Let the Right Book In

The first book in Maya Angelou’s series of autobiographies, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings depicts Angelou’s childhood in the American south in the 1930s. “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” Reading and reviewing memoirs is something I find quite difficult. These are real life events described by the people who went through them, and judging them just seems incredibly harsh. Of course it’s great when you love the memoir and you can happily give it 5 stars and all the praise... but when you don’t love it, it feels mean to start picking at the reasons why you didn’t. There is absolutely no doubt that Angelou was an incredibly inspiring woman, however I didn’t always connect with this one as much as I had hoped to. Some parts are terribly upsetting and hard to read because of the horrific abuse and racial prejudices that Angelou faced, whereas other parts moved quite slowly and became kind of boring... I don’t feel like there is much joy in...

Lord of the Flies is now one of those books I WISH I had studied in school, I’d have loved to have delved deeper into the symbolic meanings and themes, instead of just having my basic reader experience! There’s probably so much I’m missing... it almost makes me want to read through the spark notes for the novel! “What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” It really provides a fascinating insight into how quickly chaos can ensue once civilisation ceases to exist. And it’s somehow even more terrifying once you consider the fact that these are young boys. In a way it made me think of Under the Dome - it’s definitely possible that this was its inspiration given how much King loves this one! Speaking of King, I was MAJORLY geeking out at the stone formation being called Castle Rock - I quickly darted to google to confirm that yes, King named his town after the fictional mountain fort in Lord of the Flies. Somehow I didn’t know this - but it does make complete sense given the...

I’ve been reading so many classics lately for my 30 before 30 challenge and my horror itch hasn’t really been scratched for a while... so as soon as I received this copy of Kill, My Darlings from @christy_aldridge I pretty much started the minute I got it out of the package! “That’s where they live. They can’t eat in the light. They can’t have their Tommy-feast unless the lights are out.” Aldridge covers quite a broad range of different horror stories - there’s cannibalism, a terrifying clown, erotica, boogeymen and demons, so there’s really something that appeals to every horror fan’s taste! Favourites for me were Lizzy Clearly Had A Bad Day, Billy and The Tommy-Feast. Billy in particular was hilarious - it’s about a guy who’s hand becomes kinda jealous when he finally gets a girlfriend... I just love stories that are so off the wall and original. Especially when they’re delivered in such a humorous way. I also feel like I need to mention Insatiable here as well - I’m no...

Behold! A blog post I've been working on for a few weeks now. I often get asked which horror books I would recommend, so I thought I'd make my life a little easier and create a mammoth list. So as of this minute, here are 50 books that I've read and enjoyed. I have included some that I personally wasn't overly enamoured with, but reading is such a personal experience that I thought I'd give you the chance to make up your own mind! In a year or so I might post an update with great horror books that I've discovered since this list was made. In the list you'll find novels, some short stories and a few novellas thrown in too... Enjoy! 1. Pet Sematary - Stephen King It’s me. Of course this book is at the top of the pile! (Even though the rest are in no way ranked…). An incredible horror novel providing heartbreaking insight into death, loss and grief. The horror is not found in huge tense, scary moments, but in those quiet and soul-crushing moments ...

The Color Purple has an abundance of strong, inspiring and unforgettable female characters. Each woman has their own unique story, but they are all linked by the different forms of abuse, prejudice or oppression that they have suffered. "I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it." Our protagonist Celie writes letters to God and her sister Nellie, telling her story as well as the stories of those around her. The overarching theme of sisterhood is such a joy to revel in as we get to witness the journey towards self-realisation that the enigmatic Shug Avery brings Celie on. It’s a brutal read, but a story that needs to be told. Rape and child abuse is never easy to read about, but Walker makes you confront these realities head on. I was quite surprised by the direction the story took in terms of the growth and changes that some characters took, but it was an inspiring reminder that the human spirit is not s...