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Lists & Reading Challenges
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2014 Horror's Best Books Reading Challenge Anyone?
Here is an Alternate Challenge List, from Best Horror Books of the 21st Century. There are some great books on the list, but there may also be some stinkers because the voting numbers are relatively low. Either way I figure each of us can figure if we want to go traditional or more modern for our own challenge, so pick your poison :)Alternate Challenge List
Best Horror Books of the 21st Century:
20th Century Ghosts - Joe Hill
30 Days of Night, Vol. 1 - Steve Niles
A Book of Horrors - Stephen Jones
A Dark Matter - Peter Straub
Afraid - Jack Kilborn
Apartment 16 - Adam Nevill
Audrey's Door - Sarah Langan
Autumn - David Moody
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All - Laird Barron
The Benson - Karina Halle
The Bleeding Season - Greg F. Gifune
The Century's Best Horror Fiction, Vol. 1 - John Pelan
The Century's Best Horror Fiction, Vol. 2 - John Pelan
Cinema of Shadows - Michael West
The Croning - Laird Barron
The Damned Highway - Brian Keene
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Darkhouse - Karina Halle
Daughter of Hounds - Caitlin R. Kiernan
The Descent - Jeff Long
The Devil All The Time - Donald Ray Pollock
The Dex-Files - Karina Halle
Doctor Sleep - Stephen King
Drood - Dan Simmons
Eaters of the Dead - Michael Crichton
The Enemy - Charlie Higson
The Faceless - Simon Bestwick
Fangland - John Marks
Full Dark, No Stars - Steven King
The Gathering Dead - Stephen Knight
The Grin of the Dark - Ramsey Campbell
Handling the Undead - John Avide Lindqvist
Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk
Heart-Shaped Box - Joe Hill
Horns - Joe Hill
House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski
The Imago Sequence and Other Stories - Laird Barron
In Silent Graves - Gary A. Braunbeck
Inferno - Ellen Datlow
Into The Hollow - Karina Halle
John Dies At The End - David Wong
Kin - Kealan Patrick Burke
The Last Final Girl - Stephen Graham Jones
Left With The Dead - Stephen Knight
Let The Right One In - John A. Lindqvist
The Light is the Darkness - Laird Barron
The Living Dead - John Joseph Adams
Lockdown - Alexander Gordon Smith
Locke and Key, Vol. 1 - Joe Hill
Lord Loss - Darren Shan
Lovecraft - Hans Rodionoff
Lovecraft Unbound - Ellen Datlow
Lying Season - Karina Halle
The Man from the Diogenes Club - Kim Newman
The Missing - Sarah Langan
Mr. Shivers - Robert Jackson Bennett
The Monstrumologist - Rick Yancey
My Work Is Not Done Yet - Thomas Ligotti
North American Lake Monsters - Nathan Ballingrud
NOS4A2 - Joe Hill
Occultation and Other Stories - Laird Barron
On Demon Wings - Karina Halle
Origin - J.A. Konrath
The Other Side - Faraaz Kazi
The Overnight - Ramsey Campbell
Pandemonium - Daryl Gregory
The Passage - Justin Cronin
Penpal - Dathan Auerbach
The Pilo Family Circus - Will Elliott
Poe: 19 Tales - Ellen Datlow
Poe's Children - Peter Straub
Poseidon's Children - Michael West
Raising Stony Mayhall - Daryl Gregory
Red Fox - Karina Halle
The Red Tree - Caitlin R. Kiernan
The Right Hand of Evil - John Saul
The Rising - Brian Keene
The Ritual - Adam Nevill
The Ruins - Scott B. Smith
Southern Gods - John Hornor Jacobs
Spook House - Michael West
The Summer I Died - Ryan C. Thomas
Teatro Grottesco - Thomas Ligotti
The Terror - Dan Simmons
This Book Is Full of Spiders - David Wong
Trapped - Jack Kilborn
The Two Sams - Glen Hirshberg
Two Worlds and In Between - Caitlin R. Kiernan
Under The Dome - Stephen King
The Unblemished - Conrad Williams
Urban Gothic - Brian Keene
The Vampire's Assistant - Darren Shan
The Walking Dead, Book One - Robert Kirkman
The White Hands and Other Weird Tales - Mark Samuels
The Wide Game - Michael West
Windeye - Brian Evenson
The Wolves In The Walls - Neil Gaiman
World War Z - Max Brooks
The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks
Zombie Tales: Primrose Court Apt. 205 - Robert DeCoteau
Or we could do a Best Horror of the 21st Century, the list is HERE. Or a Best Horror Books Not By Koontz or King, HERE. Both look pretty appealing.My Challenge, 10 books from each list, just for fun:
20/20 - Challenge Complete!
Best Horror Books List:
1. Drawing Blood - Poppy Z. Brite 1/6/2014 ★★★★☆
2. The Passage - Justin Cronin 1/28/2014 ★★☆☆☆
3. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirely Jackson 2/11/2014 ★★★★★
4. Coraline - Neil Gaiman 3/19/2014 ★★★★★
5. The Strain - Guillermo del Toro 4/14/2014 ★★★★★
6. The Cellar - Richard Laymon 6/24/2014 ★★☆☆☆
7. House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski 7/11/2014 ★★★★★
8. Harvest Home - Thomas Tryon 11/16/2014 ★★★★☆
9. Song of Kali - Dan Simmons 11/28/2014 ★★★★★
10. Haunted - 12/5/2014 Chuck Palahniuk ★★☆☆☆
Best Horror Books of the 21st Century List:
1. The Bleeding Season - Greg F. Gifune 2/3/2014 ★★★★★
2. Kin - Kealan Patrick Burke 2/9/2014 ★★★★★
3. Origin - J.A. Konrath 3/18/2014 ★★★★★
4. Darkhouse - Karina Halle 3/21/2014 ★★★★☆
5. Red Fox - Karina Halle 4/20/2014 ★★★★☆
6. Lying Season - Karina Halle 4/22/2014 ★★★★☆
7. On Demon Wings - Karina Halle 4/23/2014 ★★★★☆
8. Into the Hollow - Karina Halle 4/24/2014 ★★☆☆☆
9. Locke & Key, Volume 1: Welcome to Lovecraft 11/15/2014 ★★★★★
10. John Dies at the End - David Wong 11/17/2014 ?????
Your list is awesome! Couldn't get into the 21st century link. Thanks!
I'm in, no matter which list is picked. Or a combination of lists is fine too
I am rubbing my hands together with glee . I will happily read through any list posted but I have to say I really appreciate the link to the best horror novels NOT featuring King . I am so glad I found this group , no more just grabbing books at random .
Kristine wrote: "I am rubbing my hands together with glee . I will happily read through any list posted but I have to say I really appreciate the link to the best horror novels NOT featuring King . I am so glad I f..."Hi Kristine! I would be happy to do a challenge with any of the lists, I also appreciate a more diverse spread of authors and titles. Not too many people have responded to this thread, so maybe we'll wait a few more days to see what others think? I will gladly make another list of top books from another list if that's what the group wants, otherwise we can stick with this one. :)
I'm up for this challenge. I would also like to see less mainstream books like those by King. I love GoodReads because of all the gems I am discovering that I never knew about and that are not sitting on bestseller paperback turnstiles in convenience stores. :-)
I am so ready for this! lol. There are a bunch of books on that list that have been sitting on my shelves waiting for me. So it is meant to be. 2014 is the year. *cue dramatic music*
Okay, so decision time. Which list and how many? I need a reason to go to the bookstore. :-)
There are quite a few listed that I have already read, but it's been a while, so I hope re-reading one is okay. I chose these, mostly from the first list:1. Lost Souls
2. Frankenstein (re-read)
3. Drawing Blood
4. The Haunting of Hill House
5. The Turn of the Screw
6. I Am Legend and Other Stories - DONE. Awesome.
7. Urban Gothic- DONE. Meh.
8. Weaveworld
9. The Picture of Dorian Gray
10. 20th Century Ghosts (re-read)
I would go with Maxine's suggestion of the Best Horror of the 21st Century list. Lots to choose from and discover.
I agree with Best Horror of the 21st Century list.
I am trying to stick pretty close to a TBR this year, so out of this list, I have the following on my 2014 TBR:Ghost Story - Peter Straub
Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin
The Ruins - Scott Smith
The Shining - Stephen King
Summer of Night - Dan Simmons
Misery - Stephen King
The Passage - Justin Cronin
There is lots of books i have on this list on my to be read pile :-) so i certainly be trying this challange, although slowly.
I'm in. I have a list from the Best Horror of the 21st Century list and one from the Best Horror Novels list so I just need to know which one we are going with. :)
Looks good, I'd like to read some McCammon this year, listening to the shining audio and I've got Carrie also.
Ok...I'm doing a couple of other challenges this year so I'm going to try for 10 from both lists combined.Here's my list:
Afraid
The Descent
Horns
House of Leaves
Let the Right One In
Lockdown
I Am Legend
The Pilo Family Circus
The Unblemished
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
If we go with the 21st Century list, I would attempt these books:NOS4A2 - Joe Hill
The Ruins - Scott Smith
The Passage - Justin Cronin
Endurance - Jack Kilborn
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Terror - Dan Simmons
Cell - Stephen King
I'd try to get through these:The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
Hell House - Richard Matheson
The Island of Dr. Moreau - H.G. Wells
Needful Things - Stephen King
The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All - Laird Barron
Daughter of Hounds - Caitlin R. Kiernan
Raising Stony Mayhall - Daryl Gregory
This Book Is Full of Spiders - David Wong
Windeye - Brian Evenson
So, what's the plan here? Do we each choose a certain number from a certain list or are we all planning to read the same books?
To reach my goal, I just plan to pick books from the list as the year goes by depending on my mood.
Saytchyn wrote: "So, what's the plan here? Do we each choose a certain number from a certain list or are we all planning to read the same books?"Saytchyn, you choose the books you want to read from one of the two lists (or a combo of both). Since some liked the original list and others liked the 21st Century list, we are leaving it up to pick which one you'd like to use. I hope you join us!
If we can pick any books from any of the lists offered, I can do at least 5 from the books I have sitting on my overflowing bookshelf. My personal challenge this year is to read fewer library books and more books I own. I do really want to read Let the Right One In, so I'll most likely throw in a couple library books as well.The List (in no particular order):
Weaveworld - Clive Barker
Flowers in the Attic - VC Andrews
The Keep - F Paul Wilson
Dead Man's Song - Jonathan Maberry
Bad Moon Rising - Jonathan Maberry
Let the Right One In - John A. Lindqvist
Locke and Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft and the others - Joe Hill
John Dies at the End - David Wong
I'm going with these as they are all waiting on my shelf to be read or on my Kindle.Carrion Comfort - Dan Simmons
Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales - Stephen King
Frankenstein- Mary Shelley
They Thirst - Robert R. McCammon
Mr. Shivers - Robert Jackson Bennett
Poe's Children: The New Horror: An Anthology
Origin- J.A. Konrath
Yay, we have a place to enter the challenge on the front page of the Horror Aficionados group page, right toward the top. Go sign up when you have the chance :)
Just going with those already on my TBR list...Horror's Best Books List:
Horns - Joe Hill
The Keep - F. Paul Wilson
The Passage - Justin Cronin
The Traveling Vampire Show - Richard Laymon
Best Horror Books of the 21st Century List:
20th Century Ghosts - Joe Hill
Afraid - Jack Kilborn
The Bleeding Season - Greg F. Gifune
The Enemy - Charlie Higson
The Terror - Dan Simmons
This Book Is Full of Spiders - David Wong
Trapped - Jack Kilborn
The Wide Game - Michael West
I'm gonna try to read 10 from each list, since I have several in my TBR.From the Horror's Best Books List:
The Girl Next Door - Jack Ketchum
Harvest Home - Thomas Tryon
The Hellbound Heart - Clive Barker
Horns - Joe Hill
Jaws Peter Benchley
Let the Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist
The Other - Thomas Tryon
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
Summer of Night - Dan Simmons
Swan Song - Robert McCammon
Best Horror Books of the 21st Century List:
Audrey's Door - Sarah Langan
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn 3*
Doctor Sleep - Stephen King
Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk
In Silent Graves - Gary A. Braunbeck
Kin - Kealan Patrick Burke
The Light is the Darkness - Laird Barron
The Missing - Sarah Langan
Occulation & Other Stores - Laird Barron
The Ruins - Scott B. Smith
I'm going to read 5 off the combined lists.The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All
The Light is the Darkness
NOS4A2
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Doing the challenge. Read a lot of those already at the top list. I'll be tentative and say 3 for this challenge. Really need to get another copy of the Exorcist
2014 Horror's Books Reading List1.Doctor Sleep
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Mod
Challenge # = 8
I see a lot of people planning to read The Ruins.My advice would be to put it near the bottom of the pile and then, as you find new books you want to read, keep The Ruins near the bottom of the pile.
It's well written but the story is ultimately silly and would have been better as a short story or an adapted screenplay for one of those three-in-one horror movies that used to be popular.
Also King's Cell is one of the worst books he's written in the last 15 years.
I would recommend Cronin, for sure. Duma Key was good, but the last 50 pages. Under The Dome was also very good, but for the last 50 pages. Hmmm... theme developing here.
Let The Right One In was very gritty (ie depressing) but also well written.
Philtrum wrote: "I see a lot of people planning to read The Ruins.My advice would be to put it near the bottom of the pile and then, as you find new books you want to read, keep The Ruins near the bottom of the p..."
Thanks for the recs, Philtrum. I personally am a huge Dan Simmons fan, so I'm going to try for all of those on the lists I haven't read yet.
How is everyone doing on this challenge? I've finished Drawing Blood, which was fantastic, but it feels like I'm walking through mud now with The Passage.
I really love The Hyperion Cantos but recently struggled to eventually get through Ilium/Olympos.Black Hills as a bit of a mess, imho.
I'm going to try Abominable next, I think.
Philtrum wrote: "I really love The Hyperion Cantos but recently struggled to eventually get through Ilium/Olympos.Black Hills as a bit of a mess, imho.
I'm going to try Abominable next, I think."
I loved Ilium, but I can see how some people wouldn't. I can't wait to read Abominable. The first book I read by Simmons was The Terror and it is one of my favorite books (probably because my parents instilled in me a love for the history of British exploration).
hi everyone! i just joined this group. liked what i saw on the lists and i like options, so i'm going to use all the lists i saw and see how many i can get through. i've read many of them that are on the lists... but may revisit a few as it's been a few years since i've read them. the damnation game... love clive barker but didn't like the damnation game. might try again because i didn't like dark channel by ray garton the first time i read it but liked it the second time. and the big lebowski. not a horror novel, but something i hated first time around but liked the 2nd time. maybe after twenty years (when i last read the damnation game) my taste for it will have changed.
oh... and i recently read doctor sleep. first book in a long while i picked up and could not put down. reluctantly went to sleep when i couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. when i woke up i finished reading it before work. it was awesome!
Welcome Adrienne! Share your list of reads with us when you get the chance. Its always nice to see what others are reading!
I'll read 25 books from the Best Horror Novels list as I have them on my shelf and have either not read them or read them a looooong time ago and it's time for a reread. For anyone here who loves Robert McCammon's writing, or for anyone who would like to get acquainted with this wonderful writer's works, there's a Robert McCammon group on Goodreads. We read one McCammon book a month and discuss it. Come on over!
short list of my next to read because they're way overdue at the library... already owe maximum fines so I may as well read them first. glad library in my hood doesn't arrest people1.) double dexter- Jeff lindsay
2.) community- Graham Masterson
3.) the demonologist- Andrew paper
4.) the humans- Matt Haig
sacre bleu- Christopher Moore
5.) creatures 30 years of monsters- edited by John langan & Paul tremblay
6.) nos4a2- Joe hill
7.) doomed- chuck Palahniuk
8.) apocalypse cow- Michael Logan
9.) Helen & troy's epic road quest- a. Lee Martinez
Christopher Moore book is most likely not horror... he writes funny stuff. but he's great! check him out if you haven't. He blends horror elements into some of his books, practical demon keeping, bloodsucking fiends, the stupidest angel, a dirty job, books about demons, vampires, zombies, death... but they're way too funny to be horror. you're life is sadly lacking if you haven't read this guy, though.
*pyper. The demonologist is by Andrew pyper. blasted autocorrect.
Adrienne wrote: "short list of my next to read because they're way overdue at the library... already owe maximum fines so I may as well read them first. glad library in my hood doesn't arrest people1.) double dext..."
I love Christopher Moore's books. I want to read Lamb soon; I figure it will make a great Easter read. His writing reminds me of Tom Robbins; if you haven't read any of his stuff, check it out. I especially recommend Jitterbug Perfume and Skinny Legs and All......although Still Life With Woodpecker is the book everyone usually starts with, and it is a lot of fun, too.
I'm going to try for these 10>1. Harvest Home
2. Horns
3. Song of Kali
4. House of Leaves
5. Doctor Sleep
6. The Summer I Died
7. The Bleeding Season
8. Dark Places
9. Lost Souls
10. Hell House
Horror Aficionados
Books mentioned in this topic
Haunted (other topics)The Bleeding Season (other topics)
Swan Song (other topics)
The Croning (other topics)
Harvest Home (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Adam L.G. Nevill (other topics)Michael West (other topics)
Scott Smith (other topics)
Trish Marie Dawson (other topics)
Jonathan Maberry (other topics)
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HORROR'S BEST BOOKS
American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis
The Amityville Horror - Jay Anson
And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
At The Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror - H.P. Lovecraft
Bag of Bones - Stephen King
The Bad Place - Dean Koontz
Black House - Stephen King
Books of Blood, Vol. 1-3 - Clive Barker
Cabal - Clive Barker
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories - H.P. Lovecraft
Carrie - Stephen King
Carrion Comfort - Dan Simmons
The Case of Charles Dexter Ward - H.P. Lovecraft
Cell - Stephen King
The Cellar - Richard Laymon
Christine - Stephen King
The Completed Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe - Edgar Allan Poe
Coraline - Neil Gaiman
Cujo - Stephen King
The Damnation Game - Clive Barker
The Dark Half - Stephen King
The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
The Dead Zone - Stephen King
Desperation - Stephen King
Dracula - Bram Stoker
Drawing Blood - Poppy Z. Brite
Everything's Eventual - Stephen King
The Exorcist - William Peter Blatty
Flowers in the Attic - V.C. Andrews
For Whom The Bell Tolls - Shane K.P. O'Neill
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
Gerald's Game - Stephen King
Ghost Story - Peter Straub
The Girl Next Door - Jack Ketchum
The Great and Secret Show - Clive Barker
The Green Mile - Stephen King
Hannibal - Thomas Harris
Harvest Home - Thomas Tryon
Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
Heart-Shaped Box - Joe Hill
The Hellbound Heart - Clive Barker
Hell House - Richard Matheson
Horns - Joe Hill
The House Next Door - Anne Rivers Siddons
House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski
I Am Legend and Other Stories - Richard Matheson
Interview With The Vampire - Anne Rice
The Island of Dr. Moreau - H.G. Wells
It - Stephen King
Jaws - Peter Benchley
The Keep - F. Paul Wilson
Let The Right One In - John Ajvide Lindqvist
The Long Walk - Stephen King
Lost Souls - Poppy Z. Brite
The Lottery - Shirley Jackson
Misery - Stephen King
The Mist - Stephen King
Needful Things - Stephen King
The Night Shift - Stephen King
The Omen - David Seltzer
The Other - Thomas Tryon
The Passage - Justin Cronin
Pet Semetary - Stephen King
The Phantom of the Opera
Phantoms - Dean Koontz
The Picture of Dorian Grey - Oscar Wilde
Psycho - Robert Bloch
The Queen of the Damned - Anne Rice
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
Red Dragon - Thomas Harris
Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin
The Ruins - Scott B. Smith
Salem's Lot - Stephen King
Shadowland - Peter Straub
The Shining - Stephen King
The Silence of the Lambs - Thomas Harris
Skeleton Crew - Stephen King
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
Song of Kali - Dan Simmons
The Stepford Wives - Ira Levin
The Strain - Guillermo del Toro
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Summer of Night - Dan Simmons
Swan Song - Robert R. McCammon
The Talisman - Stephen King
The Terror - Dan Simmons
Thinner - Stephen King
They Thirst - Robert R. McCammon
The Tommyknockers - Stephen King
The Traveling Vampire Show - Richard Laymon
The Turn of the Screw - Henry James
The Vampire Lestat - Anne Rice
Watchers - Dean Koontz
Weaveworld - Clive Barker
We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirely Jackson
The Witching Hour - Anne Rice
The Wolf's Hour - Robert R. McCammon
The Woman in Black - Susan Hill
World War Z - Max Brooks