Quick Read<\/p>\n
If you’re behind on your reading goal booksellers suggest moving one of these titles to the top of the list to get you out of a reading rut.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019re looking for a scary book that will make you want to leave the lights on, or something thematic that won\u2019t cost you sleep, these books from recent editions of Ask a Bookseller will help you get in the mood for spooky season. <\/p>\n
Thrills and chills<\/p>\n
\u201cHer Last Breath\u201d by Taylor Adams <\/p>\n
Jackie Fuchs of The Book Keepers<\/a> in Hutchinson says \u201cHer Last Breath<\/a>\u201d is a twisty thriller-mystery that kept her guessing. With a killer lose in a cave deep underground, this is not a book for the claustrophobic, unless, like Fuchs, you believe in exposure therapy through reading. <\/p>\n \u201cWitchcraft for Wayward Girls\u201d by Grady Hendrix <\/p>\n MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. <\/p>\n Fun-fact: Horror master Grady Hendrix is one of the most commonly recommended authors in our series! Coco Casey of Buxton Books in Charleston, S.C., recommended \u201cWitchcraft for Wayward Girls<\/a>,\u201d about a group of pregnant teenage girls in a maternity home who discover a spell book that pulls them into the world of witchcraft and the supernatural. The horror in this book, however, lies in the girls\u2019 real-life situation, which is historically based. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Buffalo Hunter Hunter\u201d by Stephen Graham Jones <\/p>\n Horror master Stephen Graham Jones\u2019 name has also come up more than once over the years. Ben Mayne of Tattered Cover Book Store in Littleton, Colo., recommends \u201cThe Buffalo Hunter Hunter<\/a>\u201d for fans of \u201cSinners\u201d and \u201cInterview with a Vampire.\u201d <\/p>\n “Throughout the story, you kind of side with him a little bit, and then you hate him again, and then you kind of realize that he might not be the bad guy in this conversation that they’re having,\u201d Mayne said. \u201cIt’s super emotional, terrifying.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThe September House\u201d by Carissa Orlando <\/p>\n Ryan Elizabeth Clark of Gibson\u2019s Bookstore in Concord, N.H., places \u201cThe September House<\/a>\u201d atop her list of horror favorites: \u201cCarissa Orlando has taken the haunted house trope, flipped it on its head, and given us a brilliantly clever novel about so much more than ghosts.\u201d <\/p>\n Books about ghosts and mortality … that aren\u2019t scary<\/p>\n \u201cThe Great Wherever\u201d by Shannon Sanders <\/p>\n In \u201cThe Great Wherever<\/a>,\u201d four opinionated ghosts haunt the family farm they should have inherited and try to influence their descendants\u2019 decisions over what to do with the land. Victoria Ford of Comma, a bookshop<\/a> in Minneapolis says the writing in this debut novel is wry and atmospheric. <\/p>\n \u201cI See You\u2019ve Called in Dead\u201d by John Kenney <\/p>\n Christina Tabereaux of The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, Ala., recommends the novel, \u201cI See You\u2019ve Called in Dead<\/a>,\u201d about an obituary writer who, at a drunken low point one evening, publishes his own obituary and finds himself on leave. Told with dark humor and heart, this is a novel about grappling with legacy and choosing life and friends. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cEverything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt\u201d by Ben Reeves <\/p>\n The main character in this book is Death, himself, and his name is Travis. He is there to comfort, though not intervene, at a person\u2019s final moments, though his job becomes a bit more complicated when he\u2019s pulled into the daily lives of his neighbors. Amy Erickson of Detroit Lakes says “Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt<\/a>” is beautifully written and woven with vignettes, large and small, about the lives of myriad characters. <\/p>\n \u201cThe Hounding\u201d by Xenobe Purvis <\/p>\n Mary Ellen Phillips of Maria\u2019s Bookshop in Durango, Colo., recommends the historical fiction novel \u201cThe Hounding.<\/a>\u201d Set in Oxfordshire, England, in 1700, this story about a rumor-gone-wild has Salem witch trial vibes. The treatment of women and women\u2019s health is central to this story, which is packed with strange-but-true historical details. <\/p>\n