 Hi everyone! A big welcome back to my channel. So today we're going to be talking about a few books that I am really, really excited to read this October. I don't usually do monthly TBR videos but every now and again I get really excited about planning out my reads for a month, especially if the month has a theme. October, for those of you who don't know, is Victoria here on Booktube where people read all things Victorian lit. I will leave all relevant links to Victoria things down below. And it is of course also spooky season and for whatever reason I am feeling massively in the mood to embrace darker, spookier, more psychological reads this year. So I've put together a TBR. I'm very excited about the whole thing. Let's get into the books. First up we have Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell. This is my Victoria pick. It was written in the 1850s, set in an English country town. This one tells a story of two middle-aged spinster sisters who are living in reduced circumstances. It explores rural community life and female friendships and I believe there is tragedy and death thrown in there as well. So there are many different prompts and fun things you can do to partake in Victoria. I'm taking quite a casual approach to the whole thing and just reading a Victorian novel and feeling like I'm joining in. Elizabeth Gaskell is one of my favourite Victorian writers. She is just one of my favourite classic writers. I fell in love with her when I read North and South last year. I am now wanting to read all of her work. This is one of her shorter works I believe is told through a series of little vignettes. I just love Elizabeth Gaskell's rural settings. I love her social and political discourse. I love all of her characters. I'm especially excited about the two female characters in here and exploring their relationship. I'm sure this is going to be fab. Next up we have Lily, A Tale of Revenge by Rose Tremaine. This is a new release coming out on the 11th of November. I was very kindly sent this proof copy by the publisher. So this is the first of my darker more Halloweeny reads and it's actually also set in 1850s England, I just realised. So set in Victorian London, this one tells the story of a young woman named Lily who when she was a baby was saved by a police officer. As a child she was sent to a hospital to be punished for her rebellious spirit and when she is finally released into the harsh world of Victorian London the police officer is still watching over her and Lily is harboring a terrible secret. I just adore Rose Tremaine. I was so excited when I heard that she was releasing this new book and this just sounds lush. I am so intrigued by this whole thing. I love me a dark, gritty historical novel, especially when they are set in Victorian London, especially when they focus on morally gray female characters. I will be reading this one super soon. Next up on my TBR we have House of Hollow by Crystal Sutherland. So this is a horror YA novel. Not the kind of thing I typically read by any stretch but for some reason this one has got me. I believe it tells a story of a 17 year old Iris and her two older sisters. Something happened to them all when they were younger. They all bear the same half moon scar at the base of their throats. Then Iris's elder sister goes missing. Strange things start to happen and Iris is sent on a dark and dangerous journey to figure out what has happened. So this may be the first straight up horror novel I have ever read and I'm very excited about this. I'm super intrigued. I'm here for the spooky vibes. I'm hoping for twists and turns and genuine surprises. I just think this is going to be really fun. I'm really hoping that I do enjoy it and also isn't this cover just stunning. Next up we have The Push by Ashley Audrain. This is described as a dark page turning literary novel. I believe it came out earlier this year. Basically all I know about this one is that it tells a story of a new mother who becomes convinced that something is wrong with her daughter. I believe it explores sanity and insanity, fear, and believability. So this book has been doing the rounds a little bit. I've been seeing quite a few people reading it and really liking it. I love novels that explore motherhood so this had me instantly. And I'm just really hooked by this idea of a super unreliable narrator. I believe you don't really know what is real and what isn't real throughout the whole book up until like the last moment. I'm hoping for really good things in here and addictive ride but also some really interesting insights we will see. And last up on my October TBR is Stun With Love Poems and Fragments by Sappho. So this is a bit of a random one, a bit of a wild card. This is a small collection of the surviving texts from Sappho from around 150 years after Homer's Iliad. This is lyrical poetry exploring themes of desire and remembrance and spite and celebration. So I adore poetry and I am wanting to broaden my poetry reading horizons specifically in terms of time period. This is one that we've had on our shelves for a little while. I actually bought it for Cameron I think because he loves reading Greek literature. And yeah, I just thought I would give this one a go really. I have read odd bits of Sappho's work in the past but I'd really like to read more. Excited to experience this one for myself and see how I feel about it. So there we go, those are a few books that I really really want to read this October. I am so excited for all of them. Please let me know if you've read any of these books, did you like them? Do you think I'll like them? Also definitely let me know what you're planning to read this month. Are you planning on reading any Victorian literature or anything for the spooky season? Let me know all of your reading plans down below. I would absolutely love to know. Thank you in advance to anyone who does say hello. It does make my day. I hope you're all doing really, really well. Thank you so much for watching and I will see you soon in my next one. Bye.