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Bibliophiliac is the space where one passionate, voracious reader reflects on books and the reading life. You will find reviews, analysis, links, and reflections on poetry and prose both in and out of the mainstream.

A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. Franz Kafka

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books to Get Into the Halloween Spirit

From the folks at The Broke and The Bookish, my favorite bookish meme of all is Top Ten Tuesday--because who doesn't love a list? To play along, make your list and go to The Broke and the Bookish to add your link (you might want to take a peek at the list of upcoming lists).

Here is my list of Halloweenish books--some spine-tinglers for the end of October....
1. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Easily the most accessible book by Henry James, this is both a psychological thriller and a ghost story.
2. The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters. I love, love, loved this book, and I am still thinking about it months after reading it.
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker. The classic tale that is the original vampire story.
4. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin--this book gave me sleepless nights when I read it as a teenager.
5. Anything by Shirley Jackson, but you might as well start with The Lottery and Other Stories. Begin with "The Daemon Lover."
6. Everything's Eventual, another short story collection, this one by Stephen King. Especially chilling: "The Man in the Black Suit."
7. William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Shudder.
8. From the prolific Joyce Carol Oates, any number of disturbing stories; "Pumpkin-Head" from the collection Sourland, or "Where are Your Going, Where Have You Been?"
9. Dennis Lehane's short story collection Coronado. Get scared just a little at a time,,,
10. This one is open for my next creepy, scary read. I'm thinking of either The Secret History by Donna Tartt or The Likeness by Tana French. What do you recommend?

5 comments:

Bybee said...

The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson. Or anything by Thompson.

Amy said...

The Likeness, definitely. Or The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter. Uber-creepy retellings of fairy tales.

Lisa said...

I think of myself as something of a spook when it comes to scary books but I have read some of these and think I might be able to handle the short stories. I wasn't even aware that Joyce Carol Oates had written scary stories until I started looking at these lists.

Natalie~Coffee and a Book Chick said...

I love your selections! Of course, I love Dracula and Macbeth and couldn't agree more with you about Joyce Carol Oates' "Where Are yYou Going, Where Have You Been?" Freaky. You've definitely helped me add to my list since I love scary and creepy stories!

I just read The Secret History and loved it! The writing is beautiful and it is intensely creepy. I do have to read Tana French sooner rather than later since I am the last one to jump on the series!

bibliophiliac said...

@Bybee-I don't know that one, but I'm writing it down!
@Amy=I read The Bloddy Chamber a long time ago and remember liking it. I might look that book up again....
@Lisa-Joyce Carol Oates can be very creepy and very disturbing...
@Natalie-I've been hearing about The Secret History forever--I think it's time to finally read it! Read and really liked Tana French's first book, and have heard really good things about her latest....