I think a lot of people on BookTok haven't read *Actual* horror books.

@panikiczcock2891

9 ай бұрын

And that's why I stay away from their recommendations.

@luisai858

9 ай бұрын

true

@YvieThatsMe

9 ай бұрын

yes! 👏

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

fast fashion for books it seems

@brittbratt33

8 ай бұрын

@@panikiczcock2891 lol maybe, idk. It seems everyone is too sensitive to everything 🙄 i get weird looks and get told I need to "get out more" 🤣

i read penpal originally as a r/nosleep story and honestly i think that context was important to my enjoyment of it? it's a very specific format and subgenre of horror/disturbing stories

@TheGreatDevlin

9 ай бұрын

I legit realized that 4 minutes into this video

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i also heard the podcast for this was better too! 👀

i think the subtlety of this book is what's creepy, since it isn't an in-your-face kind of horror.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i def get it butt i could not get over the editing and format of the book sadly haha 👀

Pira popping up when you were talking about declawing cats was perfect lol

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

PIRA SAYS NO TO DECLAW!!!

This is one of my favorite books. I really liked the creepy vibes but agree this is not straight up horror.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

definitely had a creep factor but i heard the podcast format for this is better maybe?? 👀

I think the scariest thing for me is having a creepypasta on booktok. :'D I listened to it two times from different narrators and really liked it. But I wouldn't want to compare it to horror books written as such.

@TheGreatDevlin

9 ай бұрын

I expected way more crossover fans from booktube and creepypasta. This one has been around for a while but I guess it's new and misunderstood for bookish folk. They're discovering the Borrasca story lately too.

@laiatezenas3300

9 ай бұрын

​@@TheGreatDevlinMe too! How are these two "fields" so hermetically separate? I'd expect whaaaay more crossovers and shared fandom.

@TheGreatDevlin

9 ай бұрын

@@laiatezenas3300 One dropped as a complete text experience that you can run through in a day. But the original was episodic and almost like a radio serial. It took me months/weeks to get the next parts of the story. And it required a lot of the back tracking for new people to the podcast, especially when it was amongst other stories.

@MystearicaClaws

9 ай бұрын

I thought this was that story! I loved The Dark Somniums narration 💚💚💚💚

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

ohhh def something there but the editing for this book drove me crazy lol

No ellias the way I read this last night and I was so scared.. I think you're desensitized to horror 😂

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

HAHAA TRUEEEEE

This is one of my favorite horror books haha but I get where you’re coming from! I think the subtle horror in this book is what really creeped me out! The idea of someone kind of watching your life from afar over time, it just really freaked me out haha and some of the creepy moments from his childhood really stuck with me!

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i can definitely see the creepy factor and appeal 👀

I would love to see you read more horror booktok recommendations honestly! I'm curious if any of the recommendations that are circling around booktok are actually scary!

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

im sure there are good recs i just need to do a deep dive haha

Penpal was kinda creepy and I did enjoy it but I wouldn't really consider it scary. Sort of gently unsettling which is great for when that's the vibe you're looking for.

@devlyn873

9 ай бұрын

Ps agreed that the casual mentions of declawing cats and doxing toddlers (or however old those young children were) were disturbing 😅

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

maybe the creepypasta format would have been better for me imo

Okay it’s way too dramatic to say this is the scariest horror book that someone could read, and it will just lead to people being disappointed. The thing I loved about this book is how the chapters would end with really unsettling sentences that kept me wanting to read. Creepy is the word I would use to describe it. A good time 👍🏼

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

it was def unsettling for sure but also poorly edited imo. but it was a good time!

THANK YOU for saying people shouldn't declaw cats!

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

NEVER EVER EVERRRR

Penpal is one of my favorite horror books, so I hope u liked it (haven't watched the video yet😅) Edit: oop u didn't 🙈😂

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

RIP hahah 👀

I just feel like booktok has no idea what scary horror is, what good smut is, nor what a solid fantasy is.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i think alot of books on tiktok are considered as fast fashion which is soooo trueee

as another lactose intolerant person I share your horror story 😤 Also, I listened to this story in podcast form, and think that it is better suited to that style than as a book.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

omg i think that would have been wayyyyy better for me

@ipshitajee

8 ай бұрын

I agreeeee

booktok's algorithm: the hype of this book is REAL you must read it is the best book !!! me: not reading it

@avsambart

9 ай бұрын

Me too. Every single time.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

LOL i saw an article someone wrote saying that books on booktok are like fast fashion and i agreeeeee

the nosleep penpal podcast episode was so foundational to my freshman year of college

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

ooohh a podcast format of this book would be realllly creepy

Elias talks about not declawing a cat. His cat comes into frame. f

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

HE KNOWS!!

you may like the new horror anthology "All These Sunken Souls" (with jordan peele, tananarive due, & other authors) i havent read it yet but it seems promising

I’ve heard such good things about pen pal!!

Also we need more thriller/horror recs from you coz my preferences in the genre perfectly aligns with yours and nobody else's recs is working out lol

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i plan on hopefully doing a thriller reading vlog in december!!

I randomly picked this up one day and it changed my brain chemistry. Absolutely incredibly disturbing. I love it.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

👀👀👀

Nice way of putting it, same happened to me with Hide by Kiersten White.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

ooh i was gonna read hide then heard all the reviews and said nevermind lol

read it as a creepypasta before it became a book, the style REALLY made a difference. Ngl every time I get a rec from booktok it sucks, major reason why I stay away from it

🎃Happy Halloween and Book for Treat day everyone✨

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

why did i read that as booktok's icarliest book on the thumbnail 😭😭😭

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

nauurrrrrrr haha

I really enjoyed Penpal, but that’s because I was reading it with the mindset of how I read Creepypastas. Also, this is not a disturbing read at all. Unsettling? Yes, but definitely not disturbing. I love Gone to See the River Man. It’s definitely darker and more extreme than Penpal.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

gone to see the river man is right on my TBR rn

@sassysarahreads

8 ай бұрын

@@ellias can’t wait to hear your thoughts!!

As soon as you outlined the plot I was like...this sounds like a creepypasta that I heard on No Sleep. So it didn't surprise me at all when you said that's exactly what it was. It was definitely not scary.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i think it's definitely cool as a creepypasta story but not as a full length book imo

i wanna know/read the scariest book you’ve read

@brittbratt33

9 ай бұрын

Me too lol

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

hmmmm honestly i haven't read a horror boook that has really scared me but imaginary friends and hex were great!

Lactaid...changed my life.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

changed mine too lol

😅Oh Ellias! Lactose intolerance is my living nightmare too! 😂

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

my whole life really haha

My kindergarten class made us do penpals

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

omgg lol hopefully it was a better experience than the one in penpal lol

It was a creepypasta if I recall

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

it was and also a podcast too!!

Haven’t started the video yet bc I’ll have to watch later on in the day but … just read this and I thought this book was so mid 😭😭😭

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

it was kinda mid tbh lol

I realized I'm a fan of videos reacting to tik tok fads...I dunno, to me it it's obvious that most "viral" things in tik tok are paid advertising. Not that it doesn't happen in other platforms but it's really obvious in tik tok

I’m sending you love and self care❤❤❤

I would look up The Dark Somnium's narration of this story. His va and sound design improve on it.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

👀

this was baby's first horror for me so it was fun when I read it a few years ago but i read it when it was still a creepypasta

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i wish i read this a creepypasta lol

Lol my primary school made us do the balloon face penal thing, they told us they were going to china (?????🤣) safe to say nobody received any response

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

CHINA OMG haha

I 100% recommend house of leaves if you’re looking for something really scary (if you haven’t read it already that is).

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

that book is such a big commitment haha

@TheLazyDaze

8 ай бұрын

@@ellias 😭😭😭

Please try to read nick cutter’s books if u haven’t. For me they r quite disturbing, especially The Troop

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

oohhh heard alot of good things about his books too

Funny, after watching this I saw Izzzyzzz creepy pasta video part 2. The PenPal is on the list.

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

👀👀👀👀

I heard playground has NO LIMITS to like smut with horror mixed in with it. PLEASE make a video on it! I wanted to buy the book, but after i heard the "smut" part, i was turned away lol. Not my type of book tbh. Especially when it pertains to children. 👀🤮

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

SMUT?? hmm we'll seeee

@brittbratt33

8 ай бұрын

@@ellias yes, please do let us know!! I so want the book, but don't want to read about kids & sex 🤢 not my thing. I couldn't read IT by Stephen King I had to flip through many pages 🙄👎 it got weird towards the end 😬🤮

yes thank you this book is so overrated imo. tbh idk why people even take recommendations from booktok cause like...

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

some book recs are legit but i guess not in this case! i heard the podcast format for this book is better 👀

I hope you have a great time in Japan!

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i love it sm i get emotional just thinking about it

Try Gone to See the River Man...

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

maybe in December!

well you saved me some time,i dont think id like to read this book

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

i heard a podcast format for this book is better 👀

IM EARLY!!!!

First ❤❤❤

@ellias

8 ай бұрын

👀