Here are four books you’ll want to pick up before their movie adaptations hit the screen!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley was merely 18 years old when she wrote Frankenstein, the gothic novel first published in 1818. However, the edition most widely read today is the 1832 version, which she revised in her 30s, much later in life. Her novel, a cornerstone of science fiction, follows Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist whose attempt to create life sets off tragic consequences that endanger everything he holds dear. A profound philosophical tale that explores ambition, isolation, and a deep and relatable yearning for belonging. Arguably one of the English Romanticism’s greatest works of prose fiction, inspiring numerous movie adaptations, the latest released in theatres on October 30th this year.

If any director was going to take on this project, Mexican filmmaker and author Guillermo del Toro is the right man for the job. He is well known for his works in horror and fiction. Some of his notable displays of creativity include “The Shape of Water”, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, and “Crimson Peak”, to name a few. The casting of this movie has the pop-culture world in an excited frenzy due to the talented actors and actresses who will bring life to our Netflix screens with this upcoming release. Jacob Elordi, a rising actor in the industry, best known for his intense portrayals of morally complex characters such as Nate Jacobs in Euphoria and Elvis Presley in Priscilla. Mia Goth notably known for her roles as Maxine Minx and Pearl, and Oscar Issac, playing Victor Frankenstein, coming off the Dune Series, are all starring in this movie, and the range of raw talent and skill of this cast should be enough to move this book up on anyone’s TBR (to be read) list.

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell

Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning novel Hamnet reimagines the life of William Shakespeare’s family in 16th-century Stratford, as they grapple with the loss of their son, brother, and friend. Shifting perspectives reveal how grief, identity, and mourning shape each family member in profoundly different ways, creating a layered portrait of loss. O’Farrell’s lyrical prose and purposeful use of repetition suspend time for the reader, making the story feel both intimate and timeless—a quality that makes it an ideal candidate for the big screen.

The historical drama adaptation is directed by Chloé Zhao, the Chinese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer best known for Nomadland. That film, which follows Fern (Frances McDormand) as she embarks on a road-bound life after an economic collapse in rural Nevada, earned Zhao critical acclaim and made her one of only three women ever to win Best Director at the Golden Globes. For this project, Zhao is joined by author Maggie O’Farrell, who co-wrote the screenplay, blending her lyrical storytelling with Zhao’s cinematic vision. The film stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his wife, Agnes—two talents well-suited to carry the emotional weight of this intimate story. Inspired by the real-life death of Shakespeare’s young son, Hamnet is set to release on November 27, with a runtime of 2 hours and 5 minutes.

The Odyssey by Homer

The Odyssey is one of the oldest surviving works of Western literature and remains a cornerstone of higher education curricula. The epic follows Odysseus on his 10-year journey home after the Trojan War, while also weaving in the struggles of his son, Telemachus, and his wife, Penelope. Penelope, a grieving wife, faces relentless pressure from suitors to remarry and accept that her husband is gone. Meanwhile, Telemachus is forced to step into his father’s role too soon, confronting both literal and metaphorical monsters in his quest to protect his mother and search for Odysseus. At its heart, the story is about grief: Odysseus loses his men, Penelope loses her husband, and Telemachus loses his father. With such an ancient text, much of today’s discourse centers on which translation best captures its essence, with a few modern contenders leading the debate: Robert Fitzgerald, Robert Fagles, Simon Armitage, and the first female translator of the Greek works, Emily Wilson.

British filmmaker Christopher Nolan seems to be the only director that avid movie-watchers trust with this massive project. A story this old and beloved by the masses needs precision, and a cinematic effect that takes its sweet time with this classic and perfects each character. Nolan is known for performing well with massive films like Interstellar, Oppenheimer, Insomnia, and Tenet. The movie adaptation‘s stacked cast is full of fan favourites like Tom Holland, Matt Damon, Zendaya, and Robert Pattinson, to name a few. It is not crazy to believe this move might break the movie theatres, but hopefully, readers are breaking the spine of their copy of Homer’s epic before the July 17th, 2026, release date. 

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Wuthering Heights is a famous twisted revenge tale written by English author Emily Brontë in 1847 under the pen name “Ellis Bell”. Brontë is argued to be the strongest writer out of her two similarly well-regarded sisters, Charlotte and Anne, and Wuthering Heights is her best work. The story follows Catherine and Heathcliffe, who examine a toxic, destructive kind of love between these two characters from different social classes, through the perspective of a housemaid, Nelly Dean.

Set against the cold, desolate backdrop of northern England, the novel unfolds with a stark portrayal of human nature, its haunting prose steeped in dark desires and tortured emotions. The characters’ unlikability, coupled with the gothic melancholy that permeates every page, has cemented the book as a favourite winter read for many. Long debated as either a romance or a tragedy, this latest film adaptation—directed by Emerald Fennell—chooses its stance on the question by premiering on Valentine’s Day.   

The film adaptation of Wuthering Heights has yet to have a true-text movie adaptation. Emerald Fenell is a writer, director, and producer who has worked on period dramas: Anna Karenina (2012), The Danish Girl (2015), and Vita and Virginia (2018). So, taking on the dull colours of Yorkshire Moor and the antiquated language of the 1800’s won’t be out of the ordinary for this established director.

The casting choice of this film sparked online discourse given that Heathcliff (Jacob Elordi) is canonically described as a person of colour, a detail that deeply shapes his perspective and social position within the novel. Starring opposite the Australian native of Basque descent is Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw. These two high profile leads in addition to BRAT summer artist, Charli XCX haunting the trailer with her vocals has created an atmospheric edge that has generated widespread buzz, sparking conversations not only about the film’s interpretation but also inspiring many to finally dust off the classic from their shelves or borrow it from local libraries in anticipation.

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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.

Picture this: It’s October, Halloween is looming and spooky season is in full swing. You want to switch things up a bit by throwing a classic onto your TBR whilst still maintaining your spooky October theme. But, the question is, where do you start?

Don’t worry, I have your back. Choosing anything to read next is always difficult. Here’s an unbiased guide to gothic classics to help you make an informed decision.

Something You Wouldn’t Expect… Dracula by Bram Stoker

Oddly heartwarming, Dracula is a story of friendship and the triumph of good versus evil. It’s also not the kind of book you’d expect to have spawned the infamous Count Dracula in all associated works. The ‘Circle of Light’ – AKA the group of good guys – is composed of a traumatised legal clerk, his schoolteacher wife, radical Dutch doctor, his former student turned psychiatrist (or as close to psychiatrist as you could get in Victorian England), a Lord and an American cowboy (I know!). This mismatched group of heroes trying to take down a seemingly all-powerful supernatural being and the beginnings of his undead army is what makes the book so enjoyable to read.

Something weird… The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Now, if you like the weird stuff (and I mean the properly weird stuff), then The Bloody Chamber is right up your alley. A more modern classic, The Bloody Chamber is a collection of short stories that deepdives into the gorier, sexier, more disturbing side of the Gothic genre. However, be warned: this is not for the faint of heart and does come with certain trigger warnings which you definitely need to be aware of before reading. The premise? Twisted fairy tales – Bluebeard, Beauty and the Beast and Red Riding Hood to name just a few. In the world of Angela Carter, nothing is as it seems and everything is interlaced with gothic, innuendo and the unexpected. A perfect spooky season read that you can easily dip in and out of.

Something short… The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe is easily one of the Big Daddies of Gothic and any one of his short stories could have made its way onto this unbiased guide. However, nothing is scary than what’s inside our own heads, right? A man is disturbed by their elderly neighbours’ bulging blind eye and does what any rational person would do – ignore it as not to be rude. Except, this is an Edgar Allan Poe book so instead of behaving like any rational person, our narrator obviously kills their neighbour. That’s not the scary part though as the real horror and gothic twist comes during their fast descent into insanity. Psychological, gripping, intensely interesting, The Tell-Tale Heart is one of Poe’s best by a long shot. But, if it’s not your kind of thing, you might find the Masque of the Red Death eerily relatable to our current global circumstance as well. 

Something to get you thinking… Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

A girl goes on holiday with her boyfriend and a group of other douchey, up-themselves 19th century writers who challenge one another to a scary story contest. The product of this contest? Frankenstein, a novel about a douchey, up-himself man who messes with the balance between God and nature, resulting in his mental deterioration, the death of everyone he loves and a ‘monster’ who just wants to be accepted. Much like Dracula, Frankenstein is not what you would have expected based on the other works it’s spawned. Essentially a story within a story (even within another story, at one point), Shelley expertly frames arguments of good versus evil, science versus nature, whilst straight roasting the men who challenged her to write it in the first place. Excellent!

Something different… Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

We know Jane Austen for her romance and her witty commentary of Regency life. Do you know what’s even better though? Her witty commentary on the Gothic genre and everyone who read it. Northanger Abbey is one big parody, poking fun at Ann Radcliffe, who is another Gothic author who is partly responsible for the whole ‘women fainting at everything’ trope. The novel features a naive protagonist, over-the-top setting and the desire that readers felt for something supernatural crop up at every twist and turn. Definitely not what you’d expect from our girl Jane, who gave the world Pride and Prejudice, Emma and (by extension) the 1995 classic film starring Alicia Silverstone, Clueless.

As a self-confessed classic skeptic (by this, I mean, that I don’t think classics necessarily deserve all their hype), the classic gothic genre is one I find easy to immerse myself in thanks to its creepy atmospheric descriptions, mountains of angst and yearning and, of course, that little scoop of weird I’ve come to relish. Hopefully, you’ll find something in this list to satisfy your desire to be spooked by something other than the tragically long sentences that most classic authors seem to use like there’s no tomorrow!

Do you have any recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The Unbiased Guide to Classics: Gothic Edition appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Rather than definitively ranking the colossal amount of awesome horror literature out there, a job I can’t do as I love it all, we are going to delve into each horror sub-genre and take a closer look at a range of creepy, terrifying, gory and chilling novels. There will be something for every horror fan from the detectives of true crime enthusiasts to the doomsday preparers. Grab your vampire hunting stakes and Ouija boards and prepare to strap yourself in for a rollercoaster ride through exorcisms, alien possession, cannibalism, monsters, and haunted houses. This journey is not for the faint hearted… you have been warned!

Serial Killer Shockers

Silence Of The Lambs by Thomas Harris

Pure unadulterated horror in its rawest form, the Hannibal Lecter books are not for the faint hearted. Incorporating murder, violence, cannibalism, sexual violence, and abuse, this book should come with a trigger warning in capital letters. The novels tell the story, not in chronological order, of psychologist turned cannibalistic serial-killer Hannibal Lecter’s twisted childhood, crimes and consultancy to homicide detectives. If you want to understand a serial killer, ask a serial killer right?

Harris cleverly creates a force of sinister manipulation in Lecter keeping us wondering who’s side he is on and waiting for his seemingly inevitable escape. The graphic descriptions of terrible and violent crimes leave the reader feeling slightly queasy. Meanwhile Harris opens up the door to harrowing pasts and darkest secrets of the other characters using Lecter’s heightened perceptive skills, manipulation and persuasion creating a multi-layered, three dimensional cast. It’s not for everyone, but if you think you can stomach it, buckle up for a crazy, crime filled ride!

Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

Have you always wanted to know what motivates a serial killer? Why people join cults? How people are brainwashed? Well this is the book for you! Vincent Bugliosi, a prosecution attorney on the case, provides an inside look at the bone-chilling Tate–LaBianca murders instigated by the infamous Charles Manson and his indoctrinated followers.

Following an initial, gruesome murder scene, Bugliosi takes us systematically, through the following investigations, trials, and backstory of the Spahn Ranch cult headed by the enigmatic, influential and cold-blooded Charles Manson. Bugliosi leaves out no detail, using actual court transcripts and often repeating information to ensure the reader can follow the complicated proceedings with more ease. It’s a long one so set aside plenty of reading time as you’ll quickly find that the devil is in the detail, painting an all-encompassing picture, transporting you back in time to Mason’s childhood, cult-life, the murders and the subsequent trails. You almost forget when reading that this isn’t a work of creative fiction, it really did happen, inviting you to question: are any of us really safe?

Science Fiction Madness

Dreamcatcher by Stephen King

King talks about writing Dreamcatcher under the influence of powerful painkillers after an accident and it’s a mind-bending, journey incorporating psychic powers, aliens, government cover-ups, and possession. The sort of thing that surely can only been dreamt up under the influence!

When school-friends Henry, Beaver, Jonsey, and Pete noticed ‘Duddits’, a disabled child being bullied, the boys intervened, intertwining their lives and showing them ‘the line’, Duddits’ telepathic power. The line is a compass guiding the group through life, drawing them away from danger and towards lost things. Present day, the boys still meet up every year to go hunting in the snowy forest, cut off from civilisation… Cue the cabin in the woods style gore-fest! A UFO has crashed in the forest and the military are racing against time to contain the incident, but they don’t have the full story. It’s up to the group of friends to save the world, an action inexplicably linked to Duddits and his special powers.

For those of you fascinated by the recent Area 51 raid pranks, this is a must-read! What have the authorities been hiding? Peel back the proverbial curtain and find out what extra-terrestrial horror awaits!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Written as a collection of interviews, news articles, personal accounts, and scientific data collated by a journalist, Brooks convinces the reader that World War Z was a real-life global catastrophe. Written in the post-apocalyptic wake, World War Z examines the effects of a worldwide pandemic and response from global leaders, health organisations and pharmaceutical companies cashing in on the chaos.

The corruption revealed throughout governments, world leaders and at times the medical profession provides a commentary on contemporary issues surrounding conflict, peace, safety and ethical practise which is extremely thought provoking and before you can check yourself leads you to wonder: could a corrupt government lead to a zombie war?

Brooks cleverly weaves personal accounts showing war as a microcosm, devastating families juxtaposed against the worldwide effects using government press releases and interviews. This makes for a read which at times tugs on your heart strings, terrifies you to your core and causes you to scratch your head and strategise with the world leaders about what to do next!

Creepy Classics

Dracula by Bram Stoker

A gothic setting, a tyrannical villain and damsels in distress, Dracula is the epitome of classic horror. Drawing the reader in with detailed panoramic descriptions of beautiful scenery, we are taken into Dracula’s foreboding castle and into the world of the vampire.

When Jonathan Harker sets out to Transylvania to close a real estate deal with Count Dracula, he is warned by villagers along the way to turn back. Despite this, Jonathan chooses to continue on and finds himself embroiled in wolf attacks, vampire assaults, murder, monster hunts, and blood. Meanwhile, Harker’s wife Mina and her friend Lucy are caught up in vampire dealings of their own leading to further macabre events.

Stoker paints a picture of how unprepared England is for Dracula’s attacks due to its propensity for modern science which doesn’t allow for believing in vampires. Warning readers not to overlook supernatural occurrences science can’t explain. Like Van Helsing, we must take into account both superstition and science. If you like eerie, spooky, otherworldly horror then Dracula is the one for you!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

When Robert Walton set out on his voyage to the North Pole, little did he expect to come across Victor Frankenstein, a near frozen man with an incredible story. Once nursed back to health, Frankenstein tells his secret, scary, and shameful story. Following a happy childhood, Frankenstein studies anatomy and chemistry discovering his ability of animation and embarking on his biggest project yet, to create a human being. Frankenstein makes the monster from a collection of human body parts before bringing it to life and running in fear. What follows is a twisted tale of murder, shame, betrayal, guilt and ethical questions.

Shelley writes a dark and ominous text exploring the implications of too much knowledge. Text and language also play a huge role in the novel with the story told through letters with nods to notebooks, inscriptions and journals. The monster even learns to speak and read from the villagers allowing Frankenstein and thus the reader to understand the complex emotions felt by the creature adding another layer to the story. If you like chewing over problems of ethics and philosophy with a side order of grisly horror, then this is the novel for you!

Psychological Frights

A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Schizophrenia or supernatural possession? This was the question plaguing the Barrett family when 15-year-old Marjorie began acting erratically and medicine wasn’t helping. Merry, Marjorie’s sister, chronicles the horrific events that took place in the Bennett house when the family decided an exorcism was the only way to help Marjorie. To ease their financial strain, the family agreed to have a reality TV show enter their home and film the events leading Merry to question is Marjorie really possessed?

The book explores the dark theme of reality TV exploitation while raising the age old question of science versus religion. Full of harrowing scenes and creepy imagery, the book has an overall feeling of paranoia and madness, making for a sinister and terrifying read. Open if you dare and travel down the psychological rabbit-hole into the ghost filled head of Marjorie Barrett.

Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Would you go for a summer holiday in a haunted house? That is exactly what Eleanor, Theodora, and Luke do following an invitation from Dr Montague who is investigating the supernatural occurrences at Hill House. The group are tasked with living in the house for the summer, noting unearthly experiences.

Although dark and foreboding with a chequered past, Hill House is uninviting but apparently not haunted. However, malevolent events begin slowly unfolding leaving us to wonder what is the work of spirits and what may be the work of the group of ragtag inhabitants. The house comes to life, ensnaring its victims, particularly drawing in fragile, vulnerable Eleanor who is infatuated with the house. Will Hill House ever let her go?

For those that have watched the hit Netflix series, you’ll find that the show takes a lot of creative licence, further developing key themes from the book to stretch over a whole series. The novel is more compact with traditional haunted house tropes but still packs a frightening punch, made even more impactful by the shock ending. Come inside Hill House if you dare!

Supernatural Scares

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill

When a malevolent child abductor and a psychic teenager cross paths, both of their lives are changed forever. Charles Manx, a famed child abductor has been kidnapping children in his Rolls-Royce Wraith, which can traverse worlds and taking them to the supernatural vampire amusement park of Christmasland. When psychic Vic takes the ‘Shorter Way bridge’, her telepathic link, to Manx’s house following an argument with her mother, she had no idea what horrors awaited there.

Fast forward to Vic’s adult life, where she lives as the only known escapee of Manx, but he is not finished with Vic yet. Although imprisoned, after Vic’s almost abduction, Manx has escaped using paranormal means, convincing everyone he is dead and when he takes Vic’s son, no one believes it. It is up to Vic to rescue Wayne and destroy Christmasland for good.

Hill cleverly incorporates the real-life threat of child abduction which send a shiver down the spine of most along with supernatural elements such as psychics and vampires. This makes for a bone-chilling scare you won’t be able to shake long after the last page.

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

Alma Katsu showcases her amazing ability to make horrific historical tragedies even more terrifying by introducing supernatural entities within her take on the Donner Party disaster, The Hunger. In 1846, the 90 members of the pioneer Donner Party setting out on the Oregon trail from Missouri to California, could not have foreseen the horror that lay in wait.

Katsu’s writing builds suspense from the outset, having the reader believe something is stalking the party, causing disappearances and deaths. Although a true story of conflict, betrayal, illness, exposure and starvation, Katsu explores the events under a supernatural lens adding another layer of horror to the already tragic accounts. Did the Donner Party succumb to exposure or is there another sinister explanation for their bad luck?

This novel seamlessly marries history and horror incorporating barbaric tribes, ghosts, demons, and witchcraft without a second of disconnection from the gripping politics and relationships of the group. The variation of traditional storytelling and the use of correspondence, to inform the reader of the character and setting backgrounds, reveals the twine that links all party members to one another and the dread, death and destruction awaiting them all.

Heinous Horror Adaptations

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Turned into a hit Netflix movie, Bird Box will leave you on the edge of your seat, both the book and movie. Malorie and her two children live in an abandoned house in a post-apocalyptic ruin. Most people are dead, and something is out there. Something that wants to get them and if they look at it directly, it will turn them into homicidal, suicidal maniacs. Malorie and her children need to escape and run to safety but a perilous journey lies ahead and you’re on it with them!

Written with a sense of urgency that will keep you turning pages, Bird Box will have you looking over your shoulder with paranoia and panic, thinking am I being followed too? Due to the fact the protagonist spends much of the time blindfolded or trying to avoid seeing the malevolent forces, you will become maddeningly frustrated at your own consequent blindness. keeping you reading desperately in the hope you will get to see the monster. But can you handle it? Or will it send you mad too?

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

You’ve probably heard of the cult movie The Exorcist, but did you know it was based on a bestselling book? Noted as one of the most controversial books of the time, The Exorcist tells the story of 11 year old Regan’s experience with demonic possession and her subsequent exorcism. It’s hard not to compare the novel to the film due to its notoriety but where the book far excels is in the stomach-churning; repulsive descriptions of acts carried out by the possessed Regan and the shocking and horrifying dialogue from the demon inside. Making those infamous scenes from the movie (I won’t give it away!) even more disturbing and unsettling.

Inspired by real life events, if you don’t value a good night’s sleep all that much then this is the book for you. It will have you up long into the night jumping at shadows and cowering under the duvet.

Do you have any horror recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

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Now that it’s officially fall for half of the world and the weather has turned cold and crisp for half of the world, it means it’s also time to welcome the Halloween season! It’s that time of the year to get spooky, to spend your nights watching and reading horror until Halloween ends, and of course, to put up crazy decorations and wear costumes! To help you spice up your Halloween reads, we are here to suggest a few books and themes that would be perfect for a Halloween binge!

Read A Classic

There are many options you can choose for this prompt, including Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and Inferno by Dante.

Read A Book About Witches

What’s Halloween without a few witches? The obvious choice for this prompt would be Harry Potter, but if you want something different, you can read Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, How to Hang A Witch by Adriana Mather, and Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. Or you know, you can always read the book adaptation of Hocus Pocus!

Read A Book About Curses

Any kind of curse will do! You can read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, Compulsion by Martina Boone, The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw, and Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton.

Read A Book About Foreign Myth/Folk Stories

For this prompt, you can read The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and obviously Rick Riordan’s books. If you want something new, you can read an East Asian stories anthology, A Thousand Beginnings and Endings.

Read A Book About Grim Reapers/Death

I really love reading death as a personification, as death/grim reapers always have such a unique voice. They can be really had to find as there are rarely books about them, but you can read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Scythe by Neal Shusterman, A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, and Death or Ice Cream by Gareth P. Jones

Read A Book With An Unreliable Narrator

Unreliable narrators is defined as a narrator whose credibility has been compromised, either because they are the culprit, didn’t remember what happened, or something else. Some of the books with unreliable narrators are The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin, Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins, and The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich.

Read A Book With A Creepy Cover

I think we can agree the Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series have creepy covers! Other options include Daughters unto Devil by Amy Luckavics, Say Her Name by James Dawson, and The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.

Happy October! Let us know if you plan on reading any along with the books you will be reading this Halloween in the comments below!

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There is something at work in my soul which I do not understand. – Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Frankenstein is one of the most famous novels ever written and most people are familiar with the overall gist of the story: scientist creates monster and monster runs amok. However, while many people may be familiar with the novel itself, far fewer people know that the author was a teenage girl!

This month and the following few months, a new movie by the name of Mary Shelley is set to debut. This film tells of the life, events, controversies, and scandals that led Mary Shelley to write her famous novel, Frankenstein.

So, before heading out to see this fictionalised biopic, here are some historical tidbits about Mary Shelley that may be helpful to remember!

Mary Godwin Shelley was the child of two radical philosophers and she spent her childhood surrounded by individuals devoted to politics, philosophy and literature.

Mary’s mother, Mary Wallstonecraft, was a prominent feminist philosopher and educator. She spent much of her time advocating for women’s rights, and is best known for her work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she argues that women only appear to be naturally inferior to men because of their lack of education. Mary’s father, William Godwin, was a journalist, novelist, and philosopher. He was ridiculed by some for his marriage to feminist, Mary Wallstonecraft. However, because of his success as a writer, he was well-known within radical political circles in London.

Mary Shelley never received a traditional education.

For most of her childhood, Mary was educated and tutored by her father. He taught her about a broad range of subjects that were rarely included in any educational curriculum for young girls, and her father expressed hope that she would be raised as a philosopher.

Mary Shelley ran away with a married man when she was 16 years old.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was a political acquaintance of William Godwin who had been ostracised from his wife and his wealthy family. Against the wishes of her father, Percy and Mary began seeing each other when she was 16 and he was 22. They announced their love and ran away through France to Switzerland with Mary becoming pregnant during their travels. Eventually, they would marry less than a month after the suicide of Percy’s wife, Harriet.

Frankenstein was the result of a ghost story competition.

In 1816, while visiting Lord Byron and other friends in Switzerland, Lord Byron proposed a contest in which each of the guests would write a ghost story. The idea of Frankenstein came to her after a sleepless night when her imagination ran wild. She began writing, and initially believed the piece to end as a short story. However, with Percy’s encouragement, she continued to work and expand her writing into her first novel, Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus.

Frankenstein was originally published anonymously.

In 1817, Mary completed the novel and it was published in early 1818. Since it was published anonymously, most readers believed that Percy Shelley was the author.

The true authorship of Frankenstein has been debated.

Due to the close relationship between Mary and Percy, there was collaboration between the two in writing Frankenstein. There are noted differences in several of the published editions; however, Mary maintained that work was solely hers, and that the preface to the first edition was his only significant contribution.

Mary Shelley would go on to write and publish a number of novels.

Although she is most well-known for Frankenstein, Mary Shelley also wrote historical novels such as Valperga, Perkin Warbeck, The Last Man, Lodore, and throughout her life and writing career, she strove to embody the feminist model and ideas of her mother.

Frankenstein is often considered the first science-fiction novel.

Although the novel includes many of the characteristics of Gothic fiction and Romantic literature, it also includes scientific ideas and theories related to artificial intelligence, transplantation, and reanimation.

Who knows how true to history this new movie will be? Hopefully it will be entertaining and as historically accurate as possible. So, if you venture out to see this movie, maybe keeping these factual tidbits in mind will help make your experience even more enjoyable!

Will you be seeing Mary Shelley? Tell us in the comments below!

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