Shelbi Hoover
Shelbi Hoover is a library and digital communications assistant at Crawfordsville District Public Library.
Gosh, friends. Another year has nearly passed us by, autumn is toeing coquettishly toward us, nights are getting longer once again…
Oh, here comes the flim-flam, you say.
Flim-flam from me? Never! But I have to admit that I’ve had my nose buried in “The October Country” by Ray Bradbury (FIC Bra) for a few days now and all credit goes to him for the original genius flim-flam line, along with my preoccupation with the changing of the weather and the atmosphere of the season. If you’ve looking for a book that radiates fall vibes, with a strong dash of Halloween flavor, Bradbury is a great author to turn to because that just seems to be his natural writing style! Other books in the same vein include “Something Wicked This Way Comes” (FIC Bra) and “The Halloween Tree” (j FIC Bra).
Speaking of Halloween, it’s time to start stocking up on reads and watches for the season. Not a fan of big scares and horror? Not to worry, you don’t have to hide away until November! We want everyone to feel comfortable while enjoying the holiday and have built a display here at the library catering to browsers of all different tastes and tolerance levels.
Scaredy-cats (and I call you so lovingly) have plenty of options to choose from – no, really! – so don’t talk yourself out of finding your next favorite checkout. In this first-tier category you’ll find all the Halloween movie must-haves like “Casper” (DVD FIC Cas), “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (DVD FIC Nig), “Hocus Pocus” (DVD FIC Hoc), and “Frankenweenie” (DVD FIC Fra), but you’ll also find titles that might be new to you, like the fascinating documentaries “Room 237” (DVD 791.4372 Roo) which presents nine different theories/analyses of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (spoiler alert: some are bonkers!) and “Birth of the Living Dead” (DVD 791.43 Bir) which documents how innovative director George Romero crafted a special new kind of film with the original 1968 “Night of the Living Dead.” We have plenty of book suggestions too, ranging from cozy fiction mysteries like “Lord of the Wings” by Donna Andrews (FIC And) and “Candy Corn Murder” by Leslie Meier (FIC Mei), to tempting nonfiction titles like “Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions From Tiny Mortals About Death” by Caitlin Doughty (306.9 Dou).
One step up, we have titles for readers who don’t mind some scares but don’t want to end up permanently under the covers. Here you’ll find books that combine horror with humor, such as in Grady Hendrix’s massively-popular “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” (FIC Hen) and Joseph Fink’s podcast-turned-publications “Welcome to Night Vale” (FIC Fin). Other works of horror in this mid-level section, including all the Hitchcock film favorites like “Psycho” (DVD FIC Psy) and “The Birds” (DVD FIC Bir), along with Shirley Jackson’s collected works (including “The Haunting of Hill House” and “The Lottery”) and some of the horror-lite offerings from Stephen King. One such title, “The Long Walk,” is a personal favorite of mine for how utterly simple the premise is, while also being devastatingly horrifying: an annual tradition has developed in America in which 100 boys must begin walking from a single starting point together, and must continue walking, without rest, until only one is left alive. Absolutely awful, right? But also so infuriatingly intriguing that you find yourself becoming a detestable spectator to the grisly event as you read.
The final tier, meant for only those seeking the most thrilling of thrills, is also packed with suggestions from our staff for titles that will scare the living jeepers out of you! It’s a truth universally acknowledged by Millennials that the original Ring movie (honestly, both the American and Japanese versions are kind of equal in this regard) was one of the most formatively-scary movies we were ever exposed to–do you dare to pick up the original BOOK, “Ring” by Koji Suzuki (FIC Suz)? I don’t know if I do…. But it’s definitely an option! We also have all the recent films you’ll need to work into rotation, like Ari Aster’s masterpieces “Hereditary” (DVD FIC Her) and “Midsommar” (DVD FIC Mid), “The Conjuring” trilogy and spinoffs (DVD FIC Con), and hidden gems like the Korean film “The Wailing” (DVD FIC Wai), “The Autopsy of Jane Doe” (DVD FIC Aut), and Persian-language flick “Under the Shadow” (DVD FIC Und).
We can’t wait to see you at the library this month to enjoy all the offerings of the season! There will be more than books and movies to look through as the month goes on – possibly even some adult contests that include pumpkins?! – so treat yourself to a library day and catch up on all the great things happening around the building. See you soon!
