Monster Mash

Ghouls and goblins

run and play,

while witches of lore

cast their spells, 

vampires and werewolves

hunt their prey,

as the undead are released

from the depths of hell.

Halloween is creeping up and beckoning us to indulge in the tales of the darkest creatures to ever enter the depths of our imaginations.

The world of Lore: monstrous creatures by Mahnke, Aaron

"The first book in a three-volume collection, The World of Lore : Monstrous Creatures shares the incredible true stories that inspired the legends of famous monsters, from werewolves to wendigo to the Jersey Devil"-- Provided by publisher.

"They live in shadows--deep in the forest, late in the night, in the dark recesses of our minds. They're spoken of in stories and superstitions, relics of an unenlightened age, old wives' tales, passed down through generations. Yet no matter how wary and jaded we have become, as individuals or as a society, a part of us remains vulnerable to them: werewolves and wendigos, poltergeists and vampires, angry elves and vengeful spirits. In this illustrated volume, the host of the hit podcast Lore serves as a guide on a fascinating journey through the history of these terrifying creatures, exploring not only the legends but what they tell us about ourselves ..."-- Amazon.com.

A cosmology of monsters: a novel by Hamill, Shaun

A tender and terrifying literary horror novel, the author's debut tells the story of a family that created a haunted house attraction called the Wandering Dark and the hereditary monsters--both metaphorical and all-too-real--that haunt them. 

The angel of the crows by Addison, Katherine.

In an alternate 1880s London, angels inhabit every public building, and vampires and werewolves walk the streets with human beings in a well-regulated truce. A fantastic utopia, except for a few things: Angels can Fall, and that Fall is like a nuclear bomb in both the physical and metaphysical worlds. And human beings remain human, with all their kindness and greed and passions and murderous intent. Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of this London too. But this London has an Angel. The Angel of the Crows.

The Southern book club's guide to slaying vampires by Hendrix, Grady

"A supernatural thriller set in South Carolina in the '90s about a women's book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious stranger who turns out to be a real monster"-- Provided by publisher.

The year of the witching by Henderson, Alexis

"A young woman living in a rigid, repressive society discovers dark powers within herself, with terrifying and far-reaching consequences, in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut. In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet's word is the law, Immanuelle Moore's very existence is blasphemy. The daughter of a union with an outsider that cast her once-proud family into disgrace, Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the women in the settlement. But a chance mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still walking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the diary of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood. Fascinated by secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her"-- Provided by publisher.

The widow of Pale Harbor by Fox, Hester

Gabriel Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that haunt him in Massachusetts after his wife's death, so he moves to Maine, taking a position as a minister in the remote village of Pale Harbor. But not all is as it seems in the sleepy town. Strange, unsettling things have been happening, and the townspeople claim that only one person can be responsible: Sophronia Carver, a reclusive widow who must be a witch.

Full wolf moon: a novel by Child, Lincoln

Traveling to an isolated writers' retreat deep in the Adirondacks, Jeremy Logan, an investigator who specializes in unexplained phenomena, discovers a dead hiker whose wounds suggest an unnatural attack before encountering numerous suspects and a woman scientist struggling with the death of her father.

Lobizona by Garber, Romina

When her mother is arrested by ICE, sixteen-year-old Argentinian Manu -- who thinks she is hiding in a Miami apartment because she is an undocumented immigrant -- discovers that her entire existence is illegal.

As an undocumented immigrant on the run from her father's Argentine crime-family, Manuela Azul is confined to a small apartment and a small life in Miami, Florida. Then her surrogate grandmother is attacked, lifelong lies are exposed, and her mother is arrested by ICE. Without a home, without answers, Manu investigates the only clue she has about her past: a mysterious "Z" emblem. It leads her to a secret world connected to her dead father and his criminal past. A world straight out of Argentine folklore, where the seventh consecutive daughter is born a bruja and the seventh consecutive son is a lobizón, a werewolf. A world where her unusual eyes allow her to belong. It's not just her U.S. residency that's illegal-- it's her entire existence. -- adapted from jacket

Welcome to Deadland by Linville, Zachary Tyler

When a deadly virus is unleashed, the last few survivors become humanity's only hope. The symptoms include animalistic rage and a hunger for human flesh. But it is the group's own inner demons that must be overcome in order to save not only themselves but the last vestiges of humanity.

The living dead: a new novel by Romero, George A.

"Set in the present day, The Living Dead is an entirely new tale, the story of the zombie plague as George A. Romero wanted to tell it. A pair of medical examiners find themselves battling a dead man who won't stay dead. In a Midwestern trailer park, a Black teenage girl and a Muslim immigrant battle newly-risen friends and family. On a US aircraft carrier, living sailors hide from dead ones while a fanatic makes a new religion out of death. At a cable news station, a surviving anchor keeps broadcasting while his undead colleagues try to devour him. In DC, an autistic federal employee charts the outbreak, preserving data for a future that may never come."--Provided by publisher.

It                   World War Z

History: United States of America

As we prepare ourselves to celebrate the 4th of July, it's no better time to study up on U.S. History. After all, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana

The American Revolution by Bruce Lancaster

Chronicles the Revolutionary War, describing the making of the army, the search for allies overseas, and the roles of the military and civilians in the fight against the British.

The Radicals of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood

A grand and immensely readable synthesis of historical, political, cultural, and economic analysis that the New York Times Book Review called "the most important study of the American Revolution to appear in over twenty years."

Bury my heart at Wounded Knee : an Indian history of the American West by Dee Alexander Brown

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is Dee Brown's eloquent, fully documented account of the systematic destruction of the American Indian during the second half of the nineteenth century. A national bestseller in hardcover for more than a year after its initial publication, it has sold almost four million copies and has been translated into seventeen languages. For this elegant thirtieth-anniversary hardcover edition, Brown has contributed an incisive new preface. Using council records, autobiographies, and firsthand descriptions, Brown allows the great chiefs and warriors of the Dakota, Ute, Sioux, Cheyenne, and other tribes to tell us in their own words of the battles, massacres, and broken treaties that finally left them demoralized and defeated. A unique and disturbing narrative told with force and clarity, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee changed forever our vision of how the West was really won.

Lies across America : what our historic sites get wrong by James W. Loewen

Overturning the myths and misinformation that too often pass for American history. This is a one-of-a-kind examination of historic sites all over the country where history is literally written on the landscape, including historical markers, monuments, historic houses, forts, and ships.

Beyond the river: the untold story of the heroes of the Underground Railroad by Ann Hagedorn

"The decades preceding the Civil War were rife with fierce sectarian violence along the borders between slave and free states. The Ohio River was one such border. Here in the river towns of Ohio and Kentucky, abolitionists and slave chasers confronted each other during the "war before the war." Slave masters and bounty hunters chased runaway slaves from Kentucky into Ohio, hoping to catch their quarry before the slaves disappeared on the underground path to freedom. In the river town of Ripley, the slave hunters inevitably confronted John Rankin and his determined, courageous colleagues. One of the early abolitionist leaders, Rankin began his career when he wrote a series of letters denouncing his brother's recent purchase of a slave in Virginia. The letters were collected and published as Letters on American Slavery and influenced William Lloyd Garrison, among others. Rankin, a Presbyterian minister, and a farmer, bought property on a high hilltop overlooking Ripley and the Ohio River. His house was visible for miles into Kentucky, and he hung a lantern at night to help guide runaways. He and his fellow abolitionists, both black and white, formed the front line of freedom, and some of them paid a high price for it. In 1838, abolitionist John B. Mahan, a colleague of Rankin's, was lured into a trap and transported to Kentucky for one of the most celebrated trials of the era. Charged with breaking Kentucky laws, even though he had not been in the state for nearly twenty years, he was imprisoned in a windowless cell for three months, shackled at his wrists and ankles. At his trial, slaveholders tried in vain to identify and break the Ripley line "conductors." Another celebrated conductor on the Ripley line, John Parker, a former slave himself, was regarded as the most daring of the Ohio abolitionists. He made dozens of trips across the river into Kentucky to bring out slaves trying to escape, risking his life and his own freedom every time."--Jacket.

The buffalo hunters: the story of the hide men by Mari Sandoz

The destruction of the great herds of buffalo is the theme ofThe Buffalo Hunters

Conversations in black: on power, politics, and leadership by Ed Gordon

Hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and inspiring, Conversations in Black offers sage wisdom for navigating race in a radically divisive America, and, with help from his mighty team of black intelligentsia, veteran journalist Ed Gordon creates hope and a timeless new narrative on what the future of black leadership should look like and how we can get there.

American queenmaker: how Missy Meloney brought women into politics by Des Jardins, Julie

"Marie 'Missy' Mattingly Meloney was born in 1878, in an America where women couldn't vote. Yet she recognized the power that women held as consumers and family decision-makers, and persuaded male publishers and politicians to take them seriously. Over the course of her life as a journalist, magazine editor-in-chief, and political advisor, Missy created the idea of the female demographic. After the passage of the 19th Amendment, she encouraged candidates to engage with and appeal to women directly. In this role, she advised Presidents from Hoover and Coolidge to FDR. By the time she died in 1943, women were a recognized political force to be reckoned with. In this groundbreaking biography, historian Julie Des Jardins restores Missy to her rightful place in American history"-- Provided by publisher.

Driving while black: African American travel and the road to civil rights by Sorin, Gretchen Sullivan

"The ultimate symbol of independence and possibility, the automobile has shaped this country from the moment the first Model T rolled off Henry Ford's assembly line. Yet cars have always held distinct importance for African Americans, allowing black families to evade the many dangers presented by an entrenched racist society and to enjoy, in some measure, the freedom of the open road. Gretchen Sorin recovers a forgotten history of black motorists, and recounts their creation of a parallel, unseen world of travel guides, black only hotels, and informal communications networks that kept black drivers safe. At the heart of this story is Victor and Alma Green's famous Green Book, begun in 1936, which made possible that most basic American right, the family vacation, and encouraged a new method of resisting oppression. Enlivened by Sorin's personal history, Driving While Black opens an entirely new view onto the African American experience, and shows why travel was so central to the Civil Rights movement"-- Provided by publisher.

Imperfect union: how Jessie and John Frémont mapped the West, invented celebrity and helped cause the Civil War by Inskeep, Steve

"Steve Inskeep tells the riveting story of John and Jessie Frémont, the husband and wife team who in the 1800s were instrumental in the westward expansion of the United States, and thus became America's first great political couple John Frémont grew up amid family tragedy and shame. Born out of wedlock in 1813, he went to work at age thirteen to help support his family in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a nobody. Yet, by the 1840s, he rose to become one of the most acclaimed people of the age -- known as a wilderness explorer, bestselling writer, gallant army officer, and latter-day conquistador, who in 1846 began the United States' takeover of California from Mexico. He was a celebrity who personified the country's westward expansion. Mountains, towns, ships, and streets were named after him. How did he climb so far? A vital factor was his wife, Jessie Benton Frémont, the daughter of a powerful United States senator. Jessie wanted to play roles in politics and exploration, which were then reserved for men. Frustrated, she threw her skill and passion into promoting her husband. Ordered by the US Army to map the Oregon Trail, John traveled thousands of miles on horseback, indifferent to his safety and that of the other members of his expeditions. When he returned home, Jessie helped him to shape dramatic reports of his adventures, which were reprinted in newspapers and bound as popular books. Jessie became his political adviser and a power player in her own right. In 1856, the famous couple strategized as John became the first-ever presidential nominee of the newly established Republican Party. The party had been founded in opposition to slavery, and though both Frémonts were Southerners they became symbols of the cause. With rare detail and in consummate style, Steve Inskeep tells the story of a couple whose joint ambitions and talents intertwined with those of the nascent United States itself. Americans linked the Frémonts with not one but three great social movements of the time -- westward settlement, women's rights, and opposition to slavery. Theirs is a surprisingly modern story of ambition and fame; they lived in a time of globalization, technological disruption, and divisive politics that foreshadowed our own. The Frémonts' adventures amount to nothing less than a tour of the early American soul"-- Provided by publisher.

Additional Links:

Societal Impacts of the American Revolution

Revolutionary War

Wounded Knee Massacre,

The Underground Railroad

Where the Buffalo No Longer Roamed

A brief history of women in American politics

Civil Rights Movement

Causes Of The Civil War

Revolutionary Reads

I have consumed a lot of fiction in my life but, outside of school, I can't seem to remember ever reading any historical fiction that centers around the Revolutionary War. With all the historical romances I read, one would think there had to have been some, but all I can recall is Westerns, Civil War, and the Regency Period. The Fourth of July is coming up and this lack of Revolution Fiction in my life needs rectifying, and in case anyone else is feeling the same, here's a list of Revolutionary reads to check out.

The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton

1773: The Massachusetts colony is torn between patriots who want independence and loyalists who support the King. At the center is the educated and beautiful Abigail Adams -- wife of John Adams, the leader of the Sons of Liberty, a secret organization opposing the Crown. When a murder occurs in the home of their friend and fellow patriot, John is accused and Abby must uncover a conspiracy that could cost them their freedom.

The Whiskey Rebel by David List

Ethan Saunders, a former spy for George Washington, is recruited by Alexander Hamilton to find his ex-fiancee's missing husband. Meanwhile, Joan Maycott and her veteran husband, amid hardship and deprivation on the western Pennsylvania frontier, find unlikely friendship and a chance for prosperity with a new method of distilling whiskey. The Maycotts' success however attracts the brutal attention of men in Hamilton's orbit, men who threaten to destroy all Joan holds dear. As their causes intertwine, Joan and Saunders--both patriots in their own way--find themselves on opposing sides of a daring scheme that will forever change their lives and their new country.

Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara

More than a powerful portrait of the people and purpose of the American Revolution, "Rise to Rebellion" is a fictionalized account of history's most pivotal events: The Boston Tea Party, the battle of Concord, and of Bunker Hill. The author of the bestselling "Gods and Generals" and "The Last Full Measure" reveals with new immediacy how philosophers became fighters and how a scattered group of colonies became the United States of America.

Mount Vernon Love Story by Mary Higgins Clark

The role of the leader came naturally to George Washington, the first president of the United States, and the man revered as the father of his country. But when it came to the social aspects of life in the mid 18th century, he was both awkward and insecure, and finally it was only through the love of a woman that he found happiness.

The Fort by Bernard Cornwell

After the British establish a fort on the Penobscot River, the Massachusetts patriots--among them General Peleg Wadsworth and Colonel Paul Revere--mount an expedition to oust the redcoats.

Burr: A Novel by Gore Vidal

Burr is the opening volume in Gore Vidal's great fictional chronicle of American history, each of which is being republished in the Modern Library. Re-creates the American political scene of the early 1800s, seen through the memoirs of Aaron Burr.

The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith

Set in a small coastal town in North Carolina during the waning years of the American Revolution, this debut novel follows three generations of family--fathers and daughters, mother and son, master and slave, characters who yearn for redemption amidst a heady brew of war, kidnapping, slavery, and love.

Charleston by John Jakes

From the "New York Times" bestselling author who "makes history come brilliantly alive" ("The Washington Post Book World") comes a novel that spans decades and generations--from the American Revolution through the downfall of the Confederacy--in Jakes's most ambitious work yet.

My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray

Tells the story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. Tells not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal - but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.-- Provided by publisher.

Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati

A judge's daughter elopes with a white adventurer in Colonial America. Elizabeth arrived from England to marry a doctor but is smitten by Nathaniel, a man raised by the Mohawks. The doctor, however, refuses to give her up and pursues them.