The Halloween Edition

Today I found myself in the mall to run an errand I needed to run* and I wandered into Tai Pan Trading. My sister had suggested that they might have coat stands and I'm in the market for a coat stand, so since I was there I thought I'd check.

They did not have coat stands. What they had was mounds and mounds of holiday decorations. I mostly ignored the decorations because it's too early to think about Christmas (says I) and I don't decorate for Halloween because it's not really my favorite holiday. But on my way out of the store I saw this giant stuffed spider, and suddenly I really, really wanted a giant stuffed spider. I'm not sure what came over me, but in that instant I thought, "So many people around me love Halloween, and I just don't understand. There must be something to this holiday. If I owned a giant stuffed spider, I think I would understand."

For a moment, the giant stuffed spider felt like my ticket to finding the True Meaning of Halloween.

Then I came to my senses and didn't buy the spider. But I did come home and finally write up book reviews, two quite belated, for the only three novels I've read this year that I haven't yet reviewed. Remarkably, all three were undeniably Halloween appropriate. The Halloween spirit must be working in me somehow.

I also ate some candy corn. That's the part of Halloween I understand, even if it's the part of Halloween that most people do not.

The books, if you're interested, are World War Z (zombies!), Interview with the Vampire (vampires!), and Something Wicket This Way Comes (creepy carnivals! witches! electric men! magic carousels! evil mirrors!).


* I kind of like shopping for clothes when I have the money for it, but shopping for shoes, dress pants, bras, dresses, and running clothes all cause me more stress than joy, and I tend to avoid them until they become necessary. But they all do at some point. One of them did today. Actually, it became necessary about six months ago, but I couldn't motivate myself for the task until today.