Reading List : October

I love October. I love fall. I love Halloween, well not the scary bits, but the dressing up and having fun and getting treats bits. I also really love fun Halloween-esque books and save them up particularly for this month. I am not a horror lover, in fact I really hate that kind of stuff. So these are not your typical haunted forest, ghosts and gore kind of stories. Just the way I like it. Instead they are fun, kind of scary, kind of intense, mostly kid's stuff, full of adventure and magic. Here they are, the books I will be churning through this month.

"Midnight in Austenland" by Shannon Hale
I picked this one because I really liked Austenland, and wanted to revisit the dressing up and acting as if it were Regency England. This novel fits for October though, because it leans more towards the Bronte style of Gothic writing with a little more darkness, mystery, and perhaps murder. Right up my mild Halloween ally.

"This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein" by Kenneth Oppel
Confession time: I really like the Matt Cruse trilogy written by this author. Hubby and I listened to it on a road trip a few years ago and, though I was reluctant to like it at first, I have come to really, really like it. So that is reason numero uno as to why I chose this new series to start. Also it is a reinvention of the Gothic novel, a prequel to Mary Shellys Frankenstein, and is giving me heart palpitations just thinking about it. I can't wait!

"The Witch's Daughter" by Paula Brackston
This is a book I selected from my Pinterest board. This is one of the cases where I completely and fully judged a book by its cover. Sorry to say I am sometimes THAT kind of reader. Anyway, I liked it enough after reading the back cover to reserve and pick it up from the local library. We will see how that works out in the end.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
This is just an October classic for me. I will have these books on tape, these well worn pages, the soundtracks, and these movies on repeat all month. Also am thinking of skipping the trick or treating and simply going with a "Hallows" Eve celebration of butter beer, floating candles, and a movie marathon. Who is with me?

So have you read any of these books? What did you think? Or, even better, what is on your October reading list? Do you have any traditional Halloween must reads? I need to know because I plan to churn through these in the first week, they all sound so good.