This week’s prompt: Are there any books that you find particularly creepy or unpleasant, even if they aren’t horror novels?
Hmm, I’m not a horror person, so I definitely don’t have any straight up, proper horror books to include here. I do occasionally dabble in the supernatural, which can go either way. One I didn’t like was The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. I tried it out because, based on the title, I was hoping for sort of a cross between a cosy book club book and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That is not – I repeat NOT – what this book was at all. It’s actually edging into horror in places, but mostly I didn’t like how it was written, I didn’t like the gratuitous and oddly placed graphic violence, and the nature of some of it really felt icky and gross. Not in a fun to read way, just in a way that made me never want to experience anything like it again.
But if I’m going to go for a book I though was good, but that was also creepy and unpleasant, I’d have to go with a classic:
This book is a classic for a reason. Du Maurier did something I’ve never experienced before with this book. She created a book that starts off one way, shifts completely by middway, and then twists itself once again by the time it finishes. The atmosphere of this book is so dense, so stifling, that at times it feels hard to breathe. The house is nearly alive at times, and it feels like it’s stalking prey. But at the same time, it’s a kind of delicious discomfort that it creates, you both want it to end and don’t. It’s difficult to describe, but if you enjoy a kind of gentle yet constantly growing sense of unease as you read, this book will deliver.
What about you guys? Do you have any favourite books that aren’t horror, but that still feel uncomfortable in any way to read? Anyone else choose the same book this week?
The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly blog link-up that gives participants a different book-related question to ponder each week, and allows them to share their thoughts, find new blogs to follow and connect with new readers. The Hop was originally created by Jennifer at Crazy for Books and is now hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. To see a list of upcoming prompts go here.
I thought about reading that Vampire book, but now I’m not so sure 🤣 Rebecca is on my want to read list!
Have a great weekend!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
https://budgettalesblog.wordpress.com/2024/10/04/book-blogger-hop-creepy-and-unpleasant-books/
Yeah, I had a lot of issues with it. I didn’t like the twists it took and I really hated the way female characters are treated, not to mention other problematic elements. It just wasn’t one I could overlook some minor issues, it was just all ugh for me. But to each their own, I would assume there are people out there who loved it too. Rebecca was one I read when I was trying to get back into reading with a young baby. I’d read it on my phone while rocking my baby to sleep and it was actually a good book for that – got me into it, but not too much, didn’t feel like a lot of work to read. The atmosphere! It’s intense. I hope you have a great weekend too!
I struggled with this prompt because I love horror, but it mostly doesn’t creep me out or make me feel uncomfortable (because I’m immune probably). Rebecca sounds intriguing though, so I will definitely have to give it a try. I hope you have a great weekend.
Interesting. I’m the opposite! Rebecca isn’t exactly a scary story, per se, but it has such a vivid and oppressive atmosphere that it makes you FEEL the place and the emotions that envelope it and that is its own discomfort. I hope you have a great weekend too!
I first read Rebecca a few years ago, and it’s become one of my all-time favorites. I now own several older editions of the book.
It is such an interesting book because yes, there’s a plot – but it’s mostly the vibes that make it so powerful. You feel like you’re being squeezed as you read it, you feel the sense of dread and the creeping ill omens. It’s such a powerful atmosphere, in a way very few other books have managed!