Happy October!
It’s time of another installment of On My Radar – a monthly column where I share everything that’s –you guessed it– on my radar for the month. Think new book releases, trends I want to try & more.
Let’s get to it!
I can’t think of a better way to spend an evening than scrolling through Barnes & Noble’s ‘Coming Soon’ section for exciting upcoming releases, and it looks like October is going to be full of thrilling new books. From cozy fantasies to thought provoking non-fiction, I’ve rounded up my most-anticipated book releases for this month.
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates – a collection of essays on how our stories –our reporting and imaginative narratives and mythmaking– expose and distort our realities.
“Coates presents three blazing essays on race, moral complicity, and a storyteller’s responsibility to the truth. . . . Coates exhorts readers, including students, parents, educators, and journalists, to challenge conventional narratives that can be used to justify ethnic cleansing or camouflage racist policing. Brilliant and timely.”—Booklist, starred review
The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski – Since their parents’ death, Anne, Beatrix, and Violet Quigley have run a teashop, using tea leaves to tell stories. Their peaceful life is disrupted when the Council of Witches announces that the Diviner has lost her powers. As Anne’s magic grows, Beatrix’s writing attracts attention, and Violet is enchanted by a circus and a mischievous trapeze artist, it seems a family curse is tearing them apart. With time running out, they must confront Fate, but in saving each other, will they lose themselves?
“Sivinski’s novel is positively delightful…The result is a tale of family, love, and the things that make a house a home. A delightfully sweet and cozy novel that’s as comforting as a warm cup of tea.”—Kirkus, starred review
What Does It Feel Like by Sophie Kinsella – Eve is a successful novelist who wakes up one day in a hospital bed and receives a devastating diagnosis: there is a large malignant tumor growing in her brain. As Eve grapples with her diagnosis and how to explain it to her family, she begins to recall what’s really most important to her.
“As writers we are told to write what we know—but there are some things people wish they never had to learn. Such is the case for Sophie Kinsella, whose new novel follows an author whose greatest asset—a creative brain—becomes her biggest liability when it develops a cancerous tumor. Hearing from the point of view of a novelist who has crafted so many stories but doesn’t know how her own will end is raw, humbling, and tender. This is the bravest book you’ll read all year.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman – At nearly eighty, retired pharmacist Augusta Stern moves to a senior community and unexpectedly encounters Irving Rivkin, a man from her past who once broke her heart sixty years ago. Seeing Irving causes Augusta to think about her past and how she was torn between her father’s pharmacy and her great aunt’s unconventional remedies and how an ill-fated decision involving her aunt’s elixirs led to disillusionment and a vow to abandon those methods. Now, faced with Irving again, Augusta reflects on those mistakes and wonders if she can reclaim the magic of her youth.
“Two parts indelible characters, a heaping of gorgeous prose, a pinch of humor and a dash of old-world charm—this romantic elixir may just be Lynda Cohen Loigman’s best work yet. But the magic here is no sleight of hand. It’s enthralling to read an author at the top of her game.” —Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants
Dinner For Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show (While also in an Actual Cult) by Bethany Joy Lenz – While working hard at playing the lovable Haley James on the mega popular show One Tree Hill, Bethany Joy Lenz was also working hard at keeping the fact that she was in a cult a secret from her costars and fans. Only when she became a mother did Lenz find the courage to leave the cult’s tight grip. In her memoir, Bethany writes about the importance of identity and understanding what you believe.
The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins – Eris is a small private island off the coast of Scotland. It only had one house, one inhabitant, and one way out. It is unreachable from the Scottish mainland for twelve hours each day. It was once home to Vanessa, a famous artist whose notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared twenty year ago. Now it is home to Grace who is content in her own isolation. When a shocking discovery is made in a London art gallery, a visitor comes calling, and the secrets of Eris threaten to emerge.
“An atmospheric, stylish puzzle box of a thriller… truly exceptional.” – Liz Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The God of the Woods
According to Who What Wear, chocolate brown is one of the trending colors for fall. We’ve seen the rich hue make an appearance in bags, shoes, and clothing. However, my interest in incorporating this trending color for fall has nothing to do with the garments I plan to wear, although never say never because this bag is beautiful and so are these flats. I’m excited to play with more dark brown shades in my makeup this season. I mean, look at how stunning all those women look on my mood boards below. There’s something about using dark brown in your makeup that feels autumnal, a little 90s, and effortlessly cool.
So above I talked about one of the trending colors for fall that I won’t necessarily incorporate into my wardrobe this season, but let’s chat about one I most definitely will: burgundy, especially in the boots department. If red shoes are like the outspoken, rebellious younger sister, then burgundy shoes is the chic older sister: sophisticated and demure.
Below is a round-up of burgundy boots that are currently on my radar.
It’s impossible to decide which boots I like the best. My eye immediately lands on the Doc Martens! I love the deep oxblood leather mixed with the black accents of the laces and chunky sole. It’s giving dark academia, which according to a Buzzfeed quiz is my clothing aesthetic (we can save that topic for another post). But, check out that silhouette of the Madewell boots: kitten heel, pointed toe — so classy! And let’s not overlook the beautiful texture of the Schutz boots!
Decisions, decisions.
Which pair of burgundy boots do you like the best?
Thanks for reading!
I would love to hear what’s on your radar for October! Has anything else caught your eye that I haven’t mentioned? What books do you want to read? Which trending colors are you interested in experimenting with this season? Let’s chat all about it in the comments.
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