It's (almost) the most wonderful time of the year: SPOOKTOBER. As you know, our Adult Reading Challenge for October 2023 is to read / listen to a spooky book. Ohhhhhhhh, friends, WE HAVE GOT YOU. Whether you like things as sweet as a caramel apple or more full of jump scares than nervous nellies in a haunted house, we have materials for every taste.
Let's start with sweet & cozy. If you like your sorcery with a side of love and found family, pick up Sangu Mandanna's The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Prefer out-and-out magical romance? Seek out The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling. If you think supernatural creatures are mostly misunderstood, sometimes VERY attractive, and great all-around pals, grab Soulless by Gail Carriger. If zombies AND romance are your jam, check out Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion (yes, it's better than the movie). Also, consider joining us for Romance Me Book Club at 6.30 pm on October 26. We're reading The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston. (Sign up online so I know how much candy to buy and NOT eat ahead of time).
If you're down for something that's a more unsettling with literary witchiness, try Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. If ghostly shenanigans are more to your taste, try The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (yes, please, I'd like a crumbling manor house). The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is also a tried-and-true ghost story but not as scary on the page as the TV series. The original Dracula by Bram Stoker might fit the bill for a vampire story that isn't quite as intense to modern tastes yet remains a classic. That goes for Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, too. Big into the Addams Family but wish they were just a little more lethal? Snag What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo. If you love a great indigenous revenge scare, reach for The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones.
However, if you're one of those hardy souls who prefers a book that SCARES THE DAYLIGHTS OUT OF YOU (you know, the one you need to keep in the freezer when you're not reading it), we've got those, too. But don't say I didn't warn you.
For very scary vamps that have taken over the world, may I suggest I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Yes, the book is better. You've already heard about Stephen King (It FTW, though The Shining has its moments). But: have you ever picked up Heart-shaped Box by Joe Hill, his son? You'll never want to order anything off Occult Ebay again. Bonus: Joe was also the author for the brilliant graphic novels in the Locke & Key series. If deep water + monsters sound like the WORST THING EVER (#bestthingever), grab From Below by Darcy Coates, who also has a great pick-your-scare backlist. If you want your ghost stories with a side of voodoo, The Good House by Tananarive Due will scratch that itch. Oh, and speaking of bodies, if you're after a SUPER scary possession story, you can go classic with The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty or modern with A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay.
If you're one of those people who thinks that fiction has NOTHING on what the real world can do, check out our nonfiction section for your terror of choice. We've got bloodsucking bugs, skin-rotting diseases, and human monsters galore, among other... things.
Whether you're looking for the gnarliest of horror or the slightest of spooks, we've got it at NPL. Don't see the title that you're dying (ahem) to have for October? We can usually get it for you through loans or purchase it. And be careful what you wish for this Spooktober, because you might just get it.