Summer 2023 Reading Challenge

[WendyB]

Summer Activities Horror
Read books that take place during what should be summer fun - camping, hiking, fishing, amusement parks, beaches, cruises, etc.

Track the books you read here!
Have a horrifying summer everyone!

Sign up for the challenge here: https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/...

[Anne]

I’m totally in! Trying to work through my tbr but I’m sure there are plenty that will qualify.

[destiny ♡]

This is such a fun idea, I'm in!

[Michael]

My goal is 3 books for the challenge. Now I need to look through my library for something appropriate . . . . .

AUGUST 30 UPDATE- - - While I try to limit my participation in challenges and group reads so that I don't become overwhelmed - - sometimes I let my enthusiasm get the best of me. This is one challenge that I regretfully did not complete. Sigh.

1/3

1. RAMPAGE ON THE REEF Dead Seas, Volume IV: An Anthology of Aquatic Horror edited by Jay Alexander (June 16)
2.
3.

[Lori]

Hopefully, some of the ones you suggested are available at my library.

[Alejandro Such]

Any recommendations for a newbie in the genre?

[Jessica]

I'm in! Excited to read some summer horror and hopefully knock some books off my TBR shelf 😂

[destiny ♡]

I set my goal at 3 for now, but I'm hoping maybe I'll even get to 5. My 3 picks for my TBR are:

• Shock Waves
• Off Season
• FantasticLand

[Hayley]

I put four for mine, as I really need to attack my books on my bookshelf with gusto. But I'm sure many of them will qualify!

[Robin]

I'm going to read 3, one a month once school is out. I THINK it will be

The Tent by Kealan Burke
Slice of Paradise: A Beach Vacation Horror Anthology
Black Canyon by Jeremy Bates

And of course, that's already changing!
1.
2.
3.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. (in progress)

[Anja]

I'm going with 10 this year 🏖️🦈

1.
-- I began this book so long ago, but put it down for a later time, but I never got to pick it up even though I loved what I had read so far. It's perfect for this challenge (Currently reading)
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

Some ideas:
Paradise Club
The Tent
Ogre
Summer Never Ends
The Last Time I Lied
The Breed
The Castaways
The Splendor of Fear (tbh not my cup of tea, unfitting purple prose, but I know it is liked by many, so I'll include it in my suggestions)
The Haunted Forest Tour
The Grand Hotel
Woom
Bag of Bones
Don't Go to Wheelchair Camp
Ghostland

[Regalado]

Ok I'm in.


1. Summer of Night

2. Chasing the Boogeyman

3. Joyland

[Emily Kestrel]

I’m in! I will try for 10.

[Kimberly]

Hoping this cuts into my TBR!

[WendyB]

Alejandro Such wrote: "Any recommendations for a newbie in the genre?"

A good place to start is looking at the books others are reading. I've found many good books this way.
Also I have a shelf with suggestions for this challenge here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

[WendyB]

Kimberly wrote: "Hoping this cuts into my TBR!"

;) Ever the optimist! Good luck!

[Kimberly]

WendyB wrote: "Kimberly wrote: "Hoping this cuts into my TBR!"

;) Ever the optimist! Good luck!"

You KNOW I'll end up buying more new books than reading the ones I actually OWN already... LOL! But love the challenge!

[Justin]

1. Bad Games
2. Camp Carnage
3. Don't Go to Wheelchair Camp
4. The Dark Valley
5. The Boy in the Woods This one doesn't seem to be available for purchase anywhere, so I'm changing it to Camp Ghoul Mountain Part VI: The Official Novelization
6. Summer of Night
7. Mr. Nightmare
8. Kill Hill Carnage
9. Camp Pleasant
10. Wonderland

[Andrew “The Weirdling”]

I’m in!!!

[Zen]

In!

Starting with five, but I have no idea what I'm going to read yet. I've had friends rec The Troop, so I may try to work that one in and will go looking for others.

1.) The Cabin at the End of the World 5/10
2.) Joyland 05/18
3.) Twice Cursed: An Anthology 5/20
4.) The Troop
5.) Bigfoot Beach

[Madison]

I really want to get my hands on Summer of Night. Hopefully soon for this reading challenge

[Kilgallen]

hope to get 5 in :)
1) Bigfoot Hunters by R. Gualtieri 05/19
2) Devil Hunters by R. Gualtieri 05/26
3) Evil Whispers by Owl Goingback 05/30
4) Crimson Falls by Edward J. Mcfadden 06/10
5) The Lake House by Sarah Durst 07/23
6) Wasps in the Icecream by Tim Mcgregor 07/25
7) Ghost Tree by Christina Henry 08/14

[Pat]

Just getting used to this app , setting goal for 3 , with the hopes of more .

1. The Troop
2. Joyland
3. The Ruins

[Ruth]

This is my spot. I’ll aim for 3 for this summer challenge!

Start: 5/9/23
End: 8/31/23

1. Camp Scare by Delilah S. Dawson
2. Joyland by Stephen King (finished 8/26/23)
3. Wretched Waterpark by Kiersten White (finished 8/12/23)

[Adrienne L]

Fun! I have already created shelves for each season this year, but my summer picks are more about the type of books I like to read in summer (more slashers, say, than the Victorian ghost stories I like in winter), so I had to go through my summer shelf to see what I have to fit the themes for this challenge. So far, I have: The Ruins, The Devil's Pocketbook, It Lives In The Woods, The Forgotten Island, You Should Have Left, and Burnt Offerings (which would be a re-read). I set my goal for the challenge at the average of 4 but may increase it depending on how things go.

I look forward to seeing what everyone else will choose! I'd love to add some horror at the beach or at sea.

[Just Another Final Girl Review (Brittany)]

Damn it why did I have to read my arc copies of and before this I knew about this challenge. Both books come out this summer and feature lots of good body horror and very different takes on theme parks and summer camps than usual but I highly recommend checking them out. For Maeve fly think Patrick Bateman at Disney and camp Damascus is a Christian Gay Conversion camp filled with gore and body horror.

[Meli]

I think I can fit in 4 books for this challenge and I'm calling it my 2023 Summer Book-It Program (IYKYK) 😎

A few options I'm excited about:
Carnosaur
The Troop
Sundial
Piñata

Not sure how "summer vibes" the last one really is, but I'm looking forward to reading it in the summer for some reason.

(1 / 4)

1. The Troop ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. The Fisherman ⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. Lights Out ⭐⭐⭐
4.

[Meli]

Personally, I think Dead Until Dark counts! It's probably more supernatural and romance than horror, but there are vampires and other magical creatures, so yeah 👍 I loved it when I read it. Compulsively readable.

IT is also such a great choice! I would love to re-read this for summer, but it is such a chonk I don't think I can fit it in. I might try though.

[Alissa]

This is my spot. I’ll aim for 5 this summer challenge!

1. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay, COMPLETED 5/15/23- 4 STARS
2. The Island by Natasha Preston COMPLETED 6/16/23- 1 STAR
3. A Haunted Road Atlas: Sinister Stops and Dangerous Destinations, and True Crime Tales by Christine Schiefer COMPLETED 7/3/23- 3 STARS
4. You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron COMPLETED 8/25/23- 1 STAR
5.

[destiny ♡]

Just Another Final Girl Review (Brittany) wrote: "Damn it why did I have to read my arc copies of and before this I knew about this challenge. Both books come out this summer and fe..."

Oooh, I need to add Camp Damascus to my TBR, I didn't even think about that one but I'm so excited to read it! And I didn't know Maeve Fly fit the prompt, good to know — might have to add that to my ever-expanding list, too. 😂

[inciminci]

My spot!

Editing my list - I found 9 titles on my tbr that I can associate with summer activities - concerts, seaside, swimming, forest, theme park and camping. It's a little more than what I usually do in my challenges, but I feel confident, we do have a little more time than usual.

Chlorine – Jade Song
Sleep Alone – J.A.W. McCarthy
Maeve Fly – C.J. Leede
Looking Glass Sound – Catriona Ward
Black Lake Manor – Guy Morpuss
HELP! A Bear is Eating Me! – Mykle Hansen
Sacculina– Philip Fracassi
The Sea of Ash – Scott Thomas
Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield
Extended Stay - Juan Martinez

[Lisa]

destiny ♡ wrote: "I set my goal at 3 for now, but I'm hoping maybe I'll even get to 5. My 3 picks for my TBR are:

• Shock Waves
• Off Season
• FantasticLand

[bookcove..."

We listened to the FantasticLand audio book on a long drive a couple of years ago - it was great.

[Lisa]

Yay! I love the HA challenges, and summer horror is such fun!

[Kathy]

I have selected 5:

1. Blockade Billy by Stephen King. Summertime starts with baseball and Horror starts with Stephen King. Read 5/11. 3 ⭐.
2. FantasticLand by Mike Bockoven. On to Disney (oops, sorry!) FantasticLand. Fun is Guaranteed!

[Michael]

Alissa wrote: "This is my spot. I’ll aim for 5 this summer challenge!

1. CURRENTLY READING The Cabin at the End of the World
2.
3.
4.
5."

That's an awesome pick! One of my favorite Tremblay novels, and I've read a bunch of them!

[Michael]

Bones (Ganon’s Version) wrote: "This will be my very first reading challenge! I only have three planned for the challenge, but if I breeze through them, I might read more.

1. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris (does a True Blood..."

Summer of Night is really appropriate. I'd pick that if I hadn't previously read it.

[Laura]

I am in for 10 because I have staycation again this summer, with time to read and read.

[WendyB]

Kathy wrote: "I have selected 5:

1. Blockade Billy by Stephen King. Summertime starts with baseball and Horror starts with Stephen King. Read 5/11. 3 ⭐."

Baseball is an excellent choice for the summer. I've add it to my tbr.

[[deleted user]]

Meli wrote: "I think I can fit in 4 books for this challenge and I'm calling it my 2023 Summer Book-It Program (IYKYK) 😎

A few options I'm excited about:
Carnosaur
The Troop
[bo..."

I have Piñata on my list too!

[Meli]

Leticia wrote: "I have Piñata on my list too!"

Oh nice! I wasn't sure it fits the tag, but pinata = party = summer vibes 😎

[Robin]

Would you consider "Chlorine" by Jade Song to fit this challenge? It's not about a summer holiday, but it is about swimming, which a pretty quintessential summer activity.

[Emily]

Joining in! I'm doing four challenges right now, so I'm probably asking for trouble, but, uh... yeah, I'm trying for ten books.

Edit: Challenge complete!

1. The Elementals
2. The Cabin at the End of the World
3. Full Tilt
4. Jaws
5. Dark Ride
6. The Last House on Needless Street
7. Chasing the Boogeyman
8. Wonderland
9. Dark Across the Bay
10. Looking Glass Sound

[Alan]

Robin wrote: "Would you consider "Chlorine" by Jade Song to fit this challenge? It's not about a summer holiday, but it is about swimming, which a pretty quintessential summer activity."

You can count whatever you feel fits the theme. There are no hard and fast rules. Swimming is a summer activity, so to me it sounds like it works.

[destiny ♡]

Lisa wrote: "destiny ♡ wrote: "I set my goal at 3 for now, but I'm hoping maybe I'll even get to 5. My 3 picks for my TBR are:

• Shock Waves
• Off Season
• [book:FantasticLand|28..."

Oh awesome, I'm looking forward to it!

[Jennifer]

If anyone is looking for a short, quick read i think Hide by Kiersten White fits for this challenge. It takes place in a theme park!

[Lisa]

Emily wrote: "Joining in! I'm doing four challenges right now, so I'm probably asking for trouble, but, uh... yeah, I'm trying for ten books.

1. The Elementals- Currently Reading

TBR
2. "Open S..."

Emily, I loved The Elementals. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts once you're done.

[Lisa]

OK, here are my 5. The last two were recommended by Stephen Graham Jones in an interview he gave on the Colors of the Dark podcast. Happy reading, everyone!

1) Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre
2) The Hollows
3) Beach Bodies: A Beach Vacation Horror Anthology
4) Cirque Berserk
5) Camp Ghoul Mountain Part VI: The Official Novelization

[Meli]

Cirque Berserk is a blast! Great for the prompt as well.

[Amy]

Lisa, Devolution is so good.

[Amanda]

I'm in for four. One per month seems reasonable. My plans (subject to change - especially if they don't feel summer-y enough):

1. Into the Drowning Deep
2. The Island
3. The Ruins
4. My Heart Is a Chainsaw