Top Ten Books I’d Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Horror
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
This week on Top Ten Tuesday I get to gush about my favorite horror authors! I’ll let you know why I love them and why I think anyone who hasn’t experienced the horror genre would too. Let’s get into it!
1. Stephen King – Really this could be almost anything he wrote, but my personal favorite is Cell. Cell is apocalyptic horror, via a method that is incredibly believable because it is so obvious. Yet there are things from other genres present that new readers could latch on to. Love, fear, desperation, hope, Cell has it all. It’s one of my favorite books regardless of genre.
2. Attic Clowns by Jeremy C. Shipp – With a mix of horror, bizarro, and comedy, Shipp is at his finest (in my mind) when he writes his short stories, and Attic Clowns is the best of the bunch. New horror readers would enjoy the humor, the multitude of ways that Attic Clowns makes you consider reality, and the cast of wonderful characters that Jeremy C. Shipp created, especially Globcow.
3. Lessons (and Other Morbid Drabbles) by Michael Crane – A less philosophical and more straightforward, but equally hilarious version of Shipp’s work are Crane’s short story collections of Morbid Drabbles. For new horror readers I think that this would give them a quick and concise way of finding out if they’d be interested in the dark humor that pervades this style of horror.
4. Pressure by Jeff Strand – Pressure takes the reader on a journey of discovery. It shows how quickly the human mind can turn into a dark and haunting place, and how that can take its toll on someone’s life. The book is about friends becoming enemies, psychological horror, with a touch of physical violence thrown in for good measure. It’s a great book to start with.
5. The Infects by Sean Beaudoin – If you couldn’t tell already, I’m big into comedic horror, dark humor is right up my twisted alley. So, for me at least, The Infects was absolutely perfect. It’s got amazing banter, creepy zombies, and a hilarious backstory. The Infects is one of my favorite books in any genre, but for someone easing into horror this is perfect. I can’t recommend it enough!
6. Touched by Zoe E. Whitten – Touched is a short piece, 69 pages in length, and is a quick and enjoyable read for prospective horror readers. It’s got a lot of fantasy elements for those that are more inclined to read that genre, and enough humor for comedy fans to be satiated. However, for horror junkies it’s got the gore you want, the gripping action you crave, and the fear you need.
7. Here Be Monsters – This is another short story collection, an anthology this time by a bunch of different authors, including my favorite Jeremy C. Shipp. I read this during 2012’s Fraterfest (a Halloween/horror themed readathon) and really enjoyed it. There is a mixture of philosophical, physical, and comedic horror and it blends really well together. A quick and easy horror read.
8. Insomnia by J.R. Johansson – All about mental breakdowns, psychosis, and nightmares/dreams, Insomnia covers a lot of my favorite elements of horror. It’s creepy, not necessarily because of what the characters are going through, but because it makes you think about what it would be like if it happened to you. There is romance in this one, so that’s a draw for some new horror readers.
9. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake – Some might classify this as paranormal, I’d say it is a mixture of that and horror, so I’m going to include it. The book is amazing, as is the second book Girl of Nightmares, and with its sweet romance, beautiful writing, and excellent characters it is a great read for anyone. For new horror readers Anna would be a nice way of easing into darker books.
10. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride – Another really funny book, often utilizing sarcasm to make light of the situation, as well as being like Anna, where paranormal meets horror. Necromancers aren’t written about nearly enough, and McBride does an amazing job with this book and its sequel Necromancing the Stone. Think Twilight but badass… and well written.
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There are so many great horror books out there, and I really need to read more of them myself. If you haven’t read much, or any horror before, I highly recommend you check out the ones on this list. They are excellent. Have you read any of them? What is your chosen “Never Read ___”? Let me know! Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Ten Authors I Own The Most Books From
Totally Random Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
This week on Top Ten Tuesday I get to gush about my favorite authors since those are the ones I own the most books from. I’ll let you know why I love them and give a mix of physical and ebook collections. Let’s get into it!
1. Leigh Wilder – 31 – Wilder is a writer of naughty tales, a constant presence on my Frodo’s Frisky Friday feature, and one of my favorite authors. The collection I have from her is mostly in eBook form, since they are novella length and she doesn’t really do physical copies yet. I’ve read almost all of them, including ones from her alter egos, and the level of writing is always impressive.
2. Zoe E. Whitten – 34 – Whitten writes books with mature content, though not necessarily the naughty variety, and like Wilder has an exceptionally strong level of prose. My collection for her is completely made up of eBooks, many of which I have yet to get to, but she’s awesome and I know they’ll be great when I do get around to them. I recommend checking out her more mainstream title, Nobody Special, which I wrote about here.
3. Rick Riordan – 12 – You all know of Rick Riordan even if you haven’t read his books. I’ve only read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series so far, but I own the Kane Chronicles and the four released Heroes of Olympus books too. Oh, and all are physical copies. ^.^
4. Jeremy C. Shipp – 15 – Another frequent author for this blog, Shipp is a horror/bizarro author that I absolutely love. His work is insightful, creepy, hilarious, and thought provoking. I own his Attic Clowns volumes in physical and eBook form (only counted each volume once though), and the rest is split between the two versions. I can’t recommend his work enough!
5 and 6. – D.J. MacHale (10) and Eoin Colfer (8) – These two authors I put together because all of their books that I own are from one series each. I own both series in physical form, MacHale’s being the Pendragon series and Colfer being Artemis Fowl. I read both of the series when I was a kid and still love them to this day. They are great MG reads if you haven’t checked them out already!
7. Kelly Apple – 10 – Another “naughty” writer, Kelly Apple is not only one of my favorite authors, but also a fantastic person, and someone I love talking to on Twitter. Nine of the ten books are from her Monstrous Tales series, which has been a bunch of fun to read, and all of them are eBooks. Take a look at her work if you would like some sexy monsters in your life!
8. Larry Kollar – 8 – A MG and YA author, Kollar is a bit of a mixed bag. He’s written dystopian and fantasy for YA audiences, and is now four books into a MG fantasy series, but no matter what audience he’s writing for it has been enjoyable for me to read. I own all of his work in eBook format, and if you follow the blog you’ve seen me review most of them already. Give him a look!
9. Sean Beaudoin – 5 – Beaudoin is an oddball, writing stories that make you question whether it was the content within that was crazy, or if it is really your own mind that developed the delusions. His books are hilarious, they always blow my mind, and are excellent for readers of YA or Adult. I’ll definitely be buying all of his other books as they come out!
10. John Green – 5 – While many of the authors in this list are ones you probably haven’t heard of (unless you read this blog often) that doesn’t mean I don’t love mainstream authors too. I own every John Green book with the exception of Let It Snow, and that’s really just because I’m not big into holiday stories. The ones I do own and have read are all amazing, as you all probably know, though An Abundance of Katherines is actually my favorite, and is the one that speaks to me the most.
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There are other authors that I could have chosen, possibly even a few that might have more than 5, but those were the ones that immediately came to mind, and are my favorites. Do you have any of these authors in your list? What is your biggest number of owned books by an author? Let me know! Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Booktubeathon 2014
Booktubeathon 2014
Hello everyone, as per usual I have found myself unable to resist joining a readathon mostly because they are freaking awesome, so I’ll at least be attempting to participate in Booktubeathon for the next week (it goes from July 14-21st). However, I don’t do booktube stuff myself, so I’ll be sticking to just the reading challenges, but if you want both those and the video challenges watch the video about all of that here. Without further ado, my books for the challenges!
1. A book with pictures – Joinville and Villehardouin: Chronicles of the Crusades. Yes, this is a history textbook, but it is told with two eyewitness accounts of the crusades, and I’m trying to get ahead for next semester. There aren’t a lot of pictures in this one (a couple maps mostly), but I need an excuse to read this and take notes, so there it is. 😛
2. Start and finish a series – This is a tough one, especially since you can only double dip and no more than that, but I went with the Secrets of the Eternal Rose series written by Fiona Paul, mostly because I should have ages ago. o_o
3. A book with red on the cover – I’m double dipping here and using Belladonna (book 2 of SotER) as my book with red. 🙂
4. A book someone else picks out for you – No one has told me recently, but Epic Reads has recommended Another Little Piece often enough that I’m going to finally get to it if at all possible. ^.^
5. A book from the genre you’ve read the least this year – I haven’t read much horror this year, so I’ll go with Fear the Reaper, an anthology by a variety of authors including one of my favorites, Jeremy C. Shipp!
6. A book to movie adaptation – In this one I need to watch the movie too, so I’ll go with Hearts In Atlantis, one of the few Stephen King books I haven’t read, and one of many that has a movie adaptation. The movie probably won’t be great, but I’m sure the book will be! 🙂
7. Read seven books – I’ve already listed seven books, but I’ll throw another one on here just to be safe, and that’ll be Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, simply because I’ve been looking at it for quite some time and I’d like to give it a go.
So there you have it, my books for the 7 reading challenges for this year’s Booktubeathon! Let me know if you are participating, if you are if you’ll be joining me in the challenges and/or what books you’ll be reading whether for them or in general. Thanks as always for reading, and good luck!
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Currently Reading:
Books Finished: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes, Venom by Fiona Paul
Pages Read: 809
“If I Were a Book” Tag
If I Were a Book
This is a booktuber tag, booktubers for those who don’t know are youtubers that talk about bookish stuffs, created by Jenni Marie. Here is the original tag video if you’d like to check it out. I wasn’t tagged, but this looked pretty fun, so I thought I’d give it a go anyway. Also, the reason I’m doing this instead of Book of the Week is because that would have been The Unbound by Victoria Schwab, but I already reviewed that on its release day, check that out here. Now, let’s get into the tag! ^.^
The Questions
1. What would the title of your book be? – For this I chose Pressure by Jeff Strand because it seems like my whole life I have been pressured to meet certain expectations. Oh he reads a lot so he must be smart, since he’s smart he should do really well in school, once he’s done well through grade school he should go to college and succeed there, becoming a scientist or lawyer. I know that sounds depressing, but that’s how it was growing up, sometimes it still feels that way.
2. What author would write your story? – This one was easy, I’d go with my favorite indie author, and bizarro/horror writer, Jeremy C. Shipp. His books are funny in a dark way, never give up anything before just the right moment, and always look at the minds of people and what makes them the way they are, then twisting that reality a bit. I couldn’t ask for anyone better to write my story.
3. What book cover would you choose? – This was one of the toughest questions, as there are so many amazing covers in my collection. I wanted something that was somewhat dark, gloomy, but not overly so, it needed an edge to it, just like the one I have. I landed on In the After by Demitria Lunetta. It has a darker tone to it, and what made it perfect was that it looks like cracks in the pavement, just like the ones I have mentally when I’m under the aforementioned pressure.
4. Would your book be paperback or hardcover? – My book would definitely be hardcover. Despite pressure from family, friends, schoolmates, and perhaps more than all (because of wanting to meet the expectations of others) myself, I’m still alive and kicking. So the hardcover would signify my tougher outer shell, with the gooey insides being the pages, though I hope that they aren’t actually that texture. Ew.
5. How long would it be? – My favorite reading length is usually 300-350 pages, but some of my favorite reads ever are twice that length or more. Books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and the Inheritance Cycle rank up there as some of the best I’ve ever read, so perhaps I’d be a longer book. It’s hard to say seeing as I haven’t lived that long yet, but I guess it would average out to around 400 pages or so.
6. What genre would it be and why? – Sticking with theme I have going so far, and with the knowledge of what Jeremy C. Shipp excels at, I’d say a bizarro/horror mix would be very appropriate. I think even the darkest parts would be able to be made humorous with Shipp’s abilities, and there are definitely bizarre parts that would have to be included. The Monstrosities book, the image that you see to the left, is a great example of this type.
7. Whose review would you want printed on the back of your book? – Out of the blogs that I visit most I feel like Kat at The Aussie Zombie would be the best suited to read this kind of book. While I don’t know that my book would be a zombie or post-apocalyptic one (though Shipp could certainly work with that), a bizarro/horror genre book definitely fits in Kat’s wheelhouse. Hopefully she would like me (the book)! ^.^
I hope you enjoyed this random book tag post! I highly recommend checking out the tag videos that are up already, my favorite being Raeleen Lemay’s over at padfootandprongs07. Her videos are wonderful. Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Mini Review Monday: Fungus of the Heart by Jeremy C. Shipp
Fungus of the Heart
Summary From Goodreads: 
Readers of Jeremy C. Shipp’s fiction will be familiar with his minimalist, breakneck pacing, his surreal forays into political satire, and his seamless blending of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Now, in his fourth book, the Bram Stoker Award finalist expands on what many critics and fans alike have long considered the most compelling aspect of his work-relationships.
This story collection explores how a person’s desire can infect their every action and interaction with others. The desire to protect. The desire to hurt. The desire to be desired. Fungus of the Heart explores what happens between people when society breaks down and the rules go out the window.
Haunting and heartbreaking, pithy and potent, the quirky inhabitants of Shipp’s bizarro world will carve an indelible line from your funnybone to your spleen to your emotional core.
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It’s time for another edition of Frodo’s Hobbit Sized Reviews on Mini Review Monday! Short and sweet just like 2nd breakfast!
Fungus of the Heart is a collection of wonderful stories by one of my favorite writers, Jeremy C. Shipp. It’s got a great mixture of mind-bending horror, humor of all varieties, and all while forcing the reader to stop and think about the people around them and why they do what they do. Perhaps even more importantly, Fungus of the Heart makes the reader examine themselves and think about what is most important to them and what lengths they would go to for those things and/or people.
The first story, The Sun Never Rises in the Big City is one Shipp fans will recognize since it is released by itself, and I read it back in October, 2012. There you get a bit of Noir, and it does stand out from the rest of the stories as a little less dark, and more of a sad story. There is plenty of gore to be had here from The Escapist to Agape Walrus (zombies!), more (dark) philosophical humor in Monkey Boy and the Monsters (what makes a monster?) and Boy in the Cabinet (self imposed prisons), and even just beautifully written twisted stories like The Haunted House and Fungus of the Heart.
For anyone who has followed my blog for a while it will come as no surprise that I loved this book. Jeremy C. Shipp is one of the most talented writers I have ever had the pleasure of coming across and I can’t recommend him enough. He is THE horror writer for me and his bizarro infusions make his work stand out like no other. Definitely check his work out, here, I’ll even give you a link! Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge #19/365; Mount TBR Challenge #16/200; 2014 TBR Pile #16/50
Sunday Post #14
Sunday Post
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It is a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
I love participating in Sunday Post because I can provide a recap of books I read, talk about what is coming up next week, and discuss any books I received in the past week!
Books I Bought
I went a bit crazy this week, but it was a needed pick-me-up because I’ve been sick for ~2wks and it’s getting to me. Here we go!
Pigments of My Imagination by Angela Kulig – I’ve read and reviewed this already (loved it), but I needed a physical copy.
Roomies by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando – Heard mixed things about this one but I’m a sucker for school settings.
Winger by Andrew Smith – School settings again, also a lot of people have been raving about it lately.
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis – Too much hype from Epic Reads during Tea Time, had to.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker – This is all Kat from Katytastic, check her channel out!
Vitro by Jessica Khoury – Saw it highlighted in new releases somewhere.
The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe – Same as Vitro & awesome premise!
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Last Week on the Blog
Monday – Bout of Books 9.0 Recap
Tuesday – Top Ten 2014 Debuts I’m Excited For
Wednesday – Waiting on Wednesday #15
Thursday – Killing My Kindle: Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan
Friday – Frodo’s Frisky Friday: The Wicked Woods by Kelly Apple
Saturday – Book of the Week: Pivot Point by Kasie West
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Books Read Last Week
The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney – 4/5 – MC was mildly frustrating at times but beautifully written.
The Wicked Wolf by Kelly Apple – 3/5 – Fun at times but during “happy time” it felt off, weird.
Fungus of the Heart by Jeremy C. Shipp – 5/5 – Review on Monday!
Article 5 by Kristen Simmons – 4/5 – MC whined/obsessed over love interest a bit much, but great story.
Pivot Point by Kasie West – 5/5 – (Review above)
Coffin Nails and Other Beasts by Angela Kulig – 4/5 – Enjoyed it quite a bit, definitely worth checking out.
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This Week on the Blog
Monday – Mini Review Monday – Fungus of the Heart by Jeremy C. Shipp!
Tuesday – Top Ten Tuesday – Reading Wishlist!
Wednesday – Waiting on Wednesday #16
Thursday – Killing My Kindle
Friday – Frodo’s Frisky Friday
Saturday – Book of the Week
Sunday – Sunday Post #15
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This was a tough week as it was my second battling sickness, but book-wise it was another excellent one. I am still a tiny bit ahead on my challenges, this was the first week of the spring semester for college (I got ahead and did my homework for the month), and I enjoyed all of the books I read. Pivot Point made the week by itself, so freaking good!
Stop by tomorrow for Mini Review Monday to read about one of the best anthologies you’ve probably never heard of! Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a link to your Sunday Post or whatever other bookish meme you partake in over the weekend and I will be sure to check it out! Enjoy your Sunday! ^.^
Sunday Post #10
Sunday Post
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It is a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
It has been almost a month since the last Sunday Post I participated in. The amount of books I’ve received is a tad on the crazy side so alas I won’t be including pictures this time, but hopefully you’ll enjoy anyway. On to the books!
New Releases
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney
Fear the Reaper edited by Joe Mynhardt
The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff
Once We Were by Kat Zhang
Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Vicious by Victoria Schwab
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Long Overdue to Read
The Program by Suzanne Young
Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Fallen by Lauren Kate
The “I Love This Series and I Need to Own All of it NOW” Section
Artemis Fowl Books 1-8 by Eoin Colfer
Random
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher
Book Haul Talk
So this haul is pretty crazy and that comes from a few areas. The Artemis Fowl series buy was because I mentioned it as part of a Top Ten Tuesday post and realized that I had stopped reading that series for no good reason, I’m now working on fixing that. The Screaming Staircase and a couple of the “long overdue” books, as well as Steelheart were bought at a book signing I went to. William Shakespeare’s Star Wars is one I saw at Target and had to grab. As for the rest, well, the “new releases” section is essentially all pre-orders with the exception of The Brokenhearted (awesome premise & cover buy) and Fear the Reaper (Has Jeremy C. Shipp in the anthology and I want a complete collection of his work). So ya, that’s why I got so many freaking amazing books in this haul. However, I may not do another one of these until sometime in early November because, besides pre-orders, I don’t plan on buying many books in the near future. So ya.
Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a link to your Sunday Post or whatever other bookish meme you partake in over the weekend and I will be sure to stop by! Enjoy your Sunday and I’ll see you in about a month for another Sunday Post! ^.^
