What to read for Halloween?

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If you are among those people who wait impatiently for Halloween 364 days per year, you are in the spirit of it already.

For the rest of us, the perfect book(s) that will give us a little "push" to feel it in our skin is the right trick.

Here is a list with some of our favourite stories for the season:

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving 

A truly gothic story around the headless horseman who is looking for his head and terrorises the quiet hamlet of Tarry Town, New York in 1790. The story was written while Irving was living in Birmingham and it was first published in 1820. 

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

A love story filled with suspense about a teenager and the vampire she falls in love with. As Bella puts it: “About three things I was absolutely sure,” she says. “First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him – and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” 

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Four people come together in a haunted house to investigate the supernatural phenomena that occur in it. An unsettling ghost story that will make you look suspiciously at every dark corner or jump at every strange sound you hear.

Prince Lestat by Anne Rice

Are you afraid of vampires? No? Well, you may be after you read the story of the perfectly evil blood-sucker hero of Rice's series of The Vampire Chronicles. From our part, we've done our duty and warned you.

The woman in black by Susan Hill

Another gothic story, placed in the 19th century England. The papers of a deceased (and creepy) lady need to be examined and the lucky guy finds himself in a mansion haunted by the ghost of a woman dressed in black. The description of the moors that surround the place is so vivid that you'll be dragged inside the story either you want it or not.

Pet sematary by Stephen King

Could a Halloween list not include at least one work of Mr King? This is for all those who think that they can't go on living without their pets. For those who wish their pets could live forever. Well, think twice, folks...

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The original Count Dracula. Not for the devoted fans of Twilight, but if you want to be counted as a real vampire fan, you just should read this. We love its gothicness, the desperation of the victims and the elegance of the Lord of the Night.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman  

A boy living in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts. And gets involved in a lot of magical and terrifying adventures. 

The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde and other stories by Robert Louis Stevenson

A classic book about the dark forces that hide within each one of us. Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde - two different personalities brought into one after a chemical mixture is developed in the lab. Apart from being a very good thriller, it offers a look into the Victorian morality and an insight into human psychology.

Dead until dark by Charlaine Harris

The beginning of the adventures of Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in a small town in Louisiana, US. Sookie has been "in trouble" since the day she was born as she has the ability to read other people's mind and learn their innermost secrets. Now her problems get more and bigger when a tall, dark and handsome vampire comes to town. The story is not the spooky kind of thing, but it is light and entertaining in its own way.

The exorcist by William Peter Blatty  

Who is Regan's friend in the basement? How can logic accept the paranormal? If you need a raw reading experience this Halloween then try what, perhaps, is the most terrifying novel written about evil and demonic possessions so far. Horror at its best.










Do you have a favourite book for Halloween? Please share it with us by leaving a comment.




[written by FK for Walkley Library]

Book review: All the light we cannot see

"Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever."

Marie-Laure is a young girl living in Paris. She loves to explore the world around her, learn about snails and fossils and read Jules Verne's books. Her father is working as a locksmith in the Museum of Natural History and takes her with him every day. Due to a rare disease, Marie-Laure lost her eyesight when she was little and in order to help her learn how to walk to and from the museum, her father builds a detailed miniature model of their neighbourhood. In it every street, corner and house is exactly as the original ones and Marie-Laure soon becomes able to orientate herself in the vastness of Paris. When the Second Wold War breaks out, her father takes her to Saint-Malo, where his uncle has a house. And he builds another miniature model of the town so that his daughter has no problem to find her way easily. 

Hundred kilometres away, another story runs parallel to Marie-Laure's. A young boy, Werner Pfennig and his sister grow up in an orphanage in Nazi Germany. They are both fascinated by science and Werner is very capable making and repairing things with his hand, especially radios. Werner dreams of a future that will allow him to learn more about maths and physics, yet his talents lead him to a Hitler Youth Academy, which is his only chance to escape working in the mines of his town and dying like his father. When the war starts, he is sent to the front to track down the enemy's radio stations. 

The story moves back and forth in time - before, during and after the war - between the main characters. It navigates from the ugliness of life to its beauty, from the morality of the one's actions to their sensitivity, hopes and dreams. The stories seem to have nothing in common as they run parallel to one another; towards the end the lines meet and all the pieces come together. 

Doerr has a magical way to write. It is a prose that uses words so beautifully that the lines flow beneath the reader's eyes and lead him more and more into the story and the lives narrated. The movements of the body, the feel of something touched, the words spoken, the feelings endured; the reader is in there, too. 

There is a lack of dialogues, but this acts in favour of the story; in this case the descriptive writing captivates all the senses and helps the author to invite us into the atmosphere of that time. What I, personally, did not like that much is the attempt to put something of a mystery novel within a historical one; the story also involves the quest of a mythical precious stone, which is said to have magical powers for who possesses it. The fantasy may give something original to the rest of the setting, but it does not bind that well.

Nevertheless, it is book so well written that you will not regret the time spent on it.

+ beautiful prose, engaging story

- the attempt to mix two types of novels in one

Anthony Doerr speaks about what inspired him to write this novel in this video.

(written by FK for Walkley Library)

Have you read this book? We would love to hear your opinion on it.

Tidbits of literary wisdom (2)

(written by FK for Walkley Library)

Are there any quotes you would like to share with us? Leave a comment!

Titbits of literary wisdom

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(written by FK for Walkley Library)