My Favorite Horror Books

I should've done this post earlier this month but my brain hasn't been working recently. And I'll probably add Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia when I finish. Honorable mentions go to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

In no particular order:

 

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix: This was funny and creepy and I loved the ending.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: Unsettling. 

The Ritual by Adam Neville: This was a super creepy folk horror novel. I had no idea where it would go. Check out the movie on Netflix as well.

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach: Chilling. That's the best way to describe this one. It really freaked me out!

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova: It's a slow and terrifying burn. I loved all the historical details. She really paints you there in the story.

Dracula by Bram Stoker: It's a classic and it still holds up.

The Last Days of Jack Sparks by Jason Arnopp: This one kept me up at night. I have never read a possession novel so terrifying. 

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones: Also unsettling. I loved the ending.

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff: This was a great story. There are horror elements but ultimately it's just a beautiful story. Also check out the TV series on HBO. They change up a ton but it works.

I Remember You: A Ghost Story by Yrsa Sigurdardottir: This one chilled me to the bone. Yep, super freaky and disturbing. It's fantastic.

The Ruins by Scott B. Smith: Body horror and nature. It's so good. You'll never want to leave your house again!

The Changeling by Victor LaValle: The best retelling of this classic folktale. So many themes. It's a great book just for that but it's also terrifying in many parts.

Let the Right One In by John Ajdive Lindqvist: It's a classic vampire story. So many good things in here about loyalty, friendship, coming-of-age, and it's unsettling.

For Kids:

 

Small Spaces by Katherine Arden: A truly creepy kids book!

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series by Alvin Schwartz: Classic stories and those terrifying images are still so very creepy!

The Forgotten Girl by India Brown

City of Ghosts series by Victoria Schwab: G and I have loved reading this series. Schwab takes us to different haunted cities in each book. The ghosts are very scary. We can't wait for the third book next year!

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury: I read this one with G a couple of years ago and it's just a classic tale that talks about a lot of myths and legends behind Halloween but all done in a story for kids.

Nightbooks by J.A. White: I'm not even done yet but it's already a favorite.

Where the Woods End by Charlotte Salter

Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh: This one was super scary. I read this one with G a couple of years ago and he had to keep the lights on!

 Happy Halloween! Stay safe and scared...

Cat Thursday-- Happy Halloween

 

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!  

Week-in-Review: 1st Snow of the Season...

This is the view I woke up to this morning...

First snow of the season! It's been cloudy all day today but we did get out our heated coffee table, aka the kotatsu. So we are staying warm and snuggly today. It should warm up a bit in a day or so back up to the 50s and 60s. I'm hoping...

Things I'm not happy about, though, is our Covid numbers. We hit almost 2,000 positive cases on Saturday in one day. Our biggest hospitals are hitting 99% ICU capacity. It's bad. I wish more people would take this seriously and wear masks and care about each other!

But, on a good note, right before it turned cool I went on a hike with some friends up into the mountains. It was a great day for it and we saw some pretty colors still!

Since it's been getting colder my kitty Nala has been extra cuddly while I'm working at the computer.

Things I'm Grateful For this week:

1. Our cars are fixed! DH's car just needed a new key battery and I had to get a new car battery but it wasn't anything worse than that. My friend's son was able to come and jump my car so I could actually get back home. 

2. I made some delicious coffee cake muffins.

3. We found a new to us Indian restaurant this weekend and it was delicious! We haven't had some in ages so it was a nice treat.

4. While driving around doing errands we saw a man on a corner holding a sign that said: "Veterans for Biden." Warmed my heart considering what a conservative town, county, and state I live in. We gave him honks and waves and thumbs up!

Reading:

I finished up 5 books this week! I'm very excited about this. A couple of these I had been working on for months! The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, Where the Woods End by Charlotte Salter, Emma by Jane Austen, Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, and What Language Is: And What It Isn't and What It Could Be by John McWhorter

I started Nightbooks by J.A. White and A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik. It was on the Lucky Day shelf at the library so I need to read it by Thursday!

I'm still reading Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen, but I only have one chapter left so I'll definitely finish it up this next week. And I'm reading the third section in Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi. Book club is Sunday!

 I'm taking my time with The Self-Driven Child by William Stixrud. There's a lot to digest and I don't want to miss anything. I was hoping end of October to be finished but I'm now shooting for mid-November.

Classics that I'm reading: I just started Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

Philosophy: At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir,  Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Others by Sarah Bakewell. 

Listening to:

Podcasts: I started listening to What a Day to catch up a bit on the news and listened to a few episodes of DemocracyNow.

New Books Acquired: 

Watching:

Movies:

Every Halloween at least...we watch Clue as a family. We got that one in this weekend. Such a classic.

For my horror fest:

Evil Eye on Amazon Prime was a really good surprise. Looks like some good ones on here from Prime for horror. 

The Lie on Amazon was not great. It sat on the shelf for a couple of years and then was quietly released through Prime...there's a reason; it's a terrible film.

Bad Hair on Hulu was just released and it was fantastic. It's funny, has great social commentary, and has a few spooky parts as well.

TV:                           

HBO released the last episodes of Lovecraft Country and The Third Day. I finished both of those off. Lovecraft Country was fantastic, the only thing I really have to complain about is their treatment of Ruby. They didn't treat her well and it really makes me mad. She was treated a lot better in the book and it's just a shame. The Third Day is a fantastic folk horror limited TV series and an interesting and devastating look at grief.

And of course I'm keeping up on The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. My faves are still hanging in! And the Food Channel's Halloween Bake-off is also keeping me entertained.

Making: 

I made yummy chocolate chip pumpkin pancakes this morning! This next week will be a lot of soup and chilis and other baked goodies...

Looking forward to Halloween! No trick-or-treating this year but we get to plan out our costumes this week, think of some goodies to bake, and enjoy a cozy night at home while watching cheesy classic horror movies together as a family.

Joining in with Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon

Week-in-Review: Fall Break

G has/had his fall break this weekend. We took time off and decided to do a hike one day, a paint night, and a firepit the next. Most of the weekend has been spent chilling and eating and not doing much. It's a much-needed break for all of us!

 

Can you spot the moose and her calf?

We loved seeing the newt crawl from the lake.

Things I'm Grateful For this week:

1. We had a perfect day for a hike! We saw a moose and her calf, a newt, and even a baby snake slithered along our path. It was too quick for a pic, though.

2. My apple cider Bundt cake turned out beautifully. It got eaten up quickly!

 

 3. I finally finished my Halloween blanket.

4. Enjoyed a paint night afternoon with the family. It took forever and G gave up towards the end but overall I think everyone had fun. And I like how they turned out.

 

5. We had a great night for a firepit. Hardly any wind and the fire was mesmerizing.

 

6. Mail-in-voting in my state. It's worked well here for years and am glad there has been no push to get rid of it. I voted and am dropping off my ballot either today or tomorrow!

Reading:

I finished up only one book this week Charlie and the Grandmothers by Katy Towell. I really enjoyed this one. All ends well and it was quite a disturbing ride along the way. I highly recommend it.

I started Where the Woods End by Charlotte Salter, another juvenile YA along the horror lines. G read it before me and really enjoyed it so now it's my turn. I also started Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

I'm still reading about a chapter a week from Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen. And I'll be reading the third section in Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi. Our book club will be reading the section on William Lloyd Garrison and discuss in about two weeks. I'm about 100 pages into The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I'm loving her varying perspectives and time jumping. It keeps me interested. I need to finish it this week so I can get it back to the library on time! I'm taking my time with The Self-Driven Child by William Stixrud. There's a lot to digest and I don't want to miss anything. But I hope to be finished by the end of October. Fingers crossed.

Classics I'm reading Emma by Jane Austen. Emma just realized she is in love with Mr. Knightley right after she realizes Harriet is in love with him too. What to do?

Philosophy: At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir,  Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Others by Sarah Bakewell. She's goes into some great history on the rise of Nazism in Germany and its effects on these philosophers. 

I have had to put down a couple of books so I can focus on some others. But I recently picked back up the biography on Carl Sagan by Keay Davidson. I bought it at a used book store in Washington last summer and had started it but put it down for one reason or another. I needed something different with everything I've been reading and this is exactly what I needed.

Listening to:

I had to send back Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendell to the library before I finished. But I'm hoping I can get again soon in one form or another.

Podcasts: Unfinished: Short Creek. It's all about the FLDS in Short Creek. It's a fascinating story, also sad and disturbing, but we get to know people and what was good and bad and in-between. I'm loving it so far. 

New Books Acquired: I picked up a few middle grade horror for G on the Kindle this week!

Watching:

Movies:

We did a classic movie night with The 'Burbs. Still hilarious. And Enola Holmes on Netflix was a very fun and cute movie with Millie Bobby Brown of the Stranger Things fame. Loved it and hope they're able and willing to make more. I think it would make a great TV series.

For my horror fest:

Black Box on Amazon Prime was a treat. I didn't go in expecting much but was pleasantly surprised.

Cursed Films on Shudder was a fun documentary detailing some horror films that have bad things happen either on set or to people offset. The Exorcist, The Omen, The Poltergeist, The Crow, and Twilight: The Movie were each discussed.

The Mortuary Collection on Shudder was also very well-done. It played on my preconceived notions and tropes, and fooled me! I loved it.

TV:                           

I'm still watching weekly Lovecraft Country on HBO. Best show on right now. Seriously so good. This is one I'll be rewatching yearly. The Third Day on HBO. I haven't caught up yet but I will soon. Finished off The Haunting of Bly Manor and it was excellent. Also a yearly rewatch. Finished Freakish on Hulu with G. He was soooooo sad that it had been canceled. We are left with quite a cliffhanger. I am loving The Great British Baking Show! It's my happy place. And the Halloween Bake Off on the Food Channel is also a must weekly. 

I'm trying to convince G to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer with me too. At least the first three seasons. We started the first episode but got sidetracked and haven't gotten back to it but as it started he said: Mom, this looks really old.

Me: Well, it started when I was in high school...

Him: Like I said...Really old!

Me: Touche. and Ouch!

Making: 

I am done with my blanket so on to my DIY crochet items for family and friends. They don't take long but I have quite a few to make and I want to be done and ready to send them off in a few weeks. So I gotta get cracking!

I am making muffins with G either today or tomorrow...

Looking forward to planning goodies to make for Halloween night. Also to just enjoying these weeks before the election. It feels me with dread whenever I think about the after...

Joining in with Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon

Mini Book Reviews: Solutions and Other Problems, Tunnel of Bones...

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Published: October 10th, 2020 by Alfred A. Knopf

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Format: Paperback, 519 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

The series gets a solid 4 stars for me. But this particular book was very slow in the beginning. But it picked up halfway through and carried us on. But I'll be honest I did not like the ending as much as I was hoping. It felt like Pullman didn't quite know how to end such a grand series and world and so it just kind of felt like hmmmf. Also, the implication of how one's daemon might not change anymore was not great. He never said for everyone but that was implied. The implications of that are a bit harried and I don't think he thought much about it beyond his characters.

But despite those misgivings it's a fantastic series. So very clever, full of philosophy about life and death and religion and power and agency. It's a true classic and am so glad I read it with G. We had lots to discuss.

The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper

Published: July 7th, 2020 by Riverhead Books

Genre: Memoir, Nonfiction, Medicine

Format: Audiobook, 7 hours, 46 minutes, Library

Rating: 3.5 stars

My Thoughts:

I really liked this one. She has a very unique perspective has a Black woman physician working in emergency medicine. Her childhood was heartbreaking and her desire to heal her patients is truly inspirational. She doesn't shy away from microaggressions at work or with patients.

I also found inspirational the ways she was able to heal herself so she could go on trying to heal others. She maintained healthy boundaries with her abusive father but always with the option of healing and forgiving on her own terms.

The only thing that brought it down was the way she talked about holistic healing in conjunction with medicine. While I agree a lot that if everyone had access to basic medical care and could make a living wage with one job this would be a good way to help people manage their stress and take care of themselves. But it felt a little bit like because I can do it (meditate, yoga retreats, acupuncture, self care top priority outside of work) then anyone can. Maybe she actually wouldn't say that, I doubt she would but that is what it felt like to me. If she had talked about how these things helped her personally and kept it at that I would have found it more appealing and honest.

But overall, it's a beautiful memoir and her experiences are priceless. I also listened to the author read the book and she did great! I highly recommend the audio.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Published: July 14th, 2020 by Gallery/Saga Press

Genre: Horror

Format: Kindle, 310 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

This was a trip! I loved it. The only thing I didn't love was how little I got to know some of the characters before the end. Take Lewis. I felt like he focused the most on him. And his horror story was the most twisted of all but it's only in the first half. But the ending is spot on and made everything come together. It's a gory and twisted and yet hopeful and poignant story. Even if horror isn't your thing I still feel like this is one to read. Jones an American Indian and he knows how to weave this tale that brings race, land, and colonialism all into view. 

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

Published: September 3rd, 2019 by Scholastic Press

Genre: Horror, Juvenile Fiction

Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

This is the second book in the Cassidy Blake series. The first was in Edenborough, Scotland and this one is in Paris! The catacombs take front and center and are they ever creepy. Cassidy and best friend Jacob (who's a ghost) want to keep out of trouble as they tour the Catacombs but Cassidy accidentally disturbs a poltergeist, a ghost who's forgotten who he or she is. They're more powerful and you need to get them to remember who they are and how they died before you can send them on to the "light."

I loved reading about Cassidy in Paris and how she worked through the mystery of the poltergeist. It's a sad tale and we find out more about Jacob as well. Schwab always handles the tough stuff with aplomb. 

G also read this one. He couldn't remember the first one from last year so he read that one and then this one. Loved them both and can't wait til the third one comes out in March. He also hopes the next one will feature more of Grim their fluffy black cat!

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

Published: September 22nd, 2020 by Gallery Books

Genre: Graphic Novel, Funny, Nonfiction, Memoir

Format: Hardcover, 518 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

Allie Brosh keeps it raw, real and humorous. I haven't read something that makes me so sad and happy at the same time. She writes about the death of her sister and it's truly devastating. But it's also real and vulnerable. We've all been there with those who have died before their time and we love them.

Her story about her sister and her sister's best friend is disturbing and beautiful. We get to hear about the Hammer Guy next door and how she takes revenge! And guided meditation and the employees at the grocery store will never be the same for me again!

If you loved her first one you'll love this one. And if you haven't read Hyperbole and a Half go get it now and then this one. You're welcome.

Week-in-Review: Treadmills and Pumpkins

New treadmill! Our old one finally broke down a couple of months ago. We got it for free from my sister when she moved out of her apartment, I wanna say about 10 years ago. I cannot complain. It was a very nice Reebok model and lasted forever. So we finally broke down and bought a new one. It came this week and with the combined skills of all three of us we were able to put it together! It works!

The real trick was getting the old beast out of our basement...two flights of stairs...and out onto the curb so the metal man could take it away the next day. DH rigged up a lever system so we didn't actually have to lift it out. It was genius actually. My son called it a "big brain" idea. That's the hubster. Cuz there was no way I was doing any sort of lifting with the beast.

We got more Halloween decor up outside. Lights and chains and a few scary skeleton head coming out of our garden!

Friday we attended the Fall Fair at our CSA farm. We went earlier in the day to avoid crowds. They required masks on premise. We got in a few fun rides and picked out our pumpkins for carving. Then we headed up the canyon to drop of some dinner for a friend and her family who've been sick recently. We said and enjoyed the beautiful drive through the canyon.  

Things I'm Grateful For this week:

1. We got a new treadmill just in time for cooler weather.

2. DH's big brain. So we could get the beast out of our house!

3. Attending the Fall Fair as a family and getting our pumpkins.

4. All the horror that has dropped on TV this week!

5. Got my haircut!

Reading:

I finished up The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman with G. His Dark Materials is finished! On to the HBO series with G. We watched the first two episodes when they came out last year but other things came up so it'll be good to restart and finish in time for the second season! He has another prequel series he just came out with The Book of Dust series. I'd like to start that one soon.

I finished The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones, Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab, The Beauty of Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper, and Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

Creepy cover! I love it!

I started Charlie and the Grandmothers by Katy Towell and The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet.

I'm trying to read about a chapter a week from Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen. And I'll be reading the second section in Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi. Our book club will be meeting (online) next Saturday to discuss.

I also started The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson. Anything to help my DS get through this year of online learning and pandemic anxiety!

Classics I'm reading Emma by Jane Austen. I'm at about the 320 mark. I'm getting close to the end. I think the next chapter or two will have the scene where Emma makes fun of Miss Bates. It's such a cruel scene in all the movies. 

I'm still reading The Magnus Chase series Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan.

Philosophy: At the Existentialist Cafe: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir,  Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Others by Sarah Bakewell.

Yes, I read a million books all at once. I can't help it!

Listening to:

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. I'm getting close to finishing Cemetery Boys but I've gotta make time to listen in-house since I don't drive as much as I used to!

I need to start Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women that a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendell from the library. It's due next week so I need to binge-listen. Ha! Actually I just listened to two hours yesterday while crocheting. It's amazing and a must-read so far.

New Books Acquired:

Watching:

Movies:

Books of Blood on Hulu. It's an anthology based on the Clive Barker Book of Blood. Clive Barker did the Hellraiser series. Twisted but good. It looks like I didn't quite live up to Barker's fans' expectations but it was good enough for me!

Marrowbone (2017) on Hulu. I've had this one on my list forever but finally watched it this weekend and it was fantastic. Lots of plot holes but a great and haunting story full of grief and pain and how it haunts us. 

TV:                           

I'm still watching weekly Lovecraft Country on HBO. Best show on right now. Seriously so good. The Third Day on HBO which just had an A Ha moment! What? And they are going to do a live episode that takes place between the 3rd episode and the 4th episode. Not sure how it'll all work out but I am intrigued. And I have watched the first episode of Raised by Wolves on HBO Max and will start getting the rest in this week.

Also, catching up on Schitt's Creek on Netflix. G and I are watching Freakish on Hulu together. He loves it and is into more than I am but I'm loving the time together. And now that we're done with His Dark Materials series, we're going to start watching the show on HBO together! Very excited about that too.

The Haunting of Bly Manor just dropped on Netflix so I've dropped everything and started watching it. It's very good. I've been getting my crocheting in this weekend!

Making: 

I made a roasted chicken and veggies dish in my Dutch oven last night and it was delicious. Since we will be doing our own thing for Thanksgiving this year, I think I just found my fabulous main dish!

I'm hoping to make Apple Cider Donut Bundt cake today. Pics (hopefully) next week....

Looking forward to finishing up my Halloween blanket! It's taken longer than I thought it would. Then I can dive into my friends and family gifts for Xmas!

G has Fall break next weekend and I'm looking forward to some structured family time. I have some crafts and a game night or two planned! Maybe a hike if the weather holds...

Joining in with Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon