Week 22: Introduction

[Zaz, Mood Minion]

Week 22: a book that scares you.
May 28 - June 3, 2015

Fear the scary week, you'll jump at every sound, the night will be full of moving shadows, you'll have nightmares. Or maybe you'll choose the wrong book and be very sleepy, we don't know.
Fear the scary week (yeah, you have a déjà vu feeling, I know), you'll open this book you wanted to read but not wanted at the same time. Maybe it's very huge, maybe the subject makes you uncomfortable, maybe it talks to something deep inside you, living you a little afraid. Maybe it won't be a so big jump at the end, but good luck anyway.


How to Create a Topic:
1. Create a topic in the appropriate folder using your book's author and title (Title by Author, please). Link your book with the "This topic is about" feature.

2. In the body of your post, comment about why you chose this book. Have you read it before? What are your expectations?

3. Feel free to use the thread as a way to update the group on your progress. Also, when you are finished reading, add a small review and your thoughts about the week's challenge.

4. Comment on everyone else's posts as well! Participation and group involvement will make this challenge so much fun!

**If you chose the same book as another group member for the same week, do not create a duplicate thread.**

Book ideas (hu, some covers are creepy x__x)
Nightmare Magazine's Top 100 Horror Books
15 scary books to terrify you this Halloween
The 50 Scariest Books of All Time
10 Novels That Are Scarier Than Most Horror Movies
The 100 Scariest Horror Novels of All Time
The 20 horror books every fan should read
Some Listopias:
Best Indie Horror Books
Most Terrifying Short Stories
Books That Gave Me Nightmares
Really Scary Books
Best Horror Books of the 21st Century
Best Modern Horror Novels
Historical Ghost Fiction
Books That Gave Me Nightmares
Haunted House Stories
Haunted Hospitals
Favorite Bone-chilling YA novel
YA Haunted Houses
Where's The Scare? (Best YA Horror Books)
Spooky Middle Grade Reads
Horror films based on books

[Amanda]

Hey, so horror books/movies are really not my thing. I'm frightened about the whole having nightmares about something that's not real yet it's scary. So I'd like to ask for recommendations for this week.
I would like to try reading Stephen King. He's an author I've never read but always been curious about. But he has a major list and I don't know what to pick. Any help? Thanks

[Zaz, Mood Minion]

Hmm, it's not easy because I mostly read King 20 years ago, so I'm not really sure how his books are now! My favorites from him are not the most horror oriented.
I'll say The Talisman, The Green Mile or Skeleton Crew (short stories).

[Silvia]

I have read many books by Stephen King, but one that I have always avoided is "IT", not because I'm afraid of the plot, but because it is so looooong and I am a kind of slow reader that I find this book the scariest.

[Amanda]

Thank you. The Green Mile is on my to read list. For the challenge I've checked It and The Shining. I'm excited for this week.

[Sophie]

I read some King books more than 10 years ago, so I might revisit him for this week, with The Shining for example. I loved the movie and I heard the book is even scarier! I'm normally not into scary books, but for this week I'm glad to go out of my comfort zone.

[Maple]

I probably struggled with this category the most. Horror is one of my favorite genres of books and movies. I seem to have built up a tolerance over the years, because I don't find much scary any more. The book I ended up picking, Piercing was pretty messed up, but it was poor quality writing (from a high quality author) and the story just didn't go anywhere.

[Francesca]

Manda wrote: "I probably struggled with this category the most. Horror is one of my favorite genres of books and movies. I seem to have built up a tolerance over the years, because I don't find much scary any mo..."

I'm in the same boat as you, that horror is my favourite genre and therefore I have a higher tolerance for it. I've been stuck picking a book for this topic but I have a few true life stories on my to-read list that are about real murderers or real events that were horrible and I might go with one of those as I find real life horrors much scarier and more disturbing than any fictional story.

[Laura, Mod]

I also am pretty desensitized. For some reason I found Rosemary's Baby unsettling the whole time I read it. But I went with The Exorcist since it's such a classic. We'll see! Hopefully it's a successful week (and the book actually scares me)

[Francesca]

Amanda wrote: "Hey, so horror books/movies are really not my thing. I'm frightened about the whole having nightmares about something that's not real yet it's scary. So I'd like to ask for recommendations for this..."

If you're not very into horror and you want to start with Stephen King, I'd probably suggest starting with Carrie. It's sort of a jumping off book because, although it is a horror book and there are definitely still very unsettling moments, it's less scary than some of his others. It also gives you an idea of his writing style which might give you an idea of whether you'd like to read more of his books or not.

He has also written some amazing non-horror books too which I would recommend for other categories or that you could read at other times.

[Dax]

A book that scares you...maybe you're frightened of reading a rather large book, or scared that you're gonna hate a book that your best friend keeps saying is their favorite and they want you to read it. Scary doesn't necessarily mean horror. I'm horrified when I read about the mistreatment of humans and especially children, I'm also terrified when I read about how ignorant so many people are in the information age we live in. Honestly you want a scary book, look in non-fiction.

[Michelle, Mod Assistant]

Yeah, horror is not really my bag so I think I will go with something that is more intimidating to me than scary. Im a big fraidy cat.

[Biana]

Erika wrote: "Scary doesn't necessarily mean horror....Honestly you want a scary book, look in non-fiction.

I am loving your take on this week!!! I came to this thread because I don't want to read some horror-slasher book. And you are right, we are afraid of many thing. I'm actually a little nervous that Harper Lee's second book won't be half as good as To Kill A Mockingbird...and that maybe I do like Harlequin Romance...and that my mother was right all along about Jack Reacher. Not to mention the shock of eyeballing Moby Dick and knowing that you have to read every last page.

Thanks. I'm going to rethink this whole "scary" aspect!

[Brandy]

Yup, I read it as "book that scares you" and I can't think anything I'm more intimidated by Ulysses.

Good call on the theory that Harper Lee's second book might tarnish your love for the first and all things Harper Lee. I really, truly don't know if I want to read it.

Your mom? She likes Reacher. I stopped reading them eventually, just too many and diminishing returns for me. But I really liked those first couple of books a lot more than I thought I would have.