#spookathon2017

[beadyeyedgal]

Spookathon 2017

Hello friends!

So this Halloween, I thought I will read up some spooky books as part of the Spookathon challenge. I bought a few thrillers and was all worked up to read them. Guess what? I didn’t end up reading those because, well, I am a chicken. Yeah I know. I am 25 years old and still can’t handle a good old horror story. Well, you can’t blame me for how my mind reduces normal situations to freaking Conjuring ghost scenes. If I know myself, I would stop going to the bathroom altogether for three days if I am reading a real horror story. I would pester people around me to take me with them anywhere they go. To prevent such mishaps from happening, I put the real horror stories aside and ended up reading two children’s ghost stories (common, not Goosebumps!). And they turned out pretty okay for me. :)

The first book is The Witches by Roald Dahl. This was a real page-turner for me. Simply because the sentences were very easy to read and the story was interesting. There’s witchcraft involved and it was unlike what I was used to reading from Harry Potter books. :D This book was funny and crazy. I guess they had tried to keep it that way because children would be reading them. Duh.

The story revolves around a boy living with his grandmother. His grandmother is a believer of witches and goes on telling stories about them to the boy. The boy realizes the stories told by his grandmother are coming true. The second half of the book reveals how they deal with a terrible witch named The Grand High Witch who has incredible power to destroy all the children of Britain.

The story was as intended, childlike. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. This popular author makes the plot run through like a stream. I liked the prose, the way the characters were portrayed and the cute illustrations. An added benefit, one can finish this book in one sitting. :)

Favorite lines:

“What’s so wonderful about being a boy anyway? Why is it necessarily better than being a mouse?.. Little boys have to go to school. Mice don’t… Mice don’t have to worry about money. When mice grow up, they don’t even have to go to war and fight against other mice. Mice, I felt pretty certain, all like each other. People don’t.”

The second book I got myself reading for this Spookathon is Coraline by Neil Gaiman. The story is about a girl named Coraline (not Caroline!). She is homebound during her summer vacation with her parents. She lives with them in a middle flat of an apartment. She is an explorer in nature. One day she finds herself unlocking a door to another world which is similar to her real world, only that her parents are not her real parents. They look very much like them, but the other mother is evil and ghastly. The other mother has black beads for her eyes. She wants to turn Coraline into a bead-eyed girl. She wants to keep Coraline with her forever and own her soul. She punishes Coraline’s real parents and everyone around her to have what she desires. The story then unfolds into whether Coraline escapes this other world or not.

What I noticed about this book is the creepiness that comes with it. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the creepiest, the book deserves a real 6 or 7. I was surprised that a children’s book could get creepy for an adult. But it did. Not as much as a horror movie but still! There were these moments when I wanted the story to end quickly because I didn’t want to keep going through the dangers that Coraline was about to face. I felt that the book was a bit of a drag at times. I couldn’t sit through with it for more than an hour a day. That said, there are certain things that I like about the book. I love the way Coraline is shown in the story. She is immensely bold and courageous. She turns herself into a problem solver instead of staying scared. I am sure children reading this story will be inspired by Coraline’s brave heart.

Favorite lines:

“Someone had once told her that if you look up at the sky from the bottom of a mine shaft, even in the brightest daylight, you see a night sky and stars. Coraline wondered if the hand could see stars from where it was.”

I give both the books a rating of 4 out of 5!

Finally. I am glad I could catch up on some reading for this year’s Spookathon even though I couldn’t read the real horror novels that I bought for myself. I am sure I will find the courage to read them in the future! :D

What did you read for this Spookathon? Let me know in the comments. Until next time.

Love, Preethi

[bookables]

My #spookathon TBR is live! I am so excited to be participating this year & I hope I can read the 5 books I picked out!!! 😱 what books are you reading for #spookathon2017

[cozyshelves-blog]

🎃I only finished one book during #spookathon but I'll be reading the rest hopefully before October ends! Since I might read The Graveyard Book closer to Halloween, Mostly Void, Partially Stars is up next! It's been a couple of years since I've listened to Welcome to Night Vale, so I'm excited to revisit these episodes with the illustrations and commentary. 🎃 . . #spookathon2017 #thegraveyardbook #welcometonightvale #mostlyvoidpartiallystars #bookstagram #booklr #books #reading #tbr

[bostonbookbitty]

Just another silly made up ghost story... Isn’t it? 👻🌊 #goosebumpsalong #bookstagram #booklr #halloween #spookyreads #fallreads #spookathon2017 #spookathon #ghostbeach #rlstine

[allthingsequilateral]

Trying to decide what to read for next week's #spookathon, and this book keeps popping up on BookTube. - 📚. Have any of you read it? A science fiction thriller is something I wouldn't normally read, but the idea of parallel worlds is one that I always enjoy. So, I'm definitely making this one of my selections. - 📚. Any of you joining in on spookathon? Let me know in the comments. You don't have to have a YT channel or blog to join in! - 📚. 📚. 📚. #spookathon2017 #spookathontbr #books #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreviewer #booktuber #booktube #booktubechallenge #bookcover #booknerdigans #bookish #booklr #igreads #igbooks #bookworm

[cozybooksellerway]

Day 26 of #spookathonPhotoChallenge The challenge for today is Red I picked my 10th anniversary edition of Vampire Academy #spookathon #spookathon2017 #vampireacadamy #red #day26 #October

[whopickthisbook]

Spookathon and October WrapUp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvV8f-hRPCc&feature=share

[cleverlittleghost]

#Spookathon Day 7 👻🎃🖤 No more challenges left for the spookathon, this is just a bonus read to finish off the last day. Not bad for starting a day late. 🤓📚 #bookstagram #currentlyreading #halloweenreads #spookathon2017 (at Bristol, Connecticut)

[jenabrownwrites]

Good morning and happy Sunday!!! Today is #dayone of @booksparks #walkingread2017 #readathon #yachallenge!!! 🎃 For those of you finishing up your #spookathon challenge, consider jumping in! ☠️ First up: #thisisnottheend by @chandlerbakerya 📚 the world has the power of resurrection, but it comes with limits. You can only resurrect one person before you turn 18, or you lose the power forever. Lake Devereaux survived a car crash that killed her best friend and boyfriend. She can only save one. Who will she choose?! And, can she live with her choice? 👻 my #spookathon2017 failed miserably 😭 too many other things going on at once. I did read one crazy intense #thriller that probably took years off my life, so I’ll call that #missionaccomplished 😳#melandprireadathon prompt today is #warmsocks and who better to warm my feet than #thepumpkinking himself?! Although, these socks do remind me of #beetlejuice too 🤷🏼‍♀️ either way, it’s a complete #halloween win 🎃 are Sunday’s a day for you to relax and prepare for the coming week? Or are they full of activities???

[mylittlebookaddiction]

Books and Burgers 📚🍔 Late dinner and some night time reading #readathon #spookathon #spookathon2017 #BookTwo

[christylouwhoo]

Let’s get Spooky~ my TBR for #spookathon! Nothing really terrifying because I scare easily. I’ve got a graphic novel about a ghost, a suspense novel and the new John Green. The John Green novel only counts for the readathon because it has orange on the cover. What Spooky books do you like?? . . . . . . . #spookathon #spookathon2017 #readathon #bookstagram #books #halloween #friendswithboys #turtlesallthewaydown #genuinefraud

[tininha666]

Foto de ontem para o #TBOBC 😍📚 Falta o Dom Casmurro, que é em ebook! A TBR engloba vários projectos: ➡️ Spook-a-thon 2017 👻 ➡️ Outubro gótico 🎬 ➡️ Leitura conjunta 📚 ➡️ Clube dos clássicos vivos 📱📖 Será que vou conseguir? 😉 #spookathon2017 #outubrogotico #leituraconjunta #clubedosclassicosvivos #tbr #lerosnossos

[bookables]

Finished my first #spookathon read! Overall I liked Coraline but didn't love it. This is the illustrated version so I'm not sure if the actual book reads better and is more compelling. The artwork wasn't my favorite but still enjoyable and the story was interesting just not super gripping. All that being said, I think this a perfect book to pick up right now. Gives you all the Halloween vibes!!! #bookstagram #spookathon2017

[cozyshelves-blog]

I'm a little late, but this is my #spookathon tbr! Not sure that I'll be getting to all of these during spookathon, so this might double as my Halloween tbr too. Let me know if you've read any of these or what you think! #bookstagram #spookathon2017

[bostonbookbitty]

🎶🎵💀Little camp, little camp of horrors! 👻🎵🎶

#goosebumpsalong #bookstagram #spookyreads #halloweenreads #spookathon2017 #sbooktober #spookathon #rlstine #goosebumps #booklr #halloween

[allthingsequilateral]

#spookathon | I finished my first book last night, and oh boy, what an ending! I totally didn't see that coming, but I don't read a lot of this genre. - 📚. The plot started off all kinds of adorable - an agoraphobic fangirl writes fanfic about her favorite singer (Eric Thorn) and follows him on twitter. When all of a sudden he follows her back (under a made-up account). - 📚. But, there is a dark side to the plot - another rock star was murdered by a fan. This haunts Eric, who is already weary of his fandom and his fame. - 📚. The darkness of the plot and the unexpected twists was something I didn't expect, but completely liked. - 📚. I, also, liked the way it was told through tweets, police interviews and different povs. - 📚. 📚. 📚. #books #bookish #bookworm #booknerdigans #igreads #igbooks #followmeback #avgeiger #sourcebooksfire #bookphotography #bookstagrammer #bookstragram #bookstagramcommunity #yabooks #bookbeau #booknerd #youngadultbooks #yathriller #spookathon2017 #ericthornobsessed