RMFAO (Reading My Frigging A** Off) discussion

Here is the DEFINITION for this month's genre:

Horror: Horror fiction is fiction in any medium intended to scare, unsettle, or horrify the audience. Historically, the cause of the "horror" experience has often been the intrusion of a supernatural element into the everyday human experience. Since the 1960s, any work of fiction with a morbid, gruesome, surreal, or exceptionally suspenseful or frightening theme has come to be called "horror". Horror fiction often overlaps science fiction or fantasy, all three of which categories are sometimes placed under the umbrella classification speculative fiction.

-->>Please Note: There are absolutely no limits so you can interpret this genre in its broader sense and include other similar genres and/or subgenres that you feel might have a wee bit of similarity with the main genre. You can also include books that are not particularly centred around the main genre but has its components or elements somewhere in the story.

Here's a quick summary of the levels:

Level 1: Casual Reader: 1 book (easy)
Level 2: Frequent Reader: 2 books (moderate)
Level 3: Bookworm: 3 books (mildly strenuous)
Level 4: Bibliophile: 4 books (strenuous)
Level 5: Bookiopath: 5 books or more (challenging)

Please mention what type of books you'd be reading:

PB: Paperbacks
HB: Hardback
EB: E-Books
AB: Audio Books

Please feel free to announce your to-read books along with the level you are targeting for below.

PLEASE READ (for new members):
1. You can read any number of books for the respective genre each month in one particular month. 
2. Take your time and go through your entire TBR-list before deciding the books to read.
3. You can join the challenge at any stage (in any month.)
4. You can drop out of the challenge any time you like.
5. You can select different levels every month.
6. Use this discussion board to share your reads with other members of the group.
7. Please be active and don't hesitate to ask questions or recommend books. 

Note: The main intent of this challenge is to incorporate different kinds of books and genres in our normal reading routine to make the experience more fun and entertaining. Please do not lose yourself in the technicalities as we all know how literary genres can be confusing.

I am going for Level 5. My life has been horrible this year so I need to read some gruesome stories to realign my perspective.

Dagny,

Yes, I had sent Heena a message, asking if she was too busy to put up the new post and if I should do it. When I didn't hear back from her today, I figured she was busy with something. It all worked out in the end.

〰️Beth〰️ wrote: "I am going for Level 5. My life has been horrible this year so I need to read some gruesome stories to realign my perspective."

I know what you mean, Beth. When people ask me why I read horror, I say that it makes my life look like a happy dream in comparison to what's going on in those stories.

Because this is a genre I stay far away from, I will not join this challenge, but rather tackle the classics challenge and my toppling tbr list this month. Enjoy reading everyone.

Fran,

Have fun with your Classics challenge! And feel free to post about the books in your TBR pile on the What Are You Reading Currently? thread here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thanks a bunch, Cheryl, for starting this thread! It totally slipped my mind! You're a god sent :)

Dagny wrote: "I suspect in the flurry of getting ready for her trip, it slipped Heena's mind."

Yes, Dagny! That and Vishal just did Russel Peter's (the comedian) show in our city! I am a big fan of his and my excitement and travel anxiety I totally forgot about posting the thread.

This is one of my favourite month's and I'll be starting it with The Haunting Of Hill House.

Heena wrote: "Thanks a bunch, Cheryl, for starting this thread! It totally slipped my mind! You're a god sent :)"

I am glad to help, any time. What an exciting life you have! Enjoy your trip and take time to relax.

1.) Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
3 stars. A very quick read for a 530 page book.

Good luck Dagny.

1) The Elementals by Michael McDowell. 4 stars. Solid Southern gothic horror.

I just finished The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa. Classified as dystopian science fiction it makes one speculate on what the future could be. It was written 25 years ago and recently translated to English, I read the EB version. It is hauntingly familiar and disturbing. Ogawa was influenced by The Diary of a Young Girl by Ann Frank but the ending had me thinking of Edgar Allen Poe

〰️Beth〰️ wrote: "I just finished The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa..."

I've been wanting to read this one, too. It sounds creepy. I have read her books Revenge, and The Diving Pool and thought they were pretty good.

2) The Conception of Terror: Tales Inspired by M. R. James - Volume 1 M.R. James. 4 stars. Audiobook with adaptions of 4 stories by M. R. James. I quite liked this!

Adelaide wrote: "2) The Conception of Terror: Tales Inspired by M. R. James - Volume 1 M.R. James. 4 stars. Audiobook with adaptions of 4 stories by M. R. James. I quite liked this!"

I love M. R. James!

2.) Visible and Invisible by E. F. Benson
3 star short story collection.

3) The Institute by Stephen King. 4 stars.

3.) The Elementals by Michael McDowell
3 stars

4) Alien: Echo by Mira Grant. 2 stars. Adds nothing to the Alien universe other than teen angst. The first half is especially painful.

My second book Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy Four stars. Not a fan of Southern gothic but McCarthy sure knows how to write a book that will haunt you for a long time after you finish reading.

4.) Dracul by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker
4 stars. A very creepy gothic horror prequel to the classic, Dracula. Author Bram Stoker is actually a character in it. Highly recommended. (Just don't read it before bedtime.)

Dagny wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "4.) Dracul
Cool, thanks, Cheryl! I just checked and Overdrive has it, although I won't get it in time for October Horror unless the four people ahead of me speed through it."

Dagny,
This would probably be a great audiobook, if you can find it in that format.

Dagny wrote: "3.) The Devil You Know (Felix Castor #1) by Mike Carey
Pretty much of a bust. Story was ok and interesting in spots, but it was way, way too long. Not even sure why I stuck with it. Well, it was au..."

Mike Carey is hit or miss for me. Sometimes I just love his stuff, and other times I am sorely disappointed.

5) Necroscope by Brian Lumley. 3 stars. It's got spies! Necromancers! Vampires! Time travel! Buuuuut, the main character is a total Mary Sue. Still fun though.

My 3rd book, Wergild: A Heartwarming Tale of Coldblooded Vengeance by Boris Slocum, was an unexpected 5 star. There was “horror “ but so much more. It is a short novella by a new author. Part fantasy/horror, part folklore and morality tale with humor added to the mix. I am actually hoping it might become a series.

Finished my fourth book Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado. I can see why it has won awards, unique writing styles with each short story plus a gift to mix and match styles; magical realism, horror, feminism, lgbtq issues, haughtiness prose 4.5 stars

Cheryl wrote: "I am glad to help, any time. What an exciting life you have! Enjoy your trip and take time to relax."

Thanks a lot, Cheryl <3

I managed to finished #1 The Taking of Annie Thorne by C.J. Tudor - 4/5
I started this one in early September but finished it at the start of this month so I'm counting it for this month.

Also, I finished #2 Lock Every Door by Riley Sager - 4/5
This book as not essentially a horror but a LOT of people have listed it as horror (the reason why I read it for this month in the first place) but the first half of the book scared me for good measure! I was so shocked to later discover that it was simply a misdirection. Generally, I hate when this happens but in this case it was done so well that I didn't mind it.

5.) Let the Dead Sleep by Heather Graham
2 stars. This was more of a paranormal mystery than straight horror. A quick read, but nothing special.

1. Jaws
2. It

Both of these were entertaining books.

6.) Inner Sanctum: Tales of Horror, Mystery and Suspense by Ernie Colon (horror graphic novel)
3 stars for the artwork, two stars for the stories.

6) Sunshine by Robin McKinley. 2 stars. What a chore. I tend to like her books but this one was a huge miss for me. (The funny thing is I’ve read it before and really liked it. Not this time. )

Dagny wrote: " That's happened to me before, Adelaide, with re-reads. Odd. Guess it shows how our lives and tastes change over the years. ."

I also have had the same experience with some rereads. In fact, if I read a book more than ten years ago, I don't rate it on Goodreads. What I loved in my teens and twenties isn't necessarily what I'd love now.

7) Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan. 3 stars. Much more enjoyable YA than my last book! Not a reread, but I did love Lois Duncan as a kid.

Adelaide wrote: "7) Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan. 3 stars. Much more enjoyable YA than my last book! Not a reread, but I did love Lois Duncan as a kid."

I read that one three years ago and enjoyed it. What else can you recommend by this author?

Cheryl wrote: "I read that one three years ago and enjoyed it. What else can you recommend by this author?"

I really liked A Gift of Magic and Summer of Fear.

I read The Outside. So much wasted potential.

7.) The Empty House and Other Ghost Stories by Algernon Blackwood
4 stars

Dagny wrote: "Some of his stories are soooo creepy! I'm not much of a fan of short stories in general, but he wrote some goodies."

All of the stories in this collection have that creepy feeling of dread. You know something spooky is going to happen.

5. Dracula. Enjoyed it but was expecting more from it.

8.) Bag of Bones by Stephen King
4 stars. I’m not quite done with this (I’m at 70%) but I will count it for this challenge. I’ll most likely finish it tomorrow. This book was surprisingly good. Some reviews said it was too slow moving and boring, but I didn’t think so. It is pretty long at 732 pages, but I was never bored. It was a thrift store impulse buy that I’m glad I read. (Some pretty creepy scenes in it, too.) A great ghost story.

Cheryl wrote: "8.) Bag of Bones by Stephen King
4 stars. I’m not quite done with this (I’m at 70%) but I will count it for this challenge. I’ll most likely finish it tomorrow. This book was surprisin..."

It's one of my favorites by King!

I had so much planned for this month but it all fell apart because of Diwali (our festival.) I guess I'll have to do a horror reading binge in December this year, lol.

Dagny wrote: "Then there was your trip too, Heena. Who wants to read horror stories in all the wonderful places you and V visited. "

Lol. Yeah...