Quick Lit: October 2025 Edition

Welcome to Quick Lit: October 2025 Edition, where I share books I chose for my own reading enjoyment in a mini-review format. These are not books I received for review, but books I’ve wanted to read or that have caught my attention. Most of them have been talked about ad nauseam or have been on my to-read list for a long time, so they don’t really need a full review. But I’d still like to give them some space here on the blog, so instead, I’m offering mini-reviews of the books that won’t get full-page space here.

I’ll be sharing with Modern Mrs. Darcy and her monthly Quick Lit post. Be sure to head over to see others share their Quick Lit posts in her comments.

This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read more about that.

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Did you know I also regularly review children’s books? Check them out HERE. I’ve shared some great children’s Halloween books lately.

I’m currently reading HOW TO READ A BOOK for book club, A REAL EMERGENCY for review, and I’m listening to some of my favorite podcasts as I’ve gotten behind in my listening lately.

I’ve recently reviewed BEFORE DOROTHY and WHO OWNS THE MOON?. I also finished a middle-grade novel, LOON COVE SUMMER, and DEAR MISS LAKE, with reviews to come soon.

Follow me on Goodreads, HERE.

This month’s Quick Lit is a compilation of several months’ worth of reading. I ended up starting the school year subbing for 3 weeks, which took a lot of my extra time. I decided to stop writing reviews, and unfortunately, I read very little during that time. I already had 2 different trips planned in September and October, plus some full weekends, so I just had to take a little break from regular bookish posts.

But I’m back and hoping to finish the year strong. I have lots of great books to share with you today and in the next few months to close out the year. This post includes a celebrity memoir, some historical fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, and fiction.

I DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW ME FROM
By: Judy Greer
Narrated by: Judy Greer
Published: April 8, 2014
Publisher: Doubleday
Memoir
Format: Audiobook through Libby

A friend marked this book as read on Goodreads, and I was shocked. I had no idea that Judy Greer had written a memoir. I immediately added it to my Libby holds and was rewarded with my hold coming in quite quickly. It’s a quick listen at close to 5 hours, and I was thrilled that Greer narrates it herself. I love Greer from some of my favorite RomCom movies like The Wedding Planner, 13 Going on 30, 27 Dresses, and What Women Want. Her Filmography is epic level. In this perky and delightful memoir, Greer shares personal stories of being single and being married, growing up, her early days of acting, and her friendships.

I loved her story about peeing next to Jennifer Lopez, stating, “What’s the girl code for going to the loo in pairs if one of the pairs has a bodyguard and is super famous and they aren’t really friends, just co-workers.” And when she told the story of why Ashton Kutcher gave her dad a Harley, I cried. I used to know Ashton (Chris) before he was famous, and that is just the kind of thing he would do for someone. Very cool story behind that.

When talking about traveling so much for work, she stated, “Sometimes I feel like a sailor with a girl in every port, but instead I’m an actress with a friend in every town.”

She had her friends write letters and then shared them in the book. Many were funny, others heartfelt, and she also shared letters she wrote to friends, including actress Laura Moses, who is apparently from Iowa, but I’m not familiar with her.

At the end of the book, she writes a list of the best advice she’s been given. The one that stood out the most to me: “If you’re in bed and you think you might have to pee, just get up and pee. You won’t stop thinking about it until you do. Just get up and pee already.” I needed that reminder!

In her manifesto chapter, she writes a letter to herself, including a reminder to make people laugh. That she has done. This book is a great read for fans of Judy Greer or for those who just want a fun memoir to read or listen to. 

OZ: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION
By: L. Frank Baum
Narrated by: Charles Hubbell
Published: September 21, 2023, originally published 1900
Publisher: Page2Page, originally George M. Hill
Fantasy
Format: Audiobook through Audible and Hardcover through the Library

I finished The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and really enjoyed the listening experience, even though the original story is much darker than the movie version. I planned to continue on with the whole collection, but after starting The Marvelous Land of Oz, it got a bit too far-fetched and fantastical for me, which is a genre that I don’t typically enjoy. I’m sure I could finish the first one because the story was familiar to me. I’m not saying I won’t revisit it someday, but this collection is LONG (64 total hours) and I have too many other great books to read!

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE WORLD ACCORDING TO SHEEP
By: Sally Coulthard
Narrated by: Karen Cass
Published: November 11, 2021
Publisher: Apollo
Non-Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Libby

This was part of the Audible collection that you can listen to for free with membership, but since it was leaving the free options, I needed to listen to it soon. I was curious about it because our family raised sheep, and I was hoping it would include some references to Wales, where my ancestors are from. Even though this focused mainly on sheep in Britain and the English countryside, Australia and the US were briefly mentioned. But, not really a history of the “world” according to sheep.

I did learn a fair amount about sheep and also became nostalgic when it discussed lambing and sheep shearing. I loved Sheep-Shearing Day. I loved the excitement of watching the piles of wool come off and how skinny the sheep looked afterwards. I loved weighing the wood and filling the bags. We used to do our own shearing and then hired someone when it got to be too much. Then, wool prices dropped drastically, and I remember my dad saying we barely made enough to pay the shearer. 

I also like this information regarding sheep’s wool:

“The scales of wool fibers are like the knarled tree trunk or pine cone. This is what helps wool repel water, and yet water vapor slips between the cracks between the scales and is held inside the core of the fiber. Wool is the most water-loving of all fibers, yet it doesn’t feel damp to the touch. This also makes it easy to hold dye. It’s also a brilliant insulator, meaning it will keep you cool on a hot day or cozy on a chilly one. It’s also hard to burn wool, which is why it’s a good idea to have a woolen blanket around to squelch a fire if needed.”

I was surprised that the various parts of the sheep (milk, meat, wool, lanolin, and even their guts) were used for prophylactics.  😳 But, I loved imagining all the women knitting wool socks during the war, as they were a popular item to send to the troops to keep them warm and dry. I wouldn’t classify this as a must-read by any means, but great if you like short books that share interesting history.

THE SPECTACULAR
By: Fiona Davis
Narrated by: Rachel L. Jacobs and Kimberly Farr
Published: June 13, 2023
Publisher: Dutton Books
Historical Fiction
Format: Hardcover/Audiobook dual read

The novel begins in 1992 as Marion, a woman in her 50s, is preparing to move out of her home and into a type of retirement community. As the movers find a box of items in the attic, she is pulled back into her past, and then a knock on her door forces her to face the past head-on. The majority of the story is set in 1956 as Marion becomes a Radio City Rockette at the same time the Big Apple Bomber is setting off bombs in common areas around the city. Marion’s family is against this frivolous career choice and expects her to come home and marry the man her father has chosen for her. Instead, Marion chooses a new life in the city, living the strenuous life of a Rockette in the city with multiple shows a day for 3 weeks at a time. Unfortunately, the Big Apple Bomber hits a little too close to home for Marion, and the police don’t seem to be investigating it the way Marion expects them to.

I couldn’t believe that the New York Times actually printed the average measurements of the Rockettes, including their bust, waist, hips, wrist, height, weight, thighs, calves, ankles, necks, and heads. Their job was to be one cohesive unit and look like it on stage. Their size and shape were everything. I wonder if those standards are the same today?

The setting of 1956 (the same year my parents were married) and New York City, combined with the history of the Rockettes and the bit of mystery surrounding the bomber, made this a quick read/listen. I dual listened and read this one for my book club, and all of us enjoyed it. We even hope to attend the Rockettes’ Christmas Spectacular show next year!

THE CORRESPONDENT
By: Virginia Evans
Narrated by: Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Roberr Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Peter Ganim, and Jade Wheeler
Published: April 29, 2025
Publisher: Crown
Fiction
Format: Audiobook through Audible

Definitely a favorite of the year, this epistolary novel told solely through letters and emails to and from Sybil Van Antwerp was a joy to listen to. I immediately purchased it for a relative to read because I knew she would love it immensely. I also wish I had bought a physical copy for myself to read again, and I still might. Listening to it was enjoyable because there is a different narrator for each letter/email writer, which was a delight. Several of the narrators I recognized, and it made the listening experience even more personalized, but reading the letters on the page will offer a different experience as well.

We get a glimpse into the nearly octogenarian Sybil Van Antwerp and her life, her expectations of her children, friends, and strangers, her regrets, and her deepest personal thoughts. You’ll find her writing letters to her best friend, her author friend Joan Didion, her daughter, her brother, a customer service associate, and even her neighbor. Through these brief exchanges, you can read between the lines and learn the kind of person Sybil is and what she hopes for, misses, and longs for. I adored this book so much. I listened to an interview with the author, and she stated she read 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD and wanted to write a novel like that. I’m so glad she did.

ORDINARY TIME
Lessons Learn While Staying Put
By: Annie B. Jones
Narrated by: Annie B. Jones
Published: April 22, 2025
Publisher: HarperOne
Format: Audiobook through Libby

I’ve been a follower of Annie B. Jones on Instagram and through her podcast, From the Front Porch, for a while. She is the owner of The Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia, a bookstore and community I would love to visit someday. In her first book, Annie documents various stages in her life where she had to choose between staying and leaving, and why those moments were so pivotal for her. I found myself nodding along and even tearing up a couple of times while listening.

Annie started the book with the sentence, “I am someone who stays,” and after reading this book, I realized I am someone who stays, too. Even though I no longer live near my hometown, I have stayed in this small town, which we have called home for 22 years. I have chosen to be part of this small town and felt accepted and that I’d made it when I was asked to be on our library’s board almost 10 years ago. Annie’s moment, when she was asked to be a judge for their local parade, was when she realized she had made it. After reading her book, I can say she has made it in Thomasville again!

“‘I think you did it’, Jordan said to me, smiling as the music played. ‘Did what?’ I asked. ‘I think you made it in Thomasville.’”

She writes about noticing when customers no longer stop in or don’t pick up their holds, and then, after an internet search, find out that they have passed away. “Because no one calls their local bookseller when their mother passes away.”

I’ve been reflecting on her chapter where she discussed who would be on your metaphorical board of directors. At The Bookshelf, she doesn’t have a board of directors, but she does have a group of people that she reaches out to, friends, family, professionals, whom she asks for advice. As she was struggling with negative reviews or comments on social media, she realized that if someone isn’t on her board of directors, they don’t get a voice. Ignoring them took away their power. I needed to hear this again as I struggle with those other voices/opinions.

Annie also talked about the love she felt when a couple of friends showed up for her grandma’s funeral and how much that meant to her. She now makes sure she shows up for people at funerals. I’ve done that too because I know what it feels like to be seen and loved.

“It occurred to me then, how important it is to show up when you can.”

Annie wrote this book before becoming a mom and even finding out she was pregnant. I’m so happy that they are now parents to a little boy, and their dreams have come true.

What good things have you been reading? I’ve also read books that I reviewed for publishers. Check them out HERE.

You can see all my other Quick Lit posts by clicking HERE.

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