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Contains mental illness, exorcism, death. It was too much for me.

Here's my first book rec for #hauntedshelf! A Head full of Ghosts is one of my favourite standalone horror novels of all time. I still find myself staring into space and thinking about it sometimes when I'm on my own or watching a trailer for a horror movie that does the same kind of thing but worse.

#skeletoncrew

This book wasn't awful, but it definitely has me questioning why Stephen King blurbed it, "scared the hell out of me, and I'm pretty hard to scare." I was hoping for that same feeling, but all I got out of this was a dysfunctional family with a mentally ill teen! There are questions left unanswered due to a possible possession, but I will say the ending with Marjories' last "game" made this go from a 2 star to a 3 star. She's a sneaky one.

2 books I'm hoping to freak me out!!!! 🫣

This was my 2nd time reading this for a horror bookclub I managed to make. My other group , sadly, was not picked up at the other library I used to go to. 😢. I forgot how devastating this book was. There are 2 sisters, an 8yo who we see the whole book through and a 14yo who might be possessed. And despite there maybe being a possession it‘s more about a dissolution of a family that broke my heart. Love this book and Tremblay as an author. Pick!

Second #BookTok recommendation I tried was another dud.

It‘s the story of a young girl who spirals into a schizophrenic war with herself, entangling her family every step of the way. The worst part? This book is told from the perspective of her 8-year-old sister, Meredith. Reading about a child experiencing one of the least-understood mental illnesses consuming her sister is both heartbreaking & extremely graphic. Some scenes left me nauseous. Mostly this book is an immensely disturbing rollercoaster.

I decided to skip my usual Halloween Eve/Halloween movie nights to read this #HHS23 book I received. Some sections I loved, some irritated me, but overall still a pick for me. The blog sections were written in a very annoying voice (which I'm guessing was intentional), but they just didn't land for me. The rest of it hit the super weird, screwed up, vibe I go for at Halloween, so they were perfect!

The day I've been looking forward to for way too many days (months?) - #HauntedHollowSwap opening day!!! @ShelleyBooksie - this is an amazing package full of spooky goodies. You are so good at this. The fact that you even found the little brain that matches my brain candles. So, so good. Thank you for including something from an author local to you - can't wait to experience a new to me author. #HHS23 @wanderinglynn

I previously said How To Sell A Haunted House by Grady Hendrix was the scariest book I‘ve ever read, but I‘m bumping that one down to second and declaring this one THE SCARIEST. It was terrifying. I have discovered that “possession” stories completely freak me out.

That being said: it was good! Very much a Tremblay book. I‘ve loved everything I‘ve read by him and this makes me want to read more. But I need a little break from possession stories.

I just realized I‘ll have the next 5 or 6 hours to myself!! So I put on my comfy pants, grabbed my book, and snuggled up to the pup 🙌🏻

I‘m a huge fan of Paul Tremblay. This one is pretty creepy!

So apparently I‘ve read this before and couldn‘t remember any of it which is never a good start! It‘s all a bit to try hard and “meta” for me… which I think is probably the conclusion I came to last time!

#scarathlon #mischiefandmayhem

Tackle the TBR 🤓📚
What are you reading?
#boleybooks #headfullofghosts #paultremblay #bookbeast #bookjoy #bookbuds #bookchat

Interesting read. Sharp and atmospheric. Strong ending.

Chipping away at my #14Books14Weeks2023 stack.

What really happened 15 years ago when 10 year old Merrie‘s sister was exorcised by a Catholic priest? Was she possessed or was she schizophrenic? How complicit were her beleaguered parents and the TV production who filmed and broadcast it?

I was occasionally genuinely creeped out by the book and the author did a good job of keeping it on the edge of supernatural vs explainable.

One of the main frustrations I have with Tremblay‘s work is how often his final acts rely on ambiguity. That‘s a tool which can be incredibly effective, but I prefer it wielded as a scalpel rather than a worn hammer. Here, I think that tactic is somewhat effective, but I can‘t help but be a little let down by so little catharsis after so much build up.

Im right on schedule with my #14booksin14weeks! Im not exactly sticking to one a week, but instead trying to finish x-amount by the end of each month. Hoping to read 4-5 more in July! ❤️💥

There is a lot of room for interpretation in this book and I really don‘t know what to think. The narrator is an unstable 8 year old telling about her 14 year old sister who might be demonized, her suddenly bizarre religious father, her depressed mother, an exorcism and a tv crew who makes a reality show about it.

Also there are many references and similarities with classic horror stories. I kind of enjoyed it, I think.
#roll100

#WeeklyForecast 05/23

Ambitious plans… I am still reading Babel for the #ToB23, switching between audio and print. It‘s an enjoyable read. My next one for the tournament will be The Passenger 🤞🏽 but first I am starting Last Night at the Lobster. I enjoyed Ocean State and wanted to read another book by O‘Nan and then @DreesReads called it one her best reads of ‘22 on Instagram (still missing her on Litsy!). The tagged book is my #Roll100.

That ending! 😱 Thanks to @Emilymdxn for sharing this great #ALSpine horror rec! I loved the framing with Merry‘s retrospective thoughts and the exploitative nature of reality TV.

Teenage Marjorie is having mental problems. Mired in medical bills and an increasing religious zealotry from her dad leads them to contact a priest and have a reality show about her possible “possession” taped. But after the cameras are gone things get even worse.

My book club picked this for Halloween. I liked some of it, but ultimately I found the child-narrator voice annoying.

Whoa… This book wrecked me. In a good way. I‘m a bit at a loss for words. Um…

Legitimately scary. Well structured and written. I blew through the last 100 or so pages in record time (for me) because it does such a darn good job of getting your heart palpitating. Those easily frustrated by ambiguity may be turned off by this one though. Tremblay leaves a lot open for interpretation, which, personally, I think is one of its strongest aspects.

A perfect spooky read! Ambiguous enough so the reader is unsure if the issue is psychological, paranormal, or completely fake. Did it scare the hell out of me? No. But I did close the book multiple times and look at the dark corners of my room for shadows. It‘s unnerving.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘m giving this a borderline pick. It is an interesting possession story being told by the younger sister of the supposedly posed girl. It tries to make interesting points about religion, extremists and the media. However, none of them feel very substantial. Still a quick easy spooky listen. 3⭐️
#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash #bookspinbingo #31in31 #bodycountbingo #spookathon #Scarathlonwordsearch 43 words

I find it strange that my current book mentions the book I am planning to read next😱

Getting caught up on #ScarathlonDailyPrompts Oct 5 #Ghost
This one is on my #TBR
#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash

Alright, I slept on it, and I‘m going to stick with Hyperion, but I need a break. I think I‘m just in full spooky mode that it wasn‘t jiving. October is for 👻👻! So here are my two choices to get me in the mood for 🎃🎃.

A Head Full of Ghosts
Joe Hill
Hush
Hozier
Helmethead (Great Big Sea)

#manicmonday
#LetterH

Im still struggling to read much that isn‘t for work or the masters course but I did really love this very creepy horror novel on audio. It mixes family dynamics and genuine ‘what is it that‘s real here‘ horror. I listened to it in less than a day and I really couldn‘t stop listening. Very dark but beautifully written - do not recommend if you have mental illness or religion related trauma

This book had a slow build that kept you guessing throughout. The ending is what made it all worth the listen. When you think you know you dont. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

So far pretty good book!

Me reading A Head Full of Ghosts 😅 Some parts are really disturbing!! Definitely getting in my horror fix this week. #catsoflitsy

“THIS MUST BE so difficult for you, Meredith.”

#firstlinefridays

This would be a great book to read around Halloween! Plenty of creepy and rather scary elements in this one. A 14 year old girl may be possessed by a demon (or perhaps is schizophrenic who knows) and the family decides to have a TV show taped in their home showing her behaviors and filming the exorcism. We see much of this through her 8 yr sister's point of view.
I like the elements of using a podcast to go over events, and the unexpected twists.

A Head Full of Ghosts is told by alternating timelines of past, when the younger sister, Merry witnessed firsthand the terror her older sister Marjorie had to endure, and also present, as Merry verifies the story with an author willing to write a book about the family.

Readers are consistently questioning if the story we are being told is real or embellished. Was Marjorie really possessed or schizophrenic?

Couldn‘t put this one down! That end😳

While I feel uncomfortable with the author drawing a parallel between mental illness and possession (the ambiguity is a crucial question in the novel) this was a compulsive read—and the twist…. 😮I could have done without the blog posts embedded throughout, but otherwise, a strong pick.

Intense read told from the point of view of a second grader whose 14 year sister may or may not be possessed by a demon.The family signs on to have their lives taped for a paranormal TV show in which an exorcism will be performed.

#haunted #possessed

I love when a book lives up to the hype. Excellent writing - “glasses with thin silver frames that boxed in his nervous eyes”. Compelling plot - the exorcist as told by a little sister. And the little sister is a character development trilogy - shows 3 sides of her, a nod toward the holy trinity and a hint that perhaps she‘s a bit of an unreliable narrator. (Picture of Jesus of the Ozark for attention, taken as we left Eureka Springs today.)

Wow, I loved this book! It walked the line of real possession vs mental illness, and I loved the balance of different times (being in the past as it happened, and current time of the interview of what happened). I also adored the nerdy blog posts analyzing everything. I def have to read more by this author!

#wickedathon #scarathlon2021 @StayCurious
#screamathon @4thhouseontheleft
#RoaringWolf (Family Affair) @Roary47 @Littlewolf1

Gorgeous fall day in the woods, reading the tagged book. It‘s a lot of scare for a chilly October day. Excellent afternoon. #13 #halloween

Staying in a cabin in Eureka Springs this weekend for a wedding. (Picture - every girl obviously wants a dead deer watching her in the hot tub.) Gorgeous area and beautiful cabin. But so many dead animals! Fortunately I didn‘t bring a scary book to read or anything. 😏 (see tagged book for irony). Bring on Halloween!

#haunted

I read them years apart but I feel there is a similarity in these books with whether the #ghost or spirits haunting the houses are real or not, so I‘m picking them both for today‘s prompt.

This started off super creepy (possessed kids scare the 💩 out of me), but now I‘m bored. The narrator is becoming less reliable and I really hate Marjorie. I think there‘s a twist coming but I‘m no longer interested in seeing what that is. 🤷🏻‍♀️

A family falling apart. A teenage girl who descends into madness – or not. Because she might be possessed – or not. Luckily, it was all documented by a reality TV show. Now, fifteen years later, the girl‘s younger sister struggles to reconcile what she thought she knew with what happened – or not! Suspenseful & chilling in that ‘is it or isn‘t it?‘ way that crawls under your skin & gives you chills!

I didn't find this Scary but it was definitely Creepy. I felt Full Moon Tea and Skull Cookies was Perfect to Pair with the Book 🤣