October is a fabulous month (and I’m not biased, although it is my birthday month!). The sights and smells of autumn are in the air – and on the ground – and for some reason, I find it a great time to get organized before all of the holiday craziness begins. In case you are looking for something good to read to get into the mood of October, here are a few books with the month in their titles. Those with an * are highly recommended! (All annotations are courtesy of NoveList Plus.)
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The Best Game Ever: Pirates vs. Yankees, October 13, 1960 by Jim Reisler
- A recreation of the epic 1960 World Series finale respectively profiles the Pirates and Yankees teams; cites the contributions of such figures as Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford; and recounts the dramatic walk-off home run that decided the outcome of Game Seven.
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy*
- The Soviets’ new ballistic-missile submarine is attempting to defect to the United States, but the Soviet Atlantic fleet has been ordered to find and destroy her at all costs. Can Red October reach the U.S. safely?.
Mutiny: The True Events that Inspired The Hunt for Red October by David Hagberg
- Describes the events that occured on a Soviet warship in 1975, where the crew mutinied against the captain to protest against corruption in the Soviet government.
October 1964 by David Halberstam
- A study of a seminal season in the history of American baseball offers a close-up look at the 1964 clash between the Yankees, representing the status quo, and the St. Louis Cardinals, a tough, young team on the rise.
October Country by Ray Bradbury
- The “Undiscovered Country” of the author’s imagination is revealed in a collection of stories that chronicles an underground city where drowned lovers are reunited, a carnival where a miniature man has his dreams fulfilled every night, and a glass jar that hold memories and nightmares.
October Dawn: A Novel Based on the Cuban Missile Crisis by James Walker
- Tormented over choosing between his faith and his family, Johnny Pera is determined to unravel the truth behind the failed plot to kill Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and he is haunted by the chance that his own father might have been involved.
October Dreams
- Horror and Halloween themed fiction and non-fiction written by such authors as Dean Koontz, Christopher Golden, Ray Bradbury, Poppy Z. Brite, and Ed Gorman.
October Fury by Peter A. Huchthausen
- The former Soviet naval analyst revisits the tense, terrifying thirteen days that constituted the Cuban Missle Crisis to recreate the near apocalyptic confrontation between nuclear superpowers.
October Horse: A Novel About Caesar and Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough
- A novel of the final days of the Roman Republic explores the love affair between Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, the assassination of Caesar, and the struggle for power that leads to the rise of the Roman Empire.
October Light by John Gardner
- Living in her older brother’s Vermont farmhouse, penniless widow Sally Abbot finds their clashing values escalating to the point that her brother banishes her to her room with a mainstream novel she has been reading, a book that becomes reflective of their turbulent family history.
October Sky: A Memoir by Homer Hickam*
- The author traces the boyhood enthusiasm for rockets that eventually led to a career at NASA, describing how he built model rockets in the family garage in West Virginia, inspired by the launch of the Soviet satellite “Sputnik”.
October Song by Beverly Lewis
- As Katie and Daniel adjust to marriage, Katie reaches out to her family for acceptance, Rachel’s husband Philip tries to fit in with his new Amish peers, and Levi continues his courtship of Lydia.
Queen of October by Shelley Fraser Mickle
- In 1959, Sally Maulden, 13, goes to live with her grandparents in Coldwater, Arkansas, while her parents are considering a divorce, and she discovers an eccentric group with their own agendas.
Silence in October by Jens Christian Grendahl
- Stunned when his wife of eighteen years leaves him with no explanation, an art historian struggles to make sense of his life and marriage and begins to realize that two people can live together for years without ever really knowing each other.
Three Weeks in October: The Manhunt for the Serial Sniper by Charles A. Moose
- The Montgomery County police chief at the head of the manhunt for the serial snipers who shot random victims during a three-week period in Maryland and Virginia recounts the investigation that ultimately lead to the suspects’ capture.
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