 After years of searching, I’ve finally found a book club worthy of joining. The Spooky Little Book Club is run by Miranda, the blogger at Spooky Little Halloween Blog. It’s a group of like minded book lovers who want to read books that are spooky, supernatural, or fit in the Halloween culture. The book club exists on Facebook, so you don’t have to leave your house. Each quarter the group votes on a book that fits a spooky theme. Once the book is chosen you have some time before the group discussion questions start. So, you can join in the fun on your own time.
I joined the group a couple days after they had voted on a witch themed book. They had chosen, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Perfect. I had seen the movie when I was younger, but it had been awhile and I didn’t really remember it. I checked the book out at the local library and couldn’t put it down. I read the whole thing a couple of days. I’m pretty sure this is the only book I have returned on time, no fine. Don’t worry I won’t give anything away, no spoilers. The book is about so much more than witches. It’s about women coming together and empowering each other. It’s about fate and accepting who you really are. And it’s beautifully written. I fell in love with the perfectly described scenes in the book. I was excited to re-watch the movie after I got through the book. I loved the book so much and while I was reading I could see Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman moving through the words. But then the movie didn’t really do it for me. Maybe this article about how the movie was actually cursed by a real witch explains why. I think mainly I didn’t like the music choices and that strong, magical feeling I felt in the book didn’t come through in the movie. Although, the costume and set design in the movie was perfection. That alone is reason enough to watch the movie. Interesting fact I didn’t know. The actual house was a prop and didn’t have anything inside. Each room was actually built in L.A. for filming. I am definitely a new fan of Alice Hoffman and look forward to reading the sequel, The Rules of Magic: A Novel. I am also looking forward to the next round of book voting and to see what the Spooky Little Book Club has coming up. Join the group here. |