Most of the books I read in the month of October were travel guides. During my free time last month, I was in hard core planning mode for my return trip to Japan. The last time I went, Meghan did much of the planning since I was kind of tied up with grad school stuff. And since our trip was pretty short last time, we stayed in and around the Tokyo area.



But this time around, I'm going for way longer. That means I'm going to explore more than just Tokyo and the surrounding areas. I'm traveling to Kyoto and Hiroshima, and since I know nothing about those cities, I've been doing a ton of reading and researching.


Just for fun, here's a picture from that last trip of me freezing my face off on Mt. Fuji.

Other than the travel guides, I did manage to read two books for fun last month.

The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
This book tells the mysterious tale of a girl who claims to have gone four months without eating. When a nurse and a nun are sent to monitor her behavior and see if something miraculous is occurring, the girl's demeanor changes and she becomes bed-ridden as she wastes away. This book made me so sad for the little girl and so angry at her pious, holier-than-thou family. I tore through this book really quickly. Definitely a good read.

First Impressions: A Novel of Old Books, Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen by Charlie Lovett
This was one of the best books I've read so far this year. Chapters alternate being telling a fictional story of how Jane Austen came to write some of her most famous books and telling the modern day mystery of the origins of the first draft of one of those books. While I did find the ending to be a tiny bit predictable in the mystery part, this book was a perfect read. I loved the characters and didn't want the story to end.

I'm trying to pick my reading up again in November since I have a stack of library books now calling my name.