Book Blogger Confessions is a meme that posts the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month, where book bloggers "confess" and vent about topics that are unique to us. Feel free to share, vent and offer solutions.
Just keep it respectful - no bashing authors or other bloggers! If you want to participate just grab our button and include it in your post with a link to either Midnyte Reader or For What It's Worth. We will be providing a linky at the end of our posts so people can "hop" to see all the participants answers.
Question: Happy (early) Halloween! Do you like to read scary books? Why or why not? If so, what is the scariest book you ever read and why does it deserve that honor?
I like scary books but honestly it takes a heck of a lot to scare me. Even with movies. My brain can’t seem to turn off and I just know in my head it’s not real. There have been a few books that have managed to give me the creeps though.
The first scary book I ever remember reading was Pet Sematary by Stephen King. This book scared the shit out of me! I was dating my husband at the time and wouldn’t even leave the house unless I could bring the book with me to read. I remember him and his friend taking me to Taco Bell for lunch and I was in the back seat of the car reading. I even had nightmares afterwards. That was over 20 years ago and I have no idea if it would scare me if I read it now. I should re-read it sometime to see.
More recently there was Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake and I just finished the wonderful, creeptastic The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle. Both shocked me at how creepy and graphic they got for YA.
It wasn’t so much the gore, which I LOVE, but both Blake, and Bickle made me care about what happened to the characters and took them places that left you wondering if they could make it out of this book alive. Reading has become somewhat predictable, so when I actually fear for a characters safety….THAT’S when I’m scared!What books scare you? Is there a subject matter that maybe scares you more than straight up gore? Mine would be serial killers because they really exist. I can’t read books about serial killers.
Bonus question! Just for fun – have you ever dressed as a literary character for Halloween? Brave enough to show a photo if you have one?
No, I haven't, but I did dress up my dogs as Harry Pawter, Dumbledore and Professor Trelawney one year. I have pictures somewhere but I could only find the one of Beau as Harry P.
P.S. Check out my Book Blogger Confessions partner, Pam’s month long Halloween Hootenanny over at Midnyte Reader!
~ Creepy reviews.
~ Ghoulish giveaways.
~ Scary posts.
~ Frightening interviews.
~ Spooky goodness.
Next Book Blogger Confessions is November 5th and the topic is politics and blogging!
Question: Should bloggers & authors discuss politics? Does that turn you off to a blogger or an authors books if they tweet/post about their political positions or do you appreciate their passionate point of view?
Get the upcoming questions right here
Link up!
I have always ment to read Pet Cemetary but I've read 3 other Stephen King books and I just wasn't a fan. But Anna definitely freaked me out. Kendare Blake did a fantastic job with that book.
ReplyDeleteThat's really the only one that scared me. I've read a few more of his but they are all so similar I gave up.
DeleteI have to agree with you on serial killers. They do exist and that is why Jo Nesbos the Snowman creeped me out.
ReplyDeleteWhen things are that real I get too scared and then I'm afraid in real life, thinking I'm about to be murdered.
DeleteI love me some serial killers but they don't scare me. They send shivers down my spine though - creepy! Demonic possessions and psychological thrillers are what freak me out!
ReplyDeleteThat's so interesting. It's the real life things that scare me. The serial killer stuff makes me physically ill and paranoid so I just avoid it lol
DeleteClowns. Clowns scare me. Reading IT by Stephen King was very nightmare-inducing.
ReplyDeleteIs there anyone who ISN'T afraid of clowns!! They're just creepy.
Deletegood scary list of books. totally agree with all of them
ReplyDeleteYay!! We have good taste :-)
DeleteI am not that big on scary books cos they are so scary ;D Still I do like zombies
ReplyDeleteLove me some zombies but they don't scare me.
DeleteA. OMG your dog is SO cute!
ReplyDeleteB. I'm with you. I loved Anna. I like stories that aren't too gory but really invest me in the characters. I'm off to look up THO.
Thanks! Beau is a ham. he actually enjoyed that costume :-)
DeleteThe gore doesn't bother me - in fact I love it - but it's the fear for my characters that freaks me out.
How cute! I have a dog like that. He looooves dressing up. He prances around all happy when's he's dressed. Wouldn't you know it's my lab that likes to play dress up. Not my 10 pound little poodle mix.
Delete;)
You love the gore? You go girl!
Yup. Pet Semetary...that is the one that scared me. Like you, I am hard to really scare. I think you hit the nail on the head that what helps a scary book is when you care about the characters so much and worry about their safety.
ReplyDeleteYour doggie looks very regal. I have not dressed up as a specific literary character, but I want me and my husband to dress as Poe & Annabel Lee one year.
I love that! Because neither of us scare easily but PS was the one that got to both of us.
DeleteNot many books have scared me since childhood. Odd... But that's because I avoid horror like the dickens. I know it would scare me, and that's not an emotion I enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any books by Stephen King yet, but I think I want to check Pet Semetary out. I haven't been scared by almost any books yet, and that one seems to have scared many. :)
ReplyDeleteSo many people mentioned Dean Koontz as a scary writer. I'm going to have to check out his books. Only Pet Sematary scared me from Stephen king - his other books just gave me a case of the creeps.
DeleteNever found Pet Semetary as scary as The Stand. :) These days, I find psychological stuff pretty scary, like the series by Chelsea Cain about serial killer Gretchen Lowell.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic!
I read Pet Sematary so long ago. I'm rarely if ever scared these days so I'm not sure it would even bother me if I read it now.
DeleteI never thought to be a character out of a book. Not a bad idea, except no one would understand. I used to dress up in fancy historical dresses and people didn't understand. The interaction would go something like this. Who are you? No one, I just like the dresses. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! People never understand my Halloween decorations (I do themes) either. As long as you're having fun!
DeleteI've never attempted to read a King book - but this one would surely freak me out!
ReplyDelete- Jessica @ Book Sake
I don't think I've read Pet Sematary.
ReplyDeleteThat dog costume is amazing! I can't even get my dog to wear a bandanna.
And, yes, one year I dressed up as Harriet the Spy...
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