Supernatural Fiction Readers discussion
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What are we going to read in this group?
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Werner
(last edited Aug 28, 2020 04:29PM)
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Aug 28, 2020 04:28PM
For those who might have trouble getting a print copy, if it turns out to be the group's choice, "The Canterville Ghost" is available online, unabridged and for free, at the Project Gutenberg site. Here's that link: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/14522... .
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The Canterville Ghost is such a fun read!
The Canterville Ghost is also available as a free ebook.
If "The Canterville Ghost" is picked, I will reread it with the group after all! (It's short, and it's been awhile since I read it.)Is there anyone who really wants The Turn of the Screw and/or The Haunted House in the poll? (The BC library doesn't seem to have the latter, though we have all of Dickens' novels and some of his other writings.) Deb, what's your wish (since you were the one who first mentioned both of those)?
The poll is now up, at this link: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2... , and open for voting! It will run through Sunday, Sept. 13. (I made it a head-to-head match-up of "The Canterville Ghost" vs. The Jewel of Seven Stars; but we'll keep The Haunted House and The Turn of the Screw in mind as suggestions for next year.) A general message to the members will be sent shortly.
Tough choice! I can get both books and movies of each from my library, so...Quite a number of movie versions of the Canterbury Ghost! So, do I want to be amused or scared?
Georgann wrote: "Tough choice! I can get both books and movies of each from my library, so...Quite a number of movie versions of the Canterbury Ghost! So, do I want to be amused or scared?"Another consideration is, do you want a fairly short read, or a longer one? At 304 pages, the Stoker book is definitely the longer of the two.
With 14 votes (compared to 10 for the Jewel of Seven Stars), "The Canterville Ghost" has won the poll, and will be our read for October. Note that there's a link in message 506 to the full text on the Project Gutenberg site, if anyone wants to read it that way --I plan to, since it turns out that the BC library actually doesn't have a print copy. (I'll have to remedy that! :-) )As always, I'll hope to have the discussion thread up by Oct. 1. A hearty thanks to everyone who took part in the poll!
We usually start brainstorming about books for our October read around the first of August, which will be tomorrow. But since that will be a busy day for me, I figured it wouldn't hurt to kick off that discussion a day early! Has anyone else given this any thought?Would anyone be up for a read of Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764)? It's a pivotal classic in the history of the supernatural genre, and a fairly short read at 125 pages.
I would read The Castle of Otranto again, since it's been a long time since I read it.
I'd be game, since it is available from my library.
It sounds like a good candidate for our read. It's also available on Gutenberg.
We'll definitely put it in the poll, then, since there's definitely some interest. (The availability of a free online edition is also a plus, in case a resurgence of the pandemic disrupts interlibrary loan services again.)
So far, The Castle of Otranto is the only suggestion that's been put forward. If nobody else has an alternative to propose by the time the poll would normally go up (and I try to do that at the beginning of Sept., so as to let it run for a couple of weekends and still give those wanting to take part a chance to get ahold of the book), we can say that book is adopted by acclamation. But if anyone has a different book you'd like to nominate, don't hesitate to do so!
If anyone wants to make another suggestion, there's still time to do so --but it is running out! Although I wouldn't have to post the poll (if we have one this year) right away on Sept. 1, I would want to do so at least by Sept. 3 (to allow it to run for two weekends, and still allow time for people to get a copy of the chosen book). I think our brainstorming this year may have been crimped because Goodreads has disabled their comment notifications, and many members may be unaware of the discussion; but I don't know of any way to counteract that. :-(
Werner wrote: "If anyone wants to make another suggestion, there's still time to do so --but it is running out! Although I wouldn't have to post the poll (if we have one this year) right away on Sept. 1, I would ..."I've been trying to think of another candidate to run alongside Castle, but for some reason I have come up empty. I'm happy to do Castle if everyone else is. The free, at-home access via Gutenberg could be helpful during a pandemic.
Thanks, Deb! I'll give folks until Friday to suggest an alternative; but if nobody does, The castle of Otranto will be our choice by acclamation. :-)
Well, it's official --nobody's come up with an alternate idea, so this October those of us who want to join in will be reading The Castle of Otranto. Here's hoping for a fun read, and a good discussion! :-)
Great! Looking forward to the reading of The Castle of Otranto!
Deb wrote: "Great! Looking forward to the reading of The Castle of Otranto!"Me too; I've thought of it as a "must read" for some time now!
Werner wrote: "Deb wrote: "Great! Looking forward to the reading of The Castle of Otranto!"Me too; I've thought of it as a "must read" for some time now!"
Cool! We get to see where it all began. I will be listening to it on audio, so perhaps I will be the beneficiary of eerie creaks and haunting whispers!
I’ve just finished this. Thanks for nominating it, I have wanted to read it for a while.
Wow, Kit, that was fast; we haven't even officially started yet! :-) When I get the discussion thread going (which I hope to do by Oct. 1, unless anyone beats me to it), you should be able to bring a perspective those of us who haven't read it don't have. (Just remember to avoid spoilers in your comments, though, or to use "spoiler" tags if you need to --directions for how to do that are at the tiny green "(some html is okay)" link just above the comment box.)
Oh whoops! I did read some posts for this group and recall it’s an October thing yes! Thanks for reminding me, Werner!
No problem, Kit. :-) Hope you liked the book!
I'm not usually this organized, but I've already started thinking about the October 2022 read. (Generally, I think about the October read in September, and then go completely mindless about possibilities.)This year, I'd really like to see some candidates by women writers, so I'm putting forth a few possibilities and hoping others will chime in. (As an aside, the most amazing and stunningly written ghost novel I've ever read is Beloved by Morrison, but I'm not suggesting that one for a general read because it contains scenes of graphic violence.)
So, here's my list. I'd love to hear comments and additional recommendations! You can probably tell that my supernatural go-to is ghost-lit; other sub-genres are welcome, of course. Haha.
Fledgling/Butler~this is vampire-lit. I haven't read this, but I read Butler's time-slip novel Kindred and was impressed.
Frankenstein/Shelley~this Gothic horror classic might be a good follow-up to The Castle of Otranto, which ushered in the Gothic lit tradition.
The Historian/Kostova~the reviews make this sound like an interesting, spooky read. It is 704 pages, though, which might be hard to get through in a month.
The House of the Spirits/Allende~this novel combines ghosts and magical realism.
Second Glance/Picoult~I read this ghost novel some years ago and liked it quite a bit. It's not your typical Picoult fare.
Other suggestions?
Way to plan ahead! Those sound good! I have The Historian on my to read list. At that length, it would take a motivator like a group read to get me started. My daughter and granddaughter both gave it five stars. I have several books on my horror list by women authors. I have not read Mexican Gothic/Moreno-Garcia, although I might have by next year!
Deb, good thought; you're right that our past common reads have mostly been by male authors. I too would be game for more balanced representation!Just some thoughts off the top of my head here: for whatever it's worth, Frankenstein: The 1818 Text is really science fiction (and a very important early landmark work in that genre!) rather than supernatural fiction. I've read The Historian, and gave it three stars (I'd have given it five without the epilogue); I wouldn't reread it, but I could join in the discussion. One caveat --a lot of readers complained (though I didn't) of the slow narrative pace and lack of vampire action.
I'll come back to the thread and add in a few suggestions of my own, later when I have more time!
Shirley Jackson would be my recommendation but it looks like the group has already sampled her work. I do like 4 of the 5 suggestions put forth by Deb, just unsure on Picoult due to lack of familiarity on my part. I might add:
The Ghost Stories of Muriel Spark by, uh, Muriel Spark
Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
Confessions by Kanae Minato
Feed by Mira Grant (AKA Seanan McGuire)
The Hunger by Alma Katsu
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez
Georgann wrote: "Way to plan ahead! Those sound good! I have The Historian on my to read list. At that length, it would take a motivator like a group read to get me started. My daughter and granddaughter both gave ..."Thanks for chiming in, Georgann! I had thought of Mexican Gothic as well though the reviews are all over the place--lots of DNF's and one star ratings. Also, is it supernatural?
Werner wrote: "Deb, good thought; you're right that our past common reads have mostly been by male authors. I too would be game for more balanced representation!Just some thoughts off the top of my head here: f..."
Hmmm...so you didn't love The Historian, Werner. Interesting that you hated the epilogue enough to lower your enjoyment. I was thinking of Frankenstein as a sort of cross-over scifi and Gothic, but it's true the creature is the creation of a scientist.
RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Shirley Jackson would be my recommendation but it looks like the group has already sampled her work. I do like 4 of the 5 suggestions put forth by Deb, just unsure on Picoult due to lack of familia..."These look good, RJ! I think we did The Woman in Black a few years ago, but I wouldn't swear to it. The Hunger sounds deliciously (sorry) creepy.
Deb wrote: "I think we did The Woman in Black a few years ago, but I wouldn't swear to it."No, we've never done that one. To date, we've done 22 group reads (in our early days, we did them oftener than annually). Of those, eight were of books written by women. One, as RJ said, was by Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House). Norah Lofts has been represented twice. We've also done Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice; The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. (The other two reads were of self-published or small press books by group members, which, by current policy, we wouldn't choose now.) See https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group... .
Mexican Gothic is on my to-read shelf, but I'm not sure either about whether or not it's supernatural.
So far, I've never suggested that we read any short story collections, because I know that quite a few modern readers don't like (or, at least, don't think they like) short fiction. That said, in another group, I've taken part in some successful common reads of collections of scary short stories. If we're game to go that route, a few collections by women on my to-read shelf are: The Wind in the Rosebush and Other Stories of the Supernatural by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman; Tales of Men and Ghosts by Edith Wharton; Weird Stories by Charlotte ("Mrs. J. H.") Riddell; and This Mortal Coil by Lady Cynthia Asquith.
As a group, we've read very little fiction with werewolves. Two werewolf novels by women that are on my to-read shelf are Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (which is the first book of her very popular Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy), and Ivy Cole and the Moon by Gina Farago. (All three books of Stiefvater's trilogy are in one of my mountainous physical TBR piles; I don't own a copy of the Farago book, but it shouldn't be hard to get one by interlibrary loan.)
I will chime in on here as I have read some haunting stories by women authors.Darcy Coates is known for writing about ghosts and hauntings as she has quite a few books out on that genre.
The Haunting of Ashburn House by Darcy Coates
Another woman author that I have been reading more of lately is Catherine Cavendish. She writes most of the time gothic ghost stories. The first book I ever read by her was this one:
Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish
I read this book in a buddy read about two years ago and really enjoyed it. The author I had never heard of before but one of my friends on here told me that she had heard great things about the book so we read it and the book was really good.
Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand
Those are just to give you extra ideas - all these books listed have received quite a few four and five star ratings too. :)
Deb wrote: "RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Shirley Jackson would be my recommendation but it looks like the group has already sampled her work. I do like 4 of the 5 suggestions put forth by Deb, just unsure on ..." Deliciously creepy! Good one, Deb! So many good suggestions! I don't believe we've had this many since I've been a part of this group - maybe 3 years - but still!
Wow! Seeing all these recommendations is so exciting! What a cool group this is!
Hey I want to join in too! Some of my notes:
Stuff that looks good:
-Butler - I am interested to read something by her. Kindred is on my to read list
-The Historian sounds good to me but I guess we’d really need a consensus to read something this long. I note Werner’s rating of it
-Shirley Jackson - I too thought of her for supernatural woman author, she’s great from my experience of reading one book of hers
-Muriel Sparks stuff interests me
-Hurricane Season
-The Woman In Black
-Confessions
-Things We Lost In The Fire
-All the books suggested by Marie sound solid.
I’m interested in books that could have some roots in real life. Eg about witches, voodoo, thug cult in India (as long as it’s not just some colonial beat up), Aboriginal Australian dreaming and spirits, Native American spirits, black/ white magic in Indonesia, Borneo, Melanesia or wherever else it is believed in, ghost stories from other (than Western) cultures.
Some of this would require translated editions. I don’t have any specific titles but will research for some if anyone else has a mutual interest in any of the above.
I also want to finish The Mists of Avalon sometime.
I’ve read Frankenstein and The House of the Spirits and can attest both are great.
Thanks for reminding me, Deb, that I must read Beloved soon!
Georgann wrote: "So many good suggestions! I don't believe we've had this many since I've been a part of this group - maybe 3 years - but still!"Yes, we've got 23 so far, and I'm sure we'll get more between now and next fall. Like Deb, I'm excited --this is the highest number of suggestions we've ever had since I started this group! Of course, we're just brainstorming right now, and seeing which suggestions generate the most interest; not all 23 will necessarily go into the poll. (Personally, I think that on a poll, more than six choices tends to scatter the results too much to produce a very clear mandate for any one of them.) But it's great to have this many good choices to winnow from! And there's no law that says polls have to be limited to no more than six options, either.... :-)
Deb wrote: "Hmmm...so you didn't love The Historian, Werner. Interesting that you hated the epilogue enough to lower your enjoyment."
Well, in my review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ), I explain why under the "spoiler" tag. But that's just my particular issue, which not all readers share. Otherwise, though, I actually DID love all of the rest of it, and also point out the many positives in the review. (Then again, of course, what I see as positives are also reflections of my personal reading tastes, and not all other readers like the same kinds of things that I like! :-) )
I thought The Historian started out really well, got bogged down in the middle and the ending was a bust. Which was a disappointment for me since I really wanted to like it.
I agree, the Historian had real promise, and then sort of lost its way. I still enjoyed it but felt it could have been much better.
The Historian could have been shorter as well. I felt there was some unnecessary info that slowed down the plot-which was intriguing.
Sounds like readers are more or less agreed that The Historian doesn't make the final cut. So many cool choices still on the table and still to come. I like Werner's idea that 6 is a good final number for the voting. Happy Halloween, everyone!
Kit wrote: "Hey I want to join in too! Some of my notes:
Stuff that looks good:
-Butler - I am interested to read something by her. Kindred is on my to read list
-The Historian sounds good to me but I guess w..."
Let me know what you think of Beloved when you get to it, Kit. Your off-the-beaten path interests sound intriguing. Did you see the movie The Last Wave?
My Goodreads friend (and our fellow group member) Danielle recently read Mexican Gothic. (She gave it five stars.) In response to a question from me, she confirmed that yes, it definitely does have supernatural content. So we can certainly consider it a possibility! (It's on my to-read shelf.)
Werner wrote: "My Goodreads friend (and our fellow group member) Danielle recently read Mexican Gothic. (She gave it five stars.) In response to a question from me, she confirmed that yes, it definitely does have..."I also read Mexican Gothic recently and I second Danielle's confirmation. It definitely does have supernatural content.
Werner wrote: "My Goodreads friend (and our fellow group member) Danielle recently read Mexican Gothic. (She gave it five stars.) In response to a question from me, she confirmed that yes, it definitely does have..."Cool! Supernatural and five stars. Sounds good.
Well, we had quite a bit of discussion on this thread back in late October-early November, and no less than 22 suggestions that were still in the ring when discussion died down; so we've already done a fair amount of brainstorming! I think we have a consensus that we'd like to read something by a female author. But we definitely do need to see about winnowing these suggestions down to a more manageable number for a poll (which I'd like to try to get up in early September); and again, I think no more than six would be optimum.In the interests of narrowing the field, for this year, I'll withdraw all six of my suggestions made in message 535 (unless anybody else in the group really wants any of them to be in the poll!), and second the idea of Mexican Gothic, since that seems to have captured interest from more than one person. Deb, R.J., Marie and Kit, can you each narrow down your list of suggestions? Or does anyone else in the group want to second any of the books on those lists?
I've been thinking about (and looking forward to) our group read. I'm busily narrowing my list of suggestions--such good choices!
Supernatural Fiction Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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