Best books in October 2023: recommendations

It’s been both turbulent and spooky this autumn as winter is now around the corner. From conflict and sorrow to a host of new memoirs, not to mention a good Halloween horror. Happy reading!

📖 Books read in October: 10

• 📚 The Guest by Emma Cline (2023). A young drifter in 1970s Long Island becomes entangled with a wealthy couple and their friends, uncovering dark desires and dangerous secrets.
• 📚 A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall (2023). A Palestinian father’s desperate search for his son after a tragic accident reveals the complexities of life under occupation. Thrall was recently cancelled from events due to the conflict.
• 📚 Nothing Bad Has Ever Happened: A Bouquet for Victoria Amelina, edited by Askold Melnyczuk (2023). Amelina, a promising Ukrainian writer, volunteered during Russia’s war against Ukraine and documented war crimes with Truth Hounds. She wrote about women documenting war atrocities. Tragically, she died in a missile attack. This tribute book honours her legacy. We had the privilege of speaking to the books editor Askold Melnyczuk, who shared some incredible insights about Amelina.

Read: Askold Melnyczuk remembers Victoria Amelina as Ukraine war rages

• 📚 The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan (2023). A sharply witty novel about a couple’s impending wedding, and the friends who may ruin it.
• 📚 A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (2023). Lives collide in modern Nigeria, revealing the stark divide between wealth and poverty, and the shared humanity that binds us all. It was great meeting Adébáyọ̀ at this year’s Queen’s Park Book Festival.

• 📚 The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (2023). Pop icon Britney Spears bares her soul in a powerful memoir about fame, family, freedom, and resilience. We had an in-depth look at Britney Spears’ book.
• 📚 A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing by Hilary Mantel (2023). British literary icon Hilary Mantel reflects on her life and work in a dazzling posthumous collection of essays. Check out our review of Hilary Mantel’s anthology.

Read: Britney Spears book: The Woman in Me and age-old misogyny – review

• 📚 Who Wrote This?: How AI and the Lure of Efficiency Threaten Human Writing by Naomi S. Baron (2023). Who Wrote This? urges us as individuals and as communities to make conscious choices about the extent to which we collaborate with AI. Keep an eye out this month for our interview with Professor Baron on her new book.
• 📚 Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry (2022). This candid memoir by Friends star Matthew Perry talked about his struggles with addiction and recovery. He sadly passed away in October a year after this book was released. We had the bittersweet pleasure of reading his book in light of his death.
• 📚 Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror, edited by Jordan Peele (2023). This horror anthology, featuring all-new stories by Black writers, explores the darkest corners of our world and our imaginations. Halloween was the perfect time for this ghoulish read, so we got to review Peele’s collection.

Tell us what your favourite books were in October!

Finally…

If you found these themes interesting, then check out our look into whether literature important during times of conflict. We also took a look at death at times where it feels rather prevalent, in our conversation with With The End in Mind author Dr Kathryn Mannix.

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