Horror Aficionados discussion

Anyone up for a book discussion in April? I looked at the list William compiled and I see several I'd love to read and discuss at HA.

Here are my choices:

Robert McCammon
Mine
Boy's Life

Peter Straub
Shadowland
Koko

Henry James
The Turn of the Screw

Or we could do it Kristen's way and have someone number the list, close your eyes, and point to a title and that's the pick of the month.

Or we could have someone (you Tressa) divide the list into categories (ghosts, haunted houses, witches, slashers, zombies, vampires, etc) and we could have a rotational pick based on categories.

I'd be glad to.

What? No Edward Lee? I am shocked, I tell you...truly and utterly shocked!!! ;)

Go take your Ed Lee suggestion to the Leisure group read. Go on. Get out.

BTW, William, I'm still working on this list. A lot of the books on the list I haven't read and it's hard to tell just what category they belong to; I have to look some of them up. If people suggest any additional titles to be put on the list they should include the category.

Tressa wrote: "Go take your Ed Lee suggestion to the Leisure group read. Go on. Get out.

BTW, William, I'm still working on this list. A lot of the books on the list I haven't read and it's hard to tell just wha..."

I still need to do some more updates. Maybe this weekend.

What a bunch of horror novel snobbery, I daresay! (you know I'm joking, right?)

Tressa wrote: "Go take your Ed Lee suggestion to the Leisure group read. Go on. Get out.

BTW, William, I'm still working on this list. A lot of the books on the list I haven't read and it's hard to tell just wha..."

Of course I know you're joking, Chris. I usually think most people on this board are joking around, and if they aren't, oh, well. What are you gonna do? *shrugs shoulders*

I hope you'll join our April read even though a woman isn't being eviscerated in the book we end up choosing.

Was that a thinly veiled reference to EL, Tressa? Women don't always get eviscerated in his books, you know...other stuff happens, too, that doesn't result in a visceral and untimely end...

You know I'm joking, right?

Umm, not really, no. :P

Tressa wrote: "You know I'm joking, right?"

Okay, that's TWO votes for Lee...c'mon, folks, let's keep it comin'...

Rob wrote: "I nominate Ed Lee too."

Hey, everyone has their own opinions, so its cool, Rob. Personally, I like Straub's work and consider Ghost Story to be one of my favorite horror novels of all-time (in my top 20, anyway). McCammon is a horror writer you should really read, and not at all a King clone. He's very good and has been writing horror for almost as long as the Big Names (except for his almost-10-year hiatus).

I would say--about Straub--that he isn't for everyone...everyone who reads horror, I mean. While I liked Koko, it was a bit disjointed and jumped around with the whole multiple POV thing and flashbacks, etc. But he is a master of modern horror.

I'd be happier if we would pick a book that actually has points that we could discuss beyond "I liked it"

Ghost Story is one of the best horror novels I've ever read. I picked Koko and Shadowland because those are two Ive never read before. They don't have to be included in the group read.

I really enjoyed McCammon's Speaks the Nightbird, which isn't horror of the supernatural kind. Accusations of witchcraft back in the 1600s is horror enough.

Kristen wrote: "I'd be happier if we would pick a book that actually has points that we could discuss beyond "I liked it""

Miss high intellectual!

I've only read one McCammon--Stinger--it was okay. Better towards the beginning than towards the end. Once the full monster is revealed it's all over.

William wrote: "Miss high intellectual!"

No... I just think that we have a habit of picking books that are just fun to read, but don't really have anything to really discuss. In the end our discussion threads just end up dying tragic deaths because there really isn't anything to say.

After taking a closer look at this list I see A LOT of books I'd love to read and not much time to read them. What I wouldn't give to be locked in a bank vault like that coke bottle-glasses man in The Twilight Zone episode. At least for a week. I bet my family wouldn't miss me.

Kristen wrote: "William wrote: "Miss high intellectual!"

No... I just think that we have a habit of picking books that are just fun to read, but don't really have anything to really discuss. In the end our dis..."


I read for enjoyment. I don't mind discussing a book but it doesn't necessarily have to teach me anything. I like a BOTM club because it forces me to consider books I would never think of on my owm. I have a hard enough time picking books out sometimes.

Rob wrote: "I've read from more than one source that one of McCammon's books is just like The Stand. I forget which one though. I guess that's where my "King clone" idea came from. And Boy's Life just SOUND..."

Swan Song.

Other than the post apocalyptic good vs. evil theme, I feel that the books are pretty different. Different styles. To be honest i kind of like Swan Song a little better.

No offense to Stephen King or his fans, but King could never write Speaks the Nightbird or Queen of Bedlam. I just don't think he has it in him. His writing is more pedestrian than McCammon's.

I feel that McCammon's writing has grown since Boy's Life and his earlier works; Stephen King's writing has remained in that comfortable formula that made him famous.

I think King is simply inconsistent. He has bad early works and great later ones. The hunger seems to still be there. Remember, he did intend to quit for a while...but then he had to start again. And he certainly doesn't need the money.

King wrote some great books--Carrie, The Stand, Salem's Lot, Misery, The Regulators, Christine, The Dead Zone, Dolores Claiborne, It, The Green Mile--but he has written just as many stinkers. I don't know. Is it better for a writer to churn so many out and hopefully produce some great works amid the dregs? Or should a writer take his time and nurture a story, which means he publishes fewer works?

I hope Joe Hill doesn't get into the rut of plugging some monsters into a tried-and-true formula. So far it doesn't look like it, but only time will tell.

It just depends on the writer. Clearly not everyone thinks they're stinkers, or they wouldn't be bestsellers.

I hated 'Salem's Lot and The Green Mile, but I know I'm in the minority.

Sorry, I'm a little confused (surprise, surprise). Are we supposed to use this thread to vote on an April read?

Also, I really enjoyed some of King early stuff, and I like Hill's stuff a lot - even the completely non-horror stuff in "20th Century Ghost".

Well, some King fanatics will buy anything he publishes, even the stinkers, and turn them into bestsellers.

Yes, Rusty. We just got sidetracked.

William, my laptop with the list I was working on is kaput until some time later this week.

Can I or you or someone just create a poll that includes five titles from the list? If it's a book that I need to order through the library--so sue me, I'm cheap--I need to do it soon.

How about Shirley Jackson's 'The House on Haunted Hill'?

You are right! Don't get me wrong, I can see the easy comparison someone would make not really having read McCammon's books...I have read them all, except for Queen of Bedlam. He is a brilliant storyteller but not at all like King. And I love King's work. Hell, and maybe some have read most of McCammon's books and thought that way...and that's cool...but I have never felt that McCammon was unintentionally copying King...not at all. Okay, so someone may take Swan Song and Boy's Life and make some loose comparison...but there's what, like 9-10 other novels that have NO similar storyline to any King novel.

Tressa wrote: "No offense to Stephen King or his fans, but King could never write Speaks the Nightbird or Queen of Bedlam. I just don't think he has it in him. His writing is more pedestrian than McCammon's.

I ..."

Let's face it, a lot of horror novels have similar plots. How many post-nuclear holocaust novels are out there? On the Beach. Swan Song. The Stand. Here's a list of them: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_.... A good writer will take a well-used plot line and make the story his own.

And look at all the great zombie books available. I've enjoyed every zombie novel I ever read.

Em, have you voted in the April read poll? Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House is on it. I think it's losing by a few votes, so tell all your horror buddies to vote.

Chris wrote: "You are right! Don't get me wrong, I can see the easy comparison someone would make not really having read McCammon's books...I have read them all, except for Queen of Bedlam. He is a brilliant s..." Just voted!

I'd like to join in on this. I used to go to a horror book discussion group at the library, but often we ended up talking about things other than the book, and when people did talk about it, they usually made what I felt were unnecessary complaints. I'm all for subjecting a book to criticism, but I really feel people get too high on themselves thinking, "That scene in 13th century Rome was unbelievable, because I know what it was like there." Also, I found they had the annoying habit of objecting to things in books because of their political views.

Anyway, I voted for McCammon's "The Wolf's Hour." I have long heard praise of this book, and I love werewolf stories. Based on this thread, McCammon is an author I need to read.

That group I was in was going to do Clive Barker's "Mister B. Gone," which sounds interesting, too.

I think you'll add a lot to the discussion, Andrew. I don't mind when my online groups get off subject. Nobody exists in a vacuum and it's interesting to see how a topic can get blown off course. I like to learn little things about the people I meet online and people can get pretty confessional because of the anonymity.

But in an online discussion you can join in when it's convenient; I can see why it wouldn't be as much fun when you took the time to drive to a location and sit for a few hours for a book group.

I don't understand when people point out ridiculous inconsistencies in movies like "those types of Gladiator sandals weren't invented until _______ was emperor." Who cares!

I hate when people go on off tangents about politics, unless that's the subject of the book of discussion.

I vote for Wolfs Hour I think...

I haven't looked at the poll lately, but last time I did McCammon's book was winning.

Wolf's Hour is a good read (heh, no pun!) and one of my favorites by McCammon, along with Stinger. I am a big fan of Barker but Mister B Gone was just OK. Seems like it could've been better, somehow...but it was an interesting premise, nonetheless.

Andrew wrote: "I'd like to join in on this. I used to go to a horror book discussion group at the library, but often we ended up talking about things other than the book, and when people did talk about it, they u..."

Kristen wrote: "I vote for Wolfs Hour I think..."

Me too. When does the poll close?

Jason wrote: "Kristen wrote: "I vote for Wolfs Hour I think..."

Me too. When does the poll close?"

Tonight at midnight I think.

The winner is:

The Wolf's Hour

Well, I have been wanting to read it for some time. I hope to meet Robert McCammon tomorrow at our book fair and I'm a little nervous about it. I'm always afraid that a celeb I've admired for years will act like a jerk and I'll have to donate their stuff to charity.

He's speaking at noon and afterward is the book signing. (It's a book fair called Alabama Bound and there will be other authors, but I'm not interested in them.)I'm going to bring my hardback of Boy's Life and see if he will sign it. I'll either get a picture of him or of us together if I can get up enough nerve. I have a hard time asking people to do things for me.

Here's a video clip of an interview with him and someone from our library. I don't think the interviewer has ever read his books. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY3XaJ...

He said he just finished a book called Mr. Slaughter.

Wow, you're fortunate, Tressa. I like the title of the new book...sounds like something I would like! ;)

On a sidenote, about 7 years ago, I met The Man Himself, Edward Lee, an an area multi-author event...actually chatted with him outside for a while and got invited to dinner, as well. He's a very cool, nice guy...not what you would think given the nature of his horror novels.

I think he mentioned in an interview he's going to talk about Mr. Slaughter tomorrow. I'm pretty psyched about this book, too.

That's cool that you met Lee. I think most horror writers are cool, nice guys. Maybe they even barbecue on weekends and play badminton with their family. We read horror but we aren't axe-wielding lunatics prowling for victims to put in our next snuff film. I enjoyed The Cannibal Within. Wonder what that says about me?

I posted a pic of the only horror write I have met. Look in the group photos link off to the side.

I've never been brave enough to read one of her books.

Good thing I picked up a copy.

Means that I'd be afraid of eating at your next BBQ party...but hey, who knows, we're s'posed to taste like pork, right? ;)

Tressa wrote: "I think he mentioned in an interview he's going to talk about Mr. Slaughter tomorrow. I'm pretty psyched about this book, too.

That's cool that you met Lee. I think most horror writers are cool, ..."

Great pic, William. Did you learn anything?

Chris, we southerners will BBQ anything that walks. So you should be afraid.

I didn't realize you were from the South, Tressa. I grew up in Arkansas. I've been away from the South for a while, so I'm always glad to come across another southerner.

And it's true what you say - I must admit I've tasted squirrel.