It has its scary moments but nothing really terrifying, just tenseness and it's an interesting mystery as well. Fantastic (5.0 stars)"

4. Bunny, a Novel by Mona Awad (Horror / 2019)

"Bunny by Canadian author, Mona Awad was my first exposure to her work. She also wrote 12 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and We Love You, Bunny. Having said this, I'm not quite sure what to say about Bunny. It's definitely different from anything else I've read in many a year. It's dark and disturbing and a fascinating read... but what the heck is going on?

Samantha is on a scholarship to Warren University. She is doing her thesis in English creative writing. She is part of a very small group, her teacher, Ursula, herself and the Bunnies. The Bunnies are at best a clique of 4 young ladies, who are sort of Heathers, but in spades. And there is something sort of supernatural about them, or witchy. Samantha hates them. 

Something happened to Samantha with one of her professors, Alan, after a party... or maybe nothing happened. But the Bunnies hold this over Samantha. Samantha's only real friend is Ava, a..... goth sort of girl. She also hates the Bunnies. Ava and Samantha, spend time at Ava's house, writing, dancing, being friends. 

There is also Joel, in the poetry program, a doped up guy, but all in all a very nice kid. He doesn't ask anything of Samantha, but he's just there, willing to help, to be a friend.

The Bunnies invite Samantha to the Smut Salon, where the four of them... do stuff. They drink weird drinks, eat weird food, read poetry, but there is definitely something off about them. What are they doing to the bunnies outside? This is the supernatural element to the story.

Samantha kind of walks her way through the story. She lets herself be pulled away from Ava by the Bunnies. She lets herself be redesigned by the Bunnies. But gradually something begins to sink in. What actually are they doing? 

Is what is happening real? Is it in her mind? Is it drugs that the Bunnies are feeding Samantha? 

The story teeters along... fascinatedly, but also confusingly. And then along comes Max! Who the, what the???

There will be a final crisis, tragedy and a climatic ending, that is quite interesting. The story is strange, fascinating, and will draw you in. But you tell me what it's about. It's definitely worth trying. I have We Love You, Bunny on my book shelf. I will try it. (3.0 stars)"

Currently Reading (started since mid month update)

1. The Trials of Rumpole by John Mortimer (Rumpole of the Bailey #2 / 1979)

"Horace Rumpole — a man who never prosecutes, whose fame rests on his knowledge, whose court scenes are proverbial and whose home is ruled by Mrs Rumpole is back in this collection of stories.

Contents: Rumpole and the man of God — Rumpole and the showfolk — Rumpole and the Fascist beast — Rumpole and the case of identity — Rumpole and the course of true love — Rumpole and the age for retirement"

2. Game Without Rules by Michael Gilbert (Calder & Behrens #1 / 1967).

"Two Englishmen, who quietly disappear from their abodes in order to solve mysteries, are the protagonists of eleven espionage tales"

3. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix (Horror / 2014)

"Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking.

To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination.

A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve."

Newest Arrivals (Quite a few actually because Jo has kindly bought me a number of books on our local Buy and Sell.)

1. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros (The Empyrean #2 / 2023). I just recently completed the 1st book and enjoyed it very much.

"SECRETS. SACRIFICE. SURVIVAL.

Against all odds, Violet Sorrengail made it through her first year at Basgiath War College, but now, the real training begins. The stakes are higher than ever, and a determination to survive won''t be enough this time.

When a powerful new enemy threatens everything she cares about, including the man she loves, Violet must do whatever it takes to keep their secrets safe. One wrong move could have horrifying consequences - and as the web of lies spun by those in charge starts to unravel, nothing, not even dragon fire, may be enough to save them in the end.

THE DEADLY SECOND YEAR AT BASGIATH AWAITS"

2. The Left Left Behind by Terry Bisson (Sci Fi / 2009). I read Bisson's Fire on the Mountain, just excellent. This is part of a series by publisher PM Authors. I've read a few so far and have others on my shelf to get to.

"Sardonic and merciless, this satire of the entire apocalyptic enterprise provides a humorous and timely interpretation of the bestselling Left Behind series—the adventures of those "left behind" to battle the Anti-Christ after all Born-Again Christians have ascended into heaven. From predatory preachers and goth lingerie to Indian casinos and “art cars” at Burning Man, this religious spoof deftly pairs the personal with the fictional. Featuring an extensive author interview and biography, this contemporary parody also includes the unique one-act drama, Special Relativity, which asks the question: When Paul Robeson, J. Edgar Hoover, and Albert Einstein are raised from the dead at an anti-Bush rally, which one wears the dress?"

3. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Horror / 2022).

"Carlota Moreau: A young woman growing up on a distant and luxuriant estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatán peninsula. The only daughter of a researcher who is either a genius or a madman.

Montgomery Laughton: A melancholic overseer with a tragic past and a propensity for alcohol. An outcast who assists Dr. Moreau with his experiments, which are financed by the Lizaldes, owners of magnificent haciendas and plentiful coffers.

The hybrids: The fruits of the doctor’s labor, destined to blindly obey their creator and remain in the shadows. A motley group of part human, part animal monstrosities.

All of them live in a perfectly balanced and static world, which is jolted by the abrupt arrival of Eduardo Lizalde, the charming and careless son of Dr. Moreau’s patron, who will unwittingly begin a dangerous chain reaction.

For Moreau keeps secrets, Carlota has questions, and, in the sweltering heat of the jungle, passions may ignite."

4. Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs #9 / 2012). Jo also bought me A Lesson In Secrets (Maisie Dobbs #8) from the Buy & Sell.

"In this latest entry in Jacqueline Winspear’s acclaimed, bestselling mystery series―“less whodunits than why-dunits, more P.D. James than Agatha Christie” (USA Today)―private investigator Maisie Dobbs takes on her most personal case yet, a twisting investigation into the brutal killing of a street peddler that will take her from the working-class neighborhoods of her childhood into London’s highest circles of power. Perfect for fans of A Lesson in Secrets, The Mapping of Love and Death, or other Maisie Dobbs mysteries―and an ideal place for new readers to enter the series―Elegy for Eddie is an incomparable work of intrigue and ingenuity, full of intimate descriptions and beautifully painted scenes from between the World Wars, from one of the most highly acclaimed masters of historical mystery, Jacqueline Winspear."

5. Lost Empires by J.B. Priestley (Fiction / 1965).

"One of Priestley's best novels, "Lost Empires" is set in the last years before the Great War, an age that was considered innocent but probably was nothing of the sort. In turn funny, sad, tragic and nostalgic, it is the story of young Richard Herncastle, who travels the old-time music halls during its golden era with his Uncle Nick Ollanton, an illusionist. It is a novel that can be read on many levels, with a delightful parade of characters whose stories tell us much about how life was for a variety performer in those long-forgotten days...indeed, it is essentially an excellent slice of fiction that captures a particular time and place in history --just before the world changed for ever."

6. The Salzburg Connection by Helen MacInnes (Spy / Thriller / 1968). Jo also bought me a few other MacInnes books: Message from Malaga, Assignment in Brittany, The Double Image, Rest and Be Thankful. It was because of the Spy novels that I've recently received that I decided to add another 12 + 4 Reading Challenge for 2027, that being Spy / Thrillers, as I do have quite a collection. I'll provide that list in a future post.

"Twenty-one years ago, with the Allies on their heels, the Nazis hid a sealed chest in the dark, forbidding waters of the Finstersee - a lake surrounded by the brooding peaks of the Austrian Alps.

One of the few men who knows of its existence is Richard Bryant, a British agent. Very early one morning, half-hidden by the swirling mists, he sets out alone to discover the secret of the lake - and unleashes a series of violent reactions - and violent deaths ..."

7. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (Hercule Poirot #13 / 1936). Jo also bought me Curtain, the last Hercule Poirot mystery. I've added these two books to my 12 + 4 Challenge dealing with British classic mysteries and removed two other books by different authors.

"There’s a serial killer on the loose, working his way through the alphabet and the whole country is in a state of panic.

A is for Mrs. Ascher in Andover, B is for Betty Barnard in Bexhill, C is for Sir Carmichael Clarke in Churston. With each murder, the killer is getting more confident—but leaving a trail of deliberate clues to taunt the proud Hercule Poirot might just prove to be the first, and fatal, mistake."

8. Wrong Norma by Anne Carson (Poetry / Essays / 2024). Carson won this year's Nobel Prize for Literature and is also Canadian, so, since I'd not heard of her, I thought I really should check out her work. I love the book cover for this latest book.

"As with her most recent publications, Wrong Norma is a facsimile edition of the original hand-designed book, drawn and annotated by the author. Several of the twenty-five startling poetic prose pieces have appeared in magazines and journals like The New Yorker and The Paris Review.

Anne Carson is probably our most celebrated living poet, winner of countless awards and routinely tipped for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Famously reticent, asking that her books be published without cover copy, she has agreed to say this: "Wrong Norma is a collection of writings about different things, like Joseph Conrad, Guantánamo, Flaubert, snow, poverty, Roget's Thesaurus, my Dad, Saturday night, Socrates, writing sonnets, forensics, encounters with lovers, the word 'idea', the feet of Jesus, and Russian thugs. The pieces are not linked. That's why I've called them 'wrong'."

9. Yap! A Short History of Small Dogs by Stephanie Howard-Smith (Non Fic / History / 2026). I can't remember where I heard about this book, maybe someone highlighted it on one of the sites I check out. Anyway, it seemed fascinating.

"Yap! Whether that sound suggests an irritating little runt of a dog or a sweet huggable bundle of canine fluff, you need to curl up with this captivating, informative, anecdotal history of our most diminutive four-legged friends. Dogs have been valued members of our societies for tens of thousands of years. They’ve guarded our homes, herded our flocks, hunted our food, and rescued us when we’ve needed help. But since ancient times, little terriers and lapdogs have enriched human lives in a different way. For millennia we’ve bred and kept them, both because they work for us and they bring us joy.

Animal historian Dr. Stephanie Howard-Smith tells the story of our smallest working canines and our beloved companions in a series of fun, lapdog-sized chapters, each of which focuses on a famous historical pooch. From the convents of medieval Europe, where nuns hid small dogs to be their faithful friends (despite the disapproval of male church leaders) to King Charles’s Spaniels, Queen Victoria’s Pekingese, Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua, and the pet influencers of twenty-first-century social media, Yap! follows the pawprints of the pups who set the mold for the dogs we share our homes with today.

Celebrating the petite companions with whom we’ve had our longest and closest relationship, from the lean mean little terriers who’ve kept our homes vermin-free, to our precious French Bulldogs and Toy Poodles, Terriers and Dachshunds, Pomeranians and Pugs, Shih Tzus and Spaniels, Howard-Smith presents a heartfelt ode to the yapping little dogs that have shaped our lives as much as we have shaped how they've evolved from working dogs to couch companions, providing the blueprint for the modern canine, and offered us companionship when we’ve most needed it."

10. The Strode Venturer by Hammond Innes (Thriller / 1960). The last of the books that Jo got for me.

"THE STRODE VENTURER, ploughing distant seas, bridges two very different worlds--the island paradise of Addu Atoll and the commercial world of London.

Everything is very much business as usual, but at Strode House a coterie of directors plots against the family. Nowhere is disaster closer than in the Maldives, where the Adduans, an isolated seafaring people, have literally bet their future on the company.

Peter Strode, wanderer, the odd man out in a family interested only in power and money, makes the cause of the Adduans his own. Volatile, impulsive, full of driving enthusiasm, he sets out to save these people and restore his father's company. Only death can deflect him from his purpose."

So, there you go. A nice mix of books, I believe. See any that interest you? Enjoy the rest of October.

A Mid-Month Reading Update

Some of the Book I hope to read before end 2026

The missus is having a nap so I'll start this tonight. If I complete the post, good enough. Otherwise, I'll get back to it tomorrow sometime. 

Books Completed (4 books completed since my last update, for a total of 6 in October so far)

1.  Frostbite; A Graphic Novel by Ian Boothby, illustrated by Pia Guerra (YA / Hor / 2026)

"Frostbite: A Graphic Novel by Ian Boothby and illustrated by Pia Guerra was a nice quick little horror story for YA in a graphic novel format. The teaser sort of says it all, ‘Beware the Dead of Winter’. It starts off with a busload of young players trying to get home in the night. The driver and coach are lost. The bus skids off the road. The coach and driver head off to see if they can find help. They see a cottage in the wood. The driver sinks into the snow. The kids run to the cottage but…… all of them disappear.

Move ahead a few years and we meet Jen and Dante. The are teenage influencers, traveling on a chopper to find a location to snowboard. The chopper flies ahead to meet them. Bev is dropped off to film them coming down the hill. Dante has his ankle slashed somehow. They proceed to the chopper but…. No crew!

The trio make their way into a small town and their gear is stolen by a guy on a snowmobile. The trio with the help of two young people from town head off in chase. They arrive at the river, but they’re not supposed to go over it. The land beyond is a forbidden zone. But, hey, guess what, they go anyway and that’s where they meet… well, now you have to continue, don’t you.

It’s an entertaining, fast paced story and well drawn by Boothby’s wife Pia Guerra. Not a lot of time developing the characters, it’s the setting and the story that is most important. It was enjoyable, not too terrifying or graphic, just enough to hold your interest. (3.5 stars)"

2. Heart on my Sleeve; Stories of a Life Well Worn by Jeanne Beker (Non Fic / 2024).

"Heart on My Sleeve: Stories from a Life Well Worn by Jeanne Beker is a memoir by a Canadian fashion icon. Jeanne Beker was one of the first VJs on Canada's Much Music and reported on music. She also was a fashion reporter on various publications and TV shows.

Jeanne tells the story in a unique fashion. Each chapter features a piece of clothing from her life and how it relates to her life at that time and how it relates to her life in general. The chapter called Itsy-Bitsy Bikini is about her interview with Andy Summers of The Police, which he wanted conducted in a bubbly bath surrounded by candles. Jeanne was game and wore the 'itsy bitsy bikini'. She also saved Andy when his hair caught fire from the candles. (The video of that interview is still on You Tube if you're interested in seeing it.)

Jeanne has had an interesting complete life. She's interviewed and made friends with many Canadian stars; Toller Cranston, Gordon Lightfoot, Linda Evangelista and also international celebrities. She's fought breast cancer (Lost and Found), married a few times, raised to lovely daughters, was awarded to the Order of Canada. 

Her life seems so fascinating and she tells the story in an easy, informal, light style. Considering that I grew up during this period, it made it even more interesting for me. As the title of the book says, Jeanne lived a life well worn. (3.5 stars)"

3. Tuck Everlasting; the Graphic Novel by Natalie Babbitt, illustrated by K. Woodman-Maynard (Fiction / 2026)

"I have never read the original Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt but I had heard of it. A couple of years ago, I discovered Tuck Everlasting: The Graphic Novel, adapted and illustrated by K. Woodman-Maynard, the cover was so appealing that I thought I should check it out. Over the past few years I've begun to really explore the world of graphic novels, including those adapting classic novels.

Right from the get-go, this story dragged me in. In its most basic, it's an exploration of life and death. Young Winnie Foster lives a protected life with her parents and gran. She spends most of her time in conversation with a toad. She decides to run away from home but is hesitant to do so. One night a man in a yellow suit visits. This is after a strange music is heard from the forest that is owned by the Tucker family.

The next morning, Winnie decides to explore the glade, even though it's forbidden to her. She sees a young  man, Jesse Tuck, drinking from a spring. When he sees her, he hides it, even though Winnie is thirsty and wants a drink. Jesse's mother, Mae Tuck and his brother Miles Tuck spirit Winnie away as they are worried about what she's discovered. The man in yellow sees this and follows.

The Tuck family promise to send Winnie home but they need to explain about the spring and the dangers of its life-changing powers. She ends up spending the night with them and each member of the Tuck family tells how dangerous the spring is and how its impacted their lives. Meanwhile, the man in the yellow suit has gone to the Foster family and says he'll get Winnie back, but the family has to sell him the grove first.

I think I'll stop there because you really should read the rest for yourself. The story moves along quickly but for its speed, it provides so much thoughtful conversation. The characters are all well-crafted and relatable. There is a strong tension to the story as the yellow-suited man and police approach the Tuck's farm. There is also a sadness that's unexpected at the end. It's a unique story and at the end there is an interview between Natalie Babbitt's daughter and K. Woodman-Maynard that provides more insight into the story and Maynard's interpretation. Beautifully drawn and colored, it's an excellent adaptation. (4.0 stars)"

4. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros (Fan / Empyrean #1 / 2023)

"I started reading Fourth Wing the 1st book in the Empyrean fantasy series by Rebeca Yarros about 4 months ago. I readily admit that its size was kind of intimidating. But every time I put it down, no matter how many other books I was working through, when I would pick it up next, I found it so easy to get back into the flow of the story, to remember the excellently constructed characters. And when I finally settled down to complete it, it took no time at all. Just an excellent, entertaining story.

Violet (sometimes nicknamed Violence) Sorrengail had planned to become a Scribe like her dead father, to spend her life in the vaults of books in the kingdom of Navarre. But her mother, the commanding general, had other plans. She assigns Violet to the Rider Quadrant where she will follow in the footsteps of her brother Brennan and her sister Mira. What you have to know is that Riders in fact ride dragons. Yup. And as they progress through their first year at the Rider Academy, a dragon will eventually bond with one of the students.... or maybe just kill him / her. 

This is not your standard first year at college. You either pass or fail and, by fail, I mean, die. And you can kill your fellow 1st years. The less there are to compete for a dragon bonding, the better the odds of survival. Violet makes an especially tempting target. She's the commanding - general's daughter. She's not very big and prone to injury. And there are a number of 'marked' students, the children of a traitorous uprising whose parents were executed by Mom. They tend to bear a grudge against Violet.

Mira is completely against Violet being assigned to the Rider Quadrant but when she can't persuade dear Mom to change her mind, she equips Violet as well as she can, with a special dragon skin armor and other things. Violet's best friend, Dain, a 2nd year and also a flight commander constantly encourages Violet to sneak to the Scribe Quadrant, but Violet refuses.

There are people who especially hate Violet; I mentioned those kids of the executed parents.. Well, Xaden Riorson's father led the rebellion and he's now Violet's boss, Fourth Wing Commander. There is also Jack Barlowe who really wants to make a name for himself by killing Violet.

So the stage is set and Violet needs to survive to be bonded with a dragon. She does have some friends, especially Rhiannon who helps her with her battle training and things like that.

The story moves along at a steady pace and Violet proves she's no push over and isn't beyond a bit of trickery to help her defeat her opponents (a touch of poison anyone?) She eventually bonds with a dragon... no wait, not just one. But I won't go any further with that part, just know that she continues to progress. She starts to realize that who might be her enemy, might not be and who she thought of as friends, well, they might not be so friendly. 

The longer she lasts, the stronger she gets and finally, as all dragon riders do, she finds out her powers (you either get the power or you die because it basically eats you up)

There are intrigues within the Rider's Quadrant and it seems that the students aren't being told everything that is going on in the outside world. 

It's such a rich, fantastic story. The world Yarros has created is cleverly opened up to our view. The characters are all so well-developed that you grow to like or hate them as you learn more about them. The developing relationship between Violet and Xaden is surprising and neatly handled. Personally, I could have done without the description of the physical relationship, but I can see its importance to what happens later in the story. All in all, a great start to a series and I may have to get #2. (4.5 stars)"

The other books I've set aside to read by end 2026)

Currently Reading (started since my last update)

1. Case Pending by Dell Shannon (Lt. Mendoza #1 / 1960). I have read one other book in this crime series. It was most enjoyable.

"A murdered girl, a missing doll, an illegally adopted child - a trilogy of mystery for Lieutenant Luis Mendoza."

2. The Motive (also Death of a Nymph) by Evelyn Piper (Mys / 1950). I have read Bunny Lake is Missing and The Nanny, also by Piper.

"Shirley Kolp was not an easy person to understand. Someone really had to know her to want to murder her.

Evidently, someone did.
But who?... And why?"

3. Driven by Mason Coile (Hor / 2026). I've read books by Coile under his real name, Andrew Pyper. 

"Jamie Newcross wants to disappear. His wife and baby girl have abandoned him, and his only wish is to retreat from society. Because, as it turns out, Jamie Newcross is also being haunted. Every house, condo, or apartment he moves into is plagued with ghosts—at the end of the bed or when pulling back the shower curtain. He hasn’t been able to sleep in weeks. 

But Jamie has a plan. He posts queries online and finds someone wanting to get rid of their Lion—the world’s most advanced self-driving car—a sleek, private, contained vessel that is one-hundred percent safe. Or so he thought.  

Because now, Jamie has woken up to the Lion speeding down a dark road, the hood is dented—wait, is that blood?—and the car will not respond, or stop, or let him out.  

As the miles rack up and Jamie becomes increasingly complicit in his car’s choices, he's forced to face the tragic past he has kept buried. Driven is a taut, near-future fever-dream. Mason Coile delivers another one-sitting read that blends science fiction and psychological horror to explore loneliness, grief, and the things that make us human."

Newest Arrivals

1. Treat Them as Buffalo by Blair Palmer Yoxall (Indigenous / Hist Fic / 2026).

"A gripping historical novel about the mysterious kidnapping of Métis boys, the women who search for them, and a town set on edge, told against the backdrop of the North-West Resistance of 1885

During a game of buffalo hunters, young Nikosis Eriksen’s cousin goes missing in broad daylight, leaving nothing but scuff marks in the muddy spring snow. It’s the first in a series of kidnappings of local Métis boys that sets the town of Lac-aux-Trois-Pistoles, Saskatchewan, on high alert. As the new detachment of North-West Mounted Police drag their feet, the women of the Eriksen-Desjarlais family—Niko’s Nimama, Auntie, and Chapan—take on the desperate search for Cousin.

Gunslinger Kate McCannon and her band of women and children have been living in a camp outside town while the family men have joined Louis Riel and Gabriel Dumont in the resistance. News of the victory at Duck Lake arrives in the camp as McCannon and the women join the search for the missing boys.

When a boy is recovered alive yet badly wounded, the need to find Cousin becomes all the more pressing. It isn’t until Niko discovers the truth about the man responsible for the kidnappings that he is forced to grapple with his own identity and resolves to bring Cousin back, no matter what.

Told in the unforgettable young voice of Niko, Treat Them as Buffalo is a remarkable debut novel about the violent events of 1885 and the survival of a people when threat comes from every direction.

2. Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus (Fic / 2026). I enjoyed Lessons in Chemistry so very much. I'm looking forward to trying this.

"Batter Gray is worried about his future. Even when he was eleven, his classmates seemed to have settled on a goal: doctor, lawyer, broker, engineer. Good jobs that automatically command respect, security, 401Ks. Now Batter is in his early twenties, living in New York City, and he wants something different; something that alienates some readers and bores most. Poetry. And yet—to him and exactly thirty-nine editors at a company called Peck & Peck—poetry not only represents the power of humanity but holds the key to its survival.

Batter is named after his mother’s heroic dog. An identical twin who lost his brother at birth, he finds himself confronted by the everyday dualities that make up life: right vs. wrong, truth vs. lies, rejection vs. acceptance. It’s almost as if his dead brother is a reminder: there are always two sides to every story.

No, wait. Make that three."

3. How to Eat an Elephant; One Voter at a Time by Sarah Longwell (Non Fic / 2026). Jo and I enjoy watching the Bulwark online and Longwell is the founder.

"The playbook for consigning MAGA-style politics to the ash heap of history (where it belongs). Featuring a foreword by Jonathan V. Last (AKA JVL).

After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, Sarah Longwell did what she's done nearly every week for the past eight years: She sat down with voters. She conducted hundreds of focus groups, listening to thousands of ordinary Americans—Republicans, Democrats, and the politically homeless—with the goal of understanding politics through the eyes of the people who will decide our country’s future.

American voters, and what they want for their country, are at the heart of How to Eat an Elephant. Longwell, the founder of The Bulwark and one of the sharpest political communicators of her generation, lays out the playbook for building a coalition big enough, bold enough, and tough enough to defeat authoritarian populism for good. Not with a single election. Not by doing another poll or debating the benefits of being more progressive or more moderate, but by building something new: A modern pro-democracy movement that can create its own communications infrastructure—just like the right has done for decades—achieve narrative dominance, elevate more compelling leaders, and talk to voters like adults.

Drawing on her own unlikely political journey from a lesbian Republican operative to the vanguard of the anti-MAGA movement, Longwell delivers a book that is equal parts war manual and pep talk—with her personal and professional story woven throughout. With her trademark bluntness and humor, she explains exactly how we got here and, more importantly, what we must build next—all while directly quoting the most important but overlooked people in the country: the voters themselves.

She answers the question: How do you eat an elephant? One voter at a time."

4. The American Way of Killing; The Invention of an Epidemic by Malcolm Gladwell (Non Fic / 2026) I've read a couple of other books by Gladwell and he is always interesting and informative.

"Malcolm Gladwell’s most urgent book yet: a provocative investigation of America’s epidemic of gun violence.

The United States has far more homicides than any of its peers around the world. Why?

In this groundbreaking book, Malcolm Gladwell explores the American “peculiarity”—how the world’s wealthiest country came to suffer from a problem typically only seen in the world’s poorest countries.

Drawing on original interviews, archival and social science research, and his trademark insight, Gladwell approaches the American paradox through a series of stories. What can we learn from the miracle of a young gunshot victim in Washington, D.C.? How have the legal troubles of a seventeenth-century English knight influenced American attempts at gun control? Why would a European police chief be baffled by the graduation ceremony at any American police academy?

In a sweeping narrative, Gladwell travels from a shooting range in North Carolina, to the South Side of Chicago, to an old plantation house in Alabama, painting a picture of a country that does not understand its most pressing social problem, and as result, does not understand how to fix it."

There you go. See any books that tweak your fancy?