Another week passes in this beautiful season of autumn, and sadly, that brings us another Monday. But don’t worry, you’re not alone in your suffering. We here at Bookstr got your back with some awesome literature ready to help you de-stress, relax, and lose yourself.
This week, is our Halloween special, and all of our titles are sufficiently spooky! Our Haunted Pick is the up and coming work by… Our Cauldron Read, perfect for reading while you watch your cauldron boil, and this week is The Ghost Photographer by Julie Rieger; the perfect read to help hype you up for the spooky season of Halloween. And our Dark Horse (we didn’t change the name, we thought it sounded spooky enough!) of the week is The Book of Ceremony by Sandra Ingerman.
Our Haunted Pick
Image via Amazon.com
Synopsis:
From the writer who “inspires cultic devotion in readers” (The New Yorker) and has been called “incandescent” by Stephen King, “absolutely mesmerizing” by Gillian Flynn, and “unputdownable” (People), comes a gripping new novel that turns a crime story inside out.
Toby is a happy-go-lucky charmer who’s dodged a scrape at work and is celebrating with friends when the night takes a turn that will change his life – he surprises two burglars who beat him and leave him for dead. Struggling to recover from his injuries, beginning to understand that he might never be the same man again, he takes refuge at his family’s ancestral home to care for his dying uncle Hugo. Then a skull is found in the trunk of an elm tree in the garden – and as detectives close in, Toby is forced to face the possibility that his past may not be what he has always believed.
A spellbinding standalone from one of the best suspense writers working today, The Witch Elm asks what we become, and what we’re capable of, when we no longer know who we are.
Why?
To get you rightfully freaked the f#*!ed out this Halloween, Tana French’s newest novel is sure to make you scared of your own family roots. Toby’s struggle to really find out about his origins will leave you horrified of the reality but forces you to push on and read more about how our hero will come to term with his frightening ancestry. After all, every great man or woman casts a shadow; but a great family may secrets darker than the pitch of night itself. Spooky!
Our Cauldron Read
The Ghost Photographer by Julie Rieger
Image via Simon & Schuster
Synopsis:
As a senior executive at one of the world’s largest movie studios, Julie Rieger spent her days marketing the imaginary stories of ghosts, faeries, superheroes, aliens, and more fantastical creatures. But after the devastating loss of her mother, the world of make-believe became reality when Julie captured her first ghost in a photograph and blew open a door to the Other Side.
The Ghost Photographer chronicles Julie’s wild ride down the spiritual rabbit hole. After a series of unexpected, mind-blowing, and sometimes frightening encounters with the spirit realm, Julie was forced to face this strange awakening, flying in the face of scientific dogma and her own die-hard skepticism. Ultimately, she discovered that what she thought she had lost with the death of her mother—unconditional love—was in fact the greatest superpower one can wield.
In a refreshing departure from traditional supernatural tales, Julie tells her story with bold humor and total candor. Her journey juxtaposes her down-home roots in rural America with the glam of Hollywood and her professional universe of hard, empirical data. As she fine-tunes her psychic abilities and comes to terms with the transformative power of grief, Julie is empowered to fearlessly tell her story, teach others, and invite them to share their own experiences of the paranormal and unexplained. She offers insights into our relationship with the spirit world, prayers and rituals for cleansing and protecting our homes from unwanted ghosts, and guidance on how to develop our intuition and sixth sense.
Why?
Julie Rieger’s story is perfect to get you in the mood for Halloween. The Ghost Photographer will not only give you the shivers from some of its scenes, but Rieger’s writing also makes you truly wonder as to what is really making that “bump” in the night. For any skeptic who has rooted themselves in the realms of science, this story will surely make you double check your theories as you become more concerned as to what may be watching you in the dark.
Our Dark Horse
The Book of Ceremony by Sandra Ingerman
Image via Amazon.com
Synopsis:
We perform ceremonies to mark important events and celebrate holidays—yet our modern approach to ceremony only scratches the surface of its true potential. With The Book of Ceremony, shamanic teacher Sandra Ingerman presents a rich and practical resource for creating ceremonies filled with joy, purpose, and magic. “We are hungry to connect with more than what we experience with our ordinary senses in the material world,” writes Sandra. “By performing ceremonies, you will find yourself stepping into a beautiful and creative power you might never have imagined.”
Weaving shamanic teachings together with stories, examples, and guiding insights, The Book of Ceremony explores:
• The elements of a powerful ceremony—including setting strong intentions, choosing your space, preparing ceremonial items, and dealing gracefully with the unexpected
• Stepping into the sacred—key practices for leaving behind your everyday concerns and creating a space where magic can happen
• Guidance for working alone, in community, and across distances with virtual ceremonies
• Invoking spiritual allies—the power of working with the elements, the natural world, ancestor spirits, and the creative energy of the divine
• Sacred transitions—including ceremonies for weddings, births, rites of passage to adulthood, funerals, honorable closure, and new beginnings
• Ceremonies for energetic balance—healing and blessing, resolving sacred contracts, getting rid of limiting beliefs, creating Prayer Trees, and more
• Life as a ceremony—how to infuse your entire life with ceremonial practice, from planting a garden to revitalizing your home or office to helping heal our planet
The Book of Ceremony is more than a “how-to” guide—it will inspire you to create original ceremonies tailored to your own needs and the needs of your community. When you invoke the sacred power of ceremony, you tap into one of the oldest and most effective tools for transforming both yourself and the world. As Sandra writes, “If you perform one powerful and successful ceremony for yourself, the principle of oneness ensures that all of life heals and evolves.”
Why?
Everyone has certain rituals that they do. Whether it be daily or annually, there are many things that we do as humans that signify something greater. Sandra Ingerman fully explores what rituals really are, and how these ceremonies are different and unique between all of our cultures and lifestyles, while maintaining emphasis on the spiritual significance these special occurrences and traditions. For anyone looking to get in touch with their beliefs and spirituality, this is the book for you!