Music Monday (3) Halloween Edition

Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me, that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

First of all, happy Halloween everyone! October flew by so fast, and it seems like just yesterday that I started Inktober. By the time this post goes up, I'll probably be working on my last Inktober drawing. I have to say that I had more fun with it than I expected, and I look forward to participating next year. And since tomorrow is the start of November (and while I'm not joining myself), I want to say good luck to anyone participating in NaNoWriMo. I'm rooting for you!

With that out of the way, I'm going to jump back to the topic of this post. Today, I'm doing a Halloween edition of Music Monday. When I sat down to write this post, I sort of realized that I have and know about a lot of Christmas music, but my Halloween collection was severely lacking. Anyway, here is my list...

1. Emperor's New Clothes by Panic! At the Disco--I think we all remember last year when Panic! At the Disco released that spooky good music video for the Emperor's New Clothes. So, of course, that was going to make it on my list. Listen to Emperor's New Clothes HERE
2. I Put a Spell on You by Jay Hawkins--I remember this song from Hocus Pocus. Plus Bette Midler's performance in the movie was phenomenal. Nina Simone also did a version of I Put a Spell on You, which is just fantastic. Thus, this song as one of my favorites.
3. Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Jr.--I like the original Ghostbusters movies, and I also like the theme song by Ray Parker Jr. Listen to Ghostbusters HERE
4. Wicked Moon by Angel Haze--Wicked Moon is a song that definitely fits with October. Its kind of spooky, and the beat is pretty awesome. Listen to Wicked Moon HERE
5. This is Halloween from The Nightmare Before Christmas--When a song has Halloween in its lyrics, you know that it has to make this list. I also like the version of the song performed by Panic! At the Disco.

What are you listening to this Halloween?

Creatures of the Night Book Tag

Today, I'm going to do the Creatures of the Night Book Tag. I couldn't really find another one that specifically related to Halloween, other than the Fall Time Cozy Time Book Tag. This tag seemed fun and festive. This tag was created by Kat O'Keefe from Katytastic. You can check out the original video HERE. And don't forget to check out her channel HERE. Lets get started...

Vampire:

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

I might not have liked the second book, The Eternity Cure, as much as I liked The Immortal Rules, but the opening to this series was fantastic. I liked Kagawa's take on vampires just as much as her version of the fey.

Werewolf: 

Need by Carrie Jones

I really liked Need. Yeah, some parts were a little cheesy, and at times the main character had questionable decision making skills, but I still liked the book. Need has a very interesting mixture of supernatural elements, from fairies to people who could change their shapes. And since, it does have a werewolf, Need totally fits the bill for this one.

Ghost: 

Hourglass by Myra McEntire

While Hourglass had mostly science fiction themes that took up the bulk of the story, there were still ghost like entities that played a role in the book. And since they were ghostly, Hourglass seems like an appropriate answer for this one.

Witch/Warlock/Spellcaster: 

Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett

Wintersmith was one of those books that actually made me laugh out loud. There were some instances that were so ridiculous and spontaneous that I couldn't help but laugh. However, its not for the humor that Wintersmith is my answer for this one, but rather the main character, Tiffany Aching, who is a witch.

Fairy/Fae: 

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black 

I could have picked a number of books/series for this one (like Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, Need by Carrie Jones, The Torn Wing by Kiki Hamilton, Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely, even The Spiderwick Chronicles or Artemis Fowl). Oh, the choices (I've read a lot of fantastic books that have the fey in prominent roles). However, I went with The Darkest Part of the Forest. Holly Black is one of my favorite authors, and I really enjoy her take on the fey. I wasn't sure if I would like The Darkest Part of the Forest, but I ended up really enjoying the book.

Demon: 

Cambion Chronicles by Jaime Reed

While the main themes of this series doesn't necessarily involve demons, there are some present in the story. I won't say too much on that, because it would be one massive spoiler for book 2 and 3.

Angel:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

My answer for this one is Daughter of Smoke and Bone because, honestly, I haven't read that many books that feature some kind of angel. Regardless, Daughter of Smoke and Bone is one of my favorite books.

Alien:

Gravity by Melissa West

It has been so long since I read Gravity, but I remember really enjoyed the book. I read the second book of the series, but have yet to get around to the last book (I need to, eventually). But, to say the least, Gravity has aliens, and I liked West's take on the subject.

Superpowered human:

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin

Wolf by Wolf was one of my favorite 2015 reads, and what qualifies it for this part of the tag is the main character, Yael, and her ability to change her features.

And that's it! As usual, I'm not going to tag anyone specifically, but if this seems like something you want to participate in, then go for it, I tag you. Happy reading! 

The Friday 56 (82) Nightmares! by Jason Segel & Kristen Miller, illustrated by Karl Kwasny

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Sleeping has never been so scary. And now waking up is even worse!

Charlie Laird has several problems.
1. His dad married a woman he is sure moonlights as a witch.
2. He had to move into her purple mansion, which is NOT a place you want to find yourself after dark.
3. He can’t remember the last time sleeping wasn’t a nightmarish prospect. Like even a nap.

What Charlie doesn’t know is that his problems are about to get a whole lot more real. Nightmares can ruin a good night’s sleep, but when they start slipping out of your dreams and into the waking world—that’s a line that should never be crossed. And when your worst nightmares start to come true . . . well, that’s something only Charlie can face. And he’s going to need all the help he can get, or it might just be lights-out for Charlie Laird. For good...

"Cypress Creek Elementary was a four-story brick box with big square windows. The whole building looked like it was made of Legos."--Nightmares! by Jason Segel & Kristen Miller, illustrated by Karl Kwasny

Comments: I've wanted to read Nightmares! for a long time. I read this book earlier in the week, and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I now want to see if my library has the next two books in the series.

What new series have you recently started?

Review: The Witches by Roald Dahl, Illustrated by Quenten Blake

Title: The Witches
Author/Illustrator: Roald Dahl; Quenten Blake
Source/Format: Borrowed from the Library; Paperback
More Details: Middle Grade; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Scholastic inc.; First published in 1983

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

This is not a fairy-tale. This is about REAL WITCHES. Real witches don't ride around on broomsticks. They don't even wear black cloaks and hats. They are vile, cunning, detestable creatures who disguise themselves as nice, ordinary ladies. So how can you tell when you're face to face with one? Well, if you don't know yet you'd better find out quickly-because there's nothing a witch loathes quite as much as children and she'll wield all kinds of terrifying powers to get rid of them...

You know, it seemed like the appropriate time to read Roald Dahl’s The Witches, since it's October and all. This is the first time I’ve read this book, but parts of it seemed familiar to me. At first, I didn’t remember where I’d heard about it before seeing it on Goodreads. Then I sort of realized that I’d seen the movie a really—extremely—long time ago, which explained a lot.

So, did I like the book?

My answer to that is yes. There were things that I really enjoyed about The Witches. For instance, the writing was good—Dahl’s style was a perfect fit for the story. It wasn’t that long of a book, but the story was done really well. One thing I especially liked was Dahl’s version of magic and witches. That part of the story was highly imaginative, and the witches themselves were as fantastic as they were spooky. The other characters—such as the narrator and his grandmother--were just as interesting as the witches. I liked them, and their respective quirks gave them personality.

I haven’t read anything else by Roald Dahl, but I would definitely consider it, because The Witches was a fun and incredibly timely October read. (Actual rating 3.5)

Music Monday (2) Rny Weaver & Tove Lo

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me, that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

This week, I'm listening to Ryn Weaver and Tove Lo. I've known about Tove Lo for a while, and her Queen of the Clouds album is one of my favorites. Ryn Weaver is a relatively new artist to me. I happened to be listening to google radio when I heard her song Promises. I basically spent the last week discovering Ryn Weaver's music. 

From Tove Lo...

Listen to Thousand Miles HERE

Listen to Moments HERE

From Ryn Weaver...

Listen to Promises HERE

Listen to Octahate HERE

What are you listening to this week?