Scary reads make for Halloween treats
If
you Google "Best Horror Novels of All Time" (or Yahoo it, as I'm fond
of doing), you come up with 27,900,000 results, most of them authored by
bloggers. I don't know what their areas of expertise happen to be, but then
again - what expertise is required to read a lot of good books and compile a
list of them? This being the month when AMC generally airs only the
least-watched of the "Halloween" movies and Bravo usually runs that
documentary that features horror experts (from Wes Craven to Courtney Cox!)
that guide us through someone's list of the greatest horror films of all time,
we figured we'd match celluloid with our own list - this one of scary books.
Happy Halloween!
· The
Exorcist, by William Peter Blatty - I can't remember how old I
was when I read this. Young enough that I needed to use the brown paper bag off
one of my textbooks to camouflage my leisure reading from my father, who would
have exorcised me had he caught me reading Blatty's book. This book is a horror classic - there's none other like it.
· Salem's
Lot, by
Stephen King - I could easily devote the whole list to the Master of Horror
(and I'm sure he'll crop up once or twice more before we're through), but this
is one scary vampire book. Definitely one of the best in the genre.
· Summer
of Night,
by Dan Simmons - Very original. Very well-written. Very creepy. What I really
liked about this book is its main characters were kids, who of course aren't as
immune as we jaded adults pretend to be when it comes to things that go bump in
the night. Younger characters - if they're written well - remind us all what
it's like to lend credibility to the concept that maybe there's more to life
than what we see and hear every day, a point of view that gives fear of the
unknown that extra kick.
· I am
legend,
by Richard Matheson - The last man on earth battles vampire-like creatures. His
loneliness is as frightening as the monsters. All Matheson's stories are great
in their own way. This one was ahead of its time, serving to not only reinvent
the vampire/zombie genre when it came out in 1954, but to contribute vastly to
a growing canon of post-apocalyptic fiction. Speaking of which.
· The Road, by Cormac McCarthy - Not your typical horror novel
- nothing supernatural here. But end-of-the-world stories - you have to admit -
are a little horrifying unto themselves. As is the darker side of human nature,
which McCarthy captures to a spine-chilling tee in this ultimately desperately
sad tale.
· The
Stand,
by Stephen King - As long as we're on
end-of-the-world stories.
· It, by Stephen King -
Okay, I can't help myself. I promise I won't mention King again on this list
(even if he deserves it. Which he does). I remember getting this book for
Christmas as a kid and skipping school to read it once holiday break ended.
Then being too scared to read it without anyone else in the house.
· Ghost
Story,
by Peter Straub - The book delivered what the title promised - and a great one,
at that.
· The
Lottery and Other Stories, by Shirley Jackson - Jackson being the queen of
playing with what god-awful things we humans have a habit of doing to one
another. Not all of these stories are dark - some are even funny. But the
unfunny ones are the ones that stay with you.
· Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill - Yes, he
is Stephen King's son, and no, he's not riding his father's coattails. By any
means. This is an original. One that dear old dad had to be proud of.
I'm
afraid that's it. I could go on and on and list the obvious - Stoker, Shelley,
Lovecraft, Poe. But I think it's a given they're about the best of the best (if
only for their pioneering creations, monsters that have outlived their creators
and then some). Mentioning them on a list like this is just a redundancy.
Book of the Month
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
I
ordered this book despite my skepticism about its promise. It had been raved
about by book groups and critics alike all summer, which was how long I had to wait
to finally get it. I read the jacket before starting the book and had my doubts
the white Southern belle who stared back at me from the author photo could pull
this off, this tale of race relations in 1960s Mississippi.
She
did. And how.
The
story is told from the points of view of three characters - Skeeter,
a white woman fresh out of college who doesn't quite fit in with her Junior
League friends; and Aibileen and Minny,
two black maids who tolerate their prejudiced and bratty bosses (those would be Skeeter's friends) because there exists for them no
other option. Skeeter's own maid disappeared
mysteriously before Skeeter came home from college,
and she misses her terribly, since it was this maid who spent more time raising
her than Skeeter's own mother did. Soon Skeeter develops a relationship with Aibileen,
and before long the two are meeting clandestinely to write a book about what
it's really like for a black woman to work for a white one in Jackson,
Mississippi. It's a dangerous undertaking in a place where civil law is more
the rule than civil rights, and the tension builds to the very end of the book.
Upcoming programs and events
Thursday, Oct. 15, 6:30 p.m. - Scrapbooking for ages 7 and up. Bring pictures - we'll supply all other materials.
Saturday, Oct. 24 - Friends of the Wallkill Public Library will hold a
back-to-school book sale, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the library lawn. Great fiction
and non-fiction for kids and adults.
Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. - Join Musical Munchkins director Andrea Soberman and Steve Bernstein of the Bernstein Bard Trio for
music and snacks! Geared toward ages 2-6 (with a grownup), but open to anyone!
Sign up at the library.
And don't forget...
Whether
you're a student, professional, or neither of the above, anyone can benefit
from the Lightning Memory Program. The program's technique is designed to help
people reprogram their minds to enable their memories to function at optimal
performance.
With
this program, you'll be able to memorize large chunks of information at incredible
speeds, be it a school subject or grocery list. Join us here at the library at
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 to see how it's done.
New York Times Bestsellers
Fiction
1. The Lost
Symbol, by Dan Brown
2. An Echo
in the Bone, by Diana Gabaldon
3. The Last
Song, by Nicholas Sparks
4. The
Help, by Kathryn Stockett
5. Hothouse Orchid, by Stuart Woods
Nonfiction
1. Arguing
with Idiots, written and edited by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe, and others
2. True
Compass, by Edward M. Kennedy
3. High on
Arrival, by Mackenzie Phillips with Hilary Liftin
4. American
on Purpose, by Craig Ferguson
5. The Greatest Show on
Earth, by Richard Dawkins
New in October
The
following are either on the shelves or coming soon to the Wallkill Public
Library:
Fiction
· Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver
· Children's
book, by A.S. Byatt
· Shades
of Blue,
by Karen Kingsbury
· Brutal
Telling,
by Louise Penny
· Breaking
the Rules, by Barbara Taylor Bradford
· Stained
Glass: A Father Dowling Mystery, by Ralph M. McInerny
· I, Alex
Cross, by James Patterson
· House of
Reckoning, by John Saul
· Ford
County: Stories, by John Grisham
· Scarpetta Factor, by Patricia Cornwell
· Tragic
Magic: A Scrapbooking Mystery, by Laura Childs
· Grave
Secret: A Harper Connelly Mystery, by Charlaine Harris
· True
Blue, by David Baldacci
· Locked
In, by
Marcia Muller
· Family Album, by Penelope Lively
Nonfiction
· Superfreakonomics: Tales of Altruism, Terrorism, and Poorly Paid
Prostitutes, by Steven D. Levitt
· How to
Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood and Beyond, by Cesar Millan
· Knockout:
Interviews with Doctors Who Are Curing Cancer - And How to Prevent Getting It
in the First Place, by Suzanne Somers
· So Easy:
Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week, by Ellie Krieger
· Andy Rooney: 60 Years of
Wisdom and Wit, by Andrew A. Rooney
Biography
· Highest
Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, by Chesley B. Sullenberger
· How to
be a Movie Star: Elizabeth Taylor in Hollywood, by William J. Mann
· Moon River and Me: A
Memoir,
by Andy Williams
Audiobooks
· Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver
· Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story, by Wally Lamb
· Scarpetta Factor, by Patricia Cornwell
· Christmas
List, by Richard Paul Evans
· Shades
of Twilight, by Linda Howard
· True Blue, by David Baldacci
DVDs
· Angels
and Demons
· Night at
the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
· My
Sister's Keeper
· Away We
Go
Wallkill Public Library
P.O.
Box C
7
Bona Ventura Ave.
Wallkill,
NY 12589
(845)-895-3707
http://www.wallkillpubliclibrary.org/
E-mail:
wak@rcls.org