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Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
For the Halloween Freebie this year, I decided to recommend 10 books perfect for Halloween reading that I have read in the last year. Many of these books have a creepy element to them but I would not say they are scary.
- In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts is a queer continuation of The Great Gatsby, following Daisy Buchanan's daughter Pamela (Mel) over 30 years after the events of the original novel. Daisy is found dead in Gatsby's mansion, though Mel knows Daisy has been spiraling out of control for years. At Gatsby's estate, she finds her mother's ghost and tries to figure out how to free her from the house.
The novella has stunning writing which drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked in like the house and its "visitors." Gatsby is one of my favorite novels and I loved seeing where Gwendolyn took this "sequel" of the story. There are many different eerie and creepy scenes which were so good.
- My favorite of the John Bellairs books I have read so far. I love how this has a mixture of the fantasy, humor, and creepy elements. It would be a great read for this time of the year. Someday I'm hoping I can find the continuation of this story with the story collection called Magic Mirrors. I would love to get more from this world.
- I love Eva Ibbotson's writing style very much. This feels like a cross between a Roald Dahl, Diana Wynne Jones, and the humor of Monty Python book. It had me laughing so much throughout the entire story and then it surprised me by how creepy one of the scenes was with the rats. A great book to pick up for Halloween. I highly recommend the audiobook.
- An interesting queer modern-day graphic novel retelling of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. This deals with the descendants of many of the characters from the original novella and I love the clever way the story was taken, especially with the headless horseman.
5. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
- I'm never not going to recommend this absolutely wonderful book. This is the vampire book I enjoy the most right after Dracula (which is another book you should definitely read for Halloween). Anne Rice's writing is so thought-provoking and is also so devastating, especially with the story behind where she got the idea behind this book.
6. Hooky series by Míriam Bonastre Tur
- I did not read the entire Hooky series in the last year, but I did read the final volume last October. This is a great little witchy series which I don't think enough people know about. Míriam Bonastre Tur's artstyle is absolutely wonderful in each volume of these graphic novels and I highly enjoyed the story.
- I love the style of this graphic novel so much. It uses a mixture of prose, comics, and illustrations to create Singe, Yew-Veda and Bufo's story. A Witch's Guide to Burning is an allegory for recovering from burnout and the self-care needed to do so. Aminder Dhaliwal did a brilliant job showing Singe's journey and I highly loved this story.
8. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
- My second favorite of Jane Austen's novels. I highly enjoy this satirical take on a gothic novel and the humor of the main character, Catherine's self-delusion and assumptions. It is such a clever novel which I highly enjoyed about a year ago now.
Dorothe Bartleby is a grad student in her university's Magical department, who failed her first attempt at her program's qualifying exam. She has intense anxiety which is one of the reasons she failed the exam. During the story, she is trying to prove how magic in classic literature changed the world. She is meant to use Digimancy, which is using computers and magic to prove her point but it backfires on her. She creates a talking skull named Anne, who narrates Bartleby's inner thoughts as if she were a heroine in a Jane Austen novel. The humor that came from Anne's commentary was comedic gold. Also, I loved the magic system in this book and how it dealt with ghosts. So clever!
Along with worrying about her upcoming exam, Bartleby is dealing with various Magical students who are disappearing from campus after they ask for accommodations for their disabilities. She works with her friends to fix the problems with Anne and figure out what is happening with the students.
I found that the novel balances the mystery of what is happening with the students well with the other aspects of Bartleby's life. As someone with anxiety problems, I related a lot with Bartleby's struggles. Her journey was one I enjoyed following. She's bright and deeply passionate about becoming a mage, even if she sometimes believes that she will never be as good as her peers. I also loved following Bartleby's friends and love interest, James. Their friend group was strong and I really enjoyed their dynamic throughout the book.
- Snake-Eater, as T. Kingfisher even says herself, is a weird book and I loved ever minute of it. For the most part, it is a cozy novel with some creepy moments. It follows a woman named Selena who has moved to a new town. Found family is one of my favorite elements in a story and I loved how the "found family" in this story was the entire town of Quartz Creek.
Selena has fled a terrible relationship and is dealing with heavy anxiety. She is constantly over-thinking everything she says because she does not want to come off the wrong way. Her original plan is to come stay with her aunt Amelia, who has invited her in the past. When she gets to the town though, she realizes that Aunt Amelia is dead. She is told she can have Amelia's house and she decides to stay for a bit until she can get back on her feet.
The town of Quartz Creek welcome Selena and her dog Copper instantly. I love how they were a quirky group and seeing how welcoming they were to Selena from the very beginning. My favorite characters were definitely Grandma Billy, a wise-cracking older woman, Father Aguirre, a Catholic priest who keeps surprising Selena, and Selena's dog Copper. Grandma Billy is one of the best characters I have ever read. Almost everything she said in the book made me smile and oftentimes chuckle to myself. She is a joy to read. I love the entire dynamic of the town but especially between Grandma, Father Aguirre, and Selena.
This book has many creepy elements that T. Kingfisher balances so well with her signature humor and the coziness. Her characters are fantastic as always. Snake-Eater was a wonderful book that has me thinking I'll never look at a road-runner the same again.
