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Halloween: The Best of Martha Stewart Living (Best of Martha Stewart Living S.)
Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Halloween books abound, but none is as elegantly spooky or as eerily opulent as this gorgeous guide from Martha Stewart Living. Set the scene for the ultimate Halloween party with a magical yard full of pumpkins glowing with vibrant geometrics and sparkling with Christmas lights. Welcome guests with shadow lanterns flickering with bats and haunted windows. Strew the house with chiffon ghosts and fill the air with haunting sounds. Then host a pumpkin-carving feast, a crafty party, or a ghoulish supper, and whip up eyeball highballs, croaked messieurs, and spider-web sundaes. And don't forget the creepy makeup: follow along as willing victims transform into a skeleton, mummy, and several other creatures (Martha herself becomes an astonishing black widow). Excellent directions, full recipes, beautiful photographs, and an extremely detailed source list should inspire anyone to celebrate All Hallows' Eve with style. --Amy Handy
Book Description
Halloween is rivaled only by Christmas when it comes to the holidays that generate the most interest for Martha Stewart Living’s readers. Halloween is a compendium of the best Halloween ideas published in the magazine over the last decade.
To help celebrate this ghoulish holiday, the editors of Martha Stewart Living bring us Halloween, a compilation of all the best tricks and treats of the spooky season.
Organized in two sections, Halloween makes this holiday so much fun it’s scary. In “Tricking,” pranksters will find all manner of pumpkin carving, eerie lighting, and makeup and decorating ideas. “Treating” provides the recipes for having a Halloween feast or a hanted-house party and ideas for making mischief with kids.
Customer Reviews:
Review #1: GREAT to have if you don't have the magazines
2006-08-26 
If you have the special Halloween issue of MSL from 2000, don't bother buying this book. I have the magazine, and several of her other October issues from over the years, and was disapointed that there was nothing new in this book, which is why I only gave it 4 stars.
That being said, if you -DON'T- have the magazines, this is a fabulous reference and idea book. The decorating tips and recipes in this book are delightfully spooky and classy at the same time. Most of the projects in here are pretty affordable as far as materials and supplies go. I was glad to find that it wasn't filled with tons of cutesy kid's stuff. It's a 'grownups' halloween decorating book.
Another reviewer said that if you could only have one halloween book, this is it. I almost agree. I wouldn't trade my copy of 'Scary Scenes For Halloween' by Jill Williams Grover for the world. If I could only have TWO halloween books, this would be my 2nd choice!
Review #2: More Like A Magazine...
2005-09-29 
There ARE some good ideas in here. Unfortunately I just couldn't get past the fact that it is such a thin book with a lot of rehashed stuff. 14.95 is a lot to pay for a magazine, even if some of the ideas are OK. Also, Ms. Stewart doesn't seem to feel the need to test her recipes out first. When following ANY of her recipes, allow a little extra time for recipe adjustment.
Review #3: Totally surprised by all the excellent Halloween ideas!
2005-09-11 
My mother-in-law actually bought this book for me as a joke. I LOVE Halloween (and LOATHE Martha Stewart), so she thought it would be a good gag. When she handed it to me, she said she thought it would be funny, but she had looked through it and thought I might actually like it.
I started to flip through it waiting for the kitschy-cutesy Halloween stuff to come grinning out at me, but there was none! Martha is known for her "Good Things", but when it comes to Halloween, she knows her "Bad Things" too!
Lots of classic spooky atmosphere decorations, and tons of great ideas that I had never seen before. If I had to buy just one Halloween book, it would be this one - seriously.
However, don't get carried away on Martha's excellent handling of Halloween. Her Halloween CD is the same old drab fare that you can find on any cheesy Halloween sounds album.
Review #4: Creepy & Stylish-A Great Halloween Standard!
2005-08-28
I must be one of the last loyal devoted Martha S. fans left in this cruel world. Since I picked up a copy of this title in 2001, I have referred to it every year since. Yes, Martha's Halloween shows were always my favorite. Last year with her incarceration pending, this was all I had to go by.
The feel is great with a very New England haunted feel. Her chapter on haunting a house was very effective. The folks I live with dislike Martha, so I keep the book hidden. They sure like her recipies that I fix every fall! The pumpkin carving section was packed with ideas as well.
This had a very contempory feel that would work in many situations. A sequel would be a great addition here. I must add that I am sure glad that Martha is back on the air. The holidays werent the same last year!
Review #5: A beautiful book
2005-08-20
This book has engaging photography and a lot of useful information pertaining to Halloween decorating and cooking. As with all Martha Stewart books and magazines, the pictures are colorful, vivid and enchanting. The ideas are exquisite and do not look cheap or tacky. Most of the projects consist of easy-to-find materials and can be done by most anyone. These ideas are, obviously, from Martha's magazine from years gone by. This book is even more useful if you wish to compartmentalize years worth of the magazine's Halloween ideas/recipes without having to search drastically for back-issues, which can be almost impossible to buy all of. I only wish there were even more pages in this book, as I can never use enough of this lady's decorating ideas for any holiday. I have no real complaints regardless. |
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