Review: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: March 26, 2013
Page Count: 310.
Genre: Contemporary young adult.
Goodreads & Amazon

When Mallory is cleaning out her grandmother's attic in the process of helping her move, she comes across a treasure trove of all things vintage. Cute sundresses, old yearbooks, and notebooks and notebooks full of lists. One list in particular jumps out at Mallory, "Junior Year: Back-to-School Resolutions." The list stands as proof that 1962 was a much simpler year to be a junior in high school. It includes five things:
1. Run for pep squad secretary.
2. Host a fancy dinner party/soiree.
3. Sew a dress for homecoming.
4. Find a steady.
5. Do something dangerous.
The List also could not come at a better time. Mallory is also at the start of her junior year, and she just found out that the boy she thought was her steady was cheating on her with an internet wife named BubbleYum in an alternate-life game and she has decided to give up technology. With the help of The List, she hopes to capture the essence of a simpler time where boyfriends didn't cheat on their girlfriends with online wives named after gum. But Mallory's quest for all things vintage unearths some family secrets, and brings a cute boy (who is also her ex-boyfriend's cousin) out of the woodwork to be pep squad president, she begins to wonder if going vintage is enough to ease complications of the modern world.

"Adolescence is the same tragedy being performed again and again. The only things that change are the stage props."

As a lover of all things vintage, I was really excited to read Going Vintage. I often wish that things were simpler like they appeared to be in the 50's and 60's, and it would be awesome if people were a little less plugged into their electronics and a little more plugged into each other (that sounds more saucy than I wanted it to, but I'm going to roll with it anyway). That being said, Going Vintage was a little disappointing for me, but that's not to say I didn't like it! The List is Mallory's leaping point into singledom and grabbing her junior year by the horns. She gets rid of some seriously modern day essentials: phone, laptop, and even some of her baseball bobble-head collection. I was excited to see how Mallory would approach the list decades after it was written, but beyond the banning of modern technology and embracing vintage clothing, Mallory didn't jump head first into the list and practically pawned the list items off on other people and relied heavily on her sister and grandmother despite her attempts to find herself and be independent of her ex-boyfriend. After such a fixation on The List, it didn't get completed in a way that I had hoped and expected of someone who was attempting to try something new and different.

But I can't settle on a clear Rumination today. I have to comb through all the doubt and whining, the Why would Jeremy do that? and Will I ever find love again? to The List and what it means. I'm two beignets in when I finally settle my mind on what I really want from The List: understanding. I don't know if I'll figure out what happened with Jeremy, or who I really am, or who my grandma was. But if only one of these questions is answered, it will be a win. 

Even though Mallory's attempt at fully submerging herself in The List and her 1960's obsession, I was in love with her voice and the humor she brought to the book. I found myself laughing out loud at several points throughout the story with her sarcastic quips. Her timing was also great. The sarcasm wasn't laid on too thickly, and she was funny in a way that didn't make me not take her seriously when she was actually feeling emotional and not-so-quippy. 

It was easy for Grandma to live like this because the technology wasn't there to miss. But there's all this networking and connecting floating around me, and I'm not a part of it. No one but Ginnie knows Jeremy sent those flowers or Oliver called my house. Normally I would spend hours dissecting those advancements with my friends. Maybe the communication isn't all real, maybe those online personas are facades, but even if it's 30 percent truth, that's still more than the big fat Zero I was getting now. What was I supposed to do, bike over to my friend's house? Paige lives two miles away. No wonder all those small-town teens used to spend the weekends driving up and down Main Street--it was the only way they could find their friends. 

The characters that Mallory surrounds herself with--some by choice, others by nature--were also very rich and I so enjoyed reading them. Am I allowed to say that I had a total dad-crush on her dad? Greying hair? Glasses? Half-sleeve of tattoos? Antiques for a living? Count me in! Even though her dad sounded crush worthy, he didn't make half as much of an impact as Mallory's mother. I loved her mom. She was that mom. The hot mom who dresses like she knows she's hot but doesn't acknowledge it. She's also the mom that totally gets in everyone's business. It was hilarious for Mallory to notice every time that her mother looked at her with anticipating doe-eyes, waiting to feast on the gossip in her daughters lives. Her mom also harbors a secret that had a hilarious reveal. Then of course, there is the sassy grandmother who was so fabulous I couldn't stand it. She was just as quippy and sassy as Mallory, so it was obviously easy to see where she got it from. I also appreciated Oliver Kimball and his effortless cool and amazing phone etiquette, and Ginnie, Mallory's sister, for her dedication to The List in solidarity with her sister. 

Mallory did not dedicate herself as much to The List as much as I had hoped she would, but her strong voice and eccentric family made Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt a light and enjoyable read. 

Review: Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown

Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 21, 2013
Page Count: 272.
Genre: Contemporary young adult
Goodreads & Amazon

Ashleigh's boyfriend Kaleb is getting ready to leave for college, leaving her to suffer alone for two more years of high school. All she wants to do is hang out with him and soak up their last few weeks together, but he keeps shrugging her off to hang out with the guys on his baseball team. When Ashleigh confesses to her friends that she's worried he will forget her when he leaves for college, they give her a drunken solution: send him a naked photo that he will never forget. Filled with liquid confidence, it doesn't take much persuading to get Ashleigh naked, in front of a mirror in her friend's bathroom, and snapping a picture. It takes even less thought to hit 'send.' When Kaleb finally leaves for college, Ashleigh can't handle the lack of calls and visits, or the female 'study partners' who sometimes answer his cell when she calls. When their relationship ends in a nasty breakup, all it takes are three evil words to spark the flame that torches Ashleigh's reputation: PYBKS R HELL. Now Ashleigh, her family, and Kaleb must suffer the consequences of her drunken photo, and try to seek a sense of normalcy and a new start. 

But for a moment during Vonnie's end-of-summer party, the volleyball game over and Rachel's nail tragedy a thing of the past, Vonnie drunkenly giggling on her chaise lounge again and a naked photo of me winging its way through cyberspace toward my boyfriend...at least for that moment...I knew I had his full attention. I knew that I had something that his boys would never have. It felt powerful. And when my phone vibrated in my pocket minutes after I'd sent the photo, a jolt of excitement surged through me. He'd received it. His text simply said: OMG.

This was my first Jennifer Brown reading experience, and I'd been looking forward to reading one of her books. I saw this one on a couple of other blogs, and I've had Hate List by her on my TBR list for a while. I thought the plot of teenage sexting was extremely relevant to this day and age, where it seems like this kind of thing is unfortunately happening all the time. Realistic fiction like this treads a fine line of being preachy, though, which made me a little hesitant, but I'm happy to report that Thousand Words was void preachiness, even in Ashleigh's community service group, where she is assigned to create a pamphlet about teen sexting. There are facts about sexting that leak into the story as she does her research, and Ashleigh regrets the drunken evening she hit "send" but I didn't feel like I was being talked down to as a reader, and I didn't feel like girls who did send text were made to sound like evil sluts, even though that's what everyone called Ashleigh anyway. 

Back when I was born, my parents didn't own a computer yet. They didn't send emails or surf the Internet, and they certainly didn't send texts, much less picture texts. How much had changed in that short period of time. This would change, too, and soon nobody would care about the dumb photo I'd sent to my boyfriend back when people were doing something so outdated as texting. The thought gave me hope. If someone didn't mind tossing out a photo of their children having fun, surely eventually my photo would end up in recycle bins, too. 

The stakes of this novel were what kept me engaged in this story. I thought the tense that Thousand Words is told in gave it too much distance and even though the emotions were raw, I didn't feel like I was standing right there with Ashleigh as the events were unfolding. I felt sorry for her, but in a way that didn't seem immediate. I was also at times confused about where I was at in the story, as it alternates chapters from her Community Service post-viral-picture, and the days following her sending the text in the first place. Each chapter that didn't involve her Community Service was started with a couple of the hate texts she received once her nude picture started getting sent around, even if the chapter took place in a time when the picture had not yet been leaked out. So there was some weirdish tense stuff. But ohhh boy the stakes! We see Ashleigh as a golden girl of sorts, full of ambition, good grades, and a place on the cross country team. Oh, and her father is super-intendent of the school district, not exactly a good career to be in when your daughter is in the midst of a sexting scandal. 

I bit my lip as I typed in the words "sexting and teens" and hit "search." Articles popped up, one after another, and I groaned inwardly. Most of them were about me.

Thousand Words was an engaging read full of high stakes and realistic character interactions. Even though the tense was a little weird for the intense emotional story being told, I still felt Ashleigh's pain and was cheering for a positive outcome for her. 

Have you read this? What did you think?

Celebration Book Haul!

I just got a pay raise at work with my new promotion, y'all, so naturally I had to buy some new books. I don't buy a lot of new books very often. Or ever, really. I live a five minute walk away from my neighborhood library branch, and Chicago is loaded with tons of awesome used book stores, so I can never fully justify buying brand spankin' new hardcover books. But in my book (haha), pay raise = CELEBRATION! What better way to celebrate AND embrace my new goal of keeping up with what's hot and new than taking that elevated paycheck to a Barnes and Noble (sorry small book stores :().

To be honest, when I hatched my plan to go to Barnes & Noble, I only had my heart set on buying one book. I promised myself I could look around, but I could only get the one book I planned on buying. Who was I kidding? The moment I walked in, I must have instantly become intoxicated by warm, coffee smells wafting out of the in-store Starbucks (seriously, could this haul be anymore corporate-ified?) and all the books looks like shining little jewels on the shelves. Their covers so soft and smooth and new looking. Spines that had never been cracked. The following text conversation between me and my boyfriend happened while I was overwhelmed in the stacks:

I'm really hyping up this book buying experience but really, this is SO rare for me to buy three brand new books at one time. So, without further ado, here are the books I acquired at Barnes & Noble AND my prize from the giveaway that Jamie hosted with Epic Reads!

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai : Excuse the 30% off sticker on it that LEAVES A RESIDUE. One of my pet peeves. Anyway, I have been following the story of Malala for a few months now, and I feel empowered by her passion for education for girls, and how she continues fighting for what she believes in even though she has already faced incredible threat and danger. She was shot in the head at point blank range and has lived to tell the tale and keep fighting. I am excited to read this one.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell : This is the one book I originally went into B&N to buy. I loved Eleanor & Park so much, and I need more Rainbow Rowell in my life. My own mother beat me to reading it, and it revolves around a girl who is epically involved in a fandom and writes fanfiction, the whole bit. I may or may not have written fanfiction in my early high school years...so I'm way, way excited about this one. I'm sure the hype is real with this one.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken : This is a book I have been seeing around other blogs and booktube channels for a couple of weeks now. The sequel, Never Fade just came out or is about to come out and I keep hearing awesome things about this dystopian world. Another one that I'm way excited about!

Asylum by Madeleine Roux : This is the book I won as a runner-up in the giveaway and I just intercepted it from my UPS man twenty minutes ago (no joke). I picked this one mostly because I think old psychiatric hospitals are some of the creepiest places on earth (not like I've ever been to one or anything). I'm also a huge fan of American Horror Story, and last season was called Asylum. Now that I've got it and can flip through the pages, it seems even creepier with old black and white photos of medical instruments. Halloween may be over, but my desire to be kept up late at night with nightmares is not.

So that's my small haul for now! Hopefully now that my money train is rolling a little more smoothly and I'm ready to tackle the world of best selling new releases, there will be more frequent hauls.

What books have you bought recently? Have you read any of these? Any I should start with first?

Keeping Up

'Tis the season for Goodreads to start the voting for their Choice Awards for 2013. It is fun for me to add to my TBR list and see the best books of the year duel each other, but it's also just a little bit depressing to see how much I suck at keeping up with things.

A few years back, I dedicated a large chunk of my life to music. I created a mostly music based blog, I was a talent scout for an online music magazine, and I had big dreams of writing for Alternative Press. My days were spent scouring MySpace and Purevolume for the newest bands and then making mixed CD's for me and my friends. I religiously voted for the MTV VMA's, because I figured that my small votes would make a difference for my favorite pop-punk band of the year and I could school America on how to listen to music. I would also watch the Grammy's, fingers tightly crossed in each category my faves were nominated in, and then curse when they lost to bands or artists I had never heard of. Then, when I started getting more attached to my favorite bands and MySpace fell to the wayside, music became less of a priority for me. I still watch the VMA's and Grammy's out of ritual, but now each category is filled with artists I've never even heard of...yet they're the best of the best! I don't drive here in Chicago, so I don't listen to the radio, and it's very easy for me to stay in my own little bubble.

Same applies for movies. I used to spend a lot of time watching movies. It was what my friends and I did while we were together. My family had a membership at the video rental store. I just loved watching movies and going to the movies. So when things like the Golden Globes and Academy Awards rolled around, I had my favorite picks and was able to compare one movie to another. Then I moved to Chicago, the land of $11 movie tickets, and suddenly I wasn't going to the movies anymore save for one or two a year. Video rental stores basically don't exist anymore and I always forget to return my RedBox movies so I just stopped getting them. Now, the movie awards are the same as the music awards. I watch out of ritual, and entire categories flash by that are filled with movies I've never seen or heard of.

Now with the freaking Goodreads awards! Sigh. I read a whole lot, obviously. I'm up to 56 books read this year. So when I saw that the Goodreads awards were up, I was so excited to finally vote for books, since this year especially I have dedicated a good chunk of my life to books and reading. UM, not so much! I was able to vote for only two books that I actually read and every other category I voted based on reviews and hype I've heard about them, or because it was written by an author I like.

As book bloggers, we are constantly reading, but the saying continuously stands true, "so many books, so little time." No matter how many books I read this year, there are just that many books coming out this month alone. How am I supposed to read classics and other books from decades past and still keep up with every new release and best seller? It's impossible. I've decided to start trying a little more to keep up with new releases, and my library's 'New Release' shelf has been a Godsend so far. I just need to make a little more effort in keeping up with different genres and the stars within each one. I would also like to start branching out into different genre's again. I've kind of been stuck in a contemporary YA kick, because that's what is easiest for me to read quickly and keep up with blogging and reviews. But by sticking myself in this little box, I miss out on a lot of other wonderful genres and books within them.

This has been kind of a rant, so sorry if it doesn't make much sense. Oops!

How do you keep up with reading? Do you tend to stick to the new releases section of the bookstore or go wherever your heart desires? I'd love to hear your thoughts on keeping up with the ever expanding TBR lists.

October Wrap-Up

Holy moly, guys, I cannot believe October is over. OctOVER if you will. Get it?

October is my favorite month of the whole year, and I think it could be considered my power month given the awesome luck I had in it this year. For starters, I read ten books, which is more books in one month than I can ever remember reading in recent times. I have been loving staying curled up inside with coffee/tea/hot toddy's and reading late into the night while cold wind howls outside.

In fact, October was so great that I decided to start doing monthly wrap-ups of the books I read in the past month, and other life events that I don't always get to talk about on this blog.

October Books:

1. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - See my review HERE. Not my favorite John Green novel, but I still loved the character revelations.

2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. See my review HERE. Sigh. I freaking loved this book and everything about it. I loved the love, I loved the pain, and I loved the realistic approach Rowell took to teen romance.

3. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen. See my review HERE. Though I thought Jessica's amputation and healing process was a little too perfect, it was a motivating read that had a great lesson in determination!

4. Psycho Killer by Cecily von Ziegesar. See my review HERE. A fun, bloody rewrite of the first book in the Gossip Girl series. Not to be taken very seriously, and with a lot of B-list horror film qualities.

5. The Rules for Disappearing by Ashley Elston. Review coming soon, plus a surprise! Main character Meg makes a lot of risky decisions that could jeopardize her family's place in the Witness Protection Program. Enjoyed this one!

  6. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Beautiful short story collection that is rich with sensory details and raw human emotions.

7. The First Part Last by Angela Johnson. See my review HERE. I enjoyed the look into the father's side of teen pregnancy within this short novel.

8. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger. See my review HERE. Bianca became my soul sister after I read this book. Loved her voice and cynicism, even though I thought it was laid on a little too thick in some parts.

9. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. See my review HERE. Another beautiful, wonderful, and eye opening novel by Zusak. I really felt all of the characters and especially loved our perceptive narrator Ed.

10. The Exorcist by William Petter Blatty. I finished this one on the 30th, just in time for Halloween! Some scenes really dragged, but when we with Regan, aka THE POSSESSED, I was riveted and creeped out.

October Sounds:

Songs I can't get enough of this month: 

>>"Royals" by Lorde. 

>>"Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus. 

>>"Don't Worry Baby" by The Beach Boys

>>"Lloyd, I'm Ready to be Heartbroken" by Camera Obscura

Cool October Things!!

>>I was named Employee of the Month at work! 

>>I was then promoted to Store Manager!

>>I was a doughnut for Halloween! 

>>For the first time ever, an author requested me to read and review her novel!

What's Ahead: 

>>The Lit Girl's first birthday! I can't believe this blog is almost a whole year old! 

>>My boyfriend's birthday! 

>>My boyfriend and I's four year anniversary! I also cannot believe we have been dating for a whole four years! 

>>A trip to Tennessee for Thanksgiving!

October was such a fab month, and it seems like November is shaping up to be pretty awesome, too! Can't wait for it! 

How was your October? Are you looking forward to anything awesome? 

Review: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Publisher: Alfred Knopf Borzoi Books
Publication Date: May 9, 2006
Source / Format: Library Book!
Page Count: 357.
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Goodreads & Amazon

Ed Kennedy is an underaged cab driver who isn't going anywhere fast. He lied about his age to drive a crummy cab around town. He lives in a shack with his smelly, yet lovable, dog the Doorman. He is in love with his best friend Audrey, even though he knows she'll never love him back, and the rest of his friends seem stuck in the same directionless rut that he is. But everything changes when he witnesses and stops an armed bank robbery. Suddenly, Ed is seen as a hero, and he receives the first Ace in the mail with three addresses. Each address is a home that needs a message delivered, and Ed becomes the unwilling messenger. The first Ace is followed by three more, each one of a different suit. He must fulfill each mission of the cards, some harder than others, and some too close to home.

Before I even mention me, I should tell you some other facts: 
1. At nineteen, Bob Dylan was a seasoned performer in Greenwich Village, New York.
2. Salvador Dali had already produced several outstanding artworks of paint and rebellion by the time he was nineteen. 
3. Joan of Arc was the most wanted woman in the world at nineteen, having created a revolution.
Then there's Ed Kennedy, also nineteen...
Just prior to the bank holdup, I'd been taking stock of my life. 
Cabdriver--and I'd funked my age at that. (You need to be twenty.)
No real career.
No respect in the community.
Nothing. 

Like the rest of the universe at this point, I read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and became obsessed. I turned my reading of that book into a full blown experience. I saw a play adaptation of the novel and went to see Markus Zusak speak about the novel twice. It's one of my favorite books of all time, and because of that, I think I was hesitant to read his other novels. I was nervous they wouldn't live up to the hugeness that was The Book Thief for me, and I would be disappointed. But after months of seeing I Am the Messenger taunt me from the shelves of my neighborhood library, and me realizing there was a small Markus Zusak-sized hole in my chest that needed filling, I finally picked it up, and I am so glad that I did! 

As the kids dance around the front yard under the nigh sky and the lights, I see something. 
Lua and Marie are holding hands. 
They look like they're so happy, just inside this moment, watching the kids and the lights on their old fibro house. 
Lua kisses her. 
Just softly on the lips.
And she kisses back. 
Sometimes people are beautiful.
Not in looks. 
Not in what they say.
Just in what they are.

It came as no surprise to me that I Am the Messenger was filled with beautifully well-rounded characters. I think Zusak is just brilliant in that way. Ed Kennedy is someone who on paper doesn't seem like much of a human at all. He doesn't have a great relationship with his mother, his living situation is less than desirable, and he has no plans for further education or career goals. Instead of being leery of our narrator though, we are sucked right into his situation and Ed is one of the most perceptive and poetic narrators I have read in YA fiction. He notices a lot of the beauty in the small things and the people he meets, and then processes them in a very real, human way. His emotions are raw and visceral, especially when he must deliver a difficult message. Ed also has a wonderful voice that was fun to read. He has a snarky way about him, and that translated well into his thoughts and dialogue with his friends. Ed had me laughing out loud one second, and then wanting to cry the next. 

After a long drawn-out silence, I confess to the father. I tell him I still don't know why I'm here. I don't tell him about the messages I've already done or the ones still left to do. I only tell him that I have a purpose here and that it will come to me. 

Even the characters that we don't get to know for very long leave an impact, much like they do on Ed. When Ed delivers his messages, he sometimes has to stake out the family or individual to discover what exactly the message is that needs delivering. In just a short chapter, we get to know very well a random stranger and what it is they need, and why something as simple as an ice cream cone can make their day. Zusak doesn't just throw these characters away though, each one leaves a lasting impression on Ed, and he sometimes visits them again and again to further validate his experiences and see how his actions have impacted their lives. Everything comes full circles with Ed and his messages, which created a beautiful reading experience for me. 

I think about what Audrey's been telling me. Maybe I truly am shedding the old Ed Kennedy for this new person who's full of purpose rather than incompetence. Maybe one morning I'll wake up and step outside of myself to look back at the old me lying dead among the sheets. It's a good thing, I know. But how can a good thing suddenly feel so sad? I've wanted this from the beginning.

I Am the Messenger is also filled with lots of great action that gives the novel a great, quick pacing. I blew through the 350+ pages of this book in a couple of days. From violence to small acts of kindness to card games, there is something always happening in this book. If Ed spends any time in his head, it is always while he is doing something else and moving on from one card to the next. 

This book cannot be fully compared to the brilliance that is The Book Thief, but it was brilliant in it's own way with beautiful, meaningful characters and lots of quick-paced action that kept the story moving. Markus Zusak has further solidified himself as one of my favorite authors, and I can't wait to read his other books.

Top Ten Tuesday [2]: Creepiest Book Covers!

This week's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted over at the Broke and the Bookish, is fueled with Halloween spirit! We have been summoned to show off the top ten creepiest book covers we have seen. I have recently rediscovered my love for reading horror, so this is right up my alley! Here are some of the spookiest book covers I have ever seen in no particular order.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff: In any context, old baby carriages give me the chills. They all just scream, "Rosemary's Baby!" at me, and remind me of creepy moms. Creepy carriage + sharp objects dangling haphazardly over it = SPOOKY.

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty : I am reading this one right now (as you can tell by my own personal instagram photo!) and let me tell you, this cover has eyes that seem to follow me everywhere. Even creepier is when I have it on my night stand and I shine my light on it at 4 am while I'm getting ready for work. This book is also just the perfect Halloween-time read.

Misery by Stephen King :  Uh, what about this cover ISN'T creepy? His tattered clothes! The look of sheer pain and torture on his face! The demented look of amusement and infatuation on her face! I wish the face was Kathy Bates', of course, but she still looks haggard and CRAZY.

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin : Back to the old baby carriages. Plus there's the creepy little hand of the demon baby and is that crucifix BURNING? Creepy to the max. Maybe my top ten list should have just been book covers with creepy baby carriages. Also, Rosemary's Baby is one of my favorite films of all time. The book is pretty fantastic as well. 

The Lucifer Child by Shelley Katz : Let me paint you a picture: I stop to look inside of one of Chicago's Free Books bins on the street. The blond boy with the icy blue and demonic looking eyes is literally reaching out to me from the cover of this book. I had to have it. Now it's one of the creepiest books on my shelf, and I have yet to read it out of fear of creeping out everyone around me. I think it's also too creepy for the internet considering this was the ONLY picture of it I could find on Google images (way too lazy to take a picture of my own copy) and on Goodreads the cover is blank!

The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy : There's something dehumanizing and eerie about the way her mouth and eyes are ripped out on this cover. 

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson : I think just the sight of the Amityville house has become iconic in the world of horror. Everyone knows what it looks like and the story of the 'Amityville Horror.' That house + the creepy devil tail + the promise of getting the hell scared out of me = SPOOKY.

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson : Just thinking about this short story makes me feel uncomfortable. I remember the shock of reading it in high school and it has always stuck with me. This is another creepy, vintage cover that gives me the same feeling the story does. All of those stones...

It by Stephen King : Sorry to my clown-hating boyfriend for this one, and yes, another Stephen King cover. I'm actually not the biggest fan of clowns, either, and the look of evil determination on this one's face gives me the shivers. I don't want to know what this clown has in store for me, hence why I haven't yet read this book. 

Asylum by Madeleine Roux : I actually just won this book in a giveaway hosted by Jamie at the Perpetual Page-Turner and Epic Reads! I had the choice between this one and several other spooky novels, and it was the creep-factor of this one that helped me choose it! The scratchy handwriting and ghostlike picture of the girl has me shaking already! 

I think I freaked myself out with all of these book covers, and it has me excited to read some more spine-tingling horror! I'm going to dive back into The Exorcist, but one of these may be on my list next. Who says we can't read horror after Halloween? Muahahaha. Have you read any of these books? Do their covers give you the creeps, too?