Haunted Pages: A Halloween Book Lounge Special | Book Lounge by Libby Season 2 Episode 4

It’s a monster-mash of an episode! We’re going big for spooky season with horror favorites, eerie insights, and enough book recommendations to haunt your TBR straight through Halloween. 

In this king-sized candy bar of a Halloween special, Joe is joined by horror icons Rachel Harrison and Ryan La Sala to chat about how the horror space has evolved, what sets YA apart from Adult horror, and why readers are craving fear like never before.  

Then, stick around for a double feature of horror recommendations from Amy, Bre, Jananie, and Kayla—plus during the mid-episode break Joe shares a few not-so-scary reads from our friends at Kensington Books. 

Whether you’re a longtime horror lover or a scaredy cat in search of your next gateway read, this episode is packed with chills, laughs, and plenty of books to keep you up all night. 

Guest host recommendations: 

Amy Allen Clark 

• One Yellow Eye - Leigh Radford 

• The Scald-Crow - Grace Daly 

Bre  

• Cutthroat – Octavia Grant 

• This Cursed House by Del Sandeen 

• Flowers of the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn 

Jananie K. Velu 

• An Academy for Liars – Alexis Henderson 

• Natural Beauty - Ling Ling Huang 

• Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

Kayla 

• I Was a Teenage Slasher – Stephen Graham Jones 

• When the Wolf Comes Home – Nat Cassidy 

• Rest Stop – Nat Cassidy 

Joe 

• Bad Dreams in the Night & Let Me in Your Window – Adam Ellis 

• Haunted – Chuck Palahniuk 

Follow the guests & guest hosts:  

Segment 1: 

• Rachel Harrison – Website 

• Ryan La Sala - Website 

Segment 2:  

• Amy Allen Clark - Links 

• Bre – Links 

• Jananie K. Velu – Links 

• Kayla – Links

Time stamps: 

00:00:00 Title 

00:00:24 Intro 

00:02:52 Segment 1 with Rachel Harrison & Ryan La Sala 

01:00:36 BREAK – Some not-so-scary Halloween Recs 

01:03:15 Segment 2 pt. 1 Horror Recs with Kayla & Jananie 

01:38:22 Segment 2 pt. 2 Horror Recs with Amy & Bre 

02:21:11 Outro 

Readers can sample and borrow the titles mentioned in today’s episode in Libby. Library friends can add these titles to their digital collections for free in OverDrive Marketplace and Kanopy. Check out our Cumulative List for the whole season, or this list for today’s episode! 

Looking for more bookish content? Check out the Libby Life Blog! 

We hope you enjoy this episode of Book Lounge by Libby. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen! You can watch the video version of our show on the Libby App YouTube channel. Keep up with us on social media by following the Libby App on Instagram!  

Want to reach out? Send an email to bookloungebylibby@overdrive.com. Want some cool bookish swag? Check out our merch store at: http://plotthreadsshop.com/booklounge! 

Book List for the Episode:

Books by Rachel Harrison:

Bad Dolls – Rachel Harrison 

The Return – Rachel Harrison 

Cackle – Rachel Harrison 

Such Sharp Teeth – Rachel Harrison 

Black Sheep – Rachel Harrison 

So Thirsty – Rachel Harrison 

Play Nice – Rachel Harrison 

Books by Ryan La Sala:

Reverie – Ryan La Sala 

Be Dazzled – Ryan La Sala 

The Honeys – Ryan La Sala 

Beholder – Ryan La Sala 

The Dead of Summer – Ryan La Sala 

Books Mentioned in the Episode:  

Maeve Fly - CJ Leede 

The Possession of Alba Diaz – Isabel Cañas 

Model Home - Rivers Solomon 

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke- Eric Larocca 

Hungerstone - Kat Dunn 

Your Lonely Nights are Over - Adam Sass 

Grown – Tiffany D. Jackson 

Their Vicious Games - Joelle Wellington 

Catherine House - Elisabeth Thomas 

Bunny & We Love You, Bunny – Mona Awad 

All’s Well – Mona Awad 

Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield 

The Year of the Witching – Alexis Henderson 

House of Hunger – Alexis Henderson 

Horror Movie – Paul Tremblay 

Diavola – Jennifer Thorne 

How to Sell a Haunted House – Grady Hendrix 

Zeal – Morgan Jerkins 

160 Black Women in Horror - Website

Recommended in Segment 2:

One Yellow Eye - Leigh Radford 

The Scald-Crow - Grace Daly 

Cutthroat – Octavia Grant 

This Cursed House by Del Sandeen 

Flowers of the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn 

An Academy for Liars – Alexis Henderson 

Natural Beauty - Ling Ling Huang 

Mexican Gothic – Silvia Moreno-Garcia 

I Was a Teenage Slasher – Stephen Graham Jones 

When the Wolf Comes Home – Nat Cassidy 

Rest Stop – Nat Cassidy 

Bad Dreams in the Night & Let Me in Your Window – Adam Ellis 

Haunted – Chuck Palahniuk 

Break Recommendations: 

The Café Between Pumpkin and Pie - Marina Adair, Kate Angell, Stacy Finz 

Halloween Night Murder - Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, Liz Ireland 

A Letter to Three Witches & The Witch Hitch – Elizabeth Bass