The Best Bookish Costumes I've Seen So Far

Happy Halloween, everyone. As you may know, or don't know, I'm cosplaying as Kaz Brekker for Halloween.

Aka this guy below.

In case you're wondering, I have everything except the little vest and the tie and the gloves and the CANE. Don't worry. I'm getting the gloves and tie soon. So I'm missing the cane most importantly.

So I'm kinda screwed. Never fear, though! I'll think of something! (I might end up using an umbrella for the cane. Haha. Photoshop skills activate!)

So let's enjoy some photos of other people's costumes! (Because I fail at costumes. I was Queen Bitterblue last year, though. And I wore a dress. GASP!)

And all the credit goes to the owners of the pictures. I do not own any of these.

Hobbitses

Parenting goals. 

I mean, this is what children are for...right?

Zombie Librarian?

Or a normal librarian. Either way, it's awesome.

Pun-y Fifty Shades of Grey

Humor. Fantastic. 

This gets all the chicks. Am I right? 

This Book Cover: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

The skills required to do that makeup. Love it.

And Game of Thrones

I've actually never read or watched this. (People told me it's too inappropriate for me. Haha.) But this is still an amazing cosplay. Gotta love cosplay, right?

So. What are you going to do for Halloween? 

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Need a Good Scare? Check Out 'Slasher Girls and Monster Boys'

Slasher Girls and Monster Boys

Multiple Authors

Goodreads / Amazon

For fans of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Lois Duncan, and Daphne Du Maurier comes a powerhouse anthology featuring some of the best writers of YA thrillers and horror

A host of the smartest young adult authors come together in this collection of scary stories and psychological thrillers curated by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’s April Genevieve Tucholke.

Each story draws from a classic tale or two—sometimes of the horror genre, sometimes not—to inspire something new and fresh and terrifying. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat. From bloody horror to supernatural creatures to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for any reader looking for a thrill.

Fans of TV’s The Walking Dead, True Blood, and American Horror Story will tear through tales by these talented authors:

Stefan Bachmann
Leigh Bardugo
Kendare Blake
A. G. Howard
Jay Kristoff
Marie Lu
Jonathan Maberry
Danielle Paige
Carrie Ryan
Megan Shepherd
Nova Ren Suma
McCormick Templeman
April Genevieve Tucholke
Cat Winters

I'm going to rate these stories from the best to the worst. And, on top of that, I'll add in a Chills-n-Thrills meter for each story to judge its scariness. (Which will be easy since I'm easily scared.) I'll be rating each story on a one to five scale with five being the scariest and one being easily manageable.\

1. Stitches
2. The dark, scary parts and all
3. In the forest dark and deep
4. Hide and seek
5. Verse Chorus Verse
6. Emmeline
7. The girl without a face
8. The flicker, the fingers, the beat, the sigh
9. Snow
10. M
11. Fat girl with a knife
12. Sleepless
13. Birds of Azalea Street
14. On the I-5

The Birds of Azalea Street

Uhm. This was a bit boring. It felt like the story was too short. I didn't get any chills or thrills.

In the Forest Dark and Deep

Ooh. This one was creepy. I liked it. I always liked 'Alice in Wonderland' retellings. The story ('Alice in Wonderland') is about madness, and retellings portray it differently. That's why it's been retold a lot. And the whimsical aspect too.

I'll definitely be looking out for white rabbit ears when I pass forests.

Emmeline

Wow. That was haunting and sad. Definitely not a horror story, though.

I loved it. It was beautifully told. A lonely girl. An American boy.

Quite amazing.

Verse Chorus Verse

Leigh Bardugo has done it again. I got chills. I got thrills. This one was creepy. The type of creepy that makes your spine tingle. I think it's the unknown that does it. You don't know what the weird whine is. Your imagination is left to wander.

Amazing work.

Hide-and-Seek

I liked this one. It was a cool action story. It definitely wasn't scary or anything, though. I liked the idea and the execution. Pretty awesome action short.

The Dark, Scary Parts and All

Oh my gosh. I loved this. So much. I loved the storytelling element. And I really want more. Danielle Page, please continue this!

The Flicker, the Fingers, the Beat, the Sigh

I thought this was a beautifully told story. Haunting and creepy but without being scary. Definitely interesting.

Brownie points for mentioning 'Carrie' in the story itself.

Fat Girl With a Knife

Ooh. A revenge story. Awesome. This could actually be brought out to be a whole novel.

This doesn't mean I liked it, though.

It could have been better.

I liked the ending, though. You don't know what will happen next.

Sleepless

Wow. That took a surprising turn. It was definitely creepy.

M

Wow. This was actually really cool. It was like a short murder mystery. Pretty awesome.

And the children do see all.

The Girl Without a Face

Man. One word. Creepy. And an interesting revenge plot. A little disappointed since I adore Marie Lu's writing. It didn't feel very Marie Lu to me.

But not bad.

A Girl Who Dreamed of Snow

This can really be brought into a full novel. It was a cool idea. Being able to call forth darkness. Where did she learn how to do that? How did she practice? What's the Hunter going to do to her? All these questions. I do want more.

Stitches

Wow. This was so sad. I loved the storytelling, though. Yet...it was so sad. I want to have more. I want a novel made of this story.

Please?

On the I-5

What did I just read? Was she undead? Was she a vampire of some sort? I'm so confused...

Rating: (For the overall compilation)

4/5

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Ask the Author Halloween Edition: Mackenzi Lee

Ask the Author

This time on Ask the Author...

I'll be interviewing Mackenzi Lee author of This Monstrous Thing.

Who is Mackenzi Lee?

Website / Facebook (Gasp! People still use Facebook?!?!) / Twitter / Pinterest

Mackenzi Lee is a reader, writer, bookseller, unapologetic fangirl, and fast talker. She holds an MFA from Simmons College in writing for children and young adults, and her short fiction for children and teens has appeared in Inaccurate Realities, The Friend, and The Newport Review. Her young adult historical fantasy novel, THIS MONSTROUS THING, which won the PEN-New England Susan P. Bloom Children’s Book Discovery Award, as well as an Emerging Artist Grant from the St. Botolph Club Foundation, is out now from Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.

She loves Diet Coke, sweater weather, and Star Wars. On a perfect day, she can be found enjoying all three. She currently calls Boston home.

Note: I do not own any of these pictures. The credit goes to the owners. 

What is so appealing about the story of Frankenstein?
Frankenstein is a story that has never stopped being relevant, in spite of the fact it was first written two hundred years ago, and I think this due to the fact that, at its core, it’s about what makes us human. There is the science aspect, obviously, which continues to become more relevant as we get closer to being capable of the things Mary Shelley was imagining, but I think everyone wonders at some point about the quality of their own humanity and, inversely, their own capacity for monstrousness. It’s pretty compelling stuff.

How did you get your idea for your retelling?
From a lot of places! It partly came from hearing Frankenstein misidentified as a steampunk novel, partly from a trip I took to Germany at Christmastime, and partly from my first exposure to Frankenstein via a stage production at the National Theater. It’s also a lot inspired by a lifetime of being the older half of a sibling pair. 

What's your favorite Halloween costume that you've worn?
I was pretty darn proud of my Buster Bluth costume last year. I even had a seal with a yellow bow tie. 

(I, truthfully, don't know who this is.)

What's your favorite Halloween costume you've seen?
At a Halloween party in college, a girl came as Max from Where the Wild Things Are. Ever since, I’ve wanted a wolf suit. 

(Being Max is one of many goals in life.)

What's your favorite memory of Halloween? (Trick-or-treating? Handing out candy? Pranking old neighbors?)
Growing up, my sister and I were really good friends with another family in our neighborhood who had a son my age and a daughter my sister’s age. We all were obsessed with Star Wars, so one year, the four of us and their middle brother all went as various members of the Jedi order. My little sister was so committed to her Yoda costume that she had my mom buy her green gloves and, since Yoda only has three fingers, sew the pinkie and ring finger and middle and pointer finger together so she would similarly only have three digits. She then walked around all night flashing the perpetual Spock sign. 

(Enjoy this picture of an adorable Yoda baby.)

What's your favorite horror story?
Frankenstein. Is that cheating? (Nope. Not cheating.)

What would you do if you saw Dracula outside your window?
Invite him in. I’d have a lot of questions. 

(Technically, you'd be inviting in Vlad the Impaler, but that's all semantics.)

In a zombie apocalypse, who would you choose for your survival team? (Fictional or real!)
Teddy Roosevelt. Captain Malcom Reynolds. Imperator Furiosa. Jacky Faber. 

(Look at Teddy. All dashing and mustache-y. And NATHAN FILLION. WOOHOO. And badass females FTW. And I have NO CLUE who Jackey Faber is!)

What's your favorite Halloween-themed drink? (Alcoholic or not.)
I don’t know if I have a specifically Halloween-themed favorite drink, so I’m gonna say Diet Coke drunk from a Halloween-themed glass. 

Would you rather stay a night in a haunted mansion or walk through an empty graveyard?
Empty graveyard. I’m the sort of creep who thinks graveyards are actually super cool and beautiful.

Thank you, Mackenzi Lee!

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