October Book Club Picks

For the month of October, our book club attempts to pick a somewhat scary title to read.  

Last year, my choice fell on October and (after a lot of debating) I chose for us to read We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.  I figured the majority of us had already read or seen the movie version of Shirley's classic The Haunting of Hill House, so I opted for a less popular title.  I actually didn't find this book all that "scary," it was more odd than anything.  It's the story of two sisters who live in their family's house where the majority of the family died due to arsenic poisoning.  The sisters have lived alone since this event, and have their routines and daily rituals, when suddenly a long lost cousin appears.  Now the truth of what happened and who is truly good and evil must be revealed.

This year one of our book-clubbers chose the book The Bird Box by Josh Malerman as our October selection.  Now, this book seemed creepy.  It's the story of a world where something is outside that, if seen, causes individuals to become murderously violent.  At the beginning of the novel, the main character, Malorie, has just found out she is pregnant when this epidemic suddenly begins. After losing her family, she finds her way to a safe house where she ends up staying with strangers who she hopes she can trust...

This book kept me reading well into the night (and honestly night probably wasn't the time to be reading this...).  The book switches between the time when Malorie is pregnant and trying to survive, to four years later when she is caring for two children, "boy" and "girl," still trying to survive.  There are many moments in this book where I think I forgot to breathe, because I was so anxious to get through a chapter and find out if everyone/everything was going to be okay.  The tension and relationships between the characters you are introduced to is perfectly written.  Readers assume they know who is good and who is evil, but really in a world gone mad can anyone truly be trusted?

I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5.  I loved that it was creepy and addicting, and I could still (eventually) sleep after reading it.

What are some of your favorite scary or creepy books?