2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

I read an article on Book Riot this morning about the 10 scariest books of all time. As I was scrolling through the list I noticed that of the books I had read from it, I did not find them scary, and some of them I actually found to be very boring.

I know saying something is scary is a very subjective thing, but it had me wondering, what do you find scary? What books scare you?

I've realized that it has been a very long time since a book has scared me. I think the last book I read that I felt a twinge of fear was House by Ted Dekker.

Manda, I haven't actually read any books in the last few years that I found scary. However, I've heard that is supposed to be rather spooky/scary, so I'm waiting to receive my copy this weekend from thriftbooks.com so I can see what all the hype is!

Brittany, I read that one a few months ago. It's really good. If you like scary, you'll like this one. I know a lot of people who have been scared by this, but I missed it. Don't get me wrong, I found that it had a lot of tense moments that kept me on the edge of my seat, but nothing that really scared me. It's very well written. I've heard Hill's NOS4A2 and Horns are really spooky, so I'm going to be giving them a try.

Horns was fantastic in my opinion, although I'm not sure that "spooky" is an accurate term. More like disturbed, or possibly deranged would be better suited to describe it (and even then, I think those miss the mark by a mile). Either way, it was one of those books that you start out hating and wonder why you're even reading it...KEEP GOING! At the end you're left questioning why you hated the book at all...its crazy, but it's good :)

I didn't like Heart-Shaped Box at all, and I didn't really find it scary. Same as Troop (by Nick Cutter) - supposed to be scary, but didn't thing for me. I read it a long time ago, but I did find The Shining pretty scary! I'd love to find a really scary book!

Maybe I'm easily scared, but Salem's Lot -- Stephen King's 2nd book -- scared me silly. Just re-read it for this category.

Jody wrote: "I didn't like Heart-Shaped Box at all, and I didn't really find it scary. Same as Troop (by Nick Cutter) - supposed to be scary, but didn't thing for me. I read it a long time ago, but I did find T..."

I completely agree. If I ever find a truly scary book I think I'll celebrate like it's New Years, haha.

For my scary book in the challenge this year I read The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum and I can say, hands down, that book is one of the scariest books I've ever read. It's based on a true story which makes it even worse and it's just so raw and real. It's a terrifying read because it's the real horror of how evil some humans can actually be.

I also read The Girl Next Door and it made me research and watch the movie about this book. I could not comprehend how someone could be this evil and to even make her own kids participate also. Sick individual that is for sure.

Red Dragon scared the absolute bejeebers out of me. For me horror and scary are two different things. Hannibal (3rd Lecter novel) horrified me and left me so dissatisfied, but wasn't really scary. Red dragon on the other hand scared the crap out of me.

I think you're right, Manda, I think "scary" is subjective. I don't know that I, in the purest definition of the word, have been truly ever scared by a book. You know what I'm talking about, that lock the doors, look under the beds, paranoid and peeking around corners kind of scared that you sometimes get. I actually get more scared watching movies than I do reading books. Maybe it's because stories, as I read them, are only as frightening as I imagine them. Movies are as frightening as someone else's imagining and I can't control that. It's a control thing, I think.

I think a well written dystopian novel has a better chance of frightening me than a ghost story because that feels more real to me. It feels like something that could really happen to me. Losing family, friends, home. Everything, really. Being forced to forge on in a hopeless situation. Could I do it? I live in a world of luxuries and instant gratification. Could I survive with just my wits and my gumption? Would I want to? That's chilling to me. Right now I am reading The 5th Wave and I am finding it scares me.

If you are up for investing your time into a BIG book, I found House of Leaves to be quite unsettling. The book has it's quirks and can be difficult to get through in a few parts but it REALLY stuck with me. Just make sure to get the edition with
original colored words and vertical footnotes (not sure if some of the editions don't have this).

Jacki wrote: "If you are up for investing your time into a BIG book, I found House of Leaves to be quite unsettling. The book has it's quirks and can be difficult to get through in a few parts but ..."

Yes, House of Leaves is a truly freaky book. It's hard to get into, but once you do it is worth it.

I loved House of Leaves too! Very unsettling. I also really liked Bird Box

I agree that a book being scary is subjective. For me it is more about where I am when reading the book.

For example I like to read ghost stories and they usually do not scary me. I used to work the night shift in a hotel and one night decided to take a book of short stories about vampires with me. The hotel is surrounded by woods and there were a few ghost stories told about it. It was a very windy, rainy night and I was sitting in a large room with banks of windows over looking a lake. While reading one scary scene one of the doors banged open with the wind. Needless to say, I jumped out of my chair more than a little frightened. :)