Create Your Own Video Book Blog

-

25 December 2020

Even Charles Dickens loved to write Gothic novels. Ghosts and things that go bump in the night. And he wrote on of the most famous Christmas stories ever – A Christmas Carol.

We have a list of Gothic novels, old and new that tap into that holiday spirit of Christmas for inspiration or a good scare. Check out these five Gothic novels set around Christmas!

After the Music -By Christine Feehan

Terrified by mysterious threats, Jessica Fitzpatrick takes her twin wards to the island mansion of their estranged father, Dillon Wentworth, a famous musician who shut out the world after a fire claimed his wife’s life and left him disfigured. With Christmas approaching, the spark between Dillon and Jessica might light the future, but the evil machinations of those who share his wife’s love of the occult may plunge the family into darkness–unless a Christmas miracle occurs. . .

The Wolves of Midwinter by Anne Rice

In Anne Rice’s surprising and compelling best-selling novel, the first of her strange and mythic imagining of the world of wolfen powers (“I devoured these pages . . . As solid and engaging as anything she has written since her early vampire chronicle fiction” —Alan Cheuse, The Boston Globe; “A delectable cocktail of old-fashioned lost-race adventure, shape-shifting and suspense” —Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post), readers were spellbound as Rice imagined a daring new world set against the wild and beckoning California coast.

Now in her new novel, as lush and romantic in detail and atmosphere as it is sleek and steely in storytelling, Anne Rice brings us once again to the rugged coastline of Northern California, to the grand mansion at Nideck Point—to further explore the unearthly education of her transformed Man Wolf.

The novel opens on a cold, gray landscape. It is the beginning of December. Oak fires are burning in the stately flickering hearths of Nideck Point. It is Yuletide. For Reuben Golding, now infused with the wolf gift and under the loving tutelage of the Morphenkinder, this Christmas promises to be like no other . . . as he soon becomes aware that the Morphenkinder, steeped in their own rituals, are also celebrating the Midwinter Yuletide festival deep within Nideck forest.

From out of the shadows of the exquisite mansion comes a ghost—tormented, imploring, unable to speak yet able to embrace and desire with desperate affection . . . As Reuben finds himself caught up with the passions and yearnings of this spectral presence and the preparations for the Nideck town Christmas reach a fever pitch, astonishing secrets are revealed, secrets that tell of a strange netherworld, of spirits—centuries old—who possess their own fantastical ancient histories and taunt with their dark, magical powers . . .

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

By the comforts of a blazing fireplace on a cold Christmas Eve night, guests at a holiday party share stories of phantoms and ghosts of Christmases past. Yet one guest delivers a tale of sheer fright for which no one listening was prepared. As the story goes, after losing both parents, a young boy and girl move into a large wooded estate to be held under the care of their uncle. Wanting nothing to do with raising the children, the uncle hires a young governess to attend to their care. Yet the governess never could have anticipated the horrors that await her discovery. When it becomes evident that the children have some supernatural connection with a deceased former governess and her lover, the young governess finds herself scrambling to regain control of two children slipping away from her grasp. This classic horror tale is now a hit hollywood movie called “The Turning” starring Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things. This version of the book is beautifully formatted and also includes a short historical foreword.

The Abbot’s Ghost by Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women)

A Christmas house-party at a grand old English estate brings together a group of family and friends whose complicated relations are clarified and healed over the course of the Christmas holidays. Maurice Treherne is a young man confined to a wheelchair after saving the life of his cousin, Sir Jasper Treherne. Maurice’s love is given to his cousin Octavia, although their romance is blocked by Jasper and Octavia’s mother who feels that she can’t give her daughter to a cripple. Also in the party is Mrs. Snowdon, a beautiful young woman whose affections Jasper and Maurice once competed for, and who seems determined to renew her conquest. What further complicates the situation is a mysterious ghostly appearance in the attic and what hides behind it.

The Christmas Party: A Gothic Paranormal Romance by Gillian St. Kevern

Tidings of comfort and—ghosts?

As the solitary inhabitant of a notoriously haunted house, Micah Evanovich is braced for another miserable Christmas. He passes his days playing the piano, brooding on his failure to produce a sonata worthy of the woman he loved, and hiding from the world. When a willful heiress decides his house is the perfect location for her spooky Christmas soiree, Micah’s very existence is threatened. Will the party provide Micah with the chance to put his past behind him—or further cement his failures?

Pippa Goodfellow has five thousand pounds a year and a simple wish: to scare the socks off her infuriatingly superior cousin Julian and his odious friend Bryant. But when her revenge threatens the professional reputation of her beloved Uncle, Pippa needs Micah’s help to ward off disaster. Can an eternal pessimist and hopeless optimist ever find common ground? Or will Pippa’s Christmas Party end in Christmas tragedy for all?

The Christmas Party is the fourteenth in the Read by Candlelight series of standalone novellas featuring an LGBTQIA+ cast. Pairs nicely with Christmas mince pies and ginger beer. Preorder now to help revive the tradition of ghost stories on Christmas Eve.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

By

-

25 December 2020

To our reader who celebrate, the staff of Reader’s Entertainment wishes you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Holidays!

7 Christmas Books-to-Movies To Read and Watch!

By

-

24 December 2020

Here’s a great way to spend some holiday time! Whether you’re watching or reading!

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) a Christmas classic is based on Philip Van Doren Stern’s The Greatest Gift

Miracle on 34^th Street (1947) or the 1994 version was a short novel by Valentine Davies

The Bishop’s Wife (1947) based on Robert Nathan’s The Bishop’s Wife

Scrooge (1935) or 1984’s A Christmas Carol or perhaps a more modern and slightly funnier Scrooged (1988) with Bill Murray is based on Charles Dicken’s famous A Christmas Carol

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974) based on Phyllis McGinley’s The Year Without a Santa Claus

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1992) or the Jim Carrey version from 2000 is based on the beloved Dr. Seuss book of the same name.

The Polar Express (2004) with Tom Hanks is based on Chris Van Allsburg’s The Polar Express which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year!

And a bonus!

Christmas with the Kranks (2004) is based on “Skipping Christmas” by none other than John Grisham

December Reads!

By

-

23 December 2020

“The crisp path through the field in this December snow, in the deep dark, where we trod the buried grass like ghosts on dry toast.” ― Dylan Thomas

Well, the holidays are upon us and this will be our last Friday Reads until January, 2021. Thank you for reading, for listening, and for sharing your enthusiasm for Penguin Random House titles. Before we close the books on 2020, perhaps you’ll find some December reading that appeals from the following collection:

One Day in December by Josie Silver ONE DAY IN DECEMBER: A NOVEL by Josie Silver

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere outside of the movies. But then, through the mist on a bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man that she knows, instantly, is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic…and then her bus drives away. Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story…

Tenth of December by George Saunders TENTH OF DECEMBER: STORIES by George Saunders

Finalist for the National Book Award (2013)

Hailed by the New York Times Magazine as “the best book you’ll read this year,” Tenth of December is a masterful, deeply felt collection that takes his literary powers to a new level. In a recent interview, when asked how he saw the role of the writer, Saunders said: “To me, the writer’s main job is to make the story unscroll in such a way that the reader is snared—she’s right there, seeing things happen and caring about them. And if you dedicate yourself to this job, the meanings more or less take care of themselves.” In Tenth of December, the reader is always right there, and the meanings are beautiful and profound and abundant. Taut, inventive, and often poignant, this is George Saunders at his absolute best: Tenth of December is a collection of stories and characters that add up to something deep, irreducible, and uniquely American.

December by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop DECEMBER by Elizabeth Hartley Winthrop

Centered on a young girl who inexplicably stops speaking, December is a riveting and insightful portrait of a family in crisis. Nine months after eleven-year-old Isabelle suddenly fell silent, her parents, Wilson and Ruth, are at their wits’ end. Isabelle must confront her overwhelming anger and love for her family, a cast of charming yet dangerous characters, and her own fears, before finally finding her voice.

“A modern fairy tale…. December offers the pleasures of beautifully composed scenes and…an exact rendering of a child’s acute perceptions.”—The New York Times Book Review

The Thing About December by Donal Ryan THE THING ABOUT DECEMBER: A NOVEL by Donal Ryan

Following the deaths first of his father and then his mother, Johnsey Cunliffe inherits the family farm, and a healthy bank account, both of which he proves incapable of managing on his own. Village bullies and scheming land-grabbers stand in his way, no matter where he turns. Set over the course of one year of Johnsey Cunliffe’s life, The Thing About December breathes with Johnsey’s bewilderment, humor and agonizing self-doubt. Readers will fall in love with Johnsey in a bittersweet tale that serves as a poignant reminder that we are surrounded in life by simple souls who are nonetheless more insightful and wise than we realize, or can even imagine.

A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks A WEEK IN DECEMBER by Sebastian Faulks

In the blustery final days of 2007, seven characters will reach an unexpected turning point: a hedge fund manager pulling off a trade, a professional football player recently arrived from Poland, a young lawyer with too much time on his hands, a student led astray by Islamist theory, a hack book reviewer, a schoolboy hooked on pot and reality TV, and a Tube train driver whose Circle Line train joins these lives in a daily loop. And as the novel moves to its gripping climax, they are forced, one by one, to confront the new world they inhabit.

11 Days in December by Stanley Weintraub 11 DAYS IN DECEMBER: CHRISTMAS AT THE BULGE, 1944 by Stanley Weintraub

It was truly a white Christmas in the Ardennes Forest in 1944, but that was cold comfort to the Allied soldiers trying to stop the Nazis from retaking Belgium in one of the most decisive battles of World War II. While a German loudspeaker taunted, “How would you like to die for Christmas?” the Allied forces dug in, despite freezing conditions. They needed a miracle. In a medieval chapel, General Patton, who needed clear skies to allow airborne reinforcements to reach his trapped men, uttered what would become a famous prayer: “Sir, whose side are you on?” His soldiers wouldn’t be home for Christmas, but as the skies cleared, they went on to win a battle and a war.

For more information on these and related titles visit December Reads

Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN

By

-

23 December 2020

In Greek mythology, Mount Parnassus was the home of literature, learning and music, so we’re not surprised to find all of that in a Nashville bookstore!

Parnassus Books is an independent bookstore with heart. It is co-owned by the amazing novelist Ann Patchett and her business partner, Karen Hayes. It opened in 2011 and has fiction, non-fiction, children’s books, the arts, and local interests. But it is so much more!

This bookstore is so committed to getting books to readers they even run a bookmobile that travels all over Nashville!

They offer events that you can check out right from home! EVENTS

And a book club you can join that meets four times a month!

The bookstore also has an online magazine called MUSING that you should check out!

One of our favorite things about Parnassus Books? Their SHOP DOGS!!! We love them!

You can order online and stay in touch!

SNEAK PEEK: THE WRONG HOUSE BY CHRISTIE STRATOS

By

-

23 December 2020

THE WRONG HOUSE
A new Victorian historical suspense short story by award-winning writer and historical fiction author, Christie Stratos

“DON’T LET THE DOCTOR THINK YOU’RE ILL.”

A heavy nighttime blizzard forces Gerald Bitteson into the first building he finds, but the man he meets may be even colder than the storm he came in from. Gerald quickly finds out that Dr. C. L. Blood is no ordinary doctor, and the two have an ugly history even Blood himself doesn’t realize. But could this affable doctor really be the fraudster Gerald thinks? It may cost him his life to find out.

“What a great story! I knew it was going to be suspenseful but it really got me…” —Jessa Forest, author of The Slaughter Chronicles

“OMG I LOVED THIS STORY!! I loved finding out about this real-life—but obscure—historical figure…what a terrifying ‘doctor’! You really brought him to life, and I wouldn’t be surprised if your fictionalized parts actually happened. So well-written and suspenseful.” —Amber Sayge, reviewer

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christie Stratos is an award-winning writer who holds a degree in English Literature. She is the author of the psychological suspense novels Anatomy of a Darkened Heart and Brotherhood of Secrets, the first two books in the Dark Victoriana Collection. Also a poet and short story writer, Christie has been published in anthologies, literary journals, and magazines. Christie has been featured on the radio, in magazines, and on podcasts, and she has given presentations for writing organizations and at writing conferences. She owns her own editing company, Proof Positive, where she works one-on-one with authors as well as with small presses as a freelance editor, and she has enjoyed working with a rising press as an acquisitions editor. More information can be found about her at: Home – Christie Stratos Author

Dracula on Netflix

By

-

This is a retelling of Dracula that starts out with the somewhat familiar. I knew before I started watching it on Netflix that there would be something altogether different about this since the creators are Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat from Sherlock and Doctor Who fame. These are both outside-the-box storytellers or, story-presenters, who love to take a good tale and spin it into something you may not have seen coming. And in this version of Dracula, they do just that.

Actor Claes Bang is the perfect Dracula in his unholier-than-thou sexy sarcasm and horrific anti-hero action. It’s told in over several episodes but each builds on what came before it until you have this crescendo of Gothic entertainment in modern-day that satisfies even as it surprises!

The book written by Bram Stoker and published in 1897 was not the very first vampire book to be popular. John Polidori’s The Vampyre was also popular, though not as much, but it did include a more refined vampire and not just some hideous undead creature.

You can read Bram Stoker’s Dracula for free at Project Gutenberg HERE.

Keep in mind the period in which Dracula was written. The old English and some of the cultural issues of the day must be endured even if it is difficult for first-time readers to get into. It’s so worth it.

You can also read Polidori’s The Vampre for free HERE.

The Netflix version doesn’t completely follow the book, but the first part of it does look at that long-ago tale. From there we get a whole look at what Dracula might be like in today’s society. For example, what happens when he learns how to use Skype? Yes, there’s a lot of humor that happens, but a lot of horror on a variety of levels as well.

I do recommend reading the book as well as having fun watching the Netflix original DRACULA.

Memoir Monday: The Early Years by Rachel G. Carrington

By

-

21 December 2020

A life well lived even through tough times, Rachel G. Carrington shares the beginning of her life and a romance for the ages in her memoir The Early Years.

Author Rachel G. Carrington lays no claim to lofty jobs, higher education, nor grand accomplishments except for a love-filled, multifaceted, family-oriented, poverty-to-plenty life. In The Early Years, the first in a series, she shares her story.

As a young teenager, just entering high school in the small town of Denton, Kentucky, Carrington planned to attend college and become a teacher. With coursework geared toward college attendance, she was offered a lucrative scholarship that would help her to attain her goal. However, it took only a single event to send her down a different path. She met a returned World War II veteran who was attempting to pick up the pieces after finding his marriage in irreparable shambles and his children gone. As he struggled, Carrington was there, and they pulled together to clear the many hurdles before them.

In this memoir, she tells the story of their journey and how their love and dedication for each other kept moving them forward. Filled with the joys, disappointments, and struggles of a couple, The Early Years narrates how the love of the heavenly Father was the continuous thread that bound Carrington’s life together.

Last Minute YA and Middle Grade Books for Holiday Gifts

By

-

21 December 2020

Do you need a last minute holiday gift for a teen or middle grader in your life? Books are always a great gift idea! We’ve got a diverse selection of recently published young adult and middle grade books for you. From thrillers and mystery, to fantasy and romance, you’ll find something for every young reader on this list!

Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson

ZJ’s dad is loved by everyone – he’s a pro football star and has millions of fans. But things have recently changed. His dad is becoming forgetful, and he gets angry easily. ZJ’s mom says it’s because of the many head injuries his dad got playing football, but it’s still hard to deal with the changes, especially when his dad forgets his name. How can ZJ move forward when he’s hoping things won’t change and he’s wishing for the past.

One Way or Another by Kara McDowell

Paige struggles on a daily basis to make decisions, in fear that she’ll make the wrong choice. So when she’s got two options for her Christmas vacation, she’s nearly paralyzed with having to decide. Should she go with her best friend and secret crush Fitz to his cabin in the mountains, or should she go with her mom to New York, a place she’s dreamed about forever? This is when fate steps in and Paige’s life splits into two and she gets to experience both options, but will her anxiety ruin things on this parallel journey?

Never After: The Thirteenth Fairy by Melissa de la Cruz

For your fairy tale-loving middle grader, this is a new take on your favorites. Filomena meets Jack Stalker, a hero from one of her most-loved books and he insists he needs her help at once! She is thrust into a world of princesses, fairies, sorcerers and an evil queen in the first of this new series by bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.

The Crave Series by Tracy Wolff

Does your teen love reading about vampires and otherworldly creatures? Consider the Crave series by Tracy Wolff. Crave and Crush make great gifts and Covet, the third book in the series comes out this March. Readers all over the world have fallen in love with Grace, Jaxon, Macy, Hudson and the rest of the crew at Katmere Academy.

Aftershocks by Marisa Reichardt

When a major earthquake hits California, Ruby and Charlie are buried under debris in a laundromat. They’ve only just met, but will spend the next hours and days trapped together. A gripping story about survival, Aftershocks is fast-paced and heart-pounding and filled with emotion and hope.

Admission by Julie Buxbaum

When Chloe Wynn Berringer, who has everything she could ever want, discovers that her mom bribed admissions to get her into her dream school, she’s at a loss. And now there’s a big scandal, her mom has been arrested, and Chloe might also be facing charges for something she had no part of. Is Chloe guilty of doing anything wrong? And why did her mom think she wasn’t capable of succeeding on her own? Inspired by the recent college scandal, Buxbaum examines the questions we all want to know in this compelling ripped-from-the-headlines read.

Stand Up, Yumi Chung! by Jessica Kim

In a case of mistaken identity, shy girl Yumi Chung finds herself at a comedy camp being instructed by one of her favorite YouTubers. Comedy is her dream and this is her chance to share all that she has on stage, but everyone thinks she’s someone else. Does she reveal the truth and miss out on the opportunity, and will she disappoint everyone she cares about by this lie, all in the name of comedy?

The Canyon’s Edge by Dusti Bowling

Nora and her father plan a trip to the canyon on the year anniversary of her mother’s death in the hopes of healing. While her dad is still living in fear from the tragedy, Nora just wants life to be normal again. But a flash flood hits and Nora and her father are separated. Nora, now alone in the canyon and with no supplies, must face the dangers of the desert while keeping the Beast of her dreams away. She’s got to do all she can to survive in order to find her father.

Girl on the Run by Abigail Johnson

This super gripping thriller is a great pick for readers who want something suspenseful and fast-paced. Katelyn wanted to do something nice for her mom, but when she surprises her with an online dating profile, she freaks out that her information is public. Her mom has been overprotective, but now Katelyn knows she’s hiding something… and a frenzied and dangerous race begins in order to uncover the secrets of the past.

Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros