An Open Book: October 2025 Reads

Another month is here (how is it already November???) and I am so excited to share about the books I read last month. I wound up reading way more than I anticipated and it was a fabulous mix of fiction and nonfiction, books geared towards adults and those geared towards children. As always, I'm linking up with An Open Book-make sure to check that out for even more book recommendations! 

A Face Like Glass, by Frances Hardinge

This story follows a girl named Neverfell who has a secret: In an underground society where people spend their time and money enjoying True Delicacies and can only make facial expressions if they've paid to learn them, Neverfell discovers that she has a special ability. Neverfell discovers that this ability, and her very existence, is seen as dangerous to others, and she is swept up in a fight for her life and for people in her community. As if this wasn't adventurous enough, there's also lots of political intrigue and drama and a mysterious villain who is stealing valuable items across the community. This story was fast-paced with lots of twists and turns and really fantastic worldbuilding. I loved it! Parts of it felt thematically like the Hunger Games (with all the political intrigue, all the nobles are prepared to literally stab each other in the back or hire assassins to do it), other parts felt a bit Neil Gaiman-ish, and one particular plot point felt like aspects of Doctor Who. The prose was gorgeous, too! The story gets fairly dark in parts but ultimately focuses a lot on hope. There's violence (and death, though nothing too graphic) and so I'd probably recommend this one for preteens or teens and older. 

The Children of Men, by P. D. James

Set in 21st century England, this dystopian novel shows a bleak world: no one is having babies and mass suicides are commonplace. The story follows Theodore Faron, a historian who meets a woman named Julian. Julian a small group of cohorts are holding onto hope for the future, and they need Faron's help to communicate with the leader of England and try to enact positive action. These characters are swept up in a fast-paced, suspenseful life-or-death race to save humanity. This novel was really excellent and thought-provoking, and it was sobering to see how well the author characterized aspects of 21st century life. This book felt akin to Huxley's Brave New World, and I recommend it!

The Trumpeter of Krakow, by Eric P. Kelly

This fantastic historical fiction novel, set in medieval Poland, blends legend and history into a riveting story about honor, sacrifice, and greed. It is a very fun (though predictable in parts) novel about a family who was entrusted with a treasure and is running from the villains who want the treasure. The writing is lovely and the setting is fantastic. I've seen this book recommended for middle schoolers, but honestly I think some kids in 4th or 5th grade may enjoy it. Parental note-One of the main characters is an alchemist and there are scenes where he teams up with a guy who is into occult/black magic stuff, but nothing seemed too intense or graphic and the story shows only bad things happening as a result from getting mixed up in occult-type stuff. I really enjoyed this book, and I'm excited to share it with my kids sometime! 

A Menagerie of Mysterious Beasts: Encounters with Cryptid Creatures, by Ken Gerhard

Gerhard is a cryptozoologist (someone who studied mysterious creatures that have never been proven to be real) and in this book, he offers an array of short discussions on cryptics (legendary creatures who haven't definitely been proven to exist). Within these discussions, he includes stories people have sent him of their alleged encounters, stories about his attempts to find these creatures himself, and some historical insights about the origins of different crpytids. This book was easy to read and very interesting, and I appreciated that Gerhard-although he's a specialist in this field-was up front in his skepticism about some of the cryptids, while also respecting the people who claim to have encountered those animals. Gerhard also notes that new species of animals are continuing to be discovered, and that much of the world is still unexplored or underexplored (like thick forests and the deep ocean) so alongside our skepticism, we should also remember there are many mysteries around us-and just because we haven't located some of these cryptids doesn't necessarily mean that they don't exist. This book was very interesting and reading it felt like listening to a condensed version of Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World podcast, but only with the "reason" perspective. I enjoyed it, though I don't know if I'd pick it up again. 

Gone-Away Lake, by Elizabeth Enright

In this children's novel from the 1950s, Portia and her brother go spend the summer with their cousin Julian, where they anticipate lots of bug-hunting and relaxing. What Portia did not expect was to stumble across a swamp next to an abandoned town...or what looks to be abandoned. Portia and Julian discover two people who are still living in the town. This town and its residents become a delightful secret for Portia and Julian, who excitedly learn and explore this secret world. Reading this book was so lovely and comforting, and I loved the "old fashioned" feel to it (it was, after all, written several decades ago!). Yes, I took issue with the fact that Portia and Julian kept their new acquaintances a secret from their family, but I really enjoyed seeing how the story resolved and I loved the characters. 

Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and A Writer's Life, by Kathleen Norris

In this memoir, the poet Kathleen Norris offers reflections on her lifelong struggle with acedia and other sins, and how God has helped her in her struggles. She particularly focuses on her relationship with her husband, which included time of deep mental illness, his intense physical sufferings, and ultimately his death. This was a beautiful book. There were some areas where I missed the Catholic sacramental perspective--the author, from what I could tell, is Protestant--but Norris still offers a really rich meditation on sin, suffering, and redemption, and I wonder if she makes the topic of monasticism and sin more approachable to non-Catholics. I'm grateful I read this book; the author did a beautiful job discussing these topics! 

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

Although I heard of this book when I was a kid, I knew nothing about it and never read it. I am SO GLAD I finally picked it up! Honestly, while I'm sure kids enjoy this book, I loved reading it as an adult. So many puns! So much delightful discussion of language and words! But I'm getting ahead of myself...this story follows Milo, a boy who gets bored with everything and seemingly has no grand purpose in life. One day, a mysterious tollbooth appears in his room and he jumps in his little electric toy car, drives through it, and winds up in a mysterious magical world where people sell words in the marketplace. Milo then embarks on a journey to save the princesses Rhyme and Reason, so that order can be restored in this world. This story felt like Alice in Wonderland, but with a focus on language and wonder and reading it was a marvelous experience. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and know it's one I want to revisit at some point.  

Teaching from Rest, by Sarah Mackenzie

This book had been on my radar for a few years and I knew I should read it eventually, and at the insistence of a relative I finally requested it from the library and read it. I'm so glad I did! This book is under a hundred pages, but it is full of wisdom and encouragement. Mackenzie draws from Scripture and her own lived experience as a homeschooling mom to discuss the importance of finding our identity in God. She discusses how teaching from rest is not laziness, but rather involves intentionality and continually offering our work to God. Also, she notes that this approach isn't just about "getting through" materials but about really savoring and learning and growing. I particularly liked her discussion about "curriculum" being the education that we give our kids and how printed resources should support our curriculum, not vice versa. I also really liked learning about her process of using a Loop schedule for some topics, and I may try that out eventually. Some of her ideas in here are things that I've already been doing in some way and some (like the Loop) were new for me. This book was really lovely and I think I may need to reread it regularly for encouragement in the homeschooling life. 

Circus Mirandus, by Cassie Beasley

Micah is a ten-year-old boy who deeply loves his Grandfather Ephraim and always loves hearing stories that his grandfather tells him about a magical circus. One day, Micah learns that the stories are real, and that the circus exists-and that one of its members owes Micah's grandfather a miracle. Believing that the miracle can save his dying grandfather, Micah goes in search of the Man Who Bends Light and winds up learning about his family's history as well as death and grief. This children's novel was enjoyable, though I kind of wish that Micah's aunt was given some likeable characteristics. The story definitely had some dark moments (there's a flashback where a circus performer does some pretty terrible deeds) but the story steps out of those and into the light of hope. I liked reading this book and would happily share it with my kids, though it wasn't my favorite in this genre. 

The Monks of Mount Athos: A Western Monk's Extraordinary Spiritual Journey on Eastern Holy Ground, by M. Basil Pennington, OCSO

This book is a journal of a Roman Catholic priest who, in the 1970s, spent a few months making a retreat on Mount Athos, the stronghold of Orthodox monasticism. That type of trip was extremely unusual--visitors were never allowed to stay for more than a few days or so--and this book was extremely fascinating. I enjoyed learning about Mount Athos and how it operates, and also about the variety of monks who live there. It was interesting to read about the encounters that Fr. Pennington would have. Some monks were open and welcoming and invited him to join in their liturgical services; other monks, upon learning that Fr. Pennington was Catholic, not Orthodox, would not let him enter the main part of their churches. I thought it was beautiful to see Fr. Pennington's humility and how he recognized that there is sin and brokenness in all parts of the Church and within each of us. Some of his monastic reflections in this journal really called me out and were excellent. I didn't totally agree with everything he says (the author, I learned promoted controversial issues like Centering Prayer and integrating Zen Buddhist and Yoga practices, which perhaps fit in with trends from that time period?) but there was a lot of good points of reflection in here. I also found it interesting to see how all these years later, there's been a lot of growth in Orthodox and Catholic ecumenism, but still a lot of brokenness that needs to be healed (some of the very specific issues I personally have seen were mentioned in this book!). I loved this book and recommend it for people who are interested in monasticism and/or are interested in learning about ecumenism and how we can grow in Church unity. 

Thanks for joining me this month! If you have any recommendations, please drop them in the comments! I am currently slogging through two rather large books, so I will definitely need some shorter reads to change things up in the next couple months :)