s*book*y season | the all hallows book tag

Hello again, friends, and happy Halloween 🎃 I don’t know why, but this year I’ve been particularly in the mood for autumn and spooky season. So, naturally, I wanted to celebrate, and what better way to do so than with a book tag? I discovered the “All Hallows Book Tag” (created by the bookstagrammer @QuiriniusReads) over at Sifa Elizabeth Reads and I just knew I wanted to join in on the fun! So without any further ado, let’s check out my answers!

this or that

🍂pumpkin spice latte or hot chocolate☕

I’m a hot chocolate girly, although I typically associate that particular drink more with winter and Christmas. I don’t mind pumpkin spice latte, but I’m not a big coffee drinker (I know, my Lebanese card is suspended, lol!), so it’s not really my fall go-to. For autumn I usually really enjoy spiced chai or a good ol’ hot spiced cider, though!

🧛🏻vampires or werewolves🐺

To be or to fight? 😅 I think if I am choosing one to be, I’d go with werewolves, cause traditionally werewolves only have to deal with actually being a werewolf during the full moon, but the rest of the time they’re a normal, unrestricted human (whereas a vampire can only go out during night and can only enter houses they’re invited into and are limited to only drinking blood, so they’re quite restricted).

💀horror anthology or spooky standalone👻

I’m a big scaredy cat/anxious girly, so I’m not really a fan of horror, thus having to read multiple horror short stories in a row sounds like my own personal nightmare! Meanwhile, “spooky” has a much more fun—even silly—connotation to me. So I’ll take the spooky standalone.

🏠haunted house or enchanted forest🌳

Y’all know I’m a big fantasy reader, so how could I ever resist the allure of an enchanted forest?! Plus, an enchanted forest gives you the option to experience all kinds of monsters and magical creatures (both friendly and not so friendly) whereas a haunted house typically boasts only ghosts.

🗡️sinister villain or morally gray hero🏹

Both! I’m a big fan of either or both in my stories, so long as they’re well-written and have compelling stories.

✒️historical horror or futuristic dystopia⚙️

Neither!!! As I mentioned previously, I’m quite the anxious scaredy cat, so almost all horror is a no-go for me. In addition, I’m also old enough to have lived and read through the mid to late 2010s YA dystopian craze and I think I’ve read enough dystopian fiction to satisfy me for the rest of my life—reading any more would be too much for me, lol!

🎧eerily narrated audio copy or creepy art physical copy🖌️

Definitely an eerily narrated audio copy! First of all, I almost exclusively read using audiobooks. Second of all, I feel like eerie narration can really add to the atmoshere all the way through a novel. One of my favorite audiobooks, The Diviners by Libba Bray, has creepy narration all done by January LaVoie, and it’s absolutely incredible and elevates the story so much!!

🗝️dark academia or paranormal🩸

This is a tough one! I think I have to go with dark academia, though. I’ve always been a stellar student who genuinely enjoys learning, so I feel like I’d excel in a dark academia storyline.

☀️daylight reader or nighttime reader🌙

I guess both? I tend to read when I have the time and usually that’s in the evening, but sometimes I find moments during the day to read as well.

🕯️dark book nook or cozy reading corner✨

I love a good cozy reading corner. I’m not a big fan of dark and dim spaces, so a dark book nook would drive me nuts. I prefer cozying up with some pillows and a fluffy blanket whilst surrounded by books and fairy lights.

more questions…

📚what are your favorite spooky season genres?📚

Fantasy is my favorite genre year-round, but during spooky season I like to match the seasonal mood by reading witchy fantasies and/or more paranormal fantasies!

📕which titles do you recommend for halloween?📕

My biggest book recommendation for spooky season is The Diviners by Libba Bray—especially the audiobook format! It’s a YA historical paranormal fantasy with some horror elements and is about teens in NYC in the 1920s who find they have mysterious superpowers that might connect them to several sinister forces. As I mentioned above, the audiobook narrator—January LaVoie—gives an absolutely OUTSTANDING performance. She’s like, the epitome of the audiobook narration version of a “one woman show.” Her narration is so spooky and dramatic, I just love it!!!

📖what are your most anticipated reads this month?📖

Since we’re at the end of the month now (oops) I don’t really have any more anticipated reads, unfortunately. That said, this month I’ve been reading my way through A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft and A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney, and I’ve been really enjoying both. Of the two, A Dark and Secret Magic is the one that’s much more “Halloween-y” given it’s about a hedge witch and a necromancer and takes place around Halloween. But still, A Dark and Drowning Tide is a dark academia fantasy, so it still fits in with an autumnal theme.

👻have you ever had a paranormal experience?👻

No, but I also believe that if on the off chance ghosts/spirits are real, they’re probably not malicious.

🎞️what are your favorite spooky season tv series and/or movies?🎞️

I’ve been watching the new Marvel miniseries Agatha All Along lately, and I think it’s the perfect spoopy Halloween-time watch! It’s about witches, but it’s not at all scary, so perfect for my tastes! Another witchy TV series I’m a big fan of is Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. It’s a bit darker and has some horror-lite elements, but it’s also very campy and just an all-around fun time. Of course, ever since Wednesday dropped last year, I also think it’s a good spooky season watch. It’s got that Addams Family kooky charm while still being very well adapted for modern day. My final recommendation is the TV series School Spirits, which is a YA murder mystery involving the ghosts of students who died in their high school. It’s surprisingly moving, but also has plenty of humorous and mysterious moments too.

🎃how do you celebrate halloween?🎃

My family and I love to decorate the outside of our house for Halloween! Beyond the standard jack-o-lanterns, we usually also put up lights and floating with hats and ghosts.

spill the beans, friends!

• How do you celebrate Halloween?
• What are your favorite spooky season reads?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.