5 Books. 1 Month. Let’s Read. | Booktober 2026

🎃📚 Welcome to Booktober! This October, I'm challenging myself to make more time for something I love: reading. I'm setting a goal to finish at least 5 books before the end of the month, with 6 as my stretch goal. I've been collecting these books throughout the year, and I somehow ended up with a lineup that includes vampires, gothic horror, a serial killer, some cozy campy horror, and even a team of devils trying to prevent the apocalypse. 😂 But here's the thing: I don't want this to be just my challenge. If you've been looking for an excuse to finally pick up that book that's been sitting on your shelf, start a new series, revisit an old favorite, or just spend a little more time reading, I want you to join me. You don't have to read the same books I'm reading. You don't have to read five books. You don't even have to finish a book. Just pick a reading goal that sounds fun to you and see how much you can accomplish this October. Throughout the month, I'll be sharing short videos whenever I finish one of my Booktober books, along with a few Shorts about some of my favorite books I've read this year. I'll also be taking a couple of little gaming side quests along the way. ☕🎮 So grab a book, grab a cup of coffee, and let's see how much we can read this October. Are you joining me for Booktober? If you are, tell me in the comments what you're planning to read and what your goal is for the month. I'd love to see what everyone else is reading. Here's to a month of spooky stories, good books, and hopefully way too much coffee. 🎃☕📚 🎵 Music Credits: 'The Black Waltz' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au 🎨 Art Credits: HaileesCosmos https://cara.app/haileescosmos ☕ Thanks for spending a little time with me today. 📚 Currently Reading: Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman If you enjoy thoughtful discussions about books—and occasionally story-driven games—I'd love to have you join me for future conversations here at Stories by the Cup. 00:00 Intro 02:14 Book Time Intro 02:39 First Book Reveal 04:41 Second Book Reveal 05:51 Third Book Reveal 06:30 Fourth Book Reveal 07:29 Fifth Book Reveal 08:51 Wild Card 10:07 Bonus Shorts 10:50 Video Game Side Quest 1 11:31 Video Game Side Quest 2 12:45 Inktober with HaileesCosmos 13:19 Outro #booktober #booktube #storiesbythecup #readingchallenge #octoberreading #bookish