October

I didn't keep track of this too well these past few months... and apparently also forgot to change these from drafts to published posts. I don't think this October list is complete, but it'll have to do.

1. Half the Picture (2018)
• I didn't realize the investigation into the sexism of the film industry was so incredibly recent. I know there has been increasing awareness of the challenges women in the industry face especially as of late, but I was surprised to find out how bringing everything to light in a systematic manner has basically taken place over the past couple of years.
2. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Long-Lost Home by Maryrose Wood
• Finally! The last installment of the Incorrigibles series! It was fairly obvious Wood was going to work around the curse that way, but I still enjoyed it all quite a bit. The cover gives away a little bit of the plot, but you don't realize it until you get to it.
3. Does it Fart? The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence by Nick Caruso and Dani Rabaiotti, illustrated by Ethan Kocak
• I hope no one's surprised I'm reading this, or to find out I experienced no hesitation whatsoever putting myself on hold for this the moment I saw we had recently acquired the title.
• I was actually expecting a bit more information about flatulence in each of the animals rather than a cursory yes/no plus a bit of interesting information about each animal's flatulence or lack thereof, but it's a fun book nonetheless. Just not exactly what I was expecting (though I suppose expecting a more serious investigation into animal flatulence might've been a tall order).
4. Mean by Myriam Gurba
• What a powerful memoir! The thread that follows Gurba through from the very beginning of the book to the very end, and the constant writing and rewriting and making sense of what happened and her ties to the murdered Sophia, made this incredibly difficult to put down until the end. There's a line in there at the very beginning, where she addresses our desire to know all of the story, and how there's this feeling that if we know everything, the story - the victim - might belong to us in a way: she doesn't.
• I don't know if Gurba is actually mean, because she's not that mean in this memoir, and I'm kind of confused why she chose this as the title.
5. Gross Anatomy by Mara Altman
• You kind of have to admire Altman for going to the lengths she did to figure out what's with her body. She's informative and hilarious, and I'm left wishing for more information about everything (which is great because it means reading this will inspire people to actually go out and maybe find out more about their own bodies). Talking more openly about bodies and how - I forget who said this - our bodies are such leaky vessels would do a lot to dispel misconceptions of how our bodies are supposed to work, as well as probably calm a lot of women because, surprise! there is such a wide variety of body shapes and types, and there is bodily discharge, and it's not always an issue.
• Also, puppy fumigation? Well, at least ancient Greek women could decide how far up to stick the straw.
6. Racial Diversity in the Romance Fiction Industry (Public Libraries Online)
7. The Wrong Way to Save Your Life: Essays by Megan Stielstra
• As someone who also has a lot of fear about a lot of things, this resonates with me a lot.
8. Horror movies:
• Dawn of the Dead (2004)
• Cabin in the Woods (2012)
• Sinister (2012) & Sinister II (2015)
• Insidious (2010) (TERRIFYING)
9. Forests Emerge as a Major Overlooked Climate Factor (Quanta Magazine)
• I remember reading about how vital trees are to moving water around to areas that are nowhere near bodies of water in The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben