October Book Club: Spooky Stories
What I read, what I wore, what I created + announcing November's Book Club theme
This post serves as our official October book club “meeting,” where we’ll share the books we read and the creative ways we immersed ourselves in our stories.
October’s Theme: Spooky Stories
Below, I’ll pose a series of questions below along with my responses. You’re welcome to answer as many as you like or simply share your reflections, link to Instagram posts, TikToks, blogs, Substacks or any other places where you’ve shared! Even if you’re reading this later in the year, feel free to join the conversation whenever you like.
I’m excited to hear about your reading adventures!
What Did You Read?
This month, I read a newly released mystery/thriller called The Hitchcock Hotel by
.
What made you choose this book?
As a long-time fan of Hitchcock films, when I found out this book was being published at the end of September, I couldn’t order it quickly enough!
What were your thoughts?
I knew I’d be reading this book through a biased lens, but I thought it was a home run.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, but Stephanie did a fantastic job balancing a unique story with plenty of nods to Hitchcock’s films and storytelling techniques.
I probably would’ve enjoyed the premise of estranged college friends coming together for a weekend in a creepy hotel on its own—but the Hitchcock details were the cherry on top!
If you love cinema and enjoy not-too-scary mysteries, you’ll definitely like this one!
Like last month, I also picked an accompanying read: a nonfiction title called Hitchcock/Truffaut, which my friend and podcast co-host, Steve, gifted me last Christmas. I’d been saving it for fall, and I’m loving the interview-style text even more than I expected. I also love that Stephanie cites Hitchcock/Truffaut as one of her references in The Hitchcock Hotel’s acknowledgments.
Bringing the Story to Life
👗 Costume
This story didn’t inspire me much in terms of fashion, and I didn’t dare try to emulate the legendary Edith Head, who designed many of the costumes in Hitchcock’s films.
But reading these two books and getting into a spooky spirit inspired me to paint my nails in my favorite fall shade from Olive and June, called Obsessed.
🍪 Snack
A couple of years ago, when Reels were first becoming a thing, I created a Hitchcock-style cocktail cut using this recipe from Half Baked Harvest.
I remembered enjoying it so much that I made the cocktail again and re-released that Reel, which you can find here or below.
🎨 Project
I always watch a bunch of Hitchcock films in the fall, but this year, I started with the three mentioned at the start of The Hitchcock Hotel: Strangers on a Train, Psycho, and Rope.
It was even more fun this time around, pairing the viewings with these books.
Next Time on Book Club
While I love the mid-century suspense vibes that Hitchcock offers, there’s another aspect of autumn that I’m ready to delve into before the season comes to a close.
📚 🏫 Our theme for November is: Classics
Bring on all the academia! Revisit a novel you may have studied in school, pick up that one you’ve never read, or do both. I’ve had a story on my mind for the past couple of months and I’m looking forward to both enjoying it and trying to locate a particularly beautiful copy of it.
Save the date! Our November Book Club “Meeting” post goes live on Sunday, November 17th.
✍️ Creative Exercises/Journal Prompts
What is your favorite film? Pick up a book in a similar genre and tone, and enjoy them together.
Play filmmaker! Even if you’re not big on social media, create a short video (under 60 seconds) making a craft, a snack, or even doing an everyday task like cleaning your kitchen. I used CapCut, a free app, to create the Reel mentioned above.
Identify your favorite version of fall style: spooky, academic, harvest, horror, classic, or something else? Create a Pinterest board of your vibe, and find a creative way to bring it to life.
☀️ Five good things
When we can recognize the things that bring us the most joy, we invite more of them into our lives. Here are five things that made me happy this week. Share yours below!
Five good things that happened this week:
I made a big batch of Cookie and Kate’s Banana Bread (mine were in muffin form, and I added chocolate chips). I froze most of them to enjoy with a cup of afternoon tea throughout the rest of fall.
After a very slow start to writing Chapter 3 of my book-in-progress, I finally hit my stride, thanks to a kind and encouraging pep talk from my sister, Laura.
Fall officially arrived this week in Florida! The temperatures have dropped to the idyllic 70s°F, and my husband and I have reinstated our nightly walks to the beach.
I’ve been making my way through the delightful movie podcast Talking Pictures and particularly enjoyed this interview with actor and director Emerald Fennell (does she not have one of the coolest names ever?).
Sound the trumpets! After nearly two years of procrastination, I’ve finally begun decluttering the big closet in my office (formerly the Ryan Howard Podcast Studio). It has been equally painful, overwhelming, and exhilarating. I’m considering giving the whole space a mini makeover—maybe some new paint and styling? Stay tuned.
💬 Share your intention
Whether it’s a giant leap, a tiny to-do list item, a habit change, or something else, there is power in accountability, and this is a safe space to share your aim. Some weeks, we’ll fail, others we’ll soar, but with support, we’ll always keep going together.
Until next week, get out there and make something beautiful.
Michelle
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I actually just finished "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" by Holly Jackson yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Holly does a great job of guiding the reader through the story with the main character, Pip, as she tries to solve a murder case that happened in her town 5 years prior for a school independent project. The police and the town are convinced that Andie Bell died at the hands of her boyfriend, Sal, but Pip and Sal's brother, Ravi, aren't so convinced and work together to figure out what happened. After finishing the book, I started the adaptation on Netflix and am enjoying it, but prefer the book so far. I have the next book in the series in my queue to read in the next week or so, perfect timing for Halloween.
Hitchcock is the best. I love spooky season! Right now I'm listening to Stephen Fry narrate The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (from Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection on Audible)...which is nothing short of terrifying. Highly recommend!