The One Book You Should Read. . .

[Zero]

OK - horror books is always a bit quiet - so I thought it might be interesting to have a thread where everyone recommends the ONE BOOK they think every horror fan should read!

It could be fiction, nonfiction, historical, collection. . . whatever. Just pass on to us the ONE book that every horror fan should read!

[urgeok]

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
- i read this about once a year

Dune - Frank Herbert
- a complete visionary - he doesnt write books, he creates worlds.

The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
- this is a kids book that i still read .. its the book that turned me onto reading in the 1st place.

Summer of 42 - Herman Raucher
- the only book that ever made me laugh out loud

until ..his horror novel :

Maynard's House - Herman Raucher
- which also made me laugh out loud.

A Burnt Out Case - Graham Greene
- my favorite author - everything he's written is brilliant.

The Anderson Tapes
The First Deadly Sin
The Second Deadly Sin
The Third Deadly Sin
The Fourth Deadly Sin
The Sixth Commandment
The Tenth Commandment
The Eighth Commandment
Seventh Commandment
The Tomorrow File - all Lawrence Sanders
- a top 40 author .. not the kind i normally read but this guy is remarkably entertaining ...

in a similar vein check out anything by Trevanian.
- impossible to put down - quality storytelling


i'm sure I'll have several more to add..

[urgeok]

ah .. thought of one already ..

anything by Carlos Castaneda - A Seperate Reality (or any other of his books)

[Zero]

hmm, i guess putting the word "ONE" in capitals didn't work. . . .

So Urge - which of those books would I choose if I could only read one?

(hey, and why aren't you ever up in General Forum anymore - we miss you up there!)

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Zero
hmm, i guess putting the word "ONE" in capitals didn't work. . . .

So Urge - which of those books would I choose if I could only read one?

(hey, and why aren't you ever up in General Forum anymore - we miss you up there!)

Something Wicked This Way Comes ... read that one .

[urgeok]

Originally posted by Zero

(hey, and why aren't you ever up in General Forum anymore - we miss you up there!)

http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20538&perpage=15&pagenumber=2

[The_Return]

I mentioned this a few times around here....

Falling Angel by William Hjortzburg

The film Angel Heart was based on this book, and as far as Im concerned it's essential reading just as the film is essential viewing. If you dont know the incredible twist yet, I recomend reading the book first as it delivers the ending in a much more unique fashion. The plot is great and original, the characters are great [Harry Angel = One of the coolest PI's of all-time], and as I mentioned, the ending will blow your mind. Even if you've seen the movie and already know the ending, the way it is delivered in the novel is beyond cool. On top of all that, it's relatively short, so it wont even take much out of your busy lives!

You must see the movie as well for the simple reason of seeing that a great book [I]can be turned into a great movie. Absolute perfect casting, nobody but Rourke could have played Angel. He had the perfect look, the perfect voice, the perfect attitude...amazing. DeNiro, while far from stretching his boundaries, plays Cyphre to menacing perfection. For once, the changes to the plot and setting actually enance the original story, especially moving the action from New York to New Orleans. There were a few notable scenes missing of course, but not as many as in most book-to-film adaptions.

Great book, great movie. Falling Angel. William Hjortzburg. Read it now.

By the way, has anyone read any of his other novels? I always intend to order something else of his from the library, but I never remember. Worth reading?

[urgeok]

Originally posted by The_Return
I mentioned this a few times around here....

Falling Angel by William Hjortzburg [I probably spelled that wrong]


i havent been able to find this book ..

[The_Return]

Originally posted by urgeok
i havent been able to find this book ..

Really? Have you looked around Public Librarys? Thats where I found it, a seeminly ancient hardcover. A bit of research shows it was re-released in paperback last November, dont know if that would help or not.

[noctuary]

Songs of a Dead Dreamer by Thomas Ligotti

[Yellow Jacket]

The Skeleton Crew by Stephen King. There are some great short stories to be had in here. The best being "The Mist" hands-down.

[Zero]

Originally posted by urgeok
http://www.horror.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20538&perpage=15&pagenumber=2

cool urge - i must have missed all that drama (my defense is i just never get that involved with anyone or anything - but it toally respect your position!)

BTW - this is a cool thread - thanks for all the suggestions so far (some i've read, others i haven't)

its interesting that they are all fiction - which makes sense, (my ONE fiction horror book would probably be Stoker's Dracula - long, rambling but i always get totally wrapped up in it).

[urgeok]

you probably noticed that not many of my reccomendations are in the horror genre - because i find that horror fiction is 99% shit ..

i used to like Peter Strawb .. Ghost Story was a good read many years ago - and i was fascinated with shadowland until i found out that it was a complete plagerization of Robertson Davies - The Manticore...

i cant bear to read horror novels these days .. it's not a genre that attracts decent writers..

[novakru]

Originally posted by urgeok
you probably noticed that not many of my reccomendations are in the horror genre - because i find that horror fiction is 99% shit ..

i used to like Peter Strawb .. Ghost Story was a good read many years ago - and i was fascinated with shadowland until i found out that it was a complete plagerization of Robertson Davies - The Manticore...

i cant bear to read horror novels these days .. it's not a genre that attracts decent writers..

Ghost Story is one of my all time favorites.
I even loved the movie-very well made.

And have you noticed the over abundance of sexual...um,kinks in the newest horror novels?
So much really could be left to the imagination,I wonder if young horror writers know this?
I like horror erotica,there's nothing wrong with that genre,but when I read a Horror Novel...I want to be SCARED:D

[urgeok]

Originally posted by novakru
Ghost Story is one of my all time favorites.
I even loved the movie-very well made.

And have you noticed the over abundance of sexual...um,kinks in the newest horror novels?



yeah .. it gets that way when you have nothing else to write about ...
I'm about as far from a prude as you can get but i find erotica in print boring as hell. (most filmed erotica - in mainstream north american film - is also pathetic and boring)

i personally think the novels suffer even more from repetition than film and these guys have to kink it up to try to remain interesting.

for me - the horror novel ..... is anything but..

[novakru]

Originally posted by urgeok
yeah .. it gets that way when you have nothing else to write about ...
I'm about as far from a prude as you can get but i find erotica in print boring as hell. (most filmed erotica - in mainstream north american film - is also pathetic and boring)

i personally think the novels suffer even more from repetition than film and these guys have to kink it up to try to remain interesting.

for me - the horror novel ..... is anything but..

It is a consumer paradise as far as movies and books go,but you have to be in your 20's to take advantage of it.
I have noticed since I hit my 30's I have no real interest in non-stop sexual content.
It makes little sense,since now I have more money to waste and most of my age group has more money as well.
We could be a very good source for capitalism,if they gave us something besides weepy or over the top violent flix and beach books:)

[urgeok]

Originally posted by novakru
It is a consumer paradise as far as movies and books go,but you have to be in your 20's to take advantage of it.
I have noticed since I hit my 30's I have no real interest in non-stop sexual content.
It makes little sense,since now I have more money to waste and most of my age group has more money as well.
We could be a very good source for capitalism,if they gave us something besides weepy or over the top violent flix and beach books:)


the thing is ... we're (over 30) not the target demographic for film..
books are different though ... i think its older folks that buy all the books (the few people left that actually read...)

with sexual content ... either gimme the porn or leave it out completely ... i'm too old for tittillation .. never had time for teasing :)

[Posher778]

michael crichton> Jurassic Park.

It's definently horror. nothing like the movie, but it isnt one of the horror/disturbing books, its just scary, in a scientific way. read it now.

[noctuary]

Ah yes... Straub's Ghost Story is indeed a classic, as are most of his earlier works. It's too bad that his work has declined sharply in later years.

You guys have touched on a very interesting point, and I figure I'd throw my two cents in. I'm no longer interested in reading long form horror fiction, and here's why. In a novel, the author feels compelled to explain where the "evil" came from and why. Very few authors working in the horror field can do this adequately. For my money, short form horror is always a better bet, as long as you're reading an author of quality (Ligotti, Lebbon, etc.)

[urgeok]

i agree short horror stories are far better ..

the reason being is that most authors only have a small idea.

the desperate attempt to flesh it out into a novel sized piece usually fails miserably.

Clive Barker .. perfect example. His short stories are menacing, hard hitting.
His novels are a meandering mess .. and they always fizzle out in the end.

[Posher778]

i think jurassic park should have been shortened, because, especially the ending, sucked. has anyone else read this book?

[jenna26]

The one book I think everyone should read, not only horror fans, is Frankenstein by Mary Shelly; one of my favorite books (if not my all time favorite). It is a book that is frightening and, even now, relevant. One of the few books that completely stuck with me.

Oh and I have read Jurrasic Park; I enjoyed it and it is another good cautionary tale. But Crichton's works do not impact me emotionally; I enjoy them well enough, but I tend to forget them almost as soon as I read them.

[The_Punisher]

One book anyone who likes to read should, in fact, read is Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. It is a really good statement on how fake people can be and the lengths people go thru to get noticed.

[novakru]

The one book everyone should read is the bible...urk..oof *loud thud*

...what I meant to say was there was a time in my life I had really gotten into sci-fi novels and spent a month reading the Dune series-when I finished Chapterhouse I had this strange feeling of loss that that was the end of being in that spectacular world Herbert created.Whether you like sci-fi or not,something that can be such a powerful read should be passed on.You definitely have to be in the mood though to get through them(I tried re-reading them several years later and had too much trouble with the dialogues)

[LaFlamme]

Someone's gotta read it so I can talk about the ending.

[LaFlamme]

The Pink Room, that is.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by novakru
The one book everyone should read is the bible...urk..oof *loud thud*

...what I meant to say was there was a time in my life I had really gotten into sci-fi novels and spent a month reading the Dune series-when I finished Chapterhouse I had this strange feeling of loss that that was the end of being in that spectacular world Herbert created.Whether you like sci-fi or not,something that can be such a powerful read should be passed on.You definitely have to be in the mood though to get through them(I tried re-reading them several years later and had too much trouble with the dialogues)


i read the 1st 3 or 4 Dune novels .. but found after that they were becoming so bizarre i couldnt follow them anymore ..
It's a weird feeling - admitting something is going over your head but i have to do it.

I respect the man's vision ... he is a genius and a visionary, and i think he's writing how HE thinks .. but it's a much more complex thought process than i can follow.

or at least it's more work than i'm willing to put into leisure reading..

[Zero]

Originally posted by urgeok
i read the 1st 3 or 4 Dune novels .. but found after that they were becoming so bizarre i couldnt follow them anymore ..
It's a weird feeling - admitting something is going over your head but i have to do it.

I respect the man's vision ... he is a genius and a visionary, and i think he's writing how HE thinks .. but it's a much more complex thought process than i can follow.

or at least it's more work than i'm willing to put into leisure reading..

i feel that way about Philip K Dick - great ideas but the novels always leave me totally baffled (perhaps less genius and more madness)

and, as a 29 year old, I agree with both of you about the 'targetting' - I find I can barely read horror fiction without starting to giggle or roll my eyes. my reading tastes have tended more and more towards the literary - though there are occasional cross-overs with horror.

i also find i tend to read more nonfiction than i used to - histories, biographies. i've actually found some good books about the history of horror films so that's probably more what i read now than actual 'horror books.' there was a cool book called The Monster Show that was mainly about the early days of horror that was very interesting, and a book called Projected Fears that was about the 'ten most important horror films in american history' that was interesting and pretty smart.

but as for the average 'on the shelf' horror novel, most of them leave me cold

[InkMonster]

"The Bridge" by Skip&Specter
Good old fashioned splatterpunk hidden in a story about pollution.

[alkytrio666]

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Amazing.

Easily the best book I've ever read.