{"id":132831,"date":"2020-11-02T11:26:57","date_gmt":"2020-11-02T00:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/?p=132831"},"modified":"2020-11-03T11:56:33","modified_gmt":"2020-11-03T00:56:33","slug":"the-best-books-we-read-in-october-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2020\/11\/02\/the-best-books-we-read-in-october-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"The best books we read in October 2020!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From wonderful debuts to new novels from award-winning authors, from memoirs to political calls to action, here are the best books read by Booktopia’s staff in October 2020!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Olivia Fricot – Senior Content Producer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Queenie<\/a><\/em> by Candice Carty-Williams<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I loved it:<\/strong> With readers across the world still raving about this book, I figured it was finally time to meet Queenie Jenkins – an excellent decision, as it turns out. Queenie is a twenty-something Black woman living in London whose life seems to be falling apart around her. Over the course of this brilliant debut, filled with enough ups and downs to induce snorts of laughter one minute and tears the next, author Candice Carty-Williams takes us on Queenie\u2019s unforgettable journey as she learns to live up to her magnificent name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ben Hunter – Fiction Category Manager<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Infinite Splendours<\/a><\/em> by Sofie Laguna<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I loved it:<\/strong> Set against the stunning vistas of Victoria’s Grampians, Infinite Splendours<\/em> sees Miles Franklin Award winner Sofie Laguna return once more to themes of childhood wonder, the loss of innocence and the complicated nature of trauma. It reaches further than Laguna’s prior novels, aiming for the most raw, shocking and fundamental elements of our humanity. It inflicted equal parts amazement and anguish, leaving me to take stock of everything that is precious in this world. Laguna showcases empathy and honesty in fiction like I’ve never seen before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sarah McDuling – Kids & YA Category Manager<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We Are Wolves<\/a><\/em> by Katrina Nannestad<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I loved it:<\/strong> This book is utterly beautiful and definitely one of the most deeply moving and powerful books for young readers that I\u2019ve encountered in a long time. Set during WW2, the story follows three young German children, the Wolf siblings Leisl, Otto and Mia, as they attempt to survive on their own in a war zone. Separated from the rest of their family, the children join the ranks of the Wolfskinder – just three out of the tens of thousands of orphaned and lost children who were left to roam the woods and live wild in the countryside of East Prussia, both during and in the aftermath of WW2. This is a book that will make readers cry, even as their hearts soar with hope and love. A true treasure of a book – perfect for those who love the Felix Series by Morris Gleitzman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Joel Naoum – Non-Fiction Category Manager<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Truths from an Unreliable Witness: A Memoir<\/a><\/em> by Fiona O’Loughlin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I loved it: <\/strong>This is a raw, honest and uncompromising look at addiction, family and comedy. It\u2019s also really funny even when it\u2019s sad. O\u2019Loughlin describes the book as a story of dinner tables, and once described herself as \u201cthe queen\u201d of the dinner table. The dinner table is where O\u2019Loughlin honed her craft, learned comic timing and figured out how to hold attention. But it\u2019s also where she developed her addiction. Ultimately hopeful, this is a must read for fans of O\u2019Loughlin, comedy in general, or stories of addiction and overcoming the odds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shanulisa Prasad – Lifestyle Books Category Manager<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Soar: A Life Freed by Dance<\/a><\/em> by David McAllister, with Amanda Dunn<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I loved it:<\/strong> David McAllister\u2019s long-awaited autobiography is a truly beautiful story of ballet and identity. This is a must for memoir lovers, even if you aren\u2019t a fan of ballet. If you are <\/em>a fan of ballet, however, then it does not get better than this – a behind-the-scenes look into the world of the Australian Ballet from a man who made dance his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Renae Adolfson – Trade Books Coordinator<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m Thinking of Ending Things<\/a><\/em> by Iain Reid<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I loved it:<\/strong> I loved the intensity of this book so much that I finished it in one sitting and am still catching my breath. One of the most original thrillers I have read – a young woman goes on a road trip with her new boyfriend to meet his parents on the secluded farm he grew up in. That is where the horror story clich\u00e9 ends, as the detour it takes is as shocking as it is disturbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rob O\u2019Hearn \u2013 Academic & Professional Category Manager<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is to be Done<\/a><\/em> by Barry Jones<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I loved it:<\/strong> How can Australia be so cleverly listening to experts on COVID-19, but so stupid and deaf to them on climate change? In his seminal book Sleepers, Wake!<\/em> (1982), Barry Jones argued that our mineral wealth had blinkered us, our industrial addiction hindering the growth of a smart high-tech economy. This sequel is a timely update on where \u2018retail politics\u2019 and the post-truth era has led us. Policy has been seized by vested interests. To save our threatened world we must engage at all levels, in ways we never have. This book is illuminating and motivating – Jones never fails to convince and his intelligent contribution is powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ashleigh Berry – Campaigns Coordinator<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Blue Ticket<\/a><\/em> by Sophie Mackintosh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why I loved it:<\/strong> The lottery determines your future, removing the burden of choice: a white ticket grants you motherhood and children, a blue ticket means freedom. But is it really that simple? What if the lottery was wrong? Mackintosh takes us on a haunting, introspective journey of motherhood and free will, with devastating consequences. I found this to be an immersive, heartbreaking experience of one woman yearning for more and the desperate actions she takes to have a life that\u2019s been denied her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy it here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What was the best book you read in October 2020? Tell us below!<\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Books by Sofie Laguna, Candice Carty-Williams, David McAllister and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":132852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[6678],"tags":[12065,12069,12070,10026,12064,2004,12066,12067,12041,12061,10025,4484,12063,4935,9037,10219,12062,12060,12068],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/BestBooksOctober2020-Social.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132831"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132831"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132998,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132831\/revisions\/132998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}