As I promised in my last blog, I’m sharing the books with you that I’ve enjoyed this year and making an effort to group them together in relevance to the time of year. So here goes.
Autumn has well and truly arrived and as the days grow shorter, the supermarkets prepare to sell us all sorts of Halloween rubbish. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy pumpkins and ghouls but I think it’s a lot of hype for a day where we encourage our children to accept sweets from strangers. What I like about it though, is the spooky stuff that oozes it’s way into our lives more so this time of year.
I want to start with one of my all time favorites which is The Exorcist. I read the book before I actually saw the movie. I think I was too young when it was released. So, when I finally saw the movie, it was one of those adapted for television with loads of warnings and stuff cut out. You know how sensitive editors are. Anyway, I watched it with friends and at the end I asked about different things which had been left out. I was surprised to find that a lot of what had been written had been left out. If you haven’t read this book and you’ve only watched the movie, you’re definitely missing out and be prepared to be scared because it doesn’t disappoint.
I only read The Haunting of Hill house this year even though it’s an old school classic. This is a great read and a credit to the author, Shirley Jackson. There was one part in particular that stayed with me and I guess always will. I found out at the time that there had been two movie adaptations so I watched the one that was made way back when they had to build suspense by acting.It wasn’t as good as the book but I still enjoyed it.
A friend of mine bought me the book Haunted, by James Herbert. This was the first in the trilogy featuring the character David Ash. I really liked the first book so I bought myself a copy of The Ghosts of Sleath, and it didn’t disappoint me. It was classically creepy in a way that Herbert is renowned for. I haven’t read the third of trilogy yet, but it’s definitely on my TBR list.
Something Wicked This Way Comes Is a book I’d been planning to read for a long time now. Ray Bradbury paints a poetic picture of a creepy carnival that isn’t quite the type you let your children attend if you knew the consequences. Bradbury’s writing is incredible. The book draws you in with it’s flowery composition and the punches you in the face. If you haven’t read anything by Bradbury start now. You won’t regret it.
So that’s it for now. They’re my four picks for the spooky season. I could add a whole lot more, but there are only so many hours in the day and it’s all most dinner time!
Happy Halloween.
Sandra Maggs 