October 2026
October was hard. It felt like a meat grinder. This one was packed with stress, grief, and fog. I’m learning how my body handles grief this year. It’s weird. Grief with stress is a bad combo, so I’m leaning into the coping mechanisms I have and trying to find new ones. I realized I want to play soccer again, and that’s pretty scary.
Anyway, here are the books I finished and my reviews of them:
Fiction Books
Everything Sad is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri
This book is a fascinating collection of stories told from the perspective of a middle school refugee. The stories are Daniel’s, collected from his past in Iran, his family’s separation and relocation to the US, and his attempts to understand his new home in Oklahoma. Some authors try to emulate kids’ language and thought levels in their storytelling, and are unsuccessful because they try too hard or miss the innocence of children, or overcomplicate the language. Not this one. The storytelling is fantastic. The main character’s view of the world fits with his age and experiences. It just felt right, and in my experience, that’s hard to do.
The main character begins the story as Khosrou, a wealthy child in Iran. His father is a dentist with a rock star personality. His mother converts to Christianity, which is a capital offense in Iran, so Khosrou, his mother, and his sister become refugees, fleeing death through Dubai, Italy, and eventually living in Oklahoma. On the road to Oklahoma, Khosrou becomes Daniel and tells his stories to win over his classmates. His style is complex and interweaving, like the Persian rugs of his homeland. He tells light, funny stories, as well as deep, desperate truths, mixed in middle-school-aged language and flair. He wrestles with separation from his father, domestic abuse, and trying to make friends in a new country.
This book is engaging and fun. I wish more of it had included Khosrou’s father, who is hilarious. The story about his dad taking them to the water park when he visits in Oklahoma and bribes his way into the good graces of the kids and staff is hilarious. I loved the way the author was real, and gritty, and deep, in the way kids are. I have some questions about Persian bathrooms now. The title of the book comes from the end of The Lord of the Rings, when Sam wakes up to find Gandalf is alive. The idea is that some of our saddest memories are based on assumptions which can be proven wrong. In the end, good wins. In the end, everything will be made right. This is one of my deepest hopes. This is one of the most powerful aspects of redemption.
This is for storytellers, gamers, and refugees.
(Rated PG, Score 9/10, audiobook read by the author, 7:48)
The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook by Matt Dinniman (DCC #3)
Carl, Princess Donut, Katia, and Mongo wake up on floor #4 in a fast-moving subway car. They fight their way to a safe house where they are joined by Donut’s manager and their dungeon guide, Mordecai. They spend some time working on upgrades, buying a new personal space, and other related perks. After resting up, they go exploring the floor, hoping to locate the stairways to the fifth floor. They have a week before the fourth floor will collapse. The floor turns out to be a giant spaghetti noodle mess of train lines. None of it makes any sense for most of the book. Mordecai gets put in timeout for attacking another character in the safe house, so the team loses their experienced guide for most of the book. Carl picks a fan prize that looks like a dumb book, but it is The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook. The book is a secret collection of recipes, tips, tricks, and advice written by over 20 previous dungeon crawlers. Carl has to use the book in secret, or it will disappear, so he spends extra time in the bathroom learning from it. The nature of the 4th floor forces the crawlers to stick together for protection and to solve the layout of the floor in time. The team works together with some old and new friends to ride the rails and explore the stations and secrets of the floor. There are some massive battles and some epic twists and turns in the plot on this floor. The way the characters band together and rise above the evil, as well as the nasty plot twists, make this my favorite volume in the series so far.
This is for adult gamers and geeks.
(Rated R, Score 9/10, Hardcover, 544 p.)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter#1)
I never really understood the Harry Potter hype when it was big. I lost a few friends for a couple of weeks each time a new book would be released. I tried reading this first book a few times but couldn’t get into it until I discovered audiobooks. Then I was able to get past the weird, non-magical intro bit where Harry is abused by his adopted muggle family. Harry discovers he is a famous wizard and goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry spends his first school year becoming immersed in the new magic culture, battling a troll, sneaking out of his room at night with his father’s invisibility cloak, and generally getting into all kinds of trouble. The “getting into trouble” bits really make Jet nervous as we listen to the story, so I’ve been trying to explain tension and resolution and how Harry is basically in trouble for all the books. Harry and his friends combine their skills and all the tricks they learned in their first year to solve a series of challenges protecting the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Harry faces his nemesis to keep the school safe. I appreciate the story structure a bit better after hearing it again. The characters are fantastic. There’s even a dragon. You may have to give this book more than one shot to get into it, but once you get hooked, you have to read all seven books.
This is for little wizards and witches, and is perfect around Halloween.
(Rated PG, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Jim Dale, 8:18)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter#2)
Harry Potter is back for another year at Hogwarts. There is a little house elf named Dobby who tries to prevent Harry from going to school, trying to protect Harry. Harry figures out how to get around the difficulties caused by the house-elf and makes it to school in an invisible flying car with his friend Ron. The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart, teaches them to never let Pixies loose in class, but not much else. Finally, the trouble that Dobby warned about begins. The Chamber of Secrets opens, and several characters are petrified in different attacks in the school. The whole school is trying to figure out who might be the heir of Slytherin who has opened the chamber. Harry learns that Hagrid was once a student at Hogwarts who was expelled for keeping a giant spider as a pet. When Hagrid is arrested and sent to Azkaban, he tips Ron and Harry off about how to find Aragog, the giant spider. In the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Ron meet Aragog and his giant spider clan, where they learn that Hagrid was foolish, but not the heir of Slytherin. One final attack takes place when a student is kidnapped and taken to the Chamber of Secrets. Harry and Ron find a final clue uncovered by Hermione and find their way down into the Chamber of Secrets. There they face danger and try to rescue the school. In the aftermath, Harry is sorting out his feelings and struggles with Dumbledore, who leads Harry to the truth- Harry chose to be in Gryffindor, not Slytherin. “It is our choices, Harry, that show who we truly are, far more than our abilities.” That line really resonates with me. It’s not our dreams, fears, rumors, or doubts that make us who we are; it’s what we do that counts. Jet and I enjoyed the audio and illustrated version of this book, and he had so many questions as the story worked itself out.
This is for young ones learning when to bend the rules.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Jim Dale, 9:02, Illustrated copy (Jim Kay), 259p.)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (HP#3)
Here we go with year three at Hogwarts. Harry finds himself in the Leaky Cauldron for a few days after blowing up his aunt, running away from the Dursleys, and taking a ride on the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley. Harry spends most of the book learning the story around his parents’ death because a man tied to their betrayal and death, Sirius Black, has escaped from Azkaban and seems to be hunting Harry. The Dementors from Azkaban attack Harry several times during the story. They suck out joy, life, and hope, making one feel that they will never be happy again. The remedy after a Dementor attack? Chocolate, of course. The students have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher, Professor Lupin, who actually teaches them, creature by creature, how to defend against dark creatures. Lupin helps Harry to develop his patronis spell to ward off Dementors. The Weasley twins give Harry a very powerful gift called the Marauder’s Map, which shows the Hogwarts grounds as well as the live location of everyone on the school grounds. Harry uses the map and his invisibility cloak to sneak out of the school to Hogsmeade. The Dursleys didn’t sign his permission form to go to Hogsmeade, so Harry has to break the rules. The plot gets a bit complicated towards the end of the book, where the author spins two parallel timelines together using Hermione’s Time Turner. The students finally discover who Sirius Black, Professor Lupin, and Scabbers the rat really are, and who actually betrayed Lilly and James Potter. My favorite part is Dumbledore trusting the kids to make the story right.
This is for time-turners and truth-seekers.
(Rated PG, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Jim Dale, 11:49, Illustrated copy (Jim Kay), 336p.)
The Gate of the Feral Gods by Matt Dinneman (DCC#4)
The fifth floor of the dungeon is a massive world filled with bubbles like a sheet of bubble wrap. Each bubble has four kingdoms: Air, Tomb, Land, and Sea. Each kingdom has a castle. Each castle is filled with mobs, a boss, and some sort of puzzle designed to allow quick defeat of that kingdom. Crawlers must work together to defeat each kingdom in their bubble to unlock the stairways to the sixth floor before the floor timer expires and the fifth floor collapses. Carl, Princess Donut, Katia, Mongo, and Mordecai land in the Air Kingdom. They have to figure out how to defeat a floating castle of angry Dirigible Gnomes before they move to the Land Kingdom, where they face a bizarre slime. Then they face certain death in the Sea Kingdom, being eaten by a sharktopus. Finally, they have to defeat a ghost in the Tomb Kingdom. On their quest, they seek three items, which combine to make the gate of the feral gods. The powerful items allow crawlers to create portals with one very dangerous side effect: the portal summons a feral god. Anything feral is to be avoided; feral gods most of all. Carl upgrades his anarchy skills throughout the book. Princess Donut figures out how to participate in the galactic socials, which is good and bad. Katia learns how to operate solo and gains some much-needed confidence and levels. Mongo is still my favorite, though he doesn’t get much work in this story.
This is for crawlers and gamers. It will keep you up past your bedtime.
(Rated R, Score 8/10, audiobook read by Jeff Hays, 18:03)
Willodeen by Katherine Applegate
This is a cute little book that is one of my daughters’ favorites. It is about a little girl named Willodeen, a humming bear named Duzu, and the town they save called Perchance. Willodeen loses her family in a wildfire. She’s adopted by two older ladies named Mae and Birdie. She dodges school in favor of studying nature on her own. She loves the creatures of the forest, even the smelly ones called Screetchers. The town is threatened by dual forces: fires caused by the trains and the dwindling humming bear migration population. Connor is a young boy who befriends Willodeen. They share a love for nature and learn that they both feel deep scars after losing their parents. Together, they brave the town’s politics and help to save it.
Like Applegate’s other books, this one focuses on how humans are nearsightedly destroying our world. The choices we make have consequences beyond today. They can trickle down to our kids and younger generations. At least it gives us hope. Hope that if we work together and understand the consequences of our actions, we can heal the world.
This is for all little readers, and some older readers who need to see the world anew.
(Rated G, Score 7/10, audiobook read by Ariadne Meyers, 3:46)
Non-Fiction Books
With my brain fogged up, I didn’t finish any non-fiction this month. :(
Currently Reading-
Many Waters by Madeleine L’Engle
The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinneman (DCC#5)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (HP#4)
I track my books in a database called Goodreads. It might help you manage your reading lists.
Final Thoughts-
Here are two quotes that I came across this month that I have been pondering:
“Being inoffensive, and being offended, are now the twin addictions of the culture.”
— Martin Amis
These addictions are all about division. Only by ignoring them can we build connection and understanding. They support the lie that if someone disagrees with you, they hate you. Only in relationships is it safe to disagree well and, through conversation, deepen our understanding of ideas. How are you shaking off these addictions?
“I'm here today to cross the swamp, not to fight all the alligators.” From The Art of Possibility.
I’m running out of time to fight all the alligators, and fighting them doesn’t contribute to the big goal of getting across the swamp. If you see me fighting alligators, please redirect me to the task at hand.
My words for this year are Calm and Together, which means I’ve been tossed into dividing chaos. We are most of the way through the year, and I think I am finally learning how to invite people to come together and provide a sense of calm in the storm. I still have a lot of growing to do in these areas, but I can see the value they provide in this dark, crazy, lonely world.
Thanks for adventuring with me.
Joshua
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