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October 26, 2022

Favorite Books of October 2022

This post may include Amazon links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I have had quite a month and it has little to do with books. For the first time in well over three years I traveled outside the United States, spending two wonderful weeks in Morocco. We traversed the country by car which at times was an adventure in itself. This was a bucket list trip for me and it did not disappoint. I’ve been asked over and over what I liked the best, but the list is far too long. For cites, Marrakesh and Chefchaouen top the list, but the Sahara and the High Atlas Mountains with their beautiful gorges were also wonderful. The delicious food and many kind, friendly people were true highlights. It’s definitely a trip I’ll never forget!

Favorite Books of October 2022 - Novel Visits

Despite the travel, I did manage to read some books this month and am very excited to share my favorite three with you today. All were written by authors I’ve read and loved before, so expectations were high and they did not disappoint! These three books could not be more different, yet each was wonderful in its own way. As always, for all my reviews delivered close to publication, you can follow me onย Instagram.

Dinosaurs by Lydia MilletDinosaurs by Lydia Millet
Publisher: W.W. Norton
Release Date: October 11, 2022
Length: 240 pages
Amazonย  ย  Bookshop.org

My Thoughts:ย ๐˜ˆ ๐˜Š๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜‰๐˜ช๐˜ฃ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ by Lydia Millet was one of my Best Books of 2020, so you know I was excited to read her new novel, ๐——๐—œ๐—ก๐—ข๐—ฆ๐—”๐—จ๐—ฅ๐—ฆ. Letโ€™s just say I was ๐ง๐จ๐ญ disappointed. This is a very different kind of story, but one that shone for its own unique qualities. โฃโฃ
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๐˜‹๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ด is a beautifully simple story of a wealthy man, Gil, who walked from NYC to his new home in Arizona. He wanted the difficult journey to honor his new life, and needed to make himself work for it. Once there, he quickly becomes friends with the family of four living next door. Their modern home has a wall of glass facing his, and even though Gil quickly becomes very close to the whole family, sometimes he sees more than he would like. The relationships he builds in Arizona make him question some of his own life choices, including what it means to be a rich man. Can a rich man also be a good man? His wealth is his burden, yet he wouldnโ€™t want to be without it.โฃโฃ
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โ€œ…๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ. ๐˜ž๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข ๐˜ญ๐˜ฐ๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ, ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ. ๐˜ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต, ๐˜ด๐˜ฐ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ญ๐˜ช๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜บ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ. ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข ๐˜ต๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ-๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ง, ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ข ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ค๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ถ๐˜ฏ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜จ๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ, ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฌ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ธ? ๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ช๐˜ต.โ€โฃโฃ
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I know my description doesnโ€™t sound like much, but itโ€™s a quiet, character-driven novel, beautifully written – the hallmark of Lydia Millet. Not a lot happens, but growth on all fronts is immense. That, and the fact that Gil is one of the most likable characters I’ve ever come across, will having me thinking about this story for a very long time. At a slim 240 pages, I devoured this book as will many others. Grade: A-

Thanks toย W.W. Norton for an electronic ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste NgOur Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
Publisher: Penguin Press
Release Date: October 4, 2022
Length: 352 pages
Amazonย  ย  Bookshop.org

My Thoughts:ย I need to startย ย by telling you two very important things about ๐—ข๐—จ๐—ฅ ๐— ๐—œ๐—ฆ๐—ฆ๐—œ๐—ก๐—š ๐—›๐—˜๐—”๐—ฅ๐—ง๐—ฆ by Celeste Ng. First, I loved it! Next, it IS dystopian and it IS political. I know both those things scare some readers off, but here I donโ€™t think it should. Itโ€™s dystopian in a political way much like ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฎ๐˜ข๐˜ช๐˜ฅโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜›๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ (not as extreme) or ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜”๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ (slightly more so).โฃโฃโฃโฃ
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In Ngโ€™s new book, the United States had gone through a period of inflation, massive shortages, unemployment and violence. Right or wrong, much of the blame was placed on China, and out of that time rose a new political power that required complete loyalty to U.S. values. People who spoke out would often find themselves punished. For some, their children were taken away and relocated to a loyal family with the โ€œright values.โ€ Anyone Asian became particularly vulnerable, not only from the government, but from angry citizens.โฃโฃโฃโฃ
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The story follows Bird, a 12-year old boy, whose mother, a Chinese American poet, voluntarily left Bird and her husband three years earlier. She did this to protect Bird from being relocated. He is now at an age where heโ€™s becoming acutely aware of the world around him and he begins questioning more and more why his mom left and where she could be. The book brings us Birdโ€™s quest to find answers. โฃโฃโฃโฃ
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As always Ngโ€™s writing is spectacular and her characters extremely well-developed. This has a clever, heart-felt plot in which she wove together many elements beautifully. I suspect there will be those who donโ€™t like the political angles in this book, and they’ll need to examine their own reasons why. I would simply say that no matter where you stand politically, ๐˜–๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜”๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ด is a wonderful coming-of-age story and a book I highly recommend. Grade: A-

Thanks toย Penguin Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara KingsolverDemon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Publisher: Harper Books
Release Date: October 18, 2022
Length: 560 pages
Amazonย  ย  Bookshop.org

My Thoughts:ย If you donโ€™t already think of Barbara Kingsolver as a national treasure, reading ๐——๐—˜๐— ๐—ข๐—ก ๐—–๐—ข๐—ฃ๐—ฃ๐—˜๐—ฅ๐—›๐—˜๐—”๐—— will undoubtedly convince you. I was already a fan, but now Iโ€™m feeling a little gaga over her. A 546 page chunker, her latest book is nothing short of brilliant, a masterclass in great storytelling! โฃ
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The title character, Demon Copperhead, is loosely based on that of Charles Dickensโ€™ David Copperfield, but donโ€™t let that scare you off. Demon tells his own sad life story in a voice that is strong and clear, and has you rooting for Demon throughout. Heโ€™s a boy born under the worst of circumstances: Appalachia as itโ€™s being devastated by Purdue Pharma, oxycontin, heroin, and the addiction, poverty, crimes, and death left in their wake. His mom is a victim, his father dead, and Demon is left to find his own path even as a young boy. We get a look at the failings of the foster care system, the importance of a few loyal friends, and the undeniable lure of escaping it all that helped to make opioids so successful.โฃ
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The book is populated with an incredible array of characters who come in and out of Demonโ€™s life, some to help and others to exploit. I started this book before leaving for Morocco, and even though a lot was going on there, I was eager each night to get in a bit of reading. I may have finished it more quickly at home, but the slower pace enabled me to savor every bit of this book and for that Iโ€™m grateful. ๐˜‹๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜Š๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ has been added to my growing stack of possibilities for Best Books of 2022! Grade: A

Thanks toย Harper Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Which have been your favorite books of October?

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Favorite Books of October 2022 - Novel Visits

Filed Under: By Title, Literary Fiction, Multi-Book Posts Tagged With: 2022 Books, Book Recommendations, Book Review, Dystopian, Favorite Author, Grade A, October 2022 Books




Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shelleyrae @ Bookโ€™d Out says

    October 26, 2022 at 7:42 am

    Sounds like a dream holiday!
    I agree that Demon Copperhead is a stunning read.

    Reply
  2. Lesley says

    October 28, 2022 at 2:27 pm

    I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed all of these books; I have each one ready to listen to on audio (plus an ARC of Kingsolver’s). I’ve only finished two books this month and it will probably come as no surprise to anyone that my husband’s book (Sailing by Starlight) is my favorite. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Your trip in Morocco sounds like so much fun. I enjoyed following along via IG.

    Reply
  3. susan says

    November 2, 2022 at 3:18 am

    Wow — all around a great post! Sounds like an awesome trip to Morocco. Impressive.

    Also I’m glad for your reviews of these three novels. You helped me in deciding about picking them up. Each sounds good in its own way. You describe them very well. thanks!

    Reply

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Welcome to Novel Visits! Iโ€™m Susie and reading is my passion. Join me for new novel reviews, musing on all things books, and much more.

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