Merry Christmas!

A very bookish holiday

Merry Christmas Macabre-ians!

I haven’t posted for Macabre Monday in so long. Life has kept me busy. I appreciate all your posts each week, something that makes Mondays easier :) For this special Monday, I wanted to share the books I chose as gifts this year.

I’ve enjoyed looking at my reads of the year and choosing the ones I think the readers in my family would like best. This year I gifted my mom and my sister books. My sister is my identical, from our look, down to our reading habits. I have to narrow down my book options for her. I aim for one book, allow for two, and then changed my plans this year and got her three books. Oops…

I got her:

Grady Hendrix’s Horrorstör, a kind of haunted house meets Ikea

Silvia Moreno Garcia’s Gods of Jade and Shadow, a fun Mesoamerican mythological tale, and sneaking in:

Vernon Lee’s A Phantom Lover. I read this novella over a weekend of traveling, spooky, gothic, weird, right up my sister’s alley.

One that nearly made the cut was Elizabeth Hand’s A Haunting on the Hill. This is a take on Shirley Jackson’s Haunting on Hill House. Shirley Jackson is one of our favorites. I haven’t read this one yet, but it’s definitely on my TBR.

For my mom, thrillers and mysteries are more her style. I got her:

Karin Slaughter’s Girl, Forgotten. The synopsis reads, A girl with a secret, an unsolved murder. I’m sold! I haven’t read this Karen Slaughter book, but her books are exciting reads. I also heard her speak at a conference once. That was fun.

And finally I got her Jason Rekulak’s Hidden Pictures. I read this one for my book club. So many great twists and turns. I listened to the book and was so pleased to discover that the book contains pictures! I’ll have to borrow my mom’s copy when she’s done with it and reread it.

Does anyone enjoy a bookish holiday?

And for those who enjoy the dark and spooky, check out these other Substackers from Macabre Monday!
Hannah JenoviaHoneygloomJohn CoonKoshmarovMichael S. Atkinson Author Michele Bardsley L.L. Ford A. B. Frank Patricia J.L. 👻🧶🖊️ Jessica Maison Jennifer Morrow Stirling S Newberry Nicolina Torres Lauren Salas Susan Earlam Jon T The Chronicler Daniel W. Davison Daniel O’Donnell Michael P. Marpaung Buck Weiss Leigh Parrish Macey Cole Noble Olivia St. Lewis EJ Trask Joshua T Calkins-Treworgy Skyla Anna C. Webster Carla Pettigrew V Kelly-Sibley Kathrine Elaine Renee George Alec Worley Redd Oscar Josh Tatter The Man Behind the Screen Hamish Kavanagh Kay Moulton The Brothers Krynn Chris Well John Ward Andrew Smith S.E. Reid Edward Rooster