Thursday, October 17, 2013

All Hallows Read



It's time again for All Hallows Read. Started by Neil Gaiman, All Hallows Read is to encourage people to give away scary books on Halloween.




In case you are looking for some inspiration of scary books to give away here are some suggestions:




1) Night Film by Marisha Pessl -  The beautiful young daughter of a famous underground horror film producer is found dead. It looks like a suicide, but her actions before her death indicate otherwise. For a journalist named Scott McGrath who's career was materially damaged by reporting on her father's activities in the past, the search for what really happened to Ashley Cordova becomes an all consuming investigation for him. You can read my review here.


2) The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury (suggested last year by Jeff Baker
Here's the description from Booklist: "A fast-moving, eerie...tale set on Halloween night. Eight costumed boys running to meet their friend Pipkin at the haunted house outside town encounter instead the huge and cadaverous Mr. Moundshroud. As Pipkin scrambles to join them, he is swept away by a dark Something, and Moundshroud leads the boys on the tail of a kite through time and space to search the past for their friend and the meaning of Halloween. After witnessing a funeral procession in ancient Egypt, cavemen discovering fire, Druid rites, the persecution of witches in the Dark Ages, and the gargoyles of Notre Dame, they catch up with the elusive Pipkin in the catacombs of Mexico, where each boy gives one year from the end of his life to save Pipkin's. Enhanced by appropriately haunting black-and-white drawings."--Booklist


3) Just One Evil Act, by Elizabeth George. A mother kidnaps her little girl away from her biological father who has little legal standing. Detective Sargent Barbara Havers and Inspector Thomas Lynley help track her down. 




Last year I suggested that people give away:

1) The Memoirs of Elizabeth Frankenstein, by Theodore Roszak - Much has been written about the weak women in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This book turns the original monster classic on it's head and tells a different story by from the point of view of the woman who married Dr. Frankenstein (the creator, not the monster). It's engrossing. It's also ironic that although this tale is told from the point of view of a woman, it was written by a man, and the original work by Mary Shelley is the other way around.

2) The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - The story starts in 1972 when a young girl finds an antique book and a pile of decaying letters that start her on a chase after the history of Vlad the Impaler. She learns that her family has been caught up in this quest and now it's up to her. This is a brilliant thriller that keeps your heart racing and your eyes reading.

3) The Awareness and Deadly Other Tales by Terrie Farley Moran - This collection of short stories yields one surprise after another. My favorite is the title story where justice is meted in a supernatural way. (The author also has a short story in the current issue of Alfred Hitchcock Magazine, called Jake Says Hello.)

4)  Game of Thrones by George RR Martin - Even after watching the HBO series first, I couldn't put this book down and I pretty much knew what was going to happen. This story brings some serious drama and besides, 'Winter is Coming'.



2 comments:

  1. What a great idea! I think I'll pick up some not quite so scary books for the younger set.

    ReplyDelete