Book Rants - October 2026

It seemed like October just flew by. I didn't have much patience for reading so I might have started a couple of books before finishing a few. I didn't list those books I started since I barely read 10% and have no real opinions on them other than they lost my interest. Here are the books I didn't finish and a couple that I did.

Books I Unfinished:

01 - The Inklings Detective Agency by John R. Kelly
What's it about: 1930s Britain, clubs, writers, maybe murder
Quit at: 27%
Reading the synopsis created expectations and real people also created expectations I didn't know I had. This book didn't fulfill them or at least it didn't for me for the bits I read. I expected an intellectual mystery with tidbits about the authors' lives instead of authors getting together and doing a lot of talking. So yes, in solving a mystery, there is a need to discuss things but if the talking is annoying and the characters are annoying, why continue reading? But maybe this book wasn't written for an audience like me. I expected the writing to be more English, not Americanized, since the characters (J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie) are English. I really like the idea of famous authors getting together to solve a murder but I just couldn't get into this book.

Draw Something Oct. 26 - Wrap up

Dedicating a month to draw is really the only time I seem to really complete any artwork but I did finish more than usual. It's very time consuming finishing them. My process is draw on paper, scan the drawing in and digitally colored them. I've worked a routine but it's so hard to choose colors when face with so many choices. But I had fun making up traits and adding details and choosing names. I hope you like these cat witches. Maybe when I finish the others, I'll post them. Here's a last one I completed.

Name: River Zudora Summer Garcia
Age: 13
Loves: Tea, ghosts, all things Halloween especially the treats
Hates: Hate to hate, asparagus-flavor candies, maybe chores
Ability: Can see a ghost's true desire
Curious Tidbit: Born on Halloween, River, came into the world just when a bunch of ghosts was habituating her home and causing all kinds of chaos. Her birth heralded the arrivals of spirits from her bloodline who got rid of the pesty ghosts.

Do you like Halloween or do you prefer a more subdue holiday?

Fiction: The Perils of Kidnapping a Tired Witch

This month's Words for Wednesday prompts are supplied by Sean Jeating and are hosted at River's blog here. This week's prompts are: death, forward, important, intend, left and/or pleasure, step, touch, things, understand. Another optional prompt is Charlotte's colour of the month - Smoky Rose. 
    The aim of Words for Wednesday is to use one or all of the prompts to write something - ie, a story, a poem, an essay or any forms of writing, fiction or nonfiction, basically write anything you want.

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Fiction: The Perils of Kidnapping a Tired Witch
Della was exhausted from lack of sleep and from all the work to keep her hotel from going kaput. If her stepmother, Hillary, her siblings, Jacky and Didi, didn't fall ill at the same time and then decided to take a month's vacation away and if their housekeeper, maid, cook's helper, assistant manager didn't quit, maybe Della wouldn't have minded it as much. At least their cook, Mrs. Tides, didn't quit but only because Della doubled her salary though she was a cousin of her stepmother's. 
    Even with ten guests, it was hectic. And winter season meant Della had to switch out all the beddings, get the heating working and other matters her siblings, stepmother and employees should have done. Thank goodness for her assistant, Mason. Della wouldn't have been able to getting everything done without him.
    After one exhausted evening, Della was bidding two guests farewell by the front entrance of her hotel, when a van halted. Two men came out, grabbed Della, shoved her into the back of the van and drove off. As she lay on the floor, she fell asleep but was wakened when the van screeched to a stop and she bumped against the wall. The doors clapped open, a fat hand grabbed her and pulled her out. It was nearly midnight, most of houses were dark and the sidewalks were empty.