General recommendations and questions

SnakHorror!

Bliv bruger af LibraryThing, hvis du vil skrive et indlæg

General recommendations and questions

1sturlington
jan 5, 2016, 12:13 pm

I thought we needed a catchall topic, mostly because I had a question. I was thinking we could use this thread to recommend books that fall outside the monthly topics or ask for recs.

I just picked up American Elsewhere at the library, mostly on the strength of its description, and it is a brick! I believe we were just discussing our feelings about very long books in another thread. I'm wondering if anyone has read it or anything by Robert Jackson Bennett and whether you would recommend it. Obviously, I'm reluctant to commit. Reviews seem to be mixed.

2.Monkey.
jan 5, 2016, 12:18 pm

Not me, sorry, never heard of it or the author.

3Moomin_Mama
jan 5, 2016, 2:49 pm

>1 sturlington: We do seem to have hijacked Roberta's thread discussing book length!

I've never heard of the author either but the description is intriguing. Has the author written anything shorter that might be worth trying first?

4sturlington
jan 5, 2016, 4:33 pm

I took a look at some of his other books, but none caught my interest. I'll probably pass. A lot of the reviews mention Lovecraft, not my favorite brand of horror.

5saraslibrary
jan 7, 2016, 3:33 am

>1 sturlington: I haven't heard of the book or author either*. But I figure if it piqued your interest, you know best. :) I say give it a shot.

*ETA: I take that back. I just looked at the author's bibliography, and I recognized the title and cover of Mr. Shivers from work. It gets checked out fairly often, so maybe that's a good sign? Anyway, best of luck if you try American Elsewhere.

6luvamystery65
jan 17, 2016, 12:19 pm

This thread is a great idea, but you can always hijack my thread to discuss whatever you like.

7LibraryCin
jan 23, 2016, 4:28 pm

I'm trying to figure out what to read for Feb. The theme is translation. I'm not sure if anything on my tbr fits.

8LibraryCin
jan 23, 2016, 4:31 pm

Ok, I found this in another thread for suggestions:

(Copied and pasted from a post originally made my Monkey...)
Non-English
Let Me In - John Ajvide Lindqvist
Perfume - Patrick Süskind
I Remember You - Yrsa Sigurðardóttir
Dark Water - Koji Suzuki
Out - Natsuo Kirino
The Black Spider - Jeremias Gotthelf

The only one I've heard of it Perfume, so maybe I'll look that one up...

9luvamystery65
jan 23, 2016, 4:35 pm

I definitely want to read perfume but I'm listening to Let Me In since I own it.

10LibraryCin
jan 23, 2016, 4:36 pm

Hmm, Perfume looks like it's not going to appeal to me.

However, Let The Right One In (aka Let Me In) does. I thought maybe I Remember You, as well, but my library doesn't have it (at least not as an ebook, which is all I've checked at the moment). My library Does have Let The Right One In, so that will likely be the one.

11LibraryCin
jan 23, 2016, 4:37 pm

...Or maybe they don't have it. It's listed there, but it says 0 copies. I might have to email them to find out what's going on with it!

12sturlington
jan 23, 2016, 4:52 pm

>9 luvamystery65: I'm reading that one too since I already have a copy.

13saraslibrary
jan 24, 2016, 12:45 am

>8 LibraryCin: Thanks for reposting that! :) I haven't quite finished my January read (it wasn't as fun as I thought it'd be: The Rats by James Herbert).

>9 luvamystery65: I might read Perfume too, since that's the only one I own in that group.

>10 LibraryCin: & >11 LibraryCin: Well, that's aggravating. Hopefully they'll get you an ILL copy at least before February's over.

>12 sturlington: Everyone's reading Let Me In, huh? :D

14LibraryCin
jan 24, 2016, 1:51 am

>13 saraslibrary: I looked again, and though it's still odd that the ebook is listed at all, I did find an audio book (but no print). I've got a hold on the audio, so hopefully that will come for me in time (it should, with it being on hold now, and I believe I'm the first in line for the hold).

15saraslibrary
jan 24, 2016, 6:04 pm

>14 LibraryCin: Oh, good. That's excellent they at least have the audio version. :)

16Moomin_Mama
jan 24, 2016, 7:01 pm

I'll be looking forward to what everyone thinks about Let the Right One In. I loved the film (the original) but was let down by the book, which I found readable but forgettable. It'll be good to hear some different opinions on it. Ditto Perfume, which I liked much better, but didn't find scary.

>13 saraslibrary: Sorry to hear The Rats was a disappointment; at least it's reasonably short, or I remember it being a quick read.

17saraslibrary
jan 26, 2016, 1:09 am

>16 Moomin_Mama: I loved the movie for Let the Right One In (both versions), though I haven't read the book yet.

Yeah, I was kind of bummed out about The Rats (there were just too many characters, almost no suspense, etc), but oh well. I did like the end fairly well, enough that I may be on the lookout for the sequels. You are right, though: it was a short book. :)

18.Monkey.
jan 26, 2016, 3:13 am

For translation I'm planning on reading Japanese tales of mystery and imagination by Edogowa Rampo. I've read one story of his and it was by far one of the best short stories I have ever read, so I'm excited about more of his work.

19Moomin_Mama
jan 26, 2016, 7:50 pm

>18 .Monkey.: I did consider that so I'll be interested in what you make of it.

20saraslibrary
jan 27, 2016, 9:49 pm

>18 .Monkey.: Good to know. I'll keep him in mind when I'm browsing for books. Thanks! :)

21ccookie
Redigeret: mar 17, 2016, 10:25 am

I read Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts after reading Stephen King's tweet about it, "Scared the living hell out of me, and I'm pretty hard to scare.” It did not disappoint!

My comments are here

22sturlington
mar 17, 2016, 11:18 am

>21 ccookie: That one is on my TBR, so it's nice to see a good review.

23.Monkey.
mar 17, 2016, 2:19 pm

Ooh that's pretty much the most excellent rec one can get for their book, will def have to look into that!

24sturlington
Redigeret: apr 8, 2016, 7:11 am

>21 ccookie: Just finished A Head Full of Ghosts. What a great read! A real treat for horror fans.

25ccookie
apr 10, 2016, 10:49 pm

Glad you enjoyed it. Rather disturbing but, as you said, a great read!

26LibraryCin
apr 18, 2016, 8:28 pm

I'm just curious if anyone else has been thinking about May yet? It's "nonfiction". I used tags to search and was surprised (though, I probably shouldn't be!) at how many books are fiction, but tagged nonfiction! :-)

Anyway, I didn't see much, so instead of using "horror" and "nonfiction", I tried "murder" and "nonfiction". I found a couple that I want to read... but my library has neither! Sigh.,.

27.Monkey.
apr 19, 2016, 2:39 am

I have a handful listed in the recs thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/206776#5366059
There is also King's Danse Macabre which isn't horror itself but is about horror (which is one I'm considering for it) and along those lines I also have on my shelves Horror Films, and Vampire Films (Pocket Essential) & George A. Romero (Pocket Essential) that I could consider. Going the nonfic about horror is a possibility for those who have that interest as well.

28gaylebutz
apr 19, 2016, 9:08 pm

I'm thinking of reading Fire Lover by Joseph Wambaugh. It's the true story of a serial arsonist who became the fire chief for awhile before he was caught.

Or I might read The Devil in the White City: murder, magic and madness at the fair that changed America by Erik Larson. It's two stories during the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. One is about the men who built it. The other is about a sadistic serial killer who was using the busy fair to take advantage of people.

I also found that it's hard to find a list. I tried searching for nonfiction crime on my library's website and I couldn't get much to display.

29LibraryCin
apr 20, 2016, 8:44 pm

>28 gaylebutz: The Devil in the White City is really good! I've really liked everything I've read by Larson so far.

30LibraryCin
apr 20, 2016, 8:45 pm

>27 .Monkey.: I've considered reading Danse Macabre before, but I never have. Maybe I should think about that one, again. Thank you for the suggestion.

31mathgirl40
apr 20, 2016, 10:40 pm

>28 gaylebutz: Like LibraryCin, I too would recommend The Devil in the White City and anything else by Larsen. I also found Columbine by Dave Cullen to be very well written and perhaps disturbing enough to be considered horrific if not horror.

I'm thinking of reading That Lonely Section of Hell by Lori Shenher. It's a memoir written by the detective who led the investigation into serial killer Robert Pickton.

32.Monkey.
apr 21, 2016, 2:24 am

I enjoyed Devil in the White City, it was interesting.

33sturlington
apr 21, 2016, 10:39 am

I'm probably not going to read anything for next month, because I don't have much nonfiction on my TBR, but I think In Cold Blood would be a good choice if you haven't already read it. The Amityville Horror is supposedly true. Helter Skelter scared the pants off me when I read it. On Writing by Stephen King might be relevant--it's been a while since I've read it--but at least it's by a horror writer.

How about searching true crime? Also, what about collections of ghost stories or urban legends? Folklore is usually shelved with nonfiction, I believe.

Here's an idea, not really fiction or nonfiction either so it could fit: the Amphigorey books by Edward Gorey. I love those. In fact, I just might reread one!

34luvamystery65
apr 21, 2016, 11:15 am

I'll set up the thread this weekend.

I am probably going to read about the I-45 murders. Very scary to me because I live in Houston. William Reece was interviewed for the book I'll read. He just confessed to the murder of Jessica Cain and led police to her remains.

35.Monkey.
apr 21, 2016, 12:05 pm

>33 sturlington: Some of the titles on the list are true crime, but yeah there's a ton of those that folks can choose from if they want, I wasn't about to go trying to list the whole subgenre! xP In Cold Blood and Amityville were both put on the list back last year. ;) I figured On Writing probably wouldn't really deal with horror, hence not having listed that one, but he's a horror writer and it's on his craft so if anyone wanted to choose that one, I wouldn't quibble over it. "True" ghost stories & hauntings would certainly qualify, though that's also the theme of another month, hence not going that direction in the suggestions myself.

36sturlington
apr 21, 2016, 12:32 pm

>35 .Monkey.: Yeah, we could also save On Writing for Stephen King month.

37LibraryCin
Redigeret: apr 21, 2016, 7:16 pm

>33 sturlington: How about searching true crime? Also, what about collections of ghost stories or urban legends? Folklore is usually shelved with nonfiction, I believe.

These are some good ideas - thank you! I actually like reading about "true crime". Not sure why I didn't think to search that, as well!

38luvamystery65
apr 29, 2016, 8:03 pm

The May thread is up!

May 2016: Non-Fiction Horror!

39luvamystery65
apr 29, 2016, 8:04 pm

Sorry it took me so long to post the May thread. I meant to do it last week, but I've had some issues with my Westie, Bruce. I'll post in the pet thread. :(

40saraslibrary
maj 12, 2016, 5:24 pm

>39 luvamystery65: Ooh, no. I'm so sorry. :( I'm just now catching up on threads. I'll pop over to the pet thread right now. *hugs*

41LibraryCin
Redigeret: jul 16, 2016, 7:00 pm

What is "pre and post Victorian gothic"? Does that mean any gothic, including contemporary (so, really, any gothic)? That's my hope, anyway. :-) Thanks!

42.Monkey.
jul 25, 2016, 2:49 am

Whoops never saw that question, sorry. But yeah pretty much. Personally I don't really view modern attempts at Gothic in the same vein at all, but folks were a bit overwhelmed with the Gothic theme of last year so both pre & post were chosen to be together rather than two separate months.

43LibraryCin
jul 25, 2016, 8:40 pm

>42 .Monkey.: Thanks so much, Monkey!

44Ravenwoodwitch
jun 3, 2022, 8:49 pm

Hello, All :)
I've been posting in the 75 books group and thought I'd wonder over here. I've always loved short horror stories and have been falling for horror novels... but I am also having a hard time picking something up that isn't Stephen King, Poe, or Lovecraft :/

I've tried a couple Clive Barker novels (liked'em) and one from Jonathan Aycliffe. Managed to grab Robert Blotch, but does anyone have a recommendation? I like psychological horror, body-horror, supernatural stuff, things like that if it helps. I'm extra curious if it's got a film coming/from before with it.

45LibraryCin
Redigeret: jun 3, 2022, 11:10 pm

>44 Ravenwoodwitch: I'm not as much "into" short stories, but what about Neil Gaiman? (Although many of his are geared toward younger audiences.)

Or how about Shirley Jackson?

Or The Birds by Daphne du Maurier?

Authors of novels: Dean Koontz, Joe Hill (Stephen King's son) are both very good, also Neil Gaiman. I also have Jennifer McMahon, Ruth Ware tagged as "horror".

If you want to know specific titles, let me know, and I'll peruse through my favourites and let you know, more specifically.

Also, This House is Haunted by John Boyne. Oh, I guess I should mention that I also like ghost stories/haunted houses. :-)

46Julie_in_the_Library
jun 10, 2022, 6:18 pm

I'm late for the theme, but for nonfiction, I really enjoyed Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction. There's also Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction, which has the benefit of being full of titles for further fiction reading.

I recently finished a 2021 collection of short stories from the Denver Horror Collective called The Jewish Book of Horror that was fantastic, for anyone looking for short stories in a range of horror subgenres.

For supernatural horror/suspense with a folklore bent, I really enjoy Jennifer McMahon's novels.