For Fun [4] - Spooktastic Reads!

Hey quirks! In just a couple of weeks it will be Halloween, so to get in the mood for the spookiest time of year, how about some spooktastic reads! Below is a list of books I've been reading this month, as well as some all-time favorites that are just the right amount of creepy. Share your spooktastic favorites in the comments!

Mara Dyer series by Michelle Hodkin

Messages in blood, faces in mirrors, disembodied voices, and a myriad of other horrors haunt Mara Dyer. I recently re-read the first book and then the second book in a handful of hours because they are SO GOOD, so you get all the spooky you could ask for in a very awesome story, and the final book comes out on November 4th!  I <3 M.A.D.N.E.S.S.

The Revenant and The Dark Between by Sonia Gensler

Sonia Gensler is one of the most under-hyped authors, and I can't stand it because her books are not only intelligently written, but they are spooky and mysterious and perfect escapes into the (half-fictional) past. She weaves together history and the supernatural so well that you feel like these things could have really happened, and I fly through her books. Luckily, we'll be getting another one (this time contemporary!) next fall!

Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson

Ghosts, ghosts, and more ghosts! Also mysteries, murders, and heart-wrenching tragedies! I love this series, except for, you know, when Maureen Johnson is ripping my heart out. Okay, I love it then too. I can't wait for The Shadow Cabinet, which doesn't come out until next February.

Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

In an effort to diversify my reading, I wanted to read a book that was translated into English. I have had some of Zafon's books on my TBR, but they are series books that weren't currently available from my library, so when I stumbled upon this YA standalone, I jumped on the chance to read it. I had no idea what I was getting into, but this story is beautifully written but supremely creepy. If it were made into a movie, I don't know that I could watch without my covering my eyes at several parts. It's like a Spanish mash-up of Frankenstein and Phantom of the Opera, set in mysterious Barcelona and I loved every second of it.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

I love this book. It is so weird and mysterious and Gaiman-y. It follows a boy named Bod, who grows up in a graveyard and is raised by a various cast of non-living/non-human persons. It starts out being strange then moves to spooky and then hits some action that has you feeling like you're running through the tombstones alongside Bod, and it is so much fun.

Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan

I could have easily put several of Duncan's other books on this list, but this one is creepy from page one and holds until the very end. Supposedly a movie is in the works for it and if so, that is one scary movie I will be seeing.

Jasper Dent series by Barry Lyga

If you like more danger thrills than supernatural chills, Barry Lyga's series about a boy raised by a serial killer is probably for you. These are totally contemporary and read like dark mystery-thrillers, exciting and creepy (especially when Jasper's dad is involved), but with that YA twist.

The Tale-Tell Heart and Other Writings by Edgar Allan Poe

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

 

The short stories of Poe are some of the creepiest ever. I have a hard time deciding which is my favorite (though I'm partial to "The Black Cat"). Add in the fact that he is credited with creating the mystery genre and it's easy to see why he's one of my all-time favorites. As for The Phantom of the Opera, this one I came to read after loving the movie version, and while the film is full of drama, the book takes up the crazy and creepy to another level, making it a lot of fun to read.

Ink Anticipation [8] - February 2013

This old feature has a new use!
Ink Anticipation is now for sharing what books I am looking forward to that will be released during the following month. Clicking on a book cover will either take you to the book's Goodreads page or to my review. Don't forget to share your most anticipated releases in the comments!

February 5th

February 12th

February 19th

February 26th

From Where I'm Standing [10] - 2012: The Year of Signings and Sadness

I did a Year in Review post for last year that I had a lot of fun with, chronicling the events in my life, but if you have been following WQ this year, you know what the single most important and devastating event was, the loss of my dad.

Despite the hardships of this year, there were good times. One was celebrating my first wedding anniversary with Captain Italian. All the others came in the form of awesome bookish events.

Those special times where I got to meet authors and other book bloggers is what I am going to focus on in this post. I apologize because I have a boat load of stuff from these things that I never shared, so here you get it all a.k.a. this is a long post with a lot of photos.




Way back in April I finally figured out what I wanted to use this feature for, and I did that, but only a couple of times because I got lazy and then things happened and you know the rest of the story. The two posts I did get to were about getting to meet Rachel Hawkins at Parnassus Books in March and getting to go to SOKY Book Fest in April. What follows is all of what I didn't get to (and advanced apologies for my lacking photography skills).

MAY
My trusty friend and traveller, Meg, accompanied me to Parnassus Books to see Myra McEntire and Amy Plum. It was a lovely event that I remember for two main reasons. The first is that there was a guy doing some filming for a piece on independent bookstores for the BBC and at one point Myra looked right at him and basically said she wanted to lick Matt Smith's face. Having not delved into Doctor Who yet, I didn't really get it, but oh how I do now. Second, this was the first time I got to meet some of my bestest blogger friends!

Myra McEntire and Amy Plum

L-R: Hannah (The Book Vortex), Nikki (Books Most Wanted), Marla (Starting the Next Chapter), Lauren (The Housework Can Wait), me, Meg (Myth-illogical)

JUNE
At the last minute I got the opportunity to go to Nashville to see Myra McEntire again at a public library with Marla (STNC). We got there a little late because we were trying to find copies of Timepiece (my review here) and the bookstore we went to was out. But we did get there and it was great fun because we all just sat in a circle and just chatted with Myra about anything and everything. We got to see Lauren (THCW) again and I finally got to meet Shannon of Stalking the Bookshelves. I also ran into reader and bookseller Elizabeth and her mother Debbie, both of whom I had met at the Southern Festival of Books in 2011. After the event, Shannon, Marla, Lauren, and I went to Applebee's and got to meet Paul, the worst server we've ever had the displeasure of knowing (you can read Lauren's hilarious account here).

L-R: Marla, Elizabeth, me, Myra McEntire, Shannon (Stalking the Bookshelves), Lauren

AUGUST

I got to go to my very first book launch for the release of C.J. Redwine's debut novel, Defiance (my review here). Meg and Captain Italian was with me as well as my friend Catilyn (whom I have converted to the YA cult muahaha). Lauren was there again (which is awesome because she is awesome and I love seeing her) and I also got to see Myra McEntire again and she remembered who I was and gave me a hug, which is also awesome. And then I ended up standing in line with Melinda Doolittle of American Idol fame, which was very cool because she is extremely sweet and gorgeous. There was also delicious cake made by C.J.'s husband, and all in all it was an amazing event.

Defiance cake!

AUGUST - SEPTEMBER
There were two events that I went to that sat on the weekend before Labor Day, and those were Dragon*Con and the Decatur Book Festival. Both were amazing but DBF was much more my speed, though I got to meet a lot of great authors at both places. There is too much to even talk about, so suffice it to say if you ever have the chance to go to either, you should go.

Dragon*Con

me and Captain Italian

Boggart Snape and Dumbledore

Debbie Viguie and Nancy Holder

Diana Peterfreund

Decatur Book Festival

David Levithan                                                 Meg Cabot    

   

Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia                                 Erin Morgenstern     

      Barry Lyga                                                   Maureen Johnson

SEPTEMBER

I went to two great events in September. The first happened right in my hometown when Anne Lamott, bestselling writer and author of one of most influential books for writers (Bird by Bird) came to our local university. Meg and I went and listened to her speak and it was amazing and inspirational.

Anne Lamott and me

The second event happened at the end of the month when I want to see C.J. Redwine and Kat Zhang at Parnassus Books. It was another lovely event where I got to see two great authors and meet another awesome blogger, Ang. After the event I went to McKay's and spent three hours filling a cart with books.

Kat Zhang and C.J. Redwine

OCTOBER

The month of falling leaves and spooks also had two events. The first was an Author/Blogger dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Nashville along with the Southern Festival of Books. The dinner was organized by Hannah (TBV) and I had so much fun at the dinner meeting a lot of bloggers I have only known online. I also got to meet and hang out with several amazing YA authors and I must shout out to Amanda Havard who sat next to me and had to deal with my randomness all night. It was great fun and the food was awesome too. Sadly, none of my pictures turned out because we were sitting at a very long table in a dim room.

The next day Meg and I made our way to the Southern Festival of Books. We got to listen to and meet so many great authors and came away with tons of books. We also got to eat lunch with Shannon and it was good to see her again, as well as hang out with Lauren after our last panel.

Siobhan Vivian and Jenny Han                                       Gillian Flynn            

          Bethany Griffin and Amanda Havard                             Sharon Cameron                                      

The second event was YA Trick or Treat at Parnassus Books. There were six authors on the panel and they shared their personal haunted happenings and talked about their books. The featured authors were Myra McEntrire (and if you think I've become a major Myra stalker...you would be correct), Victoria Schwab, Sonia Gensler, Beth Revis, Tessa Gratton, and Stephanie Perkins. Ruta Sepetys (whom I got to meet at SoFest but never got a picture with) and Kat Zhang were also there and we got a great picture with all of the authors together.

Back L-R: Ruta Sepetys, Stephanie Perkins, Sonia Gensler, Victoria Schwab, Myra McEntire, Beth Revis ~ Front L-R: Tessa Gratton, Kat Zhang

I also got the best signature from Myra in my copy of Timepiece which was totally worth not owning a copy until then. The reason I didn't own a copy yet (despite loving the book) is that when we went to the library to see her back in June, I only had one book and I had her sign it for Meg (who couldn't make it). Myra, because she is sweet and amazing and thought it was nice of me to use the only book I had for my friend (Meg is totally worth it ^_^), told me that she would send me a copy, but she forgot, which was no big deal because I thought it was nice of her to offer in the first place.

So when I got up to the table to have my copy signed at the event in October, she looked at me and stared for a second and then said, "I was supposed to have sent you this!" and it was so funny. So now she is supposed to send me the next book to make up for it and I got a great memory from it. Anyone not understanding why Myra is the best ever?

best signature ever

So quirks, that was my year of bookish events! I hope you enjoyed it and I applaud you if you made it to the end. If you can get to any signings or festivals in the coming year, I highly recommend it. And just like last year, my Favority-Fave Reads of 2012 list is coming up, so check back in a few day!