October Reading

October is just about here and I am planning to read some horror. I've joined The True Book Addicts @ Castle Macarbe's Season of the Witch Challenge

As usual, I have a lot of horror reading planned, but let's see how many I actually read.

1. The Omen by David Selzer
2. The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker

And if time allows

4. Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
5. Vlad by Carlos Fuentes

As you know, I can't do October with out horror films. Here is what I have planned

The Cabin in the Woods 
The Final
Dr. Terror's House of Horrors 
The Tall Man (Thriller) 

As well as some classic horror films that will be gracing TCM all month long.

October Consumption

The month of October is where I read and watch horror.  I have been known to read a horror book outside of this month, and I've watched many horror movies too.

But in October, I focus on this.  Otherwise, it doesn't find its way into my consumer habits.

Here is what it may look like:

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Yes I am going to finally read this.  I have had this sitting on both my Kindle and Nook for years. It is time to tackle it.


Vlad by Carlos Fuentes peaked my interest.
“Vlad” is Vlad the Impaler, of course, whose mythic cruelty was an inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In this sly sequel, Vlad really is undead: dispossessed after centuries of mayhem by Eastern European wars and rampant blood shortages. More than a postmodern riff on “the vampire craze,” Vlad is also an anatomy of the Mexican bourgeoisie, as well as our culture’s ways of dealing with death. For—as in Dracula—Vlad has need of both a lawyer and a real-estate agent in order to establish his new kingdom, and Yves Navarro and his wife Asunción fit the bill nicely. Having recently lost a son, might they not welcome the chance to see their remaining child live forever? More importantly, are the pleasures of middle-class life enough to keep one from joining the legions of the damned?


The Passage: A Novel by Justin Cronin
An epic and gripping tale of catastrophe and survival, The Passage is the story of Amy—abandoned by her mother at the age of six, pursued and then imprisoned by the shadowy figures behind a government experiment of apocalyptic proportions. But Special Agent Brad Wolgast, the lawman sent to track her down, is disarmed by the curiously quiet girl and risks everything to save her. As the experiment goes nightmarishly wrong, Wolgast secures her escape—but he can’t stop society’s collapse. And as Amy walks alone, across miles and decades, into a future dark with violence and despair, she is filled with the mysterious and terrifying knowledge that only she has the power to save the ruined world.

As for the movies, I'll take them as they come. A few of the newer movies I would like to see are Cabin in the Woods, and Frankenstein,

Christmas Movie Listing

No not by me. It's A Wonderful Movie Blog has this year's schedule in the works. Obviously there isn't much there yet, but over time her list is sure to grow. Christmas Movie Schedule 2012.


Also listed there are 10 New Christmas Movies: Christmas Movies Currently in the Works for 2012 & Beyond...

Gearing up for October, November and December

Lately I've been on a non-fiction kick. I read 10 non-fiction books in a row.  Only one of them was a re-read.  They are all of a Metaphysical nature.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton
Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle
The Moses Code by James Twyman
The Essential Spontaneous Fulfillment by Deepak Chopra
Practicing the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
The Isaiah Effect by Gregg Braden
The Dark Side of Light Chasers by Debbie Ford
Learned Optomism by Martin P. Seligman
Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden

I'm pretty much done with this topic, I have one or two more waiting to read, but I'm otherwise done for now.

October is reserved for some Horror reads
November and December are reserved for Holiday reads.  I searched for some Thanksgiving novels, because I don't usually see those. I found a few.

A Winter's Tale is Richard Paul Evan's new Christmas book for 2012. So of course that one is on the list.

And of course I'll be watching the Horror movies in October and the Holiday movies in November and December.  More on that later.

Sit Down And Write Write-A-Thon

Sit Down and Write Michelle @ The True Book Addict will be hosting a new challenge for writers. A week long write a thon. Read all about it. I have something I've been meaning to start. Perfect timing.

The Latest Movie

Of course I've watched many movies in the past 7 months.  Here are some of my favorite.

Harakiri (1962) Winner of the Cannes Special Jury Prize, Masaki Kobayashi's drama centers on samurai Hanshiro Tsugumo, who arrives at a lavish manor and asks to commit hara-kiri on the grounds. But the vengeful warrior is harboring a secret. A new political climate finds the once-powerful samurais wandering the country begging estate owners to allow them to commit suicide on their properties, when what they really want is a handout. This one has been remade with the title: Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011) The Reluctant Saint (1962) Maximilian Schell stars as Giuseppe Desa, a 17th-century Italian peasant who becomes a Franciscan friar after his mother pressures a hesitant abbot to accept her son into the monastery -- and a bishop takes a shine to him. Upon being ordained a priest (thanks to a string of remarkable events), Giuseppe begins to levitate while praying, leading some to believe that his miraculous power is the work of the devil. The Gene Krupa Story (1952) Sal Mineo plays Gene Krupa, the charismatic musician who took the jazz world by storm. With his best pal, Krupa leaves his hometown for New York City, where he's recognized for his talents as a drummer. But in addition to fame, Lady Luck also brings him an addiction to drugs, by way of a singer whom he beds. Krupa's career halts when he ends up in jail, but he gets a second chance on music and life when he's freed. The Artist (2012) This modern-day silent film artfully recounts the poignant end of the silent-movie era in the late 1920s. The story contrasts the declining fortunes of a silent-screen superstar with his lover's rise to popularity as a darling of the "talkies."

Books I've Read Lately

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

This was an audiobook that I recently listened to.  It takes place in the antebellum American south.  The two main characters, Belle and Lavina swap back in forth between the story.  Each being told from their point of view, by two different narrators. 

Lavenia lost her entire family but her brother Cardigan on the boat over from Ireland.  She became an indentured servant to the Pikes as a child.  Belle who was already a kitchen slave was put in charge of her raring.

Without giving too much away, we are taken through the dynamic of the three types of stations in this house.  The wealthy plantation owners, who had everything, the slaves who had nothing and Lavinia who teetered between worlds, as she was not treated as a slave, but not quite treated as an equal.

There is a lot of tragedy in this book.  I have noticed people either love it or hate it.  I loved this book, it is now one of my favorite books. 

I am not sure how it reads, but it is very good listening.

Sal Mineo: A Biography by Michael Gregg Michaud

Who remembers Sal Mineo?  The cutie friend from the movie “Rebel Without A Cause”.  Of course you do.  There are not many biographies about Mr. Mineo, but I found this one and thought I’d give it a read.

It takes us from his childhood on the streets of The Bronx to his death in a California parking lot.  I learned a lot about Sal.  I knew he was a homosexual, however, this gave more of an inner working of his mind and how he viewed sex. 

One thing I didn’t know was that he was really into producing and actually produced and acted in a stage play that was very racy for the day.

There were other very interesting tidbits in this book, that really brought Sal to life.  If you have or have had an interest in a wonderful actor from the past, this book is something you should check out.