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Hello everyone!! It's somehow my turn to help pick the next book club book and this time I will actually finish it I promise!! But despite it being over 100F/37C the past week I am manifesting spooky season here and now, and I went with a bit of a haunted house theme. I tried to pick a decent variety within that theme with hopefully limited spooks with some of them. Below I have listed the title and summaries with links to their respective Goodreads pages.
For a "classic" I went with The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
182 pages. I've read a little by Shirley Jackson and liked it all so far.
For a "modern" option I went with How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
419 pages. I've heard good things about this author but haven't read any yet, so why not start here.
For a YA option I went with Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith
384 pages. Don't know a lot about this one but picked it in the hopes it might be a less scary option, maybe?
And for a nonfiction wild card I picked, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
464 pages. Honestly this is just a book I've wanted to read for a while and I've heard it's really good. Might just be the architecture nerd in me speaking lol
This poll will be open for 7 days, so get your votes in quick! Once the lucky winner emerges, we'll have two months to discuss and enjoy in this thread, before the next poll begins. I hope there's something here people are interested in!
React/discuss at your own pace. All of us are differing levels of busy and differing levels of how much we can read at once, so remember to use spoilers for spoiler-related content so you don't spoil for others! Please be respectful in this regard.
Site rules apply to all discussions. Be aware that books may contain mature themes or language.
The current book club leader schedule is as follows;
Jan/Feb - Cyndi
Mar/Apr- Rowan
May/Jun- Mia
Jul/Aug- Sarah
Sep/Oct- Kadi
Nov/Dec- Daphne
Anyone keen to take the lead in future should let Cyndi know!
For a "classic" I went with The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
182 pages. I've read a little by Shirley Jackson and liked it all so far.
It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, the lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.
For a "modern" option I went with How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
419 pages. I've heard good things about this author but haven't read any yet, so why not start here.
Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else.
When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.
Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.
But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…
When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.
Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.
But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…
For a YA option I went with Our Wicked Histories by Amy Goldsmith
384 pages. Don't know a lot about this one but picked it in the hopes it might be a less scary option, maybe?
A teen girl’s attempt to make amends with her former friend group takes a sinister turn during a weekend getaway at an ancestral Irish estate in this atmospheric, literary horror from the author of Those We Drown.
There’s something in the lake at Wren Hall.
At least, that’s what the locals say. Not that Meg cares much about the rumors. When she’s asked to spend Halloween weekend at the Ireland retreat of the wealthy Wren twins, she recognizes the invitation for exactly what it her last, and only, chance to save her spot at Greyscott’s, the exclusive British art school she attended on scholarship until last summer. Clever, beautiful, and talented, the twins are the pride of Greyscott’s, and kindhearted Lottie Wren was once Meg’s closest friends. But not anymore.
None of Meg’s old friend group have talked to her since she left school—and they especially don’t talk about the incident that resulted in her suspension. Now, Meg is willing to do whatever it takes to earn their forgiveness.
But Wren Hall turns out to be far from the idyllic country manor Meg was expecting. The house is damp and drafty, the mirrors are all covered, and the weed-choked lake is at the center of legends that haunt the property to this day—a tainted legacy the estate seems unable to shake.
The truth is, people aren’t the only ones who keep secrets. Places can keep them too—and Wren Hall is drowning in them. When the past bleeds into the present and ancient sins rise to the surface, Meg must ask herself how well she really knows her one-time best friends...or whether any of them will survive the weekend.
There’s something in the lake at Wren Hall.
At least, that’s what the locals say. Not that Meg cares much about the rumors. When she’s asked to spend Halloween weekend at the Ireland retreat of the wealthy Wren twins, she recognizes the invitation for exactly what it her last, and only, chance to save her spot at Greyscott’s, the exclusive British art school she attended on scholarship until last summer. Clever, beautiful, and talented, the twins are the pride of Greyscott’s, and kindhearted Lottie Wren was once Meg’s closest friends. But not anymore.
None of Meg’s old friend group have talked to her since she left school—and they especially don’t talk about the incident that resulted in her suspension. Now, Meg is willing to do whatever it takes to earn their forgiveness.
But Wren Hall turns out to be far from the idyllic country manor Meg was expecting. The house is damp and drafty, the mirrors are all covered, and the weed-choked lake is at the center of legends that haunt the property to this day—a tainted legacy the estate seems unable to shake.
The truth is, people aren’t the only ones who keep secrets. Places can keep them too—and Wren Hall is drowning in them. When the past bleeds into the present and ancient sins rise to the surface, Meg must ask herself how well she really knows her one-time best friends...or whether any of them will survive the weekend.
And for a nonfiction wild card I picked, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson
464 pages. Honestly this is just a book I've wanted to read for a while and I've heard it's really good. Might just be the architecture nerd in me speaking lol
Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that 'The Devil in the White City' is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.
Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.
The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims.
Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. - John Moe
Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.
The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims.
Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing. - John Moe
This poll will be open for 7 days, so get your votes in quick! Once the lucky winner emerges, we'll have two months to discuss and enjoy in this thread, before the next poll begins. I hope there's something here people are interested in!
React/discuss at your own pace. All of us are differing levels of busy and differing levels of how much we can read at once, so remember to use spoilers for spoiler-related content so you don't spoil for others! Please be respectful in this regard.
Site rules apply to all discussions. Be aware that books may contain mature themes or language.
The current book club leader schedule is as follows;
Mar/Apr- Rowan
May/Jun- Mia
Jul/Aug- Sarah
Sep/Oct- Kadi
Nov/Dec- Daphne
Anyone keen to take the lead in future should let Cyndi know!
very interested in these though
and because I've liked all of the other Jackson stories I've read! I also have the Grady Hendrix book on my list so hoping that one wins if Jackson doesn't. 
