Sharp Objects on your shelf is honestly a great, quick read; one of my favorites, and I loved watching the tv series along with it.

@andshereadstoo7809

Жыл бұрын

An absolutely cursed story, read it in one sitting!

Happy New Year! Thanks for shouting out Infested!! I hope you like it when you get around to it. I think my TBR is well into the hundreds at this point (sadly, I'm not even joking lol).

@andy-zk9gd

Жыл бұрын

Immediately put Infested on my TBR after this video!! It looks awesome!

@christianlaforet6093

Жыл бұрын

@@andy-zk9gd Awesome! Thanks 😊 I hope you like it!

@ohmyheck7

Жыл бұрын

just purchased Infested on kindle :)

@christianlaforet6093

Жыл бұрын

@@ohmyheck7 Wow, thank you! I hope you dig it! 😊

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires is amazing!! Personally I stopped reading booktok recs cause they don’t live up to the hype, but this one did!! I read 70 books in 2022 and it was my favorite. It has horror, comedy, gore, spot on social commentary. I can’t recommend it enough. Also, no worries about any romance in there either!

@Courfeyracc

Жыл бұрын

It’s my favourite book I read in 2022 too

@camillemarcoux7221

Жыл бұрын

I had sooo much fun reading it too !

I read Uzumaki last month and it quickly made its way to my favourite horror book of all time. It is just indescribably great. Junji Ito is a master of horror 💖

omg House of Leaves is such a beast. after i read it, i felt so accomplished. it’s a novel where u get as much as u put into it, but i had a good experience finding my way through the labyrinth!

I read “The Last House on Needless Street” because I saw it on your channel, and I absolutely LOVED it!! It got me back into reading again :) Thank you so much for the reccomendations!!

@maryjanedoe42

Жыл бұрын

try her book The Sundial it's pretty good, icky and creepy

THIRTEEN is a core memory for me reading at my high school part time job at DQ because one of the stories actually took place in an ice cream shop. It's gone out of print so it's so amazing that you found a copy! The Teen Creeps podcast did a fun episode about it too

@cmhw

Жыл бұрын

Love Teen Creeps so much! ☺️

Also The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires really is as fun and good as people are saying! It's definitely my favorite Grady Hendrix book (Horrorstor was fun, My Best Friend's Exorcism was okay but didn't really do it for me), I had an absolute blast reading it and I also recommend the audiobook, the narrator made the experience even more fun with the accents!!

@MamaTine9

Жыл бұрын

I agree that the audiobook narrator was fantastic!

Southern Book Clubs guide to slaying vampires really exceeded my expectations. A commentary on gaslighting and who actually is the people in our neighborhoods we should fear. The main character is top 3 of my favorite characters ever.

I have so many of the same books on my tbr! I liked Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, but there is some very disturbing infant stuff that you might want to avoid.

@acaseofyou12581

Жыл бұрын

I think it might be worth the risk. It’s not exactly pregnancy horror??? But I get the warning

the southern book club’s guide to slaying vampires really is THAT good, i love it

@happyhauntslibrary

Жыл бұрын

Yay! I love hearing this. It’s on my spring TBR!

"The southern book club's to slaying vampires" & "The final girl support group" (completely different from Final Girls fyi) are my favorite Grady Hendrix's. He's releasing a new one this January called "How to sell a haunted house", which I pre-ordered a month ago. I'd like to see a video focusing on those two books. "The turn of the key" is Ruth Ware's best to date.

I actually really enjoyed Imaginary Friend, I understood everyone’s qualms with it but it felt like a King book from the cutting room floor in the most complementary sense, it could definitely have been condensed but all the same I gave it a 3.5/5

Little Heaven is phenomenal and fast paced! It’s my favorite of Nick Cutter’s books, all the grim without the animal violence

My top five TBR are Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer (well, technically it’s a current read), The Deep by Nick Cutter, The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward, Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage, and The Terror by Dan Simmons. LaRocca’s work is definitely in the top 10 of my TBR as well because I keep finding reviews that definitely make it seem like I’d really enjoy their stuff.

@ourladyofperpetualskepticism

Жыл бұрын

I’m so jealous you get to read Annihilation and The Terror for the first time. Two of my fave recent reads. They are very different but I could not put either down.

I really loved Imaginary Friend! Your worries are valid, it is super long, and I'm often intimidated by long books, but I thought this one went in a really unique direction and had really cool themes. I'd definitely recommend giving it a good try before dnf-ing for good!

I loved everything that Katsu writes. I hope that you enjoy The Hunger. If you like it, she also has a book called The Deep about the Titanic.

@happyhauntslibrary

Жыл бұрын

I absolutely loved The Hunger, which is my first Katsu book which I read last month. I can’t wait for more of her stuff to get on my TBR!

Oh wow!! I actually own Thirteen and was a teen in '91 & obsessed with YA horror/thrillers esp Christopher Pike and RL Stine! I own all CPs paperbacks actually. I want to re-read this now. Should be super easy reads & no doubt will feel like a time machine going to the 90s

I loved the movie The Ritual, one of my all time faves. BUT I also love the book. They’re so similar but so different at the same time. I love them each equally. Can’t recommend the book enough.

I highly recommend "Dark Places" by Gillian Flynn

Little Heaven was my first Cutter and it was phenomenal. I absolutely loved everything about it, it’s so bonkers but done in the immaculate way only Cutter can do things.

The Southern Bookclub's Guide lives up to the hype! It's my favorite of his books. It's not a romance by any means.

I’m not much of a reader but my goal was to read House of Leaves several years ago. I was so proud of myself for finishing it! I think about re-reading it every so often. Story is good and kept me interested to see it through.

Thirteen is what I read as a kid and it truly started my horror obsession. There is a story called “Where the Deer Go” or it’s titled something like that. It is my favorite and I still think about it to this day. That and “Lucille” I think it was called? I don’t have my copy in front of me lol. Love them so much I plan on getting tattoos for them

I read house of leaves a few months ago and it was so good! It seems super intimidating but a lot of the weird pages have information that isn't super necessary to read (for example some of it is just a bunch of names in a footnote that aren't important for you to know). It did get a little confusing with the footnotes and jumping back and forth but it kind of felt like a puzzle in a fun way. I also had it on my TBR for years (I tried to read it once but got like 30 pages in and got too scared lol) but I'm glad I ended up reading it! It's such a cool concept and was executed so well, it's crazy the amount of effort that went into it!

@ms-abominable

Жыл бұрын

I keep stopping because I get too scared too! I've been trying to finish House of Leaves since 2018! 😭

I'm pretty sure I've read that Thirteen anthology. I was OBSESSED with RL Stine and Caroline B. Cooney (The Face on the Milk Carton series held my attention all through junior high). Now I want to revisit them! There's more out than I thought!

I can't wait to read a book by you! I love whenever you drop hints about the short stories that you write :D

So happy to see a book video! My Heart Is a Chainsaw is the only book I've read on this list, but the sequel is coming out in February (Don't Fear the Reaper) so if you read the first, then reading the sequel could be fun. the town its set in has lots of lore (there is a summer camp that was the site of a mass murder, there might be some supernatural stuff going on too), and it's got lots of references to slasher and horror movies in particular from the 70s to now. It was one of my favorite books I read last year, I hope you like it too.

@happyhauntslibrary

Жыл бұрын

I can’t wait for the sequel to come out this February. Got my preorder!!

@daisymae5325

Жыл бұрын

i second this! really enjoyed my heart is a chainsaw :]

I have over 300 books on my ‘want to read’ shelf on Goodreads. I’ll never get to them all lol. Love your book content!!

House of leaves is definitely an intimidating beast. But one I feel like packs such a unique concept alongside a good story (it’s not just a wacky concept) it’s a book that’s going to linger with you.

The way you talked about Imaginary Friends is how I feel about Stephen King. 😳 I know unpopular opinion. I love his stories but I can't read his books, just far to much detail or side things that don't affect the story and goes on for pages/chapters. You gave me a lot of good titles that I wrote down to check out from the library!!! ❤️😄 Thank you!!!!

@morganhein2781

Жыл бұрын

i honestly agree with you about stephen king. just the other day i tried to look for a book at barnes and noble and everything was stephen king and i couldn't find what i was looking for.

@jessicadelgado2133

Жыл бұрын

This is word for word what I always say about Stephen King. There's so much creativity and potential for his stories, the execution is just terrible....

@madisonemily4083

Жыл бұрын

I generally like Stephen King, but I definitely think this is valid criticism. It definitely fluctuates depending on the book, but I couldn't complete "Bag of Bones" because I felt like it has this problem.

@jana6912

Жыл бұрын

my family says always say that when they see me reading stephen king lol weirdly enough i usually think the short stories and shorter novels (like cujo) are way too detailed and slow paced. while tomes like green mile and even christine i have devoured over a couple days lol

@NicoleShute

Жыл бұрын

I agree with you on King. His son Joe Hill is an amazing write, better than his dad, I think. I've enjoyed every one of his books. Heart shaped box was a great story.

House of Leaves is definitely worth it! I read it in high school and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Such an interesting book and the weirdness of the layout goes with the story. It actually feels like a picture book without any pictures. Definitely give it a chance. ❤️

Aww nice to see CM Forest in this collection, he’s a local author to me and dropped Infested off personally, such a nice man. in my TBR this year too!

if you love stories, you absolutely need to read the Books of Blood! it's essential to the horror story format, just try it from the first volume, it adds so much flavor to life for the time you read it

congrats again sarah and ryan! been watching you for quite awhile now so i feel like youre a friend to me and i got really excited when you guys got pregnant! anyways happy new year to your family and i missed the book content. love u sarah 😘

I love Thirteen, what a great find. I read it so many times in my teens. I still have my original copy. "The Boy Next Door" is one of my favorite stories. I even wrote a fanfic based on it, many moons ago during my fanfic writing days. Hope you enjoy it!

final girl support group is SO GOOD it is so camp i recommend it to literally everyone

First off, u have been one of my fave if not my favorite horror KZreadr for YEARS now, and I hope u have a speedy recovery after birth and have a healthy baby!! Now would you ever consider reading “extreme” horror? And would you ever consider having an Amazon wishlist for books? I’m sure some of your fans (me) would love to send u books but no pressure!! :):) ❤

Just read My heart is a chainsaw and it's definitely a new favorite! It starts out like a slasher but slows down a lot before the finale so just don't let the Pacing throw you off

@happyhauntslibrary

Жыл бұрын

I realized the pacing shifts and only after reading it all did I start to appreciate it as a masterpiece ❤

i got "thirteen" for christmas a couple years ago and i loved it,there were some really cool stories in there,my favorite was "where the deer are" i think youll really like it,also i know imaginary friend can seem long but its all worth it because that book was really good,i mean it could have been a lot shorter but everything comes together in the end and i think the author did a pretty good job with it(i would also reccomend the authors other book "the perks of being a wallflower" which is not a horror but is still an amzing book)

I loved The Final Girl Support Group so so so much. Mainly because of all the references to horror movies, but I thought it was a fun and entertaining read.

Happy new year Sarah and fam❤️🎆Eric Larocca reached out to you omg that’s amazing! Sarah’s niche Space, Water, or found footage maybe set in early 2000s? The longer books I suggest listening to audio book for it that helps me get thru it☺️

You get me so excited to try out new books!

Sharp Objects and The Road are amazing! I listened to The Road on audiobook and I was hooked!

Thanks for giving me more titles to add to my TBR!

Great batch of books Sarah! I don't read anymore because of eyesight issues and can't force my eyesight too much. I recently subscribed to Horror Hound and the first issue took me days to read. Whereas in the past I would read it in 1 or 2 sittings. Happy New Year 2023 Sarah!🎉

I'm loving house of leaves, it can get tedious at times, but overall, I think it's a very interesting and creative book. I would really recommend it.

Uzumaki is so good! It'll be such a quick read when you decide to pick it up and it's got some great body horror.

your book videos are my absolute favorite!!

My personal take on Riley Sager vs. Grady Hendrix is: Sager is over-hyped and exercises every trope in existence, whereas Hendrix is more interactive. I always feel like I'm thrown into a Hendrix book, and I'm a part of the adventure. Sager's books literally make me want to skip pages and skim for the end.

Great way to start the new year!

I just recently started watching some of you booktubers, and the like, and Sarah, you’re the only one that makes me laugh out loud. Literally. Your reaction to House of Leaves was so funny.

Best of luck for a smooth delivery! Take care! 😊❤️

Happy New Year love!!!! When you're back can you do a TBL with lengthy horror/thriller audiobooks?

I absolutely adore The Terror, which I spied in your tbr shelf. It’s very long, but I was engrossed and could not put it down. Dan Simmons is one of my favorite authors.

I really enjoyed The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires! I remember liking Hex a lot but I don’t actually remember much from it… it’s been a few years since I read it.

You just made my January TBR so much more challenging. Great video.

I have also had House of Leaves for an absurd amount of time without touching it, but I want to get through it! Thirteen was my first horror book and while I have never read it all the way through, it is one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. Happy reading!!

Omg house of leaves really is worth it!! For sure a labor of love. I really feel like once you get through maybe the first couple hundred pages or after you read the letters with his mother it becomes less complicated to read. I read it when lockdown first started so I had long stretches of time to just sit down and commit.

Congrats on the baby!!!! 🥳🥳🥳 good luck to you and the little one!!

Thanks for making my TBR longer 🤣 Some of these sound really great so I'll likely be picking a couple up. I LOVED Turn of the Key. The plot twist(s) we're totally unexpected (for me anyway).

Congrats on the baby!! Oh I've been intrigued by Haunted, looking forward to your thoughts on it! OMG HOUSE OF LEAVES!!! It's intimidating as heck, but trust me it is SO WORTH IT!!! Genuinely one of the greatest reading experiences I have ever read. Ooh I'm currently listening to Turn of the Key! Really been wanting to read Girl on the Train too.

I LOVED Little Heaven. It is so good and honestly a rather original cult horror book, which happens to bey favorite sub genre. Another great cult horror is Last Days by Adam Nevill. Ive read quite a few of these, you've got a super fun TBR to look forward to! Imaginary Friend has been on my TBR for AGES, lol, and I keep putting it off. 🥴

Happy New Year! Some great books you've got there. I would recommend reading Imaginary Friend, the end is definitely worth it and it immediately became one of my favourites. But I do get why you're hesitating, especially right now. Hex is also really good. I think it's the most disturbing book I ever read but in a good way. Anyways, have a great year Sarah!

TBR *Eric LaRoccas books. *Slewfoot by Gerald Brom *Run Time by Catherine Ryan Howard *The Ruins *The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier

congrats i hope you and the baby are both healthy

eric larocca is amazing! all their stuff is so grotesque and weird, i love it! i will say for the pallbearers club it’s mostly a literary fiction of two friends with some (maybe) speculative elements but i wouldn’t go into thinking it’s a thriller or you’ll be disappointed, i loved the slow weirdness tho! happy reading!!❤️

So excited for this!!! You introduced me to Nick Cutter and I am so thankful for that!

I need more book reviews by you! I love them!!!!

Happy New Year PossessedbyHorror

I just want to say if you (or anyone else for that matter) is tracking their reading on goodreads, try checking out storygraph. They are basically the same except storygraph is independent and non-amazon-affiliated, so better overall. You can transfer your data over super easily from goodreads so you don't have to worry about losing reading challenges, tbr or reviews at all.

Several of these books are also on my TBR. I have also owned House of Leaves for at least a decade and am determined that this will be the year I actually make it through it. I adored Hex and really enjoyed Turn of the Key, both of which I read last year.

I’ve read Dark Water, Final Girls Support Group, and Haunted. I lovedddd Dark Water, it was one of the only books I read this past October that I genuinely thought was spooky/gave me the chills. FGSG was cool to me because I like the way Grady Hendrix writes women and enjoyed the slasher movie references. I love Chuck Palahniuk’s writing but I’ve been reading his books since I was 12 so they’re nostalgic for me- I haven’t read Haunted in 14 years but I remember liking it for how outrageous it was. I love your videos! Thanks for showing us your TBR.

I am currently very pregnant experiencing a lot of minor daily complications, so I have been reading a lot more than usual. My husband had seen a few Grady Hendrix novels in our library and picked Souhern Book Club for me while he was out on a book run. I was very skeptical at first because like you said, very camp, and I don't tend to be interested in books or movies about vampires. However, once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. It was a super fun and easy read. Not what I expected at all. No romance involved! Congratulations on your beautiful baby girl!

yaaaas I needed new horror book recs 🖤 love you sarah

babe wake up!!! new booktube video from sarah

Definitely recommend Southern Book Club over Final Girl Support Group! I really struggled to get through final girl

I have a lot of these same books on my TBR. Love a good horror book & horror book rec video

My Heart is a Chainsaw is so good!!! My most anticipated horror books for this year so far (in no particular order) are: Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia Maeve Fly by CJ Leede The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw Moon of the Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Catro Bad Cree by Jessica Johns

Uzumaki is really great, a fast and fun read. Also I didn't read dark water yet but I like Koji's writing a lot, it flows really well.

Infested sounds soooo good although idk if I will be able to sleep bc I grew up around ear wigs LOL

Congrats on baby!

I'm going to say her niche is camping/forest horror or space. Also Sarah the lack of Darcy Coates on your shelves hurts the soul haha 🤣 she's so incredible I think you would love her writing! Congratulations on baby Fern!

I’m one of the (apparently very few) people who disliked the southern book clubs guide to slaying vampires. That said, the things you listed as concerns are non issues! There is in fact a book club…. But that’s about it 😂 there’s actually VERY little vampire slaying but I can’t say more without spoilers lol There are some serious trigger warnings for that book though so I’d suggest checking on them first. Turn of the key is predictable but worth the read, the girl on the train is skippable (the movie is identical IMO), my heart is a chainsaw is (like you said) slow going but really good once you get into it. I too have never gotten through house of leaves but i hang onto it and tell myself I’ll figure it out someday. You also have a bunch of stuff that I’d not heard of so I’ll be checking them out! Happy reading!

Southern Book Clubs Guide to Slaying Vampires is one of the BEST books I read in 2021 and to be honest it took me by surprise. I thought it was going to be campy/cheesy and “just another vampire story” but wow was I wrong! It’s way darker than I expected and so so good! There are quite a few themes which are deep and make you really think. It’s also not your usual vampire story….definitely read it!

....House of Leaves is so weird and good, once you get into the meat of the story. And maybe I'm a little bit chicken, but as I read it, more and more lights went on in my house, because I was *that* paranoid about the sounds I was hearing. Also? Listen to the album Haunted by Poe, because it's a sort of companion piece to the book, since Danielewski and Poe are brother and sister.

I read the Southern Bookclub one. I liked it, it was one of my favorite books last year. Compared to the rest of your TBR this would be a light fun read. For me it was surprisingly dark in places, but that's because I was expecting a quirky comedy mystery (scooby doo kind of thing) and it went places I didn't expect. For you it might feel more predictable. Maybe one to pick up on a tired day. Happy New Year :)

Uzumaki is so good! Very disturbing but riveting. I went in blind and finished it in a few hours. My favorite manga

Uzumaki is excellent, you will love it.

You mentioned so many fantastic books! Love that you’re posting more book content. I have to personally recommend The Ritual (love the movie but the book is better), Hex, and The Southern Book Clubs Guide! I truly think it’s Grady’s best book. Didn’t love his Final Girls, though. Also, as a fellow Nick Cutter fan, I could not make it past the first few stories of Haunted. I tried MANY times 😂 but I’m so interested in what you think!

I prefer books over movies any day, so this video is right up my alley. Lastly, I'm so happy for you!

Happy new year and most importunity Congratulations for baby !

I am a huge horror/thriller fan, both books and movies. I have read most of the books on your TBR, and most of them are worth it. I was iffy about Little Heaven at first because I didn't feel like it would live up to his other books, but I was pleasantly surprised with it. Imaginary Friend is long, but maybe you could try it as an audiobook? House of Leaves is such a ride. I was very glad that I pushed through that one. Are you on Goodreads? It's a great way to build your TBR, rate books, and find new recommendations. 😊

I highly recommend Sharp Objects on your other list. The way to enjoy Flynn's works is to know that no one is a good person and just sit back and enjoy the american midwest gothic story. Also the mini series was AMAZING.

I hated things have gotten worse since we last spoke. There was so much animal gore and the whole thing just seemed like it was trying to be shocking for shocking sake.

Seems like audio books might come in handy during your maternity leave. Your baby, Fern, is adorable.

Oh, the first book you got out is the one I'm reading right now!

I love to read anything and everything, but my top 5 horror/thriller books this year are: 1. Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 2. The Good House by Tananarive Due 3. Scanlines by Todd Keisling 4. Coldheart Canyon by Clive Barker 5. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Happy New Year! Read The Southern Bookclubs Guide to Slaying Vampires. The first half is the fun horror camp you expect from the title. Second half there's a major tonal shift that left a bad taste in my mouth.

My TBR is out of control, but I do have The Ruins and Penpal that I am super excited to read this year! Also, I’m not sure why, but I didn’t finish The Final Girl Support Group☹️ I think I got bored of it, because it wasn’t as exciting as I hoped it would be! I plan on picking it back up at some point, but not right now😂