Saved up & took my son to Hamilton! His smile was so wide as he whispered all the lyrics! His library choices yesterday reflect this… #Hamilton #biography #kidlit

Good but not great. Interesting questions arise in this magical realism tale. Mysterious strings foretell the length of adults‘ lives. 8 characters react to this strange event, but it took me 150 pages to care deeply about them. Setting was underutilized. Author uses a politician to highlight parallels between the strings & real world evils like ableism. Maura & Nina navigate love & fate. Good book group material. #4stars #theme #magicalrealism

Loving this spooky read! The Bram Stoker horror awards prelim ballot came out, & I grabbed this book because I hadn‘t read it. Like to be an educated voter. Love the murder victims turned ghosts. So far, It‘s like a ghostly tale meets a serial killer thriller. Fun! #currentread #supernatural #horror

I could not draw any character or apartment, vivid description is lacking, but fascinating social issues (like ableism, ageism, privacy, fear of other) continue to arise. The only vivid scene I could really picture so far was at the driving range, but as a “big idea” theme book this is good… #currentread #bookgroupbook #socialissues #theme

LNY is coming! The books in the cute “Night Before” series vary in story quality, but we really liked this one. Co-author Ho contributes fun cultural details. My 8 year old really enjoyed it. #lunarnewyear #kidlit #yearoftherabbit

Enjoyed reading about Dr. King though his son‘s eyes. The challenge & inspiration of MLK Jr ‘s message shines through. Recommend for grades K-2. Be prepared to discuss violence civil rights activists were forced to endure. #5stars #kidlit

Shirley Jackson tries to catch snowflakes.
Opening of a literary essay? #bookishcat #snowday #catsoflitsy

Who do y‘all recommend following on Booktok? If you know of accounts with fun or helpful reviews like folks leave here, (including your own), let me know… #bookreviews #tiktok #bookish

Enjoying this fun mystery set amidst beautiful mountains. Think Longmire series meets Netflix‘s “Virgin River” fish-out-of water moments. Jennifer Herrington and her husband try to find their way back to each other while solving the murder their caretaker has been framed for in a small Wyoming town. Light read after heavy horror. Pic by the author, not me. #mystery #strongsetting #romanticsuspense

Read this book. Jade stays with you after the last unique page. Slasher flicks as metaphor for alienation, racism against native communities, family violence… in a dark and sometimes darkly comic tale. The bold, vivid, sad, unexpected ending blew me away. Perhaps my favorite book of 2022? #unique #horror #comingofage #indigenousvoices

Happy Holidays, fellow bookworms! Hope that you enjoy time with good friends and good books this holiday weekend. #happyholidays #merrychristmas

Highly recommend this scary, inclusive anthology in which the demons of racism, homophobia & sexism terrify one as much as the actual demons. Scary & thought- provoking tales by S.A. Cosby & Holly L Walrath shone. And “Where the Lovelight Gleams” will break your heart. Damn. #horror #shortstories #racism #homophobia #sexism

Thankful for my fellow readers. Happy Thanksgiving! (One of my thankfulness feathers reads “books.”) #hHappyThanksgiving #thankful

New little corner shelf in my study. #shelfie #lovelycovers #bookworm

…And I think I know what the big final twist is. No matter, I am enjoying the story. Some over-hyped books fall short for me (“Crawdads”), but I am enjoying all the family dysfunction…. #audiobooks #hypedbooks #mystery

The ominous foreshadowing, frightening killer(s), language, and (fascinating) use of parentheses make this brilliant thriller unique. I do have to admit that Hannah, the housewife whose husband takes her for granted, grates on my nerves a bit. Now that there are more chapters narrated by Mikey & others, I am enjoying it even more. #amreading #serialkillers #thriller

Scarathalon total was 5,680. Read 2 adult books, 4 kids‘ books, & listened to 2 audiobooks for 31 by 31. Thanks to @Clwojick for all her work organizing our team and to @Catsandbooks for the extra motivation of her read-a-thon. Enjoy the rest of fall, #TeamSlaughter! #scarathalon22 #31by31 #grateful

Hope your Halloween was happy! Had a busy weekend in which I maybe lost track of a few points? Anyway, enjoyed my audiobooks, kid's books & movies. Kiddo had a good holiday. #Scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter #31by31 #Halloween

As a former expat, “Watcher” was a particular creepy movie with which to end my Scarathalon horrors. Isolated in a confusing foreign land with a difficult language, Romania, an expat wife encounters a dangerous neighbor… #horror #stalking #expatlife #movies #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalon

Thrilled & grateful to open my frighteningly great All Hallows‘ Read Swap gifts from L. long! I have been dying to read this anthology which includes a story by my writer pal Holly L Walrath, I didn‘t own Coraline, & the pumpkins are my fave Halloween treat! Thank you! 🎃❤️ #AHRS #halloweenswaps #grateful #horror #TeamSlaughter

It starts slowly, & isn‘t her best, but once Poirot is on the case investigating the murder of a teen at a Halloween party, it‘s a lot of fun. Or is it a double murder? I‘ll let you find out… #murder #Halloweenread #audiobooks #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalon #31by31

Annual family screening of Mama‘s favorite movie! #wickedwitch #Halloween #movies #Scarathalon #TeamSlaughter

This novel is slicing its way to the top of my TBR pile. #knife #photoprompt #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalon

3 stars for this Halloween tale your second grader can read on his/her/their own. Haunted house plot is cute, but it‘s a bit dated and a white girl dresses up as Sacajawea, which was a common mistake when I was younger but not something to condone. #Halloween #kidlit #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalon22

1 BR is creepy AF and well done. Rough one for cat lovers. Smart. #horror #movies #Scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter

I enjoyed Hanna‘s sarcastic demeanor, and who doesn‘t love a cookie bakery & a moody cat, but it honestly felt like a generic cozy. Strong setting can make a cozy stand out, but descriptions of Lake Eden weren‘t particularly vivid or memorable. Narrator was good. #3stars #teamread #mystery #scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter #31by31

Week 3 points for Team Slaughter. Updated to include the words about autumn game & participation points on top of the word search (it was “murder”) in Team read & read—a-thon hours. Still true that the only good part of being sick this week was the reading! Thanks for your patience with the math, @Clwojick #Scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter #Week3points

My All Hallows Read Swap package arrived! Exciting. Can‘t wait to open it next week. #allhallowsreadswap #halloweenswaps

The love and pain shared between sisters Leigh and Callie make this thriller stand out. Icy rich boy rapist Andrew is a creepy villain. Minor characters have a few tricks up their sleeves as well. Enjoyed this one even more than “Pieces of her,” I think because of the strong sibling relationship. #TeamRead #thriller #Scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter #31by31

So scary and so good. Don‘t let your kid go anywhere near a van, and watch this movie. Finn & his sister are fighters. #horror #siblings #recommend #movie #Scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter

Christopher Lee performs this short tale of murder & courtroom drama with flair! The mistress character is such fun. Classic Christie. #audiobook #mystery #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalon2022 #31by31

Scarathalon photo prompt: Murder. I read this one quickly for a book group, so I may actually try to reread it before I watch the new Masterpiece Mystery PBS miniseries it inspired. #murder #photoprompt #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalon22

“So Not Ghoul” is a colorful, funny, poignant book about a Chinese-American ghost who is laughed at for not dressing like her peers. Great for grades 2-4, grade 3 kids into clothes may be ideal audience. My son thought “girl ghosts” were not very interesting. But it‘s a good one. #diversebooks #ghoststories #kidlit #AsianAmericanAuthors #Scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter #31by31

Recommend “Detour” by Joyce Carol Oates in this collection. Enjoyed this tale of murder and “captivity” in a long marriage. Well-written psychological suspense. #shortstory #murder #TeamSlaughter #scarathalon22 #31by31

5 stars for this fun Halloween read in which the librarian conjures famous literary monsters from a teacher‘s magic book. Creatures from the Headless Horseman to the Jabberwocky show their kind side over apple cider and cookies. Spookily good story for grades 1-4 that encourages reading. #kidlit #librarian #halloween #Scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter #31by31

This strange gem of a book, one of my favorites, features a sugar bowl one should avoid! #poison #scarathalon22 #photoprompt #TeamSlaughter

“Only Stand and Wait” is a previously unpublished suspense tale by the brilliant Jackson in a recent edition of the “Strand Magazine.” It is more of a fable than a straight story; she does not even give the main characters names. The “blindness” discussed in the piece is more symbolic than literal. (I don‘t read this as an intended depiction of the truly visually impaired by Jackson.) #shortstory #suspense #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalon22

“Charlie Roberts” is a previously unpublished Shirley Jackson domestic suspense story recently published in “Strand Magazine.” A very short reflection of the undertones of married life in which she, as the editor writes “says more in the spaces between, in the unarticulated.” Excellent prose from Jackson, as always, in a form that would now be called flash fiction. #story #domesticsuspense #horrorauthors #scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter

It‘s not like I‘m obsessed with “The Watcher,” and stayed up too late on a Sunday night binge-watching it… ok, it totally is. #horror #Scarathalon22 #truecrime #tv #TeamSlaughter

Snapping & laughing with wee boy tonight. #halloweenmovies #familymovie #TeamSlaughter #scarathalon22

Fun read for Star Wars fans age 6-100. Monsters don‘t scare Darth, but it‘s funny when his fear is finally revealed. #Scared #Scarathalonprompt #TeamSlaughter #31by31 #kidlit

So into “The Watcher”‘ last night that I forgot to post this… Comic creator making a difference for women in the industry, until her colleague shows up dead! Got this signed at Bouchercon & it‘s near the top of my tbr pile. #scarathalondailyprompt #TeamSlaughter #secret

Read and listened more hours this week. Points are less-but I did do less of the word searching (got distracting.) Enjoying the motivation to read & watch. #scarathalon22 #31by31 #TeamSlaughter #week2

Sent off my All Hallows‘ Read Swap package yesterday (in a recycled box. I forgot to post the pic.) Fun! Thanks for arranging the swap, @MaleficentBookDragon #halloweenreads #allhallowsread #litsyswaps

Halloweentown is a fun holiday movie for the family. Kiddo enjoyed it tonight. #Halloweenmovie #Scarathalon22 #TeamSlaughter #familyHalloween

Clever, suspenseful horror fiction written in the style of true crime. Who Is the killer abducting teen girls & posing them in the quiet spots of the author‘s real, seemingly safe home town? The author wraps his own true story of life as a young writer living with his super nice parents into this eerie page-turner. True-crime-style photos of the fictional investigation add a fun touch. 5 stars. #serialkillers #TeamSlaughter #31by31 #scarathalon

Atmospheric YA folk horror. Starts strong with a great setting, missing girls & a creepy devil of island lore. 3 girls face evil, adventures and crushes on each other. They lost me a bit on the YA love story. I wanted more evil & less description of the girls. Teens might enjoy that subplot more. Narrator does a good job but the writing & reading in the chapters narrated by Val gets heavy handed. #audiobook #teamslaughter #Scarathalon #31by31

Creepy psychological horror series from Ryan Murphy on Netflix. Good acting. After the first two episodes of “The Watcher,” I‘m hooked. #horror #TeamSlaughter #Scarathalon

Another one for the witch photo prompt. My family loves this witch on a quest for pumpkin pie… #witch #kidlit #Scarathalon2022 #teamslaughter #5points

Blatant promotion of a charity anthology close to my heart for today‘s witch prompt- my own story of witchcraft in this collection to benefit the Women‘s Law Center. Sorry for the bsp, but now is a crucial time to support women‘s rights, & I think witches of yore would approve… #witch #photoprompt #Scarathalon22 #teamslaughter #5points