75 Book Challenge for 2012 : HugeHorrorFan

Hello,

I hope everyone has a great entrance into 2012! I am actually going to ante up my books to be read this year to 125. It is going to be a heck of a challenge but I think I am ready not to have a life. The last couple of years, I have been reading around 100 books. In 2011, I struggled with just capping at 75 today. I am aiming to make up for lost time...

Glad to see you back again, Paulo!

Welcome back!

A great goal!

Thanks everyone!

I hope you all had a great New Year! Here we go...

#1 This Sorrowful Life, Walking Dead Volume #6 By Robert Kirkman

#2 The Calm Before, Walking Dead Volume #7 By Robert Kirkman

#3 The Woman By Jack Ketchum and Lucky McKee

Wow! Three books down already! At this rate, you will reach 75 by the end of the month!

Ha! Naah, I am just off to a jumping start. The graphic novels can be read in a few hours if taking your time admiring the the art as well. I am likely to slow down soon as I have the first two Game Of Thrones books lined up by G. R. R. Martin. If I am lucky, I might knock both in six weeks. I want to read those two before the HBO series starts up later this Spring. Back to work on Wednesday too.

I flat refuse to read the Martin series until it is done. I sure wish he would hurry up on it!

#4 The Regulators By Stephen King aka Richard Bachman

#5 Made To Suffer, Walking Dead Volume #8 By Robert Kirkman

I wish my local library had the Walking Dead books!

Hi Paulo. Stopping by to star your thread. I am looking forward to seeing what you add to my wishlist this year. So far, The Walking Dead looks like a strong candidate.

Oh man. The graphic novel series is phenomenal. It is still full of surprises even if you watch the hit TV show, as characters have different fates and even the story takes a slightly different direction in some parts. Both compliment themselves in their own right. The books though, like the show, are still very character driven. Excellent stuff and it only gets stronger as it progresses.

#6 Here We Remain, Walking Dead Volume #9 By Robert Kirkman

I have never seen the TV show, but I still would like to read the graphic novels.

#7 Chainfire, Sword Of Truth Series Book #9 By Terry Goodkind

#8 The Resurrection Of Bayou Savage: Guitar Ghost Fighter By Robert "Dean" D. Russell

#9 Tequila's Sunrise By Brian Keene

#10 Take The Long Way Home By Brian Keene

#11 Jack's Magic Beans By Brian Keene

#12 What We Become, Walking Dead Volume #10 By Robert Kirkman

#13 Unhappy Endings By Brian Keene

Paulo, at this rate you MAY actually clock 75 books by the end of the month. Keep it up!

Ha! I wish. I should be slowing down at any time now, but not too much, as I really want to get to my 125 book benchmark this year. The Walking Dead can be read in a couple of hours each as they are graphic novels, so they really bump up your numbers. They are really worth your time.

Chainfire by Goodkind is an 800pg novel that I had about half read in December 2011, but only finished it this month. Whatever happened to that series? First five books I thought were amazing, then it really lost its way. This was by far the worst one. I will really have to convince myself to read the next two in the series.

#14 Scabs By Wrath James White

Just when I thought I could not be shocked by the material I read, I find this old gem. Wowzers, definitely not for the feint of heart. Heck, not for anyone with a heart at all. Except me. Loved this book.

#15 Header By Edward Lee

#16 Teratologist By Wrath James White and Edward Lee

#17 For You, The Living By Wayne Allen Sallee

#18 Ghouls By Edward Lee

#19 You Are My Everything By Edward Lee

>26 Huge_Horror_Fan:: I hate to tell you, but they don't get better after Chainfire. That final trilogy in the series is complete garbage. People don't act like themselves, the plot and writing feels rushed, and there's more sexual violence than ever before and if feels like it's just there to fill the pages. You may also notice that there seems to be a distinct lack of editing -- people LITERALLY say the SAME THING twice on the same page. Multiple times. Sometimes the sentences don't make sense. Information is repeated. It's awful... I can't even express how awful. I read them for the sake of completion -- I figured, if I'd come this far with the series, I might as well finish it -- but I think I would have been much happier simply reading a synopsis of the final books and going on my way. Plus it would have wasted less time. Those are hours of my life I'll never get back...

Oh boy...

I am going to have to persevere to bring the same closure. I can't go this far and not cross that finish line. I think what killed these series for me even more was the darn TV series. I watched the first few episodes and now I have a hard time not picturing the actors while reading. It was a big piece of junk, that show.

#20 Incident On and Off A Mountain Road By Joe R. Lansdale

#21 Bag Of Bones By Stephen King

#22 Timber Gray By Ronald Kelly

#23 Apocalypse Green By Brian Knight

#24 Bullets and Fire By Joe R. Lansdale

#33: I am glad I never went beyond Chainfire from the sounds of it, Faith. Yikes!

#25 The Summer I Died By Ryan C. Thomas

#26 How To Rescue A Dead Princess By Jeff Strand

Ha! Just the title of How to Rescue a Dead Princess sounds fun.

#43 - The first quarter of the book did actually have moments that had me chuckling out loud. The thing about it though, and I hate to say this because Jeff Strand as a horror novelist is amazing, is that the type of humour became stale. It was the same type of gag beaten down over your head. The book quickly became a chore to finish.

I could never really get into Terry Pratchett either. I like my fantasies bleak, with lack of hope and violent. Comedic Fantasy, not so much. So maybe it was a good book, just a bad genre for me altogether.

The Summer I Died however...that was a helluva story. The cover hardly gives the story justice. Best read for me this year so far.

Well, I love Pratchet, so maybe I'd enjoy Strand a bit more. I was never a fantasy/sci fi fan, but Pratchett's satire serves as a strong bridge for me. I'm always impressed by how well-read he is.

The Summer I Died has a fascinating description on Amazon; I think I'll snag it for the Kindle.

The Summer I Died is a powerful read. It did enough to give me vertigo at certain times, and I had to give it pause for a few seconds.

Here is my third edit for Crossroad Press. I will put the cover on here when available:

#27 Bad Valentines By Steve Vernon

#28 Fear The Hunters, Walking Dead Volume #11 By Robert Kirkman

#29 Blood In Your Ears By Kevin Quigley

#30 Cages By Ed Gorman

#31 Chart Of Darkness By Kevin Quigley

#32 Four Legs In The Morning By Norman Prentiss

#33 The Gray Zone By John R. Little

#34 The Walker Place By James A. Moore

53-That's a great cover. How was the book?

How was Four Legs in the Morning?

The Walker Place had a surprising chilling ending that gave me a bit of a shiver. The ride there was so-so. It is a fairly short read, so it is great to go through while with at the doctor's office, bus ride or when you are on the run in general. I have yet to truly like a James A. Moore offering. He has a very dedicated following, but I still have to find something by him that resonates with me. I did meet him a NECON last year in RI, and he was one of the most genuine and nice guys around. This story is offered on the digital market through Cemetery Dance. Not too bad and the price is right.

Four Legs in the Morning was another fairly quick read at just over 100 pages. Extremely, and I mean, unbelievably well written. As for content, I think the story (or should I say compilation of three linked stories) was bit dull for me. I think this type of story is typically billed as "quiet horror". A big yawn and super expensive if you were to buy this in limited edition. Good thing I only invested on the digital copy.

#35 Clown In The Moonlight By Tom Piccirilli

#36 A Game Of Thrones By George R. R. Martin

Sooo... what did you think of Game of Thrones? Or was this a re-read for you?

I really enjoyed it, specially the second time around. The first entry is easily in my top three best fantasy novels of all time and I am hoping the series as a whole will hold right up there.

I had read it years ago when it was still a new release at the book stores. Luck of the draw, I guess. I still remember it vividly and there was only two copies available on the shelf. I picked up all the sequels eventually and just never got around to reading them. And then, there was that long wait for the release of A Dance With Dragons that kept me wanting to postpone.

I am confident that, for better or worse, with the HBO series in motion, the author is going to feel obligated to wrap up the series. It was watching the TV series that rekindled my enjoyment for the book. It was cool the way you pictured the characters and story come to life on the tube, except maybe John Snow. I just saw him a lot beefier and rougher around the edges. Alas, he has always been my favorite of the bunch, so maybe expectations are just really high.

I figure it would be a good idea to read the books before watching them on TV. Due to the large cast of characters, I reread the first, and not I am off to A Clash Of Kings for the very first time.

#37 Walking Dead Volume #12: Life Among Them By Robert Kirkman

#38 Rough Cut By Brian Pinkerton

#39 The Woman In Black By Susan Hill

#40 Walking Dead Volume #13: Too Far Gone By Robert Kirkman

I have The Woman in Black on hold at the library. I can't wait to read it!

#64 - It was not too bad. I am sure you must have started it by now. I hope you like it. I will likely be watching the movie this weekend.

#41 Walking Dead Volume #14: No Way Out By Robert Kirkman

#42 Clash Of Kings By George R. R. Martin

#43 Locke & Key Volume 4: Keys to the Kingdom By Joe Hill

#44 Bayou Savage, The Ghost Wars: Book II By Dean Russell

Hi Paulo - What did you think of the 4th volume of Locke and Key? I read it late last year and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Out of the four that I read, this one was the weakest. It just means I gave it four stars rather than the 4.5 or 5 that I gave for the first three. Ha!

It was a solid effort, and that ending just wanted to make you read further. Where endings go, the fourth book had the strongest one, where the other were more balance and consistent throughout.

The only little quirk that I with this one was all the jumping around in time. It confused me in some parts and made it a slower read. I did not think that it added any value to the story itself. It just kept snapping me back from the story to orient myself. A little distracting but there is no way I am stopping. Art was great as always.

Completely agree with your thoughts on this one, especially regarding the ending. Which reminds me, I really need to order book 5... today June 26th. Happy reading!

#45 The Screaming By Jack Kilborn and J.A. Konrath

#46 Dreams in Black and White By John R. Little

#47 The Placeholders By John R. Little

#48 The Last Rakosh: A Repairman Jack Tale By F. Paul Wilson

#49 The Last Call Of Mourning By Charles L. Grant

#50 The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon By Stephen King

I read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. It made me more afraid of the woods lol. It was quite awhile ago that I read it, but just the idea of being stranded in the woods as an adult would terrify me, so I couldn't image what it would be like as a child.

Stephen King is one of my favorites (except the Dark Tower series, couldn't get into that.) My least favorite of his that I;ve read was Gerald's Game. Creepy.

The Blair Witch Project movie must have done wonders for you then...hehehe.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon was mediocre for me. I enjoyed King's relaxed and direct prose. His books, no matter how bloated, always seem like quick reads to me because they just flow easy. I am still hung on the original mindset that King had with his earlier novels. I find myself appreciating how he tackles horror in its traditional sense.

Gerald's Game is near the bottom of my least favorite of his as well, from what I read so far.

#51 A Gathering Of Crows By Brian Keene

#52 Poor Folk By Fyodor Dostoevsky

Any movie that has to do with woods/forests scare me. They out there all alone, and everything looking alike. What lives in what wooded area to look out for, what can I eat that wont kill me. I'll read and watch but you wont catch me out there. lol.

*waving* at Paulo

#83: Hiya, stranger. You're back! Working on your tan somewhere far and warm during your hiatus, I hope. I hope you are having a great reading year.

#53 Deathbringer By Bryan Smith

#54 The Twits By Roald Dahl

#84: I am positively vampiric in my habits, so no tan here!

Oooh, I'm a big Dahl fan - did you like The Twits?

I loved it! I was raised in Europe, so I just never got around to reading my dose of kids fiction in English. As my kids grow up and read the stuff for their age, I can't help but sneak one here and there.

This one came highly recommend by my seven year old daughter.

I strongly recommend his other kids' books (for both you and your daughter), especially Danny the Champion of the World, which is my favorite of his.

#55 George's Marvelous Medicine By Roald Dahl

#56 Danny The Champion of the World By Roald Dahl

#57 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory By Roald Dahl

I've always loved The Witches. Charlie was good too. Saw both books in movie form also. Love both versions of the Chocolate Factory.

#58 Fantastic Mr. Fox By Roald Dahl

#59 Esio Trot By Roald Dahl

#60 Dirty Beasts By Roald Dahl

#61 The Vicar of Nibbleswicke By Roald Dahl

#62 The BFG By Roald Dahl

#63 Skin and Other Stories By Roald Dahl

#64 Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator By Roald Dahl

#65 Matilda By Roald Dahl

Oooh, Matilda is another favorite for me - hope you enjoyed it!

I really did. Actually, it just might be one my favorites out of all of his so far.

My wife gave me a bit of a dirty look when I introduced these books to the kids. They are actually not as bad as they sound. It really engages the kids with wanting them to get to the end all in one sitting. I have never had them so excited to sit down with a book...specially the boys...go figure...

#66 The Adventures Of Captain Underpants By Dav Pilkey

#67 Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets By Dav Pilkey

#68 Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds) By Dav Pilkey

#69 Ivy & Bean By Annie Barrows

#70 Ivy and Bean and the Ghost that Had to Go By Annie Barrows

#71 Ivy and Bean Break the Fossil Record By Annie Barrows

#72 Ivy and Bean Take Care Of The Babysitter By Annie Barrows

#73 Ivy and Bean Bound To Be Bad By Annie Barrows

#74 Ivy and Bean Doomed To Dance By Annie Barrows

#75 Ivy and Bean What's The Big Idea? By Annie Barrows

#76 Ivy and Bean No News Is Good News By Annie Barrows

Hello Huge Horror Fan,

I love your thread. :)

Ha! Thank you. I guess I am pretty bipolar when it comes to reading choices by being all over the map.

HHF, I'm curious how you liked/disliked A Clash Of Kings. I'm about to start it and wanted your opinion on it. I absolutely loved A Game Of Thrones.

Paulo congratulations on passing the 75 mark with more than half a year remaining.

#118: Thank you. The children's books helped. Good luck with meeting your mark this year. As I slacked off a bit last year, I am really aiming at 125 this year. We'll see what happens...

#117: If you liked the first entry, you are going to have lots of fun with Clash of Kings. There might not be something quite as a dramatic and jaw-dropping of an event as the first one. However, if you thought the characters were well fleshed out, Martin successfully builds even more on the core characters. Although hard, don't get too attached to them though, because no one really remains safe. Plus, he introduces new characters that really a provide perspective on some of the events, and inadvertently or purposefully, serves as a creative, transparent way to expand the world and factions of Westeros. The story is just as engaging. A 1200 epic that is read at a fast clip.

#77 Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot Of Professor Poopypants By Dav Pilkey

#78 Death's Dominion By Simon Clark

Congrats!

#122: Thank you. Cheers.

Kids loved and thought this one was great.

#79 Jacob Two-Two Meets The Hooded Fang By Mordecai Richler

#80 James and the Giant Peach By Roald Dahl

#81 Worst Name in the Third Grade By Debbie Dadey

#82 The Adventures Of Ook and Gluk: Kung-Fu Cavemen of the Future By Dav Pilkey

#83 Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom By Eric Wight

I've always intended to go back and read some Dahl. I read The BFG to the kids before, but The Witches always seemed more my speed. A dislike of the movies will probably keep me away from Charlie, but I love Dahl's poetry and would love to read some of his stories.

Great! It would be great to read your thoughts on how they have aged, now that you are reading the rest as an adult.

Some of the Roald Dahl books I thought would really be over the kids heads, ages 7 and 4, but they persist on having me read on. Every so often I will have to explain some of the British terminology, which I would have thought it would have been a turn off for them, but they find it hilarious. I think it was after Matilda that had them go on a few days asking their mom for crumpets every breakfast with a pretend accent and laughing hysterically afterwards. The youngest has had the hardest time with The BFG and James and the Giant Peach. They have been enthralled with all the rest.

#84 Stink The Incredible Shrinking Kid By Megan McDonald

#85 Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker By Megan McDonald

#86 Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman By Dav Pilkey

#87 Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot: The First Adventure Novel By Dav Pilkey

#88 The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby By Dav Pilkey

#89 Stink and the World's Worst Super-Stinky Sneakers (Book #3) By Megan McDonald

#90 The Magic Finger By Roald Dahl

Hallo delurking on your thread again. My son who is lurking with me at times was pleased to see that some of his favourites are on your list as well. Such as the Roahld Dahl books (he used to be very scared of Mathilda until he was about 8 years old - but always loved the BFG and James and the Giant Peach), the Stink books and especially Captain Underpants. ****Grin, very large**** He is 13 this month and still loves to read the Captain Underpants.

What did you think about Dreams in Black and White? The description on Amazon sound interesting, but there aren't any Reviews.

Ha! Good to hear. Well, I am in my thirty's and now a fan of Captain Underpants. Reading it aloud to the kids is just a cover... ;o)

I thought Dreams in Black and White was a bit above average grade as far as horror goes. I am not even sure if I would could consider it horror in its true sense, but perhaps more scifi with time slippage, but it is dark. I have not read too much by this author, but I bought into a year membership with Cemetery Dance to feed my Kindle with novellas. The story is part of the bundle.

It was not too bad.

The writing was very tight and seasoned. It really plays at the sense of loss, it is about realizing the tragedy of our brief and finite time on this earth. It also plays on the fear of what (or not what) comes after. Heartbreak and dealing with loss are strong players, and coming to terms what it all means.

This was probably the slowest moving entry in the entire series, but they are great building block for another recipe of doom.

#91 Walking Dead Volume #15: We Find Ourselves By Robert Kirkman

#92 Captain Underpants and the Big, Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets ByDav Pilkey

***Laugh***, well the Undercover bit ..... fits me as well :) I am 40+ now and my Dad insists the only reason my son owns so many books is .... for exactly the mentioned above. True

Thanks for the short review on the novella, sounds interesting. Only cost a 1.20 Pound on the kindle.

Starred you.

#93 Captain Underpants and the Big, Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers By Dav Pilkey

#94 Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight Of The Purple Potty People By Dav Pilkey

#95 Frankie Pickle and the Pine Run 3000 By Eric Wight

#96 Giraffe and the Pelly and Me By Roald Dahl

#97 Cover By Jack Ketchum

#98 How To Train Your Dragon By Cressida Cowell

#99 Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot Vs The Mutant Mosquitoes from Mercury By Dav Pilkey

#100 Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Vs The Voodoo Vultures From Venus By Dav Pilkey

#101 Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Vs The Mechanical Monkeys From Mars By Dav Pilkey

#102 Stink and the Great Guinea Pig Express (Book #4) By Megan McDonald

#103 Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace By Eric Wight

#104 Judy Moody By Megan McDonald

#105 Judy Moody Gets Famous By Megan McDonald

#106 Stink: Solar System Superhero (Book #5) By Megan McDonald

#107 Stink: The Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown (Book #6) By Megan McDonald

#108 Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Vs The Jurassic Jack Rabbits From Jupiter By Dav Pilkey

#109 Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Vs The Stupid Stinkbugs From Saturn By Dav Pilkey

#110 Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Vs The Uranium Unicorns From Uranus By Dav Pilkey

#111 Super Diaper Baby 2: The Invasion Of The Potty Snatchers By Dav Pilkey

#112 Dragonbreath By Ursula Vernon

#113 Judy Moody Saves The World By Megan McDonald

#114 Judy Moody Saves The World By Megan McDonald

#115 Judy Moody, M.D. The Doctor Is In! By Megan McDonald

#116 Face By Tim Lebbon

#118 Judy Moody Declares Independence By Megan McDonald

#119 Judy Moody Around The World in 8 1/2 Days By Megan McDonald

#120 Clementine By Sara Pennypacker

#121 Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt By Megan McDonald

#122 The Talented Clementine By Sara Pennypacker

#123 Clementine's Letter By Sara Pennypacker

#124 Judy Moody Goes To College By Megan McDonald

#125 Babymouse, Queen Of The World By Jennifer Holm

#126 Stink and The Midnight Zombie Walk By Megan McDonald

I sense a lot of reading to youngsters going on at your house :)

Ha! Yep, we really binged on our reading with school being on pause for the Summer. My vacation is just around the corner, so the reading is likely to slow down as we take some time for travelling.

#127 Judy Moody, Girl Detective By Megan McDonald

#128 Babymouse, Our Hero By Jennifer Holm

#129 The Help By Kathryn Stockett

#130 Bedbugs By Ben Winters

What did you like The Help? My mom just gave it to me.

Man, I went on holidays in mid-August for about two weeks. I am never taking holidays again. Work did an elbow drop on me that I am not sure I have still quite fully recovered.

The Help was ok. I do not think I would every buy it for myself, but I was really encouraged to read it by a friend who gave me the copy. Strong writing, story was above average but a little rough on keeping your attention. I had to force myself through it.

My daughters love Babymouse and The Lunch Lady comics. I'm trying not to add the kids books to my list, but maybe I should. I'd be more than done lol.

I started using them not as much to keep score, but to use LT's recommendation feature for other kid's books. I must be at a hundred and fifty books read by now, but stopped adding them to this thread. It was getting to be a full time job...Ha!

I would have to say my kids favorite series so far that I read aloud has been Captain Underpants. A close second is the How to Train Your Dragon series. I have not heard of the Lunch Lady comics. Thank you for the recommendation. I will have to check it out.