skrouhan gets the spooks in 2015!

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skrouhan gets the spooks in 2015!

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1skrouhan
Redigeret: feb 16, 2015, 1:17 pm

Hello hello!

I'm excited to be jumping on the HorrorKIT bandwagon. I've definitely stuck to my "comfort zone" in horror (there are so many Stephen Kings on my shelf!) so am looking forward to branching out a little in the genre. Since I'm also working on the 2015 category challenge, I'm going to try to focus on one book per month. Some months will probably be easier to complete than others. I'll keep an update post each month on my progress. :)

Still need to give this more thought, but 2015 is creeping up on us!

Current possibilities:

January: Traditional/classic Gothic works
Suggestions? I'm a little clueless for this month.

February: Supernatural
NOS4A2 - a recent Christmas present... I've been told Joe Hill is reminiscent of Stephen King.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
World War Z
The Graveyard Book
Coraline

March: Victorian Gothic
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

April: Graphic novels & short stories
An adaptation from an already-read Stephen King might be fun

May: Women & non-English
Bellefleur

June: Gothic Pulp & weird fiction
Something H.P. Lovecraft perhaps?

July: Hauntings/ghost stories
The Small Hand & Dolly
The Little Stranger
Spook

August: Psychological
The Silence of the Lambs
American Psycho
The Yellow Wallpaper - not sure if this is the right category...

September: Southern Gothic

October: Slasher/thriller
Bird Box
Gone Girl
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

November: Light/humorous

December: Contemporary/modern Gothic

2saraslibrary
dec 30, 2014, 10:42 pm

Welcome! :)

I'm pretty clueless about January, too. I don't read a whole lot of traditional/classic gothic stuff. But there is this neat-o list that PolymathicMonkey got going. Someone on this thread also told me about http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page, which offers free older ebooks. (I'm bad with names, so I apologize to whomever helped me out.)

Other than that, your list looks great! :) I think the main thing is just to have fun with it. Enjoy!

3skrouhan
jan 27, 2015, 3:18 pm

I've decided to skip January for HorrorKIT. I have a lot on my list for my Category Challenge, and I'm not a big fan of the traditional gothic horror... turns out it was too hard to choose to read one I didn't really want to read, over one I was dying to read! I'm looking forward to jumping into it in February.

4saraslibrary
jan 27, 2015, 7:34 pm

>3 skrouhan: No worries. It's one of my least favorite categories/months, too. I read The Castle of Otranto and hated it. It felt like required school reading. XP I'm glad you're looking forward to February. It sounds like a lot of people like February better, too (myself included); and some have already started their Feb. reads. :D

5skrouhan
jan 28, 2015, 11:41 am

>4 saraslibrary: I'm glad I'm not alone! I debated reading The Castle of Otranto and The Monk, but it seems like only really die-hard fans of classic Gothic even enjoy them, and I had absolutely no energy to start them. I'm guessing this group will get a little kick-start next month.

6saraslibrary
Redigeret: jan 28, 2015, 10:16 pm

>5 skrouhan: Nope, not alone at all. :) I think you're right. Some people are really, really into classics, and good for them. I've just never gotten into very old books. I only tried The Castle of Otranto to be open-minded and see where horror got its beginnings, but meh. You didn't miss much. ;)

As for February, definitely! :) Supernatural is a lot broader and lot more fun, imho. I think there'll be more reading by next week.

7skrouhan
Redigeret: mar 2, 2015, 1:11 pm

FEBRUARY: Supernatural



Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Feeling neglected by her overworked parents, Coraline is thrilled when she discovers a secret doorway in her home that leads to what appears to be a parallel world, with her "other mother" who happily gives her the attention she has been missing. But Coraline soon learns that not everything is quite as it seems, and her "other mother" might not be quite as wonderful as she appears...

Although clearly written for an older children/young adult audience, Coraline was so delightfully spooky, it even gave me the creeps. It was a fast, fun read with a strong protagonist and a few life lessons learned along the way. It definitely has many elements of the horror genre, and although the storyline is dark, the way Gaiman writes allows the story to be slightly tamer than it would be if written for adults. The handful of illustrations were frightening.

I ended up watching the movie after finishing the book, and definitely found the movie more "kid-friendly" (and less enjoyable) than the book... but certainly worth a watch, if you enjoy the book.

8saraslibrary
Redigeret: mar 4, 2015, 5:22 pm

>7 skrouhan: Good job on finishing Coraline! :) I haven't read that one yet, but I really loved the movie. That's cool that you watched it after reading the book and gave an honest review.

9skrouhan
maj 27, 2015, 2:07 pm

APRIL: Short stories and graphic novels

So it's been a while since I've last stopped in here (clearly), and I hope you forgive me - things have been a little crazy at home! My husband and I decided to adopt a puppy!



Kili is a "borador" (Border Collie/Lab mix) and is 14 weeks old. We adopted her on 5/16, and what a handful she has been! Obviously, my reading has fallen a bit to the wayside... but she's worth it :)

I was able to finish 2 books for the April HorrorKIT. I did one of each, both by Joe Hill:
Short Stories: 20th Century Ghosts
Graphic Novel: Locke and Key



20th Century Ghosts - Joe Hill

I really enjoyed this short story collection. As with most collections, I liked some stories better than others - but I have to give props to the author for his creativity/originality with all of them. Personally, my favorites include:

Best New Horror - an editor trying to track down the author of a unique horror story. I particularly enjoyed the way it ended.

20th Century Ghosts - a somewhat sad story about a haunted movie theater

Pop Art - a unique tale about a boy and his best friend, who happens to be inflated

Last Breath - a museum of last breaths (predictable ending, but a unique concept!)

Voluntary Committal - what might happen when a cardboard fort becomes something more...


Many of the stories do not actually fit the horror genre, so if you aren't big into horror, this is still a worthwhile gem to pick up. I admit, I did notice that all of the stories in the edition I checked out were all male narratives, if that sort of thing bothers you.



Locke and Key - Joe Hill

I read the first volume in this graphic novel series. After their father is murdered in their CA home, the three Locke children move to MA with their mother to start anew. Little do they know, the house has plans for them...

Other reviewers have called this a "shockingly violent supernatural thriller," which I think is pretty much spot on. The premise is good, and the artwork is phenomenal. The only issues I have with it are personal - I just have a hard time truly getting into graphic novels.

10saraslibrary
maj 27, 2015, 4:34 pm

>9 skrouhan: Oh, how sweet! Kili is beautiful. :) Yes, puppies are very time-consuming, but so worth it, like you said.

Good job on the two Joe Hill books! :) I've been wanting to read him for some time now (I had wanted to read Horns before the movie came out, but oh well ;), so I'm glad to hear he's still worth reading and not just a passing phase.

11Moomin_Mama
maj 28, 2015, 6:06 pm

>9 skrouhan: I can't think of a sweeter reason for neglecting the books! She's adorable. Labrador + Border Collie, you say? She'll keep you busy :)