Have you ever googled “beautiful bookstores/libraries” before? There are some truly amazing book filled places around the world. I was fortunate enough to visit Trinity College Library in Dublin this past summer and it filled me with the greatest desire to see more beautiful book filled places that manage to take my breath away. Here are just a scant few that I would adore to visit in person someday. 🙂

Zhongshuge in Yangzhou, China
The secret to this optical illusion is apparently black mirrored floors and slightly curved shelves to give the appearance of a “tunnel of books”.

Word on the Water in London, England
A 1920s Dutch barge that was converted into a floating bookstore. Apparently, in the winter there’s even a woodburning stove that’s lit. <3

Mysterious Bookshop in New York, New York
The Mysterious Bookshop is the world’s oldest and biggest bookstore that stocks only mystery, crime fiction, espionage, and thrillers. Sounds like my cup of tea.

The Haunted Bookshop in Melbourne, Australia
This bookshop is full of the paranormal and occult. They also do ghost tours of Melbourne. I don’t know though, their spiders freak me out enough.

Cărturești Carusel Bookstore in Bucharest, Romania
The name translates as “Carousel of Light” which is most fitting for this gorgeous three-story bookstore.

Arthur Conan Doyle Room @ The Toronto Library in Toronto, Ontario
This rare book collection is a dedication to Doyle’s life and all the genres he branched out into but of course all things Sherlock.

Cuypers Library in Amsterdam, Netherlands
This is a research library dedicated primarily to art history, but the building itself is its own piece of art.

Providence Athenaeum in Providence, Rhode Island
Both Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft were said to have visited this place often. Odd, I would have expected somewhere far gloomier.

Seattle Metaphysical Library
They boast a collection of over 13,000 books on topics related to parapsychology, shamanism, magic, and UFOs. Apparently it’s also dreadfully hard to visit what with their odd hours.

Old Bodleian Library in Oxford, England
Pictures of this place make me positively swoon.

I recently got a 3 month Kindle Unlimited subscription so I’ve been trying to read a few a month at least to take full advantage of my membership. I read two recently that I picked up at random that turned out to be extremely excellent:

 Kind Nepenthe by Matthew V. Brockmeyer [Purchase]
 Witching Hour Theatre by Jonathan Janz [Purchase]

Sometimes it can be really hard for me to chance it on most indies, but I dug through a bunch of them one day (it was a lesson in not judging books by their cover, let me tell you what) and I came up with ten potentially good sounding ones that I’d love to try for Ominous October. I already have another list of hopefuls for the month in addition to a whole slew of horror movies I’d like to watch, but who knows what can be accomplished. We’ve got a whole 31 days. 🙂

Has anyone read these? Or have any others to recommend instead?

Bones by Andrew Cull [Purchase]
The Hole by Hye-Young Pyun [Purchase]
Darkest Hours by Mike Thorn [Purchase]
The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies by John Langan [Purchase]
Ravenous Ghosts by Kealan Patrick Burke [Purchase]

The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn [Purchase]
The Switch House by Tim Meyer [Purchase]
Shadows & Tall Trees (Shadows & Tall Trees #7) by Michael Kelly [Purchase]
Welcome to the Show: 17 Horror Stories – One Legendary Venue by Doug Murano [Purchase]
Hannah-Beast (Dark Corners #1) by Jennifer McMahon [Purchase] (There actually seven of these short stories in total that can also be listened to!)

We’ve all been there. You read a book by a brand new author, you absolutely love it, you vow to read anything and everything they’ve ever written! You don’t. lol Okay, well, some authors I have read a few of theirs but have plenty more to go. These are all authors I’ve read and loved, and the book of theirs that remains unread that I’m most excited to hopefully one day read.

I’ve read The Collector | I need to read The Magus by John Fowles
I’ve read This Is Where I Love You | I need to read The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper
I’ve read The Screaming Staircase | I need to read The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
I’ve read Affinity | I need to read The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
I’ve read Rosemary and Rue | I need to read Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

I’ve read The Lightning Thief | I need to read Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
I’ve read Fortune’s Pawn | I need to read The Spirit Thief by Rachel Aaron
I’ve read Dare Me | I need to read You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott
I’ve read The Secret History | I need to read The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
I’ve read Bull Mountain | I need to read Like Lions by Brian Panowich

Well, almost. The one month I allow myself to go crazy and read nothing but horror! One of these days I’ll take my bestie’s advice and do some random horror month in like March just to appease my horror needs. Or at the very least just read more throughout the year? Hmmm… or both.

I’ve been hosting Ominous October since 2014 and it’s one of my favorite things ever. This go around, I’ve realized I was quite ambitious in my picks (really long audios and a few really long books… eek.) and especially with all the crazy stuff going on life-wise, these are the ten I’d like to get around to but I’m not holding my breath about getting through the entire list. But who knows! I might turn this slump around and knock out this list and then some. 🙂 I might also just start early. lol

Ghost Story by Peter Straub (532 pages)
I’ve been slowly working my way through all the “classic” horror novels and this is one of them. I’ve heard mixed things but it’s one I’m quite excited about. I love a good ghostie story.

Hell House by Richard Matheson (302 pages)
This has honestly been on my Ominous October plans for like the last 3 years. I have been so. damn. excited. for this book… I love Matheson and I honestly have no freaking idea why I haven’t read this yet. This one is top priority!

Books of Blood: Volumes One to Three by Clive Barker (507 pages)
After thoroughly enjoying The Thief of Always and The Hellbound Heart, I quickly made it my mission to collect all the Clive Barker books. I have all three volumes of this collection that I recently was so excited to find at my used bookstore.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King (992 pages)
I’m still slowly but surely making my way through King’s catalog and I think this might be next up! Looking back over the ones I’ve loved the most and his short story collections are simply incredible.

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson (208 pages)
The Haunting of Hill House remains one of the books that stand out in my mind that made me start loving horror at an early age. I’ve always wanted to try something else of hers and decided on this one.

The Listener by Robert R. McCammon (10h 27m)
I’ve heard nothing about rave reviews about anything and everything McCammon has written and I have yet to read a single one of them. I’m not sure if this is necessarily the best one to start with, but here goes nothing.

Kill Creek by Scott Thomas (15h 46m)
This was a completely random Audible daily deal pick up but I’m so glad I took the chance. The reviews have me most excited about this one!

Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (16h 54m)
I’ve been wanting to watch this movie for YEARS because it looks so damn creepy but I keep insisting to myself that I need to read the book first so I figured I should knock that out one of these days.

Lair of Dreams (The Diviners #2) by Libba Bray (20h 12m)
I read (and loved) The Diviners and am currently in the middle of a re-listen because I read it waaaaaaaaay back in 2012 and knew a re-read was the most advisable thing before diving into Lair of Dreams. These are fantastic on audio, January Lavoy does an incredible joy. And boy, are they creepy.

At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft (4h 48m)
I love me some Lovecraft. Lovecraft narrated by the late Edward Herrmann? Even better.

One of the things that I love most about blogging is helping to bring more attention to all the books that manage to fall under the radar. The amazing ones that aren’t nearly as appreciated as they deserve to be. These ten are books that I loved reading and would love to see more people love too.

Past Underrated Gem Posts:

Underrated Gems
Underrated Gems Pt. 2
Underrated Gems Pt. 3

Lightwood (Judah Cannon #1) by Steph Post [Purchase|Review]
100 Goodreads ratings, 32 Amazon ratings

We Are Where the Nightmares Go and Other Stories by C. Robert Cargill [Purchase|Review]
119 Goodreads ratings, 4 Amazon ratings

Witching Hour Theatre by Jonathan Janz [Purchase]
142 Goodreads ratings, 17 Amazon ratings

The Bird Market of Paris: A Memoir by Nikki Moustaki [Purchase|Review]
267 Goodreads ratings, 59 Amazon ratings

The Case of the Baker Street Irregular by Robert Newman [Purchase]
274 Goodreads ratings, 12 Amazon ratings

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte [Purchase]
590 Goodreads ratings, 38 Amazon ratings

Something Rich and Strange by Patricia A. McKillip [Purchase]
746 Goodreads ratings, 9 Amazon ratings

Final Girls by Mira Grant [Purchase|Review]
1,008 Goodreads ratings, 51 Amazon ratings

Tighter by Adele Griffin [Purchase]
1,110 Goodreads ratings, 45 Amazon ratings

Love in Mid Air by Kim Wright [Purchase]
1,025 Goodreads ratings, 82 Amazon ratings

A book is #1 on the New York Times bestseller list? I couldn’t care less. A book just won a literary award? I need a copy NOW so I can see what all the fuss is about. (That is unless your book just won the Booker Prize, then, unfortunately, I couldn’t care less.) There is a multitude of literary awards these days and I avidly await the announcement of winners. Sure, the winners aren’t always as amazing as an award would seem to merit, but sometimes those awards shine a spotlight on some real gems.

Here are just ten that I have read and loved, that have been honored with an award, and it’s clear just why that is.

Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature (2016): Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2015): Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel (2013): American Elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett

Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Historical Fiction (2013): Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Hugo Award for Best Novel (2009): The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original (2008): Queenpin by Megan Abbott

Bram Stoker Award for First Novel (2007): Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2007): The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel (1987): The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (1987): Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

A book doesn’t require a billion pages to be amazing. Sometimes the best stories have the fewest words. From a mere 4 pages up to 102, these are ten stories in miniature that I couldn’t help but wish for more pages.

Throttle by Joe Hill and Stephen King [Purchase]
The Pigeon by Patrick Süskind [Purchase]
We Have Always Lived on Mars by Cecil Castellucci [Purchase]
Apocalypse Scenario #683: The Box (Newsflesh 0.1) by Mira Grant [Purchase]
If You’re Not Yet Like Me by Edan Lepucki [Purchase]

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe [Purchase]
The End of the Party by Graham Greene
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury
The Dead by James Joyce [Purchase]

It’s never more evident how all over the place my reading picks are than when I do a best of list. Memoir, graphic novel, Dystopian, Romance, Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and even a re-read (and a DNF) of two books I didn’t like the first time around. I’ve got a little bit of everything in this list. Here are my current favorite ten reads for the year… so far. 🙂

I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections by Nora Ephron
Lady Killer 2 by Joëlle Jones
Scythe (Arc of a Scythe #1) by Neal Shusterman
The Dry (Aaron Falk #1) by Jane Harper
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo #1) by Rick Riordan
Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren
What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte
Lock In (Lock In #1) by John Scalzi
Still Me (Me Before You #3) by Jojo Moyes

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July in the United States and I’m not even in the country! But here’s a fun little red, white, and blue book tower anyways.

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link [Purchase]
Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella [Purchase]
The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus #1) by Jonathan Stroud [Purchase]
Horns by Joe Hill [Purchase]
The Dark Lake (Gemma Woodstock #1) by Sarah Bailey [Purchase]
Instant Love by Jami Attenberg [Purchase]
Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler [Purchase]
Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari [Purchase]
Still Me (Me Before You #3) by Jojo Moyes [Purchase]
Into the Drowning Deep (Rolling in the Deep #1) by Mira Grant [Purchase]

Happy Fourth, everyone.

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about those series’ that I’ve called it quits on. It can be hard to finally make that decision to move on, I know that personally, I have a hard time closing the door on a story that you may have spent a lot of time invested in. But hard decisions sometimes have to be made so you can move on to better books. These are just a few of the series that have joined my Series Graveyard.

A Court of Thorns and Roses Series

Last installment read: A Court of Frost and Starlight (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3.1)
Man, I really loved this series and A Court of Mist and Fury still remains a favorite but this series went super downhill for me. Starlight (which I recently dubbed Frost and Starshit) was just the nail in the coffin.

Red Queen Series

Last installment read: Red Queen (Red Queen #1)
I didn’t get very far with this one, but I’m okay with that. There just wasn’t enough “special” about this one to keep me invested.

An Ember in the Ashes Series

Last installment read: An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1)
This was a well-loved debut (and still remains a well-loved series) but someone has to be the black sheep. Baaa. Between the extremely slow pace and the excessive (and unnecessary) violence, I didn’t much care for this one and never continued the series.

     
Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Series

Last installment read: Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2)
This one is a weird one. The last book I read in this series I rated four stars, however, I’ve practically forgotten everything about this and I didn’t enjoy it enough to warrant a re-read. So here it lies.

Blood and Salt Series

Last installment read: Blood and Salt (Blood and Salt, #1)
This was one of the last horror (YA) books that I read. I’m such a massive horror fan and unfortunately, the majority of YA books are far too tame (and contain too much unnecessary romance.)

Parasitology Series

Last installment read: Symbiont (Parasitology #2)
I never expected to dislike this one as much as I did. Parasites! Contagion! Mira Grant! It still upsets me that I couldn’t even finish this trilogy. So sad.

Love Lies Beneath Series

Last installment read: Love Lies Beneath (Love Lies Beneath, #1)
This is another favorite author of mine that managed to write something I didn’t like. But it happens, I suppose. Maybe it was the lack of verse? Whatever it was, this was terrible, but at least my review was fun to write.

Guards of the Shadowlands Series

Last installment read: Sanctum (Guards of the Shadowlands, #1)
This had been on my TBR for ages and I’d listened to people rave about this series for years. Definitely another black sheep situation. I could barely finish the first installment.

Alphas Series

Last installment read: Origins (Alphas, #0.5)
I’ve heard rumblings that even though this was written a while ago, that a series may happen someday. I love Ilona Andrews so much but this is one series I’ll be skipping out on if it does in fact happen.

Eve Duncan Series

Last installment read: Bonnie (Eve Duncan, #14)
I read this one for many, many years but finally had to call it quits. The 14th installment was meant to be where we finally got all the answers but it was such a cop-out. And then the series continued somehow, even after everything was “resolved”. I’m curious how Johansen kept the story afloat but not interested enough to actually pick up the next book.