21daysofhorror

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War | Max Brooks

#21DaysofHorror Day 21. Ever since I read Yo! by Julia Alvarez, I‘ve been a sucker for interconnected short stories. And in here it‘s basically a man collecting stories from all over the world from before, during, and after the Zombie World War. There have been stories from when I first read it over 15 years ago that still talk to me. One is a woman who falls out of an airplane into zombie trouble when a woman over the radio leads her to 👇🏼

Reggie safety. Only later she finds out there was no woman on the radio and it was only her psyche. There is a man in a wheelchair who wants to sign up for his neighborhood zombie patrol who almost gets told no cause of his wheelchair. But then he reminds them of what situation they‘re in. Also, the same man talks about his huge house and how he‘s not so lonely now because they have placed a family in the two rooms he doesn‘t occupy. Wondering before👇🏼 2y

Reggie the outbreak what we were all doing with such big houses and no one living in those extra rooms. There‘s a job re-education program that is happening for all the people like entertainment lawyers whose jobs aren‘t needed anymore. And that particular lawyer is now being taught by their old maid how to clean. Brooks says so much about the world we still continue to live in while using zombies while still serving up some zombie dread. I love this👇🏼 2y

Reggie book. Thanks Scott @vivastory for this. It‘s been so much fun! Happy Halloween, everyone! 2y

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Blueberry Interconnected short stories...have you read Anthony Marra's books? So good. 2y

Reggie @Blueberry I have not. But I‘m pretty sure I have him stacked. Just never enough time. 2y

vivastory This remains my favorite zombie book. I too still think about certain scenes in it from time to time. During the start of the pandemic I would have random scenes pop into my mind. I typically only listen to nonfiction audio books, but I have been really tempted to listen to this one. I've heard that it's worth it just to hear Mark Hamill's performance. Happy Halloween! 2y

Reggie @vivastory I wish I was an audiobook listener. My mind just flies away onto other things. But everyone who has mentioned the audio on here has loved it. 2y

Bookzombie A great choice! I have so enjoyed both yours and @vivastory ‘s posts. You have reminded me of great ones I already read, some I need to get to, and given me some new ones to look for. 💗 2y

DivineDiana TBR list for next Halloween! 🧟‍♀️ 🧟‍♂️ 2y

Suet624 @Blueberry thank you for mentioning Marra. Love him even if he is super depressing. 🙁 2y

Rissreads Loved this book! ♥️ 2y

Reggie @Rissreads ❤️Me too! 2y

Suet624 I just finished listening to this audiobook. Exactly a year ago you wrote about some of your favorite parts of the book and I would completely agree. Those are the ones that stood out for me too. This isn't my typical genre and I really don't care for current day zombie stories (i.e., The Walking Dead) but I appreciated that this one was written in 2006 and surely must have led the pack in zombie material. 1y

Reggie @Suet624 Yayyyy, Sue! I‘m so glad you liked it. The part I think about lately is the interpreters on the ship speaking all the languages India. And how they had to inform people because there was a lot of misinformation out there. Reading that then J thought, it wouldn‘t be that bad. And look at us today. Glad you liked it! 1y

Suet624 The more I think about this book the more I appreciate some of the nuances and the originality of thinking. I think my issue is always whether I can absorb the story fully when I'm listening to it. I have troubles with audiobooks. I keep trying to enjoy them - and this one with the full case was definitely enjoyable - but the impact of the story is lessened when I listen. And you're right about the misinformation piece. Ugh. When will it stop! 1y

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vivastory

Carrie | Stephen King

Day 21 of #21DaysofHorror
My Stephen King origin story has two different timelines. For as long as I can remember I have loved King in theory. I was raised on the movies & made for tv adaptations of his works. We are living in a second golden age of King adaptations. The first occurred in the late 80s-early 90s with such works as the Children of the Corn, Cat's Eye, Sometimes They Come Back, Dead Zone etc, . As far as his books go, I recall👇

vivastory reading a few of his stories here & there but it was a little over 5 years ago when I sat down & read one. It was the Cycle of the Werewolf. Honestly what I remember most about it was the Bernie Wrightson illustrations & wondering if Silver Bullet would be worth watching. Fast forward 6 months later when I read Carrie & everything changed. Although I had read Dracula several months prior, Stoker's inclusion in his classic novel of journal entries 2y

vivastory & shipping manifests was still fresh in mind. Now I see King using the same format in his debut novel & would discover in subsequent books that King has a fondness for the epistolary format. Plus, the ending of it was just absolute no holds barred chaos. Several years later, & 30 books into King's catalog, this remains my go to book to recommend to people who want to try Stephen King for the first time. (edited) 2y

vivastory It's no longer my favorite book by him. It's not even in my top 10, but it literally changed my life. Thanks to everyone who joined me on this macabre & fun journey over the past 3 weeks! A big thanks to @reggie for joining in & posting his favorites as well! This has been a real blast! 2y

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Addison_Reads @vivastory @Reggie I've loved seeing all your choices. Thank you both for sharing your love of horror. 2y

Branwen This post is AWESOME! 😃 2y

vivastory @Addison_Reads Thanks! I always enjoy your posts 📚📚 2y

vivastory @Branwen Thanks for the kind words! 2y

Branwen @vivastory Thanks for sharing your Stephen King origin story! 😁💕📚 2y

wanderinglynn Fantastic post! 👍🏻 2y

vivastory @wanderinglynn Thanks! 2y

Reggie I love when the priest has the dream about the congregation and they all start turning into werewolves. Rip Corey Haim. And I honestly believe there is a King for all seasons. And thanks for allowing me join you in this. It‘s been fun. 2y

Reggie @Addison_Reads Thanks! 🖤 2y

vivastory @Reggie I watched Lost Boys a couple of weeks ago. That's one of my most watched movies. I've loved seeing your posts! 👏 2y

ValerieAndBooks I was a big SK fan through HS and college—- basically all the 1980s for me. But then his books started getting bigger and that was about when I was married with kids. Now that I‘m basically an empty nester (and have a son who is a fan), have been reading him again. 2y

vivastory @ValerieAndBooks That's wonderful that you & your son can have that experience! A few weeks ago when I dropped off groceries for my grandpa he tried to pass me his copy of Billy Summers since he'd just finished it. I already own it, so I declined, but we had a nice conversation about King's books. 2y

Bookzombie Awesome post! I‘m not sure how many I have read now. I had been reading them randomly over the years, but I started trying to read them in order of publication a while ago, so I need to get back to it. 2y

vivastory @Bookzombie Thanks! I hope to have read all of his books by some point over the next few years. A chronological read through would be interesting. 2y

ValerieAndBooks @vivastory what a cool grandpa you have!! 2y

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Reggie

Rites of Extinction | Matt Serafini

#21DaysofHorror Day 20. I love when horror also riffs on a message that is not really the horror itself but horror adjacent. From the sharp eye on parents at a random McDonalds in the first couple pages to a mother hunting her daughter‘s killer in the backwoods of New Hampshire where the creepy abounds, one starts to question how much parents should give of themselves to their children. A disturbing novella with nice writing.

vivastory I have heard a lot of great things about this one. Will def have to check it out! 2y

Bookzombie I‘m sure I already stacked this one because of you. That cover is eye-catching! Ha! 2y

Reggie @vivastory yeah, I always mean to check out something by him but something shiny comes along. This was so good though. Also, I‘m so excited for for your day 21 post. I feel like you hyped it up in your post last night I can‘t wait! 😁 2y

Reggie @Bookzombie Eye see what you mean. Lolol 2y

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vivastory

A People's History of the Vampire Uprising: A Novel | Raymond A. Villareal

Day 20 of #21DaysofHorror
Today was by far the hardest day yet in terms of choosing what book to post. Since I started my daily posts 3 weeks ago I have known from the beginning what my final post will be, making today the last day that I can improvise if the mood strikes. I have always loved books that work with forms in interesting ways. One form that appeals to me is the oral biography: both fiction & nonfiction. In horror the oral bio is👇

vivastory a bit of an outlier, which is odd considering the success of World War Z. One of my favorites is Villareal's People's History of the Vampire Uprising. I read this shortly after publication 3 years ago & since then have been anticipating another book by Villareal. A CDC investigator is called to Arizona following the disappearance of a body from a morgue. This is the beginning of an epidemic that soon spreads to the rest of the world. (edited) 2y

vivastory This book went in a different direction than I expected & I loved it. A fresh take on vampires & a memorable entry into the slowly growing collection of horror oral biographies. (Image taken from Google Images) (edited) 2y

wanderinglynn Sounds intriguing. 👍🏻 2y

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vivastory @wanderinglynn I went into it not expecting a whole lot & was pleasantly surprised. 2y

Reggie Lol, I went to go look it up because I think I bought it after last time you mentioned it and there it is on my kindle….waiting. Hopefully soon. 2y

vivastory @Reggie I'll be curious to see what you think. There's another horror novel in the same format that I've heard great things about & hope to read soon (it's on my Kindle)

Wylding Hall

Reggie Aww I‘ve only read Waking by the Moon by her and it was wonderful. I just stacked the one you mentioned. 2y

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Reggie

White is for Witching | Helen Oyeyemi

#21DaysofHorror Day 19. This is one of the best haunted house novels I‘ve ever read. The story is told from different perspectives and one of them happens to be the house itself. We follow Miranda and her twin Eliot and their dad, Luc, as they grieve their mother and wife. They live in a very sinister house that at one point describes its killing of one of the family‘s relatives. It is one of the scariest things I have ever read.

vivastory I've read a few by Oyeyemi and this remains my favorite. Great choice! 2y

SamanthaMarie I don't like being scared but that cover alone makes me want to stack it 😍🤣 2y

Reggie @SamanthaMarie lol, Yeah it totally has a Xmas cozy vibe to it, right? 2y

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Reggie @SamanthaMarie but if you look between the black trees and focus on the white it looks like the outline of a person? The witch, perhaps?!! 2y

Reggie @vivastory I‘ve only read one other by her and the odyssey I felt she took me on was totally one not expected.

Gingerbread

SamanthaMarie Yes! Not to mention the spooky skulls and photos floating around. Definitely Xmas vibes but very deceitful. 2y

Bookzombie I definitely need to bump this one up. I haven‘t read anything by Oyeyemi yet. 2y

Centique I loved this book! Reading it with you was such a great experience. 😍 2y

Reggie @Bookzombie she totally writes that book a college class can be built around. Luckily for me I had @Centique to talk it all out with🖤❤️🖤. 2y

GatheringBooks I‘ve had the privilege of listening to her speak live during the singapore writers festival a few years back. She is riveting, quiet, relatively down-to-earth. Very thoughtful speaker too. 2y

Reggie @GatheringBooks That‘s great. I would totally show up for her if she came nearby. 2y

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vivastory

The Frighteners: Why We Love Monsters, Ghosts, Death & Gore | Peter Laws

Day 19 of #21DaysofHorror
Whether he is talking about watching the blood soaked conclusion of the '13 Evil Dead remake or touring the Paris Catacombs, the unofficial subtitle of Peter Laws book may as well be “Let your freak flag fly.“ This is a manifesto for lovers of a genre that has been targeted & maligned throughout history, but Laws' deep dive into his subject has broad appeal & calls to mind Colin Dickey & Mary Roach.

Reggie I love the Evil Dead remake. They did not hold back whatsoever. 2y

vivastory @Reggie I saw it in the theater with my brother. Afterwards we left in stunned silence until a few minutes later one of us started laughing. Good stuff 🤣 2y

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Reggie

Untitled | Unknown

#21DaysofHorror Day 18. Paul Tremblay is horror with elevated writing. He weaves characters, their relationships, and their stories together, so affecting and intricate, all right in front of a horror backdrop. Everything I‘ve read by him I have loved. Even when he shoots someone in the middle of a book that destroys my day right before I have to go to work. He wrote one of my favorite ever short stories. It‘s about a meth addict who kidnaps👇🏼

Reggie her daughter all the while monsters are coming out of the sea. Layers, people, layers. None of his books have easy answers. He‘s good horror. ❤️Paul Tremblay. (edited) 2y

erzascarletbookgasm Ah I remember that story from Growing Things 👍 2y

vivastory Amen!! 🙌 2y

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vivastory I bought my own copy of Growing Things a couple of weeks ago. When I read it I had checked it out from the library, but over the past few weeks certain stories kept coming back to me & I decided it's def one I want in my personal collection 2y

AFrostCauseReads I just read the tagged by him and LOVED it! I definitely want to read more by him, what do you recommend I check out next?

A Head Full of Ghosts: A Novel

ValerieAndBooks I‘m intrigued! I looked at my library‘s Libby (ebooks app) and there are two by him — The Cabin at the End of the World, and The Little Sleep. Which of the two do you recommend for first reading of him? 2y

Reggie @erzascarletbookgasm it‘s the first one in the book and it was a doozy! 2y

Reggie @vivastory I loved the choose your own adventure story in there. The story told in photos. So much to love of course you had to get your own copy. 2y

Reggie @AFrostCauseReads I say Survivor Song if you want a sure thing. If you want to question whether you liked it or not go with Cabin because it is polarizing. If you like short stories go with Growing Things. 2y

Reggie @ValerieAndBooks I say Cabin just because I haven‘t read the other one. If you like Cabin you‘ll love the rest of him. Hope you like it! 2y

vivastory @ValerieAndBooks Little Sleep is part of his duology featuring a narcoleptic investigator. I really liked it, but it's one of his earlier books & completely different from what he's been publishing the past few years. 2y

Bookzombie Another author I need to pick back up. I have only read A Head Full Of Ghosts so far. 🙂 2y

Reggie @Bookzombie you‘ll like any of the other books up there. He always hits me in the feels right after he scares me. 2y

ValerieAndBooks @Reggie @vivastory thanks! Just borrowed Cabin. 2y

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vivastory

Broken River | J Robert Lennon

Day 18 of #21DaysofHorror
One of my goals with some of these posts was to highlight books that are under the radar. Such as my pick for today: J. Robert Lennon's Broken River. In a bid to save their marriage Karl & Eleanor move from Brooklyn to the rural town of Brooklyn River with their daughter Irina. Irina, along with her novelist mother, dives into the bloody past of the house. What is so remarkable about Lennon's book & why I included it👇

vivastory 4 years after reading it is how clever it is with the ghost story. As the NY Times review said of his book, “Broken River is almost, but not quite, a ghost town, and its inhabitants are watched over by something that is almost, but not quite, a ghost. Lennon calls this mysterious entity the Observer. In the brilliant first chapter, in which two nameless people are killed by other nameless people, this watchful something is, the author tells us, 2y

vivastory “merely the idea of an observer: an invisible presence without corporeal substance, incapable of engaging emotionally with the sounds that reach the house.” With the last post on Litsy about this unusual & humorous ghost story being 4 years ago, I think this def fits the bill of an under the radar novel! (edited) 2y

Reggie I have never heard of this(the whole point of this post), this sounds good. Have you read My Heart is a Chainsaw? Because every time nameless people are killed in the beginning I think about that book and what it means. 2y

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vivastory @Reggie I haven't read Jones latest yet. There are so many newish horror releases I need to catch up on! I'm looking forward to it though bc we usually agree about his books 2y

vivastory @Reggie Lennon also wrote a novel that somewhat reminded me of The Animators. In a good way

The Funnies: A Novel

LeahBergen This sounds good! Stacked. 2y

vivastory @LeahBergen The family dynamic in it is really quirky & funny. I think you'll dig it 2y

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Reggie

The Laws of the Skies | Gr�goire Courtois

#21DaysofHorror Day 17. The passage above is not a spoiler. It‘s in the prologue. This has got to be one of the most bleak and terrifying books I have ever read. Along with the discovery of how everyone dies, is the story the teacher tells from which the title is taken which in itself is a horror story within a horror story. This book put me into a funk for a couple of days while making me glad I‘ll never have kids. #thekidsarenotalright

batsy This sums up how I felt reading it! 2y

vivastory I have checked this one out from the library several times and just never got around to it. I actually had to return it yesterday because it was overdue. 🤣 Someday... 2y

Bookzombie I need a way to say I loved this without saying I loved it because as you said it is bleak and terrifying. It is one I think about fairly often. Thank you for putting it on my radar after you first read it. 🙂 2y

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Reggie @batsy @Bookzombie I don‘t know the word that says a book has seared or branded itself into your memory because of the amount of horror and pain. We should have a world like that though, right? 2y

Reggie @Vivastory well because of you it won‘t be discarded any time soon. Lol 2y

Bookzombie @Reggie We should have a word like that! Also, I‘m going to put this on hold at the library just so it circulates again, lol. @vivastory 2y

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vivastory

Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems | Edgar Allan Poe

Day 17 of #21DaysofHorror
Although I had a fondness for The Raven from when I was in middle school, the story that made me fall in love with Poe was The Tell-Tale Heart. I vividly recall reading it for the first time in junior high & being struck by how unusual & intense it is. IMO there are few murder scenes that rival the one in this story & what an ending! Yet, my pick for today is not The Tell-Tale Heart, but a story that I keep coming back👇

vivastory to: The Black Cat. To me this macabre gem contains many elements of several of his famous works. To this day The Black Cat remains one of the bleakest stories that I have ever read, & one of the most compelling. (edited) 2y

Reggie I always think of MacBeth, the themes of guilt kinda synonymous with The Tell-Tale Heart. I‘ve never read any of his other stuff. Nice pick for day 17! 2y

Cathythoughts Oh there‘s some scary cats 😬😱 2y

vivastory @Reggie That's a great point about Macbeth. I like some of his poetry, too. The Conqueror Worm is especially memorable. 2y

vivastory @Cathythoughts It's an unsettling story🙀 2y

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