Happy World Goth Day!

Aww....it seems like forever since I've done a post like this where I talk to you, instead of just provide a review. Anyway, it's 22 May-so it's World Goth Day. Yay!
So, in celebration, I'm going to share with you 1. Classic gothy books, 2. My favourite gothy books that I have read, and 2. Those books that are on my miles long wishlist.
Links to Goodreads

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The Classics

1. Anything by Edgar Allan Poe. His poems and stories are both beautiful. If you can, get hold of one of those huge editions-so pretty.
2. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice.
   Here are the confessions of a vampire. Hypnotic, shocking, and chillingly erotic, this is a novel of mesmerizing beauty and astonishing force --- a story of danger and flight, of love and loss, of suspense and resolution, and of the extraordinary power of the senses. It is a novel only Anne Rice could write.I  think everyone's in love with Lestat. Well, everyone who I'm friends with anyway. Plus, it's generally a good story. And also has a really good film. 
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker
   The aristocratic vampire that haunts the Transylvanian countryside has captivated readers' imaginations since it was first published in 1897. Hindle asserts that Dracula depicts an embattled man's struggle to recover his "deepest sense of himself as a man", making it the "ultimate terror myth".
   The classic. Everyone should read this, even if they aren't into the Goth scene at all.
4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
   Frankenstein, loved by many decades of readers and praised by such eminent literary critics as Harold Bloom, seems hardly to need a recommendation. If you haven't read it recently, though, you may not remember the sweeping force of the prose, the grotesque, surreal imagery, and the multilayered doppelgänger themes of Mary Shelley's masterpiece.
   The other classic, and another must read.
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscare Wilde.
   After having his portrait painted, Dorian Gray is captivated by his own beauty. Tempted by his world-weary friend, decadent friend Lord Henry Wotton, he wished to stay young forever and pledges his very soul to keep his good looks. As Dorian's slide into crime and cruelty progresses, he stays magically youthful, while his beautiful portrait changes, revealing the hideous corruption of moral decay.
   I'm reading this at the moment, and really enjoying it. I love the fact that everyone's really cynical, and the concept behind this book is great.

Contemporaries that I've read

1. Lenore by Roman Dirge.
   A collection of the first four issues of the popular Lenore comic book series. Lenore: Noogies is a romp into the dark, surreal world of a little dead girl. Featuring stories about limbless cannibals, clock monsters, cursed vampire dolls, taxidermied friends and obssesed would be lover and more fuzzy animal mutilations than should be legal. Lenore is one of the funniest, darkest comic books on the marketplace today.
   It's a really cute comic series about a dead girl (Lenore) and her friends.
2. Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schrieber
   The mansion on top of Benson Hill has been empty and boarded up for years. But a new family has moved in. A family that never ventures out during the day. Who are these creepy people -- especially the handsome, dark, and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town gossip actually be true? Are they vampires? Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at the risk of her own mortality and Alexander's loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth.
   It's not amazing in a literary sense, but it's really fun and with a cute little romance.
3. Gothic Charm School by Jillian Venters.
   From the creator of the online advice forum about how to be strange and unusual, comes the ultimate guide to dark decorum and etiquette for goths and the non-goths who love them. Illustrations throughout.
   Full advice on the Goth subculture, with some pretty illustrations. Oh, and Jillian is so much fun if you stalk her in other places on the internet.
4. Death- At Death's Door by Jill Thompson & Neil Gaiman 
   A member of the Endless, a family of beings who have existed longer than the gods, Death enjoys manifesting herself in the persona of a young Gothic girl. Along with her siblings, she interacts and influences the lives of humans on a daily basis. In this manga-style adventure, Death's little sisters, Delirium and Despair, have thrown a party at her apartment for hell's escapees. But as the festivities get out of control, it falls on Death's black-clad shoulders to regain order and save the afterlife. Printed in black, white, and gray tones, this trade paperback weaves an eccentric tale of danger, romance, humor, and fun
   Or indeed, most things by Neil Gaiman. Especially The Sandman and The Graveyard Book. Oh, fun times. This book especially for younger readers because the art is more accessible and more...happy. Yeah.
5. Nemi by Lise Myhre
   Meet Nemi Montoya, the vegetarian, cynical/romantic, hilariously honest twenty-something goth, in this brand new collection from artist Lise Myhre! Hang out in the pub with Nemi and her friends, including her flatmate, the blue-haired Cyan; hear her opinions on romance and dating; watch her watch TV in her untidy flat; learn how she feels about birch trees, spiders and blondes; and generally experience the highs and lows of being Nemi in the modern world!
   Ridiculously funny in the way that some people won't get. I like the way that it's in full colour-all the volumes. And it's ongoing. And really popular in Norway. Yay! (On a side note, I share my birthday with Lise!) 
6. Godchild by Kaori Yuki (review here)
   Deep in the heart of 19th century London, a young nobleman named Cain walks the shadowy cobblestone streets of the aristocratic society into which he was born. Forced to become an earl upon the untimely death of his father, Cain assumes the role of head of the Hargreaves, a noble family with a dark past. With Riff, his faithful manservant, and Mary Weather, his 10-year-old half sister, Cain investigates the mysterious crimes that seem to follow him wherever he goes.
   Victorians, murder, tortured hero, unrequited love...everything! And the first volume has mysteries based on Alice in Wonderland. And the art is beautiful throughout.

Gothy books that I really have to get hold of some time soon.

1. Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez.
   The series focuses on the 20-something year old anti-hero Johnny C, also known as "NNY" (pronounced 'knee'). He is a deranged serial killer, mass murderer, and spree killer who interacts with various other characters, generally by murdering them. He elaborately kills anyone who even slightly irritates him, then drains their blood and paints one of the walls in his house with it. Johnny is also willing to murder "innocent" people who, in his twisted mind, deserve their fate for some reason or another. The number of Johnny’s victims is in the dozens, if not hundreds — or perhaps even thousands. Authorities are unable to capture Johnny and seem unaware of his existence, even though his crimes are often witnessed in public and reported by the few who manage to survive.
   Look at the title. Now look at me. Do you see why I want to read it?
2. What is Goth by Aurelio Voltaire
   What Is Goth? is a humorous, self-deprecating look at Goth culture from the inside out. Imagine The Preppy Handbook colliding with Charles Addams. Then add a lot more melancholy and a lot more spooky. What Is Goth? dispels the false stereotypes and reinforces the true ones surrounding Goths and Goth culture. "To the mundane," Voltaire writes, "Goths are weird, black-clad freaks who are obsessed with death; they are sad all of the time. Take a closer look at the Goth scene, however, and you will find a rich tapestry of ideas and practices and a menagerie of colorful characters. Oh, dear. I said 'colorful.'" 
   I'm very familiar with Voltaire's music, and from his vlogs, this will be fun. 
3. The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls by Emilie Autumn
   Positively packed with hand-written memoirs, photos, and paintings, this profoundly empowering epic not only deserves a place on your tea table, it is also one of the most complete accounts of bipolar disorder ever penned, and will take readers behind the doors of both modern day psych ward and Victorian insane asylum in this true life horror tale of madness, murder, and medical experimentation. But reader beware: It's much easier to get into the Asylum than it is to get out.
   Another music-y related book, this time following Emilie and Emily and their lives in mental hospitals. 
4. The rest of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman and many other people's works. There's just so many gothy books out there, ready to be devoured.

So, there you have it. My picks of gothy books. Now go get your goth on!