Just cracked open Jane Eyre as my first official fall read of the year! Sooo excited to settle into fall vibes. (I live in Florida, where fall basically just means adding pumpkin flavor to summer, so I’ve found that really leaning into seasonal reads is a way to still feel the excitement of the changing seasons, and it is delightful.)
After I’ve finished catching up with Jane, I’m thinking A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik will be a good way to satisfy my campus novel itch at the same time as fulfilling the October spooky reading vibe.
I picked up The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy Shillace on a whim at the library. An American woman inherits a dilapidated English manor with a mysterious past, the gardener turns up murdered, and a portrait goes missing -- all in the first 60 pages! The house is definitely creepy
I highly highly recommend Knock Knock, Open Wide. Horror meets Celtic folklore meets a creepy children’s program. It was so good when I finished it, I immediately wanted to start it again. I love spooky season!
I read your comment and thought, "Yeah!!!! That sounds deliciously terrifying! Sign me up!" 😆 So I ran over to Goodreads to add it....apparently I added it some time ago. 🤣 Sounds like I need to move it up my list!
I really enjoyed this book when I read it last fall. Chuck W is so good at characterization and making his books super readable and/but drenched in just the right level of dread. I looked at my apples a little funny for a few days ;-) Enjoy!
My spooky stack is so tall. Well, The Historian is a sure bet since I reread it every October. And I'm planning to reread Dracula this year as well, been several years for that one. I just got So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison, and The Madness by Dawn Kurtaigh. I'm also planning to read The Third Wife of Faraday House by BR Meyers, the Woman in Black by Susan Hill, and The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. I've seen the house in New Orleans where she set the novel, and it's been on my TBR ever since!
Love the vampire theme you've got going! I re-read the beginning of The Historian this summer before we went to Ljubljana because the early part of the book is set there. SO GOOD! Fall really is the perfect time to read hat one. Hope you enjoy So Thirsty! I listened to The Woman in Black last Christmas because it's set on Xmas. Love a holiday ghost story!
For spooky season I'm reading ... politics! Sigh. Wish I could go back and read some great Stephen King for the first time. Otherwise, nothing too scary on the top of TBR.
Currently rereading Dracula through Dracula Daily. On my TBR, I have some cozy books like The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. I'm also participating in a books secret swap for Halloween so I'll have to see what my match picks for me; but I did have Black River Orchard on my wish list.
My in person book club (<3!) is reading Old House by Matt Query & Harrison Query. A young couple flees the corporate rat race and moves to rural Idaho. Unfortunately the old wives tale about the malevolent spirit that haunts the valley is true.
In between books I'm also reading the short stories about Doctor Satan by Paul Ernst, published in Weird Tales magazine in the 1930s.
And then lastly, I'm subscribed to Dracula Daily, and it's getting spoooooky.
I love fall in Alaska. The nights are getting dark and the snow is coming soon. I'm reading Dracula with some friends. It's my first time, so kind of excited about it. Then I'm jumping into Wuthering Heights. I haven't read it in years, but I've watched a bunch of literary discussions about it to get my lit geek vibe on. It feels like a good one to read by a warm fire.
Just cracked open Jane Eyre as my first official fall read of the year! Sooo excited to settle into fall vibes. (I live in Florida, where fall basically just means adding pumpkin flavor to summer, so I’ve found that really leaning into seasonal reads is a way to still feel the excitement of the changing seasons, and it is delightful.)
After I’ve finished catching up with Jane, I’m thinking A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik will be a good way to satisfy my campus novel itch at the same time as fulfilling the October spooky reading vibe.
Jane is such a good fall pick! —Mel
I'm reading The Blackbird Oracle by Deborah Harkness after binge watching all of Discovery of Witches on two very long airplane flights.
I’m definitely a scaredy-cat reader, and The Blackbird Oracle was just right for me. I have so enjoyed that series.
I just read that recently!
I picked up The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy Shillace on a whim at the library. An American woman inherits a dilapidated English manor with a mysterious past, the gardener turns up murdered, and a portrait goes missing -- all in the first 60 pages! The house is definitely creepy
Oh I loved that book so much!!! I wish I could go back and read it again for the first time. Enjoy!
That sounds like 100% my jam.
I am going to give that a try. Sounds perfect.
I highly highly recommend Knock Knock, Open Wide. Horror meets Celtic folklore meets a creepy children’s program. It was so good when I finished it, I immediately wanted to start it again. I love spooky season!
That sounds AMAZING!
I read the summary, got to "she takes the corpse to a remote farmhouse" and said, nope, no way!
I read your comment and thought, "Yeah!!!! That sounds deliciously terrifying! Sign me up!" 😆 So I ran over to Goodreads to add it....apparently I added it some time ago. 🤣 Sounds like I need to move it up my list!
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig. So perfect for the season!
I really enjoyed this book when I read it last fall. Chuck W is so good at characterization and making his books super readable and/but drenched in just the right level of dread. I looked at my apples a little funny for a few days ;-) Enjoy!
My spooky stack is so tall. Well, The Historian is a sure bet since I reread it every October. And I'm planning to reread Dracula this year as well, been several years for that one. I just got So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison, and The Madness by Dawn Kurtaigh. I'm also planning to read The Third Wife of Faraday House by BR Meyers, the Woman in Black by Susan Hill, and The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. I've seen the house in New Orleans where she set the novel, and it's been on my TBR ever since!
I read Dracula for a university course and it scared the pants off me!
Renville is the creepiest character in my opinion. Gives me chills.
Agree.
Love the vampire theme you've got going! I re-read the beginning of The Historian this summer before we went to Ljubljana because the early part of the book is set there. SO GOOD! Fall really is the perfect time to read hat one. Hope you enjoy So Thirsty! I listened to The Woman in Black last Christmas because it's set on Xmas. Love a holiday ghost story!
That house must have been amazing to see.
It was! The Garden District in New Orleans is an amazing place to visit if you like old, stately homes.
I have heard The Woman in Black is really good!
Same here, I hope so! And that I can sleep at night after reading it….
For spooky season I'm reading ... politics! Sigh. Wish I could go back and read some great Stephen King for the first time. Otherwise, nothing too scary on the top of TBR.
Political books are pretty scary ;-)
Currently rereading Dracula through Dracula Daily. On my TBR, I have some cozy books like The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. I'm also participating in a books secret swap for Halloween so I'll have to see what my match picks for me; but I did have Black River Orchard on my wish list.
Halloween book swap! How fun is that?!
First on my list is Cackle by Harrison for the book club at our local brewery. I will add some other spooky reads as the mood hits.
I want to read Cackle, too! Rachel Harrison is so great.
The Secret History! Somehow I've never read it. Perfect for spooky season so far!
I keep meaning to read The Secret History. It feels wrong that I haven't yet?
My in person book club (<3!) is reading Old House by Matt Query & Harrison Query. A young couple flees the corporate rat race and moves to rural Idaho. Unfortunately the old wives tale about the malevolent spirit that haunts the valley is true.
In between books I'm also reading the short stories about Doctor Satan by Paul Ernst, published in Weird Tales magazine in the 1930s.
And then lastly, I'm subscribed to Dracula Daily, and it's getting spoooooky.
I LOVED Dracula Daily! Did it last year. What a perfect spooky break that made every morning!
Old House sounds so fun!
I love fall in Alaska. The nights are getting dark and the snow is coming soon. I'm reading Dracula with some friends. It's my first time, so kind of excited about it. Then I'm jumping into Wuthering Heights. I haven't read it in years, but I've watched a bunch of literary discussions about it to get my lit geek vibe on. It feels like a good one to read by a warm fire.
Ooooh, love the claustrophobic atmosphere of Wuthering Heights. That's a good one for Spooky Season!
I am going to start a re-read of Carrie. Can you believe it is 50 years old! A classic! Don't think you can beat a Stephen King...the dude can write!
It's hard to fathom that Carrie was his first book. What a brain!
I don’t like being scared, but The Turn of the Screw is such a good, short, scary and uncomfortable read!
OMG. The Turn of the Screw is so scary. Have you heard the audiobook narrated by Emma Thompson? It's really, really good.
I think I'm going to re-listen to No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson. Tension builds as the rational falls away, and the ending is chilling.
Oh, good one! I like that story! I forgot about that... I might listen again, too!
I'm hoping to finish In Cold Blood.