The Shining by Stephen King: As many King books as I’ve read over time, I’d never read The Shining. The movie has always been one of my spooky favorites, so I had high hopes when I picked up the book. And- wow. If the movie had spooked me, the book did 10 times that! If you’ve read it, you’ll understand this; the hedge animals were absolutely terrifying! To the point that I had to put the book down several times to take a deep breath. Loved this!
It by Stephen King: An annual October read, and one of my favorite books of all time. I know there’s that one part that everyone clutches their pearls at (which they should, because…), but at it’s core, this is a story about the power of friendship overcoming all else. Eventually, I’ll do a deep dive into it, but for now, know that if you haven’t read this, you should. If you have and didn’t like it, you should give it another chance.
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore: Spooky for October? Eh, maybe. Absolutely hilarious? Yes. A very average man, Charlie Asher, finds himself suddenly widowed with a new baby and employed as a “Death Merchant,” with the job of collecting souls from the recently deceased. His mentor and partner in things is an enormous black man who wears light green and is named Minty Fresh. Together, with others like them, they have the rather dirty job (har, har) of fending off demons from the underworld while raising the baby with the aid of two pitch-black hellhounds. Like all of his books, it’s kooky and laugh-out-loud funny.
Secondhand Souls by Christopher Moore: A continuation of A Dirty Job, Charlie finds himself trapped in the body of one of the Squirrel People (just read A Dirty Job), so needs to recruit help from his former employees and new friends to figure out why so many souls in the city are going missing. Oh yeah, and his little girl, Sophie, might be the big boss Death with a capital D.
The Body by Stephen King: Another that I somehow hadn’t read over the years. The Body is the novel that Stand by Me was based off of, and this is one of those rare times when the movie followed the book very closely. When 4 boys take off on an adventure to see the body of a dead man, they encounter fears and danger along the way, but the biggest challenge they may have found is the loss of innocence when looking into the eyes of someone who’s lost their life.
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty: Obviously, my spooky October reading was pretty broad this year. Another first time for me, I sat down with Reagan and Chris and zipped through this in a weekend. Another book that was followed very closely by it’s famous movie counterpart, this one dove a little deeper into the life of Father Karran, but otherwise, all the imagery you remember from your childhood being ruined by the movie remains- Regan’s vomit, the stairs… It’s spooky, yes, and it’s sad, but it shows how far a mother will go to take care of her daughter.
Tickled Pink by Rita Rudner: I needed something a little light hearted after a month of nothing but spooky. I don’t remember when I first read this, but I’m almost positive I remember picking it up because of the pink ostrich feather cover art… and then never putting it down. We follow the lives of two girls who have moved to New York City to follow dreams of fame. One opens and closes on Broadway in one night (much like Rudner herself), while the other’s beauty puts her front and center in a very glamorous world. Their friendship ebbs and flows over the years, and they continue to find their way back to one another. It’s a great one to read in a book club or trade off with a friend.
Bernadette Peters Hates Me by Keith A. Stewart: Oh, boy. I hated this, but forced my way through it to be sure I wasn’t missing anything. I wasn’t. A collection of memoirs from Stewart, who finds himself witty. I found him annoying.
Infinite Home by Kathleen Alcott: I hadn’t read this in a few years and had somewhat forgotten the story, but it’s a sweet one. A mishmash of tenants in a New York brownstone get to know each other when their landlord- a widowed woman on the first floor- begins to show signs of advancing dementia. Chapters jump from one perspective to another, and we get to know a young man with Williams Syndrome, a former artist rediscovering his body after a stroke, an agoraphobic packrat… Together, they gather round their landlady in an effort to save the building from her estranged son, and end up reuniting her with the best family she’d lost.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid: I’m sorry I slept on this one so long! Evelyn Hugo, a movie star of epic proportions, hires a struggling magazine writer to write her biography. We hear her life in a beautiful way, following her seven husbands and one true love. There’s a twist of a connection between Evelyn and her biographer near the end that had me gasping aloud and texting the friend who recommended this one to me. It’s beautifully written, and a fabulous story.
The Secret of Terror Castle by Robert Arthur: This is the first book I remember checking out from the public library when I was a kid. I loved the Three Investigators series, and the connection to Alfred Hitchcock. This is the first in the series, and follows our young investigators into a supposedly haunted mansion above Hollywood, once owned by a famous horror film actor. Tasked to find out whether the home is actually haunted, they instead stumble upon someone thought to be gone. It’s a cute one, as all of these are.
The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot by Robert Arthur: The second in the Three Investigators series, this time, the boys are searching for a treasure, the location of which is hidden in the taught sayings of several parrots that have been peddled throughout Los Angeles.
The Wedding People by Alison Espach: This one was downloaded on a whim, and proved to be a great little read! Our protagonist, Phoebe checks into her fantasy hotel on a mission, but finds that she’s accidentally been booked on a week where the entire hotel has been reserved for the members of one giant wedding. Her plans get derailed when the bride refuses to take no (to friendship) for an answer, and she’s swept into the wedding festivities against her will. It’s worth a read!
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver: Another re-read. Told in two times, we follow two families in one home. Both have inherited the property, and both discover that it’s falling apart around them. While the later timeline revolves around the family itself falling apart, the present day finds a family finding itself put back together.
** this post is not sponsored in any way. all thoughts and opinions are my own **
