Arkadia
from Australia is reading Selected Poems by W.H. AudenAugust 25, 2012 - 8:59pm
I can't stand Laymon. I've read three of his books and abhorred them all. They are some of the most amateurish pieces of writing I've ever read in published form and I'm constantly gobsmacked at all the praise Laymon has garnered from authors I respect. Have they actually read his stuff? Yikes.
Uh, can you tell I can't stand him? Haha.
Dorian Grey
from Transexual, Transylvania is reading "East of Eden" by John SteinbeckAugust 25, 2012 - 9:27pm
The only horror I've ever really read was by Stephen King, and he's a great place to start. It is fantastic and played mind tricks on me for weeks after I put it down. I've yet to read Pet Semetary but that's been said to be his scariest.
Courtney
from the Midwest is reading Monkey: A Journey to the West and a thousand college textbooksAugust 26, 2012 - 5:18pm
My mom is an insane King fan and despises Pet Sematary. She says it's his scariest because he resorted to the easiest, cheapest way to scare people, by using mortality of loved ones and premature death as the core of the story. (I tried to phrase that in the least spoiler way possible.) My mom claims that it's the only book by King that used a lazy way of frightening people.
I haven't read it, but I'd like to, just because I was such an ardent fan of Under the Dome after I spent so long thinking he was a hack because of what she said about Pet Sematary.
Bob Pastorella
from Groves, Texas is reading murder books trying to stay hip, I'm thinking of you, and you're out there so Say your prayers, Say your prayers, Say your prayers August 26, 2012 - 6:45pm
The thing about Pet Semetary is that King taps into very personal fears that everyone could face. If a loved one suddenly dies, and you knew of the power to bring them back, would you bring them back, even if you know doing so could result in less than favorable results? We've all lost people we loved, and missing them is the hardest part to deal with. King let that pain rise to the top, and gave us a horrific glimpse of what can happen when we act on that pain. Sometimes, dead is better. Of course, some readers may feel that was a cheap shot, an easy way to deal with it, but at least King had the courage to act on it. That's probably why so many people feel it's his scariest novel. I include myself in that group. It's scary because it's personal and you care about the people in the story, and that's what story is all about.
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersAugust 27, 2012 - 6:02am
I can barely talk about that book because it scared me so bad. Partly because I was too young when I read it...possibly.
I didn't see it as a cheap shot then or now. Mostly because of my youth at the time, that thing....oh sheesh...
SPOILER ALERT!
When the boy dies, it didn't hit me the way it would now if I read it for the first time, because I wasn't a parent or even a teenager. What drove it home for me was the idea that grief (or any very extreme emotional states) could make you do things and behave in ways you would not normally. And that is shown a couple of times, not just with the boy. But with the mother and her memories of her childhood. That bit actually scared me more.
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigAugust 27, 2012 - 9:15am
I keep hearing wonderful things about Horns. I loved Heart Shaped Box, and I bought Horns awhile back, but for some reason it keeps getting bumped by other books. I should get onto that.
I agree with Avery about why Pet Semetary was frightening, and I'll go further and say that what I find compelling, and horrifying about King is how he taps into the human element. It's almost always his human characters that get to me. Even in a very supernatural book like Desperation, what got my blood pumping was the idea that there really were cops like Collie Entragen, and that even without the supernatural element, a situation like the one that opens the book could happen, albeit for different reasons.
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonAugust 28, 2012 - 9:46am
I still haven't picked an October book for the Book Club. I want to do a horror novel.
If I choose Stephen King - a) do I need to go with something shorter like Carrie? b) is he too popular for us?
Are there any other suggestions of horror you guys would like to read for October? I want something that will both bring people to the book club and generate and great conversation.
avery of the dead
from Kentucky is reading Cipher SistersAugust 28, 2012 - 9:51am
Carrie would be my pick for a King novel because there is so much to discuss with that book.
I'd still recommend Helter Skelter.
Courtney
from the Midwest is reading Monkey: A Journey to the West and a thousand college textbooksAugust 28, 2012 - 11:43am
Like I said, I haven't read it, so I can't really say who's right -- but to be fair, my mom read it around the time my sister was the little boy's age, so she probably had an inclination to revolt against anything similar to the book. I've read the synopses and interpretations on the internet and I think he did it well enough to not be called a cheap trick, but I also wouldn't be half as scared by it as she was. She probably got pissed that he scared her so badly and wanted to come up with any reason to not be as scared as she was.
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonAugust 28, 2012 - 6:09pm
Avery - I love Carrie. I think it's a perfect debut novel. It's just a great book on so many levels.
And about Helter Skelter - I want to discuss a true crime book for sure! I have a bunch of true crime. I love reading that stuff. But, I'm looking for a horror book for October.
I have an November book picked already (that I know everybody is going to love).
Is it wrong to do true crime in December? Maybe January instead? hmm...
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonAugust 28, 2012 - 6:15pm
I've also thought of doing The Exorcist for October (which I mentioned a ton in the Book Club thread).
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigAugust 28, 2012 - 6:39pm
I was just coming in to suggest The Exorcist. I find a lot of people who love the film haven't read the book--which is a SHAME because it is so much more terrifying than the film, in part because of the non-fiction elements he works in through the priest...
EdVaughn
from Louisville, Ky is reading a whole bunch of different stuffAugust 28, 2012 - 6:54pm
I've got Carrie on my shelf but haven't read it yet. I might participate if you use that one. I haven't read The Exorcist either. That'd be a good reason to go get it.
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigAugust 28, 2012 - 6:58pm
I promise to participate in October if the choice is Carrie or The Exorcist. I'll participate much more enthusiastically if it is The Exorcist, just because I think anyone who is a horror fan should be required to read it before ever calling themselves a horror fan again.
That last part was a joke.
Kinda.
Pete
from Detroit is reading Red DragonAugust 28, 2012 - 7:08pm
Maybe I'll make it into a very easy poll of two books...
Bob Pastorella
from Groves, Texas is reading murder books trying to stay hip, I'm thinking of you, and you're out there so Say your prayers, Say your prayers, Say your prayers August 28, 2012 - 8:09pm
The writing of Carrie is an interesting story. I met King's first editor, Bill Thompson, years ago at a writer's conference. During his panel he told the same story King tells in On Writing, about how this broke ass writer he was working with tossed his original manuscript in the trash, and how his wife dug it out of the garbage and made her husband finish it, and how the writer was so inspired by his wife that he didn't give up, even though there were many times he wanted to give up again, but he finally got the book published. Nobody knew who Bill was when he told that story was, but when he revealed that the guy was King, you should have seen the people line up to talk with him after the panel. He said when he finally reached King to tell him about the paperback rights advance, that King really did have to get a pen and write out the five zeros, the decimal, and two zeros after the four ($400,000.00) before he believed Thompson.
So yeah, Carrie for sure for the Book Club.
Class Facilitator
ReneeAPickup
from Southern California is reading Wanderers by Chuck WendigAugust 28, 2012 - 8:20pm
I do love that story. And I love the idea of him falling to the floor, then wandering into town to buy Tabitha an "extravagant gift" but ending up buying her a hair dryer because the only place to shop was a five and dime.
The way he put Carrie together with the news articles and stuff in between the narrative is also really cool and worthy of discussion.
BUT
The Exorcist. Ahhh. One of my favorite horror films, so then, I wake up one day in my mid twenties and decide to read the book---mind blowing. It is a tough call, but I keep recommending The Exorcist to horror readers and I keep hearing they haven't read it yet. SHAME. Absolute shame. To never know what you've been missing...
Bob Pastorella
from Groves, Texas is reading murder books trying to stay hip, I'm thinking of you, and you're out there so Say your prayers, Say your prayers, Say your prayers August 28, 2012 - 8:27pm
The Exorcist is definitely a page turner.
There's a ton I could recommend, but quite a few of them are out of print. Total fucking shame that these books may be gone forever unless they are picked up ebook style.
An alternate suggestion would be Peter Straub's Ghost Story. Easily accessible and considered a modern classic. Might be a little long though. Straub takes a little effort to get into, but it's so worth it when you finish.
EdVaughn
from Louisville, Ky is reading a whole bunch of different stuffAugust 29, 2012 - 8:27pm
I was going to suggest Ghost Story too. Haven't read it in years but I remember liking the book a lot.
iambrendabren
from Oxnard, California
August 29, 2012 - 9:35pm
@Arkadia Wow! You actually read 3? As soon as I'm done with the one and only Laymon book I'm reading that's it. Never again. This could've worked better as a short story, or even a novella.
Americantypo
from Philadelphia is reading The Bone ClocksAugust 31, 2012 - 7:47am
I think I mentioned this on another thread, but I just started getting into Dan Simmons. Read Song of Kali, Carrion Comfort, and the first in his Hyperion Series as well as some of his short stories. He's really good. Song of Kali is the shortest if you want something easy to start with. Carrion Comfort is my favorite so far, but the Hyperion books are really great too once you get used to all the sci fi lingo.
Americantypo
from Philadelphia is reading The Bone ClocksAugust 31, 2012 - 7:49am
And Game of Thrones- nearly finished the second book. It's fantasy for sure but it's really dark and there are a lot of moments that I'd consider horrific. Way darker than the show lets on.
Bob Pastorella
from Groves, Texas is reading murder books trying to stay hip, I'm thinking of you, and you're out there so Say your prayers, Say your prayers, Say your prayers August 31, 2012 - 5:28pm
I have Game of Thrones on my Kindle, and for some reason, I just can't get into it. There's a certain aestethic I need for a book like that...the feel of the paper in my hands, if that makes any sense. So I've been hitting the Used Book store looking for a slightly loved copy, but I'm thinking I just need to spring for the mass market paperback new and try it again. What I read was good, but I don't think the Kindle is the best reading source for that book, or the others.
Andy Arson Newton
from Kansas City is reading Amy Hempel, forever.September 1, 2012 - 8:41pm
My favorite King novel is Insomnia, which I found scary at the age I read it. (I believe I was 14.) Another one that was scary in a unique fashion was Needful Things. Those both aren't the traditional King-of-fright novels, they're their own strain.
Reading Damned by Palahniuk now. Saw that someone said it wasn't his best book, which I agree. Thats a whole can of worms, Palahniuk's best novel. I will start a thread.
Seb
from Thanet, Kent, UK
September 4, 2012 - 3:20am
Surely the point of horror is to read something you find horrific, something that will stay with you and never let go? Something that burns into your psyche, invading your dreams, keeping you up at night. Something that your mind switches to at random, making you think "What if that actually happened now?"
The best by far for that reaction is Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. It's in the name.
Also, check out the Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe, but don't read it the way you normally would. Turn off the lights, shine a torch on the page, then read it aloud to yourself. Poe wrote it for readings, it's theatre in words. The light around the pages will make you feel claustrophobic, give you the sensations of the story. Or go see it read in a theatre, that's even better.
Zackery Olson
from Rockford, IL is reading pretty much anything I can get my hands onSeptember 23, 2012 - 10:34pm
Comments in no particular order:
I also felt that 'Pet Semetary' was King's cheapest novel. I feel like the Wendigo legend is one of the most terrifying pieces of mythology in the world, and King didn't do it justice. I will admit though that there are some truly terrifying moments in the novel.
I agree that Laymon isn't very good. I've also read three of his books (they were all either nominated for or won the Bram Stoker Award for best novel). I don't get the acclaim. They're pretty much campy throwaways that you won't take anything away from and won't ever want to read again.
I'd recommend 'The Reapers Are The Angels' by Alden Bell (Joshua Gaylord) for the October book club novel. It is undoubtedly the best zombie novel I've ever read--much better than anything Brian Keene has put forth in that particular subgenre. 'This Dark Earth' by John Hornor Jacobs is also a very good zombie novel.
Alex Kane
from west-central Illinois is reading Dark OrbitSeptember 24, 2012 - 11:44am
Recently read the first two books in Chuck Wendig's "Miriam Black" horror/dark fantasy series, Blackbirds and Mockingbird, and I've got nothing but great things to say about both. There's a third book on the way, evidently, and I'll be reading plenty more from him. They have an irreverent, transgressive tone to them that I love, and all the violence and supernatural weirdness a horror fan could ask for. Oh, and they're effing hilarious.
Gonna read R. L. Stine's Red Rain (terrible so far, but I'm gonna finish it anyway) and Christopher Ransom's Killing Ghost after I get done with Ellis's The Rules of Attraction.
Frank Chapel
from California is reading Thomas Ligotti's worksSeptember 25, 2012 - 7:30pm
I can't stand Laymon. I've read three of his books and abhorred them all. They are some of the most amateurish pieces of writing I've ever read in published form and I'm constantly gobsmacked at all the praise Laymon has garnered from authors I respect. Have they actually read his stuff? Yikes.
Uh, can you tell I can't stand him? Haha.
The only horror I've ever really read was by Stephen King, and he's a great place to start. It is fantastic and played mind tricks on me for weeks after I put it down. I've yet to read Pet Semetary but that's been said to be his scariest.
My mom is an insane King fan and despises Pet Sematary. She says it's his scariest because he resorted to the easiest, cheapest way to scare people, by using mortality of loved ones and premature death as the core of the story. (I tried to phrase that in the least spoiler way possible.) My mom claims that it's the only book by King that used a lazy way of frightening people.
I haven't read it, but I'd like to, just because I was such an ardent fan of Under the Dome after I spent so long thinking he was a hack because of what she said about Pet Sematary.
The thing about Pet Semetary is that King taps into very personal fears that everyone could face. If a loved one suddenly dies, and you knew of the power to bring them back, would you bring them back, even if you know doing so could result in less than favorable results? We've all lost people we loved, and missing them is the hardest part to deal with. King let that pain rise to the top, and gave us a horrific glimpse of what can happen when we act on that pain. Sometimes, dead is better. Of course, some readers may feel that was a cheap shot, an easy way to deal with it, but at least King had the courage to act on it. That's probably why so many people feel it's his scariest novel. I include myself in that group. It's scary because it's personal and you care about the people in the story, and that's what story is all about.
I can barely talk about that book because it scared me so bad. Partly because I was too young when I read it...possibly.
I didn't see it as a cheap shot then or now. Mostly because of my youth at the time, that thing....oh sheesh...
SPOILER ALERT!
When the boy dies, it didn't hit me the way it would now if I read it for the first time, because I wasn't a parent or even a teenager. What drove it home for me was the idea that grief (or any very extreme emotional states) could make you do things and behave in ways you would not normally. And that is shown a couple of times, not just with the boy. But with the mother and her memories of her childhood. That bit actually scared me more.
I keep hearing wonderful things about Horns. I loved Heart Shaped Box, and I bought Horns awhile back, but for some reason it keeps getting bumped by other books. I should get onto that.
I agree with Avery about why Pet Semetary was frightening, and I'll go further and say that what I find compelling, and horrifying about King is how he taps into the human element. It's almost always his human characters that get to me. Even in a very supernatural book like Desperation, what got my blood pumping was the idea that there really were cops like Collie Entragen, and that even without the supernatural element, a situation like the one that opens the book could happen, albeit for different reasons.
I still haven't picked an October book for the Book Club. I want to do a horror novel.
If I choose Stephen King - a) do I need to go with something shorter like Carrie? b) is he too popular for us?
Are there any other suggestions of horror you guys would like to read for October? I want something that will both bring people to the book club and generate and great conversation.
Carrie would be my pick for a King novel because there is so much to discuss with that book.
I'd still recommend Helter Skelter.
Like I said, I haven't read it, so I can't really say who's right -- but to be fair, my mom read it around the time my sister was the little boy's age, so she probably had an inclination to revolt against anything similar to the book. I've read the synopses and interpretations on the internet and I think he did it well enough to not be called a cheap trick, but I also wouldn't be half as scared by it as she was. She probably got pissed that he scared her so badly and wanted to come up with any reason to not be as scared as she was.
Avery - I love Carrie. I think it's a perfect debut novel. It's just a great book on so many levels.
And about Helter Skelter - I want to discuss a true crime book for sure! I have a bunch of true crime. I love reading that stuff. But, I'm looking for a horror book for October.
I have an November book picked already (that I know everybody is going to love).
Is it wrong to do true crime in December? Maybe January instead? hmm...
I've also thought of doing The Exorcist for October (which I mentioned a ton in the Book Club thread).
I was just coming in to suggest The Exorcist. I find a lot of people who love the film haven't read the book--which is a SHAME because it is so much more terrifying than the film, in part because of the non-fiction elements he works in through the priest...
I've got Carrie on my shelf but haven't read it yet. I might participate if you use that one. I haven't read The Exorcist either. That'd be a good reason to go get it.
I promise to participate in October if the choice is Carrie or The Exorcist. I'll participate much more enthusiastically if it is The Exorcist, just because I think anyone who is a horror fan should be required to read it before ever calling themselves a horror fan again.
That last part was a joke.
Kinda.
Maybe I'll make it into a very easy poll of two books...
The writing of Carrie is an interesting story. I met King's first editor, Bill Thompson, years ago at a writer's conference. During his panel he told the same story King tells in On Writing, about how this broke ass writer he was working with tossed his original manuscript in the trash, and how his wife dug it out of the garbage and made her husband finish it, and how the writer was so inspired by his wife that he didn't give up, even though there were many times he wanted to give up again, but he finally got the book published. Nobody knew who Bill was when he told that story was, but when he revealed that the guy was King, you should have seen the people line up to talk with him after the panel. He said when he finally reached King to tell him about the paperback rights advance, that King really did have to get a pen and write out the five zeros, the decimal, and two zeros after the four ($400,000.00) before he believed Thompson.
So yeah, Carrie for sure for the Book Club.
I do love that story. And I love the idea of him falling to the floor, then wandering into town to buy Tabitha an "extravagant gift" but ending up buying her a hair dryer because the only place to shop was a five and dime.
The way he put Carrie together with the news articles and stuff in between the narrative is also really cool and worthy of discussion.
BUT
The Exorcist. Ahhh. One of my favorite horror films, so then, I wake up one day in my mid twenties and decide to read the book---mind blowing. It is a tough call, but I keep recommending The Exorcist to horror readers and I keep hearing they haven't read it yet. SHAME. Absolute shame. To never know what you've been missing...
The Exorcist is definitely a page turner.
There's a ton I could recommend, but quite a few of them are out of print. Total fucking shame that these books may be gone forever unless they are picked up ebook style.
An alternate suggestion would be Peter Straub's Ghost Story. Easily accessible and considered a modern classic. Might be a little long though. Straub takes a little effort to get into, but it's so worth it when you finish.
I was going to suggest Ghost Story too. Haven't read it in years but I remember liking the book a lot.
@Arkadia Wow! You actually read 3? As soon as I'm done with the one and only Laymon book I'm reading that's it. Never again. This could've worked better as a short story, or even a novella.
I think I mentioned this on another thread, but I just started getting into Dan Simmons. Read Song of Kali, Carrion Comfort, and the first in his Hyperion Series as well as some of his short stories. He's really good. Song of Kali is the shortest if you want something easy to start with. Carrion Comfort is my favorite so far, but the Hyperion books are really great too once you get used to all the sci fi lingo.
And Game of Thrones- nearly finished the second book. It's fantasy for sure but it's really dark and there are a lot of moments that I'd consider horrific. Way darker than the show lets on.
I have Game of Thrones on my Kindle, and for some reason, I just can't get into it. There's a certain aestethic I need for a book like that...the feel of the paper in my hands, if that makes any sense. So I've been hitting the Used Book store looking for a slightly loved copy, but I'm thinking I just need to spring for the mass market paperback new and try it again. What I read was good, but I don't think the Kindle is the best reading source for that book, or the others.
My favorite King novel is Insomnia, which I found scary at the age I read it. (I believe I was 14.) Another one that was scary in a unique fashion was Needful Things. Those both aren't the traditional King-of-fright novels, they're their own strain.
Reading Damned by Palahniuk now. Saw that someone said it wasn't his best book, which I agree. Thats a whole can of worms, Palahniuk's best novel. I will start a thread.
Surely the point of horror is to read something you find horrific, something that will stay with you and never let go? Something that burns into your psyche, invading your dreams, keeping you up at night. Something that your mind switches to at random, making you think "What if that actually happened now?"
The best by far for that reaction is Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. It's in the name.
Also, check out the Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allen Poe, but don't read it the way you normally would. Turn off the lights, shine a torch on the page, then read it aloud to yourself. Poe wrote it for readings, it's theatre in words. The light around the pages will make you feel claustrophobic, give you the sensations of the story. Or go see it read in a theatre, that's even better.
Comments in no particular order:
I also felt that 'Pet Semetary' was King's cheapest novel. I feel like the Wendigo legend is one of the most terrifying pieces of mythology in the world, and King didn't do it justice. I will admit though that there are some truly terrifying moments in the novel.
I agree that Laymon isn't very good. I've also read three of his books (they were all either nominated for or won the Bram Stoker Award for best novel). I don't get the acclaim. They're pretty much campy throwaways that you won't take anything away from and won't ever want to read again.
I'd recommend 'The Reapers Are The Angels' by Alden Bell (Joshua Gaylord) for the October book club novel. It is undoubtedly the best zombie novel I've ever read--much better than anything Brian Keene has put forth in that particular subgenre. 'This Dark Earth' by John Hornor Jacobs is also a very good zombie novel.
Recently read the first two books in Chuck Wendig's "Miriam Black" horror/dark fantasy series, Blackbirds and Mockingbird, and I've got nothing but great things to say about both. There's a third book on the way, evidently, and I'll be reading plenty more from him. They have an irreverent, transgressive tone to them that I love, and all the violence and supernatural weirdness a horror fan could ask for. Oh, and they're effing hilarious.
Gonna read R. L. Stine's Red Rain (terrible so far, but I'm gonna finish it anyway) and Christopher Ransom's Killing Ghost after I get done with Ellis's The Rules of Attraction.
I liked Ramsey Campbell's The Face that Must Die.