[October] Sing, Unburied, Sing, by Jesmyn Ward - Part 1 (Before Starting)

[Katie]

For the ghost story pick for the October book of the month, the group has selected Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward.

For more information about the Book of the Month, see the introduction post.

Part 1: Before starting
Part 2: About 50%, through chapter 6
Part 3: After finishing

Questions before starting:
1. What made you want to read this book? Would you have read it if it wasn't the book of the month?
2. What is your impression of the title before reading? Any guesses on what it might mean?
3. This book is not a traditional ghost story in the sense that it's not a creepy/scary/horror story. Do you have any recommendations for creepy/scary/horror reads that group members might enjoy reading during the Halloween season?

[Chrissy]

I've had this book on my radar all year, and although I could have used it for a few different prompts, this one was a hard one for me to fill so I saved it for October. I assume the title is asking for the voices of the unburied dead to be heard? I'm not a fan of real, creepy ghost stories, although I was intrigued by the description of one of the October Kindle First Read selections, Daughters of the Lake.

[Tammy]

1. What made you want to read this book? Would you have read it if it wasn't the book of the month?
I've seen a lot of members talk about this book in ATY. I happened to see it at the library and grabbed it.
2. What is your impression of the title before reading? Any guesses on what it might mean?
I'm not crazy about the title. It gave me a feeling that it might be about letting go. It sounds as if it is urging the unburied to action.
3. This book is not a traditional ghost story in the sense that it's not a creepy/scary/horror story. Do you have any recommendations for creepy/scary/horror reads that group members might enjoy reading during the Halloween season?
The Shining is always a good place to start.

[Peter]

1. What made you want to read this book? Would you have read it if it wasn't the book of the month?

I'm not sure what exactly made me choose to read this book. It's the first book of the month I've taken part in and it is definitely not a book I would have chosen on my own outside the group. I think I was intrigued when it was suggested as a ghost story because I thought it would be something completely different. When it won the ghost story book of the month, I was interested in seeing how it was a ghost story.

2. What is your impression of the title before reading? Any guesses on what it might mean?

I had no idea what the title meant before reading the book.

3. This book is not a traditional ghost story in the sense that it's not a creepy/scary/horror story. Do you have any recommendations for creepy/scary/horror reads that group members might enjoy reading during the Halloween season?

Stephen King is always good. Dreamcatcher is one of my favourites by him. My favourite horror story though is I Am Legend and Other Stories.

[Shelley]

1. What made you want to read this book? Would you have read it if it wasn't the book of the month?

I think I added this book during my sweep of the Goodread awards last year. I had no idea that it was a ghost story so while I was planning on reading it at some point, it wouldn't have been for this prompt.

2. What is your impression of the title before reading? Any guesses on what it might mean?

I got the impression that it's a Civil Rights, Maya Angelo-type story. That said, I have a tendency to add books to my list, forget about them, and start reading them randomly because they fit a random topic so I normally go into books having no idea what they are about.

3. This book is not a traditional ghost story in the sense that it's not a creepy/scary/horror story. Do you have any recommendations for creepy/scary/horror reads that group members might enjoy reading during the Halloween season?

I was planning on reading Odd Apocalypse. I'm a big fan of the Odd series. I also recommend The Screaming Staircase. It's for a bit younger audiences, but I thought it was a fun read and a great concept.

If you're wanting really scary, You is the scariest book I've ever read, mainly for disturbing realism. The lights stayed on that night.

[Bana AZ]

1. What made you want to read this book? Would you have read it if it wasn't the book of the month?
Well, this actually wasn't my BOTM vote, but I'll read it since it won. I can also fit it in the full sentence category since I already have a book for the ghost story category.

2. What is your impression of the title before reading? Any guesses on what it might mean?
It doesn't sound like a scary book at all. I guess "unburied" sounds scary-ish, but "sing" makes me think of positive things, and "sing" is there twice so it makes me think this is more a positive book than a scary book. I guess it means that the unburied souls of the dead are being encouraged to tell their story---through song! Could this book be adapted into a musical?

3. This book is not a traditional ghost story in the sense that it's not a creepy/scary/horror story. Do you have any recommendations for creepy/scary/horror reads that group members might enjoy reading during the Halloween season?
The Shining by Stephen King is what first comes to mind for me, but since it's already been suggested, I'll suggest The Passage by Justin Cronin instead because I recently read it.

[Silvia]

1. What made you want to read this book? Would you have read it if it wasn't the book of the month? I will read it because is a BotM, and not, I would have never try to read this book if it wasn't the BotM, not because I have something against it, but because I had never heard of this book before. I already read my ghost story, so I need to think where I can place this book :P

2. What is your impression of the title before reading? Any guesses on what it might mean?Nothing with the Sing, but maybe the unburied is refering to something from the past that is still bothering the lifes of the protagonist in the story ... I really don't have any idea :)

3. This book is not a traditional ghost story in the sense that it's not a creepy/scary/horror story. Do you have any recommendations for creepy/scary/horror reads that group members might enjoy reading during the Halloween season? First, I am really sad to know that we chose a not scary book for a ghost story :( , but if you like creepy stories as I do, you can read The Shining or Pet Sematary. But if you don't want to be so scared, you can try The Screaming Staircase, terror for middle grade (I really loved it), just a little bit scary with a couple of good laughs.