Spooky Books To Read This October

Welcome! Today, Adri and I have put together a list of some of our 2022 reads. These books are right at home in October, and you can also check out our list from last year HERE.

 

Breana: This year, I have six books for my part of the list. Up first is Frankenstein by Mary Shelly. It’s a classic, and now that I’ve read it for myself, I better appreciate and understand the praise its garnered. Then there’s Katherine Arden’s conclusion to the Small Spaces quartet, Empty Smiles. Summertime, clowns, what more do I need to say? The next book is Monsters in the Mist by Juliana Brandt. I read this book as an ARC back in May of this year. And I praised it for the balance it struck between the supernatural scares and the personal nature of the issues, which had negatively affected the characters. Switching gears, I had to mention Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer. It was horror comedy—occasionally over the top with its suburban cliques and hijinks—but the supernatural aspects were appropriately nerve-wracking to read about. Plus, I had a good laugh at certain parts of the story. Next is Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone. There was everything from a dark atmosphere, isolated setting, sinister Lord Under, and the horror of one particular and very cursed lake. And last, but certainly not least, is Middle Game by Seanan McGuire. The synopsis says “Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.” The story is a page-turner with some truly horrifying moments—particularly with the nature of alchemy that McGuire created—which is why it deserves to be on this list.

Adri: Hey everyone! I actually didn’t read that many spooky books this year. I did get to read Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley. I thought it was just the right amount of spookiness plus friendships. And the other books I read were the last three in the Books of Elsewhere series by Jaqueline West. And those are The Second Spy, The Strangers, and Still Life. It’s a slightly older series (2010-2014) but still up there on creepy. Especially since it dealt with magical paintings that the main character could enter in a creepy old house.

Quarterly Recap: July-September

It’s October, a.k.a one of my favorite months. It’s also time for the last quarterly recap of the year. And included below are links to posts that have appeared on the blog through July, August, and September.

July Reviews:

• Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
• The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• Death by Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow

August Reviews:

• Blog Tour & ARC Review: Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley 
• Holiday Heroine by Sarah Kuhn
• The Cartographers by Peng Sherhperd 
• The Dragon's Promise by Elizabeth Lim
• Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer
• A Treacherous Tale by Elizabeth Penney

September Reviews:

• Lakesedge by Lyndal Clipstone
• In The Shadow Garden by Liz Parker

Other July Posts:

• I Listened to Dawn FM by The Weeknd
• Short Stories I Read in June
• I Listened to The Beginning of the End by Les Friction
• Quarterly Recap: April-June

Other August Posts: 

• I Listened to Special by Lizzo
• Short Stories I Read In July
• I Listened to Supernova by Nova Twins

Other September Posts:

• I Listened to: August Music Roundup 
• Short Stories I Read In August
• What I've Been Watching + Upcoming Movies & TV Shows

Looking ahead, I always use October as an excuse to rewatch old favorites—I think it’s time to watch Over The Garden Wall again too. Otherwise, there are a lot of new movies/TV series I’m looking forward to, which I explained in a post HERE.

There's no Short Story post this month. And as far as books, I’ve prepared reviews for two books themed perfectly for October. Plus, Adri and I are going to have a reading list for spooky novels, similar to the one we did last year. I’m also going to be participating in #Peachtober on Instagram. I likely won’t do the full prompt list, because I prefer to keep a laid-back approach to art related challenges (I’ll see how many I get to).

Music Monday (217): Rina Sawayama, Rico Nasty, Soul II Soul, Coolio

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 

Breana: I finished reading Frankenstein last week. As it so happens, there is a song by the same name on Rina Sawayama's 2022 album, Hold The Girl. It's one of my favorites. Give it a listen!

 

Adri: I was listening to some of my heavier playlist and remembered this Rico Nasty: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, which is what I'm listening to this week.

Andrea: Hi all! This week I'm listening to Keep on Movin' by Soul II Soul

 and Fantastic Voyage (Timber Mix) by Coolio.

What are you listening to this week?

Short Stories I Read In August

It’s the twenty-ninth of September. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in August. 

Questions For The Fallen by Omodero David Oghenekaro (Strange Horizons; Issue: 1 August 2022)

The only piece I got to in the month of August was a poem called Questions For The Fallen by Omodero David Oghenekaro. The title gives a good idea of what it’s about. I loved this poem so much. It was short, metaphorical, and beautifully written.

From around the web…

• The Joy of Painting Middle-earth With Ted Nasmith [Jess LaSala; Tor.com; August 5, 2022]
• Print Run Podcast Episode #152: Show Trial
• The Power of a Myth Retold: Hadestown Make a Melodic Case For Reviving and Reimaging Stories [Cole Rush; Tor.com; August 4, 2022]
• Print Run Podcast Episode #152: A New Achilles Heel

I Listened To: August Music Roundup

In August, I bounced between two albums: Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Megan Thee Stallion’s Truamazine. They’re two very different albums—in terms of sound, theme, and genre—but I appreciate them for what they are.

Renaissance

• When I read about what kind of album Renaissance was supposed to be, I had high expectations. And every single one of them was met. The range in sound made every track feel different than the last, but the strong themes and genre influences—dance, house, R&B, and more—made the album feel cohesive. I mean, even the transitions between each song were smooth. Its music you can move to. Renaissance is a treat.

Traumazine

• Moving on, Traumazine was another excellent album to come out in the July-August months. It had its foot firmly in hip-hop and rap. The title is indicative of what you’ll get with this one, and the complexity and depth of the lyrics is what keeps drawing me back to this album. Traumazine features some of my favorite songs by Megan Thee Stallion. It also had a handful of interesting features including Rico Nasty, Latto, and Jhené Aiko among others.

What have you been listening to?