Spooky Reads & Things
I don’t know about you guys but I am so enjoying this season. Most years I am ready to pull out the Christmas decor on November 1st but this year but I am trying to squeeze in every spooky book and activity and pairing until the very last moment. I am generally a seasonal mood reader and love planning seasonal activities. (I forced my husband to celebrate Christmast in July with me this year. I had a great time and he was a good sport as I made him listen to Christmas records and drink Christmas cocktails 🙂). This year I feel like my spooky season has been on steroids, there have been so many books and movies and activities I have wanted to enjoy.
I have always been a mood reader but over the last couple of years in particular, I have mostly been in one overall mood - I need happy and hopeful stories. I fully blame this on the pandemic, anyone else? I don’t think my brain can handle any more anxiety or stress. I have found myself more and more needing to escape my own swirling thoughts, and happy stories have helped me to turn off my brain for awhile. I realize it is a privilege to choose not to read about high stakes and trauma, and I do feel slightly guilty as I know many throughout the world do not have that privilege. However, I am going to give myself grace during this period of time in my life, and I am going to take comfort in the fact that by consuming happy and hopeful media, it helps me to center myself on hope and grace and gratitude. From that state of mind, I am better able to send out love and hope and kindness in my corner of the world.
But I digress! The point I am trying to make is that even during a traditionally scary season, I still need happy and hopeful stories. I am a scaredy cat and I really don’t enjoy Horror Movies or anything with especially graphic violence. Game of Thrones was a no go for me. The Argentinean movie Los Secretos en Sus Ojos (The Secret in Their Eyes) was an absolutely stupendous movie and I am glad that I watched it. But with the depiction of violence and murder and rape, when I finished the movie I cried for hours. I just can’t do it!
Because of the way things hit me deeply, Halloween can be a tricky. Last year I struggled to find happy books that would fit with the Halloween season (see that post from last year here). I finally found two that I loved (The Kindred Spirits Supper Club by Amy E. Reichert and The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling) which were lovely and wonderful! But I had to go through a lot of books that seemed like they would be great for me on paper, but were rather disappointing. Which is the worst.
This year however, I have found myself with too many books to enjoy over too short a time! I feel like there have been so many new releases this year that have fallen within my preference for hopeful and sweet and fit within the Halloween season, which tells me I must not be alone with my need for a happy escape! Here are a few of the books I have enjoyed for anyone who may find themselves in the same conundrum. In general, each of these books has a spooky element that fits into Halloween reading, but has an overall hopeful tone and happy ending.
The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling - I have already mentioned loving the first book in this series last year, The Ex Hex, and the second book in this series was just as delightful! I love this small southern town setting where witches and normal folk exist alongside each other (albeit unknowingly). The characters are sometimes prickly and infuriating but my goodness the love story is wonderful and sweet. High spice factor for this one, absolutely open door and something to be aware of if that is not your thing.
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston - Our MC is a Ghostwriter who can talk to ghosts, her family runs a funeral parlor in a lovely small southern town, and it also features her Mr. Darcy-esque Editor. There is a cat named Dolly Purrton, a Gold Retriever is the mayor of the small town, and it is just lovely. I think that is all I am going to say.
Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson - I read this one after reading The Dead Romantics and it took me a little bit to get into it as it didn’t feature the same almost whimsical tone. I’m glad I stuck with it though, the characters are lovely and realistic and I loved spending time with them. Our MC is a PHD student working on her thesis exploring facets of true crime. Her own obsession causes her to suspect the people around her of being serial killers, and its a funny and fun ride. Sweet love story too. I didn’t realize until reading this book that I needed a love story with regular people with regular problems and normal bodies instead of impossibly good looking people in impossible situations.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna - I really loved A Spark of White Fire by this author, it has been one of the only Sci Fi books I have read and loved in awhile. I was delightfully surprised to see she was releasing a magical spooky romance this year! This book has a wonderfully whimsical tone while still presenting a substantial storyline. I read some reviews saying this book was the magical romance readers wanted The House on the Cerulean Sea to be, and honestly its a great description!
Belladonna by Adalyn Grace - Full disclosure, I fully bought this book for the beautiful cover. The Barnes and Noble Exclusive is truly gorgeous. The end papers are lovely, the jacket and the actual cover, stunning. I bought it thinking it would look lovely on my shelves and I was thrilled to find it a delightful read as well! The writing is lovely, the story has gothic elements, and could be a good dark pairing for The Secret Garden. When I described it to my sister, I said it was everything I wanted The Invisible Life of Addie Larue to be.
Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu - A couple years ago I read (and surprisingly loved) Dracula by Bram Stoker. I listened to it on audio and loved this full cast version with Tim Curry and Alan Cummings. It is now one of my all time favorites and I had to buy a pretty version for my shelves. This year I wanted to read the story that inspired Bram Stoker and I loved it as well! It is far shorter, but still packs in the creepiness in a similar epistolary format. This full cast version was wonderful. The story features a female vampire and the sapphic elements are just begging to be discussed in book club. Please someone read this so we can discuss it!
Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen - Full disclosure, at the time of writing this post I have not yet read this book but I am hoping to squeeze it in before the end of the season. Sarah Addison Allen is a favorite author and I was so excited to see she had a new release coming out this year. Her books always take place in the south which feels like an appropriate setting for her magical realism stories. I can’t wait for this one, and again, that Barnes and Noble Exclusive cover is too gorgeous.
Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero - Pre-pandemic me read a book that fell under horror and surprisingly loved it. This book is Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, which I do highly recommend if horror is your thing. As already mentioned, horror is traditionally not my thing and I was shocked to love this one. Don’t get me wrong, it is terrifying, and I have not been able to go into an Ikea since, but it was so good! This year I wanted to see if I could dip my toe in the water again and I was really happy to have tried with Meddling Kids by Edgard Cantero. This was a recommendation from the books sellers at The Novel Neighbor in St. Louis, and I’m really glad I picked it up. Essentially, this is a retelling of the Scooby Doo gang, when there is an actual monster/ghostly happenings and not just a bad guy in a mask. The author is from Barcelona and I want to read more of his work - the writing was incredibly good, I kept taking pictures of sentences that stopped me in my tracks. It is action packed, did not see many of the twists coming, and overall it was a great ride. Please note, this book is higher on the scary scale, but it does have an overall hopeful tone as they try to nab the actual evil in the book, and it is a tale about coming of age and found family.
For pairings, I recommend this Apple Tart from the Barefoot Contessa that is a hit every time or these Popcorn Balls that always make me think of my Great Grandma Goossen every Halloween. I have been loving this Chocolate Mint Tea from Harney and Sons and this Old Fashioned Cocktail Mix has been my go to for watching creepy movies. Speaking of, have you watched Werewolf by Night on Disney+? I didn’t have high hopes but it ended up being a lovely tribute to old monster movies from the 1930s and I found myself grinning like a little kid through the whole thing. I probably annoyed my husband with the sheer number of times I said “This is fantastic!” throughout, but it was true! I really loved it.
And for your Halloween enjoyment, here is a playlist below with an assortment of songs that made me laugh for the season! Some are not edited, proceed with caution if listening with little ones around.
How are you celebrating this season? Are there any books or movies or snacks you have loved? However you are celebrating or not celebrating, be safe and enjoy!