in which i share a variety of halloween reads

image from Ginger at GReads!

welcome to my favorite meme! this is hosted by Ginger of GReads (who just might be the coolest girl ever) and is a chance for book bloggers to share a little bit more about their bookish habits. she asks some seriously rad questions and people usually have really cool stuff to share. so here we go!

this week, Ginger the Awesome asks:

Spooktacular Reads: Which books do you consider festive Halloween reads? Which stories have chilled you to the bone?

it should be known that i love, LOVE, scary movies. like, a whole lot. i can't handle them...but i love them none the less! i adore scary books just as much, although i am much less versed in them.

regardless, here's a little Halloween variety for you!

for the character study Halloween read, i recommend The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas.
a character study of a vampire and his existence in our modern world. definitely not your typical vampire book, or Halloween read for that matter. But one that certainly is spooky in it's own way and takes a Halloween type creature and asks the realistic human questions of existence in society. super well done, and well worth your time. also, it's an adult book! i read those sometimes!

for the classic Halloween read, i recommend Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. creepy carnival, mysterious weather occurrences, and two pre-teen boys caught up in all of it. PLUS it actually takes place around Halloween. it's pretty much destined to be a Halloween read. 

for the funny Halloween read, i recommend Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez.
yeah, this has monsters, a diner, and sexy teenagers. this is a classic (and awesome) 80s horror movie in book form. but substitute the cheesy-factor with creative and clever writing, and you have a perfect Halloween read. 

for the super tense Halloween read, i recommend Gentlemen by Michael Northrop.
on the surface, this may not seem totally Halloweeny. but it totally has the making of a horror movie. the tension is wound so tight that i couldn't sleep until i finished it. i read this book in 3 hours, almost non stop, because i was compelled to know the truth. a dark mystery wrapped inside a unreliable narrator with a dollop of violence makes this a surprisingly fitting Halloween read.

image from the movie The Secret of NIMH. scary, RIGHT?!

for the solid children's Halloween read, i recommend Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien.
okay, i love this one around Halloween in it's movie form, but the book is great too! you could certainly read all about Mrs. Frisby and saving her children from the crazy lab rats, and then follow up with the movie. that shit is straight spooky, y'all. and AWESOME. 

and a couple others: Beautiful Creatures (has a gothic feel and the cover is totally spook), Coraline (hellooooo, it's Neil Gaiman!)

what about you? what books just FEEL like Halloween to you? let me know and be sure to link it up over at GReads! today.