HugeHorrorFan: 75 Book Challenge For 2014

After a little year hiatus in 2013 from the group, I am hoping to get in some good reading time for 2014 and tracking them on here. It will likely be a lot of horror novels, but I have never been much of a picky reader. As the year progresses, diversity will take a life of its own as usual. I will likely be reading quite a bit of Fantasy, some YA , a few scifi and maybe even on or two nonfiction novels. Sometimes I get caught in the hype of a few novels through the year, and jump right on board.

However, horror will be prominent. Let the blood run through the pages until it can run no more.

Welcome! I would be looking to borrow a few from your recommendations.

Hey, welcome back! Looking forward to your recommendations again. Also, for the last couple of years, blackdogbooks hasn't been able to put together the Halloween group read, and we'll likely be looking for a volunteer in September... :)

Hi! Thank you both.

It is great to have some time back to begin logging in again. There is something about the beginning of a new year, as all our reading goals reset, and for a second--just a split second, there is hope that I will put a huge dent in my TBR pile. Ah, who am I kidding? I will probably add brand new books to the pile equal to the number of books I read to the exponent of (insert your favorite large number here).

As for the Halloween group read, I would be up for it this year. I never ran one in the past, but I will check previous years for some ideas.

Books Read In January 2014

#1 - The Five By Robert R. McCammon, Rating

#2 - The Black Church By Toby Tate, Rating

#3 - Emergence By Gary Fry, Rating

#4 - Fevered Hills By Keith Deininger, Rating

#5 - Lurker By Gary Fry, Rating

#6 - Among Prey By Alan Ryker, Rating

#7 - Partials, Book #1 By Dan Wells, Rating

#8 - Ready Player One By Ernest Cline, Rating

#9 - How To Betray A Dragon's Hero, Book #11 By Cressida Cowell, Rating

Books Read In February 2014

NONE...Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Books Read In March 2014

#10 - The Walking Dead: March To War, Book #19 By Robert Kirkman, Rating

#11 - A Feast For Crows, Book #4 By George R. R. Martin, Rating

#12 - The Boy in the Lot By Ronald Malfi, Rating

#13 - Broken Sigil By William Meikle, Rating

#14 - Brother's Keeper By Glen Krisch, Rating

#15 - Children Of No One By Nicole Cushing, Rating

#16 - Dead Five's Pass By Colin F. Barnes, Rating

#17 - Dead World By Shaun Jeffrey, Rating

Books Read In April 2014

#18 - Marrow's Pit By Keith Deininger, Rating

#19 - Menace By Gary Fry, Rating

#20 - Miranda By John R. Little, Rating

#21 - Red Cells By Jeffrey Thomas, Rating

#22 - Sow By Tim Curran, Rating

#23 - Head Games By Scott Nicholson, Rating

#24 - A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire: From Beginnings to 1807 By A.R. Disney, Rating

Books Read In May 2014

#25 - Boy In The Dress By David Walliams, Rating

#26 - A Dance With Dragons By George R. R. Martin, Rating

#27 - Locke & Key Volume 6: Alpha & Omega By Joe Hill, Rating

#28 - Welcome To Dead House, Goosebumps #1 By R. L. Stine, Rating

Books Read In June 2014

#29 - Lunch Lady and the Picture Day Peril, Volume #8 By Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Rating

#30 - Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain, Volume #9 By Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Rating

#31 - Lunch Lady and the Schoolwide Scuffle, Volume #10 By Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Rating

#32 - Stay Out of the Basement, Goosebumps #2 By R. L. Stine, Rating

Books Read In July 2014

#33 - Monster Blood, Goosebumps #3 By R. L. Stine, Rating

#34 - Say Cheese and Die, Goosebumps #4 By R. L. Stine, Rating

#35 - Night in the Lonesome October By Richard Laymon, Rating

#1 - The Five By Robert R. McCammon, Rating -



I grew up reading Robert McCammon throughout my high school years. He wrote some amazing horror novels along with one of my favorite post-apocalyptic novels: Swan Song. After his ten year hiatus, I was ecstatic that he was coming back into the industry. True, he was focusing more on historical fiction, but still McCammon is McCammon. Then, he came out with The Five that was suppose to be a foray back into the horror genre.

Surprisingly enough, it was very disappointing. Absolutely nothing worked for me. I could not get vested with the characters, music scene was made absolutely boring, and he got in a routine that every few pages start spewing out list of things. Primarily bands. It could have used restraint.

Oh well. I guess Robert is human after all. He can write an awful novel, but will I pick up his next one that comes out? Hell ya!

I was just wondering how I managed to lose track of you in 2013. Happy horror reading!

Hi Luxx,

I hope all has been well, with you and the family. I am sure your boys have kept you on your toes. The reason you managed to lose track of me in 2013 is because I did not participate at all. Entirely my fault. There was just too much going on.

I changed roles at work after a promotion and had to travel quite a bit in 2013. We also have an income property that we are slowly upgrading, but it needed extra care this past year. You add the three little ones of my own there as well, and time was just not much of a commodity. Reading took a big hit as well as my participation on this site. Things should settle a bit more in 2014, so I am going to try my best to read a minimum of 75 books. We will see.

Generally speaking, I think we all take what we can get around here. I was absent much of the year myself, and often forgot to add my own reads; forget keeping up with some of our most enthusiastic members! Still, it's a nice community to visit, even if real life often takes us away. I hope your efforts in 2013 are productive, and that you have a relaxing and fulfilling 2014.

Happy New Year, Welcome Back and Starred! Looking forward to following your reads this year.

#2 - The Black Church By Toby Tate, Rating -

#3 - Emergence By Gary Fry, Rating -

#4 - Fevered Hills By Keith Deininger, Rating -

#5 - Lurker By Gary Fry, Rating -

#6 - Among Prey By Alan Ryker, Rating -

#7 - Partials, Book #1 By Dan Wells, Rating -

#8 - Ready Player One By Ernest Cline, Rating -

#9 - How To Betray A Dragon's Hero By Cressida Cowell, Book #11 Rating -

Ooo, Ready Player One is a five-star? I've had that one on my radar.

Glad to see you enjoyed Ready Player One! Probably one of my favorite reads in quite a while.

Wow, I can’t believe it has been almost two weeks since I finished my last book. Work picked up considerably, so reading time has really taken a beating. I have not read one single page for pleasure, and I am about to blow. I plan to change that on Friday and settle down with the next George R. R. Martin novel in line: A Feast For Crows.

30> Yes Luxx! It was a definite five stars for me and likely to be one of my best novels read this year. It had everything going for it as a YA novel: awesome hook, quick paced, excellent setting, and a very personable main character. The gaming references made this an absolute fantastic novel, reaching to information in memory banks that I was not quite sure I still had it there. It definitely targets the video game lover’s (some would say geeky) heart.

It might be argued that it is a weak novel as a dystopian novel, but I liked the fact that the author decided to stick with the fun-factor of the novel and not get too lost in scientific details.

31> Thank you for having posted it on your space! We sure have the same taste in novels. I am glad I wondered over when I did. I have to make sure to do it more often!

#10 - The Walking Dead: March To War By Robert Kirkman, Book #19 Rating -

#11 - A Feast For Crows By George R. R. Martin, Book #4 Rating -

#12 - The Boy in the Lot By Ronald Malfi, Rating -

#13 - Broken Sigil By William Meikle, Rating -

#14 - Brother's Keeper By Glen Krisch, Rating -

#15 - Children of No One By Nicole Cushing, Rating -

#16 - Dead Five's Pass By Colin F. Barnes, Rating -

#17 - Dead World By Shaun Jeffrey, Rating -

#18 - Marrow's Pit By Keith Deininger, Rating -

#19 - Menace By Gary Fry, Rating -

#20 - Miranda By John R. Little, Rating -

Okay, so #18 & 19 = bad, but #20 really good, eh?

Hi Scaifea!

That is about it.

Books #18 and #19 are both novellas in my Kindle from Darkfuse. I have a heavy volume of those stories to read and was attempting to make a nice dent this weekend. Both stories suffered for much of the same symptoms: slow pacing, unrealistic characters and somewhat glossed over plotting. When reading a novella, I like it when an author hits the ground running and keeps the octane high. They both just moved way too slow for me and the endings had little to no pay offs.

#20 on the other hand was fantastic. Here, surprisingly, the story was not necessarily high octane like I have been preaching. However, it was highly entertaining, it had a purpose and it was written with a unique approach (reverse). It brought some memories from a movie that I love called MEMENTO, but with a unique spin. It was highly entertaining and a very raw emotional rollercoaster ride.

#21 - Red Cells By Jeffrey Thomas, Rating -

#22 - Sow By Tim Curran, Rating -

>45 Huge_Horror_Fan: Ooh, well I loved Memento, too, and your review sounds great, so, wishlisted! Thanks!

#23 - Head Cases By Scott Nicholson, Rating -

#24 - A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire: From Beginnings to 1807 By A.R. Disney, Rating -

#25 - Boy In The Dress By David Walliams, Rating -

#26 - A Dance With Dragons By George R. R. Martin, Rating -

#27 - Locke & Key Volume 6: Alpha & Omega By Joe Hill, Rating -

#28 - Welcome To Dead House, Goosebumps #1 By R. L. Stine, Rating -

Goosebumps! Oh, I went through my share of those once upon a time.

#29- Lunch Lady and The Picture Day Peril, Volume 8 By Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Rating -

#30- Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain, Volume 9 By Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Rating -

#31- Lunch Lady and the Schoolwide Scuffle, Volume 10 By Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Rating -

#32 - Stay Out of the Basement, Goosebumps #2 By R. L. Stine, Rating -

#33 - Monster Blood, Goosebumps #3 By R. L. Stine, Rating -

#34 - Say Cheese and Die, Goosebumps #4 By R. L. Stine, Rating -

#35 - Night in the Lonesome October By Richard Laymon, Rating -