13. "Howliday Inn" by James Howe

Harold the dog and Chester the cat return in this sequel to Bunnicula. When their family goes on vacation, Harold and Chester find themselves boarding at Chateau Bow Wow, which Chester dubs Howliday Inn because of mysterious nocturnal howls and other creepy goings-on. After one of the other dogs disappears under suspicious circumstances, Chester concludes that a murderer is loose...and then Chester himself vanishes, leaving the hapless Harold to investigate as best he can.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I have to confess that I flipped ahead to the end...about three times...to make sure all the animals survive.

10-12. "Scary Stories" by Alvin Schwartz

Alvin Schwartz's collections Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones fuse folklore, humor, urban legend, and campfire tales. The entries range from chilling to nonsensical to stupid to funny. Some of these tales don't translate well from oral to written transmission; Schwartz includes instructions about how to tell the stories most effectively, but this necessarily keeps readers from experiencing those stories in the way they were meant to be experienced. Still, these are fun collections, with stories that will be familiar to anyone who's attended a sleepover as well as some quirky ditties. Schwartz includes notes about sources at the end of each collection, for aspiring folklorists, and he also provides comprehensive bibliographies.


Stephan Gammell's spooky illustrations are a highlight of all three books. His gargoyle figures are especially grotesque, original, and creepy!

9. "Food for the Dead" by Michael E. Bell

Folklorist Michael E. Bell's Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England's Vampires is, by turns, fascinating and tedious. Bell details his search, over more than 20 years, for stories of exhumations in 18th- and 19th-century New England, specifically Rhode Island and surrounding areas of Massachusetts and Connecticut. He traces a tradition in which families decimated by consumption (tuberculosis) would sometimes, in desperation, exhume bodies of their deceased relatives and burn the hearts in the hope of halting the disease's spread. In some cases, the ashes of the hearts were mixed with water and given to the consumptive patient. However, in most (maybe all) of the cases in which Bell succeeds in verifying facts and dates, this folk remedy failed.

Some of Bell's insights and research about the reasons for folk remedies and the development of urban legends are quite interesting, but there's also a fair amount of repetition. I found myself confused at times because so many of the stories and names seemed so similar, but that may also be a byproduct of my taking several weeks to finish this book.

I think Food for the Dead would hold more appeal for folklorists and medical historians than vampire aficionados.

November themes

I said I would do themes for some months, and I have a couple in mind for November:

• Leftover "Halloween" books that I meant to read in October and didn't
• Pilgrims, Puritans, and (because Puritans inevitably make me think of the Salem witch trials) witchcraft 

These aren't the only books I plan to read in November and, if past years are any indication (because I do this themey thing often), I won't get through all my leftover Halloween/ New England settlers/ witchcraft books this month. But at least I have goals...which is what this whole project is about, after all.

My challenge

Lately I've been watching too much TV and reading too little. I also have insomnia, but some of my best ideas seem to arrive in the state between sleeping and waking. Last week during this state, I suddenly thought: Why not see if I can read a book every day for a year? I've always wanted to try this, and I figure if I blog about it, I might hold myself more accountable (or at least create a quirky record of my utter lack of a social life). Besides, I have piles of books I've started but haven't finished, or haven't started yet but keep meaning to. This will give me an incentive.

I may read toddler, children's, and teen as well as adult books. I'll read some screenplays and plays. I may listen to books on CD.

I reserve the right not to finish (or identify) books that suck but to count them if I make what I deem a good-faith effort to read them.

I'm open to suggestions and recommendations, which I may or may not take.

For some months, I will identify a theme or themes. This will govern some but not all of my reading choices. Themes will be highly contingent on the types of books currently stacked around my apartment and on my "to-be-read" shelves.

Russian history is an ongoing theme, because I'm trying to write a historical novel set in Russia. I'm also teaching online classes, doing some freelance work, and applying to graduate school. So things could get interesting, but then, that's the point.

The challenge officially begins on October 31, my favorite day of the year. I already have my Halloween reading material picked out, but you'll have to wait until then to find out what it is.