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The Haunting of Hill House was first published in 1959 by Shirley Jackson and has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It’s the story of four individuals who arrive at the notorious Hill House. This place is so frightening that people who live in the local town won’t even talk about it. The group is brought together by Dr. Montague, an anthropologists and occult scholar. He rents Hill House for a few weeks in the summer to study the hauntings, and invites several people who he’s heard possess psychic abilities or previous encounters with the paranormal. Two young women agree to come - the lively and charming Theodora, and the shy and naïve Eleanor. The owner of the home requires that a relative of the family must be present as part of the lease terms, so she sends her son Luke, who is the future heir of Hill House. The four form an unlikely bond as the horrors of Hill House come to life, nerves start to fray, and forces at work in the house gather to claim one of them for eternity.

Why was each person motivated to come to Hill House? What parallels can be drawn between past inhabitants of the house and the current visitors? Would we spend a week in a haunted house? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 21 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: The questions discussed in this episode come from Shmoop.com and from The Library Ladies → https://www.shmoop.com/the-haunting-of-hill-house/questions.htmlhttps://thelibraryladies.com/2019/01/21/book-club-review-the-haunting-of-hill-house/

Our spooky season music is from a song titled “Horror Background Music” by Lesfm  from Pixabay.

Coming up next: Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

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A Lesson in Vengeance is about Felicity Morrow, who is a senior at an all-girls private school called Dalloway. Last year, Felicity experienced something super traumatizing, the death of her girlfriend, Alex, which she witnessed, and was institutionalized, so she’s having to go through her senior year for a second time. She’s a super senior. Felicity returns to her old room in Godwin House, an exclusive dorm that seems to be haunted by the Dalloway Five, girls who died mysteriously, one at a time, on Godwin grounds. Some say these five girls were witches and the students, as you can imagine, love that. There’s even a “secret” society where girls come together to perform rituals they found in the occult section of the library. On her first day back, Felicity meets Ellis Haley, a prodigy author who says that her next book will focus on the Dalloway Five and asks Felicity to help her research the deaths. Felicity can’t say no because she’s so drawn to the dark witchcraft, but it seems that Alex’s spirit joined the Dalloway Five in the haunting of the house, and history begins to repeat itself.

Were the supernatural elements metaphors for something else? At what point did we start to not trust the narrator? What did we find most spooky about this book? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 20 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: The questions discussed in this episode come from the website for Michele Pariza Wacek → https://mpwnovels.com/2019/07/12/book-club-discussion-questions-perfect-for-psychological-thrillers-mysteries-supernatural-and-horror-stories/

Our spooky season music is from a song titled “Horror Background Music” by Lesfm from Pixabay.

Coming up next: The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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The Shining begins as Jack Torrance is interviewing for a position as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, which sits in the mountains of Colorado. Some people say it was inspired by the real-life Stanley Hotel, though Stephen King says the Overlook is entirely fictional and doesn’t have a real-life basis. Who’s to say? Anyway, the Overlook represents a fresh start for the Torrance family, as Jack was fired from his previous job for brutally beating a student that slashed his tires. Jack has anger problems, to say the least, and is a recovering alcoholic. He really sees this job as an opportunity to rekindle things with his wife, Wendy, reconnect with his son, Danny, and focus on writing his play. Soon enough, the harsh Colorado winter sets in, the family is unable to leave the hotel grounds, and sinister things begin to happen that are centering around Danny. Danny has this unique gift that the in-season chef, Dick Halloran, calls his shine. Dick has a lesser version of this gift. Danny can have visions that seem to be premonitions, thanks to his imaginary friend, Tony, and can see and hear the hotel’s ghosts, all of whom seem to have some nefarious intentions with the Torrance family. The Overlook is hungry, and Danny’s shine is the perfect dinner.

How big a part does destiny play in the family’s life? What was Danny’s first sign that the hotel’s spirits were after him? Do we believe in ghosts? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 19 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: The questions discussed in this episode come from Shmoop.com and from Owlcation. → https://www.shmoop.com/shining-stephen-king/questions.html and https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Shining-Book-Discussion-and-Recipe

Our spooky season music is from a song titled “Horror Background Music” by Lesfm from Pixabay.

Coming up next: A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

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The Duke and I is a Regency era romance. Daphne Bridgerton has been out in society for two years, but her determination to find a love match leads her to have her brother decline the only offer for marriage she has received. Simon Basset is just returning to London from his international travels and has absolutely no plans to marry and even fewer plans to have children. He decides to attend a party put on by Lady Danbury because he knows that she would expect it. He comes across Daphne as the very persistent man who previously asked her to marry him is, once again, practically begging her to accept his proposal. Simon steps in to rescue her, though she didn’t really need rescuing…she can defend herself. Daphne eventually explains to Simon that she feels as if men aren’t interested in her and they come up with a plan to get her more suitors. Since Simon doesn’t want to marry and does want to avoid the girls and mothers, he agrees to fake court her. The hope being that his interest would lead to other men being interested in Daphne. So, we get the classic fake dating romance trope that turns into love.

If Daphne had not gone off into the garden, do you think they would have still ended up getting married? Do we think marriages in the Regency era were happy ones? What were some things we liked more about the book compared to the show? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 18 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: Most of the questions we’re discussing today actually come from a post by Purple4199 on Reddit. As always, we have linked that in the description box for this episode. -> https://www.reddit.com/r/BridgertonNetflix/comments/mill5c/bridgerton_book_club_the_duke_and_i/

Great music huh?! The music for the intro and outro are segments from a song titled "Busy City" by TrackTribe, which was accessed through the YouTube audio library.

Coming up next: The Shining by Stephen King

Interested in starting your own podcast? Sign up with Buzzsprout using our referral code and we'll both get a $20 amazon gift card! https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1894341

When Nic Farrell receives a call from her brother explaining that their father is in a bad way with his dementia and they really need to sell the family home to afford the care he needs, she goes all the way back to her hometown in North Carolina to try to convince their father to sign the deed over to them. She goes back to all the things she worked so hard to escape from: an angry brother, a forgetful father, a dead mother, and an ex-boyfriend that she’s stuck in this on-again-off-again cycle with. Oh yeah…and a best friend (Corinne) who disappeared when they were 18, never to be found. As luck would have it, the night after she returns, her ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend (Annaliese) disappears. Is there a connection there? To be determined. This book follows Nic as she tries to unravel what happened to Annaliese, uncovers secrets about her family, and discovers what really happened to Corinne ten years ago.

What does this story seem to suggest about how myth and superstition shape our fears? Why do you think the author chose to tell the story in reverse? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 17 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: Most of the questions we’re discussing today come from the Reader’s Guide in the back of the book.

Great music huh?! The music for the intro and outro are segments from a song titled "Busy City" by TrackTribe, which was accessed through the YouTube audio library.

Coming up next: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Interested in starting your own podcast? Sign up with Buzzsprout using our referral code and we'll both get a $20 amazon gift card (when you choose a paid plan)! https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1894341

The Deep is about mermaids, basically, that are descendants of pregnant African slave women that were tossed overboard during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The pregnant women were thrown overboard because they were in labor, and I guess that wasn’t worth the effort for the slave traders. Somehow, maybe it was magic or maybe it was the ocean, the babies that were born could breathe underwater. Once they found more of one another, they coalesced into a group of people called the wajinru. At one point, the first “strange fish” decides that there is too much trauma in their history for everyone to remember and takes on the entirety of the wajinru’s memories, becoming their first historian. From their death, one individual is chosen to be the historian at a time. This story picks up with the current historian, Yetu, who is particularly affected by the rememberings. Unable to accept it, she unleashes the memories on her people and swims away from home, toward the surface. This book is a journey of self-acceptance that gives a lot of The Giver vibes, while maintaining a unique, creative, and moving narrative.

What do you think about the role of Historian in the wajinru society? Why is it critical that everyone but the Historian forget the history? Did the original Historian’s decision help or hinder the growth of their community? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 16 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: The questions discussed in this episode are a part of the Reader’s Guide in the back of the book, which was written by the publisher (Saga Press). You can also find them on the Brooklyn Public Library website. → https://www.bklynlibrary.org/sites/default/files/documents/BOOK CLUB KITS/THE DEEP_BKLYN BOOK CLUB KIT_FINAL.pdf

Great music huh?! The music for the intro and outro are segments from a song titled "Busy City" by TrackTribe, which was accessed through the YouTube audio library.

Coming up next: All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

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The Maid was an instant New York Times bestseller when it was released at the beginning of the year. The main character, Molly, is a maid at the prestigious Regency Grand Hotel. Her usually orderly life is upset when she discovers one of the VIP guests dead in his bed. Because of her lack of social skills and her tendency to take statements very literally – sarcasm does not come across as such – she ends up the number one suspect in Mr. Black’s death. It doesn’t help that she puts her trust in an untrustworthy person…she would call him a bad egg…who actively tries to frame her for the crime and for other drug-related ones that occur in the hotel. Fortunately, Molly makes some new friends, namely the doorman, his lawyer daughter, and the hotel’s dishwasher, who help her get out of the web of deception and lead the police to the real culprit. But Molly is smarter than she appears and knows more about the murder than she initially led on. The author describes this as a mixture of Agatha Christie, Knives Out, and Clue, and critics have called it a hopeful and heartwarming murder mystery.

Who did we first think was responsible for Mr. Black’s death? What are our thoughts about Molly appearing to be on the autism spectrum? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 15 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: The questions discussed in this episode were written by Heather Caliendo for bookclubchat.com. → https://bookclubchat.com/books/book-club-questions-for-the-maid-by-nita-prose/

Great music huh?! The music for the intro and outro are segments from a song titled "Busy City" by TrackTribe, which was accessed through the YouTube audio library.

Coming up next: The Deep by Rivers Solomon

Interested in starting your own podcast? Sign up with Buzzsprout using our referral code and we'll both get a $20 amazon gift card! https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1894341

Beach Read is about January Andrews, who moves into her recently deceased dad’s secret second house on the shore of Lake Michigan, which happens to be right next door to her college rival, Augustus Everette. After the discovery that her father had an affair while her mom was battling cancer, she’s having a difficult time coming up with the Happily Ever After her publisher is asking for. To beat the writer’s block, they make a “deal” that’s really more of a bet, that they will write in each other’s’ styles. January will write what she calls Bleak Literary Fiction and Gus will write a Happily Ever After. The person who sells their book first will get a shining endorsement from the other. Along the way, they will do research together. January will tag along with Gus on his interviews with people who escaped a local cult, while Gus will accompany January on iconic Rom-Com outings. Of course, they fall in love in the process.

What traditional romance tropes do we see used? If we could visit one setting from the book, where would we choose? What are our hopes for January and Gus in the future? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 14 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: The questions discussed in this episode are a part of the reader’s guide in the back of the book.

Great music huh?! The music for the intro and outro are segments from a song titled "Busy City" by TrackTribe, which was accessed through the YouTube audio library.

Coming up next: The Maid by Nita Prose

Interested in starting your own podcast? Sign up with Buzzsprout using our referral code and we'll both get a $20 amazon gift card! https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1894341

It Happened One Summer is about a privileged LA socialite named Piper Bellinger who breaks into a rooftop pool to throw an “epic” and gets arrested as a result. Her stepfather decides that he’s had enough of her shenanigans and sends her to Westport, WA, to run her deceased father’s bar. Once there, she meets Brendan Taggart, a boat captain and widower, and it seems like they keep bumping into one other. Piper planned to stay in Westport for the three months mandated by her stepfather, but the people in the small town, including Brendan, make her think twice about returning to her party centered LA life in favor of the real connections she’s made with people in Westport.

Was Brendan and Piper’s connection believable? How do we feel about the romance trope(s) in this book?If this were made into a movie, who would we cast for the main characters? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 13 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: The questions discussed in this episode were written by Elena Nicolaou for Oprah Daily → https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/a31047508/book-club-questions/

Great music huh?! The music for the intro and outro are segments from a song titled "Busy City" by TrackTribe, which was accessed through the YouTube audio library.

Coming up next: Beach Read by Emily Henry

Interested in starting your own podcast? Sign up with Buzzsprout using our referral code and we'll both get a $20 amazon gift card! https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1894341

Lacey May is a 14-year-old girl living with her alcoholic mother in the drought stricken town of Peaches in the Central Valley of California, which was once the center of raisin production. Residents of the town, including Lacey’s family, turned to Pastor Vern for salvation. According to Lacey’s grandmother, Cherry, Vern has summoned rain from the sky before. He thinks of himself as the reincarnation of Christ. The book opens with Lacey getting her period for the first time and running to Pastor Vern to inform him that she’s a woman and ready for her assignment. From there, this book explores friendship, resilience, and motherhood.

Do we think that Pastor Vern planned to create a faithful following, or was he taking advantage of an opportunity? Why do we think the residents of Peaches put their faith in Pastor Vern for so long? Join us as we discuss these questions and more in episode 12 of our spoiler-filled podcast.

Questions: The questions discussed in this episode come from Kelsey Loves Books → https://kelseylovesbooks.com/2020/04/21/readers-guide-godshot/#:~:text=Book Club Discussion Questions for Godshot&text=After blessing the town with,an opportunity presented to him%3F

Great music, huh?! The music for the intro and outro are segments from a song titled "Busy City" by TrackTribe, which was accessed through the YouTube audio library.

Up Next: It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey

Interested in starting your own podcast? Sign up with Buzzsprout using our referral code and we'll both get a $20 amazon gift card! https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1894341