Top Ten Tuesday | My (very over-ambitious) Halloween TBR!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is all about the books on our Autumn TBR. As I've said many times before I'm not a fan of TBRs - I often feel bogged down by them and I feel like I've 'failed' if I don't read the books on my TBR or if I read a book that isn't on my TBR at all - but I do like seasonal TBRs. I love these because I don't pressure myself to read all of these books, but I love the chance to talk about books that fit a certain theme.

In Autumn I like to try and read as many spooky books as I can during the build up to Halloween, so those are the ten fifteen books I've picked today!

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier: Is this book spooky? No idea, I haven't read it yet! But it does include a possible murder, and it's been likened to Rebecca, which is most definitely a psychologically spooky read. Plus I love Daphne du Maurier and I want to read more of her work.

Sugar Hall by Tiffany Murray: This book is published by the publishing house where I work, Seren! It's a ghost story set in the border between England and Wales during the '50s, so perfect for this time of year. One of my colleagues and I will be reading it throughout October - come and join us!

The Bird's Nest by Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson is my favourite horror writer. I love her. I now own all of her novels, and one of her short story collections, that have been published in the Penguin Modern Classics editions and I'm slowly working my way through them all. This one's next!

Carrie by Stephen King: I don't like Stephen King's books. There. I said it. There's just something about his writing style that means he and I don't get along, and it irritates me that his main characters are almost always writers. Seriously dude, write about someone else for a change. Having said that, I did enjoy Misery when I read it because there was nothing supernatural in it - as much as I love supernatural elements in the stories I read, I don't like them when King writes them - but I'd really like to give Carrie a try because I'm pretty sure it was the first novel of his that got published, and the concept does interest me. I've got it on my kindle, so we'll see what I think of it!

The Poor Clare by Elizabeth Gaskell: This little novella is the story of a family curse. I've read one of Gaskell's ghost stories before and enjoyed it, so I'm looking forward to this one.

The Raven's Head by Karen Maitland: I think this is Karen Maitland's most recent novel, and I still haven't read anything of her's which, as a lover of historical fiction, is practically scandalous. She writes historical crime/mystery novels set in Medieval Europe, and this book sounds particularly spooky!

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix: This is a haunted house story, set in IKEA. IKEA! Okay, so it's not actually called IKEA in the book but we all know it's IKEA, right? Right. What I love most about this book, though, is that it's set out like a department store catalogue. It's the same size, shape and feel as a catalogue, and it even has an order form in the front. It's adorable! Even if I don't end up liking this book (it seems to have very varied feedback on Goodreads) I'm still glad to own it because I love it when publishers do something different like this.

How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back and White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowland: I love this series, and with the fifth book coming out next month I'm looking forward to getting all caught up with the series so far!

This Strange Way of Dying by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: As you know if you've been following my blog for a while, I adored Silvia Moreno-Garcia's debut novel, Signal to Noise, and now I'm really eager to check out some of her short stories. This collection sounds like the perfect collection to read as Halloween approaches!

Half Bad and Half Wild by Sally Green: I've been meaning to start this trilogy for the longest time (I meant to read Half Bad with Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight earlier this year and completely failed) and after I picked up a copy of Half Wild for just £1 at the weekend I figured I might as well give the series a try!

Demon Road by Derek Landy: I pre-ordered a signed, limited platinum edition of Derek Landy's latest book and I'm very excited to read it - I'm saving it for October!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: I'm pretty sure I put this book on my spring TBR, and I still haven't read it. I really want to, though! I did read the first chapter and I got distracted by something else, but considering it basically opens in a graveyard I think it's a pretty good read for this time of year.

Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst: This is more fun than spooky, it sounds like a very entertaining reading experience and I'll turn to it when I'm in the mood for a giggle.

Which books made your list?

Monthly Wrap-Up | August 2015

Another month gone. Where is 2015 going? On the plus side, autumn is on its way!

American Vampire, Vol.5

by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Dustin Nyugen

American Vampire, Vol.6

by Various Artists

Fingersmith

by Sarah Waters

Lorelai, You'll Never Die

by Laura Konrad

The Little Stranger

by Sarah Waters

Parnassus on Wheels

by Christopher Morley

I managed to get through six books last month, but I feel as though I barely read anything. August was a strange month for me, I kept feeling like I was sliding into slump territory which resulted in me reading quite a lot but not finishing everything I was reading.

Northanger Abbey

by Jane Austen

Skim

by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki

Lorelai, You'll Never Die

by Laura Konrad

White Trash Zombie Apocalypse

by Diana Rowland

Fingersmith

by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger

by Sarah Waters

I continued to watch Hannibal, of course, and tonight it's the last episode of Season 3 and possibly the last episode ever if it doesn't get picked up by another network. I'm going to be so upset if it isn't renewed because it's such a good show and it doesn't seem fair that genuinely good shows are abandoned while crap like Big Brother and The X Factor keep coming back each year.

Someone pick up Hannibal please!

Will Graham asking the important questions

The Great British Bake Off returned in August, so all across Britain everyone is going baking mad! I have no idea if the show is known anywhere else in the world, but over here we love it. Essentially it's just a show about baking, judged by Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry, and each week there's a different theme - from desserts to bread to biscuits - until there's only one baker left to become Bake Off Champion. It's a really nice show, and I love seeing what everyone makes even though it makes me hungry.

Mary Berry: National Treasure

I also ended up watching two different adaptations of Rebecca this month, quite by accident. I bought myself a copy of the 1940 Alfred Hitchcock adaptation - I really enjoy his films, and even though I read somewhere that du Maurier wasn't all that impressed with his adaptations of Frenchman's Creek or Jamaica Inn, I thought if anyone could do a good adaptation of a story like Rebecca it'd be this guy. We might not find his films terrifying now, but they still have a lot of atmosphere, and personally I love Rear Window and Psycho.

I enjoyed his adaptation. It was pretty close to the book, and I think it was cast well, too. Laurence Olivier was a rather dashing Maxim de Winter and Judith Anderson was a fantastic Mrs. Danvers, which is just what I want from one of my favourite literary villains.

Joan Fontaine as Mrs. de Winter and Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers

My mum and I watched the film together, and then the next morning the two-part 1997 adaptation was on the TV. This was another very good adaptation, so I'm not quite sure which one I preferred because neither of them were bad adaptations at all. I think I may have preferred Emilia Fox's portrayal of Mrs. de Winter to Joan Fontaine's, purely because she looks a little plainer and more girlish; she looks very much how I pictured her while reading the book. Joan Fontaine, on the other hand, is stunning in the way all those actresses from the 1940s were, though she still acted the part very well.

Emilia Fox as Mrs. de Winter

The 1997 adaptation also starred Charles Dance as Maxim de Winter and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Danvers, and the two of them were brilliant in their roles, too. I wasn't sure about Charles Dance at first - in terms of appearance, Laurence Olivier's portrayal looks the way I pictured Maxim - but Charles Dance acted the part very well.

If you're a fan of Rebecca, I recommend them both!

Something I completely forgot to mention last month because I was too busy talking about Rome, but I'm taking driving lessons again! I was terrified of lessons for the longest time - I hated driving last time I did it - but ultimately I need to be able to drive, and I want to, too. I want the independence of being able to go wherever I feel like going without having to worry about train times or bus times or getting a lift, and this time I'm actually enjoying it!

My instructor is really, really nice - he's funny and he's super patient, which is perfect for someone who's as nervous behind the wheel of the car as I am - and I want to have my licence by the end of the year. I have no idea how I'm going to afford my own car or anything, but I'll tackle that hurdle when I come to it.

In even more exciting news, I have a new niece! My older sister gave birth to her second baby - another little girl - on the very last day of August. Her name's Millie and she's gorgeous. She's so teeny tiny! The poor little thing came out with two black eyes and a bruised lip because the midwives didn't realise she was in the wrong position, so her face got all squished inside the womb. In the end my sister was taken down for a c-section because she was in a lot of pain and Millie couldn't get into the right position, but she's here now and both mother and baby are doing just fine. Plus my other niece is very pleased with her little sister.

My niece, Willow, holds her baby sister for the first time!

Tracy @ Cornerfolds talked about the Female Character Types She Hates

Cait @ Paper Fury talked about wanting Diverse Books that are NOT about Being Diverse

Beth @ The Quiet People talked about why she loves Re-Reading Books

Allie @ Little Birdie Books asked Is Your Own Company Good Enough?

How was your August?