2024 Spooky Reads

Yay! October is here! My favorite month and favorite season. I think I am generally happiest October through December.

Anyway, it is time for spooky reads!

Most of these came in Owlcrate boxes. I figured I would try to use this month to get through some of the more eerie books. I don't think I will get to all of them, but I will do my best. I am hoping that the Haunting of Hill House won't be too scary for me. I figure I can just stop reading it if it becomes too much.

I also plan to do a buddy read of the Cruel Prince with another Owlcrate Nest member. That isn't a spooky book, to my knowledge, but it would be nice to read it with another person. Also not shown is Rick Riordan's new book, Wrath of the Triple Goddess, which I have on audio. I just didn't want to wait longer to read it. But it actually takes place right before Halloween and is already a bit spooky. So that was fortunate!

Does anyone else have fun spooky reads this 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?

October Wrap Up

Alright! Full reviews are posted on my book blog, as usual (except for The Graveyard Book because my review of that is on my Goodreads account).

All books read this month!

Spooky books read this month:

• Shiver by Maggie Steifvater. Like Twilight, but way better, and with werewolves instead of vampires. Also, much as I love Maggie Stiefvater, I feel like this book was before she really developed her writing voice (which comes across so very clearly in The Raven Cycle).
• A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. A twist on the Hansel and Gretel story. I was not a fan of the narration (I thought that maybe I was too old to read it, but I read books for younger ages all of the time, ie: Rick Riordan and Tamora Pierce and I love their stuff, so maybe it isn't just me).
• The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan. Wow I love his books. I love these characters and the addition of Alex was a pleasant surprise.
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Interesting, spooky carnival story.
• The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Kind of a fun story that explores some of the history of Halloween. Also, where the heck are all of the girls in his stories?? Is he only capable of writing men/boys??
• The Diviners by Libba Bray. Definitely a good, spooky Halloween read! Ghosts, monsters, people with special gifts, grisly murders; basically anything you could want in a spooky read.
• Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones. I randomly got this in an audible sale, not realizing it is part of a series. But it was pretty good, reminds me a bit of Janet Evanovich. I may go back and read the first seven books...
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I love this book so much. It wouldn't feel right to have an October without reading it. And I always cry at the end...
• Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton. Not sure why the additional author, but I think these books are fun to read around Halloween.

Favorite book read this month:
Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor or The Graveyard Book. The Diviners was great, too.

Least favorite book read this month:
A Tale Dark and Grimm

Challenges completed:

• A book you bought on a whim: Eighth Grave After Dark

Only one, sadly, but the point of this month was to read my spooky books, and I did manage to read everything on my list! Yay!

This month's book haul:

Not too many books this month

November doesn't have any special themes. I will try to get back on track to finish my 2016 reading challenge and to finish my Goodreads reading challenge, too. I am a couple of books behind schedule. I need to read twelve more books for my Goodreads challenge, but I only need six more to complete my 2016 challenge (and two are already in the works)!

I love October and Halloween so much. I'm sad that it's over. I already have a huge list of books to choose from for next year.

September Wrap Up

Ok! I read lots of books this month, so be prepared. As usual, review can be found on my book blog!

Books read this month:

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. A story about a gang of boys and of friendship and family.
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Finally read the tale of Prospero for two reasons: to see where Prospero the Magician from The Night Circus took his name from, and to read Ariel's part as Colin Morgan recently played him in a London stage production of this play.
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson. An audiobook re-read because I love this book...
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Decent, but my least favorite Brontë novel so far.
• This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. A book about monsters and good versus evil. So good!
• My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. Fun, alternate fantasy/history of Lady Jane Grey.
• A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. The story follows a dog through a few incarnations as he finds his purpose in life.
• The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan. Re-read to prepare myself for the next book which comes out soon!

Challenges completed:

• A book that taught you something: The Outsiders
• A play: The Tempest
• A book with a very long title: Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)
• A book from somewhere you want to travel to: Wuthering Heights (Because I want to go back to England, I say it counts)
• A book with not enough hype: This Savage Song
• A book written by two or more authors: My Lady Jane
• A book with a non-human main character: A Dog's Purpose

Least favorite book read this month:
Wuthering Heights.

Favorite book read this month:
This Savage Song. Totally underrated. It gave me nightmares--it would have been a great October Halloween-y read! Plus, I loved the nursery rhyme:

 
Next month is October! Hooray! That means I stop reading everything I am currently reading (I tried really hard to get through everything, but I didn't quite make it...) to read Halloween-y books! Except for Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It is about werewolves, so it is Halloween-y enough to continue.

Goals for October!
Finish:
     Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Read:      The Diviners by Libba Bray
     A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
     Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton
Listen to:
    The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
     Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
    Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones

If there is time, I will read or listen to my very favorite: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The exception:
I will also listen to The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan because his books usually come out in October and I am Rick Riordan trash. I can't wait a whole month! It comes out the 4th though, so I will finish it nice and early.

Anyone else have any exciting Halloween reads planned?

Halloween Reading List

Oh yes, it is that time of the year! My favorite time of the year! And I need a book list to go with it, obviously. So here is the run down:

• The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley. Recommended by a friend.
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Because I have never read it. I know, shame on me.
• Dracula by Bram Stoker. Again, one I have never read. I plan to listen to this one.
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Another new one that I plan to listen to.
• Oh and The Sword of Summer, the new Magnus Chase book by Rick Riordan. Because I wait all year long for his books to come out. I don't care if it's Halloween-y or not. I will read it as soon as I can get it and you can't stop me!
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I always read this one in October, but I may not get to it this year with my other planned reads. 
• M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman. This is a collection of stories I stumbled across more than a year ago and haven't read yet. I have it as an audiobook and will read it if I finish my others in time.
• And, if time allows, The Diviners by Libba Bray. New one that I have seen recommended by a couple of book blogs I follow. It sounds spooky, but not scary. Right up my alley.

It started to turn into a list of classics because last year I realized how few of these I had read. It's about time I fixed that.

I also decided to participate in this book challenge by purrfect.reads on Instagram:

If you would like to follow my progress, do so via my Instagram or my Tumblr.

Anyone else have spooky reads this year?

Halloween Book Review Twitter Style

My friend Charlotte (here is her blog: Small and Trivial), sometimes does book reviews in Twitter fashion. That is, she writes a review in 140 characters (or so). I like that idea and decided to steal it and use it for my Halloween reads!

 In the Stone Circle by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

An old favorite ghost story about a young girl, her family, and the ghost haunting their rented house in Wales. Cristyn and her new friends try to unravel the story of the restless spirit.

An old favorite, but targeted at a much younger audience. Four stars.

Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

A surprisingly Halloween-y story filled with monsters, zombies, ghosts, werewolves, poltergeists, and spirit possessions. Audio read. The last installment of Heroes of Olympus. Loved it.

Again, younger target audience, but I love these books. Five stars.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Creepy and unnerving by turns. The story of two sisters in a long line of witch-y women dealing with life, love, death, family, and restless spirits. Occasionally disturbing and scary for me, but overall a good read.

I put this book down for two years, but did return to it. Three stars.

Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

Our favorite bounty hunter, Stephanie Plum, teams up with mysterious Diesel to track down vaguely supernatural criminals. Very entertaining and fun. I laughed out loud a few times.

First Between the Numbers book I have read. Four stars.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Historical fiction surrounding WWI. Mary Shelley's sweetheart dies, but his ghost returns to her for help. During the commotion, the war is ongoing and the Spanish Flu moves in rapidly. A fast read.

Startling and spooky, but good. Four stars.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

A re-read via audiobook as read by Tim Curry, which makes it pretty great. Creepy and occasionally gross story concerning my least favorite Halloween residents: zombies. Sabriel must defeat the greatest enemy any Abhorsen has faced.

Beautifully written and I am in love with the bells. Five stars.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by Josephine Leslie AKA R. A. Dick

A re-read of an old favorite. Not spooky or creepy, but it is a ghost story of sorts. Heart-warming, old fashioned, and beautiful. I didn't quite finish it by Halloween, but that's OK.

This book is close to my heart. Five stars.




Anyone else read any good Halloween-y books? I think next year I will go for classics like Dracula and Frankenstein. Sadly, I have never read these. They will be perfect for next year. I already have something to look forward to.

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?