Welcome aboard, train wreck.

Well, we made it. It's Halloween. Which means today is the last day of my 31 in 31. Did I succeed? Absolutely not. Did I try? I did. I really did but life is hard and lessons were learned.

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Please consider donating to help keep this going. $1 and I'll ask you what your favorite book is so we can talk about it. $5 and I'll write a review of a book you suggest. $10 and I'll write a blog suggested by you. As always, I will link the books and where you can buy them. Until I get my Amazon affiliate status back, I'll be using Books A Million links but I'm not an affiliate with them. Yet.

I finished out with twenty books read to completion. Which is still pretty amazing. Most were audiobooks. One paperback. Most were read while at work. Weekends were hard because family and errands and running around. Sometimes work was hard because of emergencies, meetings, and deadlines.

So, here is my list of what I liked, what I didn't, what I finished, and what I DNF'd. I'll also include a rating of broomsticks - because I'm a witch and it's Halloween. I rate on a scale of 1 being the worst and 5 being the best.

The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Lesser-Dead/Christopher-Buehlman/9780425272626?id=8348979038747

Liked - Great twist on the vampire theme.

Didn't like - I get that he's using language of the time, but some of the racial, religious, and homophobic slurs hit as unnecessary.

Rating - Four broomsticks

The Torment of Rachel Ames by Jeff Gunhus and Lisa Stathoplos

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Torment-Rachel-Ames/Jeff-Gunhus/9781978667945?id=8348979038747

Liked - Twisty. Didn't see that coming.

Didn't like - Made me cry at my desk.

Rating - Five broomsticks

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Strange-Case-Dr-Jekyll-Mr/Robert-Louis-Stevenson/9780007351008?id=8348979038747

Liked - It's an interesting story that wasn't what I expected.

Didn't like - Kind of slow and prattled on for the sake of words.

Rating - Four broomsticks

Nights of the Living Dead : An Anthology by Jonathan Maberry and George A. Romero and Brian Keene

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Nights-Living-Dead/Jonathan-Maberry/9781250112248?id=8348979038747

Liked - There wasn't one story I didn't love.

Didn't like - No more stories. The end.

Rating - Ten broomsticks

Haunted: Perron Manor by Lee Mountford

https://www.booksamillion.com/search?id=8348979038747&query=Haunted:%20%20Perron%20Manor&filter=rare_search&search=Search&work_id=48535782&qty_avail=1

Liked - Nothing. I hated this book.

Didn't like - The click bait title. The trope of only person is a victim to the haunting while everything is normal for everyone else.

Rating - One broomstick

The Girl From the Well by Chupeco, Rin

https://www.booksamillion.com/product/A16708721583?id=8348979038747

Liked - Well written. Descriptive.

Didn't like - I just couldn't vibe with it.

Rating - Three broomsticks

Ghostbusters - The Original Movie Novelizations Omnibus by Richard Mueller

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Ghostbusters-Original-Movie-Novelizations-Omnibus/Richard-Mueller/9781789094664?id=8348979038747

Liked - Exactly what I hoped for and more. Gave me a little more background on the characters.

Didn't like - Laughed so hard at my desk I shot water on my monitor.

Rating - Five broomsticks

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Fantasticland/Mike-Bockoven/9781510737884?id=8348979038747

Liked - I love this weird, wild, wacky take on Lord of the Flies.

Didn't like - There really wasn't anything I didn't like about it.

Rating - Five broomsticks

Dracula by Bram Stoker and Leonard Wolf and Jeffrey Meyers

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Dracula/Bram-Stoker/9780451530660?id=8348979038747

Liked - I forgot how good this really was.

Didn't like - I will forever have Winona Ryder trying a British accent in my head.

Rating - Five broomsticks

A Cirque Du Freak : A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Cirque-Du-Freak/Darren-Shan/9780316605106?id=8348979038747

Liked - Again, great take on the vampire trope.

Didn't like - I swear I could feel that spider and I was not ok.

Rating - Five broomsticks

Crypt Suzette by Maya Corrigan

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Crypt-Suzette/Maya-Corrigan/9781496722423?id=8348979038747

Liked - I'm a sucker for a Halloween cozy mystery and this did not disappoint. And there's writers in it?? Yes!

Didn't like - Some of the characters blended into each other. They didn't really have their own voice.

Rating - Four and half broomsticks

Carrie by Stephen King

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Carrie/Stephen-King/9780307743664?id=8348979038747

Liked - This is the book that started it all and I can see why. This had me hooked from start to finish.

Didn't like - The same day I read this I sent my socially awkward child to a school function. I waited for the phone call.

Rating - Five broomsticks

The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron and Norman Partridge

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Beautiful-Thing-That-Awaits-Us/Laird-Barron/9781597805537?id=8348979038747

Liked - This wasn't what I was expecting in all the best ways.

Didn't like - There was one story I had to skip. It was weird and I couldn't get into it or even understand what was going on in it.

Rating - Four broomsticks

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Kindred/Octavia-E-Butler/9780807083697?id=8348979038747

Liked - Descriptive. Beautiful. Captivating. Horror on a different level.

Didn't like - I wouldn't exactly classify this as sci-fi.

Rating - Five broomsticks

Dolly : A Ghost Story by Susan Hill and Cameron Stewart

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Dolly/Susan-Hill/9781482940015?id=8348979038747

Liked - Well that took a turn.

Didn't like - I really wish there was more to the story. It seemed hurried and harried. Creepy dolls and creepy kids.

Rating - Four broomsticks.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Interview-Vampire/Anne-Rice/9780345337665?id=8348979038747

Liked - The queen mother of vampire stories. This is so beautiful and provocative.

Didn't like - Tom Cruise drooling will forever be embedded in my brain.

Rating - Five broomsticks

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Lottery/Shirley-Jackson/9781563127878?id=8348979038747

Liked - This book is the reason Shirley Jackson is the Queen of Short Horror.

Didn't like - It's the original cancel culture.

Rating - Five broomsticks

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Frankenstein/Mary-Shelley/9780486282114?id=8348979038747

Liked - There's so much more to the story than the movies tell.

Didn't like - My God, man. You created a thing and then just walked away. Absentee father at its best.

Rating - Five broomsticks

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Northanger-Abbey/Jane-Austen/9780486414126?id=8348979038747

Liked - The snarky tone.

Didn't like - The whole book. DNF

Rating - One broomstick

Walking Alone : Short Stories by Bentley Little

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Walking-Alone/Bentley-Little/9781587676598?id=8348979038747

Liked - Made me rethink this author. I wasn't a fan of his after reading The Haunted. Now, I may read more of his work

Didn't like - The story about the little girl. Horror that was more realistic than anything. That hit different.

Rating - Five broomsticks

Fairest of All : A Tale of the Wicked Queen by Disney Books and Serena Valentino and Disney Storybook Art Team

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Fairest-All/Disney-Books/9781423106296?id=8348979038747

Liked - I love a good villain backstory.

Didn't like - Seemed to be a little long and slow in some places.

Rating - Four broomsticks

Halloween : The Official Movie Novelization by John Passarella

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Halloween/John-Passarella/9781789090529?id=8348979038747

Liked - Not a whole lot.

Didn't like - I can't stand slasher gore for the sake thereof. Why wasn't Jamie Lee Curtis reading this? And did we need a whole scene of a woman making a sandwich? DNF

Rating - One broomstick

The Shining by Stephen King

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Shining/Stephen-King/9780385121675?id=8348979038747

Liked - Everything. This is the perfect book. An absolute re-read every year.

Didn't like - Kubrick's massacre of the most perfect book ever written.

Rating - Infinite broomsticks

Well, there you have it. Twenty three books. I tried to get to thirty one but some days my mental health was not having it. Others were just too busy to try. And speaking of trying, I really don't know if I'll try this again. This was a little taxing on me. Not going to lie. But we shall see what 2022 brings.

Hopefully, this list gives you something to read even after spooky season passes. Again, if you like what I post, please like, comment, share, and subscribe. Please consider donating to help keep this going. $1 and I'll ask you what your favorite book is so we can talk about it. $5 and I'll write a review of a book you suggest. $10 and I'll write a blog suggested by you. If you read any of the books listed, please let me know what you thought of it. That's all I've got for today, train wrecks. All aboard.


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