"What scary book are you reading right now?" - A New Beginning

Since it's 2010 and no one had started a new thread for this topic, I thought I'd jump in. I just received Eerie Archives, Volume 1 from Amazon, and can't wait to get into it.

Oooh! I used to love the covers for Eerie. I don't remember any of the stuff that was inside.

Yeah the covers are great, I love 'em. Check out this link for more:

http://www.pixeltube.com/wmc/sindex.html

Well in Jan I started with the 2nd in the creepy Locke and Key: Head Games graphic novel by Joe Hill, then skirted comedy horror with Gil's All Fright Diner by A Lee Martinez (okish) and just finished The Haunting of Hill house by Susan Hill, one of my favourite horror films and a great book.

I also read The Road which is very horrific but highly enjoyable.

Man, I've been slogging through The Talisman (very good, but just not really my thing) for the last two weeks.

Isn't The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson?

I'm not sure this is really one for the horror group but I'm currently reading and enjoying The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters and there is definitely a creeping air of menace and some strange goings on. Perfect for these horribly dark nights.

Starting Blood in Electric Blue. I'm really digging on Greg F. Gifune now. Wish Leisure would pick him up because his books are either hard to find or rather pricey since he only publishes with small press right now.

If you haven't had the chance and are lucky enough to find his books I highly recommend him. The Bleeding Season, Children of Chaos and Saying Uncle are all very good.

#5 oops yes it is. I have no idea why I get those two authors mixed up.

I recently started The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce, vol 1: The World of Horror, an oldie but a goodie. Bierce has a nice concise quality to his stories, a strong sense of place, and often a sardonic sense of humor.

I started the audiobook of I Am Legend today. I'm already pretty familiar with the story from a couple of the adaptations. So far, nicely spooky, though Matheson does slip a little bit much into overheated prose to convey the terrors of the night. I prefer the daytime sections with their quiet air of desolation.

I've just finished Thinner by Stephen King and about to begin reading Koko by Peter Straub... first page... here we go....

Oh, I hope you like Koko. From what I can remember it goes to some very dark places.

#12: I'm only a few chapters in. I like it so far...

If I can keep the snowbound fatigue away, I'll finish The Wasp Factory this evening.

Today I just picked up a copy of John Saul's The Right Hand of Evil. Can't wait to start reading!

From the 'Good Werewolf Books' thread, I've started David Morrell's The Totem.

I'm only forty pages in and nothing much has happened yet. His description isn't as sharp as it was in his later book, Creepers.

However, I have to give him points for setting his werewolf (or werewolf-esque, since I'm pretty sure there are no actual werewolves in the book) tale in Wyoming. As I read through the descriptions of the little town of Potter's Field and the ranches surrounding it, I just keep picturing the beautiful scenery from Brokeback Mountain.

I get the feeling the story is about to shift gear as Police Chief Slaughter (and I appreciate that David Morrell took the time to deal with what could be such a goofy name) has just stopped at a ranch. the ranch is deserted, but a tea kettle has just gone off. Spooky stuff is on the way.

#16: Oh, yes... gotta have silence before the storm... ;-)

#15: Ah, I miss John Saul. I used to love him when I was in high school, but I haven't read him in ages. I should start one of his newer books. Good luck with The Right Hand of Evil!

I started Cirque Du Freak #1: A Living Nightmare (more for the YA crowd) by Darren Shan and Vampires: The Greatest Stories edited by Martin H. Greenberg. I'm around 50 pages done with each, and I'd have to say A Living Nightmare is the best so far, even without one scary thing happening yet. The two stories I've finished in Vampires: The Greatest Stories--"The Bat is My Brother" by Robert Bloch and "In Darkness, Angels" by Eric Lustbader--just aren't my thing (too slow paced and flowery writing, though I did like the ending to Bloch's story). But hopefully this anthology will get better. After all, Tanith Lee, Karl Edward Wagner, Philip K. Dick, Dan Simmons, Robert R. McCammon, Jane Yolen--just to name a few of my favorite writers--are in it.

Just started Just After Sunset by Stephen King. It's the first King that I've read in awhile, and I didn't realize how much I'd missed it. So far so good though.

I'm now halfway through Koko. It's not a page-turner in the classical sense of the word. The story progresses very slowly.....

However, it's the first time I read a novel by Peter Straub and I do like the way he writes. And I'm still eager to find out what really happened at 'Ia Thuc' and what's going to happen with our little gang of nam vets. And the elephant...

#19: I skipped the first story in Just After Sunset. Couldn't get into it. But the next one was really good...

About halfway through The Living Dead, it's a zombie anthology. Some really good short stories in there, some scenarios I've never come across before and I buy pretty much anything that mentions zombies.

#4 how is Head Games? I bought it but haven't started it yet.

#20 Yeah it took me a few pages to get into the first short story, but I ended up enjoying it. I honestly haven’t read a whole lot of Steven King over the last few years, but these stories are reminding me of how good he can be when he is on. It’s making me want to go and pull out that copy of Insomnia I’ve never gotten around to reading and diving in to it.

I polished off Keene's Darkness on the Edge of Town. Not one of his better books; it reads like pure prologue.

I also started reading Hellboy. I couldn't get into them when they first came out, but I'm enjoying them now.

Half-minute Horrors is quite good if you're into kiddie horror.

I'm adding Half-minute Horrors to my wishlist (I like the cover and authors involved). Thanks for the rec, goydaeh! :)

I just started Faces of Fear by John Saul this evening (as if I need another book to read!), because it was one unread book of his I could easily find in my library (yes, it's an absolute mess) and the synopsis kind of reminded me of his older novels, in particular the misfit teen protagonist dealing with psycho stepfamilies (eg, Second Child and The Unwanted, two of my favorites). I haven't read a John Saul book in about 6 years, so I'm not sure what to expect. (Grrr, I knew I shouldn't have read this thread. It's so tempting to get sidetracked with other books here. Thanks, guys! j/k ;)

Well I'm bored with the science fiction book I'm on so I might just have to read some Poe to put things right. The Gold Bug I think...

Well The Gold Bug was great,but not what I was expecting at all! (Its not a horrror tale)
Poe was some writer,but also,like Conan Doyle, a polymath?

Finished Koko. it's the first novel by Peter Straub that I have ever read. Straub is undoubtedly a very good writer but I must admit that I found the frequent shifts in viewpoints and narrative quite distracting while reading this somewhat lengthy novel.

However, I did catch myself ordering the other two titles in the Blue Rose trilogy while I was reading this one!

Now reading The Omen by David Seltzer.

#26-27: I'd like to say I've read everything by Edgar Allan Poe, but I've maybe read a handful of his short stories. I know, shame on me. I'm a bad horror reader. ;) Btw, which sci fi book were you reading? I hope it got better.

#28: Congrats on reading such a long book! I have the Blue Rose trilogy, but I keep putting it off for just that reason. It's usually just Stephen King I let get away with the Bible-sized novels.

I finished Cirque du Freak #1: A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan tonight. Really good; recommended! It's just too bad I don't have the following sequels so I can continue with the story.

#29: Hi Sara,

I agree about the bible-sized novels; sometimes less is definitely more. I wish that some writers - including Stephen King - would edit their material just a little. I personally tend to loose momentum when I'm about 285-365 pages into a novel regardless of how well it's written. And finishing a 600+ page novel can be quite a challenge when you have other responsibilities besides reading...

Hmm... Mystery was in the mail today. Looks like I'm about to take on a new challenge...

But first I have to finish The Omen by David Seltzer. About a third into that. Until now it's like reading the screenplay for the movie. Of course Straubs characters are much stronger, but Seltzer knows how to set a decent pace for the story! Only problem seems to be that Seltzer tells what is happening instead of showing it to the reader. Great story. Weak prose!

I am hooked on John Saul Now!! Just walked in the door from my favorite used book store and purchased Saul's In the Dark of the Night. Right Hand of Evil is a hair raising read so far, and I'm only on chapter 6!!

#30: I totally agree--less is more! And finishing a 600+ page novel can be quite a challenge when you have other responsibilities besides reading... LOL! What, you mean like having a life? Finding time to eat, sleep? ;) j/k

Mystery was in the mail today. -- Wow, that was quick! Best of luck with that. I guess as long as you're enjoying what you're reading (at least it sounded like you're into the series so far), it shouldn't take long to finish, behemoth or not. And I admire that you can focus on one book at a time. That's my trouble--taking on several books at a time until I start confusing them with each other.

#31: Glad you're liking him, HKU! :) I'll have to give The Right Hand of Evil a try after I finish Faces of Fear. I don't think I have In the Dark of the Night (it's not in my LibraryThing catalog, but maybe I just haven't added it yet), but I'll keep my eyes open for it.

For some reason, I'm just not getting into John Saul's Faces of Fear (I'm only a couple chapters into it), but I think that has a lot to do with overwhelming myself with half a dozen other books at the same time. (sigh) One book at a time, Sara. :)

#32 -> Sara, you know... besides having a life, eating and sleeping I have to go to work as well. 5 days a week! There's one upside to that fact, though. I get paid once in a while and can buy new books!... :)

Mystery has found a good place on my shelf for the time being! I have plans to start reading some fantasy and science fiction novels besides horror for a while! Just to keep things a little fresh...

How can you focus on more than one book at a time? Don't you loose momentum/interest when you read a little here and a little there?...

#33: LOL! Smarty pants. :P I have one of those job thingies, too--what a coincidence! ;)--though it doesn't feel much like work. (It's in a public library, so it's not too demanding, just some of the patrons are.) Too bad you can't get partially paid in books. Or at least that's how I'd like to get paid. :)

I'm with you on shuffling through genres. I love horror, but I don't want to be one of those people who stubbornly reads just one genre and nothing else. I'll have to try some more sci fi. Fantasy I enjoy, but for some reason, I never got into heavy sci fi (Isaac Asimov and such, even though I did buy a couple of his books, just to try him out). Good luck with your other reads--and Mystery, whenever you get around to it again.

How can you focus on more than one book at a time? -- Ha! Not very well sometimes. It's usually when a book starts to slow down, or when I go book shopping, that I start flipping through other books and get sucked into another one. Then yes, I do have to flip back through a few pages to get reacquainted with characters and plot, but it's not too bad. Usually a temporary breather is what I need from some books; otherwise, I would lose patience with a great deal of them and end up donating 'em all.

(Whew, long message. Sorry! :)

Just finished McCammon's The Wolf's Hour and Stinger, as well as Keene's Darkness on the Edge of Town. The two McCammon novels blew me away, so I've picked up Swan Song and to hell with the page-count!

I'm thinking about reading Dean Koontz's The Funhouse. I have'nt bought it yet, but I would like to know what anyone's comments and thoughts about the book were. Thanks!!

#36 - I haven't liked the Dean Koontz books I've read (I just don't like his writing), but my better half does. I'm being informed that The Funhouse isn't top tier Dean Koontz, though not terrible either.

Random trivia: The Funhouse was intended to be a novelization of the Tobe Hooper movie The Funhouse. When Koontz was writing the book, he went his own way. I haven't read the book, but the synopsis sounds pretty different from the (kinda lousy) movie.

#'s 28-34 - As far as I know, Mystery is not really a horror novel, though I haven't read it myself.

If you want Peter Straub doing all-out horror, I'd recommend Floating Dragon, Mr. X (though Carlos wasn't impressed with Mr. X and I trust his opinion, so take that with a grain of salt) or especially Ghost Story. Ghost Story was one of the best horror stories I've ever read.

#35 - Man, I really need to get to Stinger. That one sounds like so much fun.

jseger, it really is. In fact, I can't remember having so much fun with a book in a long time.

I'll second the recommendation for Straub's Ghost Story. I thought it was awesome!

ETA to fix spelling

Now reading the Keep by F. Paul Wilson.
Seems that Touchstones aren't working this morning!

The Keep By F. Paul Wilson

A great book!

Still reading Right Hand of Evil by John Saul. I just came back from the used book store and purchased Funhouse, Whispers by Dean Koontz, and Lost Boy Lost Girl by Peter Staub

>43 Huge_Horror_Fan:,thanks for that!
Are his other horror books as good? I noticed that The Keep is part of a series, yet reading about the others i dont see how they can be connected!

#45: Sorry if I'm butting in, but yes, his book Midnight Mass was pretty darn good too. It's the only F. Paul Wilson book I've read, but then I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to vampires. I own The Keep but haven't started it yet, so I'm not sure how/if the books in The Adversary Cycle are connected other than through Allies/Nazis and vampires (or so I've been told). I keep hearing good things about the book/series (mainly through this thread), so I'm sure it won't disappoint. Good luck!

I forgot to ever mention it, but I am reading (wrapping up at this point) Stephen King's Thinner.

The book is terrific! A (relatively) streamlined thriller that I just couldn't put down. King does a masterful job of increasing the fear as our hero Billy's pounds steadily drop off.

I just finished Horns by Joe Hill. I can't think of any book, really, that I've read in the past six months--even the past year--that was as good as this was. There are a few that can compete, but Horns was such a thrilling, emotional, wonderful experience that....Gah! It was just plain awesome (in the truest sense of the word).

Wouldn't it be weird of one day we thought of Stephen King as 'Joe Hill father' instead of thinking of Joe as King's son? The feedback on his few books is REALLY impressive!

I need to read my copy of Heart Shaped Box soon.

I have a theory that, twenty-odd years from now, people will be flocking to what is today known as Stephen King's house and saying, "That's the house that Joe Hill grew up in."

#48-50: I will order Horns today. Looking forward to read Joe Hill. I hope he's a more disciplined writer than his father. Don't get me wrong. I love Stephen King but sometimes it would be nice if he would stick to the story and don't loose himself in, however, well-written ramblings...

Update: I would have ordered Horns. Unfortunately it turns out that the novel is not available in paperback until later this year (that is in the EU) and I don't like to read big, chunky, heavy hardbacks. Guess I'll have to wait a couple of months, then...

>46 saraslibrary: Thing is I'm not that keen on vampire stories (I hate Buffey etc) and when I realised thats what I'm reading I was like, Oh, vampires!
But having said that I do fancy reading Interview with a Vampire and Dracula sometime!

sometimes it would be nice if he would stick to the story and don't loose himself in, however, well-written ramblings...

I don't know. I think those ramblings are one of the keys to his success. I think as often as not, those detours are what give his books depth.

Well, I did say "sometimes"... ;)

It's just that I've noticed a tendency to loose interest when he strays to much. And when I decide to put a book aside for a while, I find it very hard to come back without starting over from the beginning. Result: a lot of unfinished King-novels on my shelves...

That's probably why I loved Thinner. Not much straying there... :)

I agree with jseger, the ramblings are one of the reasons I keep returning to King over and over. But I can understand why people might not always like them.
And Joe Hill doesn't ramble all that much, if at all.

I think King's ramblings are hit and miss, depending on what he's rambling about. I love his children and old folk, who have such a lot of heart, and his small town politics, which he gets spot on every time.

#52: Oops, that must suck then. Are you still planning on finishing The Keep? If you do, let us know what you think. That'll be an interesting review from someone who isn't into vampires.

I haven't read Interview or Dracula either, which just shocks my vampire-reader friends. But I'm like you: I just say, "Eventually..."

#47+ re: Stephen King: I'm with most of you on enjoying his ramblings--sometimes. That's why I maybe read one of his books a year, unless it's something short like Cycle of the Werewolf or The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, which are nice breaks.

I always feel guilty here re: Joe Hill, since I own Heart-Shaped Box but keep finding something better to read. Like with most of my books, I'll get to it ... eventually. ;)

Update on my horror reads:

* Still reading Faces of Fear by John Saul; I'm about halfway done. It's good (I'll probably give it a 4 or 5, depending on the ending, etc), but I miss reading his paranormal books. This one almost reminds me of The Silence of the Lambs with some menacing serial killer slicing bits and pieces of women to possibly make a body suit. Who knows; that's just my assumption of how it may turn out.

* Also still reading Vampires: The Greatest Stories edited by Martin H. Greenberg. Actually, I keep getting sidetracked with other books and life/work/yadda yadda yadda. Again, "eventually".

#47+ re: Stephen King: I'm with most of you on enjoying his ramblings--sometimes. That's why I maybe read one of his books a year, unless it's something short like Cycle of the Werewolf or The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, which are nice breaks.

Maybe that's what I'm doing wrong; trying to read more than one Stephen King novel a year...

By the way, I also have Heart-Shaped Box lying around somewhere. In addition it's the danish translation, which means it should be quite easy to get into (for me). However, I too keep finding something else that grabs my immediate interest; that is if I'm not getting sidetracked by my job-thingy... ;)

#58: Maybe that's what I'm doing wrong; trying to read more than one Stephen King novel a year...

Oh, nothing wrong with that. I remember when I was a kid, Stephen King was all I would read--until I realized hey, there are actually other horror writers out there besides Mr. King. (mock gasp) Hard to imagine, I know. ;) I wouldn't say limit your King books, unless you're really getting bored with him. Variety's the spice of life and all that cliched crap. :) Actually, all this Stephen King talk is making me want to pull out one of his books I haven't read yet--or maybe I'll just stick with one of his movies. We'll see....

I read a Stephen King book a month!

I'm part of the 'SK Flavor of the Month' project in the King's Dear Constant Readers group. We're reading our way through all of SK's books in publication order.

February's book was Thinner, March will be Skeleton Crew.

Oh yeah, having finished Thinner, I've started an old (well, 1985 anyway) sci-fi horror book called Derelict.

A space liner blows up. A life boat with a diverse crew of survivors makes it out and comes across a derelict spaceship. They dock, scary stuff happens.

I admit that when I picked it up way back when, it was because of the cover:



But rereading the book, it's actually pretty entertaining so far (though I'm only two chapters in so far).

I just read Skeleton Crew for the first time a little while ago, and is it wrong that I didn't like it? As a Stephen King book, I'd only give it a 3/5. It had some wonderful stories--'The Mist', 'Uncle Otto's Truck', 'The Jaunt'--but overall, it left me pretty cold. I much preferred Night Shift and, particularly, Everything's Eventual, my favorite of his collections. At least it was better than Just After Sunset. And I have yet to read Nightmares and Dreamscapes, so.........

#60-61

I read a Stephen King book a month!

I know, my comment to Sara was just meant to be funny; sorry 'bout that... Anyway, since I already - and I should say with great enjoyment - have read Thinner (and also 'The Mist' and 'Here Be Tygers' in Skeleton Crew I will actually try to keep the pace in the reading challenge/group 'SK Flavor of the Month' from now on.

That means my current scary book is Skeleton Crew. Even though I was hoping to get to Dan Simmons' Summer of Night eventually...

Sara, I guess you're right. My remarks regarding Mr. Kings ramblings may be derived from being a little bored with his literary digressions. However, I still think he's truly a master of catching the readers interest but not the greatest finisher...

edit: cleaning up and fixing touchstones

#64 - Locke,

Skeleton Crew is the book for March, so you don't need to start yet. Besides, I've heard that Summer of Night is terrific! That is one I need to get to myself. Yet I read stuff like Derelict instead. No accounting for taste...

#65 -> I know, but I really need a head start. I'm a slow reader... :)

I'm also at the moment foraging into Fantasy Land trying to get some variety into my reading. Currently I'm reading The Lies of Locke Lamora; a novel about a gang of con artists. Very interesting and highly entertaining so far! That means Skeleton Crew for the time being is just the secondary book in my 'currently reading' pile...

Anyway, it could be interesting to read Summer of Night and It somewhat consecutively as I've got the impression that these two novels somehow share the same theme. But that's for the long and warm summer evenings if we stick to the schedule... :)

>63 BookBindingBobby::
Skeleton Crew is like that, probably because it's a collection of early stuff. The stories that work are some of his best, so it's worthwhile for that.

>64 Locke::
I agree with King's finishing.

>66 Locke::
Last time I read It was over a long hot summer and I enjoyed it enormously. Looking forward to repeating the experience.

Read The Flood and The Levee of the Blackwater saga--a serial novel much like Green Mile. Intrigued enough to order the next two. Plus I like the cover art.

@68

You've caught up to me. I really disliked The Flood, but liked The Levee enough to keep going. Now that I've found Book 3 (in my car), I'll have to start back up again.

I'm about to start The Living Dead tonight. I've got high hopes for it, given how much I liked Adams' other anthology Wastelands.

*pokes at LT/Amazon's tendency to make those appear to be King-only books*

#70: Oh yeah, I see what you mean about the Stephen King thing. He obviously didn't write either, but his name sells books, so that's probably why his name's linked to both. Anyway, best of luck with The Living Dead*. I see it all the time, but its size is a little intimidating. Maybe later (if I can find a cheap copy).

*touchstone's wrong, but I'm in a hurry--sorry!

Hey all, I just started Ketchum's Offspring. I'm curious to see if it'll come close to matching Off Season. It's kinda nice coming back to Ketchum--his style isn't amazing, but except for the character stuff, I think it's pretty solid.

#71: It's a biggish book, but few of the stories crack 30 pages lengthwise. It should flow along pretty quickly.

And it seems to run around 10 bucks online.

#72: I remember Offspring as being a pretty solid read. It doesn't pack the same visceral punch as Off Season (though I can't think of any book that really ever has), but it is still great. Ketchum is, in case any of you were wondering, freaking amazing. Read his collections Closing Time and Other Stories and Peaceable Kingdom. Ketchum is John Updike meets Stephen King.

Is it just me, or are doll houses inherently creepy?

Much like clowns.

Or small, pale-faced children.

#72: I just bought Off Season a couple weeks back, because one of my coworkers recommended it (plus I saw it mentioned on here as well). However, I haven't even gotten around to thumbing through it, so I can't add anything to that. (Don't know why I posted then. Sorry! :) Just good luck! Hope you enjoy it.

#73: Yikes, $10 is a little out of my price range. I usually buy books for a dollar or 2 or less.

lol @ 75-77. Well, none of the above is scary to me, but I got a kick out of hearing what makes people afraid. Me? Just your regular ol' sadistic killers, thank you. Something about pain and torture I don't like. ;)

I'm with you on the price range. $2 dollars or less is right up my alley.

Just getting ready to start The Dark Half and looking forward to it.

#80: It's been many, many years since I've read that one, but I remember liking it. Hope you enjoy it!

I've just started Skeleton Crew. The Mist is the first story. The storm has just passed and the mist hasn't rolled in yet.

#81 saraslibrary: I'm only about 30 pages in right now, but I'm already creeped out (= excellent so far!)

:83: I've always loved that prologue. What an image.

Well into Joe Hill's, Heart-Shaped Box. Very good so far. Quite an imagination.

#83: Creeped out is always good! :)

#84: I can't remember the prologue. I'll have to find my copy. Is that when Thad has an operation as a kid, and they find the remains of his twin inside him? If so, that always freaked me out about that book.

#86: Yep, that's it. Another very creepy point for me is that, based on what it's about, King made the dedication to Richard Bachman (!)

I polished off Blind Panic yesterday and then read Blackwater III: The House.

Blind Panic was decent, though nothing exceptional. Characterization is strong, but the plot gets dragged out.

The House really picks up the action on Blackwater. I disliked the first one for being all prologue, but I suppose it's only fair for a six-part novel. I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes, especially since *SPOILERS*










the third book resolves every conflict from the first two.

#87: Absolutely! That's probably why The Dark Half is one of my faves--I can definitely see Stephen King in it.

#74 I agree on Offspring, which I think in some ways was a little more complex than Off Season. Though, Off Season may have raised my heart rate like no other book. By comparison, Offspring felt almost safe.

I finished Fevre Dream today, which was quite good. The concept of vampires and riverboats is intriguing, and I think Martin really makes it work. A good novel with interesting characters, a real sense of antebellum riverboat life and some moments of real suspense.

I am half way through Infected by Scott Sigler, sure is making my toes curl!

On the advice of this thread I also picked up Horns this week. So far I'm really enjoying it, which is not surprising as I loved Heart Shaped Box.

#91 - I remember really grooving on Infected (which was a real surprise as I wasn't too excited to read it originally).

I liked it enough that I immediately went out and picked up the sequel, Contagious. I need to read that soon.

#92 - Me too! I am about 200pgs into Horns. I liked Heart Shaped Box, but I think Hill's writing has matured with Horns.

#93- I agree with you, there's definitely something different with Horns that I hadn't been able to put my finger on. The flow of the story seems ... better? I don't know! :-P

The thing with Heart-Shaped Box was that, though I liked it a lot, I sometimes wondered why I was reading a novel-length short-story. Horns seems infinitely richer than anything Hill has written before.

started Hell House by Richard Matheson

I liked The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancy. It is a YA book but it really grabbed me. It starts quickly and keeps moving all the way to the end.

#98: Sounds really good--I love YA horror. Even though LT predicted I'd only like it, I'll still keep my eyes out for it. Thanks! :)

Just finished The Two-Bear Mambo by champion mojo storyteller Joe R. Lansdale. In case any of you don't know, Lansdale is one of the best writers we have, and if you don't read him, Hap and Leonard need to open up a can of Texas-styled whup-ass on ya.

#100: I'll be finishing up Rumble Tumble this evening and I agree with you Lansdale is great. The Hap and Leanard series is a really fun read and some of his earlier short story work has some great horror elements.

I've just gotten a nook and went ahead and bought Joe Hill's Horns. Can't wait to read it and try out my new eReader, which I was relunctant to try. I'm still not sold on reading digital, but we'll see how it goes.

@93 Well I finished Infected enjoyable but a bit too gruesome for me.. I nearly didnt read the "chicken scissors" chapter! There were some other irritating bits (such as explaining things a bit too much!) but on whole I enjoyed it.

Be interesting to see how Contagious fares..

Oh man, you knew from the first mention of 'chicken scissors' you knew that wasn't going to be good!

I finished The 13th (Leisure) last night. The writing combines a very mysterious, sciency first half with an extremely hardcore, let's-get-naked-and-worship-demons second. I preferred the way it started, but Everson writes well in either mode, although there's a very weird conversation once the demons show up and start having an argument out of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

I'm reading Dracula. After all these years of watching Dracula movies, I just discovered that no one in Hollywood has read the book.

#104: The 13th looks good. I bought a copy a few weeks back and have kept it on top of my stack of books, debating on whether or not I should read it anytime soon. I'm just the opposite--the second half sounds more up my alley. Thanks for reminding me! I'll have to flip through it sometime.

LOL @ #105. You're probably right about no one in Hollywood having read Dracula. But then, I've never gotten around to it either, so I can't sling mud. ;)

Finished The Dark Half. Good 'n' creepy.

I'm looking forward to the Dark Half coming up in the King's Dear Constant Readers group. Though it isn't my favorite Stephen King book, that opening scene is amazing.

After reading the 'Foreign Horror' thread, I've decided to give Battle Royale another chance. Though the premise is a sure fire winner, either the writing or the translation is really bad. Either way, the book is tough to read. Parts of it feel like it was written by a twelve year old.

I've just hit the spot where I quit reading last time (the receipt I'd used as a bookmark was still there), but this time I'm going to try to stick to it.

jseger: Agreed (about the opening of The Dark Half. For me, one of the creepiest parts of the book was that King included in the dedication section at the beginning a Thank You to Richard Bachman. Goes along with the subject matter quite nicely, and by nicely I mean Very Creepily - lol!

@108 I like the battle royale film but I dunno the book/comic has never really appealed to me. Maybe a lack of imagination on my part but I am not sure what a book could add to the story.

1/2 way through the classic vampire tale Carmilla. Enjoying it much more than Dracula!

#110 - I am not sure what a book could add to the story.

Uhhh... you know this is a book site, right?

No, but really I have to say that about a hundred and fifty pages in and the writing of Battle Royale has not gotten any better at all. I'm gonna tough it out and finish it. But I have a feeling that this is a case where I'd recomend seeing the movie and skipping the original novel (and I'm saying that without having seen the movie myself).

In the author's biography it says that Koushun Takami has a degree in literature and was a reporter before writing the book that made him famous. Also, the book was a huge success in Japan (which is what inspired the movie and manga adaptation).

I'm guessing the bad writing is the fault of the translator. I get the feeling that it is a very literal translation with no real thought of what would sound clunky to an English reader's ears. I'm wondering if Battle Royale was translated entirely via BabelFish.

@111 :-) That did sound a bit odd, just to dig myself in deeper to explain, I guess that I enjoyed the film on a rather superficial level more than I enjoyed the idea.

I'm working my way through At the Mountains of Madness by Lovecraft. He's one of my favorite authors but for some reason I haven't read this one yet. I love me some H.P.

#112 - No worries. The book really is a big pain. I wonder. I'm not enjoying it, yet it has enthusiastically positive reviews. I guess they were able to get past the clunky writing to enjoy the story.

I don't have the highest standards myself. How could I when I read so much horror and westerns? But man, this stuff is just bad.

I just bought/started Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates today. It's a quick read, I'll give it that (I'm maybe 1/4 of the way through it), but I'm having a hard time really getting into it (maybe because the writing's all over the place, eg, loads of "&"s instead of "and"s, CAPS, etc). Anyone here finish Zombie? Likes/dislikes?

hey sara,

I read it, didn't care for it so much, or the other book I read by her.

Got book three and four of the Blackwater Saga in the mail so I am forging on.

quartzite, you oughta write up a review of the Blackwater books as you read them. The ones that are there now aren't too helpful.

They sound promising.

sara - Zombie was one of the most disturbing books I ever read. I can't say I *liked* it given the way Oates approached the book, but I'm glad I read it. Probably won't read it again, though.

Reading The Road and Un Lun Dun.

Picked these up at the airport.

#116 & 119: Thanks for the input, you two. I just finished Zombie tonight, and I'm pretty middle-of-the-road about it as well. I didn't love it or hate it. I didn't even find it as disturbing or graphic as I'd expected either. I guess I kept comparing it to American Psycho, which I found much more graphic (but then that one also put me to sleep half the time with all the yuppy talk). I will say that I loved how fast paced Zombie was. If I didn't have to work today, I probably would've finished it up Friday night, when I bought it. It's not one I'd necessarily say is a "must read", but I'm with you, drneutron, in that I'm glad that I read it. (4/5 stars)

Btw, beeg, what was the other book you read by Joyce Carol Oates? I've read a few of her other short stories and have really enjoyed them (especially her more darker psychological ones), but haven't read any of her novels yet. Zombie's my first by her.

#120: Un Lun Dun by China Mieville? Sounds like something I'd read. I'll have to look for it sometime. Thanks!

On to some vampires: I just started Vivia by Tanith Lee (one of my favorite writers). I really loved her Blood Opera series, but guessing by some of the reviews, it's not entirely like those books. Still, it's good so far.

I read The Road recently and enjoyed it a lot.

#122 it was The Gravediggers daughter I didn't love it so much either.

I finished Horns and loved it. I enjoyed it much more than Heart-Shaped Box, which I still feel I was a little hard on in my review. Where I felt I couldn't get into the characters in Heart-Shaped Box, I really felt connected with those in Horns. I think the back story segments fill in nicely for character development. I appreciate the effort to build a sense of emotional connection with the characters whether that connection is one of endearment or loathing. I've often enjoyed that from Joe Hill's dad. His name escapes me at the moment but it will come to me :).

I've just started Darkness on the Edge of Town and so far it's interesting. I usually enjoy Brian Keene, so I'm sure this will be enjoyable as well. Even though I enjoyed Castaways and Urban Gothic, it's good to get back to Keene writing something Keene would write instead of writing a tribute to others as he did for Richard Laymon and Edward Lee respectively.

#122 Yes its by China Mieville.I was surprised I found one of his books and so I snatched it up quickly.

#125: From serial killers to historical, what a difference. I can't say The Gravedigger's Daughter would be at the top of my Want to Read list (in fact, LT predicted I wouldn't like it), but I'm still interested in what else Joyce Carol Oates has written. She's so prolific.

#126: Weird timing. I just checked Darkness on the Edge of Town in today at work and was going to thumb through it, but I didn't have the time. Hope you like it!

And why do I always feel guilty for not having read Heart-Shaped Box by now? I bought it a year or so ago, tried to start it, but got distracted by something or other. I'll have to eventually give Joe Hill a read. Glad to hear you enjoyed Horns too.

#127: Didn't know China was a guy (not that that matters), but I've seen the name before somewhere. Let us know how Un Lun Dun turns out, ok?

Just finished Darkness on the Edge of Town and I have to say that I'm glad I didn't start on Keene with this one. It wasn't bad. It's just that nothing really happens. It is simply a little slice of life within his overall mythos. I like and recommend Keene, but would strongly suggest reading others before this one.

Now, on to Joe McKinney's Quarantined. I hadn't realized he had a new book out and I enjoyed Dead City.

@129

I agree about Darkness on the Edge of Town. It would have made a great prologue, but it feels like the book is just starting when they SPOILERS srewes eht otni nwod og.

I finished John Dies at the End last night, which was incredible. Solidly plotted throughout, plently of good zingers, and one of the best endings I've read lately.

Now onto Bite Me and Blackwater 5.

#130: I saw John Dies at the End several times in stores, etc, but had no idea it was a horror novel. The cover stuck in the my head, the one with the title written on the hand. Looks good. Thanks! And ditto with Bite Me. But I want to start Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck first. Good look with your two new reads! :)

This thread is hard on my wishlist. I really liked Heart Shaped Box so with all the positive feedback here, I'd better get to Horns sooner rather than later.

I just finished Already Dead by Charlie Huston which seems like a horror/mystery/noir hybrid and which I enjoyed immensely.

Finished Quarantined and was a little disappointed. I wouldn't categorize it as horror. More of a suspense, whodunit where the story could have been plucked right out of today's headlines. Which, in itself, makes it a little scary. I wasn't expecting more zombies like his Dead City, but I was expecting more horror elements to the story. It was a quick read and not altogether unenjoyable though.

I'm now reading Feeding Ground by Sarah Pinborough. I have already read Breeding Ground, but this isn't really a sequel. More of a companion and parallel story. Not liking it as much as the first, but I do like Sarah's writing and the story's starting to get a more fever pitch to it.

Finished Bite Me, which is near the top of the list for my favorite Christopher Moore books.

I read Horns over the weekend and don't really see what the big deal is. The plot isn't complex enough to carry a novel, and I didn't feel that Ig gets fleshed out at all. Nor did most of the other characters, aside from Lee.

#134 - I need to pick up Bite Me. I've enjoyed all of Christopher Moore's books and look forward to continuing this story line.

Finished Feeding Ground. This is my least favorite of Sarah Pinborough's books. Breeding Ground was a fun post apocolyptic type of story. Feeding Ground was just kind of silly to me.

I've picked up 3 Greg F. Gifune ebooks from Horror Mall. Heretics, Judas Goat, and Kingdom of Shadows. I'm having trouble adding them to my library, as I always do for ebooks, so I'll probably just have to add them manually. But I love Gifune and am really getting into Heretics.

#135 - Have you read Sarah Pinborough's The Reckoning? I've been thinking of reading that for the longest.

The only book of hers I've read so far is The Hidden and though it's been a few years, I remember I liked it.

Anyone know why she and Leisure parted ways?

Oh yeah. I just finished Stephen King's old, old novel Rage. Despite its promising premise and controversial history, I'd say it's the weakest book of his I've yet read.

Up next is The Long Walk which I've heard nothing but good things about.

The Long Walk is fanfreakingtastic.

Hey James. Yeah, I read The Reckoning. I don't remember much about it other than it had some spooky scenes. I wrote a short review. I like Sarah and will continue to read her books. Maybe it's that british influence. The Hidden is one of the few of hers I haven't read but have been meaning to pick up. That and Tower Hill.

I didn't know she and Leisure parted ways. Hopefully she'll find another publisher.

Picked up Watcher in the Shadows which is not horror, but still a very good story of playing goat while trying to catch the tiger before it jumps.

Just finished the gothic horror We have always lived in the castle by Shirley Jackson. really enjoyed it, no surprises but it's a highly atmospheric tale of mental illness.

#141 wasn't that a great little story, sorta reminded me of "what ever happened to Baby Jane"

Finally finished Hell House by Richard Matheson can't say I was impressed, but I've read worse.

Quartzite,

Don't let Hell House be the basis for your opinion of Richard Matheson. That's a popular book of his, but I've never understood why as really it is a pretty poor book by a good writer.

I really enjoyed Hater by David Moody. It's the first book of a planned trilogy, but it stands up very well on its own. I didn't really like the direction the series seems to be heading, but I'll pick up the sequel.

And F U, Penguin, which I suppose is scary (if you're a penguin).

#145: Sounds good, goydaeh. F U, Penguin, that is. Kind of like Bad Cat but with penguins? I'll have to look for it.

He covers the whole animal kingdom.

#147: Ah, even better. Enjoy! :)

Scary book update: I started Vivia by Tanith Lee awhile back; and while it's still very good (I love her writing, as I've said), my interest has kind of waned now that I've gotten 1/3 through it. The story's made a twist and changed point of views, something I'm not too thrilled about. Still, I'm eager to see who lives/dies by the end. ;)

I'm about a quarter of the way into The Hungry Moon by Ramsey Campbell. I'd previously only read his short works, so this is an interesting change of pace. It starts off a little slow, with so many characters that it's hard to keep track of. It's got a nice slow build and an interesting pagans vs. Christians vibe that reminds me of "The Wicker Man." (The good one.)

I need to read more Ramsey Campbell. I'm a little nervous about trying him again though, because the previous book of his I'd read (Midnight Sun) took a great concept and excellent writing and turned out a dull book where not enough happens and what does happen is so strongly hinted at in the build up, that it comes off as under-whelming.

Sounds a little bit like The Hungry Moon could be following that same path.

Just finished Dark Echo by F.G. Cottam which I really enjoyed. I enjoyed The House of Lost Souls by the same author last year and wasn't disappointed with this book. I love the creepiness of his writing which I find quite scary without being able to put my finger on why that is. It's unsettling and I like that - no out and out blood letting, but psychologically his writing really gets under my skin and creeps me out. I've just ordered The Waiting Room which I'll be starting pretty much as soon as it drops through the letter box.

Not exactly horror, but I just started Darkly Dreaming Dexter this morning by Jeff Lindsay after finding a super-cheap copy yesterday (yay!). So far, so good. I might just want to watch the TV series again after this.

#152 Not read the books, but I loveloveLOVE the TV series. You'll have to let me know how they compare Sara :o)

Same here--love the show! :) And I'll try to remember to post when I finish (I'm really bad about that). But I've noticed, not only on LibraryThing but at work too, that I haven't met one person who's read and watched the series. Anyone here done both?

Yep, me :)

LOVE the show, didn't enjoy the book.

Just now reading this thread and had to jump in the water too.

#98, 99
The Monstrumologist was shockingly good. I had never expected to like it as much as I did. Original and chilling.

re: Thinner - I'll say it again -reading that book gave me night and day mares when I was a beanpole thin teen. It kept me away from Stephen King for a few years well.

The Monstrumologist? How did I miss THAT as a title?

Just went on my wishlist...

#155: Cool, you're the first I've met who's done both. Too bad about the book. It's an incredibly fast read so far, though I've been busy with other stuff to get as far as I'd like.

#157: I missed it too. Looks interesting though.

I've been reading the relatively new Ellen Datlow collection, Best Horror of the Year, Volume 1.

The Monstumologist is an extremely original and great book. Before I read it I was given to understand that it was a YA book and almost didn't pick it up. What a close call!

>159 saraslibrary::
It's a very fast read but I wasn't impressed by the writing, I thought it was a very forgettable book. Don't be put off by me though, a lot of people seem to like it.

#160: Oh, wow, I didn't know she had another anthology series out. I was so used to her co-editing the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror books (which I have yet to finish one of them, even though I own a couple; they're so damn big!). I don't really recognize any of the names in Best Horror of the Year, Volume 1, but I'll look for it when I'm at work tomorrow. Thanks! :)

#161: YA books don't put me off (they're my faves!), but I can understand how they might seem less scary or poorly written. Glad you liked it! :)

#162: Well, no, it's not going to win any top literary awards or anything, but then I read more for fun than anything else. I'm already more than halfway done with it, and if I stay up a little later, I might finish it tonight. (fingers crossed)

Ah, well. Sleep and work got in the way, but I finally finished Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay today (Thursday). I absolutely loved it (it got 5/5 stars from me), though I didn't like the ending so much. The TV show had a better conclusion with Dexter, his foster sister, and the serial killer, imho. And it's just too bad I don't have the others. I would've loved to have done a Dexter-fest this week.

re Dexter, I've read all four books and watch show-- I like both very much -- but consider them more or less two different animals. The first book and the first show are fairly close parallel. After that they diverge significantly. I think some of the concepts in the book remain too gruesome or untouchable for TV. Meanwhile in the shows he begins to long to find some who will understand, and love, the "real him", but in the books he is troubled by no such desire -- his only apparent emotion besides the longing to kill is a solid devotion to his sister and latterly to Rita's children.

I watch the show religiously, but have not read the books yet. I am going to give them a try. I am wondering if Rita has the same fate in the books as she did in the TV series.

the scary book im reading is the scary stories books. they are so awesome. once i couldnt fall asleep so i read a little bit of the book, and then i had nightmares. it was freaky! but awesome!

Sometimes it's nice to be an airhead, especially when I realized this morning I do have the second Dexter book--Dearly Devoted Dexter--so I've officially started my mini Dexter-a-thon. Will hunt for the rest tomorrow or whenever.

#165: I noticed quite a few similarities between Darkly Dreaming Dexter and the 1st season of Dexter; well, except for the ending. Thanks for the head-ups about the difference later on. I'm guessing I'll probably like the TV show more, because I started with that first.

#166: The books are worth a shot if you're a big fan. I'm not sure about Rita, since I haven't gotten that far in the show. (There's a looong waiting list for the DVDs at work. I should probably just go out and buy all the seasons.)

#167: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz? Yeah, I loved those, especially the illustrations. Nice and drippy gross.

Read Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark this week. Heard so much about it on LT I'd thought I'd give it a go. I loved the illustrations, they were terrifying. Didn't realise they were all based on folk tales and urban legends, with a few notes on their origins - gave it a bit more interest to me as an adult reader. I'm sorry I never heard of the book as a kid, I would have been freaked!

Hmmm, just clicked over to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and the thingometer (or whatever) seems to think I probably won't like it. Wonder why...? Anyway new FG Cottam through the door today in the shape of The Magdelena Curse (no touchstone) so I'm good to go as soon as I finish The Seance by John Harwood.

I recommend Robert San Souci's Short & Shivery series for people who like the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books.

#170 and the thingometer (or whatever) seems to think I probably won't like it.

Me too, with high certainty, even though it's in both my Favorites and Wishlist collections. :)

bibliobeck, I've been meaning to ask you: do F. G. Cottam's other books have the same sort of crazy endings as The House of Lost Souls? I really liked that one, but not so much the end....

Hi d2 - I know what you mean about the ending of The House of Lost Souls. Dark Echo was definitely more restrained and it still had the creepy menace that I liked so much, bit there is still something about the ending that's less satisfying than the body of the book. For me though, the writing more than makes up for it if I'm a little disappointed at the end.

I love his take on jumping back in time to sinister characters that raise the menace factor. Also he was writing about his home town of Southport which isn't far from where I grew up, so I found descriptions of the town in the '30s really fascinating. I just really enjoy his writing style, and the way he can make me glance around the room if I'm reading alone at night...just to check, you know... :o)

Looking forward to reading The Magdalena Curse and I'm still waiting for The Waiting Room, (no touchstone) an earlier book that I ordered a while ago to be delivered.

Edited for touchstones - but they don't seem to want to play

@170

That's weird. I have all three in my library, rated 5, and am still getting "probably won't like."

I got a 'will like' but I have a lot of children's books in my library - maybe it's matched more on that than on horror.

#s 174, 176, 177

Haha good game this. I just checked my lowest rated horror, 362 Belisle Street (aka The Dwelling) by Susie Moloney. I rated it half a star - I really did not like that book! However thingometer is still convinced I 'will love' it. I'm gonna stop relying on the thingy-meter so much I think!

Yep, I think it's officially broken.

#178 bibliobeck

Oh yeah the Dwelling. That half star was very generous of you.

I'm reading Insomnia by Stephen King. So far I find the main character to be very likable - but the story is not scary at all.

Insomnia is one of my all-time favorite King novels. It isn't a horror novel, in case you didn't know, so don't expect it to get any scarier. However, Ralph Roberts is maybe my favorite King protagonist, and the story is just so excellent.

Thanks for letting me know BookBindingBobby. I'll keep reading because the story itself interesting and yeah Ralph Roberts is a dearheart. He makes me miss my grandpa a bit.

#170

Oh yeah the Dwelling. That half star was very generous of you.

Phlox :::snort::: I know - I had to give it half to register my feelings otherwise it would look unrated and I felt too strongly for that. The really sad tale is that I'd seen the cover somewhere and thought it looked really interesting, so I hunted everywhere for a copy and finally ordered it (and paid full price!). I don't think I've ever been so disappointed in my life...

#150 - a great concept and excellent writing and turned out a dull book where not enough happens and what does happen is so strongly hinted at in the build up, that it comes off as under-whelming.

Sounds a little bit like The Hungry Moon could be following that same path.

There's definitely quite a bit of that going on. In his short stories Campbell has a great talent at giving the reader a sense of something half-glimpsed, only caught in peripheral vision, then when the revelation comes down at the end it's freakier for having already be suggested. And there are some neat moments like that here, but so many of them seem to be false scares, that the tension starts to drain out of it. Also, he hasn't quite got a grasp on exposition or pacing, the latter impacted by the former. There are two big blocks of exposition, but neither one really worked at building up the tension.

Overall, I'm still enjoying it, and will probably be done with it tomorrow, but wouldn't rate it as highly as some of his short stories.

Reading Matheson's Hell House. So far it isn't very scary but is a fun haunted house tale - none of the characters are very likeable but they're not two-dimensional either. I'm starting to find it really funny whenever Dr Barrett gets hurt by the house, he tries to be ever so practical about it while he's being attacked but afterwards is always moaning "my leg", "my thumb"! I love the way he shouts "my thumb!" when his wife tries to seduce him in the sauna. Hilarious.

I'm still hoping it gets scarier as it goes along, but if it carries on in this vein I won't be complaining, it's still a great read.

Reading Xombies: Apocalypticon, a zombie/sci-fi hybrid. More sci/fi than horror so far, so not very scary, but it is picking up steam a little as I get closer to the end. I'd say ultimately it;s an enjoyable read if you're into post-apocalyptic fiction. Anyone read it, or the previous one in the series Xombies: Apocalypse Blues?

I picked up Xombies: Apocalypse Blues (when it was originally published as just 'Xombies'), but just couldn't get into it. The more I read about the book (Islamic Beatles tribute band?), the less I really want to give it a try.

I've just finished The Seance by John Harwood which I loved. Not scary, but a really good Victorian mystery with the odd ghost, spiritualism, haunted woods, an old abandoned house, threats of the madhouse etc etc. It really reminded me of Wilkie Collins The Woman in White - a really good read. It's the sort of book I'll re-read by a roaring fire in the winter.

I've just started The Magdelena Curse by my new favourite author FG Cottam and I'm hoping for great things.

Recently I have read:

The Academy by Bently Little,
The Mailman by Bently Little,
Urban Gothic by Brian Keene,
Castaways by Brian Keene, and
Infected by Scott Sigler.

They were all pretty good reads, and I am looking forward to reading Contagious by Scott Sigler.

Finished up Xombies: Apocalypticon last night. It took a weird turn at the end, not really sure what the author was going for with it. Next up is 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

About to start Mister B Gone by Clive Barker.
If I finish it,and its quite slim, it will be the first Barker book I have managed to finish as everything by him so far has been too big,too long winded.

@191 ugh, that's prolly the worse book by Barker, which is hard for me to say as he's a favorite. It's the only book I've never gotten around to finishing I'm ashamed to say.

>192 beeg: well i've tried a few times to read his Sacrament but I got so bogged down with unnecesarry detail I gave up! Just so long winded and yet I'm sure theres a decent story in there trying to get out! Same with Stephen King's It which I couldnt be bothered with.

Shame, shame, shame on you for giving up on It!
Oh, I kid, I kid. And I really enjoyed Mister B. Gone. It was quick and fun, certainly not one of Barker's more grandiose visions. In Barker's ouevre, this is what one might consider an enjoyable pot-boiler.

I read Douglas Clegg's Neverland over the weekend, which was quite good. (I've previously read his Isis, which I disliked, but the blurb seemed interesting enough.) It starts slow, and I was ready to invoke the "100 pages and quit" rule, but the action picked up around page 98. It's listed as dark fantasy / quiet horror, but the violence gets pretty graphic once it gets going.

I abandoned Kelly Link's Pretty Monsters much later than I should have (3/4 of the way through the book). Every single story is pure prologue, and when something finally happens, it's invariably the last sentence of the story.

I've been reading Harvest Home and volume 2 of Clive Barker's Books of Blood. So far, Harvest Home has been pretty mellow, not moving beyond mild creepiness, though Tryon does a pretty good job of setting the scene. Barker's Books of Blood are pretty fun, definitely demented at times.

Is volume 2 the one with Dread in it? I remember, that story bothered me like none I'd read before.

Yes, that's the one. He's got some pretty freaky stories. I finished it today and the only one I really didn't care for was "The New Murders in the Rue Morgue," in part because I think the whole "famous horror story turns out to have been based on real life incident" trope seems sort of tired. Also, the story is just ridiculous.

'Dread' is a very scary tale. Other favourites:

The Body Politic (about the hands rebelling)
Down, Satan! (made me think of H.H.Holmes)
The Forbidden (made into The Candyman)
In The Flesh (the story set in a prison)

Edit - Sorry, talking rubbish! I thought you meant the second omnibus edition, which doesn't even have Dread in it.

Dread is definitely the highlight of vol. 2. It doesn't have any fantasy element to it and is straight forward horror. The other stories were good, they had that Clive Barker other-worldliness, except for the Rue Morgue one, which I did enjoy. I think I found that one disturbing because it reminded me of a real sexual fantasy in Women on Top, about a woman being sexually fondled by an ape in a laboratory while being observed by scientists. Very, very odd.

#188 Thanks for telling us about The Seance - sounds just my kind of thing and I've added it to my wishlist.

Completely forgot - I finished Hell House this week. It was probably outrageous for its time but now seems silly and OTT. It wasn't scary, the horror was in the depravity of the house's history but this wasn't particularly disturbing in the way it was written. Having said that, I did enjoy it. It was a lot of fun, easy to read, and I liked the idea of all that past depravity being responsible for the awful atmosphere of the house. The 'twist' (if you can call it that) was ruined for me by the film, sadly, but I suspect it would have seemed a let down anyway (it was in the film). And in both the film and the book, the 'parapsychology' angle - especially Barrett's machine - seemed very 70s, and these ideas haven't aged well, although they are enjoyable enough for those of us who liked that era's take on the paranormal (eg Unexplained Magazine, Arthur C. Clarke's series, books like The Entity, etc).

I liked the idea so much that I really wanted this to be more than just a fun page-turner, so by the end I was a little frustrated, but it was pretty good (and often unintentionally funny) along the way.

The Forbidden and In the Flesh are both favorites of mine. In fact, the entire fifth volume, known as In the Flesh in the states, is perhaps my favorite block of Barker's short stories. Except maybe for the first volume of the BOB, because you can't really get a better pairing than The Midnight Meat Train and The Yattering and Jack.

Oh, I didn't like The Yattering and Jack. (I felt bad for the cats!)

But I do remember that In the Flesh was my favorite of The Books of Blood. All four stories were great and In the Flesh and The Forbidden were two of my favorites. At the time I had never read anything quite like them.

I'm reading Rain, the last book in the Blackwater Saga, which I have enjoyed. I'd say it's more like Southern Gothic with occasional monster, than what I usually think of as horror.

#200 Hope you enjoy The Seance Booksloth. I'd love to know what you think of it when you get around to reading it.

#205 I'll try and remember to let you know but it could take a while yet.

#199 - That does sound pretty freaky.

I forgot to mention I'm also reading Lovecraft Unbound, which is overall pretty good. Michael Chabon's entry was particularly creepy. Also, it's not exactly horror, but I'm reading Halloween: New Poems, an ER book I received. Some of the poems are spooky and some are just whimsical. I'm not big into poetry but am enjoying it overall.

I've just finished The Magdelena Curse by FG Cottam. It's another brilliant read by this author, although once again I found the ending a little disappointing. Don't let this put you off though because his writing is wonderful. He really creeps me out! This is a tale of magic, really bad magic that can made grown men do terrible things. Most of this is directed by a woman older than who knows... but there are also wolf characters that are very creepy. I'm really enjoying his stuff and have just pre-ordered his 4th horror paperback due out towards the end of the year.

#207: You're lucky to have won Halloween: New Poems. I win an Early Reviewer book every once in awhile (I think one of my last ones was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Steven Hockensmith--has anyone read it or the others in the series?), but usually not the horror ones. I'm not into poetry either, but I'll see if my library has that one in. It looks fairly interesting (I love Halloween).

#208 - Nice review of The Magdalena Curse. You just got a thumb from me.

#209 - I looked into Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but it just doesn't look to be my bag. It seemed too cute for its own good. The type of book a middle-brow geek like myself would own just so I could leave it out or be spotted reading it and people would ask 'Oh, what is that?'

Seeing that there are follow-ups makes it worse. How successful would Steven Hockensmith be if he weren't riding on the back of Jane Austen?

Ah, maybe I'm too cynical.

#210: Naw, you're not too cycnical. No such thing. ;) But Steven Hockensmith isn't the only one making money off her. There's Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters, etc etc. I'm kind of wary about reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies just because I'm not really into Jane Austen books, and I've heard most of the recent horror spin-offs are basically her novels but with monsters thrown in every once in awhile. We'll see....

There is a graphic novel adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies coming out shortly. I think I'll give that a try. It should be quick enough to read in case the joke wears too thin. If I love it, I can give the book a try at a later date.

#211

Don't forget Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Also Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter, Robin Hood and Friar Tuck: Zombie Killers, Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer, etc.

My boss hates these things. Hence, it is my duty to let him know every time one is published.

#212: Ditto. Graphic novel versions are a little quicker to get through. I'll look for it.

#213: LOL! I just checked that one in today at work and had to do a double-take. Nope, not another biography like I thought it was.

#214: Omg, I didn't know there were that many. :D Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer I might try. And good for you (re: reminding your boss of these books)!

#211 - I just bought Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I like how it seems to be written in the biography style. There's something about a fake biography...

I'm rereading The Descent by Jeff Long. I read it for the first time last month, enjoyed it so much, and it stuck in my mind, that I decided to read it again. It's interesting that now I know the resolution to the various mysteries, it makes rereading the book a whole different experience. More layered. Almost like a different book. Does anyone else get that effect with rereading books?

Also, has anyone else read The Descent? As I have a few questions...

#216, I read The Descent a few months ago and enjoyed it.... I liked the concept a lot, but didn't love the book.

#216, 217

Read The Descent a while back. I share your feelings on the book d2vge.

I've just finished plodding through Duma Key by Stephen King. That one really dragged from about midway onwards. Tonight I'm cracking open The Dead Zone by King, and hoping it will be better than Duma Key. I just need a good, scary novel right now.

Just finished VELOCITY by Dean Koontz and I was quite pleased with it. Not sure what to read next...... maybe a Bentley Little or a Stephen King? Or maybe some H.P. Lovecraft or what about some Algernon Blackwood, Edgar Allan Poe, Dacre Stoker or perhaps the latest by Joe Hill? The trouble is that I have quite a few books in my Library & I also read Fantasy, Mystery & Science Fiction. What to do..................

I'm about to start Come Out Tonight (the Richard laymon thread put me in the mood to read one of his cheese fests).

I should be starting Roadwork for the Stephen King book of the month thing, but I just finished Fields of Fire a fantastic but heavy book about some soldiers in Vietnam and I just want something fast paced and stupid for a couple of days.

#218 It's only my opinion, of course, but The Dead Zone is probably my absolute favourite King book. I can't honestly say I find any of his novels especially scary and I think he is mis-labelled as a 'horror' writer but I envy you discovering this one for the first time. If you love it half as much as I do you're in for a treat.

#220 - I just want something fast paced and stupid for a couple of days

Funny. Come Out Tonight is fast paced and stupid. And fun. Just be prepared to suspend your notion of how people would act in certain situations and enjoy the thought processes of what occur in Laymon's world.

I've been reading Nocturnes by John Connolly. A decent short story collection of twisted tales. Like most short stroy collections some are much better than others. A few are good enough to be creeped out by the implications for a day or two.

The Dead Zone is one of my favorite King novels as well! However, I loved the hell out of Duma Key too.

How about a Repairman Jack novel by F. Paul Wilson? I am somewhere in the middle of the series with Hosts and it is really hard not to like R.J. Good writing, full of tense moments and characters you will care for deeply. It will please thriller and horror fans alike.

Any thoughts on Thomas Liggoti? I haven't read any of his stuff, but an email from Random made me look on Amazon. Sounds like some pretty good books, but I don't know if it will be my sort of thing. Anyone with any experience of his work - is it anything like House of Leaves, because I was a bit disappointed with that - great premise, but too wierd and too longwinded for me.

I have only read one book by Thomas Ligotti and I really liked it, but I can see him not being for everyone. The book I read was a compilation of short stories called Teatro Grottesco, which happens to be one of the stories in the volume.

Based on this book alone he concentrates on 'quiet horror', often philosophical in nature with a brooding atmosphere. He writes very well and densely, which can make or break you as it tends to slow down the plot considerably. He is all about quality and every sentence seems to be a piece of the puzzle, carefully meticulated.

He is undoubtedly very talented, but an acquired taste will be necessary, nevertheless.

#226 - Any thoughts on Thomas Ligotti?

I think Carlos who posts on here sometimes likes Ligotti.

#221, 224 - I didn't much like The Dead Zone. I gave that one a so-so review. I remember not caring for the structure of the book. It felt like a novella was crammed into the middle of another novella to create a novel.

#222 Just be prepared to suspend your notion of how people would act in certain situations and enjoy the thought processes of what occur in Laymon's world.

I was just coming on here to complain about that!

Come Out Tonight started pretty well. But then became Laymon-esque. Sherry escapes a bad, bad situation, runs into a restaurant and then uses the bathroom. Ask for help from one of the nyumerous bystanders? Not in Laymon's world! Her reasoning for why she won't contact the police is laughable.

Nonetheless, I'll continue to read. Richard Laymon was a clod of a writer, but there's some sort of genius to his writing somewhere. He makes me accept patently absurd stuff like no other writer has.

#228 - I think Carlos who posts on here sometimes likes Ligotti.

Well, I sometimes read Ligotti and sometimes post about Ligotti, but I always like Ligotti. Well, I exaggerate a bit. Like any other author, he's got some duds in there.

Ligotti is sort of an acquired taste, though I think some people will acquire the taste for his fiction much faster than others. I think the "quiet horror" label isn't wholly accurate. His work is strongly conceptual with much atmosphere, but it also has its share of seriously disturbing imagery.

The comparison with House of Leaves isn't bad, though Ligotti is more direct.

#s 227, 228, 229 Thanks for the feedback.

So Carlos what should I start with - a dud wouldn't be a good idea! I'm drawn to My Work is Not Yet Done but from what I've read tonight, he prefers to write collections of short stories. Awaiting your guidance/suggestions :o)

I'd start with either Songs of a Dead Dreamer or Grimscribe. Both start off with relatively "normal" stories ("The Frolic" and "The Last Feast of Harlequin") but also feature some of the more conceptually strange stories. Overall, I think Dreamer is more of a mixed bag but also takes some risks that Grimscribe doesn't.

Yeah...I think your are right Carlos, "quiet horror" is not an entirely accurate description of Ligotti. He is just one of those authors that can't really be put in a box. He is unique and in a special zone all on his own.

I think I might look into another one of his books soon.

#228 - Yeah. Come Out Tonight wins the award for most illogically, moronic decision making in the history of fictional characters. Yet the story runs at such a break neck pace that you keep going. But like you said "... there's some sort of genius to his writing somewhere. He makes me accept patently absurd stuff like no other writer has." He has a nack, or talent, to draw you in and eventually come back for more.

On another note, I haven't contributed much here lately but I've been introduced to a lot of work I wouldn't have been able to find (or at least would have been difficult to get) by going digital. I've found some good work at Horror Mall with Greg F. Gifune's Heretics, Judas Goat and Kingdom of Shadows as well as Brian Knight's Broken Angel.

And some really cheap ebooks from Jeff Strand like Mandibles, Graverobbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) and Dweller. Jeff Strand is hoot.

#231 Carlos,

Thanks for the recommendations, but...arghhhh! I've just checked amazon (uk) -Songs of a Dead Dreamer is unavailable and Grimscribe is £75! Oh well, guess I'll start with something else (and quick while some books at least are a normal price).

The YA book The Devouring is very good. It's nicely plotted, has a cinematic feel, and there's a heavy dose of horror culture. The action's quite visceral without being gory.

Ugh... Come Out Tonight is really working my nerves. I'll still finish it, but it is far from the best Laymon book I've read. timdt summed it up pretty well in #233: Come Out Tonight wins the award for most illogically, moronic decision making in the history of fictional characters. Yet the story runs at such a break neck pace that you keep going.

Nobody acts the way characters in a Laymon book acts. That's par for the course. But even so, the heroine of Come Out Tonight is SOOOOOO stupid I'm almost rooting for her to die.

She's been repeatedly beaten and raped by a person whose name she knows and has a proven link to her (he was a student in a class she subbed for). He dumps her body off on the side of a freeway. She is rescued, but demands her rescuer not call the police or an ambulance. Why? Your guess is as good as mine.

Also, I'm not one to go around labeling horror in general as misogynistic, but this one skates awfully close (and probably has crossed the line).

Man, for all his bad qualities, I wouldn't suggest you skip Richard Laymon, but buddy, don't start with Come Out Tonight.

#236: Good to know. I almost started it, knowing it would be pretty bad from the reviews here, but I don't exactly want to start with a dud. Out of these two others that I own--Bite and To Wake the Dead--which is better?

I have both Bite and To Wake the Dead, but haven't read either. Sorry. Regardless, either will likely be better than Come Out Tonight

#237 - 238: I've read quite a few of Laymon but neither of those two. But I agree with jseger, either will likely be better than Come Out Tonight.

I've heard many a good thing about Bite. Try that one.

Cool. Thanks for the input, you guys! :) I'll go with BookBindingBobby's suggestion and add Bite to the top of my TBR pile. Thanks! I love vampires.

Btw, I don't know if these really apply here, but I've just started a couple comedy/horror mangas I bought today--volumes 1 & 2 of I Luv Halloween by Keith Giffen--and just love 'em! They're geared for older teens due to the violence and boobage, so if you're ok with YA books, then I'd say try 'em out. They're a hoot (for the sick-minded, that is)!

I finished Come Out Tonight last night and by the end I was just hating it.

There were still plenty of tense situations, but since the characters were so incredible stupid and unbelievable, I didn't care what happened to them.

Now I'm on to Roadwork and The Running Man by Richard Bachman... I mean Stephen King.

I'm worried about Roadwork as the reviews aren't the best. I'm looking forward to the Running Man though.

Oh yeah, I knocked out a review of Come Out Tonight if anyone's interested. I'm still revisng it though. It's a book that became fun to hate.

Roadwork is definitely one of King's weaker novels. In fact, it is, in my opinion, one of his all-time worst, along with Rage and Dreamcatcher. However, it has moments.

Though I agree Rage was pretty weak, I remember really liking Dreamcatcher.

Then again, I also liked The Tommyknockers and Desperation and I disliked The Stand and Insomnia.

I've just finished Nightfall by Stephen Leather. Billed as a great thriller with a devilish twist (by James Herbert no less!) and that's exactly what it was. A fun, quick read about an ex-police negotiator who finds out that the father he never knew he had sold his soul to a devil at birth and collection day is nearly here. Some nice unexpected moments, black humour and a run through libraries on the Occult really spiced this up for me. Looks like it's going to be the first of a new series so I'm really looking forward to more from the author. He usually writes political/miltary thrillers which aren't really my thing but this series looks promising.

I finished Soulstice, the second Devouring book. The descriptions of the fearscapes are as excellent as those in the first book, although the "real world" action gets a bit more unrealistic and this one has a much sharper cliff-hanger ending. (And book 3 isn't out for half a year.)

I'm reading Heaven's Bones by Samantha Henderson. It published under a fantasy imprint but is mostly Gothic horror, a little bit of Jack the Ripper, a little steampunk, a bit of psychic detective, and a good strong dose of occult. So far it's well done.

@243 :: Oh yeah, I knocked out a review of Come Out Tonight if anyone's interested. I'm still revisng it though. It's a book that became fun to hate.

Thank you! I have Come Out Tonight lying around but guess I will skip this Richard Laymon novel next time I'm in the mood for something that reads like a rollercoaster! I like Island and Night in the Lonesome October, by the way.

I'm speed reading from the Hard Case Crime catalogue for the time being but I've planned to read The Strain by Guillermo del Toro sometime soon.

#249 - I'd recommend In the Dark or The Woods Are Dark if you're in the mood for Richard Laymon.

I've been picking up some of the Hard Case Crime books myself. So far I've only read Deadly Beloved which was a lot of fun if a little forgettable. I've also read Grifter's game which was fan-freakin'-tastic! I wrote up a review for each of those as well if anyone's interested.

I've been reading from The Dark Descent edited by David G. Hartwell in between books. It's quite hefty for a single straight reading and I like to get some good bits of horror every now and then.

I also recently read The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror, Vol. 14 edited by Stephen Jones and am about to start Stephen King's Everything's Eventual for my home reading.

#251: Wow, quite the toe-smashers you have there. I have The Dark Descent, but have been reluctant to read it because of its size. Still, it has a ton of authors I like, so maybe I'll flip to those for now. Good luck with your anthologies! :)

#250: Lucky me, In the Dark and Grifter's Game are already in my library ready to be read!... :)

I like your review for Grifter's Game, by the way. I'm really looking forward to read this one! Anyway, I think it's probably time for me to return to the horror novels sometime soon. I've just not been so inspired by the scary books this spring. Guess everybody needs a break from the usual stuff once in a while. Especially when you're reading genre literature...

252: saraslibrary:

Thanks! :) The Dark Descent sat on my shelf a long time before I finally picked it up. It was quite daunting until I decided to enjoy it a bit at a time, no pressures. It has a lot of authors I like too, and in fact I've already read several of the selections in the anthology. But I set it down for now to focus on Everything's Eventual. :)

#254: Yeah, that's why I love anthologies--you can pick up and leave off anywhere to start reading something else. Or at least that's what I do all the time. :)

I love Stephen King's short story collection, though I haven't read them all. My favorite so far is Nightmares and Dreamscapes. I don't think I have Everything's Eventual, but I'm always on the lookout for his books. Good luck with that one, too! :)

As for me, I've really gotten into a reading rut (I just don't feel like reading), so I've fallen back on graphic novels to at least stay "literate". I just finished Cut by Mike Richardson & Todd Herman, a super-super short story about two girls who wake up in an abandoned house with someone--or something--keeping them captive. I'm so glad I only paid $2 for it, because I think I would've felt cheated by paying full price for it.

I also just started Bite Club by Howard Chaykin, David Tischman, & David Hahn (yes, another graphic novel, this one about a Miami mafia-type vampire clan). So far, so good.

255: saraslibrary:

I feel the same about anthologies. I love how you can put it down for a while and read something else, then get back to it later and "start" afresh. :)

I also enjoy Stephen King's short story collections. I have to admit I haven't read any of his novels, except Carrie, which is a short one, and The Talisman and Black House, his collaborations with Peter Straub. I'm daunted by the thickness of most his novels, which is why I enjoy the collections -- I can put them down whenever I want to take a break and not lose track. I hope you snag Everything's Eventual soon! :)

The graphic novels you're reading sound interesting. I haven't read any in a while, been really in the mood for prose lately.

I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson last month and I loved the movie (Yes the re-make the orginal was kinda dull) I really liked the book also but I have to admit I did like the ending to the movie a bit more then the book.

I'm reading Naomi's Room by Jonathan Aycliffe. It's very creepy and there's a sort of mystery to it, it gets more spine-chilling with each reveal.

#258 I read that a couple of years ago, nice thing about LT if a book sounds familiar I can check out the books I've already read, and not get any dupes.

#256: Cycle of the Werewolf is probably the smallest Stephen King book, if you're interested. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is pretty reasonable, too. Or if you like their size, you could read the small installments of The Green Mile (what I did), so it doesn't feel like you're reading a lot.

#257: Never read the book, and even weirder, I've never seen any of the movies. I need to get going on that. Thanks!

260: saraslibrary:
Thanks for the reco! I've a friend who loves Stephen King, novels and all, and they must be real good if I weren't so lazy. (Really loved The Talisman and Black House despite an initial reluctance to pick them up because of their thickness.) I'll keep those titles in mind in case I decide to explore. =)

If you want a nice, quick read, try The Stand.
Oh, but I kid. Rather, try something like The Shining, 'Salem's Lot, or Misery. None of them are too long or too short, but just right, and they all definitely rank in the top ten of his works.

#261: No problem. :) I actually haven't read a Stephen King book in a couple years just for the same reason--I'm lazy too, and his books are behemoths! I think the last one I read by him was From a Buick 8, which I wasn't too thrilled with. I haven't read either The Talisman or Black House, but I've always wanted to read something by Peter Straub. Strange, I own a few of his books, but have never read them.

#262: Lol! Oh yeah, such a "nice, quick read". ;P I never read the entire book, but the part I did read, I really enjoyed. Those all made pretty good movies, too, if you're super lazy and want the condensed version of his books. (Do they have Stephen King CliffNotes?)

ETA: A real quick Stephen King read would have to be the pop-up version of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. Anyone got anything shorter? :D

#263: There was the original version of the Stand which was sort of the condensed version of what is available now...

If you want to try something by Peter Straub, I wouldn't recommend starting with the Talisman. Maybe it was just me, but I didn't much like that book at all.

I would recommend Ghost Story or Koko though. Peter Straub is terrific.

Thanks for the rec's, jseger! Luckily, I don't have The Talisman (yet). I have Koko collecting dust around here somewhere, so I may give that one a try. (That's the first in the series, right?)

Btw, what exactly was cut out of the condensed version of The Stand? Was it just superfluous scenes or big chunks of the plot? All I remember is Stephen King was pretty peeved about it and wanted the full version out.

262: BookBindingBobby

Thanks for the recos too! I was meaning to read 'Salem's Lot years and years ago and just never got around to doing so.

#265 As far as I recall, the main scene cut from The Stand was a lot of stuff that goes on in the tunnel. It doesn't really add anything of substance to the story but is a nicely gruesome scene for those of us who couldn't get enough of King's writing (at that time anyway - now I could happily have lost about 400 pages of Lisey's Story).

And Salem's Lot is a true classic. (That's weird - the first book that comes up in Touchstones for Salem's Lot is The Green Mile.)

ETA _ Weirder still - now the touchstone for Salem's Lot has disappeared altogether.

ETA again - and now it's back!

>265 saraslibrary::
There's more build-up to certain events, more on peripheral characters, but the main loss was Trashcan Man's journey through America (if I remember correctly).

Finished Naomi's Room, which I liked a lot. My only problem was that it read slightly more like a mystery like a horror - the creepy bits were often followed very quickly by another piece of the story being revealed, which slightly spoiled the scare. It is very gruesome without being too descriptive but doesn't always leave quite enough to the imagination. Not a perfect horror but well worth a read, I'd give it four stars.

Has anyone here read it? There were a few parts that reminded me of horror films I've seen - some of what was revealed by the photographs made me think of 'The Omen', for example.

For the hardcore fans, the unexpurgated edition of The Stand is the way to go. It doesn't add anything essential to the story, but it makes the story much richer.

Thanks for the input, you guys. I wasn't sure what was missing from the condensed version of The Stand. I vaguely remember Trashcan Man, more from the movie though.

#268: Sorry, Moo, I haven't read Naomi's Room yet, but I do own a few of Jonathan Aycliffe's other books (The Matrix and Whispers in the Dark: both unread still). Does he mostly write ghost fiction?

>269 BookBindingBobby::
Definitely. Both are very long anyway so you may as well read the better version!

>270 saraslibrary::
Sara, I'm not sure to be honest, it's my first of his books, but I think so. According to the book I've just read he also writes thrillers as Daniel Easterman. I've wishlisted both the books you mentioned as I do like his style. Naomi's Room was very good, scary horror, and my complaints really were minor ones - besides, I do like a bit of mystery. It was also a very quick read. Based on Naomi's Room I recommend digging out one of the books you have and giving it a go.

I had to laugh at your "digging out" remark, because it's quite literal for me. I have stacks of books everywhere, and now I don't remember where I put my "Authors with 'A' Last Names" pile. Once I find it, I'll let you know which one I start with.

Right now, I'm reading Shekhar Kapur's Snake Woman: A Snake in the Grass by Zeb Wells, et al. It's pretty good if you like graphic novels and Indian mythology. I've maybe read one or two books involving snake shapeshifters/lamias (an Anita Blake book, I think), so it's refreshing to find an entire series based on it.

>265 saraslibrary::

Thanks for the rec's, jseger! Luckily, I don't have The Talisman (yet). I have Koko collecting dust around here somewhere, so I may give that one a try. (That's the first in the series, right?)

I second the recommendation for Koko. I read it a couple of months ago. I liked it, although I did have some problems with the narrative style as you can read in my (very short) review!

I guess Koko is a part of the Blue Rose trilogy. However, it is also in my opinion a complete story. I have not yet read the other books in the series, though, so I could not tell if the story develops in Mystery and The Throat...

Edit: tried to fix touchstone.

I love Stephen King and I guess I am just alittle off because I have always been a person even when I was young that I always went for the really thick books, the thicker the better. And the thing about Stephen King is always really get into his books so I dont mind the length.

#273: That's right. You were the one who read Koko on this thread. I was trying to remember where I had heard it being recommended before. Thanks for jogging my memory! :)

#274: So was I. When I was younger, that's what drew me to Stephen King: his books were huuuge. Now I don't have as much time to enjoy reading, so the shorter the better. Maybe when I'm retired (ha!), that'll change back.

#265 - Sorry I didn't reply sooner. So far, I've only read the condensed (original) version of The Stand. I have the extended edition, but really I don't much care for The Stand.

FYI on Koko, it was a change of pace for Peter Straub. In general, he writes multilayered supernatural stories (Ghost Story or Floating Dragon) that are similar in style to 'salem's Lot.

Koko is still a horror story, but without the supernatural. It is closer in tone to something like The Silence of the Lambs (and at times it is very dark). Great book though. I need to reread it some time.

No problem; I'll forgive you this time. ;)

Yeah, I thought I remembered a few of Peter Straub's books being more supernatural. And I really liked The Silence of the Lambs (it's so rare when the book and movie are alike), so now I will have to hunt down my copy of Koko.

I plan on reading Koko this summer. I've had it sitting around for a while, and always have admired the nice white cover, but I think, yeah, this summer I'm'a tackle the bastard.

I'm'a tackle the bastard.

Ha! Nice way of putting it. My copy's the atrocious black and fluorescent colored-face on the front.

Haha, I remember that one. It's off-putting, to say the least.

>272 saraslibrary::
Sara, there's a lot of us out there with the same 'digging out a book' problem. Mine are all under my bed in boxes and there is a LOT of room under there. And I can never seem to find the particular book I'm looking for. That's just the TBR books - I have bookshelves for the keepers...

Shekhar Kapur's Snake Woman: A Snake in the Grass looks interesting enough to wishlist, I will look out for it. Thanks for that :)

I am in the middle of In The Woods by Tana French. A friend of mind that is a big reader like I am told me about it because I was in the mood for a psych triller and so far this book has been a little of a disappointment. A good read in general but not what I was looking for.

I'm reading Through a Glass Darkly by Bill Hussey. I read some strong recommendations on Amazon, but when I tried to order found the price was extortionate for some reason (£40+). I'm not sure what that was about as it's dropped again to a reasonable rate but only available used. Anyway, finally got my copy and I'm about half way through and really enjoying it. It's a strange mish-mash and some of the descriptions are very gruesome but I'm really enjoying the story. On the surface it's a detective story as a hunt goes on for missing boys, but oh! there are demons, dreams, mysterious figures and horrible rituals afoot. It has my interest and I'm interested to see how it pans out.

Today I just started a Joyce Carol Oates collection, Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque.

#281: there's a lot of us out there with the same 'digging out a book' problem

I've noticed that on LT, and it's such a relief to know I'm not the only one! :) I never even thought of storing books under my bed. I just have this weird fear that if I put my mattress up on a frame, it might squash my cats if they're underneath. But if they couldn't get under there with boxes underneath, then that just might work. Thanks for the idea!

And you're welcome for the rec. Snake Woman is certainly original. I know virtually nothing about Indian mythology/philosophy, so I liked the insight into it.

#282: Sorry to hear In the Woods didn't work out for you. I've heard of Tana French (I read psychological thrillers once in a blue moon), but have never read any of her books. Better luck with your next read.

#283: Through a Glass, Darkly must be halfway decent to get such a high rating (4.58 is rare, especially with some of the horror books I read--but then, I read crap ;). I'll have to look for that one.

#284: I've only read a few of Joyce Carol Oates stories, but a whole anthology would be great to get my hands on. Hope you like Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque!

#281/285 etc Is anyone else watching The Book Show at Hay, currentlu on Channel 4? As a competition prize they are offering the most amazing book chair and coffee table, both of which are basically made up of book shelves. These items don't seem to be shown anywhere on their website so I can't post a picture but for additional book storage they struck me as being just what all good book lovers need. For the chair, imagine a 'square' chair resembling a large packing-crate, three sides of which are simply book shelves (facing outwards, of course, two or three deep, can't remember exactly). I'm guessing you could get about 80-100 books on there and a further 40-60 on the table. Just think how long it would be before you ever had to get up!

I wish I had cable so I could've seen it. That sounds like exactly what I need!

ETA: I googled "armchair bookshelf"* and found lots of awesome ideas. Were any of these the chair? *hopefully the link works

I've seen a staircase that was all bookshelf, apart from the steps (just the bits you put your feet on) and the ceiling. Can't find the pic now but it was something special - I'd never get up the stairs without something catching my eye...

I am reading Weird Tales: The Magazine That Wouldn't Die, an anthology of stories from Weird Tales magazine. Touchstone doesn't seem to be working.

Checking on Through a Glass, Darkly on Amazon I found the price was now $49.00+ for a copy used. I was disappointed, it sounded like a good book.

#287/288 I think the chair might have been this one - http://boingboing.net/2006/04/19/armchair-incorporate.html. There are some real beauties amongst those and I've now started dreaming about a house in which every piece of furniture doubles as a bookcase! I know there was thread a while ago that was devoted to this kind of furniture and there were some great bits and pieces. I understand Moomin_Mama's problem, though - too much temptation by far.

#284: LitClique & #285: saraslibrary

Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favorite authors and I love her gothic/grotesque stories best. I've read The Collector of Hearts, which I enjoyed a lot; I also own Haunted, but haven't read it yet. The disturbing Zombie was the first work of hers that I read and got me hooked. Sadly, I loaned my copy to a friend who never returned it (says she can't remember borrowing it). :(

#289 Xenchu

That's exacly what happened on the UK site. I don't understand as it was only published in 2008, so mustn't have had a second run (or whatever they call it). All the other sites I tried were out of stock then I suddenly had an email from Waterstones saying they were sending a copy. Since then the price of the used copies has dropped on Amazon (.co.uk) so I'd say keep checking back to see if the price drops. I'm still enjoying the book :o)

#288: I think I've seen that one, too. Is this close to what you saw? It's a great idea, but I'd be afraid of tripping on a book and falling. It makes me dizzy just looking at the pic.

#289: I couldn't find The Magazine That Wouldn't Die on LT. Anyone else? I love the title, though: makes me a little paranoid (in a good way).

#290: I've now started dreaming about a house in which every piece of furniture doubles as a bookcase! -- I know exactly what you mean. I wish I was more of a DIYer.

#291: Sadly, I loaned my copy to a friend who never returned it (says she can't remember borrowing it). :( -- Ugh, don't you hate that?! That's one reason why I don't lend my books out (I eventually got one of mine back, but through a friend of a friend who recognized it was mine). Zombie was my first novel by her too, though I had read a few short stories of hers prior.

>293 saraslibrary::
That's the one, Sara. You would go a bit dizzy I think, which is where the books would come in handy - you could sit down every couple of steps for a sit down and a read until your head stopped spinning (that would be of the excuses, anyway).

#289 - Xenchu, I think it wouldn't touchstone because it is called Weird Tales: The Magazine That Never Dies.

I have that anthology. I hope you write a review for it. I haven't read it yet.

#293: saraslibrary

I don't lend out my books so much anymore, except books I don't mind not getting back or only to those I'm absolutely sure will return them. I've lost a few favorites and even unread ones from lending them out. :(

Yea I only lend my books to a very few friends only true readers understand the "rules" to book lending.

#294: You're right. That's probably why they designed it like that--to make people slow down and peruse rather than run up and down them.

#295: Thanks for linking that! I searched yesterday and never found it; today it's there. Wonder what happened.

#296: I've lost a few favorites and even unread ones from lending them out. -- Same here. I even lost my copy of Les Miserables to my sister's middle school teacher. She just lost it somehow.

#297: Do you make them sign a book loan contract? j/k ;) I've only let one coworker borrow my books, and that's just because I've known him for years and he's very trustworthy. The other person I gave a book to was more of a friend of a friend, so that was my mistake. Besides, you could always give them that threat of, "I know where you work/live." That seems to work for me. ;)

Man, I need to crawl out of this manga rut I've fallen into. But I'm afraid if I give even those up, I won't read at all.

Aw, 'nough complaining. :) I'm currently reading Presents: Volume 1 by Kanako Inuki, which is a lot of dark fun. It's about "an older woman trapped in a young girl's body ... travel{ing} around and bestow{ing} gifts on others." Let me just say, this book will make you think twice about ever accepting another present from anybody!

#298 She just lost it somehow!!!!? What?! Okay, I've had people borrow my books and not return them for a variety of 'reasons' but isn't "I lost it" usually followed by "but I've bought you a replacement"? What kind of person thinks that losing somebody else's property excuses them from returning something similar? And this person is in charge of educating others? No wonder the world is going to hell! - Breathe . . . calm . . . .rant over.

On the subject of not getting books back - happened to me loads of times. I only loan out ones I'd struggle to replace to more trusted friends, but even then you never know. Strangely it never bothers me when it happens, as I'm always so pleased to have introduced someone to something they'd enjoy. There's something nice about the idea of a great story being passed around. I've gotten people into reading who haven't liked it before, and I've introduced people to authors they've never heard of before, and I get most of my books back in the end. Other things I'm funny about, but there's a part of me that thinks that a book is mine but the story inside is for everyone and can't be owned as such. Plus because I'm so laid back, whenever anyone is clearing out old and unwanted books I'm the first to get them and I find good homes for the ones I don't want myself (I'm really good at matching books to potential readers, amongst my friends anyway), so I do well out of it overall.

Mind you, if someone kept on not giving them back, I'd stop 'loaning' to that person.

#300: LOL! Feel better? ;) I think my reaction was kind of similar to yours. I thought it was pretty pathetic of her, especially since I was still a kid at the time (in high school) and she was a teacher (theoretically, more mature and responsible than I was). Then summer came and our schools changed, so I never followed up on it. Besides, I hadn't read the book, so I wasn't quite attached to it (though it was a gift to me). Still, baaad teacher. F-.

#301: I thought I was laidback, but you win the crown, Mama! :) I guess I'm just not there yet with being ok with stealing. Maybe that's because I see it almost on a daily basis at the library I work at (come on, people; it's already free! no need to steal). But I do agree with you--I love being involved with helping people find things they normally wouldn't have tried reading before. And it works vice versa. I never read graphic novels before, until I noticed how popular they were with a lot of our patrons, so I had to try it out--and it stuck.

I just started On the right side of Evil by John Saul and I am about 1/4 in the book and so far it is wonderfully creepy/

>302 saraslibrary::
Yeah, I'm too laid back about a lot of things, although when something gets my goat people know about it ;) As for stealing from libraries, I volunteer at a charity shop (and a really cheap one at that) and you wouldn't believe the stealing that goes on. Our bargain rail is particularly popular - there's nothing on it over £2!!!

This will be post 304 - is it time for a new thread yet? 'Thingambrarians Take Manhattan' or something?

I think 'The ghost of...' sounds nice.

Re. new post -- If anyone does, please post the link to it here so I can find it, in case I don't log on in a while. Thanks! :)

P.S. Still reading Stephen King's Everything's Eventual and managed to scare myself a few times.

The new thread is called The Ghost of What Scary Book....

http://www.librarything.com/topic/92468