Tuesday 27 October 2015

Top Ten Tuesday | Recommended Halloween Reads!


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 a Halloween themed freebie, so I thought I'd recommend some books that I think are ideal to read as Halloween creeps closer!



Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: There's a reason this is Daphne du Maurier's most famous novel, and it's almost certain that if this had been the only book she ever wrote du Maurier would still be a famous author today. Rebecca is so atmospheric and beautifully written; you open the first page and you fall into Manderley. There are no 'boo!' moments here. If you're not a fan of slow reads this book might not be for you, but whatever your taste I recommend at least giving it a try.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: Shirley Jackson is my favourite horror writer, and in all honesty anything she wrote would be a great read for Halloween. Still, you can't go wrong with a good ol' haunted house story, can you? If you'd rather read something shorter, check out 'The Lottery'.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters: The Little Stranger is quite similar to The Haunting of Hill House in its mood, and another great book if you want to read a haunted house story that, like Jackson's book, is genuinely creepy.

Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant: Rolling in the Deep is like a literary version of a found footage horror movie. If you like movies like Trollhunter, The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield then I think you'll like this, but if found footage movies aren't your thing I still recommend giving this novella a try. I read it in one sitting, and really enjoyed it.

Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield: This is another very slow book, and one that I'm still not 100% sure that I understood. It's a difficult book to describe, and one that I think was marketed in a misleading way; Bellman & Black has been described as a ghost story, but it isn't really, although there is a kind of haunting. I recommend reading this one, though, because Diana Setterfield's writing is beautiful. Even if you come out of this book a little confused, the act of reading it is enjoyable.



Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Carmilla is one of my favourite classics, and one of the most interesting things about it is that it's actually a pre-Dracula example of vampirism in Victorian literature. I've tried reading Dracula several times, for pleasure and for university, but I've never been able to finish it. Carmilla, on the other hand, I devoured. I think it's fantastic.

Misery by Stephen King: I'm not really a Stephen King fan, so the fact that I enjoyed this book says a lot if your tastes happen to be similar to mine. I know King has a humungous fan following, but for the most part I don't think his writing style is particularly great, I really don't like how the majority of his main characters are white male writers (seriously, Stephen, can't you try writing about someone other than yourself?) and I feel like a lot of his stories just go too far. IT is scary enough if it's just about a clown that kills children, so why does there have to be a supernatural element, too? Anyway, I did enjoy Misery; Annie Wilkes is terrifying, and the film adaptation starring Kathy Bates is very good if you'd rather watch that than read the book.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman: In all honesty The Graveyard Book would be another wonderful read for Halloween, but Coraline is short and sweet - if you're looking for something to read in one sitting, then Coraline's for you. Henry Selick's film adaptation is also well worth checking out, especially at this time of year!

My Life as a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland: This one's less spooky and more fun, although there's a lot of fascinating detail about autopsies, but it's the start to such a brilliant urban fantasy series that I had to stick it on here.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: I'm not actually the biggest fan of Wuthering Heights - I'm forever going to be on the 'Heathcliff is NOT a romantic hero' side of the argument - but it is one of the pinnacles of Victorian Gothic literature. It's very atmospheric, and very wild, and very fitting for Halloween because it's full of despicable characters.

What did you talk about this week?

32 comments:

  1. I completely agree with you about Rebecca! It's such a beautiful book. One of my favourites. It is incredibly atmospheric. Great choices. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved the movie Coraline so I'm guessing I'm gonna love the book more. :)
    ADVANCE HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

    Here's mine I hope you check it out :) MY TOP TEN TUESDAY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Coraline is one of the odd occasions where I actually enjoyed the film more than the book, but the book is still definitely worth reading. :)

      Delete
  3. I don't usually like scary books, but I do love Coraline and Wuthering Heights - so maybe I could handle one of those.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I definitely recommend reading Rebecca and The Little Stranger! :)

      Delete
  4. The Little Stranger is one of my favorites! Glad to see you like it too. :)

    Check out my TTT and my Halloween Giveaway.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! *high five* It's definitely one of the best books I've read this year, I just love it, and apparently it's being adapted into a film, too. :)

      Delete
  5. I really need to pick up Carmilla! And of course something by Waters, and du Maurier, and Jackson! I'm so behind on my creepy women writers! Great list!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, thanks Mallory! I definitely recommend checking out Carmilla - it's really little, so you could easily read it in one sitting - and Waters, Jackson and du Maurier are all so worth checking out. All three of them are three of my favourite authors, so I can't recommend them enough. ^_^

      Delete
  6. I should really, REALLY read Coraline! I think I'd really enjoy it. And I've been meaning to check out something by King and Halloween sounds like the perfect time to do so. White Trash Zombie is another one I've heard a lot of good things about! Awesome list^^ :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Micheline! Coraline is a lot of fun, and you could easily read it in one sitting, and I love the White Trash Zombie series so I definitely recommend checking it out. :D

      Delete
  7. Coraline and The Haunting of Hill House are books I have to read! Great list and Wuthering Heights fits the Halloween theme perfectly. Halloween@ Crushingcinders

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you. :) The Haunting of Hill House is such a fantastic book, and Coraline's wonderful too - I definitely recommend checking them out!

      Delete
  8. Awesome list! REBECCA is definitely a favorite of mine. I've got ROLLING IN THE DEEP in my TBR and LITTLE STRANGER is on my wish list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy Rolling in the Deep and The Little Stranger when you get to them! ^_^

      Delete
  9. I'm hoping to read The Haunting of Hill House sometime this week. Absolutely love Shirley Jackson, and I agree that most of her work would be great for Halloween.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh do! It's a brilliant book, and she's fantastic. :D

      Delete
  10. You know, I've been seeing that White Trash Zombie EVERYWHERE, I figure it must be a good book! Very striking cover too x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's one of those series that has some brilliant covers - I definitely recommend checking it out, it's such a fun series. :D

      Delete
  11. Oh, I do love Rebecca! I read The Haunting of Hill House earlier this year as well -- two great choices for Halloween. (Really, this is a great list!)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! :) If you like Rebecca and The Haunting of Hill House, then you must read The Little Stranger - it's brilliant.

      Delete
  12. I totally LOVE Shirley Jackson!! The Lottery is definitely one of my favorites! The creep factor was real with that one!

    Here are my Top Ten!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Lottery gave me the heebie jeebies the first time I read it! It's such a good short story, and her novels are equally as brilliant, aren't they? Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  13. Rebecca is perfect for Halloween, really dark and atmospheric! Carmilla has quite an eerie cover, I may need to check it out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely read Carmilla if you haven't already, it's so good! :)

      Delete
  14. Most of these are actually new to me. Caroline sounds great! Short and sweet is always a great combination. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Coraline's a wonderful little book, and the film's great too! :D

      Delete
  15. Hold up. Where is Feed?!?! I am truly shocked at this particular turn of events. I mean, at least Mira Grant made the least with that insanely creepily-covered book. Seriously, now I need to look this one up too. I haven't read any of these, I am afraid. Though White Trash Zombie girl may give me a few nightmares ;) Great list!!
    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha, I know! I'm shocked, too! But you see Feed is for life, not just for Halloween. ;)

      Delete