Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Planning Ahead: Books


Hey, book lovers. Halloween candy is already at Long's (crazy). This gives me an idea. I have a plan for October: for the entire month, read nothing but spooky, creepy, scary books. Novels, young adult, short stories; it just has to be hair-raising.

Found a new(old) author from Book Smugglers, but I want more. What are your absolute favorite scary readables?

I plan to review a few that I haven't read in a long time, like Lois Lowry (I looovvved Down A Dark Hall), maybe a Stephen King (although I've read and reread my favorites many times already), maybe read Coraline again.

I plan to make a list of suggestions and then go to Dark Carnival and Borderlands and get some more tips from the booksellers there (as well as hopefully buy paperback of the books my library doesn't have). Speaking of Neil Gaiman (author of Coraline) I also just found out that Neil Gaiman is coming to San Francisco to promote his new book, The Graveyard Book. I think I might have to buy a ticket. It is in October, after all!

Anyway. What're your favorites? What's on your TBR list that looks good? What have you heard is super-scary and spooky? I love ghost stories best of all, and am not too terribly fond of gore just for gore's sake. I have already read many classics, like Haunting of Hill House, most of King's classics, etc. I have not read Amityville yet, however.

I'm going to make a big list and publish it here, just in time for my favorite spooky month, October.

14 comments:

Carl V. Anderson said...

Hey, so glad you came over to visit! Love your reading idea, it fits in perfectly with the spirit of a reading challenge I host every year during September/October called the R.I.P. Challenge (R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril) in which all participants read scary, eerie, gothic, horror, mystery stories, do reviews and share them, etc. It is great fun and I'll be posting all about the third annual R.I.P. Challenge here in a few days. I hope you check it out.

How cool that Neil Gaiman is visiting your area. You should really go, his readings and signings are incredibly memorable. I can't wait to read Graveyard Book, it is one of the books I've been looking forward to most all year.

Daphne said...

Thanks for coming by my blog! I am looking forward to the RIP challenge and will definitely be participating and getting ideas to add to my list!

Kate said...

If you've read The Haunting of Hill House - one of my favorites, period - have you read We Have Always Lived In The Castle? Same author...I'm peering at my bookshelf but glasses are not my friend - Shirley Jackson, yeah. It's not as good as Hill House (but then, nothing is) but still a damn fine read.

I also just started A Paragon of Virtue by German author whose name I can't remember - published in Germany in 2001 but finally translated into English this year. I just started but it's getting good reviews across the board.

Oh, and John Bellairs/Brad Strickland is coming out with a new one in October! It's a Lewis Barnavelt mystery.

Carl V. Anderson said...

FYI: If you are looking for potential books to read, here is the review site for last year's R.I.P. II challenge. If you look towards the bottom of that first post you will see a 'click here' link in the body of the text that will open up all the links to people's reviews. There are a lot of books there!

Have you read Baltimore, Or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden? It came out last year and it is incredible. Very creepy and atmospheric in an old-timey way. If you like that sort of thing I think you will love this book.

I started reading Lovecraft for the first time last year in the fall and really enjoy the creepiness of his stories.

Mary Modern by Camille DeAngelis was another book with an underlying mystery and eeriness to it that I enjoyed last year.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait to see your booklist :o) I can't believe halloween candy's out already. I do have a thing for candy corn. Take care!
xox,
Linnea

Ana S. said...

I was going to spread the word about the RIP challenge but I see that Carl's told you already. I'm really looking forward to it and I already have a huuuge mental list of possible reads.

Some of my favourite scary books are Coraline, Anne Rice's The Witching Hour, The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly and Something Wicked this Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. There are others I'm forgetting, I'm sure.

Then there's One for Sorrow by Christopher Barzak. It's a ghost story, but more sad than scary, and it's one of the best books I've read this year so far.

How exciting that you'll get to go to a Neil Gaiman signing! It will be great for sure.

Anonymous said...

I'm a scary book wimp. I did read Amityville long ago and it creeped me out. My sister read The Shining and had to sleep with the light on. I read The Haunting of Hill House last year for Carl's RIP challenge and absolutely loved it. This year I hope to read We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Daphne said...

Thank you everyone for the suggestions!! I'm so sorry I've already read Haunting of Hill House because it was so great. I am definitely going to participate in the RIP challenge this year. I will check out everyone's suggestions!! Now I'm really excited.

Kate said...

Where does one find this RIP challenge? Now I'm sucked in...

Kate said...

Oh - should have read the comments more closely. Thanks, Carl V.!

Daphne said...

I think the details will be coming from Carl at:

http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/

This will be my first year so I'm not sure but it sounds great!

Daphne said...

I think the details will be coming from Carl at:

http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/

This will be my first year so I'm not sure but it sounds great!

Daphne said...

Carl-

Could you post the link to last year's challenge? I'm having trouble finding it... Thank you! I am really looking forward to looking through the selections...

Carl V. Anderson said...

Yes, here is the link to last year's R.I.P. Challenge:

http://www.stainlesssteeldroppings.com/?p=745

Just read We Have Always Lived in the Castle recently (need to do a review). It was fun, makes me look forward to reading Haunting of Hill House.