Book It – Monsters and Mysteries
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I love the fall. It’s an amazing time to cozy up on the couch, reading. And October is the perfect time for books with a scary theme. So, of course, I had to read a few of them.
You can see the goals for my reading list on the 2015 Reading List from PopSugar.
The Heart Goes Last
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?
- A funny book
- A book by a female author
- A book set in a different country – part of this book takes place in South America and Antarctica
- A book with a love triangle – don’t worry, it’s tertiary to the most important parts of the story
- A book by an author you’ve never read before
Turtle Moon
Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman was this month’s “To Read or Not To Read Book Club” selection. I’ve never read a book by Alice Hoffman before, but I discovered that I knew her work already. The movie Practical Magic is based on her books by the same title. I really enjoyed this story involving a murder and missing children.
Checked off the list:
- A book by a female author
- A book a friend recommended – thanks Book Club!
The Hidden
The Hidden is a short horror novella by S.A. Hunt, available only as an ebook. While this certainly isn’t Hunt’s best work, it is a particularly good choice for this time of year. If you’d like to give S.A. Hunt a try, I recommend starting with the Outlaw King series – high fantasy in the vein of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. If fantasy isn’t your thing, you can also check out some of his newer horror fiction on his amazon author page.
Checked off the list:
- A mystery or thriller
- A book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet
- A book at the bottom of your to read list
- A book that scares you – but then it’s horror, this one is meant to
- A book you can finish in a day – this novella took me less than 2 hours to read
- A book with magic, or something supernatural anyway
- A book you own, but have never read – this one has been on my kindle for a year or more
The Clue of the Screeching Owl
The Clue of the Screeching Owl is #41 in the Hardy Boys mystery series by Franklin Dixon. Like all Hardy Boys books, it follows the Hardys and their friend Chet as they try to solve a mystery that is really too dangerous for “boys” to be solving, and ends up being magically related to a case that Mr. Hardy is working. But once you get past those things, the Hardy Boys mysteries are a quick, fun read.
Checked off the list:
- A mystery or thriller
- A book you can finish in a day
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is, of course, the first book in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. This is one of those books that it was time to re-read. I’m glad I did, because I had forgotten so much. There were so many things left out and/or changed in the movies (which I happen to enjoy watching marathon style while I sew), that I don’t think I was truly feeling the impact of the story anymore. Of course, to re-read these books I had to buy new copies. I got rid of my original ones ages ago – probably sometime in college. Fortunately a new set of paperbacks wasn’t too expensive. I’m still hoping for copies of the hardback British edition, and the new illustrated version for Christmas though.
Checked off the list:
- A book that became a movie – the 1st of 7
- A book with non-human characters
- A book by a female author
- A book set in a different country
- A popular author’s first book
- A book from your childhood – this book was 1st published when I was in middle school.
- A banned book – I remember people throwing a fit about these books shortly after they came out. Because obviously the book your child is actually interested in reading would turn them toward witchcraft and black magic.
The Masked Monkey
The Masked Monkey is number 51 in the Hardy Boys series. This one follows the boys as they travel to Brazil and back to find a missing boy and get tangled up in their father’s case of passport forgery.
Checked off the list:
- A mystery or thriller
- A book you can finish in a day
Books I’m Actively Reading
The Monsters : Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by Dorothy & Thomas Hoobler
The Carpet People by Terry Pratchett
Books I’ve Put Aside and Plan to Finish Later
To Read:
I have a nice pile of books in my To Be Read pile right now. A few of them include:
- Man Repeller: Seeking Love, Finding Overalls is the 1st book by the acclaimed blogger and fashion darling, Leandra Medine. In this memoir, Medine recounts her most significant memories through the lens of her sartorial choices.
- A Small Fortune by Rosie Dastgir is the story of Harris, a Muslim man who gains a “small fortune,” and what happens when he tries to rid himself of his “burden of riches.”
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