2022 ONTD Reading Challenge discussion

Sorry that the October wrap up is being posted late!! Let us know how your reading went this month, if you had trouble completing this month's task, if you enjoyed the book you read and whether you'd recommend it!

I did better than I expected to this month, since I set some pretty unattainable goals haha! I tried reading through all my Nocturnal Reader's Box books, and I got through most of them, plus a couple Stephen Kings in the mix:

Pork Pie Hat - creepy novella with a shocking twist...I honestly had to go back and reread the last few pages because I was like WAIT WHAT? 4 stars

The Shining - reread one of my favorites in anticipation of reading the sequel, Doctor Sleep (more on that in a minute). Still so good. 5 stars

Pet Sematary - buddy read with Rachel! This was actually the first Stephen King book I ever read, when I was maybe 13. I barely remembered anything though, so it was like reading it for the first time! Definitely a new favorite by King...it's frankly horrifying. 5 stars

Mapping the Interior - novella that had a ton of potential, but ultimately the writing fell very flat for me and the story seemed to go nowhere and everywhere at once. I'm still not even sure what happened. 2 stars

Gwendy's Button Box - novella with an interesting premise. Not scary, but it was a good read that held my interest. I wish they had gone further with the concept, possibly as a full novel. 4 stars

The Grip of It - this book sufficiently creeped me out and even gave me weird dreams. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but if you're into literary horror and don't mind a lack of explanation at the end, it's a fun read. I was especially excited to read this one because it's the only book I've gotten from the box so far written by a woman! 4 or possibly 4.5 stars

Come To Dust - definitely my favorite from the Nocturnal Reader's Box so far (and I got a signed copy, which is a bonus!). Zombie children, religious fanatics, a bit of a YA dystopian vibe without actually being YA, this book hit all my buttons and I basically devoured it. Not actually scary, but definitely horrifying and thrilling. 5 stars

I also began Doctor Sleep (which is why I reread The Shining in the first place) but about a quarter of the way into it, it wasn't really satisfying my need for "spooky reads" so I tabled it. It's very good so far and super interesting, it's just more supernatural fantasy than horror, at least so far.

October kicked my ass work wise so I had next to no time for reading. I managed to squeeze in two books that just barely met the criteria here.

Downers Grove - I chose this because it was on the librarian recommendation shelf and because it was listed as a horror coming of age book about a local suburb. The horror element was pretty minimal along with any interesting story. Even as a "oh hey they're writing about a place I know" thing it's not very interesting. Would not recommend.

The Unholy Cause - A Supernatural tie-in novel that I read on the plane on my flight home. I've only read a few of these (this is #5... I've been very slowly reading them in order). Essentially published fan fiction. This one was set sometime in season four / five and involves Judas Iscariot and civil war reenactment, which, admittedly is weird, but I've read worse tie-ins and at least for the most part people were in character even though they insist on spelling it "Cass" instead of "Cas" light recommend if you like the series but not much to right home about.

I also checked out a book called I Hunt Killers which I never got to and honestly I kind of wish that I had read Gerald's Game or Handling the Undead this month instead but I guess oh well. Now that I'm home and back on a normal work schedule hopefully things will work out better for November.

The Fireman was a good page-turner about how the only thing scarier than a pyrogenic brain fungus is men.

I also read Gogol’s Viy, which is a novella and more of a traditional scary story. It’s about these dirtbag students (they have all kinds of garbage in their pockets, like dead birds and pipes made out of pens, so they’re spiritually 19th-century vapers) in Ukraine, and specifically one of them who kills a witch by riding her across the countryside. That sent me on a fun digression about witches and pigs because the guy had been sleeping next to a pig when the witch came to ride *him* across the countryside, and that reminded me of the Master and Margarita. Anyway, it was funny, the witch’s antics are bizarre and creepy, and the Viy’s absurdly long eyelids take the cake. The moral ends up being that men are weak, so pretty good all-around.

Also, witches and pigs are definitely a thing.

'Salem's Lot - SO GOOD. Like i can't believe it took me this long to ever read it. Scary, and also beautifully written. I get why King has so many fans now. LOL

Pet Sematary - Another favorite from the month. Not as scary as Salem's Lot, but definitely tense and spooky at times.

Hemlock Grove - Fun but was left with questions.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Vol. 1: The Crucible - i remember liking afterlife with archie but this was way better. totally into this dark sabrina. makes me excited for the upcoming CW show, which i hope is like this.

Ghost Road Blues - i personally liked that the human evils took center stage over the background paranormal evils. not super great writing, but held my interest. definitely want to read the rest of the series now.

Bone White - after Salem's Lot ,this was the next scariest. i wish i had read this in the winter time. kinda makes me not want to go to alaska, ever. a lot better than the other Malfi book I read (The Ascent). Plot was spooky, there was a lot of suspense, and the characters came off the page. highly recommend.

Vampire Mountain - my least favorite in the series so far. i still liked it, but definitely felt more like a filler episode.

Dark Harvest - actually started reading this in lat September and finished early oct. the narrative voice was unique and i dug that. reminded me of screenplay writing a little bit. cool story for the season, and fast read.

Rachel wrote: "'Salem's Lot - SO GOOD. Like i can't believe it took me this long to ever read it. Scary, and also beautifully written. I get why King has so many fans now. LOL

[book:Pet Sematary|..."

ugh so interesting because i HATED Hemlock Grove! i felt so confused the entire time and felt like it was a complete mess. i'm glad i saw the first season of the show first because i would have never wanted to watch a show based on it.

Alyssa wrote: "Rachel wrote: "'Salem's Lot - SO GOOD. Like i can't believe it took me this long to ever read it. Scary, and also beautifully written. I get why King has so many fans now. LOL

[boo..."

Lol. I was so confused as to why (view spoiler)[Roman had a syringe with him when he was fooling around with the girls. Like that was never explained... also his mom becoming a vampire was a little ?? to me. I felt kinda dumb bc i never knew he was a vampire since i didn't know what that word upir or w/e it was, meant. maybe that was intentional?

i've only seen about 4 eps of season 1 so far. i like it, esp the cast, but i've heard it goes to shit lol (hide spoiler)]

damn, you guys kicked ass in October.

I tried to read Bird Box but I thought it was such nonsense! Had to DNF, and then I picked up Dracula and it was like, ok. The beginning was cool, but it's just not very well written and for us 21st century people Dracula is so overdone that he wasn't even that scary. Also could have done without the sexism.

Rachel wrote: "Alyssa wrote: "Rachel wrote: "'Salem's Lot - SO GOOD. Like i can't believe it took me this long to ever read it. Scary, and also beautifully written. I get why King has so many fans..."

it goes downhill for sure! i watched the second season but i tried to start the 3rd and realized i couldn't be bothered. i think the fact that (view spoiler)[Roman is framed as someone we are supposed to like and root for when he is a rapist (hide spoiler)] just bothers me too much for me to get beyond it.

I read The Haunting of Hill House - which was just okay and didn't really grip me - and Harvest Home.

I think it was Rachel who recced Harvest Home in one of the horror posts? If so, thanks Rachel, I really really loved the book! I'm totally new to the horror genre so I can't really compare Harvest Home to any other horror books, but I absolutely enjoyed it. It was so twisted and I was so shocked by some of the scenes that I felt my stomach drop lol.