Welcome to Litsy!

A family drama with a river monster? Yes, please.
I read it over 6 months as it was originally published, and I think that is the ideal way to take in the Caskey saga. Savor it! I want to recommend it to my horror-loving friend who lent me Buddenbrooks, if that tells you anything. McDowell brings the characters to life with his descriptions and dialogue and I was invested in each of their stories. I wanted to restart it before I was finished.

Don‘t mind me, just over here crying into my book. Oh my god, I love these characters so much. It‘s the most amazing thing, to have a moving family epic that incorporates a water monster and some truly grisly murders.

I didn't need to start a new family saga, but this cover is too good and the book goes straight to the wishlist.
#wishlist #tbr

Such a lovely edition!
It's smaller than normal, really like a pocketbook. And with this engraved, metallic cover.
I hope the story will be good too 😁

This is an awesome audiobook.

A southern gothic, generational family saga with a supernatural twist, it‘s 100% engrossing. I never wanted it to end. I was so invested in all of these characters, especially the mysterious Elinor, and all of the sometimes funny, sometimes perplexing things they did. The book is labeled as horror, but this isn‘t really a scary book at all, and it‘s so much more than any one genre. McDowell was brilliant.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@TheAromaofBooks Ready for #bookbingo for September! I have to post about August‘s #doublespin but will do that on Tuesday after the book club discussion. 📚📚📚

I found out about this series last year during #screamathon when I read Paperbacks from Hell. It follows a family through all sorts of creepy events and is definitely worth the read if you enjoy gothic horror.

#screamathonphotochallenge Day 23. #ancestors @4thhouseontheleft

It's not even 5 AM and I've got a #blameitonlitsy purchase. Southern Gothic set in Alabama written by an Alabama native. Yes, please! I'm glad @Sweettartlaura posted about it 😊

This is a great Southern Gothic story of the Caskey clan over several generations. At the heart of it is Elinor, a woman who appears in Perdido in the midst of a flood in 1919. She becomes an integral part of the family, for better & for worse.
At the heart of it, this is about family, and being a big enough family to accept lots of differences. Still not sure I‘m convinced that having Elinor around was a fair trade 🤔
Great on audio 👍🏻 🎧

Blackwater by far the best of the month and one of my few 5 star reads this year.

#augustwrapup

Another Southern Gothic gem from McDowell. It starts with a massive flood having hit Alabama and two men in a boat who go out to survey the damage. In the only hotel in town they find a woman trapped inside the second floor. They rescue her, but who she is, why she was there and even what she is a mystery.
🐊🧡🐊🧡🐊
#Screamathon @4thhouseontheleft

When I was about halfway through The Elementals, I decided I wanted to read as much of McDowell‘s work that I can get my hands on. I have Cold Moon Over Babylon, but I‘m also interested in his Blackwater saga. It was originally published in 6 books, but Valancourt republished it in a single collection. It‘s almost 800 pages so it will take some time to get through. I‘m excited to dig into another Southern gothic horror from this amazing writer. 👻

1. Tie between the Blackwater Saga by Michael McDowell and Summer of Night by Dan Simmons
2. The Road by Cormac McCarthy—LOVED it!!
3. Night by Elie Wiesel
4. Cormac McCarthy and Tana French—read 3 of hers this year and all were excellent!

Happy bookish New Year to all my Litsy friends!
#Litsyquestions

I was lucky enough to stumble across this after its recent re-release and am so glad I did! I loved this! I don‘t know that I‘ve ever described a horror tale as charming, but it is. There‘s not a tremendous amount of horror, but enough, and I fell in love with the quirky Caskey family, especially the older generation. Highly recommended!

Re-release of the Michael McDowell Blackwater saga by Valancourt Books! Release date is Oct 2. You can buy it on Amazon or direct from the Valancourt website. All six volumes in one book. I have never read them but have been searching for them! First published in 1983, they have been out of print for a while. ❤😊📚 #Blackwater #GothicHorror #MichaelMcDowell #MyBDayIsOct10bythewayhinthint