Reading Diary 👻 The Ghost of Halloween helped me read 24 Books feat. #spoopathon Wrapup

Hello fellow bookworms 👻 Since I dedicated my entire October to reading spooky books and wanted to once again share my progress with you in a Reading Diary 🧡 I love seasonal reading so much, especially in winter and fall, so I had such a good time reading all the spooky books 🥰 I might do another Reading Diary in December when I’ll be reading some festive books! In October, my reading was on fire because I was so hyped for all the spooky books which possessed me to read 24 books 😱 Find out what they are and what autumnal activities I did down below!

Overview + TBR

• Week 1 ~ 01.10. – 03.10.
• Week 2 ~ 04.10. – 10.10.
• Week 3 ~ 11.10. – 17.10.
• Week 4 ~ 18.10. – 24.10.
• Week 5 ~ 25.10. – 31.10.
• Wrapup

Week 1 ~ 01.10. – 03.10.

👻 Spooky Update 👻

➽ October started off so much better than September for me! With the spooky season beginning my mood improved a lot and I finally got out of my weird reading funk. Getting to read all the spooky books motivated me and I flew through 4 books in 3 days 🥰 I really kicked off the first weekend of October with all things scary and rewatched some old favorite scary videos! It’s like a switch was flipped and I felt really autumnal and cozy again 😊 I even finally baked something again, one of my favorite recipes: a Brownie Graveyard 👻

🎃 Books I Read 🎃

• A Monster Calls (Patrick Ness) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄  Rereading this was such a great experience! Still an all-time favorite book & if you read it, get the illustrated edition!
• The Little Kitten (Nicola Killen) ⭐⭐⭐⭐  A children’s picture book which was SO cute!! It’s about a girl who finds a little black kitten and tries to rescue it 😭
• Hide and Don’t Seek (Anica Mrose Rissi) ⭐⭐⭐ This is a MG collection of scary stories and sadly most of them were either a hit or miss for me … mostly they felt underdeveloped 😔
• Monster Friends (Kaeti Vandorn) ⭐⭐⭐ A graphic novel about two ‘Monsters’ that befriend each other – it’s cute but could have done with more development!

Week 2 ~ 04.10. – 10.10.

👻 Spooky Update 👻

➽ I finally finished my exam!!! I’m so relieved, as I didn’t have a good time studying for this, but now I have all exams and assignments done 🎉 I also had the first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season as a post-exam treat 🥰 There was also lots of soup, including my favorite to eat in Autumn – which is Pumpkin. To distract myself from the impending exam I also started watching The Haunting of Bly Manor, which is really good so far! My reading has also been going really well, I’m loving all my rereads and the graphic novels 🧡

🎃 Books I Read 🎃

• Pumpkinheads (Rowell & Erin Hicks) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄  I reread this graphic novel every year as it’s brimming with autumnal vibes and makes me wish we had pumpkin patches here! 🥺
• Small Spaces (Katherine Arden) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔄 One of my favorite spooky books! This is the debut of a fantastic MG Horror series about a group of friends fighting the Smiling Man!
• Dead Voices (Nicola Killen) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔄 Reading this the second time this year as I love these characters and the spooky stories so much!
• Anna Dressed in Blood (Kendare Blake) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔄 I finally reread this after years and it still holds up! This book gives off such Supernatural vibes with the ghost hunting and monsters!
• Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye (Tania Del Rio) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An illustrated MG mystery full of riddles, which was SO much fun to read + I got so attached to the characters 🥰
• Something is Killing the Children Vol 1. + 2. (James Tynion) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fantastic horror graphic novel that had some really interesting lore about monsters and monster hunters 👀
• Goosebumps: Secrets of the Swamp (Marieke Nijkamp) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I’ve actually never read a Goosebumps novel, but this graphic novel adaptation was really cool! I love me some 🐺

Week 3 ~ 11.10. – 17.10.

👻 Spooky Update 👻

➽ This was my last free week so I  made the most of it! With my exam finished I was feeling a lot more relaxed and in a lucky coincidence there was another Unexpected Readathon for the entire week! It’s hosted by Destiny @ howlinglibraries and it was the first time I could participate in ages 🥰 I also carved a pumpkin while I was still at home – it’s one of my favorite autumnal activities! 🎃

🎃 Books I Read 🎃

• Bridge of Souls (Victoria Schwab)  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is the finale of the Cassidy Blake series and was by far the best book, as it had an engaging plot and was so much fun to read! I also loved the New Orleans setting 🥰
• The Witch Boy (Molly Knox Ostertag) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ I loved The Girl from the Sea by the author, so I had to read her other witchy graphic novel series! ✨ This not only had gorgeous art work but also great commentary!
• Grimoire Noir (Greentea & Bogatch) ⭐⭐⭐ The art style was gorgeous but sadly the mystery and execution left a lot to be desired
• The Taking of Jake Livingston (Ryan Douglass) ⭐⭐.5  This was such a disappointment, especially as it was one of my most anticipated releases 😭 The plot, writing style and execution of the idea just felt so underdeveloped to me.

Week 4 ~ 18.10. – 24.10.

👻 Spooky Update 👻

➽ I was losing my reading momentum a bit 😅 This shouldn’t be a surprise as I already read a lot of books and with the semester slowly beginning my mind was taken up by other things. However, I watched two spooky movies with my friend (Halloweentown for the first time and a rewatch of The Nightmare Before Christmas) which was a lot of fun 🥰 I wanted to drink another PSL when I was in the city, but they had run out so I read my book with a Caramel Macchiato instead 😂 I did find a really cool (massive) pumpkin-scented candle though which I’m currently burning! I dedicated Sunday to reading, which was really nice and I got through two books: Mooncakes (a reread) and Girl of Nightmares 👻

🎃 Books I Read 🎃

• The Girls Are Never Gone (Sarah Glenn Marsh)  ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This was such an eerie, sinister book! It’s more slow and character-focused but the atmosphere and buildup was so good! I was attached to all the characters and I loved the podcast element ❤
• Thirteens (Kate Alice Marshall) ⭐⭐⭐⭐  Obviously this wasn’t as spooky as Marshall’s other books since it’s MG but I still liked it a lot! The lore and creepy atmosphere of Eden Eld were so good and this gave me major Small Spaces vibes 🥰
• Girl of Nightmares (Kendare Blake) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ After many years, I finally read the sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood and it was really good! I liked the first book slightly better, but Girl of Nightmares was still fun and expanded on some of the lore. It was also engaging and I read it in one sitting!
• Mooncakes (Xu & Walker) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄 I got an Arc of this back when it released, so I decided to finally reread Mooncakes. It’s still as cute and witchy & I love the gorgeous art! This book is like a warm hug and full of found family 🥺

Week 5 ~ 25.10. – 31.10.

👻 Spooky Update 👻

➽ This was my first week of classes and my reading suffered a lot 😅 I kind of knew this would happen, as I had time but was so exhausted and stressed in the evening, that I didn’t feel like picking up a book. I mostly listened to audiobooks (Good Girl, Bad Blood & Te Woods Are Always Watching), as they are absolute life savers for me during the semester ❤ I also managed to reread Jackaby, but didn’t get farther into my series reread (before starting The Dire King) – but I’ll continue in November of course! As for some autumnal vibes, I burned my new scented candle (Pumpkin Latte), took some nice walks outside (the crisp, fresh air does wonders for my mood) and watched a movie with a friend for Halloween 🎃

🎃 Books I Read 🎃

• Jackaby (William Ritter) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄 This is one of my favorite series of all time and I’m on my third reread!! Jackaby is a fantastic mix of fantasy, mystery and historical fiction following an eccentric detective who can see the paranormal world. It has banter, found family and lovable characters, so everything you could want 🧡
• Good Girl, Bad Blood (Holly Jackson) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is the sequel to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and once again it’s got an intriguing mystery the main character is trying to figure out: this time the disappearance of a friend’s brother. I loved the suspense and podcast element, but didn’t feel connected to the people involved in the case!
• Fangs (Sarah Andersen) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A cute graphic novel about the relationship between a vampire and a werewolf! This was more slice-of-life but I still enjoyed it a lot!
• The Woods Are Always Watching (Stephanie Perkins) ⭐⭐⭐ I liked the premise of this, as it sounded intriguing: two (kind of) estranged best friends who are amateur hikers encounter dangers in the woods 👀 The suspense and atmosphere was good, but the antagonists were flat and had no solid motivation, which made the book feel a bit aimless.

Wrapup

💕 Books Read 💕

1. Jackaby (William Ritter) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄
2. Pumpkinheads (Rowell & Erin Hicks) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄
3. A Monster Calls (Patrick Ness) ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄
4. Small Spaces (Katherine Arden) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔄
5. Dead Voices (Nicola Killen) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔄
6. Anna Dressed in Blood (Kendare Blake) ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 🔄
7. Girl of Nightmares (Kendare Blake) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
8. Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye (Tania Del Rio) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. The Girls Are Never Gone (Sarah Glenn Marsh) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
10. Thirteens (Kate Alice Marshall) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
11. Bridge of Souls (Victoria Schwab) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
12. Good Girl, Bad Blood (Holly Jackson) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
13. Mooncakes (Xu & Walker) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 🔄
14. The Witch Boy (Molly Knox Ostertag) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
15. Something is Killing the Children Vol 1. (James Tynion) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
16. Something is Killing the Children Vol 2. (James Tynion) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
17. Goosebumps: Secrets of the Swamp (Marieke Nijkamp) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
18. The Little Kitten (Nicola Killen) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
19. Fangs (Sarah Andersen) ⭐⭐⭐
20. Hide and Don’t Seek (Anica Mrose Rissi) ⭐⭐⭐.5
21. Monster Friends (Kaeti Vandorn) ⭐⭐⭐
22. Grimoire Noir (Greentea & Bogatch) ⭐⭐⭐
23. The Woods Are Always Watching (Stephanie Perkins) ⭐⭐⭐
24. The Taking of Jake Livingston (Ryan Douglass) ⭐⭐.5

What have you read in October? Any new favorite books? Did you read any good spooky books? 👻