The GBSP Bookshelf for October
Written by gbspcamp on Wednesday, October 1, 2014
The GBSP community weighs in on what they're reading in October, ranging from spooky classics like Frankenstein to lots of Neil Gaiman.
GB HQ Picks
From the people who bring you GBSP every summer, we bring you books, lots of books, every month. Shocking, we know.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Heather's pick)
The tale of Nobody “Bod” Owens, who wanders into a graveyard after his parents are murdered, and ends up being raised by a community of ghosts. Heather loves Neil Gaiman in general, but essentially this is The Jungle Book taking place in a graveyard- how can you not love that? Gaiman's characters are surprising and give a great twist to an old story.
A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz When Hansel and Gretel wander off the path of their own story, they end up lost and in danger in the stories of other Grimm and grisly characters.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman (Mindy's current read) Mindy is currently reading American Gods and loves Gaiman's ability to flesh out alternate worlds, which are both vivid and dream-like.
The Witches by Roald Dahl This is an author you need to re-read as a young adult/adult. According to the back of the book: This is not a fairy-tale. This is about REAL WITCHES.
Pet Sematary by Stephen King (Paula's recommendation) Louis Creed is introduced to an old pet cemetery in the area which has the capability of resurrecting the dead. Seriously creepy things start to go down after the family cat tragically dies, and Creed and Jud's resurrection attempt backfires. Paula recommends, from personal experience, that you do not read this book while camping.
Classics
The classics that gave us the monsters and legends
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Mel's favorite) Also known as The Modern Prometheus, Shelley started writing this novel when she was eighteen. Considered one of the first sci-fi novels ever written- about an unorthodox science experiment gone wrong- Shelley artfully weaves a tale that exudes Romanticism and horror, while raising some amazing discussions on ethics and justice. Before you read the novel, how does Shelley's alternate title, The Modern Prometheus, inform your assumptions about the book?
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Complete Works of Edgar Alan Poe
Community Picks
GBSP campers and staff share their favorite fall reads
- World Light by Halldór Laxness (Ben Groner III, PA)
- Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Eric Tarlin, camper)
- Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (Sophia Nguyen, PA)
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (Chris Schafenacker, PA)
- As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (Brooke Pfaus, camper)
- The Auroras of Autumn by Wallace Stevens (Melih Levi, PA)
- The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway (Jacob Moul, camper)
- In The Woods by Tana French (Vicky Bhundhumani, PA)
- "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Sarah Klein, PA)
