This week’s prompt: Do you have a favorite book or author you turn to every October to celebrate Halloween?
I don’t, because most of the books that are associated with Halloween and that time of the year aren’t ones I have any interest in reading. I don’t like horror, nor am I into creepy or supernatural books as a general rule. I can share a few books that I’ve been mildly curious about, but too wimpy to try, though:
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
I started Slade House because I was sent it as an ARC back when I reviewed books for publishers, but I wasn’t able to stick with it – it felt like it was going to get scary, and I didn’t have the stomach for it! I have been curious about Poe because he’s got this place in the history of literature, and I’m vaguely curious about his work. But not curious enough. I loved Shirley Jackson’s memoirs (Life Among the Savages and Raising Demons) because they’re funny, relatable and great reads. But I’ve never read her fiction because I’ve heard that she’s quite good at the creepy stuff, and again, not my jam. But of all the scary authors out there, I think she’s the one I’d most like to read if I suddenly grew a backbone, simply because I love her writing so much.
As usual for this time of year, that’s all I’ve got and it’s not much! If any of you have read both Jackson’s memoirs and her fiction, are the styles and writing similar? If so, how scary are the scary ones?
The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly blog link-up that gives participants a different book-related question to ponder each week, and allows them to share their thoughts, find new blogs to follow and connect with new readers. The Hop was originally created by Jennifer at Crazy for Books and is now hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. To see a list of upcoming prompts go here.
I don’t like scary reads either. The closest I get is Gothic Fiction and even that is very much on the edge! A nice Witch based cosy mystery is good for Halloween in my opinion 😂
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2024/10/11/book-blogger-hop-books-i-like-to-read-at-halloween/
I don’t even typically do gothic… I feel like it’ll feel me with dread and dark feelings which I don’t need, or that there’ll be spooky or creepy images that will haunt me for days afterwards and have me showering with my eyes open! I’ll go for the witch cosy mystery, please – do you have any to recommend?
I don’t think October is just for spooky books. Anything with witchy vibes and like cozy mysteries also feel very appropriate for the season. I hope you have a great weekend.
Here’s my BBH if you wish to visit – https://justanothergirlandherbooks.blogspot.com/2024/10/book-blogger-hop-booksauthors-i-turn-to.html
I completely agree. Got any recs?
The Fall of the House of Usher is one of my favorite short stories. I’m not normally a fan of the classics, but I just love the way Poe writes. I used him for both my book beginnings and book blog hop post.
https://getlostinlit.blogspot.com/2024/10/poe.html
Interesting! I feel like he’s a classic for a reason, but I’ve never been brave enough to try it! Maybe one day…..