Are you obsessed with Stranger Things? Netflix's bingeable new series starts with a search for a missing child and leads to psychics, conspiracies and monsters. If you, like many fans of the addictive show, are looking for what's next, here are some recommendations for books and music. (In the spirit of Netflix, I’ve also noted if you can get these titles without leaving home.)
Stranger Things feels like an homage to several early Stephen King books, right down to the font used in the opening. It, King's 1986 novel about a group of ragtag misfit children fighting a mysterious force of evil, is our recommendation for tracing Stranger Things' lineage in horror and fantasy classics.
It is available in other formats, including eBook and Downloadable Audiobook.
The series' creators, the Duffer Brothers, have been praised for meticulous attention to detail in capturing the aesthetic of daily life in 1983. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline is about a teenager who solves puzzles in a digital world, and features tons of references to 1980s pop culture.
Ready Player One is available in other formats, including eBook and Downloadable Audiobook.
Grady Hendrix's My Best Friend's Exorcism, set in 1988, is a novel about two girls who deal with high school and supernatural horror. It's been compared to The Exorcist and Heathers.
My Best Friend's Exorcism is also available as an eBook.
While Stranger Things makes excellent use of period hits by favorites such as The Clash and Joy Division, the original music is just as essential in setting the mood of the show. The series' score was composed by Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein, half of the band S U R V I V E. Two of S U R V I V E's albums, LLR002 and HD009, are available for streaming or download via Hoopla.
Who's your favorite Stranger Things character? (Is it Barb? It should be Barb.)
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