Welcome to Litsy!

What better time to read about haunted houses than on a rainy day?

O…M…GEE! @BookmarkTavern I love EVERYTHING!!! Mexican Gothic has been top of my list since its release, Grady Hendrix is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors, & I completely forgot about Ghostland, but it was on my Goodreads TBR. The bookmarks & plushie are so cute, & I love the candle. The movie is the first thing I‘ll watch after the World Series is over (I can‘t believe I‘ve never seen it). Maya says thank you for the box! #HHS #HHS23

This book explores the history of haunted places in the US, both the ones that rewrite history as well as the ones that ignore it. I think the book suffered for the sheer breadth of the ideas it was teying to explore because it lacked one clear thesis. My favorite part was learning about how 19th and early 20th century Spiritualism forever changed how ghosts are viewed in America even to this day.

#Ghost day 5 #scarathlondailyprompts This is a great nonfiction that explores the history of ghost stories and why the United States holds so closely to them. It's a fascinating read.
#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash @StayCurious

I enjoyed this book but it wasn‘t what I expected. It was more history of some famously haunted places and truth telling stories. It definitely made me think and wasn‘t just a book that was made to be scary or even make you believe. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

So my niece is heading off to college next week.
And her first Lit class isn‘t English Composition 101.
Or Early American Literature.
No.
It‘s “American Ghosts.”
What?!?!!
So, so jealous 😜
And… also so excited I can already recommend books to complement her reading and maybe use for a paper 💁🏻‍♀️♥️

#Alphabetgame
#LetterE #LetterF #LetterG
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Post a favorite book with the letter "E", "F", "G" and tag some friends!

Thank you for the tag @TheSpineView ?
Wanna play? @DarkMina @JessClark78 @Librarybelle

Car rides and new books are a great match

We conflate the dead with actual witches, we attribute actual supernatural powers to those killed, we revisit their deaths for comedy and entertainment. Above all, we fail to apply the lessons we've supposedly learned from 1692, for by no means was this the last time in American history when a powerless minority was scapegoated, persecuted, and killed by an ignorant mass. We recall the events of Salem, but we can't quite remember why they matter.

Hosting my book club next month, and I‘m crowdsourcing my pick because I haven‘t chosen yet! 😂

1. Yup! They‘ve been going since ‘95. I joined in 2011.
2. My last pick. Sparked some very interesting discussions.
3. Debate. My book club is all older than me, white, fairly conservative, and religious. I like to share books that aren‘t what they usually read.

#SundayFunday Have a great day and don‘t forget to tag me! ❤️

Where haunted houses and ghosts meet history and cultural critique. I love reading about ghosts, but have never seen them explored as part of a larger context. The book explores everything from racism, sexism, classism and even the “future” of ghosts/hauntings! I definitely recommend this book.

🎃 116 points
#BookSpin #BookspinBingo #Scarathlon2021 #TeamHendrix

👻👻

1. I don‘t not believe in ghosts. There‘s plenty of unexplained phenomena in the world that could be ghosts.
2. A road trip of haunted places in US with discussions of the historical context of the stories.
3. There is a Woman in White who haunts the main building of the college I attended. She‘s supposed to be a bride killed in a drunk driving accident on her way to her honeymoon.

#SundayFunday Have a spooky day & don‘t forget to tag me!

#ConflictedWorlds #Fear
@Eggs & @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ?
A warning to anyone who loves ghost stories and haunted places, the author exposes the true stories from the myths about some of the most "Haunted" locations.

I am following the Literati Atlas Obscura bookclub and July‘s pick was Ghostland. Much more a social commentary on what our ghost stories and haunted places actually signify- the retelling of a community‘s story, fiction to alter reality- a recognition of damage done and the need to explain it. I came to this book thinking I was going to read some ghostly tales- and I did, just not the paranormal ones I was expecting- spookier! 4⭐️

Super happy to be home 💙🌊

This is my second time through this one. It's summer time and the right time to be thinking about ghosts, in my opinion. If you're looking for something more about the history of why ghosts are with us from a more psychological perspective rather than just looking for something spooky, then this might be up your alley.

Here are some choices for #GroupW
#LMPBC #Round12
@MaleficentBookDragon @Reggie @JackOBotts

Quite an interesting look at how ghost sightings, landscape, and psychology intertwine. Dickey explores not only the ghosts of America‘s past, but tries to speculate on the possible ghosts of the future.

I am something of a non-believer, but I do also realize so much of the universe is beyond the human senses. Who knows what (or who) is hovering just outside our sensory bubble, desperately trying to get our attention?

Very interesting read.

Dickey covers a wide range of hauntings, gives the history/possible reasons for the hauntings, and people‘s attempts to debunk them.
I‘m not sure I believe in ghosts but I‘ve seen things that can‘t be explained so I related with Dickey‘s quasi-believer attitude throughout the book.
Believers probably won‘t care for this book, but fence-sitters like me who like dark history will.

I found this quite interesting. There was a section on haunted towns/cities, as well, and I particularly liked the part on New Orleans, because I‘ve been there. I had heard of some of the other stories/places he talked about

#ForeverNovember @OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#BlackCover

Ghostland combines history, travel, architecture, urban legend, and philosophy. But I also have to say it wasn‘t nearly as gripping as I expected. Of course, I was significantly distracted by current events all month. Either way, the author wandered from place to place and from theme to theme. It could‘ve been so much more.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com
#thebibliophage2020 #nonfictionnerds

The title is misleading—I expected to read about the ghost stories & histories, a more balanced approach. But it's clear that Dickey isn't a believer & he doesn't really tell the stories so much as just try to debunk them. I was ultimately disappointed by this book. Too much personal opinions & filler. If you're looking to read ghost stories & histories (like I was), then Ghostland might not be for you.

Full review on GR.

Smeh. A lot of time is spent bursting bubbles in this book. Some of the sociological connections he makes are interesting, but overall I found the writing dry and repetitive. All the information is basic and introductory. The New Orleans chapter was a dud for me because none of it was new information and so much was left out. Even some new-to-me stories were boring. This just didn‘t meet my expectations.

#Screamathon @4thhouseontheleft

This was a “meh” for me. The author highlights ghost stories from around the country and the details behind the haunting—murders, suicides etc. And then really overstretches to argue broad sociological underpinnings. Sow good stories, a few interesting points made. Racked the points last week for #teamslaughter #scarathlon and more readathons than I have room to list.

My tally for week #2 is 993 points.

#scarathlon2020
#teamharkness

I thought this was pretty profound. Especially in a book about ghosts and hauntings. He discusses a lot around this broader sociological idea.

Needing some help with tracking points @Clwojick . I read for 14 hours for the #Cyoreadathon. So 140 points. I finished a mystery short story: 15 points. I‘m also participating in #BookspinBingo and #Scarathom. For those two I don‘t track hours I count books correct? And it‘s okay for me to participate in the Instagram readathons only on Litsy? Use my IG account more for work. Thanks! #TeamSlaughter #Scarathon2020

Managed more than 3 hours of reading/audioing today including tagged book on the history and sociology of famous U.S. hauntings. But A weird way to start #Scarathlon #Screamathon today with my stack of murder mysteries for #TeamSlaughter: came home early to a murder scene two blocks from my home with cops and crime tape everywhere. Sigh. @Clwojick @StayCurious

This month, #NonfictionNerds is reading Ghostland and getting our Halloween on! If you‘d like to join us, you can snag the book on Kindle for $4.99!

https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/1061034

Hey everyone! If you haven‘t read Ghostland yet, it‘s only $4.99 on kindle right now. It definitely fits #TeamHarkness more than #TeamSlaughter but I‘m planning on adding it to my stack anyway. I‘m not huge into monsters or zombies but I do definitely like ghosts and paranormal in addition to crime and thrillers. #Scarathlon @Clwojick

Ready for #Scarathlon2020 and #Screamathon2020. Go #TeamSlaughter! I have a mix of print, ebook and audio. Focusing on books that have been on my shelves forever, doing a deep dive into Nordic Noir and have some Walter Mosley, James Ellroy and Tana French lines up. And an Australian murder mystery with an environmental angle. Tagged book is my first audio and is a #NonFictionNerds read. @Clwojick @StayCurious

This look at haunted places in America is more cultural history than spooky ghost story, but it's still going to haunt you. Really well researched and well written, America is filled with ghosts.

Doing a re-read for bookclub and it mentioned the cemetery I live near gets a shout-out (witching the context of urban planning and not spooks thankfully).

📖 Tagged
📖 Simon R. Green
📽 The Greatest Showman
📺 Gilligan's Island
🎶 Green Day
🎶 Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne

#manicmonday #letterG @JoScho

I am giving this a pick even though it was not what I expected. I wanted to be creeped out by real accounts of ghosts, and instead this was more about debunking myths, which is not nearly as much fun.
#pop19 #ghoststory

Read most of this today and listened to most of China Rich Girlfriend (not a spooky season read but my library hold came in, c'est la vie). Took an extended break for food, Bake Off, and feeling sorry for the husband with bronchitis. Getting back into books but I think I'm done with ghosts for the day.

Arrived early for a school book fair, luckily I'm greatly enjoying the book our book club is reading for Spooktober. Less lucky, I'm the only one in bookclub enjoying the book and will likely have to defend my choice next week. 😱

I‘m feeling a little disconnected from litsy - the first half of this month has been kind of bananas and I just haven‘t had the time to keep up with any social media, let alone my favorite social media... but it seems like things are calming down and I have more presence of mind. Easing back into the swing of things with a #Caturday evening post. The kittehs are keeping me company while I read about ghost stories around the US 👻 😺 #catsoflitsy

Fantastic! Dickey explores why we come up with the ghost stories that permeate American society (though many of our most famous yarns are full of fabrications or made up whole cloth) and what these stories tell us about our country and culture. Well researched, nuanced, and highly readable.

September was a slow reading month for me (only 9 books) and I started October off with company in the house so it has been wonderful today to settle down and get some serious reading done. Finished the majority of The Haunting of Hill House, a short story (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge) and now some spooky #nonfiction with my almost black cat Polly. #catsoflitsy

I can finally start my spooky reading for the month! These are the two I‘m starting with (and they may or may not be the books I‘ll discuss at #ATXReadersSociety later this month). I‘ve heard good things about both of these books, so my hopes are high. 😄 #spookyreads #octobermoodreading (#catsoflitsy cameo courtesy of Elliot)

I read this for last year's #screamathon and really enjoyed it. It's full of #urbanlegend(s).

#screamathonphotochallenge

@4thhouseontheleft

#screamathon #ghost

I only have a small selection of my books with me right now but this is on my shortlist as far as TBRs go.

@4thhouseontheleft

#chillingphotochallenge #haunted

A road trip around the most haunted places of the United States. 👻

#TeamSlaughter #Scarathlon @Clwojick 1 point

I‘m terrible at keeping to an actual TBR, but here are some ideas for what I‘d like to read in October. #OctoberTBR #FallisBooked

A fascinating history of the United States in haunted places, including cemeteries, parks, government buildings, whole cities, and of course the ubiquitous haunted house. It doesn‘t really delve into the paranormal question of whether ghosts really exist or not, but rather analyzes the reasons why we come up with these ghost stories. Now I‘d like to visit some haunts near my city! 👻