October RandomCAT: Turn On the Dark

October RandomCAT: Turn On the Dark



The baby bat
Screamed out in fright,
"Turn on the dark,
I'm afraid of the light."

{Shel Silverstein, "Batty"}

Welcome to the October RandomCAT! In honor of Halloween and the end of Daylight Savings Time, the theme this month is to read a dark book -- whatever "dark" means to you! Horror novels, non-cozy mysteries, dark fantasy, and true crime books would all qualify, as would books with spooky supernatural elements such as vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. Additionally, books with the word "dark" (or similar) in the title would qualify -- think of words like darkness, shadow, night, cloud, fog, black, midnight, etc.

Be creative, and be sure to share how your books for this CAT fit into the "dark" theme! And don't forget to update the wiki: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2017_RandomCAT#October:_-_Theme:_Turn....

Love this theme! I think this one will be easy for me, although I'm not sure yet what I will read. I have several dark books on the shelf.

I am looking at Legend of a Suicide by David Vann

I think I'll read I'll be Watching You by Charles de Lint (writing as Samuel Keys).

I recommend The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield, a children's book. (I recommend anything to do with Hadfield)

I am reading dark books already for the spooky season, like Magpie Murders and The Passenger by Lisa Lutz. I'll have to see what is left to read once October comes.

I'll probably read the next Sebastian St Cyr book that's up for me: What Darkness Brings

Perfect. I'm planning to read The Dark Dark by Samantha Hunt soon and that will fit nicely.

This is a great theme and fits perfectly with many of my planned October reads. My Halloween list includes Red Hill, an end-of-the world, zombie book as well as the gothic inspired Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I am also going to be reading a couple of books whose titles reflect the theme with Shadow of the Moon by M. M. Kaye and In Darkness by Nick Lake

I have a couple of books that should work: The Skeleton Haunts a House and The Innocent Man.

I love this theme! And so much to choose from. I won't pick a title yet because I'm sure to change my mind before October.

>4 mathgirl40: Hope you like it! :-)

And great theme! I love it!

>11 LibraryCin: I've liked everything I've read by Charles de Lint so far, so I expect I will.

I think I'll reread The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I read it as a teenager and haven't read it since. Just thinking about it makes me shiver.

A few options that I will likely choose from:

Perfume / Patrick Suskind
The Manhattan Hunt Club / John Saul
All Around the Town / Mary Higgins Clark
Death: the High Cost of Living / Neil Gaiman
Raven Black / Anne Cleeves
City of Thieves / David Benioff

I have read almost all of my true crime books, and don't generally read dark books. I think for this challenge I'll read Jamestown: the Buried Treasure by William M. Kelso, which has a primarily black with some blue at the top book cover with orange lettering. In the center of the cover is a skeleton. The book feature the archeology of Jamestown. I remember seeing an exhibit at Jamestown in 2006 or 2007 in celebration of the quadricentennial of Jamestown featuring some of Mr. Kelso's discoveries showing bones and other materials found in digs.

If this book will not qualify, I'll probably read Murder in Lexington by Daniel S. Morrow about a 19th century murder at Virginia Military Academy, one of the few true crime books I own which I haven't read. (I'm trying to read more ROOTs; both of these books would qualify for that.)

Maybe this will be the month I read my really spooky-looking edition of The Devil in Velvet, by John Dickson Carr.

I've got tons to choose from for this month :) I always try to read a haunted house book around Halloween, though, so at the top of my list is Spirits in the Trees. I'm also going to aim to read Darkest Before Dawn, and then I'll see how much time I have left :)

I will read Killers of the Flower Moon:The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. I also hope to get to Nicole Krauss' new book, Forest Dark

I'm also doing a bonus scary read of The Lair of the White Worm, by Bram Stoker, with some folks on Litsy. We'll be reading via Serial Reader starting on October 7, should you care to join us :)

>19 beebeereads: Oh, I didn't even consider Killers of the Flower Moon, I should read it too I've had it for awhile.

I love this theme. I've got several I think would be a good fit, but I'm leaning towards The Night Manager. Or a House of Night book. Or maybe The Drawing of the Three, a Dark Tower book. So many options.

I've got Missoula and Killers of the Flower Moon from the library that should qualify.

I was waiting to see what others would be reading, looking for an idea as I don't usually read that many "dark" books. But I haven't seen any mentions for anything that's already in my TBR so I've decided to read Night by Ellie Wiesel which will also fill one of my Bingo blocks.

ETA: Which may turn out to be "dark" in a different way.

I'm planning to read We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson or The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri but of course plans can change overnight ;)

>24 dudes22: That's a good idea. It's on my TBR shelf to re-read, so I might adopt that as well. :-)

Glad to see people are liking the theme!

>16 sallylou61: Based on your description, I think Jamestown: The Buried Treasure would count because it has a dark cover!

I am planning to read All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater, who writes lovely dark fantasy, and J. Jefferson Farjeon's The Z Murders, which features a serial killer.

I have so many books that are going to fit this month's theme, whether by: color, The Black Tower by PD James; subject, The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke; or titles that just sound dark and dangerous, The Execution Channel by Ken MacLeod, A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine, Death in Sardinia by Marco Vichi, and Seeking Whom He May Devour by Fred Vargas.

I am planning to reread Dracula via audiobook and I am sure that I have some mysteries that will fit as well.

I'm planning on reading The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk (also fits the AwardCAT for the Nobel) and the next book in the Dark Tower series, The Waste Lands.

I'm reading To Touch the Clouds, book 5 in Peter Watt's Frontier series. I'm counting the work cloud as relating to darkness.

I have a couple of other books on my shelves with words like moon and moonlight which I may get to as well. Plus the seventh book in the Frieda Klein series Sunday Morning Coming Down would certainly qualify as dark, it is the most current book in this series of psychological thrillers and I expect will be every bit as page-turning as the previous 6 books.

Two real thrillers I can recommend-

White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

Just finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, which was excellent - and perfect for this category!

One of those books that grabs you from the first sentence and doesn't let go until the last page. The bucolic setting and gracious home makes the unfolding revelation of mental illness even more chilling. Excellent.

I am recommending it highly although it seems most LTers have already read it.

>33 VivienneR: I haven't yet! Looking forward to it!

>34 LisaMorr: You're in for a treat, Lisa!

>33 VivienneR: So many people have recommended it I think I'm going to have to wishlist it

>36 Robertgreaves: I'm sure you will enjoy it, Robert. I don't know how it escaped my notice until now.

>32 nrmay:, I've read Into the Darkest Corner too, it's a pretty good page-turner.

>32 nrmay: & >38 Roro8: After my experience with I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh I'll take a pass on Into the Darkest Corner. I had to abandon Mackintosh's book with only about 30 pages left because I couldn't face the detailed account of a woman getting beaten to a pulp. It was a page-turner at first.

>38 Roro8:, oh dear, I just ordered a copy of I Let You Go. Sounds like I can use it for this RandomCAT if it arrives in time.

>40 Roro8: Be comforted by the fact that it was a good story, the author knows her stuff, writes well, and it was a page-turner. But I found the "domestic abuse" parts were getting more violent as it went along and I didn't want to stay for the finale. As far as the mystery was concerned, I figured it out (or guessed it) near the beginning, but that didn't harm the story.

I'll look forward to hearing your opinion.

>41 VivienneR:, ok, I'll be sure to let you know what I think.

I finished Der Weg aus dem Dunkel which translates as "The way out of darkness". A selection of stories by Nikolai Leskow which I enjoyed very much.

I am definitely reading Perfume by Patrick Suskind for this challenge. Just started it.

The novella which I read for the author born/book published in 1917 square of BingoDOG works well for this challenge: The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers. There is a lot of darkness in this story -- both in the descriptions of the settings and in the weather and in the main characters themselves. All are depraved in some way.

Finished The Skeleton Haunts a House which while a light cozy mystery does involve a skeleton who helps solve crimes.

Finished A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab. What a fun book.

For this challenge I read The Dark Dark by Samantha Hunt, which was a collection of short stories that were just off-kilter enough. I really enjoyed them.

I'm now reading Mist of Midnight by Sandra Byrd. Not only does this book have two sinisterly dark words in combination in the title, it is also a historical gothic mystery.

I'll be reading a selection of stories from The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories, which is my book club's October read.

Enjoyed the book I read so much, that I ended up reading the latest in the series, The Skeleton Paints a Picture and have now gone back to read the first two. Almost finished with A Skeleton in the Family and then will move on to The Skeleton Takes a Bow.

>41 VivienneR:, my book arrived in time and I have started it, however I actually ordered I See You by Clare Mackintosh, not I Let You Go. I must have confused myself somehow.

I've finished two dark books so far this month: The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle and Perfume by Patrick Suskind. The first I liked, the second was more of a meh for me. I'll probably sneak in at least one more dark book, seeing as how Halloween is still on the horizon.

In order to cover both this month's RandomCAT & CATWoman, I have decided to read Dark Nantucket Noon -- I presume I have read it before as I seem to have given it a rating but I don't remember it at all! I don't really like horror/scary books so this is a good fit for me given the category.

>52 Roro8: I hope you enjoy it! I'll watch out for your opinion because I also have it on the shelf.

I just finished Killers of the Flower Moon which I think works for this challenge in an oblique way. It's all about murder so I guess that's pretty dark. I am so glad I read this as it opened my eyes to an event in history that I did not previously know. More comments on the page.

I have completed Shadow of the Moon by M. M. Kaye and have counted it toward this theme as the title fits and also some of the subject matter is very dark.

>55 VivienneR:, I See You was very good, a 4 star book for me. Next month might be a great time to read it as it features public transport as well as having themes that suit this month.

>58 Roro8: So glad you enjoyed it. It sounds intriguing and I'm looking forward to it. I don't think I'll be able to squeeze it in this month, but soon.

I finished Lair of Dreams for this CAT. It's the second book in The Diviners series. It wasn't as creepy -- for me-- as the first book. This book featured dream walkers and hungry ghosts who take over the tunnels of the New York City subway system.

I've read Closing Time by Anita Paddock. Its about a murder "that shook a small town." The small town being the one she grew up in.

I have completed In Darkness by Nick Lake, a emotional and gritty story that unfolds as the main character is trapped amid the rubble of a hospital after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

I finished Panserhjerte (Engl. The Leopard) by Jo Nesbø, which is the 8th in the Harry Hole series. I found this entry particularly dark, considering it is set in wintery Norway (in the mountains with darkness, snowslides and no people in sight) and in Congo, with a serial killer in the focus.

I really enjoyed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs but at the end of the book I realize the adventure is just starting and now I need to get the 2nd book.

Finished Darkest Before Dawn by Stevie J Cole--one of those books where the ideas were dark, and you were told the characters were dark, but it sort of felt like the writer was screaming 'This is a dark book' over and over again, but not entirely convincingly.

I finished Come to Dust by Bracken MacLeod. Definitely dark, but unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed with it.

I read Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman for my f2f bookclub so that certainly fits here. It was dark and disturbing and features Halloween.

The Manhattan Hunt Club / John Saul
4 stars

Jeff has been falsely convicted of a crime. But when he is “transferred” out of the prison, he is taken… somewhere and locked in a room with another man. It’s not long after that they are released into the tunnels underneath New York and are told that they’ll “win” if they make it to the surface. Meanwhile, his family and girlfriend think he died in a crash.

I really liked this. It didn’t take long to get sucked in, though it takes a little bit to figure out what’s going on in the book. It’s told from different viewpoints, so the reader is partial to things that the characters aren’t as they try to figure out what’s happening, as well. This was one I didn’t really want to put down – I wanted to keep reading. And, there were a couple of twists!

Finished both Terrorist by John Updike and Spirits in the Trees by Morgan Hannah MacDonald last night--both dark reads, with full reviews written. I'm sure I'd find some situations where I'd recommend Updike's work. Probably not MacDonald's.

I absolutely loved We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. This was a perfect October read with it's horrifying story and the creepy vibe that the author cultivates.

Read Kitty Peck and the Music Hall Murders by Kate Griffin - not the Charlotte Webb Griffin, the other one. Quite dark story set in Victorian England.

Aw, I was hoping to get more than one book read for this one. I am listening to "It", but I probably won't finish until mid-November. Ah, well.

Was able to get another book in before the end of the month. Finished The Absent One by Jussi Adler-Olsen which had it’s fair share of dark characters. I didn’t like it as much as the first book in the series but there was enough there to keep me reading.

>70 DeltaQueen50: One of my all-time favorites. I'm glad you loved it.

COMPLETED Night by Elie Wiesel

I read Feed for this month's SFFKit but I think that it fits here too. It portrayed a terrible future which I found all the more terrifying because it was so probable.

I finished a second mystery, Petra Oelker's German Die englische Episode. It is set in 1770's Hamburg and London and I enjoyed it a lot.

My final read for this theme, Red Hill by Jamie McGuire was a rather mediocre "zombie" story and not one that I would recommend.

I've added The Diabolical Miss Hyde to the wiki.

This month, I finished two books with "Dark" in the title: Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts and A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab, and another book that was simply dark: I'll Be Watching You by Samuel Keys, a.k.a. Charles de Lint.

I read "A Plague of Zombies", a novella by Diana Gabaldon from her collection Seven Stones to Stand or Fall.

I finished Dracula today -- that is about as much horror as I can stand!