Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
Hello, lovelies! I’m too excited to bring you today’s post because this week’s theme is our fall TBRs (or spring, if you’re a southern-hemi friend), and this is my favorite time of year! 🍁🍂
But first, I want to give a quick update on my summer TBR.
Sadly, this was the slumpiest summer for me, and I didn’t make a ton of progress! If I include books I’m currently reading as progress (which I always do, because… er, reasons), I had a 40% success rate. Not my worst ever, but not my best, either!
1. Riot Baby 📖 currently reading
2. Alice 📖 currently reading
3. The Return ❌
4. On the Come Up ❌
5. Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories ❌
6. House of Earth and Blood ❌ (I started it and set it aside for a less slumpy reading experience later!)
7. The Library of the Unwritten ❌
8. Tunnel of Bones ❌
9. The Wives ✅ ★☆☆☆☆
10. Full Tilt ✅ ★★☆☆☆
And now, for my spooky fall TBR!
 Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab
Yep, I’m repeating this one. I love the first book in this series, and a spooky middle grade read feels very needed right now! Trouble is haunting Cassidy Blake . . . even more than usual. She (plus her ghost best friend, Jacob, of course) are in Paris, where Cass’s parents are filming their TV show about the world’s most haunted cities. Sure, it’s fun eating croissants and seeing the Eiffel Tower, but there’s true ghostly danger lurking beneath Paris, in the creepy underground Catacombs. When Cass accidentally awakens a frighteningly strong spirit, she must rely on her still-growing skills as a ghosthunter — and turn to friends both old and new to help her unravel a mystery. But time is running out, and the spirit is only growing stronger. And if Cass fails, the force she’s unleashed could haunt the city forever. |
 Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories edited by Ellen Datlow
One more repeat! I kept putting this one off because it’s SO BIG (800+ pages!), but I low key want to split it up into daily sections and slowly read it during October. Everyone loves a good ghost story, especially Ellen Datlow—the most lauded editor in short works of supernatural suspense and dark fantasy. The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories is her definitive collection of ghost stories. These thirty stories, including all new works from New York Times bestselling authors Joyce Carol Oates, Alice Hoffman, Seanan McGuire, and Paul Tremblay, span from the traditional to the eclectic, from the mainstream to the literary, from pure fantasy to the bizarrely supernatural. Whether you’re reading alone under the covers with a flashlight, or around a campfire with a circle of friends, there’s something here to please—and spook—everyone. |
 Laughing at Shadows edited by Brett Reistroffer
This horror/comedy anthology has been calling my name and it’s high time I pick it up! Who says you can’t laugh at horror? We’ve all heard of being scared silly, so obviously there’s room between slashings, hauntings, and summonings for a good knee-slapper. And that is exactly were this book of dark-minded but lighthearted short fiction comes in. If you’ve ever giggled at guts, chuckled at cannibals, or laughed at severed limbs, then this collection of humorously macabre stories might be right up your dark little alley. With twelve tales from some seriously sick and silly writers, it’s guaranteed to tickle your funny bone…if not rip it right out of you. |
 Final Cuts: New Tales of Hollywood Horror and Other Spectacles edited by Ellen Datlow
Horror movies are truly one of my favorite things in the entire world, so a whole anthology dedicated to retelling their tropes? Yes, please! From the secret reels of a notoriously cursed cinematic masterpiece to the debauched livestreams of modern movie junkies who will do anything for clicks, Final Cuts brings together new and terrifying stories inspired by the many screens we can’t peel our eyes away from. Inspired by the rich golden age of the film and television industries as well as the new media present, this new anthology reveals what evils hide behind the scenes and between the frames of our favorite medium. With original stories from a diverse list of some of the best-known names in horror, Final Cuts will haunt you long after the credits roll. |
 The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
I actually started this during the summer, but when that awful slump hit, I decided to set it aside until I could focus on it better and enjoy it as much as it deserves! Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way. |
 Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall
I totally was supposed to buddy read this with Bex and Regina a little while back, and failed hard, but there’s no time like the present, right? Once a year, the path appears in the forest and Lucy Gallows beckons. Who is brave enough to find her–and who won’t make it out of the woods? It’s been exactly one year since Sara’s sister, Becca, disappeared, and high school life has far from settled back to normal. With her sister gone, Sara doesn’t know whether her former friends no longer like her…or are scared of her, and the days of eating alone at lunch have started to blend together. When a mysterious text message invites Sara and her estranged friends to “play the game” and find local ghost legend Lucy Gallows, Sara is sure this is the only way to find Becca–before she’s lost forever. And even though she’s hardly spoken with them for a year, Sara finds herself deep in the darkness of the forest, her friends–and their cameras–following her down the path. Together, they will have to draw on all of their strengths to survive. The road is rarely forgiving, and no one will be the same on the other side. |
 We Live Inside Your Eyes by Kealan Patrick Burke
Trust this: it would not be a successful fall reading season without a short story collection from one of my faves, KPB. In the ruins of an old parking garage, there is an effigy lashed to a pillar. To anyone else, the remains of the woman with the goat skull head is a warning. To a lonely young boy looking for escape, it is a god of salvation. At its feet lay tattered old notebooks, scattered stories, tales of strange encounters, of broken people and monstrous things, and of corrupt hearts and evil minds. In order to complete his transfiguration, the boy must read these stories, but he has no idea the fate that awaits him. |
 Remains by Andrew Cull
Since child loss is my only real trigger, I’m so nervous to read this, but I feel awful that I was sent this to review so long ago and haven’t picked it up yet, especially since I love Andy’s writing so much that it’ll be worth the heartache. Grief is a black house. How far would you go? What horrors would you endure if it meant you might see the son you thought you’d lost forever? Driven to a breakdown by the brutal murder of her young son, Lucy Campbell had locked herself away, fallen deep inside herself, become a ghost haunting room 23b of the William Tuke Psychiatric Hospital. There she’d remained, until the whispering pulled her back, until she found herself once more sitting in her car, calling to the son she had lost, staring into the black panes of the now abandoned house where Alex had died. Tonight, someone is watching her back. |
 Dark Celebrations by Calvin Demmer
This is another review copy that I feel TERRIBLE I missed the pub date for, so it’s long overdue that I make it right — and I can’t wait! Each year, people all over the world celebrate special festivals and days, shining light on what they wish to remember and revere. But sometimes, inhabitants of the dark arrive with the desire to disturb proceedings. Dark Celebrations is a collection of twelve short stories… and the holidays will never be the same.
|
 Shelter for the Damned by Mike Thorn (February 2021)
This one isn’t coming out for a while yet, but I’m so damn excited that Mike sent me a copy of his upcoming novel, I can’t hold myself back! While looking for a secret place to smoke cigarettes with his two best friends, troubled teenager Mark discovers a mysterious shack in a suburban field. Alienated from his parents and peers, Mark finds within the shack an escape greater than anything he has ever experienced. But it isn’t long before the place reveals its strange, powerful sentience. And it wants something in exchange for the shelter it provides. |
What’s on your fall (or spring) TBR?
— destiny ♥
Patrick Prescott
September 22, 2020Final Cuts looks intriguing. https://pmprescott.blogspot.com/2020/09/todays-topic-is-my-fall-tbr-list.html
tasya @ the literary huntress
September 22, 2020Rules for Vanishing is creepy and perfect for the season!
evelynreads1
September 22, 2020I hope you will enjoy the books from your Fall TBR more!
(www.evelynreads.com)
nbiblioholic
September 22, 2020I swear this summer was book slump season. Hopefully we have better moods and luck this fall, which is my favorite season too! Happy reading 🙂 Here’s my Top Ten Tuesday post.
plantyofpages
September 22, 2020The Final Cuts anthology sounds so cool! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Here’s my Fall TBR if you’d like to give it a look!
Annemieke
September 22, 2020Summer wasn’t grand on me either but you still got more read than I did 😉
I don’t think Ive heard much about any of these books but I hope you will enjoy them for this spooky season!
mehsi
September 22, 2020Ohh, Tunnel of Bones and Rules for Vanishing are perfect spooky books! I hope you enjoy them, and also the other books on your list!
paperbacks.and.planners
September 22, 2020I really want to read Rules for Vanishing this year too!
vamperstein
September 22, 2020It’s always fun with spooky read in the autumn. I’ve got a pile of those to read this autumn too. 🙂
Astilbe
September 22, 2020Remains sounds interesting.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Kristin @ Kristin Kraves Books
September 22, 2020The Only Good Indians is really great. I’m slowly making my way through Echoes and it’s definitely putting me in a spooky mood!
lydiaschoch
September 22, 2020A 40% success rate isn’t bad! 🙂 I know I was a bit less than that with mine.
My post .
Jess @ Jessticulates
September 22, 2020Great list! Final Cuts sounds really fun.
dinipandareads
September 22, 2020Omg so many scary reads and although I’m a total chicken I actually read Rules for Vanishing and I loved it (even though it scared the bejeezus out of me)! ? Hope you enjoy all of these!
confessionsofayareader
September 22, 2020Great TBR! I loved Rules For Vanishing and hope you do, too.
anovelglimpse
September 22, 2020It looks like you have some great reads coming up! I hope you enjoy them all.
Cheryl Malandrinos
September 22, 2020It seems to be a year for struggling with reading. Though I’ve read more than usual, I’m not as much into reading as I was previously. I’m sure I’ll get by it, but right now I’m just not into it like I was.
You have a nice list. Laughing at Shadows and Echoes both sound great. Thanks for sharing.
http://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2020/09/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-books-on-my.html
Barb @ Booker T's Farm
September 22, 2020I adore spooky season. I LOVED The Only Good Indians and why have I not seen Laughing at Shadows before? It’s going straight onto my wishlist!
Kal @ Reader Voracious
September 22, 2020AHHHH I can’t wait to hear your thoughts about Rules for Vanishing! I still think about that book now and then a year later… so good. Happy reading!
Kristina
September 22, 2020Goodluck with that tbr! Xx
I’ve added Echoes onto my virtual tbr too – and I actually read another of Calvin Demmer, but it was The sea is a fair master. It was good!
Lauren @ Always Me
September 22, 2020Laughing at Shadows is right up my alley. I’m adding it to my tbr. Thanks for sharing!
Lauren @ Always Me
Caro @ bookcheshirecat
September 23, 2020Good luck with your spooky TBR! ? I read Tunnel of Bones recently and really liked it, I feel like it would be the perfect read for October/Halloween ?
Lauren Becker
September 23, 2020I have Tunnel of Bones that I plan to read this Fall too. I just read The Library of the Unwritten and it’s so good – I think the second book comes out soon, so that’s another I hope to get around to reading. I’m super curious about Rules of Vanishing – I’ve heard good things.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
Lacy White
September 23, 2020I absolutely love horror movies as well and I can’t wait to see your review of Final Cuts. It sounds right up my alley! Hopefully all these books are good! 😀
antarireads
September 24, 2020city of ghosts and tunnel of bones are perfect for spooky season, i’m sad the 3rd book got pushed back to march 🙁 i hope you enjoy though!
Anonymous
September 27, 2020I hope you love Tunnel of Bones!
Brooke Lorren
September 29, 2020Great list! I should read Tunnel of Bones one of these days. I’ve had the hardest time getting a lot of reading done this season too.