October CoverCAT - will it fit in your pocket?

For October's CoverCAT, we will be reading a book with something on the cover that you can fit in a pocket. The size of the pocket is entirely up to you. A skirt or trousers pocket, a pocket on a bag or suitcase, a shirt pocket, Bilbo Baggins' pocketses. Any pocket you like!

The wiki is here, if you like to add your book.

I will be reading The Man in the Box, which has something everyone carries in their pocket on the cover.

I am planning on reading Miss Wonderful by Loretta Chase. The item is the necklace on the young woman's neck. It could easily fit into a pocket.

I'll be reading Goodbye Piccadilly by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. which shows a woman on the cover with both a pearl necklace and earrings.

Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry has a pocket watch on the cover.

I'm going to read SIEGE OF BITTERNS by Steve Burrows. A bittern is 22-24 inches in length and .8-2.4 pounds. Twill fit in my purses! This is a police procedural and I hope it will be a twofer with October's Mystery Kit (police procedural).

World of Curiosities by Louise Penny has a pocket watch on the cover.

It’s been fun going through the covers of my TBR, thinking stuff like, “I suppose a snake, if it was small and coiled up, could fit in your pocket” or “Well, of course, hands go into pockets all the time.” As a result, I have way too many potential reads, so I’m going to need some time to ponder my choices and commit, though I suspect the list might grow longer as people post their choices and I get new ideas about what fits in pockets.

>8 Charon07: Hands in pockets! Brilliant! I'm going to have fun choosing my read(s) for this CAT...

>8 Charon07:, >9 christina_reads: Yes, brilliant, I'm definitely using that option!

>8 Charon07: I didn't even think of hands! It is funny that often the obvious is not where our minds go. Great idea.

I read A Meditation on Murder by Robert Thorogood. The detective is wearing a tie on the cover, which would fit in a pocket.

The First Mistake by Sandie Jones
If you like twists upon twists, you might like this book. However, I found it just too far OTT, as far as incredibility goes. Of course we know from the beginning not to trust anyone in a twisty story, especially if written by Sandie Jones. This was not as good as The Other Woman although it might have had a lot to do with the very poor narrator here. A generous 3 stars.

The gold coins in the foreground of the cover of Spooky Lakes would fit in my pocket if I were reckless enough to dive for them.

There is a key on the cover

I started What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours, stories by Helen Oyeyemi on audiobook, which has keys on the cover:



But I think the apple on the cover of my October ScaredyKIT pick, The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, might also fit in a large pocket:

I've finished A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny which has a pocket watch on the cover.

Money money money by Ed McBain would fit well in my pocket!
My first McBain, but definitely not my last. The humour and characters reminded me of Andrea Camilleri’s Montalbano novels. The story opens with a woman being eaten by a lion at the zoo, followed by other zany crimes.

I finished The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, with a girl (or a silent companion?) holding an apple on the cover (seen in >16 Charon07:), which arguably could fit in a large pocket. The silent companions were pretty darn creepy!

COMPLETED Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry (see >5 Robertgreaves:)

I'm planning on Pre-Approved for Haunting, which has a small key on the cover if you look closely.

I finished Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari where the author has a phone in his hand.

I finished Around the World in Eighty Games by Marcus du Sautoy which has multiple game pieces on the cover which would fit in a pocket.

I read Dead Angler by Victoria Houston which has a fishing lure on the cover which would fit in a pocket

Just a heads-up that I have created the 2026 Category Challenge group: https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24919/2026-Category-Challenge. Stop by to get a head start on planning next year's challenge!

(Cross-posted to a bunch of threads; sorry if you see this a thousand times!)

The Man In The Box by Christina Gaudet ★★★

When Lou’s gran passes away, she inherits a small wooden box—nothing like the flashy car her sister, Cindy, receives. But hey, it’s better than Gran’s creepy collection of toenail clippings…or so Lou thinks. That is, until she opens the box and a guy the size of a stick of gum falls out. Suddenly, the toenails don’t seem so bad. From the moment he arrives, Lou’s life spirals into chaos. The pint-sized stranger spills secrets that turn her world upside down: Gran was a powerful sorceress, Cindy is a witch, and they’ve been hiding Lou’s own magical abilities “for her protection.” Now, with her magic awakened, Lou is caught in a dangerous game. Without it, she’s defenseless against the shadowy forces hunting her. With it, she’s marked for something far worse than death. Can Lou survive the secrets her family kept locked away, or will this unexpected gift be her undoing?

The story was interesting, but too many situations and events were unexplained.

I have finished Calypso, an 87th Precinct mystery which has a red kidney beans and two pistol shells on the cover.

November is posted https://www.librarything.com/topic/374873

I just finished The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association, which has crayons on the cover.

I've realized that one of my earlier reads this month, Fake Skating by Lynn Painter, works for this CAT. The girl on the cover is wearing glasses, which could fit into a pocket; both characters' hands are visible (hands in pockets!); and the books in one image could fit into a larger coat pocket, or the pocket of a backpack/purse.

We solve murders by Richard Osman

I'm pretty confident that the cat would fit in my pocket or even inside my jacket!

>33 VivienneR: or else the gun might;)

>34 amberwitch: You know, the gun didn't even occur to me!

I often keep a pencil in my pocket, although this one appears to be the size of a mountain!

Educated



A moving account of survival from a childhood of religious extremity, shocking neglect, and familial abuse, to independence and education. Westover worked hard and combatted a terrible start to get to where she is today. Inspiring to any survivor of abuse, hers is a story of what can come when we learn to trust ourselves and connect to the world around us.

This month I read Faithful by Alice Hoffman. It has all sorts of leaves and flowers on the cover that would fit in my pocket.

I read The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Diet For Beginners by Dorothy Calimeris. There are strawberries and other small foods that would fit in a pocket on the cover.

I’m really very late finishing this, but I didn’t find it very engaging: What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi. It’s a shame because I generally like Oyeyemi’s writing a lot. I posted the cover, with many keys on it, in >16 Charon07: above.