The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

50.1 Butterflycager's Task - Let's Build A Haunted House!

My favorite part of Halloween is visiting a haunted house. Some are more elaborate than others, but they usually have some elements in common.

Read three books, each having to do with some different aspect of haunted houses.
You may visit each part of the house only once: a different option from A-H must be chosen for each book.

A. The Creaky Front Door - read a book with a door on the front cover, or with the word "door" in the title. This list Doorways might be helpful for covers.

B. Spooky Laughter in the Hallway - read a funny book. If you need ideas, this list may help: Funniest Books Ever

C. Creepy Cobwebs in the Living Room - read a book with "spider", "web", "cobweb" or a complete name of a commonly identifiable spider (ex. "tarantula", "black widow", "brown recluse", "daddy long legs") in the title.

D. Secret Passageway Behind the Library - read a collection or anthology of short stories or essays by a single or multiple authors.

E. The Monster in the Closet - read a book with "monster" or "closet" in the title OR a book where a monster is a central character. A monster would fit any of the following:
1.a legendary animal combining features of animal and human form or having the forms of various animals in combination, as a centaur, griffin, sphinx, shapeshifter.
2.any creature so ugly or monstrous as to frighten people.
3.any animal or human grotesquely deviating from the normal shape, behavior, or character (vampires work)
4.a person who excites horror by wickedness, cruelty, etc.
5.any animal or thing huge in size.

F. Mad Scientist's Laboratory in the Basement - read a book with "mad", "science" or "scientist", "laboratory", or "basement" in the title OR a book in which a scientist is a central character/subject.

G. Cemetery in the Backyard - read a book with a picture of a cemetery or gravestone on the cover OR a book with "cemetery", "grave", "graveyard", or "tombstone" in the title.

H. Put It All Together - read a book that takes place mostly in a haunted place: house, castle, town, etc.

For A, C, E, F, G - plurals, possessives, and variations (doorway, lab, closeted, etc.) are okay. But words within words (like madame for mad) are not. Words in titles may be found in the Goodreads book title or subtitle. Series titles are excluded.

Each one must fit into one of the following categories. Unlike A-H above, these categories 1-6 may be repeated.

1. Author or Editor is a Goodreads Author.
2. Author or Editor is one you've never read before.
3. Author or Editor has published more than ten books Required:State number of books published when posting.
4. Book is at least 500 pages long Required: State number of pages when posting.
5. Book is part of a series Required: Identify series when posting.
6. Book title is made up of one, three, or ten words (since Halloween is 10/31). You may ignore or use the subtitle as needed.

Required: Please state which options you choose when posting. If using a image on a book cover, you must include a link to the book or cover (preferred)

Best of luck, and enjoy your visit to the haunted house!

Approved Books:

For A:
Ladies and Gentlemen by Adam Ross (would also work for D because it is a collection of short stories)
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Gatekeepers by Robert Liparulo
Through the Magic Door by Arthur Conan Doyle
A Mind To Murder by P.D. James

For B: (some suggestions)
Anything from the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich
Anything from the Jeeves or Psmith series by P.G. Wodehouse

For C:
Spider Woman's WebSusan Hazen-Hammond

For D:
Scottish Brides by Christina Dodd, et al
Mystery Writers of America Presents Death Do Us Part: New Stories about Love, Lust, and Murder edited by Harlan Coben
Arabian Nights: A Selection

For E:
A Little Harmless Submission by Melissa Schroeder
Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin
The Unbearable Lightness of Dragons by Katie MacAlister
Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey


For F:
The Magician by Michael Scott (Nicholas Flamel, the alchemist, is a main character)
The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson
Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved by Russell Martin
For H:
The Keeper by Sarah Langan
Harry Potter series, books 1-6 only

Books that will not work:

For A:
RunawaybyMeg Cabot

For E:
Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoag

For F:
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

For H:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Clarifications:

A. The door doesn't necessarily have to be on a house or other building - a locker door would be all right.

B. The Funniest Books Ever list was just for suggestions - please feel free to choose a book that you find funny.

E. Dragons count as monsters.

F. Geologists, archaeologists, and criminologists count as scientists. Medical doctors not engaged in experiments, theories, research, etc. do not count as scientists.

This help thread is open!

for H - what about a town that is haunted? - The Keeper

fun task!

for part E: Monster in the closet, option #4 is "a person who excites horror by wickedness, cruelty, etc." could I use A Little Harmless Submission where the two main characters are trying to catch a serial killer who is a character we meet several times in the book and has his own view point in the book?

Thanks

Will Dr. Jekyll & Mister Hyde work for E? I was thinking of Mary Reilly.

Dee wrote: "for H - what about a town that is haunted? - The Keeper"

Yes, that would be acceptable. Sounds very creepy!

Sassafrass wrote: "fun task!

for part E: Monster in the closet, option #4 is "a person who excites horror by wickedness, cruelty, etc." could I use A Little Harmless Submission where the two main ch..."

Yes, that will work. Glad you like the task!

Gayla wrote: "Will Dr. Jekyll & Mister Hyde work for E? I was thinking of Mary Reilly."

That's a good idea - I've had Mary Reilly on my TBR shelf for ages - might read it myself. I'll take Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde for E.

Hi Butterflycager

How about for Option A? There is a doorknob on the cover but not the whole door is pictured. Another possibility is ?

would these work for option A
in the back it looks like she is running for building exit door.
and option F Nicholas Flamel is one of the main characters.

For E, would Deeper Than the Dead work?

For E or F, would The Queen: A Patrick Bowers Thriller work? Parts of the book are from the killer's point of view and Patrick Bower is an FBI agent who specializes in forensics and geospacial reasoning.

For F, would you consider a geologist for a scientist? In Darkness Reborn

For E. would work?

Would Arabian Nights: A Selection work for D (short stories) and also for 2, an author I have never read before? The author(s) is/are anonymous, but I am sure I have not read anything else that the author(s) wrote, if indeed there are any other works in existence written by the same author(s), which there probably aren't. I have not read any other books by the translator, Sir Richard Burton.

Just a couple of books I found for the 'door' option:

by Robert Liparulo, a Goodreads author and

Through the Magic Door by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who has more than 10 published works

For F. Will The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World work?

Science is in the subtitle

Great task Butterflycager

Cool task!

Also, for A, is a locker door OK or does it have to be the door of a house?

Great task idea Butterflycager

I'm just trying to fill books at the moment and was wondering if a dragon would E.5. I was thinking of Dragonflight where the dragons are certainly very large.

Thanks

For D- anthologies, I would like to read Scottish Brides - two of the authors are GR authors and two are not. Would this satisfy category #1? Thanks!

for D - I want to read Mystery Writers of America Presents Death Do Us Part: New Stories about Love, Lust, and Murder - looking through the authors - I've only read 1, maybe 2 of the 18 who contributed - would that work for 2?

For category 3 (Author/Editor has published more than 10 books) does "books" mean only novels or are other works eligible? For example, I am thinking of Shirley Jackson who published 6 novels, 4 collected works, 2 memoirs, and 4 children's works. Would that qualify?

For 'A' - is this enough of a door? - it's in the upper right corner & is partially obscured. It's very clear on the cover itself, hinges & all, but hard to see in a small picture.

mstan wrote: "Hi Butterflycager

How about for Option A? There is a doorknob on the cover but not the whole door is pictured. Another possibility is [bookcover:Snow Crash..."

Either of those would work for A.

Jenn Renee wrote: "would these work for option A
in the back it looks like she is running for building exit door.
and option F Nicholas Flamel is one ..."

Since Nicholas Flamel was an alchemist, I'll take The Magician by Michael Scott for F.

As for Runaway by Meg Cabot, it does appear that way, but because we don't actually see the door on the cover, I can't accept that for A. Sorry!

Jayme VA wrote: "Just a couple of books I found for the 'door' option:

by Robert Liparulo, a Goodreads author and

Through the Magic Door by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, w..."

Those are great ideas, thanks!

BJ Rose wrote: "For 'A' - is this enough of a door? - it's in the upper right corner & is partially obscured. It's very clear on the cover itself, hinges & all, but hard to see ..."

Looks like a door to me. That will work for A.

Judy wrote: "For D- anthologies, I would like to read Scottish Brides - two of the authors are GR authors and two are not. Would this satisfy category #1? Thanks!"

That's no problem. As long as one of the anthology authors is a GR author and you make it clear when you post, it will count.

Emma wrote: "For category 3 (Author/Editor has published more than 10 books) does "books" mean only novels or are other works eligible? For example, I am thinking of Shirley Jackson who published 6 novels, 4 c..."

When I put "books," I meant book-length works (in other words, short stories or essays would not be counted individually, but different types of books would). I think that Jackson would certainly count.

Sheila wrote: "Great task Butterflycager"

Thanks! Glad you like it!

Sue T wrote: "Cool task!"

Thank you! Hope you enjoy it!

April wrote: "For F. Will The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World work?

Science is in the subtitle"

Yes, that will be fine. I've heard this is a good book.

Rosemary wrote: "Would Arabian Nights: A Selection work for D (short stories) and also for 2, an author I have never read before? The author(s) is/are anonymous, but I am sure I have not read anything..."

This book works fine for D. I'm not sure about the anonymous author/translator issue, though, and I will need to ask someone about that.

Hettie wrote: "Great task idea Butterflycager

I'm just trying to fill books at the moment and was wondering if a dragon would E.5. I was thinking of Dragonflight where the dragons are certainly v..."

Dragonflight would work for E.

Laurie wrote: "For E. would work?"

I think dragons qualify as monsters, so this is fine for E. Cute title!

Butterflycager wrote: "Emma wrote: "For category 3 (Author/Editor has published more than 10 books) does "books" mean only novels or are other works eligible? For example, I am thinking of Shirley Jackson who published ..."

Great! Thanks!

Butterflycager wrote: "April wrote: "For F. Will The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World work?

Science is in the subtitle"

Y..."

Thanks.

I am planning on picking from these four:

Lean Mean Thirteen - B,1,3,5,6

A City Called July - A,2,3,5

Spider Woman's Web - C,2,6

Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved - F, 2,3

Butterflycager wrote: "Laurie wrote: "For E. would work?"

I think dragons qualify as monsters, so this is fine for E. Cute title!"

I thought so, thanks!

Dee wrote: "for D - I want to read Mystery Writers of America Presents Death Do Us Part: New Stories about Love, Lust, and Murder - looking through the authors - I've only read 1, maybe 2 of the ..."

I think that would work for #2 since you haven't read but a couple of them. I also noticed that Charles Todd (a Goodreads Author) has a story in here, so you could count it for #1 if you wanted.

how about , main character is a vampire hybrid (for option E)

Butterflycager wrote: "Dee wrote: "for D - I want to read Mystery Writers of America Presents Death Do Us Part: New Stories about Love, Lust, and Murder - looking through the authors - I've only read 1, may..."

Thanks - 'm trying to find as many possibilities as possible because i've had severe ADD when it comes to reading lately

April wrote: "For F. Will The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World work?

Science is in the subtitle"

April - I enjoyed this book when I read it earlier this year

Rachel Lee wrote: "For E, would Deeper Than the Dead work?

For E or F, would The Queen: A Patrick Bowers Thriller work? Parts of the book are from the killer's point of view and Pat..."

I couldn't tell from the description or some of the reviews of Deeper Than the Dead by Tami Hoag if the killer is really a central character (with some of the book in his/her point of view). I think I'm going to have to say no to this one for E. Sorry!

I would accept The Queen: A Patrick Bowers Thriller by Steven James for either E or F.

I'll definitely accept a geologist as a scientist. In Darkness Reborn by Alexis Morgan will work for F.

Jenn Renee wrote: "how about , main character is a vampire hybrid (for option E)"

That will work fine for E.

Rosemary wrote: "Also, for A, is a locker door OK or does it have to be the door of a house?"

A locker door is fine.

Bea wrote: "I am planning on picking from these four:

Lean Mean Thirteen - B,1,3,5,6

A City Called July - A,2,3,5

Spider Woman's Web - C,2,6

[book:Beethoven's Hai..."

Your choices for B, C, and F are all good. I was a little confused about A, and then I realized that your copy must have a door on it. Goodreads does not have a cover image for this book, and I'm not sure what we do in this case. Sorry, I'm still a newbie! But I will ask someone with more experience...

if Bea can find a cover image (or take one) it can be uploaded by any librarian

Butterflycager wrote: "Bea wrote: "I am planning on picking from these four:

Lean Mean Thirteen - B,1,3,5,6

A City Called July - A,2,3,5

Spider Woman's Web - C,2,6

[book:Bee..."