It’s that time of year when you begin to feel a chill in the air, the dark nights start to get longer and you yearn to curl up with a suspenseful tale. We get your October mood and have compiled some Spooky reading suggestions–with links to finding a GHOUL’D, no, the BEST prices online using BookScouter. No need to get scared–our pricing tool does all the price searching for you. So check out our list, but BEWARE of what great books you may find.

Classic Horror- you know the stories but have you read the tale?

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury 

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Made into a movie-try the original source material that inspired the film

The Birds by Daphne DuMaurier

Hellraiser by Clive Barker

Carrie by Stephen King

The Shining by Stephen King

Psycho by Robert Bloch

The Exorcist by William Peter Blattey

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Vamps, Witches, and Werewolves- take a bite out of one of these series

Stephanie Myers – The Twilight Series

Cassandra Claire – The Mortal Instruments Series 

Anne Rice – Vampire Chronicles 

Deborah Harkness – All Souls Trilogy 

Maggie Stiefvater – The Wolves of Mercy Falls 

Christine Johnson – Claire de Lune series

Short stories- great to read out loud if you dare

Edgar Allan Poe – There are various collections of his short stories

Alvin Schwartz – Three Volumes of Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark 

Henry James – The Turn of the Screw and Other Ghost Stories 

Too Scary–you may wish you hadn’t read

The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson

The Shining – Stephen King

Carrion Comfort – Dan Simmons

Ghost Story – Peter Straub

Bird Box – Josh Malerman

Not too scary–share with your little monsters

Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman – Washington Irving 

Ghosts in the House! – Kazuno Kohara

The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt – Riel Nason

Creepy Pair of Underwear! – Aaron Reynolds

Herbert’s First Halloween – Cynthia Rylant and Steven Henry

Zombelina – Kristyn crow and Molly Idle

How to Catch a Monster – Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton

Bonaparte Falls Apart – Marjorie Cuyler

Scooby-Doo: A Haunted Halloween – Gail Herman

And finally, you don’t have to take our word on it. Here are a few other lists of spooky Halloween reads: 

Goodreads Halloween 

Oprah Best Halloween Books 

Read It Forward Halloween Books to Spook Your Socks Off

Best Halloween Picture Books 

Buzzfeed 13 Witchy Tales to Keep you Spellbound 

To get in the proper horror reading mood, check out this video for a reading of “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe read by Vincent Price, Christopher Walken, James Earl Jones, and Christopher Lee.

Itching to read a good page-turner? Just finish the final book in a multi-volume series? Need to make a vetted suggestion for your next book club? Here are five ideas on how to find your next great read…

Idea No. 1

BookScouter has just formed a partnership with Goodreads which is a popular destination for finding book reading recommendations. Simply tell them what books you’ve enjoyed reading in the past and they will present you with some great options. And you can link socially to friends and family to see what they’re reading or search through their book reviews. And the beauty of the BookScouter partnership is you can add us as a preferred “store” (under account settings Book Links tab) when you find a book you want to buy and it will link to our site to search for the best price through our large offering of online vendors. 

BookRiot is another great spot to find book recommendations. They are the largest independent editorial site in the U.S. and focus on covering a wide range for diverse readers. They have podcasts, blogs, or you can sign-up for more personalized recommendations and exclusive content. Their EPIC BOOK READ is a quarterly book club with options for short stories, novels and epic reads for a low monthly price. 

Idea No. 2

Award lists are a good go-to for finding a book. National and international lists appear annually such as the Pulitzer, Nobel, Booker, Newbery, and many more.  And you can challenge yourself to complete an award list by going back decades to find selections. Or you can select award lists based upon a favorite genre to find the best Sci-Fi offerings for example. Likewise, you can view lists based on sales such as the New York Times Bestsellers list. 

Idea No. 3

Another great way to find a good book suggestion is to join a book club. Often a book club will challenge members to try offerings outside their standard selections. And because you want to join in the discussions there is a motivation to finish the book. You can find book clubs at local libraries, online, in Facebook groups, or start your own with a group of friends or associates. 

• 10 Virtual Book Clubs You Can Join Now—And How to Start Your Own 

Idea No. 4 

Don’t be afraid to work your connections. Hit up friends and family who are readers. Notice when someone mentions a book on social media and jot it down for later. Follow the hashtag #bookstagram on Instagram. Have a favorite guru? Often they produce reading lists you can find online. Search engines can be your best source of inspiration. 

• Books I Always Recommend to Friends
• All the books on Friends 

Idea No. 5

And finally, our last idea for finding book recommendations is to judge a book by its cover. Browse a library or bookstore, view covers online, and see what catches your eye then read a synopsis or review. You might capture your mood that day and find inspiration from a cover that resonates with you at the moment. 

Happy Hunting and good luck finding your next great read! 

Common Mistakes Students Make With Money

Part of the learning experience of being a college student is managing your own finances for the first time.  That independence can also introduce a wealth of pitfalls!  Here are some common mistakes students make with money and how you can avoid them.

Failing to Set a Budget

Start by determining a budget. Items to include in your budget: any monthly bills, expenses like groceries, miscellaneous charges, and a fund to cover unexpected expenses. Know how much ‘fun money’ you can spend each month and when it’s gone, stop spending! It may sound simple but you need to have a handle on your income and be able to distinguish needs from wants. 

Now is the best time to learn smart budgeting habits that can benefit you beyond college. Here are some tips to learn how to set a budget or try a free and easy app like Mint that automatically helps set up a budget you can customize. 

Letting Credit Card Debt Add Up

How much is a t-shirt worth?  Financial institutions often offer enticements like t-shirts or discounts if you apply for their credit card.  However, if you don’t pay off the balance every month, the interest piles up fast.  Not only does each item you charged end up costing a lot more than you bargained for, but this will affect your credit score as well. 

DaveRamsey.com advises students “…credit card companies take advantage of this lack of knowledge by making college students—especially incoming college freshmen—their target audience…The college-bound kids you know will more than likely fall into this trap of “normal” unless you arm them now before it’s too late! They don’t realize that the decisions they will make in the next four years can affect them for the next 40 years.” 

Overspending Financial Aid

Some financial aid will let you apply funding towards eligible living expenses like housing, food, and school supplies. But that doesn’t mean you can go crazy with expensive meals and over-the-top decor. Read “Seven Ways Students Overspend” in this article and don’t fall into these traps 

Students should understand that their funding has to last throughout the semester. Try to use it to pay for only necessary items. Then if you have money left over at the end of the semester, they can roll it forward to use for the next semester, which cuts down the amount of money you will need to borrow.

Not Shopping Smart

Watch for items that can make you easily overspend; tech, clothes, food, textbooks.  Do you need the brand name or would a less-expensive substitute suffice? Doing your homework on price comparisons can save you a pretty penny.  One of the best ways to shop smart is to use the Textbook Price Comparison Tool at BookScouter.com to see the best prices to Buy, Rent, and Sell textbooks. 

Don’t miss the chances to save money as a student–get student discounts, use the campus facilities to save money on a gym membership, attend free events at school rather than paying to go out. 

Not Scheduling Classes Right or Failing a Class

At first glance, this might seem like a small thing, but it can still cost you in the long run. 

If a student wants to drop a class and do it before the deadline, it’s fine. But if you miss it there are fines, which is just wasted money. And failing a class is even worse.  In both cases, you’ve also lost time by missing a chance to take a class to help graduate on time. Even adding a single additional semester adds up financially and could delay graduation. It could also mean that you have an overloaded semester to make up the difference which is a bigger strain on your time. 

Extra time in school means more than just extra tuition, it means years of lost wages, and less money put into retirement. So prepare wisely to avoid mistakes with your schedule and use resources like your college advisor to plan out a clear path to graduation. 

In conclusion, for many young people, college is their first money management experience. One of the leading reasons that students drop out of college is because of finances – which is often due to poor money management. See the bigger picture with a long future ahead of you and learn how to make better decisions with your money!