September and October 2024 Wrap Up

Sorry for the delay in getting this posted. Time really gets away from me these days.

Work is still crazy, but I'm not going to get into it right now.

Being a mom is still hard, but I love my little munchkin more than I could have expected.

It's hard not to feel like I am failing left and right these days, but that is something I am working on. And getting counseling for.

Gabriel had his first Halloween. He was a bat! There are a couple of photos on my Instagram for anyone interested in seeing. But he was the cutest little bat ever, if I do say so myself. Halloween was also Kevin's and my third anniversary.

I read a lot of books, especially in October. I am going to try to keep the reviews short. Here we go!

 

Made You Up by

Francesca Zappia

Narrator: Amanda Ronconi

Re-read

5 stars out of 5 stars

 

The Sword of Summer, the Hammer of Thor, the Ship of the Dead

and Hotel Valhalla, Guide to the Norse Worlds

by Rick Riordan

Narrators: Various

Re-reads

Rating: Overall 4 stars out of 5 stars 

 

The Graveyard Book by

Neil Gaiman

Narrator: Neil Gaiman

Re-read

5 stars out of 5 stars 

 

Castle of the Cursed by

Romina Garber

Synopsis/Thoughts: This was an Owlcrate book and I participated in a read-a-long on the Nest app. Estela is the only survivor of a mysterious accident on a subway, an accident that claimed the loves of both of her parents. With no where else to go, she is forced to return to her family's ancestral home--a castle in Spain. But la Sombra is harboring secrets and mysteries of its own that Estela must solve to understand her family and her place in it. This book was alright, but I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Some things just struck me as odd and some were maybe too formulaic, in my opinion.

3 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

Wrath of the Triple Goddess by

Rick Riordan

Narrator: Jesse Bernstein

Synopsis/Thoughts: This is the seventh book in the Percy Jackson series and I had to read it ASAP. Luckily, it takes place around Halloween time, so it fit great! Percy needs three letters of recommendation in order to get into the university in New Rome. To that end, he has to house- and pet-sit for Hecate. But her pets and her house are far from normal. I enjoyed this book very much, which is not at all surprising.

4 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

Witchy by

Ariel Slamet Ries

Synopsis/Thoughts: This graphic novel was included in an Owlcrate box some time ago. This is the first in a series. It is about Nyneve whose very long hair should indicate that she has extraordinary powers to go with it, but that couldn't be further from the truth. When the Witch Guard comes to her school to recruit students, she is conflicted. The Witch Guard is influential and powerful, but they are also responsible for the death of her father. I enjoyed this and will consider reading more of the series. I appreciated the diversity and thought the story and characters were interesting. 

3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

 

House of Salt and Sorrows by

Erin Craig 

Synopsis/Thoughts: This is an older Owlcrate book and a re-telling of the twelve dancing princesses. Annaleigh and her family might be cursed. Once there were twelve sisters. But once her mother died, she was followed by a few of her sisters: one to a plague, one to drowning in the bath, one to a fall in the library, one to a long fall off a cliff. What is even worse is that it seems the disturbed spirits of her sisters still haunt the halls of their home. Meanwhile, Annaleigh and her remaining sisters discover a way to travel to other lands and attend wonderful balls where no one knows them and no one thinks they are cursed. This book was absolutely appropriate for Halloween. Parts of it were seriously creepy and occasionally a little scary (for me, but I am a wimp). It was a very good read, even if some of the images still haunt me.

4 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen by

Shea Ernshaw

Narrator: Cissy Jones

Synopsis/Thoughts: Following Sally's marriage to Jack, the Pumpkin King, she begins to struggle with going from nobody to the Pumpkin Queen. Distressed by her inability to fit in, she travels to the grove of trees and finds another door. But she accidentally releases a monster into Halloweentown that puts everyone to sleep. It will be up to Sally to save her home and maybe she will learn how to be a proper queen in the meantime. This was a fun little read, definitely worth looking into if you like the Nightmare Before Christmas world.

3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

Lenny Among Ghosts by

Frank Maria Reifenberg

Synopsis/Thoughts: Lenny (the second) ends up needing to get to a boarding school at the last minute so his parents can travel for work. In a strange turn of events, he ends up at Shadowsout Castle Academy. But he quickly learns that the school is full of ghosts. But the castle is also at risk of being torn down and Lenny might be the one to save it. This is a middle grade novel (or younger), but it was surprisingly charming. It was a pretty fun, quick read.

4 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

Lakesedge by

Lyndall Clipstone

Synopsis/Thoughts: This was an older Owlcrate book that I started a couple of years ago and never finished. Until this year. I didn't start over, just picked up where I left off, so my memory of the start of the story is a bit murky. Violeta and her brother (with his shadowy magic) end up in the cursed estate of Lakesedge with Rowan, the head of the house, and his small household. Due to some dark magic, the corruption of the lake is spreading, ready to claim lives. It is up to Violeta to work with the Lord Under to try to save the estate and the world. But there is more at stake than Violeta realizes. This book was alright. I didn't love everything, but Violeta's connection to the Lord Under interests me. I do have the second book and will likely read it one of these days so I can find out how the story ends.

3 stars out of 5 stars

 

The Cruel Prince by

Holly Black

Synopsis/Thoughts: This was another old Owlcrate book and I did a read-a-long with another Nest user. Jude's world was turned upside down when a mysterious man turned up in her home and murdered her mother and father in order to take her older sister back to the High Court of Faerie. Jude and her twin sister were spirited away with their big sister and grew up in a faerie household. As humans, most fey despise them, but Jude and her twin are desperate to fit in. When the crowning of the next High King goes awry, Jude gets mixed in with her enemy, Prince Cardan, to try to save the High Court. I actually liked this book more than I expected to. I will try to get around to finishing the series in the near future. And I know we aren't really supposed to like the faerie that stole Jude and her sisters and raised them, but we all have a case of serious Stockholm syndrome...

4 stars out of 5 stars

 

A Forgery of Roses by

Jessica S. Olson

Synopsis/Thoughts: Another older Owlcrate book! Myra was born a magical gift: she can change someone's appearance by painting them. She can even heal. With her parents missing and a sick younger sister, she is forced to accept work from the governor's wife that would bring her dead son back to life. But once she arrives at the manor, she discovers that there is much more going on behind the scenes. And to begin, the boy's death may not have been an accident. With the help of the dead boy's brother, they try to uncover the secrets before the clock runs out on Myra's time. There were some things that I really liked about this book. Some things were definitely a bit spooky and I liked some of the characters. Overall, it was a pretty good story.

3 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

The Haunting of Hill House by

Shirley Jackson

Synopsis/Thoughts: This book was included in an Owlcrate box a couple of years ago. I think most people know the general premise of the story. I will say the book is not like the movies that I remember seeing. Some parts were definitely creepy and occasionally scary to me. But it was also interesting to see how the story and characters developed in relation to the house. I think it is worth a read.

4 stars out of 5 stars

 

 

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by

Josephine Leslie

Re-read

5 stars out of 5 stars

Strange Practice and Bitter Waters

by Vivian Shaw 

Narrator: Catrin Walker-Booth

Synopsis/Thoughts: Strange Practice was a re-read for me (despite telling myself that I wasn't going to read this series this year). I found Bitter Waters, a novella that is book 3.5 in the Dr. Greta Helsing series and I had to read it because I adore these books. Bitter Waters centers on the tale of a young girl who was turned to a vampire against her will and was found and rescued and taken to Dr. Helsing. Then it is up to Greta and her friends to help the girl and figure out how to stop the vampire who turned her. I love these books. I don't even know why. They are often very funny and creative. I love the idea of there being a doctor for the "differently alive" people of the world.

4 stars out of 5 stars

 

Favorite book read in September and October: Aside from The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, the Graveyard Book, and the Greta Helsing books? Probably the Wrath of the Triple Goddess

Least favorite books read in September and October: Maybe Castle of the Cursed

I was finally able to catch up and get ahead of my reading goal. October is always a good time for me to do that. I was behind going into October, but managed to get several books ahead. I have now read 68 books towards my goal of 75 books. I might actually make it this year!

Now it is time to get ready for holidays and holiday reads! I will try to get a post or two up about our goings-on and holiday TBR maybe.

Thanks for sticking with me. I hope other people got to read some fun spooky books. Or maybe found some ideas here for next year.

2021 Spooky Reads

 Alright! It is that time of the year! The best time of the year and the time for spooky reads!

Here are my goals for this spooky season. Or maybe not "goals," these are all audio books that I already own that are at least a bit spooky. I will just pick them as I feel like. I only really have time for audio books these days so those are the only ones I have included this year.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, of course, will be read. I actually am nearly finished with it already. I love it so much.

There will also be a spooky book coming in the September Owlcrate. I don't know what it is, but I want to read it! Last year's was pretty good so I have pretty high hopes. This is the only physical book I plan to read, but I do have a couple of others if I have time and the mood strikes me.

We have some Halloween decorations out. We might take it a bit easy this year since we are trying to finish up wedding planning.

Anyone else have spooky reads for this year? Any books to recommend to me? As long as it isn't very scary, I'm game!

October 2019 Wrap Up

Ah, October! The best month of the year!

As always, I prepared a long list of spooky reads to match the mood of the month. Here is a photo I shared of all of the books I had compiled. I did not actually intend to get around to reading all of them, which is good because I definitely didn't read all 10!

Here are brief reviews for the books I managed to finish:

Title: The Tyrant's Tomb
Author: Rick Riordan
Narrator: Robbie Daymond

Synopsis: Apollo and Meg have a detour on their journey: they must make it to Camp Jupiter and bring the camp bad news. While they are there, they must solve the communication problems the demigods are having and stop Caligula's fleet from destroying Camp Jupiter.

Thoughts: I am Rick Riordan trash and basically love all of his books. This series is probably my least favorite of all of his (so far), but that doesn't mean much because I still really enjoy them. I always recommend his books to anyone who likes mythology.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Vampyre
Author: John Polidori
Narrator: B.J. Harrison

Synopsis: This is one of the oldest vampire stories. It follows the journey of a young man, Aubrey, who is determined the make the acquaintance of mysterious Lord Ruthven. Having managed to secure some degree of familiarity, they agree to travel Europe together, but Aubrey might find that his mysterious companion hides some dark secrets.

Thoughts: I wanted to read this book for two reasons: 1, Ruthven is a great character in Vivian Shaw's  Dr. Greta Helsing novels and 2. this was written by a man who was an acquaintance of Mary Shelley! I read a book sometime last year that was all about Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley and he was discussed. And I guess the third reason is because it's one of the older vampire stories that has been published. It was short and pretty dark, but I rather enjoyed it. My one complaint was the narrator who made Ruthven sound vaguely Transylvanian, when he was meant to be from England.

Rating 3-31/2 stars out of 5 stars

Title: Grave Importance
Author: Vivian Shaw

Synopsis: Greta is called to a remote hospital and spa in France that specializes in the treatment of mummies. She takes the temporary position only to discover that many mummies are having some type of fit that weakens them and no one knows what is causing it. Meanwhile, Ruthven is afflicted with a mysterious curse and is sent to Hell to be treated. Oh, and the world might be ending.

Thoughts: I love these books. I think they are so fun. It almost feels like a guilty pleasure to read them. But I also enjoy them because there are other characters referenced, like Ruthven from Polidori's the Vampyre and Varney from the Victorian serial story Varney the Vampire. They can be a little spooky, but they are still entertaining. I hope she writes another one for me to read next October!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: First Grave on the Right
Author: Darynda Jones
Narrator: Lorelei King

Synopsis: Charley Davidson is a private investigator as far as most people know. But she is also a Grim Reaper. She can see the spirits of those who die and aren't able to move on right away. Using this handy skill, she can help solve crimes better than anyone else. Recently, a series of murders starts to shed light on a group that is kidnapping and selling kids. To make her life more complicated, the man she may or may not be starting to love is to be taken off life support if she can't figure out a way to save him.

Thoughts: So I had accidentally read the eighth book in this series several years ago because I did not realize it was part of a series. It was interesting enough for me to decide to pick this one up. If it hadn't been for her weird love life (I'm sorry, sex life since they basically never speak to each other), I would have enjoyed it much more. Her personal romance was (in my opinion) crap. But the rest of the story was good and often funny with several characters that I liked. But I do not plan to read any more. I just can't handle the romantic part of the story.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Narrator: Neil Gaiman

Synopsis: Nobody Owens walks a unique path between life and death. Raised by the ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard gives him a great appreciation of life and he grasps it with both hands.

Thoughts: I read this book (or listen to the audiobook) every year. That is how much I love this book. I love Bod and his adventures and the people he meets. And no matter what, I always cry at the end. This is definitely one of my very favorite books. It is beautifully written and I cannot recommend it more highly.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Title: A Madness so Discreet
Author: Mindy McGinnis

Synopsis: Grace has been institutionalized in an asylum in Boston for being mad. And maybe she is a bit mad, but for good reasons. Finding her past and horrible family secrets too much to bear, she locks away her voice. Following a series of mishaps, she ends up marked a trouble patient and is locked away in the cellars where she makes friends with another patient there who helps her find her voice again. Her sharp mind is discovered by a visiting doctor and he smuggles her away to be his assistant when he goes to solve murders. She ends up in a different institution in Ohio. For the first time, she feels that she has friends and a purpose. But she can't avoid her past forever.

Thoughts: OK, confession time. This was the very first Owlcrate book that I ever received. And I got that in the October box four years ago... I have not read all of my Owlcrate books, mostly because I have so many books to read that I can't get to them all right away. I'm not sure why I never got around to reading this one. The only reason I did was because someone suggested it as a sort of eerie October book that wasn't scary. And I'm glad I finally read it. I didn't really know what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying it.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Bone Houses
Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones
Narrator: Moira Quirk

Synopsis: Aderyn is trying to keep her family's home. Her uncle became indebted to the greedy local lord who is holding Ryn responsible for paying it when her uncle disappears. Her brother and sister help where they can, but they realize that Ryn's grave digging won't be enough to pay off their family's debts. Then she meets Ellis who wants to enter the mythical woods around the town to make maps and try to discover hints to his past. And he offers to pay Ryn to guide him. Seeing this as her way out, she willingly takes Ellis into the forest. But there are good reasons that everyone avoids the forest of the Other King.

Thoughts: This was a September Owlcrate book. But I ended up listening to it because I didn't have time to read the physical book. Overall I enjoyed it. I liked the names especially. Listening to it was a very good idea and I recommend the audio. I very much liked Ryn and Ellis. And while I guessed the outcome of a few things, the characters were likable and great. And there are zombies (essentially). I don't do zombies, so I was pretty worried, but it was actually interesting.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars 


Favorite book read this month: Besides the Graveyard Book which is one of my favorites ever? Grave Importance
Least favorite book read this month: First Grave on the Right

I started Varney the Vampire, but that book is a huge undertaking that I wasn't prepared for. I will have another go at it next year. I also started The Hearts We Sold, but didn't manage to finish it by the end of the month. I will go ahead and finish it though since I am more than half way through. 

In other news this month, I lost my little Zosi. He hadn't been doing great health-wise and he was getting to be an old little rat. He died on the morning of his second birthday and he was the last of my Littles to go. It has made for a less-than-ideal October. I miss him (and his brothers) so much. But here is an adorable picture of him. He had the best face: the brightest eyes and cutest crooked ears. He was also super sweet and was always licking my hands and fingers. Kevin said that if people who didn't like rats could meet him, he would change their minds. He was a special little guy.

In good October news, my momma came to visit me in my new city. We had a nice weekend trying some restaurants and going on a Ghost Walk Tour! Very seasonal!

Kevin and I managed to get to a little local pumpkin patch that had lots of cute games and activities and farm animals to pet. And we got some of the coolest pumpkins! I had never seen a green pumpkin! Or one that is quite this shade of peach:

Sorry I didn't manage to get a disease post up this month. I had lots of internet problems at home (it kind of comes and goes much of the time) and I have been very busy with work. I will do my best to get a post up in November. I just have to decide which disease I want to do!

So that is about it for October! I'm sad that my favorite month is over, but I already have a list of possible October reads for next year!

2017 Spooky Reads

It's that time of year again! The most wonderful time of the year. Our autumn here has been great so far. The leaves are changing, the weather is cool, skies are grey and rainy, and it smells like fall. Time for some Halloween-themed reads. Here is what's on my list this year:

Audiobooks:

We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Graveyard Shift
The Poisoner's Handbook
And the new Magnus Chase book because I am Rick Riordan trash. I adamantly refuse to wait until November to read/listen to it.

Books:

Strange Practice
I Woke Up Dead at the Mall
A Monster Calls
And, as usual, The Graveyard Book
And possibly All the Crooked Saints because I pre-ordered it many months ago. Stiefvater is pretty good at writing eerie stories, so it may fit right in!

Hopefully I have some good ones in here. Anyone else have Spooky reads planned? Or recommendations?

Pumpkin Carving Part Two

Isaac and I were invited to another pumpkin carving party with a bunch of our friends. We had food and wine and we put on Halloween movies and carved pumpkins!

One of the movies we watched was Sleepy Hollow, an old favorite of mine. This led to tons of head puns, which was exceedingly entertaining! There may have been a little competition going on. Some were very clever, some were kind of lame, but had to be said, and a few were just terrible. "Looks like he will never get a-head in life." "Don't let it go to your head." "He was head-ed in a bad direction."

Isaac and I shared a pumpkin again. We wanted to stay with our magical places theme (we did a Hogwarts pumpkin a couple weeks ago). So we carved this:

Mordor!

Here are all of our pumpkins lit up:

Fun pumpkins!

It doesn't quite look like Mordor, but that's OK.

We love pumpkin carving around here.

A Story of Zombies

Despite my love of Halloween, I can't stand zombies. The blood and gore is disgusting and sometimes zombies scare me and give me nightmares.

I have never seen a zombie movie or show, though I have caught glimpses. I see people dressed up as zombies and many people are very into zombies and it always makes me feel faintly nauseous.

The only zombie stories I read were the Sabriel books, which are horrifying, but also beautifully written (I actually am in love with the Abhorsen necromancer bells... That's probably the main reason I read them). The first time I read Sabriel, I really struggled with some of the dead monsters though.

One book, "The Tower of Ravens" by Kate Forsyth, deals with a necromantic lord who is so obsessed with returning his family to life that he captures children from the villages, kills them, and brings them back to a semblance of life. The zombie children are not even evil or our for blood/brains, but return to their villages at night to cry for their parents.

Besides making me cry, this book also gave me such horrible zombie dreams that I put it down for over a year before going back to finish it. Sadly, that is a normal relationship for me and this series. I started the second book in that series two years ago and got to page 35 before I stopped because it made me anxious. She's a great writer and I love her first series--one day I will finish this one!

Anyway, I have a rough time with zombies. And then a friend from Starbucks invited me to a skating party (she was a derby girl, so she goes to these events). I had been wanting to go for ages and never could because I worked so early, so I jumped at the chance. Except that the theme was zombie night. Ugh.

I am not one for passing up an opportunity to dress up, however, so I did some research and went to a thrift store.

I came out with leggings, a slightly stained and used-to-be-nice tunic top and faded-looking jean jacket.

When I got home, I cut holes in all my clothes and tore the hems of the shirt:

Leggings, holes not included (like my fuzzy slippers?)

The top was a sort of jersey cotton type material that was easy to tear. I didn't need scissors for this. I did cut holes in the top as well.

The top came with a tie which I promptly cut like so before tying it on.

I actually dusted my shelves with the shirt, too. It helped make it look dirty and helped my shelves at the same time!

The jean jacket already looked faded, but I took a razor blade to the edges to try and make it look more ragged:

The jean material was a little tougher to work with. And it will be a cute jacket just to wear on its own.

I did my hair up in an approximation of a nice hair style that got messed up while in the grave. 

I didn't have any good makeup for a zombie, so I did what I could, but Ashley made me up like a true zombie! She's very artistic and she did an AWESOME job (though it kind of grossed me out, too). I hope this picture does her work justice:

It doesn't do her work justice... She did that nasty, vein-y bruise on my neck and made my eyes look gross.

So there you have it: zombie Samara. On the plus side, I now have a zombie costume in case I ever need one again...

I threw all of this together in a couple of hours. I would recommend more time, but zombies are pretty easy.

And the skating party was super fun! I had my roller blades, and my friends had or rented roller skates. And we just skate around! It was lots of fun!

Pumpkin Carving

"I wouldn't change places
With anyone tonight
We'll carve pumpkin faces
And watch the witches flight"
~"Anything Can Happen on Halloween" by Tim Curry

We had some lovely family members (Liz and Peter--I'm talking about you) invite Isaac and I over to carve pumpkins. They went to a local pumpkin patch and got several (mostly very large) pumpkins. We went over and had pumpkin pie and warm cider, both appropriate choices.

We had lots of fun fighting through the thick walls of our pumpkins and looking at carving ideas online. Some people do amazing things with pumpkins!

Anyway, we had a fun, laid-back evening. Liz and Peter carved cute faces into their pumpkins.

Liz working on her pumpkin face.

Peter's pumpkin

Isaac and I shared a pumpkin and eventually decided to do a silhouette of the Hogwarts castle on ours. Because we are nerds.

Hogwarts!

Then we had to light them, of course.

Don't they look good?!

Anyone else have fun carvings this year?

Six Days Into October

Yes, we are only six days into the wonderful month of Halloween.

Yet, I have already finished In the Stone Circle (which I haven't read for years, but it still scared me at parts and I still cried at the end). I have already made a sizable dent in The Graveyard Book. I perused my bookshelf for more potential October reads. Here is what I found:

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, by Josephine Leslie aka R.A. Dick, which is not spooky, but it is still a ghost story.
Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman, which I started about three years ago and never finished because it scared me. If the book is good enough, I will return to it, even after a few years. I'm odd that way.
Plum Spooky, by Janet Evanovich. It is a Stephanie Plum In Between the Numbers book. It should be silly. I haven't read it before.

If you are interested in following my reading journeys, you can find me on GoodReads. I love that website.

I put all of my Halloween music on my iPod and iPhone and have listened to everything at least once.

Today I babysat my niece and we watched The Addams Family and The Haunted Mansion. These are the first Halloween movies I have watched this season. And my sister lent me The Munsters movies which I haven't actually seen before (or if I have, I don't remember).

And here is an awesome picture of my niece that her mama took:

 Aww! I love this picture. She totally belongs in our family.

I also had to take this:

Aww! Halloween rattie picture! You know I can't resist.

In non-Halloween related news, my sister and I got to go see Cavalia Odesseyo on Saturday (thanks for the tickets, Mom!). Here is their website: Cavalia. It was awesome! I saw it last time it was here, which was four or so years ago, I think. And I remember some of it, but I wasn't in a good place (emotionally and mentally), I think, and I don't remember as much as I should...

Some of my favorite routines didn't involve horses at all. There was one with a carousel that gymnasts danced and performed on. They are so strong! And the carousel went around and some of the poles went around in circles or moved up and down. It was very neat. Another favorite was the gymnasts who swing on and do tricks with the big rings up in the air. They looked like fairies!

One of the gymnasts on the ring. Picture from www.calgaryherald.com

More ring gymnasts. Picture from www.edmontonsun.com

The carousel dancers! Picture from www.rockinmama.net

Kema and I really enjoyed it when the people led the horses (without any tack or halters on). Then they joined up to form larger groups until one person was leading 3 to 4 horses. Despite having many groups out there, the horses stayed with their person. That takes serious training and dedication, I think. And Kema and I decided that we want to have horse shadows, so we each need a couple of horses... but that's beside the point.

One guy leading his four horses. Picture from www.tomonair.com

The point is, that the show was awesome, and we really enjoyed it! Also, their music was all live and absolutely amazing! I kind of want the soundtrack. If you have the chance to see it, I hope you take it!

So far, October has been pretty awesome. And Blood of Olympus comes out tomorrow! Not that I'm excited...

More Halloween and October posts to come!

October is Here!

And we know what that means, right? Halloween time!

I try to put up my Halloween decorations on the fall equinox, but I was a few days late. I got most of them up on September 27th.

This also means that it is time to set aside all of the books I am currently reading in favor of more Halloween-themed books!

Here is what is on my list for this month:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I always read this one, but I can't have October without it.

My personal copy with my bookmark sticking out the side...

In the Stone Circle by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel. This is an old favorite, but it has been many years since I last read it.

It is a little loved around the edges and corners.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters. This is a new one, also a young adult book, but it sounds good. It is on order and should be here soon.
And I may throw in some Sabriel by Garth Nix because I have it on audiobook. I should have time and it is definitely creepy enough to be a Halloween book.

My only deviation will be Blood of Olympus when that comes out (October 7th). I already have the audiobook on my list to purchase and I absolutely cannot wait for it! It is not Halloween, but it is the last book in the series and I have been eagerly awaiting it since I finished House of Hades last year.

Anyone else have favorite Halloween books?