October 2025
Overall, October has been a busy, stressful month. On the plus side, we went apple picking, which was delightful, especially because the orchard we visited had a petting zoo and we got to say hi to some goats and donkeys! I also had a nice birthday with R, including a fun magnet and some homemade herbes de provence from my mom.
The garden is definitely winding down for the year. We got the first frosts this week, so I harvested a bunch of green tomatoes and pulled up the tomato & pepper plants. I planted the garlic cloves for next year and harvested the first American groundnut, a legume tuber similar to potatoes. I also planted irises my mom sent and peonies, and I'm excited to see what they look like in the spring!
The mood in the garden in October is an interesting mix of melancholy and hopeful. This year's garden is coming to an end and the flowers are ending, one by one, but at the same time, there's plenty to do for next year. Endings and beginnings always woven together.
Currently Reading
Hild by Nicola Griffith: a reread; I'm listening to the audiobook
Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones
The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon by Grace Lin
Notes from a Regicide by Isaac Fellman
The Forgotten Summer of Seneca by Camryn Garrett
Upcoming MG SFF releases
It's another busy quarter in middle grade sff! I've marked the books I'm personally excited by with **
October
City of Secrets by Marieke Nijkamp (fantasy | sequel)
Ava and the Owl-Witch by Diana Lopez (fantasy | sequel)
The Experiment by Catherine Egan (science fiction | sequel)
Nina and the Keeper of the Keystone by Marti Dumas (fantasy | sequel)
Ivy and Forest Rewrite the World by Hannah West (fantasy | portal)
Nox Winters and the Stygian Serpent by Rochelle Hassan (fantasy | sequel)
Rage of Lions by David Anthony Durham (fantasy | mythology | sequel) **
Rise of Neptune by Scott Reintgen (speculative fiction | dragons | sequel)
Sir Callie and the Final Stand by Esme Symes-Smith (fantasy | sequel)
The Tinkerers by Caroline Carlson (cozy fantasy)
Kindred Dragons by Sarah Mensinga (fantasy | graphic novel) **
Scarlet Ship by Claire Grimond (fantasy | graphic novel)
Witches of Pepperwood Bay by Lisa Manuzak Wiley (fantasy | graphic novel) **
November
Firefox Moon by Eoin Colfer (fantasy | sequel)
The Firefly Crown by Yxavel Magno Dino (fantasy | magic creatures) **
Farrah Noorzad and the Realm of Nightmares by Deeba Zargarpur (fantasy | sequel)
Amity by Paul Russell (science fiction | sequel)
The Last Ember by Lily Berlin Dodd (fantasy | magic creatures)
Mixing Magics by Clare Edge (fantasy | sequel)
Tale of the Obsidian Maze by Carlos Sanchez (fantasy | graphic novel | sequel)
December
Asterwood by Jacquelyn Stolos (fantasy | portal)
Cosmic Cadets: Accused by Ben Crane (science fiction | sequel)
Diana Wynne Jones reread
Since finishing up my Foreigner series reread, I decided to revisit Diana Wynne Jones, in publication order when possible. (Did you know she published, like, five books in 1975? My gosh.)
Witch's Business: My favorite part of this one is the fake swearing, which is hilarious. Everything else is aggressively fine, but not spectacular.
Ogre Downstairs: I enjoyed the kid interactions and the zany build up (which starts to feel more like peak Diana Wynne Jones). While I find the sympathetic examination of a blended family neat, for me that's not enough to offset the fact that the Ogre actually is pretty awful for most of the book!
Everything else
Kid Lit Faves reminder
The next Kid Lit Faves issue will be coming out in early November and will focus on Meg Medina!
Shawarma quest update
We're closer to a finalized favorite recipe, thanks to a recipe my mom sent me. I still want to make some tweaks, but this one is very good!
Hats!
I've been knitting a lot of hats recently, trying to use up some of my accumulated yarn stash. My goal is to donate them to a local mutual aid organization, but that involves weaving in all the ends first, rip to me.
Things to check out
Baker & Taylor shutting down (this has been a major source of stress at work!)
Beloved pal Jenny takes a thoughtful look at issues with the current crop of trad pub fic
As always, you can find me on Bluesky and Storygraph!
Until next time,
Maureen