Victober TBR / Pile of Possibilities 2024 |

In which I chat all about what I hope to read this Victober...
The Announcement Videos
Kate's Video ‪@katehowe8499‬ : • Victober 2024 Announce...
Katie from Books and Things' Video ‪@katiejlumsden‬ : • Victober 2024 | Announ...
Ros from Scallydandling about the Book's Video ‪@scallydandlingaboutthebook2711‬ : • Victober 2024 announce...
My Announcement: • Announcing Victober 20...
The Challenges
Kate’s challenge: Read a Victorian book where religion is a component of the story
Katie’s challenge: Read a Victorian book that plays with form in some way
Marissa’s challenge: Read a Victorian work that was originally serialized
Ros’s challenge: Experience Victorian drama: read, watch or listen to a Victorian play
Group challenge: Read a Victorian work by Wilkie Collins and/or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Group Read: The Doctor’s Wife by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (Note: we are reading 2 chapters a day and ending on the 18th with the last 3 chapters)
music by audionautix.com
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Let's be friends!
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[@RaineyDayReads]

Is it even Victober if we don’t have a totally unmanageable TBR? Great list, and I look forward to seeing what you actually do get to read!

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thanks Rainey! I can't wait to see what you read as well. Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@mitzireadsandwrites]

I've only read The Warden, so I plan on continuing that Trollope series this Victober, too. Oh my goodness, Dombey and Son is one of my all-time favorites!

[@BlatantlyBookish]

I've loved all of the books in The Barsetshire Chronicles series so far! I hope you have fun continuing it! I must read Dombey and Son at some point if not this month. Happy reading! 📚💕

[@bookswithpetra]

I have actually such an unambitious TBR: one book that I didn't even start with. I really want to read Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins but I started rereading Jane Eyre... Your pile of possibilities looks really good, though, and I hope you'll have a lovely Victober!

[@GemofBooks]

Amy Levy sounds like a really interesting author - I might have to try her at some point. Loved seeing the books on your TBR ☺️

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thank you! I hope I get to try her this month, but we'll see. Happy Victober! 💕📚

[@ArtBookshelfOdyssey]

I was going to read The Dead Secret but then realized I had already read it. So I am going to read Armandale too! It sounds really fun! Pickwick is so good too. One of my favorites.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Oh hooray! I hope you're enjoying Armadale as much as I am so far. Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@adrienne4028]

Have to say, Dombey and Son is a wonderful story. 😊 I'm reading Woman in White. Happy Reading.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thank you! I still haven't fully decided on whether I'm committing to Dickens or not. I'm starting off with Armadale and some plays. I hope you are enjoying your Victober so far! 📚💕

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

I loved Mrs Warren’s Professional when I read it for Victober last year. The Way We Live Now was my first Trollope so I think I shall start The Barsetshire Chronicles this year. I’m really looking forward to Victober. Thanks for your recommendations 😊

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Oh I'm so glad you loved The Way We Live Now, and are onto more adventures with Trollope! Happy reading and happy Victober! 💕

[@SheepandOak]

Omg ty for saying The Doctor's Wife has spoilers for Dombey and Son!! Going to my library to check out Dombey and Son ASAP so I can read The Doctor's Wife! I needed a push to get started on a Dickens book anyway. Thank you!!

[@BlatantlyBookish]

You're welcome! Yea I really think I am going to forego the group read this year, which is such a shame. I hate spoilers too much to read it right now though.

[@starlasell5698]

❤📚❤️ Thanks for sharing. There are so many great Victorian books perfect for fall. I am reading The Woodlanders by Thomas Hardy right now and loving it, so far. Woodlands, apple orchards, apple cider, marriage...

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Well now I want to add The Woodlanders onto the list too! Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@starlasell5698]

@@BlatantlyBookish 🤗📚👍

[@AaronReadABook]

I read The Last Chronicle of Barset earlier this year and it was great fun, a lovely way to wrap up the series!

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Wonderful! I hope I do get around to it this month. I'm starting with Armadale I think. Happy reading! 📚💕

[@richfarmer3478]

Pickwick Papers is one of Dicken's funniest books BUT it took me forever to read it because there's no real plot, just a series of incidents. Dombey and Son , however is a great story, one you won't want to put down.

[@melissahouse1296]

What a fantastic tbr! i actually haven't read any of them but am hoping to read Armadale in honour of Jenny too. Almost all are books i'm super interested in getting to. Ill have to check out your Oscar Wilde video being a newbie n all, i plan to watch TIOBEarnest. Happy VIctober Marissa! 🤗🤓😊

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thank you! It sounds like you have a wonderful tbr as well. I hope you enjoy The Importance of Being Earnest. It's fantastic. Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@CarolynsReadingRamblings]

Wonderful Pile of Possibilities Marissa! Okay this seems way too late to be asking since we are halfway through the month (I got behind in KZbin videos) but if you haven't read any yet, would you be interested in buddy reading some Sherlock Holmes stories together? I've read A Study in Scarlet but I'm torn about whether to continue in publication or chronological order so I figured I would just listen to at least some of the stories in Adventures of Sherlock Holmes for this prompt for Alice :D. Wonderful video as always :D.

[@cassandra3399]

Hi Marissa, your choices for Victober sound wonderful. The Pickwick Papers was the first Charles Dickens I read and I just loved it. This year my pile of possibilities include The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Agnes Gray, Doctor Thorne by Trollope, Sylvia’s Lovers by Gaskell, some Sherlock Holmes short stories and two books of short stories by Dickens and Gaskell and Frankenstein. I may have forgotten one but I know I can’t read all these, so what I actually read remains to be seen. Thank you so much.😊❤😅

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thank you! I don't know why, but I'm having trouble getting into The Pickwick Papers. Maybe I need to read it in print instead of audiobook or find a new audio narration. You have a fantastic pile of possibilities! I hope your Victober is off to a great start! 📚💕

[@Molly-s6u]

I need to finish The Last Chronicle as well😂

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Hopefully we are both able to this month! Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@darrylfriesen]

I’m foregoing the group read this year, too-because I haven’t yet read Dombey! Too bad, because like you I always enjoy the group read!

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Yea it's a shame, but there will be other groupreads in the future. Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@MarcelaChandía]

Definitely rereading A Study in Scarlet since it fulfills several prompts 😝

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Wonderful! Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@MLLatUtube]

I am looking forward to the group read of The Doctor's Wife but did not realize it contains spoilers for Dombey and Son, which I have not read. What to do, what to do. I may take In Search of Wonders advice and just wait a few years to read Dombey and Son.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

I hope you're able to find a good solution to the spoiler dilemma. My brain unfortunately would remember spoilers for far too long to make that advice work. Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@ian8046]

You should get busy on Dombey and Son -- it's great. The Return of the Native is a captivating read. Like a few of Hardy's novels, it does have a "pagan" feel, if by that we mean that the moods of nature is/are characters(s) or have powerful influences on or are influenced by other characters. Your thoughts after reading would be interesting. Thanks for the video! I'm participating in Victober to the extent that I'll be reading Victorian novels, but not so much in a "challenged" way. I'm finishing a second read of Jane Eyre then starting The Woman in White. I've never read Collins before so it'll be fresh. I'm also thinking a second read of Marion Fay, a lesser known Trollope novel that I liked and maybe Nicholas Nickleby. Shirley is still in my tbr pile.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Your reading plans this Victober are wonderful! Jane Eyre and The Woman in White are fantastic! I think I may have liked the Moonstone slightly better than The Woman in White, but both were good. And I'll have to add Marion Fay onto my neverending TBR. There are so many Trollope books I want to get to one day. Happy reading! 💕📚

[@denisadellinger]

I just finished Doctors Wife, It does talk about Donby and Sons but it talks about so many other novels and poems that it all just runs together. She wants to be like Edith Donby. Which tells me nothing but she is a dramatic character. Please read the book. It is so good.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'll read it eventually, but now doesn't seem like the right time. Happy Victober! 📚💕

[@katiejlumsden]

So many amazing choices here ❤ Romance of a Shop is a much more interesting read overall than Miss Meredith, I'd say, and is my favourite by her. Miss Meredith is a sort of Jane Eyre/Villette retelling, though, so you might find that element interesting. Both of them are pretty quick readers, and quicker than Reuben Sachs. The Pickwick Papers is very episodic, so it's also not a terrible one to read a bit of then put down, or to listen to on audiobook slowly over a long period of time.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thanks Katie! I had no idea that Miss Meredith was a Jane Eyre/Villette retelling. That could be interesting. I think I'm leaning towards Pickwick Papers. I'll respond to Voxer messages soon I hope! 📚💕

[@jodihowe7274]

Great video Marissa!! I have read both Dombey and Son and The Pickwick Papers, adore both of them, but for different reasons. My recommendation is The Pickwick Papers. Dispite the size it is a much quicker read. Light, funny, filled with good cheer! However, Dombey and Son is outstanding too. It's a slower read, so might fit in better for you after Victober? I am skipping the group challenge as well. Only because I heard it was compared with Madame Bovery. I did not care for that story. Happy almost Victober🧡

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thank you for the recommendation! I'm just hoping I'll be able to get to a Dickens at this point lol. I hope you have a fantastic reading month! 📚💕

[@jodihowe7274]

@@BlatantlyBookish you will enjoy them whenever you get there. Enjoy🧡

[@Dinadoesyoga]

Armadale, The Return of the Native, and Dombey and Son are all fantastic! I'm going easy this year, my only definites are The Doctor's Wife and Can You Forgive Her. I might also listen to some Sherlock Holmes on audio.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

It sounds like you have fantastic books picked out for the month. I can't wait to hear what you think of Can You Forgive Her. Happy reading! 📚💕

[@LaurieInTexas]

You have a great tbr and I'm eager to see what you end up reading. I love Dombey and Son, so I hope you read it if you can. I would hate to have it spoiled by The Doctor's Wife. I am currently reading Vanity Fair and it will roll over to October plus I plan to read The Small House at Allington and Deerbrook. I am excited about both of those.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thank you! I wonder what I'll end up reading as well lol. It sounds like you have a fantastic tbr lined up. I hope your Victober is off to a great start! 📚💕

[@insearchofwonder]

A possible solution to the Dombey and Son problem: read the group read this year. Wait two or three years to read Dombey and Son. Boom. The spoiler knowledge will have been removed from your brain retrieval system in the interim. 😂

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Oh, if only my brain worked that way. Unfortunately, spoilers have the nasty habit of worming their way deep into my brain. I'm more likely to forget about books I've actually read than a piece of information I wasn't supposed to hear lol. Happy Victober!

[@novellenovels]

I did like Armadale but it’s not his best. Obviously I’m going to say go for the pickwick papers but it is massive. Anthony Trollope is also a great bet so will always recommend him. Thank you so much for your kind words 💜💜

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thanks Emily! I started Armadale and it's interesting so far. I also started The Pickwick Papers on audiobook, but I can't focus or follow it. I restarted the second chapter 3 times and can't keep the characters straight so maybe I need a new audiobook or maybe it's just not the right time to read it. We'll see. 📚💕

[@ianmcfarlane4923]

Pickwick Papers is my favourite Dickens I'm a great admirer of the Pickwickians supported by the ever reliable and sane Sam Weller.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Check, one more vote for Pickwick Papers. I hope I get around to reading a Dickens this month. Happy Victober!

[@jamesduggan7200]

A week or two ago I finished James' Portrait of a Lady, which was not at all what I thought it would be. It was quite good tho possibly Isabel Archer could have benefitted from a detailed description. I did have trouble imagining her but perhaps that was the point? Maybe all those men who loved her saw something on the inside? Ofc idk but it was interesting.

[@BlatantlyBookish]

Thank you for your thoughts! I really need to read some Henry James one of these days. Happy Victober! 📚💕