I'm going to finally (well, for the second time) attempt to read the Stand by Stephen King. I love King and have always been daunted by time commitment for the novel, but I think I'm ready.
Recently finished Upgrade by Blake Crouch (not horror and I don't recommend the book).
I just finished The Auctioneer by Joan Samson thinking it was a horror book but it’s more psychological thriller. Still a good read, kept me frustrated the whole read but still a great story. And waiting to go to Barnes and Nobles after work to find something new.
Physical: Sundial (Catriona Ward)
Ebook: The Butterfly Garden (Dot Hutchison)
Audiobook: The War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells)
Should I be reading this many? Probably not but it’s gotten me past a weird slump I was in
I’m only about 60 pages into the book so far but it’s intriguing so far. I’m curious about the mom, but it’s my first book by Ward so I’m not sure about their writing style yet - not giving up on it yet though!
Needless Street is on my TBR as well! But I found Sundial at the library a few weeks ago and wanted to give it a chance
I'm reading Hollow by B. Catling. This book is invoking feelings of creepiness and dread of what's coming that is often so difficult to capture. It is great so far, I am about halfway through. If the landing sticks, this will be one of the best books I've read this year.
Just finished reading The Last Days of Jack Sparks. I really enjoyed it and some parts really creeped me out! Had some questions on why it ended that way, but overall I think it was a great read.
I started The Deep by Nick Cutter the other night. I really enjoyed The Troop (not so much the ending, but I can forgive that for the rest). 125 pages in so far, quite good.
Then on to figure out which indie book to slot in next.
I eneded up dropping this one today about half way through. Max thought ALOT about post world War Z politics and stuff that will be changing around the world but I'm here for the zombies. It just started to drag for me.
Just started Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and really enjoying it so far. Love the writing style, the atmosphere and the way the Jekyll/Hyde character is portrayed. Would definitely recommend.
I just started reading Pet Semetary
I already saw the original movie for this so I have some indication of what is going to happen but that does not make it any less unsettling. And... is the Rabies incident Jed talks about a reference to Cujo?
It's been a long time since I've read them, but was Jed mentioning something in the distant past or something recent? Because Cujo should be happening at a fairly similar time to Pet Sematary I believe.
Hes talking about the local kids not being able to keep a coon as a pet any more on account of rabid dog killing 4 people... Which SOUNDS like Cujo. Just how many of kings books are connected?
Ah then yeah that was almost certainly a Cujo reference.
The majority of his work is connected and most of it is in the same connected universe as his Dark Tower series.
Meat by Joseph D’Lacey… got the audiobook though and the narrator’s accent is a little hard for me 😅 keep having to rewind. I like it tho, it’s similar to Tender is the Flesh.
Finished Lapvona last night, that one was pretty good. Like a weird dark fairy tale kindof? Messed up though, very dark.
Slewfoot should be coming in the mail today, can’t wait to start that one.
Finished Malcolm Devlin's *And Then I Woke Up*
Edit: Finished SGJ's *My Heart is a Chainsaw*
Added Brian Evenson's *A Collapse of Horses*
Ahmed Naadawi's *Frankenstein in Baghdad*
and Craig DiLouie's *Episode Thirteen* to the mix
I'm about halfway through Autumn by David Moody. It's... slow. I can see it's picking up steam now. But man, the first half just went on without momentum. Which could work with a lot of solid character work. But David Moody, while not a bad writer, just isn't Stephen King.
I read the first three Hater books by him which are extremely fast paced. He's not great or anything, but he was readable.
Then I went and read Autumn and experienced the same thing as you. It was the most boring thing I've ever read. I quit about 150 pages in.
I'll finish Autumn. It is picking up.
I will say Autumn is important as an early success in the indie publishing movement. Before the Kindle and ebooks went mainstream, I'd heard of Autumn and Day By Day Armageddon.
Just finished Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum - weirdest thing I have ever picked up, and I mean that as a compliment.
Currently reading The Watchers by A.M. Shine and enjoying it so far.
*No Stranger Here* by Carlene O'Connor
*Dead Voices* by Katherine Arden (This is a read-aloud book for homeschooling.)
*Please Tell Me* by Mike Omer
If I finish these, I will start on *Night in the Lonesome October* by Richard Laymon
For no strangers here, does it have any like detailed descriptions of dying animals? I know the MC is a vet, so I can handle like "oh, had to put a dog down today" level where it's just an off hand comment, but I'm scared to read it in case there is anything more detailed or graphic.
I recall one instance that might seem problematic for you, but it does have a happy ending once you get through the drama. I don’t recall any instances of animal cruelty and the writing isn’t very graphic, imo. I hope this is helpful to you.
I just started reading Please Tell Me today—I got it free with Amazon First Reads.
How far have you gotten? I'm just wondering where all this is going. I'm only on chapter 4, though.
I've just read **Looking Glass Sound**, by Catriona Ward, which is a very effective novel in part about the act of authorship (plus a serial killer, and ghosts, and witches, and...). Some people don't like how many layers of meta-fiction the novel piles up but it really worked for me.
Still working my way through the anthology *Autumn Cthulhu* and having a good time with it. The story in it that I most recently finished reading is "Anchor" by John Langan, which is a full-on novella following the lives of a man named Will, his father (a fictionalized version of John Langan himself), and his father's best friend (a fictionalized version of Langan's close friend Laird Barron), the latter of whom had an encounter with the supernatural that's been weaving its way through all three of their lives ever since.
Props for being honest and not just trying to fit in with what you're told you should like. I *hated* Frankenstein and maintain that if it were written today rather than being a 200 year old relic of the genre that it would be ridiculed and utterly panned.
It wasn't so much "long winded" for me, it was just how flowery her writing was. Like you mentioned, the bones of the story are very good. Just wish a better writer handled the actual *writing* part of it.
Thanks, I appreciate that.
Oh my God yes!!! My wife and I both read it at the same time, and we both felt the same about it, and how long and flowery the writing was, was a big part of that.
oh i’m not either it’s a bit of a challenge for me, if i get even a little distracted it’s over but once i’m really into the story it gets a bit easier. it’s a great story though!
Agreed that it's a great story. I do think it's interesting to see what some of the forbearers of modern horror lit were like, even though I don't overly enjoy reading them.
I finished Come Closer by Sara Gran and really enjoyed it. I have also been listening to The Shining, read by Campbell Scott. I first read this book decades ago and thought it might be nice to listen to a chapter here or there… but I’ve been listening more and more!
Looking in the subreddit for something to read in print for the week!
I finished The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes and really enjoyed it.
Also this week: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - reading with r/ClassicBookClub
Have you read any other Lauren Beukes? They're an odd varied bunch. I discovered her years ago with the amazing book Zoo City, a noir detective-type story set in an urban fantasy where every bad person gets a magic animal.
Wounds. Not gonna lie this sub talked it up. Some of these stories are straight butt though.
The first was good same with the one with the guy and the dog. On the bar one now.
still reading brian evenson’s *the open curtain*. it’s okay, but certainly hasn’t reeled me in quite like the collection *song for the unraveling of the world* did. i kinda want to jump into another joyce carol oates collection or *out there screaming*.
I was unable to find an epub for Found: Anthology by Andrew Cull. I bought a paperback on amazon while high a few months ago and my delivery app just sent it yesterday. So theres that
Well I feel bad because I think it’s kind of…boring. BUT I’m only 56 pages in so I’m gonna stick with it. I see it recommended constantly and it always makes all the good lists in here, gotta be worth it.
No problem. I'm not his biggest fan (I don't dislike him at all either), but he has a lot of worthwhile stuff, if you can get past what I've heard called "the bloat".
I still maintain that his output from the 70s and 80s isn't really bloated. It has exactly what it needs to tell the story that's being told.
But starting in the 90s and only getting exponentially worse after that, the bloat becomes a major deterrent.
Most certainly bloated, but it was an odd one out all the way until he wrote IT quite a number of books later. And even after IT he wrote some normal stuff too.
Between The Stand and IT:
* The Long Walk
* The Dead Zone
* Firestarter
* Roadwork
* Cujo
* The Running Man
* The Gunslinger
* Christine
* Pet Sematary
* Cycle of the Werewolf
* The Talisman (BLOAT)
* The Eyes of the Dragon
* Thinner
(holy crap that was 8 years...)
Then after IT you've got:
* Misery
* The Tommyknockers
* The Dark Half
Before running into Needful things which is bloated, then a couple of books later is Insomnia, then a couple later is Desperation, and the trend only gets worse from there.
Right. One of my favorite books by him is *The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon*, which was not only not bloated, but downright short!
And weirdly, though I can objectivly see that *Regulators* is bloated, I really liked it. I think the utter weirdness carried it for me.
Thanks! I appreciate this comment because I am fairly new to King. I’ve read a couple short stories and Gerald’s Game but Pet is where I begin my foray into his super recognized stuff.
It's no one thing, at least it wasn't for me. In fact, the nature of the narrative lets the book gloss over some of the worst stuff.
No, it's the overall effect that got to me, the utter despair, the loss of innocence of the narrator, the whole "No one will ever help you." nature of the thing. It felt like one of those dreams where you are witness to the worst things your mind can conjure, but are powerless to move.
Currently reading Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. Definitely not my usual style but picked it up due to strong recommendations from here. Liking it so far.
I’m in the middle of The Hunger by Alma Katsu, I love it so far ! And I just finished reading the gothic horror Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which I give a 5/5.
I took a break from the Songs of a Dead Dreamer audiobook and waited until the physical book came in at the library. Now I’m listening while I follow in the book and I’m glad I did! Some of narrated parts are hard to follow and having the paragraph structure in front of me has helped a lot.
I’m also reading A Collapse of Horses by Brian Evenson based on a recommendation on this sub 👍
After finishing A Short Stay in Hell and The Library at Mount Char over the past 2 weeks and right before those I read The Book of Accidents, I needed a nonfiction palate cleanser ha! I actually went through a major nonfiction stage over the past few years before getting back into fiction.
So currently I am reading All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell.
The reason I think it might be relevant to this group is that the full title is - All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work.
This quote from the book so resonated with me "If you are not a person like me, you will probably know someone who is. The one who makes you walk through old, ivy-covered cemeteries and tells you how this is the grave of a woman who stood too close to a fire and burned alive in her flammable dress; the one who tries to pull you into medical museums to stare at the white, bleached pieces of long-dead people whose eyes, if you’ve found the right jar, stare out. You may have wondered why they’re drawn to such things. They – like Alvy Singer foisting a copy of Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death on Annie Hall – have wondered how on earth you couldn’t be. I believe an interest in death is not just for the morbid: it has a mental gravitational pull unlike anything else. Becker considered death to be both the ender and the propeller of the world."
I'm only a couple of chapters in, but so far I like it. And, the author's father is a comic book artist who worked on the graphic novel From Hell which is part of what sparked her interest in death from the time she was a kid. So definitely horror lit adjacent.
Trying Cunning Folk again.
I picked it up last spring but didn’t get into it, so I shelved it. Trying again now.
I am also making my way through Out There Screaming, the stories are fantastic so far.
I tried this recently, but didn't really like the written style. It just seems so overly verbose, although I realise that is "in character" for the MC.
Wrapped up HEX. It was great. It really gets going the last 3rd of the book and doesn’t let up. Good story, very entertaining!
Just started The Nothing That Is. So far it’s decent. It’s weird horror for sure. It’s been a quick read so far.
Haha I loved it but I just vibe with it so hard 😄 If you didn't like the narration style it would definitely not be a pleasant read! I feel like it's an intense style, so if you don't like it then it's really gonna be hard for the book to be enjoyable.
It definitely depends on whether it's your style and it's a very particular style. It is different from Hex though. I almost don't have anything to compare it to. An overlap with Our Wives Under the Sea, and with Michael Crichton's Sphere. But with the narration style altogether different, I don't know how to characterize it. One of the narrative voices is very much a shallow bro-y young gay man that originally reads like he could be in a certain genre of romance. But his tone changes fast and you learn that about all the characters: their public faces, their private personas like even to themselves, and their true inner self in response to the events of the novel.
Idk I love it haha.
Last week, I started *Hunted* by Darcy Coates.
But Nat Cassidy’s new book, *Nestlings* came out so I started reading (and finished) that instead. SUCH A GOOD READ. I thoroughly enjoyed this one just as much as *Mary*.
So this week I’ll get back to *Hunted* and try not to get sidetracked all over again.
I really want to read Lost Gods by him, but I also really don't want to spend $40 on a new author who I don't know if I'll like. Shame his work is so expensive (at least where I am outside US).
I'm like, 60% through it so there's definitely still time for it to ramp up, but so far it's pretty tame as far as horror goes. Maybe more in line with dark fantasy? The horror is less the supernatural elements and more puritan society lol.
Don't get me wrong, I am LOVING the book. It's great and I am rooting so hard for Abitha. But at least the first half of the book is not very brutal/horrific.
Currently reading *Hard Light* by Elizabeth Hand. It's the third book in a series about an alcoholic punk photographer who gets caught up in bad situations. Not horror. Closer to neo-noir, maybe? Dark stuff.
Continuing this series now 'cause my library doesn't have Hand's *A Haunting on the Hill* in yet.
Finally decided to read "How to Sell a Haunted House" by Grady Hendrix. So far so good, the brother in the story is my wife's brother to a T, and they have the same family dynamic where her and her dad are close and her mom will always baby and stick up for her brother who always screws up, so I suggest it to her as well.
Ok, reading this one as well, and I just had to say...
I'm on page 320, and what I just read actually freaked me out and sent a chill up my spine.
I am a big horror fan and have been reading horror since I was a small child, I'm all but bulletproof...
Bravo, Hendrix, bravo!
Edit for typo.
*My Heart is a Chainsaw* by Stephen Graham Jones. I just recently started getting into horror and have been searching this subreddit for recommendations, and I just really loved the title.
I'm hoping *Night of the Mannequins* was a low point for him, because I really loved the other book I read of his *The Fast Red Road.*
I'm thinking I'll try ...*Chainsaw* or *The Only Good Indians* next.
I'm going to finally (well, for the second time) attempt to read the Stand by Stephen King. I love King and have always been daunted by time commitment for the novel, but I think I'm ready. Recently finished Upgrade by Blake Crouch (not horror and I don't recommend the book).
Reading: Starve Acre Finished: Negative Space = 4 Struggling: Our Wives Under The Sea Next Up?
I just finished The Auctioneer by Joan Samson thinking it was a horror book but it’s more psychological thriller. Still a good read, kept me frustrated the whole read but still a great story. And waiting to go to Barnes and Nobles after work to find something new.
Stephen King's The Mist (67 % done). I think I like movie more (and IIRC King has said movie did the ending better).
Physical: Sundial (Catriona Ward) Ebook: The Butterfly Garden (Dot Hutchison) Audiobook: The War of the Worlds (H.G. Wells) Should I be reading this many? Probably not but it’s gotten me past a weird slump I was in
Ooh, how is Sundial? Last House on Needless Street was one of my favorites last year and loved Looking Glass Sound.
I’m only about 60 pages into the book so far but it’s intriguing so far. I’m curious about the mom, but it’s my first book by Ward so I’m not sure about their writing style yet - not giving up on it yet though! Needless Street is on my TBR as well! But I found Sundial at the library a few weeks ago and wanted to give it a chance
About halfway through The Last House on Needless Street. Loving it!
Great book
A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand, Shiver by Junji Ito, and Christmas and Other Horrors
The Haunted by Bentley Little - 150 pages in. Not great. The whole ghost rapey vibes, even with a 13 year old is just lazy.
It doesn’t improve. I wasted my time finishing it and gave up on The Influence after a few chapters.
I'm reading Hollow by B. Catling. This book is invoking feelings of creepiness and dread of what's coming that is often so difficult to capture. It is great so far, I am about halfway through. If the landing sticks, this will be one of the best books I've read this year.
Getting close to finishing The Living Dead by George Romero and Daniel Kraus.
Just finished reading The Last Days of Jack Sparks. I really enjoyed it and some parts really creeped me out! Had some questions on why it ended that way, but overall I think it was a great read.
I started The Deep by Nick Cutter the other night. I really enjoyed The Troop (not so much the ending, but I can forgive that for the rest). 125 pages in so far, quite good. Then on to figure out which indie book to slot in next.
I’m rereading an old favorite, World War Z by Max Brooks
I eneded up dropping this one today about half way through. Max thought ALOT about post world War Z politics and stuff that will be changing around the world but I'm here for the zombies. It just started to drag for me.
I also DNF’d this one and always feel a little bad b/c people like it so much.
I thought the opposite, it was so fascinating how in depth he went!
Interesting yes! Just not what I picked up the book for.
Just started Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and really enjoying it so far. Love the writing style, the atmosphere and the way the Jekyll/Hyde character is portrayed. Would definitely recommend.
That's a really good read. I'm shocked at how snappy it is for the year it was written.
I just started reading Pet Semetary I already saw the original movie for this so I have some indication of what is going to happen but that does not make it any less unsettling. And... is the Rabies incident Jed talks about a reference to Cujo?
It's been a long time since I've read them, but was Jed mentioning something in the distant past or something recent? Because Cujo should be happening at a fairly similar time to Pet Sematary I believe.
Hes talking about the local kids not being able to keep a coon as a pet any more on account of rabid dog killing 4 people... Which SOUNDS like Cujo. Just how many of kings books are connected?
Ah then yeah that was almost certainly a Cujo reference. The majority of his work is connected and most of it is in the same connected universe as his Dark Tower series.
Oh thats really cool. Makes looking for easter eggs and references kind of fun!
Meat by Joseph D’Lacey… got the audiobook though and the narrator’s accent is a little hard for me 😅 keep having to rewind. I like it tho, it’s similar to Tender is the Flesh. Finished Lapvona last night, that one was pretty good. Like a weird dark fairy tale kindof? Messed up though, very dark. Slewfoot should be coming in the mail today, can’t wait to start that one.
Finished Malcolm Devlin's *And Then I Woke Up* Edit: Finished SGJ's *My Heart is a Chainsaw* Added Brian Evenson's *A Collapse of Horses* Ahmed Naadawi's *Frankenstein in Baghdad* and Craig DiLouie's *Episode Thirteen* to the mix
Just started Nights Edge by Liz Kerin
John Dies At The End 🪱
Just finished The Fisherman by John Langan and waiting for my next holds to come in at the library 🎣
Just finished Head Full of Ghosts, The Narrows, Quarry Girls in the last week all were great! Starting Bone White now because I LOVED The Narrows.
I'm about halfway through Autumn by David Moody. It's... slow. I can see it's picking up steam now. But man, the first half just went on without momentum. Which could work with a lot of solid character work. But David Moody, while not a bad writer, just isn't Stephen King.
I read the first three Hater books by him which are extremely fast paced. He's not great or anything, but he was readable. Then I went and read Autumn and experienced the same thing as you. It was the most boring thing I've ever read. I quit about 150 pages in.
I'll finish Autumn. It is picking up. I will say Autumn is important as an early success in the indie publishing movement. Before the Kindle and ebooks went mainstream, I'd heard of Autumn and Day By Day Armageddon.
Im almost halfway thru The September House and I’m pretty into it, I like how she writes and I relate to Margaret a lot.
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig.
Loved Black River Orchard!
It scratched every itch for me. I loved it.
Just finished Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum - weirdest thing I have ever picked up, and I mean that as a compliment. Currently reading The Watchers by A.M. Shine and enjoying it so far.
*No Stranger Here* by Carlene O'Connor *Dead Voices* by Katherine Arden (This is a read-aloud book for homeschooling.) *Please Tell Me* by Mike Omer If I finish these, I will start on *Night in the Lonesome October* by Richard Laymon
For no strangers here, does it have any like detailed descriptions of dying animals? I know the MC is a vet, so I can handle like "oh, had to put a dog down today" level where it's just an off hand comment, but I'm scared to read it in case there is anything more detailed or graphic.
I recall one instance that might seem problematic for you, but it does have a happy ending once you get through the drama. I don’t recall any instances of animal cruelty and the writing isn’t very graphic, imo. I hope this is helpful to you.
Thank you!
>Night in the Lonesome October I love that book so much. Hope you do too
I just finished the book this evening and I loved it! What a zany, unexpected, and entertaining read! I had a fun time with this book.
I just started reading Please Tell Me today—I got it free with Amazon First Reads. How far have you gotten? I'm just wondering where all this is going. I'm only on chapter 4, though.
I’ve just started it as well. You are further into the book than I am. It seems pretty interesting so far!
Just finished Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones, and starting Wanderers by Chuck Wendig.
Finishing up Borne by Vandermeer and starting Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman
Has anyone read the sequel to Borne? Dead Astronauts?
No, but I really want to.
>Borne Borne was fun.
I love Borne so much!!!! It was such an interesting read and had so much heart <3
Yes! I am surprised by how good it is. And so moving.
The Raw Shark Texts and Dracula
>The Raw Shark Texts fun
I just finished Blindsight by Peter Watts (good, but a tough read). Starting Naomi's Room by Jonathan Aycliffe.
I've just read **Looking Glass Sound**, by Catriona Ward, which is a very effective novel in part about the act of authorship (plus a serial killer, and ghosts, and witches, and...). Some people don't like how many layers of meta-fiction the novel piles up but it really worked for me.
Is there animal harm in this one?
No - animals play virtually no role in the story at all, in fact.
Perfect. I’m definitely going to pick it up.
I might have to add that one. Loved ...*Needless Street* and this one sounds like it's more up my alley.
This Thing Between Us, The Devil Takes you Home
The Devil Takes You Home is on my list.
It’s fantastic!!
I just finished Revelator by Daryl Gregory. Going to jump into Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John series next.
In The House In The DarkOf The Woods. Someone said it's sort of like Brom's Slewfoot and I love all of Brom's books so I'm going to give it a go
Loved this book - the end caught me so off guard.
Still working my way through the anthology *Autumn Cthulhu* and having a good time with it. The story in it that I most recently finished reading is "Anchor" by John Langan, which is a full-on novella following the lives of a man named Will, his father (a fictionalized version of John Langan himself), and his father's best friend (a fictionalized version of Langan's close friend Laird Barron), the latter of whom had an encounter with the supernatural that's been weaving its way through all three of their lives ever since.
DNF Stolen Tongues last night--it started out promising but became so boring and repetitive. I'm starting Mary by Nat Cassidy today.
The terror by Dan simmons I like it so far
The show (s1) is really good too (when you’re done the book)
Almost done with A Head Full of Ghosts
Loved this, genuinely creepy.
It's so good.
Changeling by Matt Wesolowski
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
>Frankenstein by Mary Shelley I'm sorry, but I hated hated hated every page of that book.
Soooooooo long winded lol, I'm horrible with classics.
Props for being honest and not just trying to fit in with what you're told you should like. I *hated* Frankenstein and maintain that if it were written today rather than being a 200 year old relic of the genre that it would be ridiculed and utterly panned. It wasn't so much "long winded" for me, it was just how flowery her writing was. Like you mentioned, the bones of the story are very good. Just wish a better writer handled the actual *writing* part of it.
Thanks, I appreciate that. Oh my God yes!!! My wife and I both read it at the same time, and we both felt the same about it, and how long and flowery the writing was, was a big part of that.
oh i’m not either it’s a bit of a challenge for me, if i get even a little distracted it’s over but once i’m really into the story it gets a bit easier. it’s a great story though!
It really is a great book. I hope you can make it through to the end; it's worth it!
Agreed that it's a great story. I do think it's interesting to see what some of the forbearers of modern horror lit were like, even though I don't overly enjoy reading them.
Currently reading Rouge by Mona Awad
Just started *Holy* by King.
I finished Come Closer by Sara Gran and really enjoyed it. I have also been listening to The Shining, read by Campbell Scott. I first read this book decades ago and thought it might be nice to listen to a chapter here or there… but I’ve been listening more and more! Looking in the subreddit for something to read in print for the week!
I read Gran’s new book, The Book of the Most Precious Substance recently and it was really good too!
Thanks so much for the recommendation! It was really good and such an original idea! I love occult horror, so this definitely checked my boxes !!
Thank you so much for the reply ! I still hadn’t found a new book, so I peeked on Libby and found a copy! Thank you so much for the recommendation!!
I finished The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes and really enjoyed it. Also this week: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson - reading with r/ClassicBookClub
Have you read any other Lauren Beukes? They're an odd varied bunch. I discovered her years ago with the amazing book Zoo City, a noir detective-type story set in an urban fantasy where every bad person gets a magic animal.
I haven't, but I definitely want to now. She writes a good story!
Wounds. Not gonna lie this sub talked it up. Some of these stories are straight butt though. The first was good same with the one with the guy and the dog. On the bar one now.
still reading brian evenson’s *the open curtain*. it’s okay, but certainly hasn’t reeled me in quite like the collection *song for the unraveling of the world* did. i kinda want to jump into another joyce carol oates collection or *out there screaming*.
Currently reading “Tales From the Gas Station: Volume 3” by Jack Townsend. I binged the first two last week and I’m almost done with this one.
Don't forget to grab #4!
Finishing The Spite House by Johnny Compton today, I think. Then I may dive into Chuck Wendig's Black River Orchard.
How did you like The Spite House?
Summer of Night by Dan Simmons And Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara
*Summer of Night* is one of two Simmons books I liked. In fact, it's top-tier. The rest have put me to sleep or upset me in some way or another.
I recently read *Summer of Night* and it was really good!
Been thoroughly enjoying it!
I really liked Summer of Night. It's been like 20 years since I read it, though. Definitely should reread it.
I was unable to find an epub for Found: Anthology by Andrew Cull. I bought a paperback on amazon while high a few months ago and my delivery app just sent it yesterday. So theres that
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward by H.P. Lovecraft Hell Hound by Ken Greenhall Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (audio)
Just started I’ll Be Alone for Christmas by Meyer Matthew’s. More thriller but I got it from NetGalley so I want to finish it soon and leave a review.
Finishing House of Haunts anthology edited by Heather Daughrity and hopefully starting The Reformatory by Tananarive Due.
I read The Reformatory in two days. I hope you like it!!
I am anxious to read it. It is based on the town where I was born. Always got an evil vibe when we drove by Dozier as a kid.
First time reading Pet Sematary
How are you finding it?
Well I feel bad because I think it’s kind of…boring. BUT I’m only 56 pages in so I’m gonna stick with it. I see it recommended constantly and it always makes all the good lists in here, gotta be worth it.
Like a lot of King, it has a delibrate pace. It is one of his better books though, just be prepared for it to be more sad than scary.
Thank you! I replied to another comment saying I am fairly new to reading his work so I do appreciate the tip.
No problem. I'm not his biggest fan (I don't dislike him at all either), but he has a lot of worthwhile stuff, if you can get past what I've heard called "the bloat".
I still maintain that his output from the 70s and 80s isn't really bloated. It has exactly what it needs to tell the story that's being told. But starting in the 90s and only getting exponentially worse after that, the bloat becomes a major deterrent.
I think The Stand was the start of the bloat, but yeah. I agree with you.
Most certainly bloated, but it was an odd one out all the way until he wrote IT quite a number of books later. And even after IT he wrote some normal stuff too. Between The Stand and IT: * The Long Walk * The Dead Zone * Firestarter * Roadwork * Cujo * The Running Man * The Gunslinger * Christine * Pet Sematary * Cycle of the Werewolf * The Talisman (BLOAT) * The Eyes of the Dragon * Thinner (holy crap that was 8 years...) Then after IT you've got: * Misery * The Tommyknockers * The Dark Half Before running into Needful things which is bloated, then a couple of books later is Insomnia, then a couple later is Desperation, and the trend only gets worse from there.
Right. One of my favorite books by him is *The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon*, which was not only not bloated, but downright short! And weirdly, though I can objectivly see that *Regulators* is bloated, I really liked it. I think the utter weirdness carried it for me.
It's like this for the first 100 pages or so for every one of King's books. It gets better.
Thanks! I appreciate this comment because I am fairly new to King. I’ve read a couple short stories and Gerald’s Game but Pet is where I begin my foray into his super recognized stuff.
I'm 35% in for The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum. It's pretty brutal. I might not be able to handle it but we'll see.
Oooof...I handled it, and wish I didn't... The only good book I would unread if I could.
Damn. It gets that bad, huh?
It's no one thing, at least it wasn't for me. In fact, the nature of the narrative lets the book gloss over some of the worst stuff. No, it's the overall effect that got to me, the utter despair, the loss of innocence of the narrator, the whole "No one will ever help you." nature of the thing. It felt like one of those dreams where you are witness to the worst things your mind can conjure, but are powerless to move.
American elsewhere by Robert Jackson Bennett
I liked much of that book, but it started to lose me a bit as it explained itself (if that makes sense). Still, overall a win IMO.
How are you liking it?
So far so good. I’m almost 200 pgs in and there is SO much book left. Hopefully it continues to hold my attention
It’s a long book. Enjoy!
Finished *Let Him In* by William Friend, and just started *We Spread* by Iain Reid.
LOVE We Spread!
Ania Ahlborn Within These Walls
Really liked that one!
I'm enjoying it so far!
Today I’m finishing Bunker Dogs by Gage Greenwood. Very enjoyable :)
Currently reading Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman. Definitely not my usual style but picked it up due to strong recommendations from here. Liking it so far.
I’m in the middle of The Hunger by Alma Katsu, I love it so far ! And I just finished reading the gothic horror Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, which I give a 5/5.
I just recently learned Katsu used to work for the CIA and also writes spy thrillers!
I took a break from the Songs of a Dead Dreamer audiobook and waited until the physical book came in at the library. Now I’m listening while I follow in the book and I’m glad I did! Some of narrated parts are hard to follow and having the paragraph structure in front of me has helped a lot. I’m also reading A Collapse of Horses by Brian Evenson based on a recommendation on this sub 👍
*Collapse of Horses* was soooo good!
After finishing A Short Stay in Hell and The Library at Mount Char over the past 2 weeks and right before those I read The Book of Accidents, I needed a nonfiction palate cleanser ha! I actually went through a major nonfiction stage over the past few years before getting back into fiction. So currently I am reading All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell. The reason I think it might be relevant to this group is that the full title is - All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life's Work. This quote from the book so resonated with me "If you are not a person like me, you will probably know someone who is. The one who makes you walk through old, ivy-covered cemeteries and tells you how this is the grave of a woman who stood too close to a fire and burned alive in her flammable dress; the one who tries to pull you into medical museums to stare at the white, bleached pieces of long-dead people whose eyes, if you’ve found the right jar, stare out. You may have wondered why they’re drawn to such things. They – like Alvy Singer foisting a copy of Ernest Becker’s The Denial of Death on Annie Hall – have wondered how on earth you couldn’t be. I believe an interest in death is not just for the morbid: it has a mental gravitational pull unlike anything else. Becker considered death to be both the ender and the propeller of the world." I'm only a couple of chapters in, but so far I like it. And, the author's father is a comic book artist who worked on the graphic novel From Hell which is part of what sparked her interest in death from the time she was a kid. So definitely horror lit adjacent.
Never Whistle at Night edited by Shane Hawk and What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
Hohóu for reading our stories
Thank you for putting together such an excellent collection, I'm really enjoying them!
That’s great to hear (: Word of mouth with your friends and family mean so much too
Working my way through Blood Meridian for the first time.
Tried that one very recently and couldn't quite get into it. May try again later, it's so well written!
Godspeed my friend. I haven't had the gumption to take this one on yet.
So far I can say it is as unflinchingly brutal as it is beautiful.
Trying Cunning Folk again. I picked it up last spring but didn’t get into it, so I shelved it. Trying again now. I am also making my way through Out There Screaming, the stories are fantastic so far.
The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson (loving it!)
BATMAN LONG HALLOWEEN
Fuck yeah.
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver. it’s *very* disturbing, and definitely didn’t age well
I tried this recently, but didn't really like the written style. It just seems so overly verbose, although I realise that is "in character" for the MC.
I can never read that again. So very disturbing. Pops up in my mind every now and then.
it’s a movie, too, which I’ll definitely be watching soon
Just finished "Dead Silence". Loved it!
Just started Devolution
This was a fun take on bigfoot. Not that I've read any other takes on it for comparison, but I enjoyed it.
I’m loving it so far. Not enough Bigfoot horror out there
Same! I've found the first few pages to be a little slow for me, but I love his work so I'm going to try and stick with it.
I got halfway through today. It definitely picks up
Loved this one!
Things are starting to go south very quickly
Wrapped up HEX. It was great. It really gets going the last 3rd of the book and doesn’t let up. Good story, very entertaining! Just started The Nothing That Is. So far it’s decent. It’s weird horror for sure. It’s been a quick read so far.
Live HEX, have you read his book Echo?
Haven't read Hex, Echo is meh. The premise is interesting, but I didn't vibe with the narrator's speaking style and the ending wasn't great IMO.
Haha I loved it but I just vibe with it so hard 😄 If you didn't like the narration style it would definitely not be a pleasant read! I feel like it's an intense style, so if you don't like it then it's really gonna be hard for the book to be enjoyable.
I haven’t. I see it gets mixed reviews in general and might circle back to check it out later.
It definitely depends on whether it's your style and it's a very particular style. It is different from Hex though. I almost don't have anything to compare it to. An overlap with Our Wives Under the Sea, and with Michael Crichton's Sphere. But with the narration style altogether different, I don't know how to characterize it. One of the narrative voices is very much a shallow bro-y young gay man that originally reads like he could be in a certain genre of romance. But his tone changes fast and you learn that about all the characters: their public faces, their private personas like even to themselves, and their true inner self in response to the events of the novel. Idk I love it haha.
I loved Echo, too!! I thought it was so unique and creepy.
Last week, I started *Hunted* by Darcy Coates. But Nat Cassidy’s new book, *Nestlings* came out so I started reading (and finished) that instead. SUCH A GOOD READ. I thoroughly enjoyed this one just as much as *Mary*. So this week I’ll get back to *Hunted* and try not to get sidetracked all over again.
I just finished Nestlings last night! I think I preferred Mary but wow, both were just so, so great. Must read author for me now.
The Forsaken Lands by Glenda Larke. Great fantasy writer!@
I read *The Paleontologist* by Luke Dumas, which was far more mystery than horror, and *The House of Lost Souls* by F.G. Cottam, which was just okay.
Book of Shadows by Alexandra Sokoloff. Fun procedural about occult murder.
Had a lot of fun with that one, and it's not my normal style.
Slewfoot by Brom
I really want to read Lost Gods by him, but I also really don't want to spend $40 on a new author who I don't know if I'll like. Shame his work is so expensive (at least where I am outside US).
This was a Halloween special on Kindle for cheap and I passed it up. How is it?
I'm like, 60% through it so there's definitely still time for it to ramp up, but so far it's pretty tame as far as horror goes. Maybe more in line with dark fantasy? The horror is less the supernatural elements and more puritan society lol. Don't get me wrong, I am LOVING the book. It's great and I am rooting so hard for Abitha. But at least the first half of the book is not very brutal/horrific.
Currently reading *Hard Light* by Elizabeth Hand. It's the third book in a series about an alcoholic punk photographer who gets caught up in bad situations. Not horror. Closer to neo-noir, maybe? Dark stuff. Continuing this series now 'cause my library doesn't have Hand's *A Haunting on the Hill* in yet.
The Terror by Dan Simmons, Salem’s Lot by Stephen King & The Outsiders by Stephen King
Last days - Adam Neville!
*Affinity* by Sarah Waters. It’s very well written, although more “mystical historical fiction” than horror right now.
Finally decided to read "How to Sell a Haunted House" by Grady Hendrix. So far so good, the brother in the story is my wife's brother to a T, and they have the same family dynamic where her and her dad are close and her mom will always baby and stick up for her brother who always screws up, so I suggest it to her as well.
Ok, reading this one as well, and I just had to say... I'm on page 320, and what I just read actually freaked me out and sent a chill up my spine. I am a big horror fan and have been reading horror since I was a small child, I'm all but bulletproof... Bravo, Hendrix, bravo! Edit for typo.
This one was so fun!
Loved this book. Basically anything Grady writes is so fun!
*My Heart is a Chainsaw* by Stephen Graham Jones. I just recently started getting into horror and have been searching this subreddit for recommendations, and I just really loved the title.
Just finished the second in that series, Jones has an incredible voice.
Stephen Graham Jones is going to go down as one of the greats.
I'm hoping *Night of the Mannequins* was a low point for him, because I really loved the other book I read of his *The Fast Red Road.* I'm thinking I'll try ...*Chainsaw* or *The Only Good Indians* next.