Category: Horror

Posted in Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Historical, Horror, LGBTQI+, Mystery, Nonfiction, Teen & Young Adult, Thrillers

Book Club Ideas From Me to You

Posted on by Molly

One thing I love about working as a librarian is the ability to provide classic services and programs. It doesn’t get much classic-er than the good ol’ book club.

We here at Mead run a variety of book clubs to suit an array of tastes and interests. We also provide circulating book kits (six to twelve copies of one title) available for public checkout. Below, I listed a few book club themes along with some titles that would make for excellent discussions in each category.

Mystery Club

Mead already has a fantastic mystery book club called Moonlight and Murder. Meetings occur every other month at The Black Pig. It’s a long-established group that even COVID could not defeat. 

Since mysteries are my main jam, I thought it couldn’t hurt to list some of the best books in this genre that I’ve encountered lately. The mystery titles I picked are highly sought-after new releases that all came out within the last year. 

  • None of This is True (2023) by Lisa Jewell; excellent use of the unreliable narrator trope. I had to read this as fast as possible or I would have lost my mind. 
  • Bright Young Women (2023) by Jessica Knoll; a feminist and fictionalized account of a famous 1979 Florida sorority house murder spree that focuses on the victims and not the booger-eating alcoholic dipshit who committed the crimes. Important AND infuriating. 
  • The Frozen River (2023) by Ariel Lawhon; easily one of the best books I have read in the past 10 years. It’s based on the real-life diaries of 18th century midwife Martha Ballard. Her diary is in circulation, too. Books featuring elements of pregnancy and childbirth are usually off-putting to me, but this was different. This made me feel how powerful we can be as women, and reminded me not to take for granted all the gains we’ve made socially, politically, and professionally over the intervening two hundred years. 
  • The Teacher (2024) by Freida McFadden; if you’re not familiar with McFadden’s brand of bonkers, you are in for a treat. In this book, everyone is making terrible choices all the time and no one is very likable, which makes the comeuppance all the more delicious. Messy messy messy.

Film Criticism Club

I run a movie club. It’s awesome. We watch a movie on our own and come together to discuss as a group, just like a book club. Join us at 8th Street Ale Haus third Thursdays to see what I mean. 

Film is a particular interest of mine, and I have been encountering more and more film writing and criticism when I prepare for a movie club meeting. This list represents some high points of film writing from over the last few decades, while still being accessible to popular audiences. Doesn’t that sound like a fun book club? I KNOW!!!!!

  • Life Itself: a Memoir (2011) by Roger Ebert; I love him. I LOVE HIM. Fascinating man living through fascinating times. The passages about trying to interview Robert Mitchum made me laugh so hard I cried, and that’s just the first thing that comes to mind. The world is a poorer place without my beloved Ebert. “Movies are like a machine that generates empathy.”
  • Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of New Hollywood (2008) by Mark Harris; inventive breakdown that uses the five 1967 Best Picture nominees- Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner; The Graduate; In the Heat of the Night; Doctor Doolittle; and Bonnie and Clyde to examine the transition from Old Hollywood to New that came to pass in the late 1960s.
  • For Keeps (1994) by Pauline Kael; one of the more important and original voices in 20th century film criticism. Her opinions often contradicted prevalent voices of the day. She was famous for only ever watching a picture once before reviewing it. 
  • Cinema Speculation (2022) by Quentin Tarantino; it doesn’t matter how you feel about his oeuvre, this man loves movies and his enthusiasm only serves the medium. Tarantino literally grew up in Los Angeles movie houses when his mother started bringing him along at the age of seven in 1970. He formats this book into ten chapters, one for each year of the 1970s, and focuses on one film for each year as a departure point to expound on.  

YA Book Club, but for adults

About one out of four books I read could be considered Young Adult. This genre label is more useful as a tool to identify reading level as opposed to quality, with the understanding that reading really is ageless. Some among us have  knee-jerk reactions to material produced for a younger audience, but fellas, y’all are missing out when avoiding YA and juvenile material. 

The books I listed are all titles I encountered as a whole adult. Most shattered me emotionally, in the best way possible (looking at you, The Outsiders). Another thing they all have in common are killer plotlines, accessible prose, and relatable depictions of memorable characters.

  • The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (1990) by Avi; o! To be a 13-year-old girl matching wits with an amoral ship’s captain on the high seas in the mid-19th century! 
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower (1999) by Stephen Chbosky; remember what it was like to feel ugly, vulnerable, beautiful, and powerful all at once? This story helps to remember. 
  • The Outsiders (1967) by S.E. Hinton; this book made me sob real tears. What a beautiful story, which still resonates with readers old and new, fifty years later. 
  • Ghost (2016) by Jason Reynolds; part one of the Track series. If I had the time and inclination I would assign all four volumes of this series for an adult book discussion. Each novella highlights one of four members of a junior high track team, and each stands alone as narratives. The real magic lies within the intertwining and deepening of the stories with each successive installment. If you haven’t read any Jason Reynolds at all yet, what are you even doing? One of the best YA writers in all the land, maybe ever. 

Horror Book Club

At one time I thought I did not like horror fiction, but then I saw some best-of lists, and it turns out I have read a lot of horror fiction. Once I realized my affinity for the genre, I started cultivating my own best-of list. Mead does not have a horror book club! Maybe you should start one!

Here are some of my favorites that could work great in a book club scenario:

  • My Heart is a Chainsaw (2021) by Stephen Graham Jones; this truly upsetting love letter to slasher films is proof positive that Jones is one of the foremost voices in modern horror lit. Lots to discuss here, from treatment of indigenous people to family dynamics and mental health. Don’t worry, the library owns most of the slasher movies mentioned in this book.  
  • Ring Shout (2020) by P. Djeli Clark; what if the racist 1915 film Birth of a Nation caused actual demons to walk the earth? This book freaked me out bad, but in the hands of a writer as talented as Clark, it was tough to put down.  
  • The Hollow Places (2020) by T. Kingfisher; this author is a particular favorite of mine, so I write about her a lot. Kingfisher has a way of tilting the world off kilter just so. Atmospheric, humorous, and unexpectedly gooey at times (I mean like, people turn into goo, not emotionally-speaking), no one does horror like this.
  • How to Sell a Haunted House (2023) by Grady Hendrix; this guy has been cranking out bangers since 2016’s My Best Friend’s Exorcism. In How to Sell a Haunted House, Hendrix brings actual scares and dread to his take on grief portrayed as a haunted house. Most of the work in his back catalog would work great for a book club discussion, too. 

Honorable mention YA/Horror Book Club crossover:

  • Clown in a Cornfield (2020) by Adam Cesare; thinly veiled criticism of the MAGA crowd that imagines what would happen if conservatives straight up started murdering people they didn’t align with politically. Super violent and grody, this book practically has a smell to it. Despite all that, it is such a lot of fun to read if you love slasher fiction as much as I do. 

While I personally dislike reading on a schedule (hence running movie club which only cuts into two hours of my leisure time as opposed to several), many thrive on it. My goal was to provide a starting point and some solid book picks for those who are interested in running their own book group. Figure out a venue and some snacks, and a charming evening awaits. 

Don’t want to start your own book group? Consider attending one of ours. Click the links to see current book picks (as of March 28, 2024), meeting locations, and timings:

Posted in Adult, Award Winners, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, Horror, New & Upcoming, Romance, Science

Library Reads Top 10: September 2023

Posted on by Carol

Every month, librarians across the country vote for the upcoming titles they’re most excited to read. This month’s choices include a good old-fashioned haunted house horror story, the quest of a godkiller and a minor god she cannot kill, and a lyrically-written survival tale set in Jamestown-era America.

Top Pick: The September House by Carissa Orlando

Margaret believes in following the rules. Four years after moving into a haunted Victorian, she knows how to avoid the dangerous ghosts. But her husband can’t take it anymore and leaves when the paranormal activity escalates to excessive levels. Now their estranged daughter—who’s never been to the house—is coming to visit, and Margaret doesn’t know how to explain (much less keep her child safe from) the specters’ violent antics. —Lucy Lockley, St. Charles City-County Library District

Continue reading “Library Reads Top 10: September 2023” →
Posted in Adult, Horror

My Summer of Vampires

Posted on by Aubrey

This summer, I bit into a Vampire Lit Class! I assumed that I would be (re)reading Dracula, but I was thankfully wrong. My professor was determined to teach from works that existed years before 1897, the year Dracula by Bram Stoker was published. I found it fascinating to learn more about vampires as plot devices, how the creatures represented fears that were in society at the time the stories were written, and about what horror as a genre can reveal about humanity. Yes, I suppose you could say I was “sucked” into this course.

Anyways…

Here’s some pre-Dracula stories you can also sink your teeth into:

  • The Vampyre by John William Polidori, released in 1819

Credited as the first literary vampire story! This story started with a friendly writing contest featuring friends, including renowned author Mary Shelley. (In fact, this contest also helped bring Frankenstein to the world.) The story was first published in the New Monthly Magazine, a British magazine. Finally, it was published as a novel in London in 1819.

This story follows Aubrey, a man who is tormented by former mentor Lord Ruthven. The destruction basically happens because Aubrey calls out Lord Ruthven for being promiscuous when, in reality, Lord Ruthven much worse. Lord Ruthven is *drumroll please* a vampire!

Click here to place a request for a collection of horror stories that includes The Vampyre.

  • The Black Vampyre, a Legend of St. Domingo by Uriah Derick d’Arcy, released in 1819

This is an American short story that was written under a pen name. It’s been unofficially given a nice handful of credits, including: the first black vampire story, the first comedy vampire story, the first vampire story written by an American author, and even the first short story that spoke against slavery.

The short story centers on Euphemia, a woman who has had much tragedy around her. Her first husband did evil deeds, her only son died, and is now in mourning for her third dead husband. Then a prince shows up looking more than love…revenge!

Click here to read the story.

  • Varney, the Vampyre, or, the Feast of Blood by J.M. Rymer, released in 1845-1847

This story was released by chapter weekly as a penny dreadful. When finally put into book format in 1847, it was 232 chapters long! This is the story that is given credit for officially having the first vampire with fangs for chompers.

This is the arguably the closest to Dracula on this list. In this, a family tries to beat Sir Francis Varney, the story’s vampire, as he tries to steal the literal life from women.

Click here to place a request for a collection of vampire stories that includes Varney, the Vampyre, or, the Feast of Blood.

  • Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, released in 1872

This was first published in pieces in a London literary magazine The Dark Blue over the years of 1871-1872. The cost per issue was one shilling. Finally, it was published it its entirety in the author’s short story collection, In a Glass Darkly. Uniquely, Carmilla is written as a medical case for a doctor.

The story centers on young and lonely Laura, as she befriends and loves a young guest, Carmilla. Slowly, Laura learns that Carmila is not what she seems. “Spoiler”: Carmilla is a vampire!

Click here to place a request for a collection of horror stories that includes Carmilla.

I hope you have a bloody good time with these stories, “fangs” for reading!

–Aubrey

Posted in Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Thrillers

Books from my Did-Not-Finish (DNF) pile

Posted on by Molly

What is your deepest-held reading habit? Mine is that I don’t force myself to power through any book that I am not enjoying. My to-be-read list is several hundred books deep, so why would I waste my leisure time struggling? Below, I listed several books that many, many, many other readers loved with their whole hearts, but I personally could not bear, and what I would read instead. Proceed with caution as I included some light spoilers. 

The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins
Why I thought I would enjoy this book:
This doorstop of a novel is often considered the first English-language detective story. I love mystery fiction above all genres and I like to spend time looking for and reading titles that are considered ground-breaking or otherwise important to the genre. 

What went wrong:
Books written over one hundred years ago often contain outdated and offensive language that would have been common at the time, or certainly not considered shocking. The titular Moonstone is an object of value taken by theft from a rich Indian household during the British Raj. People from India are depicted throughout the book in a racist light, which ruined any enjoyment of the actual plot and non-stereotyped characters. I wasn’t too hot with the depiction of women, either. Save yourself ten hours of reading and look up the Wikipedia plot summary. Please do not tell my library school professors that I told you to do this.

Classic detective fiction I would rather read:

  • The Winteringham Murder (1927) by Anthony Berkeley
  • The Thin Man (1933) by Dashiel Hammet
  • A Rage in Harlem (1957) by Chester Himes
  • The Honjin Murders (1946) by Seishi Yokomizo

NOS4A2 (2013) by Joe Hill
Why I thought I would enjoy this book:
Joe Hill has horror pedigree. He’s Stephen King’s son for one thing, and several of his books routinely appear on “best horror novel” lists. I like vampire stories, and Hill’s take on the genre was intriguing.

What went wrong:
Although I have read my fair share of skin-crawling horror novels, there was something about the tension running throughout this book that kept my ears up around my shoulders for DAYS after I put the book down for good. This happened at a point in the story in which the protagonist has a retrograde moment after years of progress from dealing with an unnamable supernatural evil, and my poor little heart could not take the suspense. This should be understood as a resounding endorsement of the book.

What I would rather read instead:

  • The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires (2020) by Grady Hendrix
  • ‘Salem’s Lot (1975) by Stephen King
  • What Moves the Dead (2022) by T. Kingfisher
  • I am Legend (1954) by Richard Matheson

Bigfoot and the Librarian (2019) by Linda Winstead Jones
Why I thought I would enjoy this book:
A librarian moves to a rural area for work and begins to discover her service area is populated with actual bigfoots and other mythical creatures. Hilarity/inappropriate romance ensues. 

What went wrong:
Being a librarian my own self, it was obvious to me that the author was not of my cohort, and did not understand libraries or librarians. The protagonist was short, so she was fixated on wearing heels and at one time implied only unintelligent women eat carbs. Firstly, I’ve worked in libraries for a total of seven years, and I can assure you that our preferred footwear is geared toward comfort rather than style. Secondly, oh please piss off with your anti-carb food gatekeeping. Everyone knows carbs are the tastiest foods, don’t you dare tell me otherwise. 

Books featuring libraries and librarians I would rather read:

  • The Secret, Book, & Scone Society (2017) by Ellery Adams
  • The Librarian of Crooked Lane (2022) by C.J. Archer
  • The Name of the Rose (1980) by Umberto Eco
  • The Woman in the Library (2022) by Sulari Gentill

The Woods are Always Watching (2021) by Stephanie Perkins
Why I thought I would enjoy this book:
Stephanie Perkins’ 2017 title There’s Someone Inside Your House was a tight, creepy, effective teen slasher novel that I really enjoyed. It’s also a fun title to shriek at your friends. Try it, you’ll like it. This led me to believe the 2021 followup The Woods are Always Watching would be more of the same. Plus, I love books with spooky woods shit.

What went wrong:
Both teen girl protagonists were insufferable. So insufferable, in fact, that I decided to look up the plot summary on Wikipedia (as I do) to determine if the initial aggravation was worth it. It turned out that a major plot point involves one of the insufferable girls falling into a hole in the woods and breaking her leg. This mattered a lot to me, because I had suffered a pretty bad leg break days before I picked up this book. Reading about someone else’s pain and trauma did not sound like the light-hearted escapism I needed, so this book went straight into my DNF pile. 

What I would recommend instead for those who also enjoy stories with spooky woods shit:

  • Small Spaces (2018) by Katherine Arden
  • Near the Bone (2021) by Christina Henry (TW for domestic abuse and cryptids)
  • The Box in the Woods (2021) by Maureen Johnson
  • The Twisted Ones (2019) and The Hollow Places (2020) by T. Kingfisher (I REALLY like her)

Mistborn (2006) by Brandon Sanderson

Why I thought I would enjoy this book:
Sanderson is a big name in fantasy fiction, and several of my workmates adore his oeuvre. An informal survey pointed towards this series as a good entry point to Sanderson’s deep back catalog.

What went wrong:
Before the Sanderson stans come after me with their pitchforks and torches, please understand that I can DNF a book and still understand its cultural and historical import; see The Moonstone above. Perhaps Lord of the Rings ruined me for all other high fantasy, but I simply could not muster the enthusiasm needed to care about the rag-tag group of underdogs and the Very Special Boy at the center of the story.

Fantasy books I would rather read instead:

  • Sorcerer to the Crown (2015) by Zen Cho
  • Ring Shout (2020) by P. Djeli Clark
  • Pet (2019) by Akwaeke Emezi
  • Middlegame (2019) by Seanan McGuire

Dial A for Aunties (2021) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Why I thought I would enjoy this book:
I was looking forward to this one. The premise reads like Weekend at Bernie’s meets Crazy Rich Asians; what could go wrong? 

What went wrong:
One major trope I despise in any of the media I consume are circumstances that would never happen if at least one person involved were an effective communicator. Incredibly unappealing trope. This book was full of these situations from top to bottom. Although the characters are admittedly charming, I could not cope with the screwball nature of it all. 

What I would prefer to read instead:

  • The Stranger Diaries (2018) by Elly Griffiths
  • Arsenic and Adobo (2021) by Mia P. Manansala
  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches (2022) by Sangu Mandanna
  • The Guncle (2021) by Steven Rowley

Hey, maybe you are the kind of reader who enjoys difficulty or discomfort while you read. I know John Waters is this type of reader, and I really respect his approach (check out his fantastic collection of essays, Role Models, to learn what I mean. Audio copy available in Hoopla). And that’s cool, I do not judge the hows and the whys surrounding individual reading habits. It’s if you don’t read at all, that’s when I start to reassess one’s character.

If none of the above books come across as appealing, and you are still unsure what to read next, you’re in luck. Consider utilizing Mead’s book recommendation service Your Next Five Books and/or our brand new Your Next Five Movies tool. We usually respond within a few days with a list of books/movies you might love. Call us at 920-459-3400 option 4 for additional book pick help, or for help requesting materials.

Posted in Adult, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, New & Upcoming, Science Fiction, Thrillers

April 2023 Library Reads

Posted on by Carol

Every month, librarians from across the country pick the upcoming book releases they’re most excited to get their hands on. This month, we have a re-telling of Pinocchio full of quirky and charming characters, a thriller set in the classical music world, a humorous anti-heist novel, and three tales of horrors that move unseen, including one set aboard a spaceship.

Top Pick: In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

Clearly if you need a book about a robot that’s guaranteed to have you break out into heaving sobs, this is the novel for you. Klune’s masterful retelling of Pinocchio — a little bit science fiction, a little bit dystopian, and a little bit book-clubby–is a sure-fire winner with so much appeal on so many levels it should prompt readers of all genres to step into something new and original. For fans of The Maker of Swans and The Night Circus. —Douglas Beatty, Baltimore County Public Library

While you wait: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

Continue reading “April 2023 Library Reads” →
Posted in Adult, Award Winners, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, Horror, New & Upcoming, Romance

Library Reads: March 2023

Posted on by Carol

Every month, librarians across the country highlight the upcoming titles they’re most excited to read. This month’s picks include a horror novel set in early 20th century Montana, a retelling of the Greek myth of Clytemnestra, and a coming-of-age novel set in Prohibition-era Virginia.

Top Pick: Lone Women by Victor LaValle

A homestead far from prying eyes offers Adelaide a fresh start in 1915 Montana. She makes a few female friends–after all, lone women need to stick together. But a secret that won’t be contained or silenced soon threatens her new life. Horror mixed with resilient characters in complex relationships make this a must-read for fans of A Dangerous Business and When Women Were Dragons.

—Kimberly McGee, Lake Travis Community Library, Austin, TX

Continue reading “Library Reads: March 2023” →
Posted in Adult, Horror, Mystery, Thrillers

Snowy Thrillers to Unthaw With

Posted on by Aubrey

Sheboygan has been hit with all the snow and cold! What a great time to curl up with a book and hot beverage. Not sure what to read? Create chills without leaving the comfort of your home with these winter thrillers.

Click the titles below to view the selections in our online catalog.

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

Think you know the person you married? Think again… Things have been wrong with Mr and Mrs Wright for a long time. When Adam and Amelia win a weekend away to Scotland, it might be just what their marriage needs. Self-confessed workaholic and screenwriter Adam Wright has lived with face blindness his whole life. He can’t recognize friends or family, or even his own wife. Every anniversary the couple exchange traditional gifts–paper, cotton, pottery, tin–and each year Adam’s wife writes him a letter that she never lets him read. Until now. They both know this weekend will make or break their marriage, but they didn’t randomly win this trip. One of them is lying, and someone doesn’t want them to live happily ever after. Ten years of marriage. Ten years of secrets. And an anniversary they will never forget.

This book’s twist was impressive!

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora’s reserve, and a haunting realization creeps in: the party is not alone in the woods.

Ruth Ware’s debut novel secured her place among the best modern thriller authors.

An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena

A weekend retreat at a cozy mountain lodge is supposed to be the perfect getaway. But when the storm hits, no one is getting away. It’s winter in the Catskills and Mitchell’s Inn, nestled deep in the woods, is the perfect setting for a relaxing maybe even romantic weekend away. It boasts spacious old rooms with huge wood burning fireplaces, a well-stocked wine cellar, and opportunities for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or just curling up with a good murder mystery. So when the weather takes a turn for the worse, and a blizzard cuts off the electricity and all contact with the outside world the guests settle in for the long haul. Soon, though, one of the guests turns up dead it looks like an accident. But when a second guest dies, they start to panic. Within the snowed-in paradise, something or someone is picking off the guests one by one. And there’s nothing they can do but hunker down and hope they can survive the storm.

Reads like a winter And Then There Were None!

Shiver by Allie Reynolds

In this propulsive locked-room thriller debut, a reunion weekend in the French Alps turns deadly when five friends discover that someone has deliberately stranded them at their remote mountaintop resort during a snowstorm. When Milla accepts an off-season invitation to Le Rocher, a cozy ski resort in the French Alps, she’s expecting an intimate weekend of catching up with four old friends. Yet no sooner do Milla and the others arrive for the reunion than they realize something is horribly wrong. Stranded in the deserted resort, Milla’s not sure what’s worse: the increasingly sinister things happening around her or the looming snowstorm that’s making escape even more impossible. All she knows is that there’s no one on the mountain she can trust.

No Exit by Taylor Adams

On the way home to Utah to see her sick mother, college student Darby Thorne is stranded by a blizzard at a highway rest stop in the Colorado Rockies. She’ll have to spend the night in a rest stop in the middle of nowhere with four complete strangers. Then she stumbles across a little girl locked inside an animal crate in the back of a van. There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, no way out because of the snow, and she doesn’t know which of the other travelers is the kidnapper …

No Exit already has a movie adaption that is available on Hulu.

Happy reading!

Descriptions and images provided by the publisher.

Posted in Adult, Fiction, Horror, Mystery

Spooky Books Best for Camping, or Laying in a Hammock, or Being Woods-Adjacent

Posted on by Molly
Spookyass woods

Look, I don’t like camping, okay? Sleeping in a tent for more than one night is not restful. Being hot and stinking of bug repellent is not restful. Peeing in a hole is not restful. Plus, ax murderers live in the woods, which is not restful. The closest I ever get to camping is booking a creepy motel room that is woods-adjacent. Last year I drove up to Duluth and the scariest part was the last leg north of Spooner that is mostly pine forest and nothing else. NOTHING ELSE. This is not my element. I kept checking my gas gauge even though I knew it was full. Miles and miles would pass without seeing another car. Should my rental break down I was certain that murderers and sasquatch lined the highway, just beyond my line of sight, I knew it in my bones! Imagine my relief when I spotted Superior in the distance after cresting a hill. Civilization. Anyplace with Kwik Trip stations every three blocks is civilized, you see. While I personally do not cope well with the wide-open spaces, and being for-real scared, I thoroughly enjoy being pretend-scared from the comfort of a rented room while on vacation. If I can see woods from the room, all the better. Below, I listed several books with spooky woods featuring heavily in the plot. 

Small Spaces (2018) by Katherine Arden
Horror isn’t just for adults. That’s right, children can and should have the everloving hell scared out of them on the odd occasion. Books are a great way to scare your children. For instance, Small Spaces deals with the horror of grief as well as the more existential threat of wood-dwelling creatures that come out in the dark to eat you. Scary! Small Spaces is the first in a horror trilogy and I really think Arden gave us all a little gift with these books since parents and kids will both enjoy the series. The stakes are high and the woods are dark and dreadful. Age up with Arden and check out her gorgeous Winternight Trilogy which is basically Russian fairy tales updated for a mature readership. Save it for cold weather, tho. 

In the Woods (2007) by Tana French
This is the first book in Tana French’s beloved Dublin Murder Squad series. One of my favorite tropes in mystery fiction is when the traumatized youth grows up to be seemingly well-adjusted but then must confront the source of their trauma. In this case, the protagonist’s childhood friend vanished without a trace twenty years earlier and now a similar crime has happened in the same woods. Dublin Murder Squad books can be read in any order, but I think In the Woods is the right place to start this astonishing series. 

Near the Bone (2021) by Christina Henry
I love books about wreaking revenge on terrible men. I like books about monsters and being scared in the woods. Near the Bone combines all of these elements to great effect. A young woman and her husband live far away from civilization in the mountains. The man controls the woman’s every movement and has done for a very long time until an unseen and howling beast throws his carefully isolated life into chaos. Perhaps the unseen terror in the woods will mean salvation from the known horror of the young woman’s captor.

Watchers (1987) by Dean Koontz
This is not a good book, but it was a GREAT vacation read. The premise hooked me right away. Our protagonist crosses paths with a friendly golden retriever who manages to warn him from walking any further into the Oregon foothills. See, the golden retriever is super smart, see, and the laboratory that created him also made this super smart malevolent thing, right, that is basically the evil counterpart to the very good boy golden retriever, see. Oh and also the dog can tell if people are good or evil. And also also the creature has a psychic link with the dog! And it stalks the man and the dog! And there is a pretty lady in need of rescuing! I liked this book for a vacation read because it required very little brain power to enjoy or understand. My main criticism is that Koontz should refrain from writing sex scenes. This book came out in 1987 so maybe he got better at it, but lord was I a-cringing. 

In a Dark, Dark Wood (2015) by Ruth Ware
The best mysteries feature isolated locales, unreliable narrators, and lots of wild twists and turns. Ruth Ware has a knack for just such a mystery. In A Dark, Dark Wood takes place of course, in the middle of an isolated wooded English settlement. A group of old friends gathers for a traditional “hen do” and piss-up before one of them gets hitched. Things start out fun enough but then something goes very, very wrong. How did the power get cut off if no one can come in or out? If a stranger came into the house, where are their footprints in the snow? And it goes on like that. Most satisfying.

Here are some additional spooky woods-adjacent books to enjoy from the safety of your hotel room. Poolside enjoyment is also acceptable:

The Box in the Woods (2021) by Maureen Johnson

The Twisted Ones (2019) by T. Kingfisher

Spider Lake (2019) by Jeff Nania

The Shadows (2020) by Alex North

Uprooted (2015) by Naomi Novick

Please, enjoy camping on my behalf. Just like Homer Simpson, I prefer to be where my food and bed is. If none of the above titles hold any appeal, please reach out to us for book recommendations or consider using our book recommendation tool Your Next Five Books which will provide you with personalized book picks. Either way, we love hearing from you.

Posted in Adult, Fiction, Historical, Horror, New & Upcoming, Romance, Science Fiction, Thrillers

Library Reads July 2022

Posted on by Carol

Every month, librarians across the country pick the ten upcoming titles they’re most excited to read. This month’s picks include a deliciously creepy take on Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, the story of an 8 year old girl forced to attend Weight Watchers, and a pair of romance novels that grapple with the intersection of love and mental health.

Top Pick: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

A retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher, Kingfisher’s latest adds the
creepiest of flesh to the bare-bones tale by Poe. Complete with a scary,
isolated mansion and eerie behaviors of the residents, this version not only
makes perfect sense within the original narrative, but adds a depth of
understanding that suddenly makes all the pieces fall into place. For fans of
Mexican Gothic, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Night Stranger. —Sheri Stanley, Gulfport Library

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Posted in Adult, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction, Teen & Young Adult

Best Beach Reads According to ME

Posted on by Molly

Despite preferring to sit very still, even indoor kids like me enjoy summer weather. We might not want to move around very much, but we have our ways of utilizing the longer, warmer, brighter days. For instance, when the weather warms up I go a little bananas and fill my backpack with snacks, a blanket, and books to take with me to the beach. I find someplace in the shade (we burn easily, you see) and make myself comfortable. Since Lake Michigan is conveniently close, and since Sheboygan has minimum three beautiful beaches to lounge on, I never have to think very hard about how to spend my days off. Parking isn’t a problem and my gas bill doesn’t exist because I ride my bike. This is what my low-maintenance summers are shaped like and it never gets old. Below, I listed several fantastic books that pair nicely with summer escapism. For book recommendations that are tailored to a specific taste, please consider using Mead Library’s Your Next Five Books book recommendation service. 

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