Question of the Week: What is your favorite horror read?

You didn't really think we were going to ask you about fluffy bunnies on the day before Halloween, did you?  Of course not.

I'm not really much into horror myself, though I did go through a Stephen King phase when I was a teen.  But lately, I've discovered an author who's books are so well written that I enjoy reading them despite being truly horrific!  I present to you Daniel Kraus, author of my favorite, Rotters.

Grave-robbing. What kind of monster would do such a thing? It's true that Leonardo da Vinci did it, Shakespeare wrote about it, and the resurrection men of nineteenth-century Scotland practically made it an art. But none of this matters to Joey Crouch, a sixteen-year-old straight-A student living in Chicago with his single mom. For the most part, Joey's life is about playing the trumpet and avoiding the daily humiliations of high school. Everything changes when Joey's mother dies in a tragic accident and he is sent to rural Iowa to live with the father he has never known, a strange, solitary man with unimaginable secrets. At first, Joey's father wants nothing to do with him, but once father and son come to terms with each other, Joey's life takes a turn both macabre and exhilarating.

Rotters is creepy.  Nothing paranormal at all.  Just straight up cringe-inducing horror.

So - tell us.  What's your favorite horror book?

Spooky...

It's that time of year when we all like to add a little bit of spookiness to our lives.  There are plenty of scary novels to read and movies to watch that will leave you hiding under your blanket - we've all got our favorites.  But what if you're the type that likes to get out and experience the fright yourself?

Then have we got the book for you!

Haunted Washington : uncanny tales and spooky spots from the upper left-hand corner of the United States - Adam Woog

Among the Pacific Northwest's many treasures is the Evergreen State, a state rich in eerie events. Haunted Washington, a collection of stories of ghosts, mysteries, and paranormal happenings, will leave readers delightfully frightened.

Haunted Washington includes dozens of stories, from the royal Native American ghost of Seattle's Pike Place Market to the haunted mansion that inspired horrormeister Stephen King's TV mini-series Rose Red - all of them guaranteed to send chills up the spines of even the most daring ghosthunters.   Each story includes notes on historical significance and local lore so that readers and visitors can learn more about each ghostly locale.



Read it - IF YOU DARE!

Question of the Week: What book has stayed on your mind long past the time you finished reading it?

I've read a few novels over the years that's done this, but most recently it was State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Not only was the tone more melancholy than I'm used to reading, it provided a lot of food for thought. For instance, I've never really thought about whether women should be able to have children past normal childbearing age. Would my body be able to handle the physical demands of pregnancy and birth at age seventy? Would I be able keep up with a child, to handle the sleepless nights the first few months? Those questions then led to introspection about the ethics of pharmaceutical companies, the Amazon jungle, and the way that contact with the outside world affects indigenous tribes. And I'm still thinking about these questions, weeks later. 


Now, I'd really like to know - what book has stayed on your mind long past the time you finished reading it?

William Shakespeare's Star Wars

Quirk Books, the people who brought us Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, have partnered with Lucas Films to put out a somewhat silly retelling of the first Star Wars movie. William Shakespeare's Star Wars is the sort of book that made me chuckle when I paged through it, but it didn't really work for me until I listened to the audiobook. Such fun! 

Romantic Suspense, or Mysteries for Romance Readers

I don't know about you, but when I read a mystery novel, I enjoy those with some romantic elements as well. For this reason, the romantic suspense genre is one of my favorites. Here are a few romantic suspense reads you might enjoy...

Hard Truth - Mariah Stewart
Two children who mysteriously disappeared twenty-one years ago are the last thing on Lorna Temple's mind when she returns to her Pennsylvania hometown to sell the old family property in the wake of her parents' passing. But instead of memories, the fields where Lorna grew up yield something utterly chilling. All those years ago, when nine-year-old Melinda Eagan vanished on her birthday, her foulmouthed older brother, Jason, quickly became the lone suspect. Yet when he went missing, too, the case turned cold. But Jason, it seems, never got far: His bones have been moldering on the Temples' land for two decades. As far as the local police are concerned, the book is closed on Melinda's murder--and Jason's death is justice served. But Lorna refuses to let the dead rest uneasily. She turns to private eye T. J. Dawson to dig up the dirt of the past and see what lies beneath. Only there' s someone out there who hasn't forgotten--and who won't be the least bit forgiving about being exposed as a killer. In matters of crime, there are many versions of the truth.

Unforgivable - Laura Griffith

At first, Mia Voss thinks it's just bad luck when her already lousy day ends with a carjacking, but what seems like a random incident is followed by another sinister episode. A DNA expert, Mia has made it her mission to put away vicious criminals. Suddenly, she's become the target of one. And the only way to protect the people she loves most is to deliberately destroy her reputation and risk letting a killer walk free. Once, Mia trusted Detective Ric Santos, but that was before Ric let his turbulent past ruin his chances with Mia, the sexiest, most intriguing woman he's ever met. But he can tell when she's lying and when she's scared. The key to catching a sadistic madman lies within a long-buried cold case that has haunted Mia for years. Only she can uncover the truth, but first, Ric will have to get her to entrust him with her secrets . . . and her life.

Bone Cold - Erica Spindler
Twenty-three years ago Anna North survived a living nightmare. A madman kidnapped her, cut off her pinkie, then vanished. Today Anna lives in New Orleans, writing dark thrillers under another name. She finally feels safe. Suddenly Anna's quiet life takes a frightening turn. Letters start to arrive from a disturbed fan. Anna is followed, her apartment broken into. Then a close friend disappears. Anna turns to homicide detective Quentin Malone, but Malone's more concerned with the recent murders of two women in the French Quarter. But after a third victim is found-a redhead like Anna, her pinkie severed-Malone is forced to acknowledge that Anna is his link to the killer...and could be the next target. Now Anna must face the horrifying truth-her past has caught up with her. The nightmare has begun again.

Did You Miss Me? - Karen Rose
Baltimore prosecutor Daphne Montgomery pulled herself out of a damaged past to build a solid life for herself and her son. But after she helps to convict a killer, her confidence is shattered once again by the news that her son has been kidnapped. Daphne believes it's connected to the recent high-profile trial, and at first FBI special agent Joseph Carter agrees. But together they find the reality to be even more troubling, and it runs deeper than Daphne fears. With her son's life in jeopardy, she must unlock a dreadful secret about her past--and confront a truth that will change everything for those closest to her. And, if she survives, threaten the lives of everyone she loves.

Question of the week: What is your book equivelent of comfort food?

It's that time of year again...cold season!  And if you are like me, you need to have a couple of really wonderful books set aside to get you through those sick days.  One I always find soothing is The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  Maybe it is because it is set up as a grandfather reading to his grandson when he is sick.  Or maybe it is because the humor always cheers me up, or the fact I know love will win out in the end.

What are your comfort books?  And what is it that keeps you coming back?

Question of the Week: What book just scared you to death?

Confession--I cannot read scary books.  Nor can I watch scary films.  I'm a wuss.

That said, I must confess that there was a book that really shook me when I first read it a gazillion years ago.  I'm not quite sure why I read it, but it left quite an impression on me.  Here's the publisher's summary:

Holland and Niles Perry are identical thirteen-year-old twins. They are close, close enough, almost, to read each other's thoughts, but they couldn't be more different. Holland is bold and mischievous, a bad influence, while Niles is kind and eager to please, the sort of boy who makes parents proud. The Perrys live in the bucolic New England town their family settled centuries ago, and as it happens, the extended clan has gathered at its ancestral farm this summer to mourn the death of the twins' father in a most unfortunate accident. Mrs. Perry still hasn't recovered from the shock of her husband's gruesome end and stays sequestered in her room, leaving her sons to roam free. As the summer goes on, though, and Holland's pranks become increasingly sinister, Niles finds he can no longer make excuses for his brother's actions.

So, what books have scared the daylights out of you?

OK--several of you asked what this book was!  The Other by Tom Tryon