Thursday, April 2, 2009

Haunted Book Review Thursday

A Halloween How-To/Costumes, Parties, Decorations and Destinations



Lesley Pratt Bannantyne, author

Some books are a how-to guide, some are cook books, some are travel guides, some are party planners. This one is a bit of everything, which is good in some aspects and a bit overwhelming in others.

Ms. Bannantyne does an EXCELLENT job of making a primer for the beginning home haunter (even going into Monster Mud), a great guide to anyone throwing a party with lots of great recipes, party decorating and costume ideas, a travel guide for those wanting to experience Halloween in a new a different city that may be famous for the celebration, myths surrounding Halloween, and the trends of Halloween and more...but that is a bit of a downfall of this book.
The book is a bit overwhelming, with comparitively few pictures (the ones present are black and white, which is just fine). I like to somehow catagorize my books and this one just has a little of everything in it which makes it overlooked when I'm looking for a Halloween cookbook, or a how-to book, etc., etc.; I usually pull out a book more targeted to what I'm looking for which is a shame because this book has some wonderful background information on Halloween customs and foods. I somehow wish that she might have considered separating some of her topics into other books.


My personal opinion: You can get some good ideas and use out of it with a little effort.

6 comments:

Diane said...

the "little bit of everything" books are good to spark some ideas, for sure. i like pictures though! especially when it comes to "how to".

this one def looks like one to check out! maybe borrow it first, though, before buying.

thanks for another great review!

Mr. Macabre said...

Thou art most welcomed!

Chris 'Frog Queen' Davis said...

Great review, that is exactly how I felt about that book! The marketing/editor side of me was just dying to edit it into something easier to read. But I did find lots of bits of useful information.

But seriously, did you see that monster mud guy - yikes! :)

Mr. Macabre said...

The Monster Mud guy was wonderfully foreboding! I HAVE to make one!

Eve Noir said...

Hm, your most current post is not coming up for me...it says page doesn't exist. Is that because you deleted it? Just wondering...

Mr. Macabre said...

Terribly sorry about that, it was just a post about a video on the video Rubber Johnny by the Apex Twins on Youtube. I had posted it and realized Rubber Johnny was, well, disrobed so I deleted it for any sensitive readers out there.
But look up Rubber Johnny on Youtube...uber creepy. Watch it in the dark!