Halloween Challenge 2015
Welcome to our Halloween 2015 challenge: Tales from the Crypt! Running October 5 -November 1.
At the beginning of each week we will post the weekly spooky theme on this page. It’s then up to you to find and claim a book for that category that will represent your Halloween costume. You will have one week to select, read, and review each book. At the end of each week, one random reader will be selected to win a $10 Amazon gift card and winner of best costume will be selected (bragging rights). At the end of the month, one randomly selected participant (from among everyone who has read at least one book) will be selected to win a “grand prize.” To be eligible for the grand prize, you do not have to read the book in one week. All that is required is to complete one weekly themed book at some point in the month of October.
But there’s a catch… Just like at real parties where it’s a bad thing to show up wearing a costume that someone else is wearing, reading the same book is a no-no. Once someone has claimed a specific book, no one else may read that book. So it’s up to you to check the comments section on this page to make sure you don’t read a book that has already been claimed.
Additional Rules:
- You can start reading once you have claimed your book and the moderators have confirmed that it isn’t a duplicate. Post a brief review of your book in the comments section of the challenge page and you will be eligible to win a prize.
- books can be horror, thriller, supernatural, mystery, classic literature, or Halloween themed but they must match the theme of the week. They can be YA, adult, nonfiction, graphic novels, poetry, or any other genre of your choice as long as they match the theme.
- There is no page minimum or page maximum.
- Books must be read and reviewed before the end of the week for the weekly prize draw. For grand prize you must read the book before the end of the month. Reviews can be posted on the Halloween challenge page.
- Fellow Bloggers: If you read a book for this competition, you can post your links to your reviews in the comments section and please link back to the challenge on your own reviews.
- You may sign up at any time during the challenge but you must complete the book for any given theme within the week of the theme to be entered into the raffle for the weekly draw.
Weekly Themes:
Week 1: Dead Things
Week 2 (to be announced October 12):
Week 3: (to be announced October 19):
Week 4: (to be announced October 26):
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Trackbacks & Pingbacks
- Tales From the Crypt Challenge | The Reader's Room
- The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson | The Reader's Room
- Tales From the Crypt Challenge: 2nd Theme | The Reader's Room
- Tales from the Crypt Challenge: 3rd Weekly Theme | The Reader's Room
- Tales from the Crypt Challenge: Final Weekly Theme | The Reader's Room
- Canterville Ghost | Michelle, Books and Movies Addict
- A couple of Henry James ghost stories | What I Think About When I Think About Reading
Book Worm
jenp27
Nicole Del Sesto
The Reader's Room 
Weekly theme 1: Nicole R claims: Angel by Joss Whedon
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Weekly Theme 1: Chilipinkcat claims Stephen King’s Bag of Bones
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Bag of Bones by Stephen King is the story of writer Mike Noonan, who loses his wife and suffers writers block. He goes to his lake house, Sara Laughs, to hopefully start writing again. You know creepy things are going to happen when a house has a name. Mike gets embroiled in a custody battle, while trying to figure out who is with him in the house. This is an okay book it held my interest but was not as good as some of King’s other books. 👍👍👍
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I may regret this (I’m such a wuss when it comes to scary reads), but I claim “The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson for weekly theme 1
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Ooooo….good luck with that one! Way too scary for me!
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I’m not sure it’s a wise choice for me. Overly scary books keep me up at night especially ghost-related books
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It’s one of my favorite scary books, and I’m a wuss, too. I think you’ll appreciate Jackson’s writing style.
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I do like her writing. I’ve read and liked “We have always lived in the castle.” Wasn’t this one made into a terrible movie with Lily Tomlin?
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Can I claim The Jolly Corner by Henry James?
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Yes!
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Splendid! I’ve been meaning to read it for ages!
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Disappointment unlimited. The Jolly Corner needed to be longer. I knew it was a short story, but I was expecting more than three short chapters. It also needed to be spookier. I wanted to read it because I read a review that said it was James’s next best ghost story after The Turn of the Screw. It is nowhere near as good as The Turn of the Screw. The story had some interesting ideas – the fetishisation of the past, the potential for alternative worlds to exist where the opposite of our actual decisions take alternative versions of ourselves down different paths, the possibility that what we think is happening is actually the reverse. Ultimately, though, the story didn’t work as either ghost story or psychological thriller for me. It was too cautious. The suspense didn’t build. I wasn’t immersed in Spencer Brydon’s world enough to believe anything more than self indulgent imagining was happening, or that Brydon’s experiences were anything other than a mental breakdown in the face of regret for the life he has lived.
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That’s too bad. Hopefully you’ll find you next one spookier. We will announce the next theme Monday along with our random prize winner!
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I’m going to do some research, get some spooky books lined up, and hope they fit the theme!
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I forgot about rating! 3 stars.
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Can I claim A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens?
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That’s an interesting choice! Sure you are the first to ask for it, so it’s yours to read
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Great! I’ve been looking forward to read it for some time now!
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Book: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Rating: 5 stars
I guess everyone knows what “A Christmas Carol” is all about, not at all spooky. I’m just going to say, that is that kind of book that can be read and re-read anytime, at any age, and will always teach you something, could be new or something we have forgot. With this time of year just around the corner and all the bad things happening all around the globe, it’s nice to have something to remember us the true spirit of Christmas.
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I would like to claim Carmilla by J. Sheridan le Fanu please.
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Yup, go for it
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Carmilla is a classic gothic vampire story that predates Stoker’s Dracula. The protagonist is Laura, a happy girl who lives with her widowed father. At age 6 she has a “dream” of a beautiful girl which ends in a piercing pain in near her breast. Fast forward around 12 years later, and she finds that face on a newcomer who will be staying with her and her father. Thus enters Carmilla who, though most of the time amiable, has some odd peculiarities. For instance she won’t provide any information about herself and falls into a rage while hearing the music of a funeral procession that is passing by. Eventually the truth about Carmilla is brought to light and she is destroyed.
Reading this story I found many elements that reminded me of Dracula and it would be easy to surmise that Stoker might have been influenced by this work. I enjoyed the story and it appears that le Fanu has written several others that seem to do with the occult. I look forward to reading more from him.
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That sounds great. I’ve just nabbed it from Project Gutenberg.
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Me too 🙂 Have to read it 🙂
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I would like to claim The Grey Woman by Elizabeth Gaskell.
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It’s all yours
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Ooh, I haven’t read that one. I’ll look out for your review.
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The Grey Woman was a Gothic novella, complete with dead bodies, fleeing heroines, drafty stone castles, and a husband who was not what he seemed (Ba Ba bummmmm!) At just 55 pages, it was a fast and entertaining read, and very well written. I was expecting a ghost story, but I’m not disappointed at all. I’m looking forward to more by Mrs. Gaskell.
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I had no idea she wrote a novella, I’ll have to check that out as well.
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Good grief, that doesn’t sound like Mrs Gaskell! I’m going to track that down.
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It was a free kindle book.
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I would like to claim Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffeneggar for my Week 1 challenge book.
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all yours!
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Her Fearful Symmetry by Audry Niffeneggar
3.5 stars
Elspeth, aunt to twin girls Julia and Valentina, passes away and leaves her estate to them with the stipulation that they live in the apartment she lived in for at least a year. This apartment is haunted by the ghost of Elspeth and through this the girls get to know their aunt. This is a story of family strife, secrets, and betrayals. You see a desperate Valentina who is willing to do anything to have her own identity and get away from her sister. When she reaches the ultimate level of desperation, the truth about her family comes out and it is not what you would expect.
I enjoyed this book but felt it dragged a lot and had a lot of unneeded set up. It was a little strange and hard to follow at times. Overall an enjoyable read.
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Can I read The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde
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yup, you’re the first to claim it so go for it!
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The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde 5★♥
“Immersion Reading” with Kindle edition with iTunes audio read by Walter Covell.
The Canterville Ghost is quite a short piece. I enjoyed it and even laughed a few times.
A tale told from an author narration, of a ghost that haunted a house for 300 years. Sir Simon de Centerville was that ghost and he thought himself as a successful one for having scared off a lot of people for hundreds of years.
“Right in front of him he saw, in the wan moonlight, an old man of terrible aspect. His eyes were as red burning coals; long grey hair fell over his shoulders in matted coils; his garments, which were of antique cut, were soiled and ragged, and from his wrists and ankles hung heavy manacles and rusty gyves.”
Well, Sir Simon was a success (with a huge ego to boot) until The Otis family bought the Canterville house. So leave it to an American family to scare off a British ghost. The funniest parts were thanks to the twins harassing the Sir Simon. Poor poor ghost. lol
Luckily for him the young Virginia Otis helped him “die” and enter the “Gates of Death.”
So a good funny quick tale that’s told in the 4th person narration. I read it with this free kindle edition along with a iTunes audio. I bought the audio years ago (before I had any kindle) with the intent of listening to it during Halloween. Well I finally got to it and liked it. Might listen to it again later.
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Can I claim Grave Peril by Jim Butcher — it’s #3 in the Dresden Files and about ghosts.
Fun idea for a challenge — but I’m in the middle of two long books so not sure how many weeks I can do. Just to make sure — we don’t necessarily have to finish the book in one week. Is that correct?
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yes, no one else has requested that one so you can read it. To qualify for the grand prize drawing, all you need to do is read the book before then end of the month. We are also doing weekly $10 giveaways and to qualify for those, you need to have read the weekly theme book before the end of that particular week (by Monday 6am of the following week). So depending on how quickly you finish, you could either get 1 or 2 prize entries.
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if you want to read for each of the weeks, and you’re reading a couple long books, I’d suggest picking a short story or novella or graphic novel for at least a few picks. There is no minimum page number
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Ironically, I’m reading The Woman in White, which I always thought was a ghost story, but now (about half-way through) seems more grounded in reality. 🙂
6 am in which time zone??
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EST basically before I start working on on the new Monday post that goes out at 8:30 EST. I will use random.org to select the winner then.
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OK — can I “give back” Grave Peril and use Saga, Volume 3. I started it last night because it’s due back to library and forgot that there is a character that is a ghost (Izabel — she’s the babysitter). I can finish that much quicker than the 400+ page book — especially because we have house guests this weekend so I will be playing tour guide around San Francisco.
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As FYI: if not competing for weekly prize you can still read that one. For grand prize you just need to read by end of month. In order to qualify for smaller weekly draw you need to complete before the draw but it could still count for larger prize draw
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But either option is fine
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Hope I’m not too late posting my review — I had houseguests for the last several days so no computer time (and not reading time 😦 ). I read Volume 3 of Saga which is the story of a mixed (alien) race couple who fall in love, get married and have a baby, all while being chased by bounty hunters and people from their own planets (or moons as the case may be). The couple, Alana and Marko, have made it to the planet Quietus where they find the author of a book that Alana loves —- they are travelling with a ghost Izabell who the babysitter for their baby Hazel. They are also travelling with Marko’s mom who is dealing with the recent death of Marko’s father. This is a fun series — I like the chemistry between Marko and Alana and I like the some of the side stories about the bounty hunters. In this version, many are affected by hallucinations (of the dead also) so some crazy behavior is thrown in.
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I forgot — I would rate this 3 stars.
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not too late for entry into the grand prize but we did the weekly raffle in the morning at 6am so you miss out on that. But posting the review will qualify for the grand prize for which we will be randomly selecting the winner at the end of the challenge
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Can I claim Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodrigez?
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yes, I believe you are the first
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The first volume of Locke & Key starts with a crazed teen killing Rendell Locke. The rest of the family barely survive the event and go live with Rendell’s brother Duncan in the Keyhouse, where a set of very special keys opens doors and drops you into weird situations. Geodesic start into the series.
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I forgot: 4 stars
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I was wondering where are all the people who were supposed to be reading. I guess I should have read the article carefully 🙂 I didn’t see anyone claiming my book or my son’s, but just in case we’re reading: Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong (for me) and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (for Max).
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The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
★★★★½
Week 1: Dead Things
(Read October 10, 2015)
This book really caught my interest with how it was written. I especially enjoyed how one of the characters turned out to be dead by the hand of another character. In the end it turns out that the murderer and the secondary character have the same goal. This book was very close to being rated 5 stars, so I recommend it to almost anyone from about 11 years old to 45 years old.
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Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
★★★★
Week 1: Dead Things
(Read October 12, 2015)
I really enjoy reading Kelley Armstrong books. I actually found her through another one of her YA series and enjoyed her since. When I saw this new series, I thought it would be perfect for the challenge, and I didn’t regret it. It definitely fits the theme (the shadow stalkers are quite dead, and they reminded me of zombies a bit), and the story has a lot of other things going on atop of being “halloween scary”. It’s a bit simplistic and I’d prefer for the story to develop slower. (The ending left me hanging there without most questions being answered. I’m not used to series stretching this way. The ones I usually read have some kind of an ending to it. It doesn’t have to be a happy one, but this one looked more like Part 1 of the series with the “To be continued…” at the end of it.) Overall, though, it was a nice read for this challenge.
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For Week 2, I’d like to claim Shadowland by Peter Straub. It’s got magic, and is supposed to be scary.
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Sounds good! Good luck
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Shadowland by Peter Straub
3.5 stars
Two boys, Tom and Del, meet at a private high school, and discover a shared love of magic. Del’s uncle Coleman happens to be a world class magician, whose tricks are beyond the common card and sawing women in half fare. He invites the boys to his home over a summer to teach Tom, and they figure out that Coleman is a twisted evil man. I was very impressed with Straub’s writing style- it was intelligent and descriptive. The story was filled with fairy tale references, which I love. I wasn’t scared, but I can see how any movie based on this book could be made terrifying with visual effects. All in all, a good read that I would recommend to a teenager who wants to dip their toes in the genre for the first time. Then I’d tell them to read Something Wicked This Way Comes by Bradbury as a companion read.
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For week #2, I want to claim A Discovery of Witches, by Deborah Harkness.
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Sure. Good luck it’s a little long so start reading now!
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It is long — but I really like this series! I did the audio and it was good.
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For Week 2, I pick The Lords of Salem by Rob Zombie with B. K. Evenson
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Awesome! Go for it
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I might read the The Lords of Salem by Rob Zombie book, but realistically I might have to read Macbeth by Shakespeare.
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For week 2 I would like to read Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker
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Yup
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Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker is the “autobiography ” of Jakabok Botch, a demon from the ninth circle of Demonstion. Mister B as he is called,I’d pulled up from the ninth circle by Cawly, to be sold to a freak show. Mister B escapes and begins his adventures on Earth with Quitoon. This is not a gore fest like a lot of Barker’s books. It is well written and very entertaining.
👍👍👍👍
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For Week 2, I’d like to claim Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
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Ok
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Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong
★★★★½
Week 1: Monsters & Magic
(Read October 15, 2015)
***SPOILERS***
This book had me hooked for the most part, with all of the thought up monsters coming alive, the sisters getting separated, and an exiled boy becoming a helpful person. There were a few monotonous parts in the book, but mostly it changed enough to keep from getting bored. I particularly enjoyed the last part, when it turned out that Gavril’s father was still alive, and wanted to overthrow the emperor. I recommend this book to all teens.
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For Week 2, I’d like to claim Viy by Nikolai Gogol.
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Sure
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Viy by Nikolai Gogol
★★★★
Week 1: Monsters & Magic
(Read October 18, 2015)
Actually, I wanted to read another book by Gogol for this week’s theme, but it was too long and I knew I had to make sacrifices. So I chose to read this one instead. I knew for fact there will be at least one monster there: Viy, the King of the Gnomes.
I grew up watching the movie based on this story. It was terrifying then. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t close my eyes, I was petrified and usually ended up asking my mom to stay with me. Why did I never read the story? I have no idea.
I loved the story and it was all that I expected. I didn’t remember all the details from the movie, but was pleasantly surprised that the movie I remember is a true adaptation of the story.
The only fault I see in it is it being too short. I would have loved to read more about the witch, Khoma and Viy.
“Do not look into the monster’s eyes, because if you do, he will see you, and then YOU ARE DOOMED!!!”
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I would like to claim The Whisperer in Darkness by H. P. Lovecraft please.
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Sure
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I’m envious. Lovecraft is very good at scary 🙂
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For Week 2 I would like to claim The Book of Kindly Deaths by Eldritch Black
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Sounds good! All yours
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The Book of Kindly Deaths by Eldritch Black
5 stars
Eliza and her parents go to see her grandad who has gone missing. Eliza is instructed to no read anything in the house but is curiously drawn to one book, The Book of Kindly Deaths. This book reads like fairytales with monster and magic in a dark fantasy world but with one exception. At the end of each story there is an addendum that talks as if these stories actually happens. It is not until the monsters from the book come alive in the real world and Eliza is drawn into the fantasy world that you see just how dark it is on the otherside.
This book was unique. The stories told in the Book of Kindly Shadows were interesting, deranged, scary, and different than most fairytales I have read. The first half of the book shows Eliza reading the book and the second half shows Eliza in the parallel monster world on an adventure. It was a fast paced and enjoyable read and I look forward to reading more by this author.
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Oh, this reminds me a bit of Jumanji, or The NeverEnding Story 🙂 Gotta loan it for my son for sure 🙂
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For week 2, I’m hoping to get to Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. On shelfari, it is tagged “magic” and also “monsters in motorhomes”!!!! (LOL! That one is actually fairly large and bold, too!).
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When does our week 2 book need to be done by?
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By next Monday 6am eastern time for weekly draw and by end of month for grand prize drawing
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Thank you. And oh, crap! Is it that long? I have it as an ebook, so I can’t really tell. I have one other to finish first…
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It’s not terrible but typical King not exactly a shirt read. You can definitely finish by end of month and possible this week if you prioritize
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Thanks, Jen. I briefly considered prioritizing it, but I don’t even feel like reading now (with the loss of my kitty this morning), so I don’t even know what I’m going to do… We’ll see.
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😦 I saw your post on facebook. So sorry to hear the news
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Thanks, Jen. 😥
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Hmm ambitious! Good luck with it. Even if you don’t finish by end of week, if you finish by end of month you will be entered into the grand prize drawing
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I can’t figure out how these replies work! The reply above was meant to go here… 🙂
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Obviously, I didn’t finish. In fact, I only started it today. I will finish and post my review once I’m done. Good luck to everyone else playing. This will likely be the one book I read for the challenge… I don’t think I’ll be able to fit any more in.
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Well, I obviously didn’t finish this in week 2, but I did finish Doctor Sleep yesterday:
Doctor Sleep / Stephen King
4 stars
Danny Torrence (the little boy in The Shining) is all grown up now. He still has a bit of that “shining” in him he had when he was a child, but it’s not quite as strong. When Abra gets in touch with him via his mind/the shining when she’s just a baby, little does he realize how dangerous this will be for them once she’s a teenager.
Another really good book from King. The point of view changed between Dan, Abra and the “bad guys”. I didn’t find the “bad guys” POV as interesting, but I did enjoy reading about Dan and learning about Abra and how strong her shining was and what she was able to do with it. I also liked that SK mentioned a character from one of his son, Joe Hill’s, books. Not sure it’s in the plans, but now I’m interested in Abra when she’s all grown up!
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Great, counts for the final draw! Good luck
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For week 2 I would like to claim Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I feel the need for a classic monster tale.
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For week 2 I would like to go classic monster and read Mary Shelley ‘ s Frankenstein.
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Ooh, I was wondering if anyone would claim that. You are the first so it’s yours. Good luck!
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Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
3 Stars
Victor Frankenstein has lived a charmed life. When he leaves behind Geneva for the colleges of Ingolstodt and his study of the natural sciences he is excited and gifted. Before three years are out he has surpassed all his teachers have to teach him and endeavors to discover the secret of life. To this end he creates for himself a man, cobbled together from the bits and pieces of cadavers. Yet his great success will also prove to be his demise.
An epistolary novel, we learn this story as Frankenstein tells it to Robert Walton, a ship’s captain on a voyage of discovery as Walton records it in letters to be sent back to England for his sister. I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Normally Gothic novels and horror don’t work for me, but in this case, I found it quite enjoyable. I do think that it suffers a bit from the fact that everyone already knows this story. If I had been reading it for the first time shortly after publication I think I would have enjoyed it more. I am not disappointed that I finally read this book and will definitely explore more by Mary Shelley.
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For week 2, I’d like to read Something Wicked This Way Comes by Easy Bradbury. I doubt I’ll finish it this week – I’m halfway through something else – but I’ll give it a go!
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Oh! Predictive text gave Ray Bradbury a new name. Nice!
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LOL, I was wondering if it was Ray, or some brother of his I never heard about 🙂
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I think it’s his cousin from New Orleans 😉
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It’s yours
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This is only the second book I’ve read by Ray Bradbury, and I loved it. I’m a fan of horror, fantasy, spooky Gothic, whatever you want to call books that deal with the supernatural and human fears of death. I’m more than willing to suspend my otherwise rational disbelief and be pulled into another realm if the writing is good enough, if the plot has just enough realism to make the magic feel true. Something Wicked This Way Comes worked for me. The characters were compelling, the bizarre evil of the carnival believable. There is nothing gory or gruesome or violent in the tale, but that made the underlying threat all the more unsettling. The tension starts to mount from the very first page, when a man described as clothed in the colours of storms makes a gift of a lightning conductor out of concern for the well being of one of the main protagonists. Bradbury’s prose is sheer poetry, his descriptions as elaborate as the supernatural world he is describing. For all its magic and mystery, I’d describe this as a metaphysical novel. It understands what makes the world go round, and what keeps some people awake at night. In a sentence, it’s The Wizard of Oz meets To Kill A Mockingbird via Wise Blood.
I want to read the other books in the Green Town series now, as well as some of Bradbury’s short stories.
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I read this last year, and loved it, too. It will stick with you for a long time! I’ve read a few of his books and a few short stories, and intend to get to more of him.
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Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favourite books ever, and it was interesting to read him in another style. I’ve bought Dandelion Wine and The Halloween Tree short story selection. That wasn’t supposed to happen!
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My son started reading Bradbury’s short stories for the previous “Summer” challenge and absolutely loved them… He would even postpone reading other YA books I signed out from the library in favour of him. Which is telling. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’ll try to see if he’d like to read this one too in the near future. 🙂
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That is a recommendation, isn’t it? He might like it. Two of the central characters are 14 years old, on the cusp of manhood, still enjoying childhood but starting to yearn for adult things. There’s a funny moment when the father of one of the boys starts to talk about love. The boys’ reactions are perfect!
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I give it 5 stars, by the way!
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Martian Chronicles was really good, too. Bradbury predicted memory foam in the first chapter, and one of the astronauts in a later chapter is from my hometown. That doesn’t happen often!
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Of course it is 🙂 Thanks for a short summary. I’ll definitely keep this book in mind for him. Just need to let him rest a bit 🙂
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For week 2, I’ll do Much Ado About Magic by Shanna Swendson. It has characters that are witches, but I’m not sure if it has monsters. Does it need to have both?
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Nope it can be either. That works
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Completed 10/14: 3.5 stars (on audio)
Much Ado About Magic is book 5 in the Enchanted Inc series. I had read the first four quite a while ago, but I think Swendson’s publisher dropped her (at least for a while). This is the continuing story of Katie (who is immune to magic) and Owen, her brainy wizard boyfriend. They are back in NY city where there seems to be an epidemic of crime and sickness only affecting magical beings. Someone is trying to use Owen’s background (as an orphan) to blame it on him. This is a light fun series with some nice side characters and a quick pace. I did listen to the audio this time and was a bit disappointed. The narrator didn’t sound anything like what I expected Katie to sound like — especially since she is supposed to be a small town TX girl and there wasn’t a shred of drawl anywhere to be found.
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I failed miserable at the first week but am going to try again!
The Sparrow Sisters by Ellen Herrick: http://www.amazon.com/Sparrow-Sisters-Novel-Ellen-Herrick/dp/0062386344/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1444741697&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sparrow+sisters
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Remember as long as you review one by end of month you still qualify for grand prize draw.
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And that book is all yours
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Thanks! I may actually fit this one it, it has got great reviews thus far. It doesn’t seem super “witchy” but definite magical realism.
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For week two I’d like to claim Locke & Key, Vol. 2: Head Games by Joe Hill, Gabriel Rodrigez
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Sure
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If you could sort through the content of your head and add something or take out something – what would it be? And when would you stop being you if you tampered with yourself? Another kind of scary, but also enough monsters as well.
4.5 stars
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For week 3 I would like to read The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule. Its about Ted Bundy a real evil human.
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go for it.
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The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
I found this book extremely disturbing. I knew the basic facts about Ted Bundy, but reading the details made my skin crawl. The author met Bundy while volunteering at a mental health crisis clinic in Seattle when he was 24. They became friends and maintained a friendship for years. In the book she struggles to reconcile the Ted she knew with the criminal Ted. While attending his trial in Florida she finally comes to realize he is guilty and always has been.
3.5👍
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Does the book have to be started this week? I’ve been reading The Woman in White and if I push I could finish it this week. It definitely fits the theme. Otherwise, I need to find a short story
or graphic novel.
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How many pages do you have left?
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I have about 250 pages left. I’m trying to finish before the end of the month because it’s a group read so it would be great to double up.
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I’ll definitely allow that then Since it’s longer than lots of the books others are reading.
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OK — cool — I doubt anyone will take it so officially, I’m going with The Woman in White! A bit nervous to see what next week will bring. I got a couple of graphic novels from the library that fit a Halloween theme so hopefully I’m prepared :-D.
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The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins 4 stars
This book is considered one of the first mystery stories and is told in various first person accounts in an effort to prove a case. Collins was a friend of Dickens and there is a lot of similarity in their writing style. Overall I enjoyed it, but it is long and there are some slow parts. I am upping the star value by 1 due to significance in “birthing” a genre 😉
I actually had always thought this was a ghost story due to the title and the cover art —- however it is not at all (although there are some gothic elements). Evil folks abound in this tale of greed — a mother who doesn’t care about her daughter, a husband who only marries for money and a Count who engineers a scheme and uses everyone (wife, friends and enemies) around him for his own personal gains.
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For Week 3 I’d like to read The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson.
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okay. go for it
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The Body Snatcher, by Robert Louis Stevenson
I whipped through this, as it is only 19 pages long. I found it on the East of the Web site, trying to find something manageable for this challenge (I’m only 50 pages into a history of Paris, so couldn’t commit to a novel this week). It’s Robert Louis Stevenson, so of course it’s well written. It made me think of a film I saw last week, 99 Homes, in that one man’s hardness and self interest infects another more principled man into accepting the immoral actions they undertake. MacFarlane in this short story equates the ability to silence moral qualms in order to get ahead to acting like a lion rather than a lamb. Carver in the film states that the weak are never bailed out by the system, and for him the weak are those who show compassion. The evil done in The Body Snatcher is threefold: murder, desecrating graves in order to steal bodies, and corrupting the morals of others. It’s more a commentary on the lows people will stoop to in order to advance their own ambitions than a horror story, although Stevenson does try to swing it towards the supernatural with his twist at the end. Perhaps at the time it was written, not long after Burke and Hare were in the news, it was shocking, but I found it a little tame.
3 stars
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Wow that was quick.
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For Week 3, I’m going to try American Psycho. For the record, vampires, Cthulu, Voldemort? Nowhere near as scary as humans!
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argh, snatched out from under my feet. But I’m not playing for prizes so I guess that’s okay. It’s yours and you’ll be able to tell me if I should read it. It makes me squeamish. I agree with you that humans are scarier.
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Oh lord, rather you than me! Although it will be interesting to know whether it is as sadistic and repugnant as I’ve told myself it is.
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American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
3 stars
First of all, yuck. The graphic sex and violence was horrifying. IF it even existed. And if Patrick Bateman, our misogynistic, drug addled, materialistic, racist, psychopathic yuppie narrator even existed. The writing, the social commentary, and the incredibly unreliable narrator of this book are what got it three stars. Honestly, I had to skip over some of the intense stuff, because it was making me feel nauseous. I think this dude qualifies for the evil villain award of all time.
An interesting side note: Not surprisingly, Gloria Steinem protested this book for its treatment of women. Her stepson is Christian Bale. He played Patrick Bateman in the movie.
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Yep, I’ll carry on avoiding this one, then.
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For Week 3 I’d like to claim Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Can someone confirm that there is an evil human there, or if this case cannot be considered as ‘human’ 🙂 Thanks.
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Yes that fits perfectly
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Super, just a little adjustment. Put this for Maxibob and I’ll read Othello by William Shakespeare. I hear they have quite a few evil humans there as well 🙂 I’m just not sure if Max will enjoy it yet 🙂
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Sounds good. Those are both good options
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Turner Classic channel will be airing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1941 film) this Friday. Stars Spencer Tracy and Ingrid Bergman. I haven’t seen it but my mom has. Said that Spencer turns into a werewolf.
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The movie airs tonight at 8pm
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article.html?isPreview=&id=1124181|18616&name=Dr-Jekyll-and-Mr-Hyde
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
★★★★
(Read October 24, 2015)
***SPOILERS***
I love how the book ends with all of Dr. Jekyll’s secrets revealed. I thing that the author was very smart in making a book in which there is a man who literally gets completely changed by a drug, and then by taking a second dose of it he becomes himself again. It was also very cool that after a certain point in time, the second dose didn’t work any more.
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Thanks, Michelle. We’ll see if we can find it when we have a TV 🙂 We’re still in an unpacked mode 🙂
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Othello by William Shakespeare
★★★★½
Week 3: Evil Humans
(Read October 26, 2015)
***SPOILERS***
WOW! Isn’t Shakespeare hard to read?! I must confess, I was cheating. I had to read the No Fear Shakespeare Modern Version as well. I mean, I was getting the gist of it, but the ‘modern translation’ helped understanding the details.
As for the story, I was surprised how much it reminded me of my reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. All I knew about Othello was that he was jealous and that he strangled his wife. Little did I know that Iago was the real evil human, and that he planned and executed the whole thing.
A must read, of course!
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Week 3:
This works out well for me as I literally just started a book that might qualify and only 30 pages in! Could I have Salem Falls by JOdi Picoult approved? It looks like there is going to be some witchcraft in it!
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Sure
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This was my first time reading Jodi Picoult. I really really enjoyed it. I was a bit baffled by the surprise ending – because it really doesn’t add up at first. But it was not a let down. The book kept me guessing and left me wanting more. So, a very satisfied reader here 🙂
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I would like to claim Midnight Sun: A Gripping Serial Killer Thriller by Charlotte Raine
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yes, it’s all yours! The description sounds too creepy for me.
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Midnight Sun by Charlotte Raine
3.5 stars
In the little town of Wyatt Alaska there isn’t a lot of crime. When the daughter of a judge gets kidnapped the police and FBI have to collaborate to find her before it is too late. While investigating this crime they uncover a much darker secret in this town, a serial killer. This was definitely creepy and definitely fits the criteria of “evil human”
This book was good. It was a quick and easy read. It is told from the perspective of a bunch of the characters and has some parts in present time and some parts flashing back 2 years. At first I thought this would be horrible but is actually works. It fills in the backstory in a clever way. The only part that I was disappointed with was the romance. I don’t mind a little romance and passion mixed in but it was poorly developed and felt like an afterthought.
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I failed miserably week 2. Let’s see if this week is better. I would like to claim Monkeewrench by P. J. Tracy please.
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Sure. Good luck this week!
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My fear is clowns, they are creepy and evil. I would like to read It by Stephen King.
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WOW! That’s a long one. It took my hubby a long while to finish it 🙂 Hope you’ll have enough time 🙂
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My personal phobia is snakes. Can I read a book with a snake on the cover — I can’t tell from the description if it really has snakes in it. Example is Eva Luna by Isabelle Allende or Boy, Snow, Bird.
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Sure
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OK — I decided to stay within keeping of the challenge and pick a story with a snake in it. (Since I would be reading on my kindle and not see the snake ;-0 ). My first choice is The Jungle Book, but I am waiting for it from the library —- if I don’t get it in time, I will read the Sherlock Holmes story “The Speckled Band” which was listed in reptile listopia on GoodReads.
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Sounds good
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I ended up reading the short story of “The Speckled Band”. This is part of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. I read a lot of Sherlock Holmes as a kid. I thought they were slightly difficult, but I think I was just a bit too young. In fact, I think that I had read this particular story which added to my fear of snakes. I used to drive my mom crazy because I was convinced that there could be a snake hiding in the outhouse at my grandparents cabin.
As an adult I’m enjoying reading Sherlock Holmes . Dr Watson is extremely funny and the stories stand up quite well. 4 stars.
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I have a fear of heights. My legs turn to jelly. I can’t even watch my husband play a video game if it involves teetering around on a precipice. I went up Mount Snowdon once, the top is a broad plateau, you have to try really hard to be perched on an edge. I was in the centre of the flattest part and still thought I was going to fall off.
I’d like to read Vertigo by Boileau-Narcejac. This will also mean I can have a break from the solid history of Paris I’m reading and still be reading a book about Paris! (We’re going there for my Hallowe’en birthday.)
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Sounds good
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I didn’t get anywhere near this last week – too much on, and then we went to Paris, so I was too busy eating bread, cheese, macarons, éclairs and brioche, and looking at impressionist masterpieces! I will read it next, though. I’ve just got to get that biography of Paris out of the way…
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I read it, and I loved it. I give it 5 stars. The passage where the protagonist, who shares my fear of heights, has to scale a height thankfully wasn’t too descriptive. I didn’t feel like I was falling! I loved the book because it is so much better than Hitchcock’s film. The film is pretty good, but the book makes more sense. I loved the setting of Paris in the second world war, and I loved the very different ending, which felt more realistic than the ending in the film. The characters are well drawn. I was mesmerised by the sweaty obsession lurking beneath the surface of Gallic cool. It’s two days since I finished it, and I’m still thinking about it.
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My biggest fear is the dark. I panic. I can not go outside alone at night without my headlamp and I jump out of my skin at every little noise. For my week 4 book, I would like to claim In the Dark by Chris Patchell
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Yes, all yours
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In the Dark by Chris Patchell
4 stars
College student Brooke goes missing. Her facebook message says she took off but her mom does not believe it. Brooke is an insulin dependent diabetic and without her insulin she will not last long. Marissa (mom) convinces the police to investigate and as they investigate they find a dark and sinister monster that terrorizes not only Brooke but their whole family.
This book did remind me of all the reasons I hate the dark. It also touched upon my fear of losing my kids or having something horrible happen to them. This book was intense. Definitely an author I will read again.
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My childhood home was across the road from woods, and had a spooky shadowy lane between the orchard and the livestock pens. In my eight year old mind, these were the perfect places for a headless horseman to ride out and throw a flaming pumpkin at me. So I’d like to read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
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Ok!
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
5 stars
This is, in my mind, the perfect scary story. Irving’s writing is incomparable when it comes to describing the setting, and the atmosphere. No wonder I was terrified of the Headless Horseman as a child. When he comes riding up next to Ichabod, just as nonchalant as can be, it gives me chills. Still, as an adult. (Yeah, so not going outside and walking down any lanes soon). And the doubt as to what really happened on that fateful ride also demonstrates the potential for cruelty in humans. What a great book that still has the power to scare me all these years later!
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My son tells me he has a fear of one of us going to war. He’s not too particular about it. I guess the biggest scare is that someone he knows and loves will have to go to war and die there. So he chose to read Girl at War by Sara Novic. It’s definitely about war, but I’m unsure if it fits his ‘phobia’.
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Sure. I think that works
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Girl at War by Sara Novic
★★★★½
(Read October 28, 2015)
Certain parts of this book made me cry. I loved how the author goes from Ana in the War to Ana in America. It allows us to understand what will happen to Ana later in her life, and it makes the book more interesting. This is a must read for anyone 13 years and older.
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Given this week is Personal Phobias, I was having a hard time looking for a book. First of, it was hard to decide what would be my phobia. It’s not that I am fearless, not at all, but it was hard for me to think of something I would be terrified of and would be scared to death to overcome. I was first thinking about my ‘unease of space’. I do feel worried when I look at the sky at night, I’m scared that someone might be looking back at (and seeing) me. But then I though of something more terrible, that none of us would like to ever experience, and ever since I had kids, I cannot stand the thought of it. I’m terrified to ever experience the death of my child. (Or anyone else’s for that matter. Or any person. But my children, I cannot stand it when I think about it.)
For week 4 I’m going to attempt to read and finish Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. I hear there is a lot of dying going on, I am unsure if there is any mention of a parent suffering. (I am quite open to any other fiction book about it. Sorry, I don’t feel strong enough to read a real-life story about the subject.)
If I am unable to finish it, I want to also claim a substitute read, if possible: The Snow Maiden – a Russian Fairy Tale. (It’s a definite cheat and it is a very short folk tale.)
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I think Life after Life is a good choice for you. I thought it was a pretty fast read given the length (although there were a few slow sections).
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Thanks, JoLene. I find it interesting enough, but I keep loosing myself in an audio 🙂 and going back to re-listen 🙂 I’m interested if I’ll like it 🙂
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I think it would be a hard book to do as an audio.
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Jen, because of the dates? I know they confuse me a bit, but they don’t change nearly as much as in The Night Circus, and I was doing well with that one. Or is there something else to watch for?
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Combination of the dates and the nature of the repeating storylines. I couldn’t do it on audio and had to switch
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I had to go back and forth a few times, especially when there was the sickness brought from London. But otherwise I’m just partially confused with who’s who… at some moments during her life. But I do love the story, and how it’s told.
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The Snow Maiden a Russian Fairy Tale
★★★★★
Week 3: Personal Phobias
(Read October 26, 2015)
***SPOILERS***
A very short tale about a couple driven by their desire to have a child no matter what. They make themselves a child from the snow – The Snow Maiden – and are extremely happy and loving parents. Unfortunately the winter goes away, and the summer comes, and the girl doesn’t survive it.
I’ve known this tale for a long, long time, but I was always confused why it ends with the girl ‘disappearing’ in the air. I was curious of how her parents felt when their daughter never returned home, never was seen again. Did they try to make her sibling the next year? Did he or she survive?
P.S. I did want to claim the Life After Life for this week, and I see that it could have been a good fit for my fear. (It actually lists quite a few others along the way.) Unfortunately, I was extremely busy this past week, and was unable to come close to an end. I am planning to finish it though.
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I would like to read Pet Sematary by Stephen King. It’s not so much a fear of dead things coming back to life, although that is very unsettling, but a fear of reading the book. The movie freaked me out and gave me nightmares. I have always been “too chicken ” to read the book. So I would like to face my fear and read it.
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