The Book Bit: October 2017 Ed.

Oh, I love October!  It is my favorite month!  And not solely because it is my birthday and anniversary month.  It's just the perfect month.  The trees turn and create beautiful colors, there's that crisp edge to the air, the weather is perfect (well... mostly), sweaters and fuzzy socks, leaf piles to jump in, pumpkins everywhere and Halloween!  I mean, how is it not everyone's favorite month?  So, because October is already so special to me, I take extra care in choosing my books for the month of October.  Horror.  All month long.  And I spend roughly two weeks picking the books, because I want them to be amazing!  Now, I understand, horror is not for everyone.  I love being scared by literature.  It takes some extreme creativity and imagination to craft a successful horror novel.  They are hard to find.  Equally, you have to have a very active imagination to be scared by literature.  However hard it is to find good horror, I am always searching for the scare!  So, here's what I dug up for you guys this month.



"The Graveyard Apartment"- Mariko Koike

  This book was originally written in Japanese in the late 80's and was only just recently translated to English.  Guys, this one got me.  Like, had trouble sleeping with the closet door open and needing a nightlight.  Paranormal is my favorite brand of horror.  Now, it's a little different because there is a bit of a time gap and it's in another country.  Don't let that deter you, it becomes normal quickly.  Basically we meet this typical family, young married couple with a young daughter, dog, the whole bit and they score on this new apartment.  It's in an up and coming part of town, brand new building and close to fantastic schools, the downside, its right behind a cemetery.  For the price, the couple decide they can just ignore the unsightly view over their balcony and start fresh.  Soon, things start happening.  Unexplainable things.  Shortly after, the building starts emptying out.  Tenants vacate and soon the apartment complex is left empty.  They have to decide whether they can continue to stay and live with the "disturbances" or if they should leave.  I'm pretty sure it is only because it was set in Japan, but this book reminded me a lot of "The Grudge".  I kept getting these freaking images of that little boy in my mind when I was reading it.  Totally didn't help my freak-out factor.  Seriously, this book will give you the heeby jeebies, and the ending didn't sit well with me at first, but I came around to appreciating it.


"Ten"- Gretchen McNeil

  Top secret party on a private island over a three day weekend?  Sounds awesome to bff's Meg and Minnie.  They may each have their own reasons for going, which include the high school's most eligible bachelor, but they are ready to have one last fling before graduation.  Ten teens set to have the weekend of their lives, little do they know it may be their last.  This book hit me like Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None".  Soon into the weekend someone turns up dead.  And when a second and third body turn up, Meg can't believe that they could all be purely accidental.  Someone is after them.  But who?  And why?  This read more like a psychological thriller, a who-done-it novel, rather than a true horror book.  Did that make it an less good?  No.  It had me on the edge of my seat the whole time and I couldn't stop flipping the pages.  I'm usually pretty good at solving these, but this one had me stumped, McNeil really came full circle with her deception and I loved it!  It is written based around high school kids and I know some people find that a little off-putting, but it made sense to me.  Think about how much less life experience they have and they think a little less rationally, quick to finger point.  Again, it didn't really hit the horror button for me, but it was still a good read.  See if you can guess who done it before the big reveal!


"Hex"- Thomas Olde Heuvelt

  This book was the winner this month.  I'm still having trouble walking into darkened rooms without my heart skipping a little faster than usual.  Katherine Van Wyler died almost three hundred and fifty years ago, but she still stalks around town, arms chained to her sides, eyes and mouth sewn shut.  You never know where the Black Rock Witch is going to pop up.  Maybe in your house, outside the coffee shop or maybe you'll see her roaming the streets.  Don't be fooled, she isn't harmless; in fact she's put a curse on the town.  Just ask anyone who's tried to leave for more than a few days at a time.  In town, everyone knows you are to respect the witch because you never know if she will retaliate to mistreatment.  Also, never get close enough to hear her whispering.  Welcome to Black Spring.  It took a minute to actually figure out what was happening in the book, the opening is not the strongest, but you will get hooked; trust me.  This book was uber freaky!  Since it's a witch book, I automatically assumed it would be a period piece, but it's set in 2012 which makes it even more interesting!  When a few boys get it into their heads to try and see how far they can push the Black Rock Witch, we see just how catastrophic things can get and how strong Katherine Van Wyler actually is.  This was originally done in Dutch and translated.  In the prologue, Heuvelt specifically states that when he was working on the English translation he saw it as a way to have another go at the ending, so this is not the original ending.  Heuvelt says he likes the rewrite ending the best (it's brilliant, by the way), but I'm still pretty curious about the original ending.  Also, it's been mentioned in the interwebs that this has a bid to become a TV series, which would be amazing.  So, read it!  Trust me, this one will mess with you.  I know it seems a little far fetched, but man, oh man; it's so much better than I thought it would be.


  That's all I have for you this month, I hope you get your scare on!  Will be starting on next month's lineup soon, so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.  Also, are there any genres you guys like more than others?  I try and mix it up, offer a nice variety, but hey, I'm open to criticism.  Would love to hear from you guys!  Also, Happy Halloween!