Ep 111: A Ghost in the Machine (Scary books)

[Thomas]

In case you didn't notice we had major technical difficulties recording this episode. If it sounded stitched together like Dr. Frankenstein's monster, its because it was. And there were so many things I didn't get a chance to say. One of the scarier books I've read is Doris Lessing's Fifth Child. Now that book scared me.

What about you? What scares you.

[Elizabeth☮]

I agree Thomas. The Fifth Child is definitely frightening. I have never read the second book, but this one really is creepy.

I don't do well with scary content. I have read books about serial killers that have kept me up at night. Like Simon said, sometimes books based on real events can be much scarier than fiction.

I hope you guys works out the technical glitches. I knew something went wrong when I saw the show was less than thirty minutes.

[Theknittingwhippet]

Just finished Yrsa Sigurdardottir's book I Remember You (1am this morning - I couldn't stop reading!)
So spooky - a real, traditional ghost story, running alongside a detective murder/mystery. I heard Yrsa talking about this book at the Hay festival and she explained it so much better than that!
I'd highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a creepy, late October read.
Oh, and Simon trying to say Goodbye in Thomas's voice at the end of the podcast was priceless!

[Alanna]

I'm not much for horror, but Neil Gaiman's Ocean At the End of the Lane terrified me when I read it about this time last year. The scenes where the scary thing is trying to pretend it isn't a scary thing are genuinely disturbing. (Heh, spoiler avoidance.)

By the way, Thomas, I did pick up Can You Forgive Her? from my local used bookstore after you mentioned it on Twitter, and I am enjoying it.

[Alex]

I read The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon and it was by far the scariest book I've ever read! It wasn't gory, just really creepy. I highly recommend it!

[Kristin]

I also am an avid reader of scary books. I love them particularly in October, and also during summer (probably a campfire tales sort of thing). That being said, I picked out several books to read in advance of October so I could binge read them all. So far I have finished "A Good and Happy Child" by Justin Evans and "Dark Matter" by Michelle Paver. The last I have to read is "Say Her Name" which I heard about on Adventures with Words. I was excited to hear Simon mention it on the last shortened podcast, and I checked the Acknowledgements page at the back and saw James Dawson's message to you Simon! So I just started it, and I must confess, I have to turn the book face down and leave it outside of my room before going to bed. I haven't been able to sleep until about one o'clock every night this week...wonder why?