This isn’t a list built around a theme. These books are the theme. They’re weird, wild, and smart enough to leave a mark. Some are here to redeem your Stack of Shame; others, you’ll want to conquer before the adaptation drops and ruins it. All are meant to be read with a highlighter in one hand and an exorcist on speed dial. Welcome to your seasonal syllabus. Read bravely.

Summerween Starter Pack

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Yes, it’s Gothic. But to reduce Rebecca to its genre is to miss the point entirely. It’s less a haunted house story than a meditation on class insecurity, feminine rivalry, and the theater of marriage. Every sentence drips with suppressed hysteria. There are no real ghosts—only the echo of a woman too vivid to die quietly.

The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns

A slippery, sinister little novel that reads like a nursery rhyme penned by someone who’s seen too much. Comyns writes with eerie plainness about telekinesis, grief, and girlhood under patriarchal surveillance. You finish it breathless, unsure if what you read was beautiful or grotesque.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind

If synaesthesia had a dark side, it would be this novel. Set in the rank sensuality of 18th-century France, it follows an unloved man with a nose so finely attuned it becomes a weapon. The prose is lush and nauseating. You’ll feel as though you’re suffocating in flower rot and infant sweat—and still turn the page.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Read it again. Not for the monster, but for the way Shelley wrote it: in a fit of genius, by candlelight, surrounded by men who couldn’t match her. The creature is tragic. The real horror is how men play god and then recoil from the mirror.

Stack of Shame Redemption

Everyone has one. The books you claim to have read—or at least intended to. Now is the time to redeem yourself.

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Grief, but without the maudlin self-pity that lesser writers lean on. Didion dissects mourning with surgical detachment. She doesn’t cry on the page; she observes herself crying and writes it down, coolly, precisely.

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

The Neapolitan novels are not “about female friendship.” That’s a lazy tagline. They’re about power, intellect, class, and the long shadow that one brilliant woman can cast over another’s life. Read it for the rage that simmers beneath the prose.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

You were probably assigned it once. You probably skimmed it. Now read it properly, as an adult. Jane is not meek, not bland, not simply a governess in love. She’s a moral force. A woman who knows what she’s worth even when the world doesn’t.

Read It Before the Adaptation

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Not Charlotte. Emily. For too long this novel has been misread by pop culture as a mere romance. It is not romantic, it’s elemental. Heathcliff is not a brooding hero; he is a curse incarnate. The moors don’t haunt your dreams, they unravel your mind.

Emerald Fennell’s adaptation, slated for a February 13, 2026 release, promises to be provocatively abrasive—bold, visually stylised, and unafraid to court controversy . Yet none of that translates the landscape as Brontë intended: relentless, unforgiving, and vividly alive.

Read Wuthering Heights like you would a storm. Let the narrative’s brutality and its uncanny rhythms overwhelm you. The novel demands immersion—not as entertainment, but as reckoning.

Carolyn Bessette (fashion book, fragments)

With the American Love Story series landing in February 2026, the inevitable rush to render her image onscreen looms large . Before the cameras reduce her to costume and set design, pick up CBK: Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life in Fashion by Sunita Kumar Nair. It’s more than a picture book, it’s a quiet reclamation.

This volume unfolds like a private museum of restraint and poise. The long blonde hair, signature red lip—they are not just aesthetic details. They are a language of control, of crafting an identity in defiance of public spectacle . Carolyn spoke not through words, but through texture, muted color palettes, and clothes whose labels had been quietly removed. She redefined luxury as the absence of excess.

The book gathers not superficial exaltations, but reflections from insiders, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Manolo Blahnik, who respected that she made fashion feel like silence made audible.  It is a statement of enduring elegiac grace, more personal than any screen portrayal can hope to be.

So read it first. Let the real Carolyn resonate in your mind before the adaptation invites reductive dramatisation.

These books don’t belong in a beach tote. They belong on the nightstand of a woman with blackout curtains drawn in daylight, her iced coffee sweating beside a half-burned Diptyque candle. She is not reading to escape. She is reading to be consumed.

If you recognise yourself in her, then yes—you’re reading correctly.

The post Summer Syllabus: A Summer Book List for Every Kind of Mood appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Many people have been anticipating the release of the new Netflix adaptation of Rebecca, directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Lily James and Armie Hammer, since it was first announced back in 2018. Some of those who were most excited are the fans of the original 1938 novel written by Daphne du Maurier. Would this film adapt Du Maurier’s story faithfully? Would it contain the same gothic tones that made the novel so beloved? Would it – gasp! – be even better than the book? (Spoiler alert: it’s not.)

In case you are unaware, Rebecca tells the story of an unnamed woman with no money, family, or connections who is swept away and married by a well-known, wealthy man named Maxim de Winter. Maxim is a widow whose wife, Rebecca, died less than a year ago under mysterious circumstances. When the new Mrs. de Winter moves into Maxim’s esteemed family home, Manderley, she is confronted by a slew of unanswered questions and a stern and bitter housekeeper who compares her every move to that of the late lady of the house.

Spoiler alert: from this point on, there will be references to characters and plot points that many may consider spoilers.

First up: how do the characters compare to those in the book? Let’s start with the second Mrs. de Winter. Lily James’s character is much more assertive than the original. In the novel, Maxim’s new wife is meek and timid. She is intimidated by everyone she meets, hides like a child when confronted with the task of meeting her new family members, and never asks the valid questions she has about her strange new living situation. In the movie, Mrs. de Winter is much more self-assured. She asks Maxim about his dead wife within the first 15 minutes of the film whereas her book counterpart doesn’t buck up the courage to address this elephant in the room until nearly the end of the novel. Movie Mrs. de Winter also takes control of the running of the house, suggesting and planning the revival of a once-revered annual ball at Manderley and even attempting to fire Mrs. Danvers, the strict housekeeper that she fears so much in the novel. While these changes take away important character-defining traits from the book, it’s not too shocking that the people behind the film would want to make Mrs. de Winter a more feminist character in this updated retelling.

And what about Maxim? Well, he’s definitely younger in the film than he’s described in the book. In the book, it’s made clear that Mr. de Winter is about twice the age of his new wife, yet anyone who’s seen pictures of Lily James and Armie Hammer knows that there’s not a 20+ year age gap between them. A big difference between the two versions of Maxim is that, in the book, he treats Rebecca almost as a child or a pet, literally patting her on the head on a number of occasions. He’s also a much more passionate character in the movie. In the book he’s rather monotonous, albeit mysterious, and we don’t learn much about what’s going on in his head until the conclusion of the novel. In the movie, however, he’s not as reserved with his emotions, showing quite a lustful passion for his new wife as well as a pretty prominent anger problem.

And lastly, how does Mrs. Danvers compare to her book counterpart? First off, Kristin Scott Thomas’s casting was perfection. She displayed all of the inscrutability and quiet rage that has made this character so memorable over the years. Mrs. Danvers is the character that most closely resembles their original iteration. At the beginning, she’s the picture of professionalism. She won’t let anyone disrupt her work, including the new lady of the house. The grief she is feeling results in a fury that is terrifying in its simplicity. The most noticeable difference in the movie is that Mrs. Danvers expresses more freely her deep love of Rebecca and her dislike of the new Mrs. de Winter than she does in the book. Which leads to the next point…

Many of the narrative subtleties of the novel are missing from this new adaptation. There were many important plot points prematurely hinted at throughout the film. This took away the eerie feeling of unknowing that has made the novel so beloved and made it so that even those new to the story could easily guess the twists that were so notably shocking when reading the book for the first time.

There was also a lack of character development in the film. As noted above, Mrs. de Winter is much more assertive than her book counterpart. However, this made her ultimate maturation much less impactful. In the book, there’s a jarring shift when she goes from being a spineless child to a stalwart woman in the blink of an eye after the revelation of what really happened to Rebecca and the part her husband played in her death. Maxim even expresses his regret that his actions have led to the loss of her innocence and youthfulness. This same regret is expressed by Maxim in the movie, however, because the character of Mrs. de Winter was made much more self-asserting from the get-go in the film, her “growing up” is much less significant. I mean, she takes up smoking, so I guess that means the things she’s witnessed have aged her, right?

Another thing lacking from the film that was so prominent in the book is the gothic tone of the story. The novel is revered as a quintessential piece of gothic literature, but the film was missing much of the dark tones and eeriness that have made the novel so famous. The overly passionate characters, blatant foreshadowing, and bright cinematography all took away from the disquiet and suspense one would expect when watching an adaptation of Rebecca.

In trying to update the story for a more modern audience, the filmmakers ignored many of the aspects which have made the story resonate with audiences for over 80 years. While those new to the story may find much to appreciate here (after all, it is a beautifully shot movie), those who know and love the novel may find themselves underwhelmed by the shifts in the tone and the narrative paths of the characters in this interpretation of Rebecca.

What did you think of the film? Did you enjoy this new interpretation of Rebecca? Or did it leave you running back to the book for comfort and reassurance?

The post Rebecca: A Book To Film Comparison appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

The Thaumas girls are cursed, or so everyone believes after four of the sisters die terrible, gruesome deaths. Annaleigh, plagued by tragedy and the loss of her sisters, begins to have visions of ghosts haunting Highmoor. At first, it feels like her grief is altering her view of reality. But what if the ghosts are real and the deaths weren’t accidental at all?

A retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses like you’ve never seen before filled with intrigue, horror, and more than enough spook to last you a lifetime.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-García

This book has been on everyone’s radar and within good reason. Noemí Taboada’s recently married cousin has sent some worrying letters, which means Noemí is tasked with visiting High Place and finding out exactly what is going on. The Doyles surely are an odd mix- mysterious, strict and highly secretive. Her cousin’s husband, even with all his good looks and charm, seems like the worst of them all. But Noemí doesn’t give up easily.

An unlikely heroine pushed forward by sheer stubbornness, will Noemí survive everything thrown her way? Grab a handful of mini candy bars, a cosy blanket, and pick this up to find out.

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

Motels tend to be excellent settings for creepy stories, just ask Norman Bates. The Sun Down Motel proves exactly how chilling this type of setting can be. In 1982, Viv Delaney disappears from Fell, New York without leaving a single trace. No one knows what happened to her, and those who might have a clue aren’t very willing to talk. Decades later, Carly, Viv’s niece, arrives in Fell and takes a job at The Sun Down Motel in hopes of finding both closure and clues about what happened to her aunt.

Both entertaining and completely chilling, this is the type of book that made me weary of closing my eyes at night out of fear that a ghost would try to pull my legs from under the covers.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

A school hidden deep in the woods, completely isolated from the outside world. What could go wrong? Well, everything of course! Those students lucky enough to be admitted to Catherine House will get an education like no other. They promise power and prestige while completely taking care of tuition and boarding. Their students will want for nothing. The catch?  Complete and utter isolation from the outside world for the next three years – no contacting family or friends, no television and no music. Ines finds herself becoming accustomed to these rules, yet she soon finds out that Catherine House is hiding some ominous secrets.

This book is perfect for fans of dark academia and contemporary gothic! 

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier

Most know about Daphne Du Maurier thanks to her incredible novel, Rebecca, but what about the equally suspenseful My Cousin Rachel? Phillip Ashley, an orphan, lives an idyllic life in his cousin Ambrose’s estate. These men share a close bond, and Phillip is even named heir of his cousin’s fortune. But when Ambrose leaves on a trip to Florence, everything changes. He falls in love, he marries and, ultimately, he dies. Phillip is heartbroken, already starting to hate his cousin’s widow with every fibre of his being, and yet ends up being drawn to the mysterious Rachel.

With its eerie atmosphere, unreliable characters, and questionable morals, this book will surely entrance any lover of gothic fiction.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

After moving to a new house, Coraline decides to go exploring. There’s a certain door in the house, however, with only a brick wall behind it. It’s not long before that door shows an alternate version of Coraline’s life. The Other Mother is caring and attentive, the food is fantastic and there are enough toys to fill a store. But the Other Mother wants Coraline to stay forever, to sew buttons into her eyes to seal deal. Soon, Coraline discovers that this alternate reality isn’t as perfect as she initially thought, and the lost spirits of other children beg her to rescue them.

 A modern classic that will both spook and capture the hearts of children and adults.

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole

Sydney Green, a Brooklyn native, realises her neighbourhood is changing fast. Her neighbours are disappearing, their homes are going up for sale at an alarming rate and realtors constantly harass her to give up her home. In hopes of keeping the spirit of her community alive, Sydney embarks on creating a walking tour exposing the real history of each building and the streets surrounding them. The more she researches, however, the more she realises how deeply troubled things are becoming in Brooklyn.

A thriller centred around gentrification and the history of Black people, Alyssa Cole has crafted an absolute masterpiece that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  

Crimson Peak: The Official Novelisation by Nancy Holder

There’s a chance you’ve watched this movie already and dreamt about waltzing with Tom Hiddleston, or maybe exploring the rooms of Allerdale Hall with Edith Cushing. The book takes a deeper look into the lives of Edith, Alan, Thomas, and Lucille. Edith, an American heiress, becomes romantically interested in Thomas, although her father highly disapproves. After Edith’s father dies of unexpected circumstances, she decided to marry Thomas and move to his estate in England, locally known as Crimson Peak due to the fact that it’s currently sinking into red clay. Once there, Edith realises that married life isn’t as idyllic as she would have hoped. Both Thomas and Lucille are hiding terrible secrets, and there seems to be ghosts roaming around Allerdale Hall warning her of terrible dangers.

This novelisation is an excellent companion to the movie, and it’s also a perfect treat for those who haven’t watched Crimson Peak.

Category Five by Ann Dávila Cardinal

After the events of Hurricane María, Puerto Rico goes through a drastic change. The island of Vieques is trying to recover from the disaster while developers are taking advantage of the opportunity to buy their land for less than its worth. Just when it couldn’t get worse, a string of murders start to occur while the threats of supernatural attacks are hanging over everyone’s heads. Luper, Javier and Marisol, characters featured in Dávila’s previous novel Five Midnights, take matters into their own hands when it comes to investigating these strange happenings.

Not a lot of books take into the consideration the consequences of Hurricane María, so Category Five is both an educational read and an incredible take on the paranormal.

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

It’s not spooky season without zombies, and Justina Ireland definitely delivers. Dread Nation follows the story of Jane McKeene. She’s sent to study in Miss Preston’s School of Combat, due to the fact that Black and Native people are tasked with bringing down the dead and protecting the wealthy. This isn’t the type of life Jane wants, but when people start to disappear in Baltimore she’s caught in a conspiracy like no other.

Set after the events of the Civil War, this book not only an action-packed zombie adventure, but also reveals the harsh truths about racism and white supremacists.

Do you have any other spooky recommendations? Let us know in the comments below!

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Fall is a season beloved by many around the world. The leaves change colour, the wind temperature drops, and pumpkin spice fragrance fills the morning air. Sweater season brings an onslaught of fashionable sweaters into the market and scarves are socially acceptable to wear. But best of all, this is the perfect weather to curl up with a book! Even though Halloween may now be behind us, there’s always time to enjoy a few books that may seep into your nightmares…

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Goodreads

With beautiful illustrations to accompany the story, Ghosts is about two sisters, Catrina and Maya, whose family has just moved to a town on the Northern California coast in hopes that the cool air will help Maya with cystic fibrosis to breathe better. Turns out that the town is full of ghosts, but the thing that haunts Catrina more than anything is that her sister might soon become one of them. Raina Telgemeier writes about a tough topic in a humorous way from the perspective of a child. Follow Catrina through her journey as she learns that sometimes ghosts aren’t the scariest things around.

Lockwood & Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
Goodreads

A middle-grade novel about ghost hunters with special abilities, The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud is a thrill and the first book in the Lockwood & Co series. Anthony, Lucy, and George have various gifts that allow them to see, hear, and sense ghosts. Anthony Lockwood, the founder of Lockwood & Co, leads the group to various terrifying investigations as the group strives to solve hauntings around London. Screaming Staircase may be the talented trio’s biggest challenge yet.

A Game for All the Family by Sophie Hannah
Goodreads

This psychological thriller will haunt your thoughts until all the answers are revealed. After quitting her job as a TV producer, Justine moves to the countryside for some peace and quiet in her life, but she finds none when her daughter grows visibly more upset when her best friend is unjustly expelled from her school. When Justine talks to the principal to reconsider, she’s told that George hasn’t been expelled because George doesn’t exist. What is real? Who is lying? A series of threatening phone calls increases the drama and suspense as Justine tries to make sense of what is happening around her.

The Lost by Natasha Preston
Goodreads

A heart-pounding story of torture, violence, and hope amidst it all. When teens in their small town go missing one by one, Piper and Hazel suspect that these teens aren’t simply runaways as the police suggest. Kidnapped by three wealthy boys, Piper and Hazel find themselves amongst the missing teens in a building far into the woods locked away from the outside world. They are forced to play a game of torture their goal only to survive in this thrilling book of twists and turns.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Goodreads

An instant New York Times Bestseller, The Thirteenth Tale has also been adapted into a movie of the same name. Winter has spent six decades of her life telling stories that have kept her from her own past. At last, she is ready to reveal the truth to the world. To write her biography, she invites Margaret Lea who finds that Winter’s story curiously takes a parallel of her own. Read as Margaret unveils the truth from Vida as she is transformed by her haunting stories.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Goodreads

A stunning classic about a man, a woman, and another woman’s shadow. When Maxim de Winter proposes to the heroine, she is ecstatic as she is swept away to his massive country estate. She can’t believe her luck. But only when they arrive does she realise the part Maxim’s late wife plays in her new life. Rebecca although dead still feels very much alive to our heroine as she fears the death of her marriage at the hands of a dead woman.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Goodreads

The Blackwood family is met with distrust, fear, and hatred by the village people in New England where this story takes place. Everyone in the wealthy Blackwood family is dead except Mary, her sister, Constance, and her Uncle Julian. Six years ago, half the family was poisoned with arsenic in their food. This little family survives in complete isolation as the reader explores them through a set of events while the mystery of the murders hangs in the air.

The Diviners by Libba Bray
Goodreads

With supernatural powers and murder set in 1920s New York, The Diviners is the perfect binge read! Evie O’Neill is banned from her old hometown, so she packs her bags and heads for New York City to live with her Uncle Will, but Evie has a dark secret she is determined to keep: a supernatural power that has brought her nothing but trouble. But when a girl is murdered with a cryptic mark on her arm, she realises that her powers could be used to catch a serial murderer.

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire
Goodreads

“Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained.” Roger and Dodger are twins containing talents beyond human ability. Roger is skilled with words while Dodger is a magician with numbers. These abnormally talented beings aren’t quite human as they were made by an alchemist, Reed, who monitors their life from afar. He has a dangerous plan. A plan to raise the children into their highest power and claim their authority as his own. This book of fantasy breaks all rules, plays with the mind, and tells a story unlike any other.

Find Her by Lisa Gardner
Goodreads

Flora Dane was kidnapped and kept for 472 days where she learned just how much a person can endure. After surviving the ordeal, Flora learns to navigate life and strives to find a new sense of normal. When it is revealed that Flora has tangled with three other suspects since her return to society, it brings up the question: is Flora Dane a victim or a vigilante? The gruesome details of Flora’s kidnapping and the reality of the situation haunt readers worldwide in this fast-paced thriller.

You by Caroline Kepnes
Goodreads

One of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2014, You by Caroline Kepnes is a terrifying novel for the 21st century. When Guinevere Beck enters a bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, Joe is immediately taken by her. He googles the name on her credit card to find her public Facebook account learning everything he needs to know about her there. Since then, Joe obsesses over Beck going to extreme lengths to make his presence known in her life even if it means getting rid of a few obstacles.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King
Goodreads

A ground-breaking piece of horror fiction, the Pet Sematary by Stephen King is a scare like no other. Rather than lots of blood and gore, this novel is a slow-burning unease that explodes in the final chapters. Dr. Louis Creed’s home is located near a road that is often claims the lives of animals. Children in the area have created a growing cemetery for the animals killed on that road, but even further into the woods, Dr. Creed discovers an ancient Indian burial ground with sinister properties that are better read than said. The less you know going into this book, the better.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Goodreads

House of Leaves is a complex book that makes your mind work for it. It never hands you the information directly. It has an incredible way of crawling under your skin and taking root in your mind. This book will elicit a reaction from you. Anyone who has ever read this book always has something to say about it. House of Leaves is not an easy book which makes it the perfect for a spooky read.

Do you have any other spooky suggestions? Tell us in the comments below!

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