Happy October! It's a month filled with cooler temperatures and scary movies, so what better way to celebrate than to talk about our favorite horror novels?
This month we have a special treat for our readers with our "King" of Horrors bookshelf, featuring 20 of Stephen King's spookiest reads. From CARRIE, the book that started it all, to King's most popular thrillers like THE STAND, this bookshelf will keep you on the edge of your seat all month long. Don't blame us for any nightmares; you are warned!
On sale this week is SON by Lois Lowry, a thrilling conclusion to Lowry's bestselling series which includes THE GIVER, GATHERING BLUE and MESSENGER. (The entire series is referred to as a quartet, one book bigger than the trilogies we are used to seeing.) If you grew up in the U.S. chances are you had to read THE GIVER for school, so it's definitely worth checking out the final book in the series and maybe even re-reading the books to refresh your memory. I considered THE GIVER to be my school's apology to me for forcing me to read JOHNNY TREMAIN, which is and always will be the most painful reading experience of my life. And in SON you will meet up with characters you came to know in the other books. Nice to check in with them like that.
Other new books to make a note of are PHANTOM by international sensation Jo Nesbo, and ROGUE by Mark Sullivan. Both are high-energy thrillers, in which the main characters are thrust back into the lives they thought they left behind.
J. K. Rowling, released her first novel for adults, THE CASUAL VACANCY and it had a pretty solid opening week, though not on par with Harry Potter sales. I haven't read it yet --- my roommate said I was not allowed to bring it into the apartment --- but I'm planning to read it soon. Perhaps when I'm visting family this weekend I can smuggle a copy back to New York without my roommate noticing.
In our next newsletter we'll have a review of I SHOULDNT BE TELLING YOU THIS by Kate White, bestselling author and former editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. It 's a great advice book for anyone just starting out in their careers. Even if you've been working for awhile, the book has some great insights about how to reinvent yourself and stay engaged in your work.
These past few weeks have been very nostalgic for me, as the bands of my youth are all staging comebacks with new albums: No Doubt, Green Day, Pink, Matchbox Twenty, The Wallflowers. Also, TLC is planning a reunion tour with a "hologram" of my third grade idol, Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes.
Just when I thought this 90s revival couldn't get better I discovered that Full House reruns are on Nick-at-Nite every night at 9pm. Uncle Jessie has not aged a day, and I still want to be the Olsen twins (sigh).
Here's to those who grew up in the 90s, and to those who wish they had. For anyone who just doesn't understand the 90s nostalgia, I refer you to this fabulous meme from Funny Or Die featuring James Van Der Beek as Dawson Leery doing the man-cry over all of the hardships us millennials faced back in the day. These 21st Century kids have it so easy. Enjoy!
---Maureen Linehan ([email protected])
|