Top 5 Wednesday: Horror Novels By Women

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey, now hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. (Sam is taking a break from T5W, but we have tons of old topics to use/revisit during that time, so I’m planning to do a combination of that and making up my own topics while we wait and see if T5W officially comes back.) You can check out the goodreads group to learn more.

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I wasn’t really feeling it this week, but then I realized I’ve never talked about this topic here. Or, if I have, I can’t find a post about it.

In no particular order, as usual…

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Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (AKA, the book I will not shut up about) is not only one of my favorite horror novels, but it’s on my general list of all-time favorites. I. Am. OBSESSED. (I screeched more about it in my review.)

I’m cheating and saying Rin Chupeco’s The Girl from the Well duology because I loved both books. I actually liked The Suffering a tiny bit more than The Girl From the Well, but both were fantastic in my opinion, and I highly recommend them, especially if you like movies like The Ring.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill has stuck with me, and I don’t even really know why. I actually gave this one (I think) 4 stars out of 5, but it’s still a favorite because I can’t shake it. (I also really like the movie.) If you like classic ghost stories, check this one out.

Mira Grant’s (AKA Seanan McGuire) Newsflesh Trilogy is also kind of cheating because I’m not narrowing it down to just one, but I liked the whole trilogy fairly equally. I think I liked the third book least, but I still gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I love that this zombie trilogy opens way after the outbreak, so everyone is already used to them. It was an interesting change.

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson is my latest obsession, and I might have a review coming later this week if I can motivate myself to organize my thoughts and write it 😛 If you like witchy stuff, zombies (but not mindless zombies, more like Liv Moore from iZombie minus the brain-eating), and mysteries, try this one.

Okay, I know it’s Top 5 Wednesday, but I couldn’t leave off Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. This is still one of my favorite vampire books ever, and I’ve been itching to re-read it for a while.

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I could list a few more as honorable mentions, but I’m starving so I’m wrapping this up here so I can go grab some food and coffee 😛

Do you have a favorite horror book/story written by a woman?

T5W: Horror Movies I’ve Seen, Based On Books I Haven’t Read

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey, now hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. (Sam is taking a break from T5W for the summer, but we have tons of old topics to use/revisit during that time, so I’m planning to do a combination of that and making up my own topics this summer.) You can check out the goodreads group to learn more.

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I watch a lot of horror movies (if that wasn’t made clear by my list of 201 from a couple years ago 😛 ), and I read horror with some regularity. But, I usually prefer the movies for some reason, even when they’re based on books.

This week, I decided to think of my top five horror movies that are based on books I haven’t read, but I’ve actually attempted to read four of these and failed. (Multiple times for two of them.)

In no particular order, as usual…

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The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

This isn’t my favorite horror movie by a lot (it probably wouldn’t even make my top 20 haha), but it is a classic, and I do like it. I’ve owned this book for years, but I still haven’t read it. I did try a couple of times, but now I keep forgetting I have it

Carrie by Stephen King

This is another one that wouldn’t make my top 20, and I’ll honestly probably never read the book at this rate I’ve tried so many times, but it just hasn’t worked out. I still haven’t seen the newer movie remake, but I’m thinking about renting it this month. Maybe.

The Ritual by Adam Nevill

I have mixed feelings about the movie, but I think I liked it, overall. I keep going back and forth about reading the book, though. I’ve read a couple chapters, I think, but I’m not sure I actually care enough to buy it or ask my library to get it

Ring by Kōji Suzuki

I’ve seen the original movie and the American remake multiple times (although I haven’t seen the original Japanese in over a decade now) and I really enjoyed both. I tried to read the book a couple of times back in high school, I think, but I couldn’t get into it. I do think I’ll eventually try again, though.

Audition by Ryū Murakami

I really, really need to watch this one again because I think it’s been about 15 years since I saw it I do remember loving it, but my tastes have changed a little since then, so who knows what I’d think of it now. I think I’d like to try reading the book at some point, but I’m not in a huge rush.

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Have you read any of these?

Do you have a favorite horror film that was adapted from a book?

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Gothic Novels

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey, now hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. (Sam is taking a break from T5W for the summer, but we have tons of old topics to use/revisit during that time, so I’m planning to do a combination of that and making up my own topics this summer.) You can check out the goodreads group to learn more.

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I fell in love with Gothic fiction about 20 years ago when I first started reading Edgar Allan Poe, but I don’t actually read a ton of it. Or maybe I do? I feel like Gothic lit is one of those sub-genres that’s a little hard to nail down and define precisely, because there are so many elements that can be combined to create a work of Gothic fiction. Or maybe it’s just me, and I overthink things, who knows. Anyway…

For this post, I’m focusing on books that may or may not have a hint of paranormal, but not books that focus a lot on hauntings, vampires, etc. (Which is why things like The Woman in Black by Susan Hill didn’t make this week’s list.)

In no particular order, as usual…

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë was the one piece of Gothic literature I was most nervous about reading, because I read Wuthering Heights first and hated it. In my opinion, Jane Eyre is worlds better. (I can enjoy unlikable characters. That wasn’t my only issue with Wuthering Heights.)

It took me like a month to finish The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, and I really don’t know why. I think maybe I was savoring it, because I absolutely loved it. Wilde’s writing is some of my favorite ever, and I really want to re-read this one in the near future to see if I love it as much (or more) the second time.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is so hard to nail down, because it has so much genre crossover. But I’m including it on this list for reasons. Reasons I can’t really remember specifically, but I remember the feeling this book evoked.

I’m going to be honest: I’m not sure if Rebecca Stott’s Ghostwalk is truly Gothic fiction, but I think it’s definitely close enough. This book is, in my opinion, highly underrated. I think it might be because people went into it with expectations that weren’t met, but I’m not sure. I went into it with no expectations because I randomly found it somewhere for $2 and was drawn in by the cover 😛 I don’t even think I retained more about the synopsis than “alchemy, Isaac Newton, Cambridge, deaths,” but I was sold.

And finally, my most recent Gothic read, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Finally. It took me forever to actually get around to this book, despite having it on my TBR for over a decade. I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would, but I think that was just because it is soooo hyped still. But it was very, very good, and I do recommend it if you haven’t read it yet.

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Do you read Gothic literature?

What’s your favorite?

Are any of these on your TBR?

Top 5 Wednesday: Banned Books

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey, now hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. (Sam is taking a break from T5W for the summer, but we have tons of old topics to use/revisit during that time, so I’m planning to do a combination of that and making up my own topics this summer.) You can check out the goodreads group to learn more.

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It’s Banned Books Week (September 22-28), and so I had to jump back into T5W this week. If you want to learn more about Banned Books Week, check out the ALA’s website.

I’ve probably read way more books that have been banned or challenged than I realize, and these are not necessarily my personal favorites, they’re just the first five that came to mind that I would recommend.

Okay, that’s not entirely true. These are the first five that came to mind that I haven’t talked about a ton (except the second one), and that aren’t Harry Potter 😛

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While Alice Walker’s The Color Purple is not an easy read, it is an important book that touches on a multitude of subjects, like race, self-image, gender roles, family, domestic abuse, etc. Definitely check out trigger warnings if you need to, but it’s an amazing book.

Banned/Challenged for: offensive language; homosexuality; sexually explicit content; being unsuitable for age group (and probably more I’ve missed)

Sorry, not sorry, but Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz will always make my list of banned book recs. I absolutely loved these creepy delights when I was a kid, and they’re probably some of my most re-read, after Harry Potter.

Banned/Challenged for: violence; occult/satanism (gotta love the Satanic Panic); insensitivity; unsuitable for age group; religious reasons (and probably more)

I’m going to be honest: I don’t remember a ton about The Giver by Lois Lowry, even though I read it (again?) a few years ago, but I do remember enjoying it quite a bit. I’m hoping to re-read it sometime soon and then read the rest of the quartet.

Banned/Challenged for: violence; unsuitable for age group

I did not love Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (I think I just prefer her short stories to long form fiction), but I’m still going to recommend it because it is a very thought provoking–and terrifyingly believable–book.

Banned/Challenged for: sexually explicit content; profanity; offensive to Christians; violence… Honestly, what hasn’t this book been challenged for? The list is really, really long, ya’ll.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five is my last pick, and is quite possibly the most divisive book on the list. People seem to love or hate it, and I (eventually) fell into the former category. It did take me several attempts, and about 50 pages, to get into it, but I enjoyed it a lot after that.

Banned/Challenged for: sexual content; violence; foul language; the portrayal of women; and I probably missed some, but those seem to be the most common reasons.

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Now, I think I’m going to go browse the list of the most challenged books of 2018 and see if I can pick something to read this week.

What are some of your favorite books that have been banned or challenged?

Top 5 Wednesday: Series I (probably) Won’t Continue

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by Lainey from gingerreadslainey, now hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. (Sam is taking a break from T5W for the summer, but we have tons of old topics to use/revisit during that time, so I’m planning to do a combination of that and making up my own topics this summer.) You can check out the goodreads group to learn more.

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These aren’t series I absolutely hated more than any other book/series or anything like that, they’re just series that weren’t for me and I don’t really care to continue reading them. I might give one or two of them a second try, but probably not.

In no particular order, as usual…

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A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas– Actually, anything by Maas I just tried to force myself through ToG for the third time, and I’m so done. I think I gave ACOTAR 2ish stars, and I just don’t get the hype with Maas’s books. Several people who also rated the first one 1-2 stars have said that the second one is way better, so I might try it, but I’m not excited about it.

The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer– I think I gave this one 2-3 stars, and just didn’t care to read more. I did try the second book, but I couldn’t get into it. Maybe if I’d read it when it was really new I would have been more into it.

Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan– While I love Saga, I’ve given up on Paper Girls. I read the first two volumes and wasn’t really impressed. I’ve heard that it doesn’t get any better (maybe also no worse, but I’m not sure), so I’m not wasting my time reading something I’m not enjoying.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin– Yeah I read the first book and just did not care about 90% of the characters and what was happening. These are pretty large books, so I think I’ll pass on reading more. I know they’re well loved, and I did also expect to love the series, but I really didn’t have a good time with the first book.

The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice– Ugh. I finally gave up on this one after talking to some people a year or two ago. I didn’t like Interview With the Vampire very much at all, but I loved the next three books. Everyone I’ve talked to has said they go downhill after Tale of the Body Thief, so I’m just stopping with it.

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Are there any series you’ve given up on?