There are a number of different ways to fill this square: pumpkin on the cover, someone whose pet name is pumpkin, a book where the characters eat pumpkin pie. The easiest to find are the ones with pumpkins on the cover, and a lot of those tend to be cozy mysteries, for some reason! You can find a good compilation of possibilities in Murder By Death’s Pumpkin Square post - title of post links you to the original!

OBSIDIAN BLUE

This was a fun one for me. Pumpkins pretty much equal Halloween.

Also I had no idea until recently how many books out there have pumpkins on the cover or deal with a pumpkin. Is the book loving world obsessed with pumpkins? I swear doing this bingo has me falling into all kinds of research black holes. I will be thrilled when we start in a few days.

So here are my three suggestions plus what I chose to read for the bingo.

1. Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot #36) by Agatha Christie. The book cover has a pumpkin on it. The central mystery/murder occurs on Halloween, there are mention of pumpkins and bopping for apples. I was actually tempted to re-read this one since it is one of my favorite Poirot books.

2. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. The cover has multiple pumpkins on it. This book also has Halloween tales, fits the horror square, and the young adult square too.

3. Halloween by by Paula Guran (editor). This is a collection and has stories from Stewart O'Nan, William F. Nolan, Walter Scott, Peter Straub and more. If it wasn't so long (528 pages) I would just pick it and read it for the bingo. The reviews I saw mentioned that the editing wasn't so great, so check it out via the library if you can if you are inclined to get this one.

My pick is Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. I keep reading rave reviews about this book so I am really excited to read it. This book also fits the Halloween square since it takes place on Halloween and is considered horror for those who are still looking for a horror book to read.

MOONLIGHT READER

In addition to those books, these will also work:

1. The Haunted Season by G. M. Malliet. This is the fifth of the Max Tudor series, and is the second set in the fall. This series has a strong seasonal theme. I know it isn’t the first in the series, but it’s the only one with a pumpkin on the cover, and sometimes I just don’t feel like I need to start at the beginning

2. Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick. This is book one of the Pumpkin Falls Mystery series, set in Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire. I’m not going to lie - I stumbled on this one when I was searching for books to fit this square, but, honestly, it sounds charming. It’s a middle grade mystery. The plot summary from Goodreads:

“Now that Truly Lovejoy's father has been injured by an IED in Afghanistan and is having trouble finding work back home, the family moves from Texas to tiny Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire, to take over Lovejoy's Books, a struggling bookstore that's been in the family for one hundred years.

With two older brothers and two younger sisters clamoring for attention, her mother back in school, and everyone up to their eyebrows trying to keep Lovejoy's Books afloat, Truly feels more overlooked than usual. So she pours herself into uncovering the mystery of an undelivered letter she finds stuck in a valuable autographed first edition of Charlotte's Web, which subsequently goes missing from the bookshop. What's inside the envelope leads Truly and her new Pumpkin Falls friends on a madcap treasure hunt around town, chasing clues that could spell danger.”

3. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving: This one is pretty obvious, I’ll admit, strongly featuring a pumpkin at the end of the book. It’s also a very fast read, and there is a wonderful audio version available on audible that is only $6.95 (even for non members) and is narrated by Tom Mison. This would be a fantastic way to fill a square in an hour and fifteen minutes! Link to audible version here.

I will be re-reading Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie, unless I decide to give Absolutely Truly a go.

Today's topic is "Set on Halloween". I had a lot of fun with this one and it took a lot for me to not set aside a bunch of books right now. After the bingo I think I am going to be up to my eyes in books. 

MOONLIGHT MURDER

I think that this actually ended up being the hardest square for me to fill, which really surprised me! I thought it would be easy-peasy to find books partially set/related to Halloween, but, it's turned out to be much more difficult than I expected. Here are some suggestions:

1. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury: this novella-length work is set on Halloween. It is available on audio, and has received really good reviews! As an aside, Bradbury has two other books that will work for this square: Something Wicked This Way Comes (Green Town #2) (which is set a few days before Halloween, but is close enough as far as I am concerned, as this is the one I am planning to read) and The October Country

(short stories set during the festive Halloween season).

2. Hallowe'en Party (Hercule Poirot #36) by Agatha Christie: I am actually reading this one for my pumpkin square, but it will work here as well!

3. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. This one will work for multiple squares as well, including set in New England. I will be listening to this one on audio.

4. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter #1 by J.K. Rowling. "Troll in the Dungeon. Thought you ought to know." At least the first two or three Harry Potter's specifically mention Halloween at Hogwarts. So, if you are a fan of The Boy Who Lived, and just can't fill this square, there's always Harry!

I am pretty sure that there are probably cozy mysteries/romance novels in which Halloween makes an appearance, but I don't have them identified! If you do, comment below and tell us!

OBSIDIAN BLACK DEATH

I love Halloween. Maybe because I was not allowed to ever partake in the festivities as a kid. But I love something about being out at night on what is supposed to be the darkest day of the year.

I love Halloween because all of the movies on Lifetime that are so cheesy but are my secret guilty pleasures.

I love Halloween because though I will complain, I do love dressing up in a costume.

I love Halloween because watching scary movies for that whole month with friends is fun. And heck, I love watching them alone too.

I love the dark nights, the moon, listening to the wind and imagining myself in some castle on a moor somewhere.

Here are my three picks:

1. Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge. I have never read him before but am very excited to start this book. It sounds right up my alley. And for those still looking for a pumpkin square this book cover has a pumpkin.

2. Trick or Treat (Point Horror) by Richie Tankersley Cusick. One of the writers who got me started on reading horror as a kid. I loved this book when it came out in 1989. It also fits the Young Adult horror square. And you can use it for the Genre: Mystery, Genre: Horror, and there is even a cemetery I think that makes an appearance in this one so you got your grave or graveyard square too.

3. Johnny Halloween: Tales of the Dark Season by Norman Partridge. I dithered between my first pick and this one for my Halloween square book but ultimately got the first one instead.

Here are some more books that not only fit the Halloween square, but also young adult as well. 

4. Halloween Night (Point Horror) by R.L. Stine. Brenda hates her cousin Halley. And Brenda isn't the only one. Because Halley keeps stealing other people's boyfriends. So Brenda and her friends decide to plan the perfect murder. Something to go along with Brenda's perfect Halloween party.

5. Halloween Night II (Point Horror) by R. L. Stine.  The chilling sequel to Stine's bestselling Halloween Night.

And here are some more Halloween books just because.

6. October Dreams: A Celebration of Halloween by Richard Chizmar (editor). Classic novellas, never-before-published stories, essays on the history, literature, and films of Halloween, and real-life memories of October 31st-from today's best practitioners of fear: Dean Koontz, Peter Straub and others. 

7. A Catered Halloween (A Mystery with Recipes #5) by Isis Crawford. Sisters Bernadette and Libby Simmons are thrilled they've been asked to cater a haunted house fundraiser. But they soon discover that ghosts aren't the only unwanted guests when a murderer strikes...

Other posts in the series:

Magical Realism

Supernatural

Locked Room Mystery

Mystery

Diverse Authors

Fall Into A Good Book

Dark and Stormy Night

Stay tuned tomorrow for "Pumpkin!"

Today's topic is "it was a dark and stormy night," which strangely ended up being one of the more difficult squares to fill!

OBSIDIAN BLACK DEATH

Oh this was tough. Who knew that we would have to bang our heads repeatedly to get "it was a dark and stormy night." I actually like this square because it took me a lot of digging to find some books that fit this square.

1. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware. I chose this book to complete this square. The main plot of this book reminds me a bit of "Death on the Nile" by Agatha Christie. The book synopsis says: "In this tightly wound, enthralling story reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s works, Lo Blacklock, a journalist who writes for a travel magazine, has just been given the assignment of a lifetime: a week on a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins. The sky is clear, the waters calm, and the veneered, select guests jovial as the exclusive cruise ship, the Aurora, begins her voyage in the picturesque North Sea. At first, Lo’s stay is nothing but pleasant: the cabins are plush, the dinner parties are sparkling, and the guests are elegant. But as the week wears on, frigid winds whip the deck, gray skies fall, and Lo witnesses what she can only describe as a dark and terrifying nightmare: a woman being thrown overboard." I hope that we get a dark and stormy night. It sounds like it. If not, I am swapping it out for another book though.

2. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. I personally love this book. It definitely hits on some other squares too such as "Set in New England" and I would even push this one towards the "Magical Realism" square too though it is mostly counted as science fiction.

3. Acceptable Risk by Robin Cook. This meets a lot of squares. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, there is reference to the Salem Witch trials, the final climax of the book takes place during a dark and stormy night. In fact I think there were a couple. I read this book when I was a teen and really enjoyed it.

MOONLIGHT MURDER

1. Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson. So, I've talked a lot about We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House, but I want to mention Hangsaman here. This is a very different sort of a book - it is shelved on GR as horror and gothic. There is a section in the book where the main character ends up wandering around a forest at night, which I remember as also being in the middle of a storm, although maybe it was just a storm inside of her own head! Anyway, I think it would qualify!

2. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. There are whole sections of this book that take place during dark and stormy nights, most particularly the ghostly appearance of Catherine at the window of the narrator. In my head, I pretty much set all Victorian era gothics in the middle of dark and stormy nights any way!

3. A Curse Dark As Gold by Elizabeth Bunce. I actually just re-read this book. It is a very well done retelling of Rumplestiltskin, and the climax of the book - the reckoning, so to speak - happens during one wild, storm-ridden night.

I'm planning on reading The Hounds of the Baskervilles for this box, because I vaguely remember that there's an event that happens during a stormy night on the moors. If it turns out I'm wrong about that, I'll find something else to read!

Other posts in the series:

Magical Realism

Supernatural

Locked Room Mystery

Mystery

Diverse Authors

Fall Into A Good Book

So I absolutely cracked up during some of the brainstorming sessions I had with Moonlight Reader regarding the squares.

Believe me, we wanted to put a ton more in and we swapped some out. I am glad that we stuck with "Fall" into a good book though.

As we have discussed on the discussion boards for Book Bingos, "Fall" into a good book can mean the book takes place during the Fall, that the word "Fall" is in the title. I even went so far as saying that a character could take a great fall (a la Alice in Wonderland) but I am still waiting on a ruling from my partner on that one.

Here are some suggestions for you!

Moonlight Murder

So, "Fall" into a good book is full of possibilities! Here are 3 suggestions for everyone:

1. September by Rosamunde Pilcher: This is for the romance/women's fic readers among us. Pilcher writes sprawling family sagas set in England/Scotland, and this book is entirely non-scary. However, the entire book is built around a family in Scotland that is getting ready for a big party in September, so in my opinion, it definitely qualifies for the square!

2. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: This is one of my favorite YA books of all time. It begins in mid-October, when Puck, the main character, decides to race her Island pony Dove in the Scorpio Races, which happen on the first of November, when the blood-thirsty water horses make landfall and the bravest men ride them to victory. If they survive. Puck is the first girl to claim the right to race in the Scorpio Races. This book is remarkable and lyrical, and the relationship between Puck and her pony is tender and lovely. The entire book takes place in the fall, which is why it qualifies for this square.

3. The Fall by Bethany Griffin: I have to admit I have not read this book, so take the recommendation with a grain of salt. It is a YA re-imagining of The Fall of the House of Usher. The reviews are all over the place. Some readers love it, others complain that it is boring.

My planned read, however, is Night in Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny. I was recommended this book by my friend Frank Tuttle (who writes rather lovely books himself, as an aside), and I bought it last year when I found that it had been reissued in print by the Chicago Review Press. The format is interesting - each chapter represents a day in October, and it is my plan to read it as written - one chapter per day, concluding on Halloween.

Obsidian Black Death

My suggestions for those that are still having some problems.

1. Angelfall (Penryn & The End of Days #1) by Susan E. I noticed that a lot of fellow Booklikers have read and reviewed this book and I was tempted to read this one too for my square, but ended up going with something else instead. It is YA fantasy and paranormal so it definitely fits the overall theme of our bingo.

2. A Discovery of Witches (All Souls Trilogy #1) by Deborah Harkness. This first book takes place during the Fall term at Oxford. The rest of the book takes place during Fall and particular scenes take place during Halloween for those of you still looking for a book for the Halloween square. Since this book is about vampires and witches (oh my) this will also fit the supernatural square as well. I really loved the first book in the series so I always recommend it to other people.

3. Darkness Falls (Darkness Falls #1) by Jessica Sorensen. I ended up choosing this book for this square. I see that it had some good reviews on Goodreads, and I wanted to read something I had not read before as much as possible for the Halloween Bingo.

Prior joint posts:

Magical Realism

Supernatural

Locked Room Mystery

Mystery

Diverse Authors

And tomorrow's post is scheduled to be "It was a dark and stormy night". Stay tuned!

We've had several questions about this particular square! Basically, any book that fits under any of the other squares, but which was written by an author of color fits into this particular square.

Here are some suggestions for you!

Obsidian Black Death

I can be here all day talking about diverse authors out there that write horror. I was excited about this square particularly, because I know that a lot of people know many of what I consider the greats out there (Lovecraft, Bradbury, and King) but sometimes people are not as aware of authors of colors out there as well.

Since I am a black woman, I do go out and seek works by other black women/men as much as possible. I used to read a lot of romance by people of color, but the past few years, my interest in that has waned. But, I definitely think I am going to do a reading list next year for people of color who write horror books. Doing research into these authors makes me want to read everything they have published.

Instead of me just having three picks this time, I had to go with five picks. Only because I really didn't know who to include and take off. I hope that everyone who is interested in this square does a little Googling afterwards and check out the authors I mention.

1. Octavia Butler- some of her works: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago, Xenogenesis (omnibus), Lilith's Brood, Kindred, Parable of the Sower, and Parable of the Talents.

2. Tananarive Due- some of her works: My Soul to Keep, The Living Blood, Blood Colony, and My Soul To Take.

3. Jemiah Jefferson- Voice of the Blood, Wounds, Fiend, and A Drop of Scarlet.

4. Helen Oyeyemi- White is for Witching, The Icarus Girl, and her other two works are more magical realism for those out there looking still, The Opposite House, and Mr. Fox.

5. Linda D. Addison- Consumed, Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes, Being Full of Light, Insubstantial, and How To Recognize A Demon Has Become Your Friend.

Moonlight Murder

I am super-excited about OBD's list! The only author on her list whom I've already read is Octavia Butler - I read The Parable of the Sower earlier this year and really enjoyed it! I'm planning on read the sequel, The Parable of the Talents, at some point soon!

I have the following books in my TBR:

1. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. This one would fit under the witch square and the author is the American born daughter of Nigerian immigrants. I've heard such good things about this author!

2. Ghost Bride by Yangszee Choo. I read this book earlier - it is a ghost story, and I liked it a lot.

3. The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco. This one is definitely on my to be read list, because a walking ghost who murders killers sounds fantastic!

I decided to read Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel Jose Older for this category, although all of the books and authors mentioned sound so good!.

Prior joint posts:

Magical Realism

Supernatural

Locked Room Mystery

Mystery

And tomorrow's post is scheduled to be "Fall" Into A Good Book. Stay tuned!