Photo by Tim Samuel
It's crazy how quick the month goes by! We have about one more week left of the spooky season which means were just a few moments away from Halloween. And this might just be us, but it feels like the Halloween spirit has been especially present this year, so let's keep that momentum going!
Of course, as an organization who is not embarrassed by the fact that being a book fiend is their sole personality trait, we are partial to reading scary, spooky stories in order to really get into the spirit of things. So if you consider yourself a bibliophile, here are some book recommendations for you (of course Halloween inspired).
Dracula by Bram Stoker
We know, we know, it's bit of an obvious choice. But what better way to get into the rhythm of things? It's a classic for a reason. The legends about how this book came to be is just as--if not more--scarier than the actual story itself, so we would be remiss not to include it in our list. Our personal recommendation is to listen to Bram Stoker's Dracula soundtrack to really get in the mood. Of course, you can also watch the Francis Ford Coppola movie; both is good.
"Dracula" by Bram Stoker might not be the book you believe it to be. And like Harker standing at the doorway of the castle in the beginning, you have to decide for yourself if you wish to enter or not. Go on. It’s Halloween. What do you have to lose?" -Scott D. Southard, WKAR Public Media.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E Schwab
If there is ever a time you desperately want to wish yourself some magical powers, it's during this witchy season. Of course, our heroine Addie LaRue's wish backfires when she makes her wish with Darkness. Did somebody let in a draft because a chill just went up my spine.
This modern, poignant novel is all over book conversations in any social medium you can name just like how Addie LaRue travels through the world and time. It is a story the enchants most everyone it bumps shoulders into, and we think it will enchant you too.
"Schwab...weaves in an incisive reflection on every artist’s consuming desire for inspiration, to both receive and transmit charges of insight...the pages turn with commanding momentum. As the plot roared toward a finish, far from knowing what was going to happen, I didn’t even know what I wanted to happen." -Ellen Morton, Washington Post
Beloved by Toni Morrison
No list is complete without our post-modern Gothic queen, Madam Toni Morrison. While any one of her renowned novels are bound to leave you wide awake all night, we decided on Beloved to be on our list. It is difficult to summarize or say anything about this novel as words cannot describe how invigorating this book is. It has left people crying with angst, trembling with fear, and dazed with disorientation. Least to say, that scary roller coaster at the state fair doesn't stand a chance next to Toni Morrison's writing in Beloved.
''Beloved' is written in an antiminimalist prose that is by turns rich, graceful, eccentric, rough, lyrical, sinuous, colloquial and very much to the point." Margret Atwood, New York Times.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Yes, another classic! There are only few books that survive the wrath that is time, and Frankenstein is one of them. The story of how the Modern Prometheus came to be is just as interesting as the story itself. Legend has it--the tale was told by the teenage Shelley at an evening party hosted by Lord Byron to get out of-er, um how do I phrase it--the more intimate parts of the group's itinerary , but I digress. Read Frankenstein, and scare the living bejeezus out of yourself.
"Frankenstein stands out as a unique, freakishly exceptional book. Frankenstein not only is a book about a monster; it is also a monster of a book....The text is a wonderful monstrosity composed of several genres, texts, and voices patched up into one weird creature. " -Hernan Diaz, The Paris Review.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
What is it about this book that is terrifying to adults and entertaining to children? I suppose some things are sometimes just best left unknown.
What started as a typo is now an iconic character that has become part of the cultural landscape when it comes to spooky stories. The uncanniness of this book with its secret tunnels that lead to an alternative universe where you have clone parents with button for eyes will leave you quaking. And of course, there is the stop-motion film that is just as terrifying and will leave you traumatized.
"Not for the faint-hearted—who are mostly adults anyway—but for stouthearted kids who love a brush with the sinister: Coraline is spot on." -Kirkus Reviews.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
It might be heresy to compare anything by Jane Austen to the Scary Movie series, but it is the season of fright! In true Austen form, the wit, the sarcasm, the banter, and the setting is to die for. Our ingenue Catherine is infatuated with gothic novels (as much as we are) and finds herself vacationing at an old, renovated abbey, and it's her dream come true! A suspicious patriarch, a charming hero, dark hallways within a castle, secret rooms: it's like she's the heroine of the novels she's obsessed with. This book might have been published in 1818, but it is still relatable to this day. If your Halloween preferences are bit more Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Scooby Doo, or The Addams Family, this book is for you.
"It would not do to forget the finest feature of Northanger Abbey – its hero, Henry Tilney...Ahhh … he’s so lovely. He knows about muslins. He is kind to his sister. He is witty. He reads books. He graciously forgets when Catherine humiliates herself. It’s strange how many readers...completely skip over the dashing Henry Tilney." -A Girl with her Head in a Book.
What books are you reading as an ode to the season?