#OpenBook for October 2025

 

Welcome to #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!

9-4-25 A Daughter's Choice - Kelly Irvin - This is a delightful Amish romance about two young people, both struggling with their faith, who bond over their love of animals. (Read for a book review publication)
 

9-10-25 Whispers at Painswick Court - Julie Klassen - This is a Regency-era romance/mystery. Anne Loveday goes to Painswick Court to serve as a nurse to Lady Celia, an older woman with lung trouble. However, it soon becomes apparent that everyone there has a secret, including the charming Dr. Finch, whom Anne begins to take an interest in, despite her determination not to marry. In addition, Lady Celia keeps experiencing "accidents" that seem to indicate someone wants to harm her. The action takes a while to build in this one, but the second half makes up for it. (Read for a book review publication)

 9-12-25 Every Shade of You - Ginny Kochis - Kochis is skilled at writing about young people with mental illness. This story focuses on Dewitt Griffin, a teenage artist with bipolar disorder, and her relationship with Nathan Cartwright. As they attempt to navigate young love, her mental illness, and her parents' efforts to help her, they will both have to make difficult choices. While there is nothing graphic in it, this is a YA book that deals with challenging topics. I would recommend it for ages 15 and up. 

9-13-25 Jane Austen at Home: A Biography - Lucy Worsley - I already knew quite a bit about Jane Austen, but this is a highly readable, comprehensive biography that includes two sections of photos. I enjoyed it a great deal.
 

 9-16-25 The Strange Case of Jane O. - Karen Thompson Walker - This book is not something I would usually pick up, but the premise intrigued me, and I found it to be a fascinating work of fiction. It is told from two points of view - a psychiatrist who is treating Jane O. and Jane O. (who writes letters to her young son). Jane has an exceptional memory. She never forgets anything that happens to her and can recall what was on the bookshelves of a room years later, but she is beginning to hallucinate and she goes to see the psychiatrist to seek help. What is real and what isn't? I loved this book way more than I expected to. 

9-18-25 Plain Jane's Secret Admirer - Anne Blackburne - Jane Bontranger has been pining for Sam Mast for years, but he doesn't seem to know she exists. Little does she know that he was the one who gave her the unfortunate nickname of "Plain Jane" when they were young to hide his own feelings for her. He decides to start sending her secret admirer letters and gifts, even though his best friend tells him to confess he made a foolish mistake when they were children and admit his true feelings. Sam is too scared to do that, especially once they start spending more time together. This is a feel-good Amish romance. (Read for a book-review publication).

 

9-22-25 Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time - Jeff Speck - In an attempt to have contact with people outside of my family, I joined a four-week book club at my local library (as an added perk, they also served us lunch). This book is all about reducing car culture and emphasizing walkable spaces. It has definitely challenged some of my assumptions and made me think more about the spaces where I do enjoy walking and what makes them feel safe and inviting. 

 

9-23-25 My Friends - Fredrik Backman - This is the intertwined story of a group of young friends many years ago, who work together to help one of them embrace his artistic talent, and a young woman who is also an artist, who encounters two of these friends when they are about forty years old. All of these individuals have rough backgrounds and this story is hard on the heart for that reason, but it is ultimately a tale of hope. While several of the characters in this book experience same-sex attraction, this is a book about love, not sex, and there is nothing graphic. It was a powerful story that I appreciated reading. 

9-24-25 The Lies We Trade - Kristine Delano - This is a Wall Street / domestic thriller, which is a genre I hadn't previously encountered. Meredith Hansel has a high-powered Wall Street job, but all is not what it seems. With a marriage on the rocks and a rogue employee threatening her, all the plates she has been juggling start crashing down. It was a compelling story that definitely raised my fear factor, but I wish I understood more about finance because I didn't really understand what the issue was on that front (other than everyone seemed out to get Meredith and she didn't know who to trust). (Read for a book review publication).

 

9-25-25 Snow - Meera Trehan - This is a middle-grade fantasy novel about a princess who made a wish for snow, except then the snow covered the kingdom permanently and drove out all the residents, including those she loved most. She's been trying to atone for it ever since. But one day, a girl from the outside enters the kingdom, and the princess begins to think all hope is not lost. This is a story of family dynamics, science, forgiveness, and bravery.  (Read for Catholic Library World)

9-26-25 Incredible Catholic America: Smallest, Tallest, Oldest, Oddest - Marion Amberg - This is a fun and interesting book about people and places of distinction in the United States. Catholic trivia buffs and those interested in learning more about the Catholic faith in America will find this book worth reading. 

9-28-25 Flashes of Brilliance: The Genius of Early Photography - Anika Burgess - This is a fascinating look at early photography from 1839 to World War I. I had never realized how dangerous early photography was or the great lengths photographers had gone to in order to get a photo. This book explores how photographers used photos to explore the hidden world (microphotography), emphasize social causes, and produce special effects. (It also has a brief section on the development of porn.) My favorite story/photo in the book told of how pigeons had cameras on them to develop aerial photography. There is an absolutely adorable photo of a pigeon with a camera hanging from its neck! I learned a great deal from reading this.    

Since the spring of 2019, I have been making my way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm currently working on the readings for junior year). 

Still in progress - I'm in Volume 5! Someday I will finish this, although I am having less time to devote to this project due to other responsibilities - The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire - Edward Gibbon -  Gibbon was an English essayist, historian, and politician who wrote this epic six-volume work between 1776 and 1789. It's incredibly long, and I have little interest in the Roman Empire. It is going to take me a while to get through this one.

 

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