So October's here. The spookiest month in the year so why not add a few scary page-turners in our monthly top ten! Here's my top picks for this month, let us know what you think down below and definitely include some of your own Hallo-scream reads!
1. This Is Going To Hurt- Adam Kay
If you're in the mood for a disgusting yet loveable book this October then Adam Kay's 'This Is Going To Hurt' is for you. Perfect length to read on break, this one is going to have you laughing whilst somehow getting you to think about the current state Britain's NHS. The only book to have me reaching for the tissues and my stomach from laughing so hard.
2. Let's Hope For The Best- Carolina Setterwall
Carolina Setterwall's newest non-fiction piece is a loving account of grief, heartache and tenderness. Losing her husband suddenly in the middle of the night sends Setterwall into a spiral but with all the strength she can muster, delivers this astounding piece of literature. 10/10.
3. Never Let Me Go- Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro's 'Never Let Me Go' is a striking piece of literature. This extraordinary and, in the end, rather frighteningly clever novel isn't about cloning, or being a clone, at all. It's about why we don't explode, why we don't just wake up one day and go sobbing and crying down the street, kicking everything to pieces out of the raw, infuriating, completely personal sense of our lives never having been what they could have been
4. Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark- Alvin Schwartz
Perfect for the Halloween season, Schwartz thriller noir will have you shaking in your boots. Somewhat similar in mood and tone to It, this hugely entertaining scary story has its own delightfully demonic vibe, with strong characters, striking atmosphere, and furious frights.Just make sure you leave the light on.
5. The Goldfinch- Donna Tartt
Tartt has a special gift for writing about outsiders who come in from the cold, especially in her masterpiece 'The Goldfinch'. Artistic (literally), beautifully toned, peaceful and chaotic, the goldfinch will change your life. A piece of art in it's own right.
6. Normal People- Sally Rooney
Normal People, like Conversations with Friends before it, is just as absorbing as the buzz would lead you to believe. It is a quiet character study, almost a YA novel but not quite, and it is a profoundly lonely and depressing love story. One that will have you thinking about it for a long time to come.
7.Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine- Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant is completely 100% fine. She goes to her office job five days a week and then treats herself to a frozen pizza and a bottle of vodka on a weekend. She lives alone and doesn't have any friends, but that's okay. She's doing real well, thank you very much. Except maybe she isn't. Hilarious yet touching. Pick it up on your next shopping trip.
8. Postscript- Cecelia Ahern
Cecelia Ahern’s debut novel, P.S I Love You, has touched millions of lives all over the world. With numerous reprints and a Hollywood film under its belt, you’d be forgiven for thinking it had gone as far as it could go. However, this year, Cecelia Ahern is returning to her beloved characters and breathing life into them once more. Postscript, set seven years after the death of Holly’s husband Gerry, invites us back into the world of unexpected letters, rolling Irish hills and the power of infinite love.
9.Over the Top- Jonathan Van Ness
You’ll learn a lot about Olympic figure skating and gymnastics in this book. Also, a lot about self-care, self-love, and growing from your mistakes. It is, as the subtitle states, “a raw journey to self-love.” If you like the JVN you saw on Queer Eye, in this book you get to meet the rest of him, and you’ll love those parts too.
10.The Haunting of Hill House- Shirley Jackson
Jackson was a masterful storyteller, using a minimalistic approach and a terse, almost journalistic narrative, she creates a mood and sense of expectancy and mystery that grips the reader slowly and completely and lasts until the very end. And unlike other ghost stories that struggle with an ending, Jackson's haunted house tale brilliantly ends with the same mystery and psychological tension as the narrative held throughout.
