In honour of upcoming Hallowe'en my library loot takes a distinctly horrific hue this week. The Virago Book of Ghost Stories is of course intended to scare and The Complete Maus has a terrifying subject matter (the Holocaust) whereas Fun Home is a family tragicomic set in a funeral home.
Wolf Home is a book that I have been dreading recently and belongs aptly to a season of horror; moreover, the cover lends itself dramatically to the blood-red tinge the photo has taken, as does my sofa.
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg encouraging library use and its promotion.
Wolf Home is a book that I have been dreading recently and belongs aptly to a season of horror; moreover, the cover lends itself dramatically to the blood-red tinge the photo has taken, as does my sofa.
Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg encouraging library use and its promotion.
47 comments:
Ooooh I want to read The Virago Book of Ghost Stories and Wolf Hall and Funhome! I would be especially interested to hear how you get on with Funhome as I've never read graphic novels before but I'm intrigued by it after Audrey Niffenegger said she loved it. I'd like to give it a try!
I've just got a copy of Virago book of ghost stories - it was my last pre-ban purchase. Excited about it after reading JoAnn's blog. I'm wondering what happened to my copy of The woman in black from Vintage though...
PS: It is a cool photo :)
Great selection. I recommend starting with Wolf Hall then switching to one of the others whenever you get bored....you might need to go back to the library to get some more short stories to get you all the way through Wolf Hall!!!!
Rachel, I haven't read that many graphic novels myself yet surprisingly have two on the stack. I hope to get to Fun Home quite quickly.
Verity, JoAnn has enticed a lot of people into reading The Virago Book of Ghost Stories. The Woman in Black has probably been caught up in postal strike action but hopefully it will arrive for Hallowe'en! It's a great read.
I love the photo :).
Jackie, you made me laugh so hard! I think I found a good balance between the enjoyably scary and just the plain scary!
There must have been like 200 copies of Wolf Hall lining the Harper Collins stand at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Looked too heavy to carry around though...LOL!
Hi Lenore, thanks for commenting. I have just seen what you did come away with at the Frankfurt Book Fair and, yes, adding the tome that is Wolf Hall to that pile of books would have weighed you down!
Ooooh I love that picture, what a fabulous shot! I think the Virago Book of Ghost Stories is one I may have to try and get at my library, I have been hearing lots of good things about it.
Thanks, Simon! Yes, The Virago Book of Ghost Stories is definitely popular just now amongst bloggers (hardly surprising considering the season).
Cool loot! I really want to read Wolf Hall!
Thanks for commenting, Marg! I'm trying to go into Wolf Hall with a positive mental attitude but it daunts me. I can't wait to read it either as it's due back at the library in two and a half weeks!
Hope you enjoy working your way through The Virago Book of Ghost Stories as much as I have! Gaskell's is my favorite so far. Looks like I'm close to the top of the list for Wolf Hall, but am hoping it takes a little longer still. After The Woman in White, I need a shorter book (or two) first!
Love the reddish cast of the photo!
Love the photo! And I'm looking forward to your review of Wolf Hall =)
Oh no do not fear 'Wolf Hall' it is wonderful.
This is a great pile of books! I have Wolf Hall on the hold at the library, but I am starting to wonder if I can read it that fast because there will be no renewals!
JoAnn, I've heard good things about the Gaskell short story. I think after Wolf Hall I'll need a few shorter novels too! I'm pleased that you love the photo.
Kals, I hope you enjoy my review of WH as much as you do my photo!
Jodie, I have read more positive reviews than I have negative so I should put aside my preconceptions and hopefully enjoy it.
Kailana, that's my worry! I hate the pressure of being unable to renew a book and having to finish it over a short period (the time period itself isn't too short but it is when I have another dozen books lined up for the same time!)
That Virago Book of Ghost Stories looks fantastic, JoAnn has written about it as well. I have Wolf Hall on hold at the library but I don't like the NA cover art nearly as much as yours. That is a seriously sinister looking photo Claire!
What a good selection, I might try and read something scary for Halloween!!
Ha! I would absolutely put Wolf Hall in my "horror" pile as well, though to be honest, I don't think I'll ever attempt it.
Great photo! I should look out some ghost stories for next week, although I am seriously bad at reading anything spooky as I scare very easily!
Darlene, I like sinister mwah ha ha ha!
The Virago Book of Ghost Stories is definitely receiving some blogging attention just now. The cover for WH is nice (but the same can be said of The Children's Book...)
Dot, I'm going to read The Haunting of Hill House on the day itself! As well as some of the Virago stories hopefully.
Steph, the horror, the horror (Heart of Darkness!) I'm only attempting it because it won and for the potential sense of achievement if I finish it!
Sophie, I scare quite easily too!
I have that Virago anthology out right now! I'm really enjoying it, though I'm not sure I'd call them scary. ;) Delicious, for sure!
Eva, isn't it funny that most things that are thought of as scary usually aren't?!
the red hue adds to the creepiness, perfect photo! hope you enjoy your loot.
Thanks, Danielle; I think it is evocative of bloodiness.
Oh, I love the first three! Excellent loot! Well, I've only read half of the Virago book, but I'm sure I'll love the other half too :P
Great to hear, Ana! I am sure that you will enjoy that second half just as much.
Oh I'm sorry, I made the same mistake again. What I was supposed to comment on this post was this:
All those books are new to me. I'm not much of a fan of horror stories, but I'm willing to make an exception if the writing is really really good :)
No worries, Mark :).
I agree with your criteria; the writing has to be worth it. I don't find myself reading a lot of horror myself but I make an exception for ghost stories, Holocaust literature (taking horror to the extreme) and sometimes the odd grotesque thing or two (a couple of upcoming Japanese reads fit in this category).
Haha! Speaking of "grotesque", have you tried Natsuo Kirino's Grotesque? I wasn't able to finish it last year and I'm thinking maybe I'll try reading it again next year. It's not horror in the sense that it's spooky but you will need some guts to read it :)
No, but Out by Kirino is one of the novels that I have lined up!
Oh yes, I believe that's the most popular one. Hope you enjoy it then :)
The Virago book of Ghost Stories is excellent. :-) If memory serves there is also a book 2 which is also very good.
Mark, it's definitely the one I was first aware of but I've heard a lot about Grotesque and Real World too so will those providing I enjoy Out.
Cath, this is certainly a popular anthology!
Looks like you got some great loot this week! I just read Fun Home this summer and loved it. And I just took out the second volume of Maus this week!
Hi avisannchild, thanks for commenting. Great to hear further positive reviews of Fun Home and Maus; I'm excited to read them both!
I LOVE Maus! Horrible subject matter, but so necessary!
I must read Maus next, Rebecca!
My boyfriend is looking over my shoulder as I reply to my latest comment and he has noticed that I didn't give him credit for the fantastic photograph... so, yes, he took it :s. Thank you.
That looks like good loot! I am excited to see your reviews. Particularly of the Virago book (I admit I like it mainly because Virago is such a cool name) and Wolf Hall, which I loved. I didn't read anything else while reading Wolf Hall. I generally never read more than one book at a time, but for that one, I feel like I would have forgotten all the tenuous links I made if I tried reading something else at the same time!
That is excellent excellent photo!
From your pile I've read Maus and it's excellent as well :)
Aarti, Virago is a wonderful name for a publisher (of mainly books written by females) and I love when they use it in the titles of their anthologies i.e. The Virago Book of Ghost Stories or The Virago Book of Fairy Tales.
I am usually also a book monogamist and probably will tackle Wolf Hall alone but then take up something else in conjunction IF I'm not feeling it.
mee, I shall pass the compliments along to the photographer ;). Maus has such a solid reputation and I am very glad that I finally borrowed it.
Looks like a great picture. I've had Maus on my to-read list, since the beginning of the year, and I really should get hold of it now.
Heard/Read some wonderful things about the Virago Book of Ghost Stories, so will be looking forward to your review - hoping you reinstate what I've already heard :)
I have been avoiding Wolf Hall, but, someday......
anothercookie, my reviews may persuade you to eventually pick up Maus and The Virago Book of Ghost Stories but probably not Wolf Hall!
Ooo, I love it! My library stack has a mystery theme to it, unintentionally, which I guess is somewhat appropriate for the season. Enjoy!
Oh Pam, that definitely works for the season! Enjoy yours.
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