An Open Book: October 2026 Reads

Another month has arrived, so it is time to link up with An Open Book to chat about what I read last month--surprisingly, it was mostly fiction! Let's dive in. 

Blue Miles: A Monastic Novel, by Fr. Thomas Esposito

In this fictional memoir, an elderly Cistercian monk journeys through one day in the monastery, and along the way, he also recounts the story of his life and how he got to this point. My full review of this book will be coming soon on CatholicMom.com, but for now let me say: I absolutely loved this book. It felt very much like one of Wendell Berry's novels combined with In This House of Brede and Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain. I highly recommend it! 

Herbs that Heal: (Catholic) Home Remedies to Forage and Grow, by Judson Carroll and Steve Cunningham

This was a fun, conversational book all about the tradition of herbs and herbal medicine within the Catholic church. The authors explore the history of herbal medicine as it was used in Catholic monasteries, and then they unpack a variety of herbs that can be used for different ailments. They included information, cautions, and an illustration of each herb as they discussed it. This book was really interesting and I enjoyed it overall; however, I was very lost with some of the pop culture and song references, which I'm guessing is a "generational thing" haha! Still a fun book, though. 

REREAD: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1, by Beth Brower

REREAD: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 2, by Beth Brower

When I embarked on a somewhat overwhelming and stressful Medical Saga a couple months ago (thankfully, by the grace of God, it should hopefully be coming to a positive end soon), a dear friend sent me a care package that included tea and a few of Beth Brower's volumes. What a tremendous gift (seriously, these books are the perfect comfort read when faced with a stressful saga of any kind)! These books were a complete delight the first time I read them, but rereading them is like encountering old friends, and I enjoyed them even more as I noticed details differently this time around. These stories fell like a mix of the novels by G.K. Chesterton, P.G. Wodehouse, and Jane Austen. I absolutely love reading the story of the indomitable Emma M. Lion as she strives to create a life in her quirky London neighborhood, and I highly recommend these books! 

So Big, by Edna Ferber

In this novel, published in the early 1920s, we follow a young woman from Chicago named Selina as she travels to a Dutch farming community to be a schoolteacher. Selina sees beauty wherever she goes and brings a new zest for life and color to the community, where she winds up marrying a farmer. The story continues to follow her over the course of several years as she raises a son and grapples with the choices that he makes. This was a lovely book. The prose was gorgeous, and Selina was a great character to journey with. In a way, this book felt akin to a Flannery O'Connor story, but not nearly as shocking or brutal. I really enjoyed it, and I think it would be really good to reread this book in a decade or so when my kids are even older (and moving out of the house). 

Thank you so much for joining me this month! If you have any recommendations, please drop them in the comments!