House of Leaves truly unsettled me. I can’t pinpoint why, but it was in my dreams and always felt uncomfortable when awake. It’s not overtly scary, but it invites dread into your life.
@@ttranscendit definitely gave me some nightmares, but they weren’t about anything explicitly scary, it’s what I imagine having anxiety is like. I couldn’t tell you why this book has this effect, it kinda just rewrites your brain a bit while you’re reading I guess. I’ve not read it since, and that was 10 years ago.
As one of your more elderly subscribers and a relatively new convert to the horror genre (better late than never I guess!) your recommendations and reviews are a constant source of inspiration and have motivated me to read numerous books which I might previously have missed out on. With grateful thanks and best wishes.
Love to hear from a horror convert! A lot of people assume that I've been reading horror since childhood but I didn't touch the genre until I was an adult
Horror books I enjoyed Swan Song - McCammon The Stand - King Carrion Comfort - Simmons The Reality Dysfunction - Hamilton Mr X - Straub Something Wicked This Way Comes - Bradbury Wasp Factory - Banks The Historian - Kosova The Road - McCarthy Heart Shaped Box - Hill The Passage - Cronin
A Head Full of Ghosts will be my next horror read, Mike gave it a glowing review on his channel…Can’t go wrong when my 2 favorite book tuber’s recommend the same book!😈👻🎃✨
Anytime I see someone recommending Hex I have to come celebrate in the comments, because it’s one of my favorite horror books. But I totally agree about the wrong expectation possible ruining this one! I also really loved The Only Good Indians. Red X now added to the tbr.
Another terrific video! Thank you. I would add "We Spread"- Iain Reid to this list. Not scary in a jump scare kind of way, but in a "can I trust myself/ my perceptions of reality?" Kind of way. Love Thomas Olde Heuvelt. The prologue to "Echo" may be the scariest thing I've ever read. The book itself was scary, but the prologue was absolutely the most frightening. I've been wanting to read House Of Leaves, but everyone seems to agree if read "correctly" it takes a major time commitment which sounds like a lot of work. I have so many other books I want to get to and never find the time to commit to that one.
I didn’t care for A Head Full of Ghosts when I first read it - a few years later I re-read it and gave it 5 stars. The difference was that I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle in between those two reads. I would highly recommend reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle prior to A Head Full of Ghosts as you can definitely see the influence that book had on A Head Full of Ghosts.
Fully agree on The Only Good Indians, SGJ's writing style is very hard to get into in general. That's why I like his silly slasher stories like The Last Final Girl and Night of the Mannequins, I think he's great at mixing humor in his horror. I think one advanced horror book I'd recommend would be The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson, the language is very lyrical while being surreal. Not the easiest narrative to jump into as it's purposefully oblique, but it's a gorgeous book and very disturbing at times too. Thanks for the recs as usual!
The only good Indians has to be one of my all time favorite books ever! I listened to the audiobook and in my opinion the narrator was absolutely amazing! I grew up near reservation and the way Stephen brings the culture and myths together is brilliant. I appreciate how some who have not grown up in proximity to the reservation may not understand this book but I do and I love it! I am so grateful to have stumbled across the narration because it made the book that much better.
@@blakebellis Do recommend reading or getting the audio book if available? I listened to The Only Good Indians and loved the narration. I would like to actually read the book now having listened and see what different perspectives I may have.
@@heatherlilly2344 I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask lol; with My Heart Is, Don't Fear, and Mongrels all I went back and forth from print reading to audiobooks. I will say the narrator from My Heart Is really rubs a lot of people the wrong way but I felt probably those same qualities that made her embody Jade for me in all her neuroatypical splendor! There's a chapter called "Her Name Was Jade" in Don't Fear the Reaper that I literally cheered out loud reading, and I don't do that often. I will def check out the audiobook for "The Only Good Indians" next! Thanks for recommending!!!
Funny that House of leaves was my first horror book ever, i have no idea why i did that to myself, i was terrified and confused and i had the best time ever reading that book i, however am a horror fan since i was young i have watched probably all horror movies there is so maybe that helped, great list as usual 🤩
It a wonderful book but it was so hard to get into tbh, i totally agree with you it's not for beginners,i just wanted to say i love your channel thank you so much for your recommendations, they are always the best 💚🙏
Fantastic list! I can only imagine a young mind absorbing House of Leaves, along with a lot of these, as their first horror book and loving it. It would probably become the book they measure all future horror books they read.
What really got to me about "The Only Good Indians" was this -- I grew up in an area that was economically struggling, not to the extent of the Blackfeet reservation itself, but far more so than the cities that some of the characters were living in. Those characters reminded me of a lot of my friends (and myself), and the feeling of being trapped without realizing it by decisions you made far in the past was the most powerful aspect of the book for me.
I love House of Leaves! I first read it almost 20 years ago and there are parts that still haven't left my brain. Ive been meaning to re-read it but I still remember so much of it I still don't think i HAVE to, you know?
Oh man, I’m glad you talked about House of Leaves because when I first got into the genre seriously this year, I just couldn’t get into that book even though people kept saying it was great. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it when I get to it later but for now, I’m really enjoying the ride of “cozy horror” and cosmic horror books that I’m in right now. I hope you do a video on cosmic horror, if you haven’t yet though I realize it’s not everyone’s cup of tea 😅 Love your content, as always, Rachel! 🖤
House of leaves was one of the best reading experiences ive ever had. Nothing gets into my head and under my skin as much as that book, not scary in the traditional sense, but it just stuck with me like almost no other. I need to get to A Head full of ghosts, i think its the only Tremblay I havnt checked out yet. My recomendation for an advanced horror book may be a bit odd, The Haunting of Hill House took me until my second read a few years agter the fkrst for me to appreciate. Coming off the netflix show, and expecting a more straightforward scary ghost story, i was left dissapointed the first time. But a few years later on a re-read I found it fantastic.
Great list! I have yet to make it through house of leaves. I recently purchased the devil in silver because of the mental health aspect. I hadn't heard of Red X before. I need to give that one a shot.
Happy Halloween Rachel! 🎃 Loving all these great October reads. Btw, today is also my anniversary. My wife and i always do something fun for Halloween and also as readers, we appreciate your list (although Im more of the horror/thriller fan than her.) Thanks for the recs and all you do.
so happy to see red x on this list! one of my favorite horror novels and super underhyped. only one on this list i haven't read is the devil in silver, will be checking out!
What a great video. HEX is definitely going on the list. And, Red X. As someone who lives just outside Toronto, and that is close enough for me, it really stood out. I kept looking at Head Full of Ghosts so now I will stop looking and take it home lol. Thanks!
I've read "House of leafs", "Head full of ghostes" and "Hex", I got "The only good Indians" I get to it eventually. I've read his short story "Night of the manequin" which I really liked, I can't remember if that was out of yours or Godess of gore recomandation, I think it was Wix but not sure 100% so if you haven't read it I can recommend it.
Great list! I would add American Psycho to the list, since it plays with what is real and what's in the character's head. Plus, some folks are going to wonder why the author spends a chapter or a good deal of some chapters talking about 80's music, and you have to pay attention to what events happen before those discussions. Everything is significant in American Psycho, even the things that don't seem significant.
The Only Good Indians is in the Top 25 Horror Books of my life and I have been reading horror for 48 years. I can't explain the feelings I experienced while reading this book. I'm so glad you included it in this list! 🧡
First of all this video is great thank you! I honestly laughed at the Hex placement here because I had the exact take you mentioned! I didn’t even finish it. Maybe ill go back to it later. But i do own House of Leaves and really want to read it but have heard what youve said about it from others has well. Im not super well-versed in horror but have read id say about 15 books in the genre (over half of which are stehpen king) What specific books or what amount of books would you consider enough to enjoy house of leaves because I really want to get the most out of it when I read it
I definitely don't think you haaave to read X number of books to read it. As long as you're a focused reader, you should give it a try. It's not quite a favourite of mine... but it's an experience
haven't read any of them yet but did read one of trembly's novels after stephen king praised it sorry to say thought it was pretty bad but that was the ONLY time king steered me wrong on book recommends⚛😀
don't recall the title but it was about a male gay couple with an adopted child who were attacked and held captive by some sort of weird cultists@@TheShadesofOrange ⚛😀
Great video! I think I only have to read Hex, The Devil in Silver and Red X (I hadn't heard of that one, but it sounds great!) from the list. It's strange, because I read The Only Good Indians and A Head Full of Ghosts in the beginning of my horror era and loved both, but I am a weirdo and I like being taken on strange rides! Now I'm curious to see the horror for beginners video :D (it is helpfully queued up). for that specific reason, I have no idea what I'd recommend, though, to advanced horror readers
Hey I love hearing that you read some of these as a newbie without issue. This has been such a requested video but I honestly feel like Horror is more personal vs difficult to get into. For me, finding a book that scared me was what "hooked me" on the genre
This was a great video! I am new to your channel, and just subscribed. I appreciate the detailed information and assessment you gave on each of the books you spoke about. I already have "A Head Full of Ghosts," and will be reading it, now looking forward to it even more. And I downloaded "House of Leaves," "The Devil in Silver," and "Red X," as you really peaked my curiosity. I have been a fan of the Horror Genre for many years, Stephen King and Dean Koontz being among my favorite authors, and have now been open to exploring other authors that are new to me. I read EBooks primarily, but have always loved physical books as well, until it became more difficult to store them. I look forward to watching other videos you have posted! Thank you again! Enjoy the rest of your week!
Hex ruined me... I remember reading the final pages of it while camping on top of the highest hill. I was curled up in my tent while the flaps of the tent was aggressively hitting my face. I was curled up with 4 of my friends in a really big tent.
I think most slashers are for advanced horror readers, or more specifically, people who watch slasher movies, because they tend to be very meta and tropey and you will appreciate it more if you are familiar with those tropes
I'm curious if you've read Negative Space by B.R. Yeager. I read it this month and for some reason remembered learning about it from this channel and then couldn't find it on your channel at all. haha. So maybe I learned about it from somewhere else. But it's so horrific and so bizarre, also very ambiguous. Curious what your take on it would be.
Read House of Leaves. Found the way it was written interesting and engaging but ultimately I found it repetitive and unsatifyingly unresolved, like a creepypasta that goes on too long.
for horror books i think are better if you're already invested in the genre i'd say the red tree y caitlin r kiernan, fever dream samanta schweblin (genre is debatable but i'm counting it), plus livia llewellyn's short stories. i always wanna recommend the red tree to people who liked the concept of house of leaves but didn't totally connect with the book (meeee)
Hi Rachel, it's not book related. But have you seen the horror movie " When evil lurks" ? I saw it recently and I think it is one the best horror movies this year.
The Head Full of Ghosts is cringe that made me hate and drop the book. The social commentary makes no sense. In terms of suggestions they are pretty good. I think the most hard is without any doubt is House of Leaves. Although there are others that I woudl suggest like Laird Barron, Philip Fracassi (some of his books), Caitlin R Kiernan among others. Bentley Little is one that is nto for everyone since it's not normal horror like the Store or the Association.
House of Leaves is among many things a critique to the incestuous and redundant nature of academia and its literature…. But that’s apparently just MY opinion? Because I haven’t seen literally anybody else voicing it 🙃
For once I have a criticism about Rachel's video. It is clearly mentioned in the title itself that these books are for advanced users. Why would any beginner take offence to that. But most of the video feels like Rachel is justifying her choice about doing this video. First she justifies it in the intro which itself is long. After that each book recommendation is accompanied by the same kind of justification. Just give recommendations and don't justify your choices so much.
She's giving her opinion of the books and stating why she feels that way, it's a subjective review/recommendation. That's how many of the book reviews are done on youtube. If you prefer objective recommendations with no explanation or justification, Google is your friend.
Please, please offer up some more original recommendations. I swear you cycle through the same 30 books each year. Perhaps I should just move on from your channel. It’s a shame because I really like you as a reviewer.
Rachels favourites come up very often, your right. But when they fit the theme, it is absolutely ok! She always recommends new and interesting books in a whole array of videos, so I personally do not see any problem here, tbh. On the contrary, my wallet sighs in relief when she mentions a book I already own 😂.
This is so rude, making video content is so time consuming and a labor of love and obviously there is always something to critique but it also costs nothing to consider how your words would be received before saying them.
You always have the best recommendations! House of Leaves has been on my tbr forever…one day I will read it. I enjoyed Hex, The Only Good Indians, A Head Full of Ghosts, and The Devil in Silver. I also want to read Red X. 🏠🍂🧙♀️🫎🏀 👻🐃❌
Hi! Big fan of your channel. Just finished The Girl in Red after your recommendation- loved it! And having just watched this video ordered Hex. Mucho gracious!
Excellent suggestions. A lot of people underestimate how complex and literary horror can be (:
Thanks
House of Leaves truly unsettled me. I can’t pinpoint why, but it was in my dreams and always felt uncomfortable when awake. It’s not overtly scary, but it invites dread into your life.
I think a lot of people had similar experiences with that one
Ooh… this kinda makes me not want to read it. I have enough anxiety in my life lmao
@@ttranscendit definitely gave me some nightmares, but they weren’t about anything explicitly scary, it’s what I imagine having anxiety is like. I couldn’t tell you why this book has this effect, it kinda just rewrites your brain a bit while you’re reading I guess. I’ve not read it since, and that was 10 years ago.
I will put Gravity Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon as advanced horror too!!
Very accurate description. 🧐
As one of your more elderly subscribers and a relatively new convert to the horror genre (better late than never I guess!) your recommendations and reviews are a constant source of inspiration and have motivated me to read numerous books which I might previously have missed out on. With grateful thanks and best wishes.
54, here and I'm pretty new to the horror genre too!
Better late than never!
Love to hear from a horror convert! A lot of people assume that I've been reading horror since childhood but I didn't touch the genre until I was an adult
Horror books I enjoyed
Swan Song - McCammon
The Stand - King
Carrion Comfort - Simmons
The Reality Dysfunction - Hamilton
Mr X - Straub
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Bradbury
Wasp Factory - Banks
The Historian - Kosova
The Road - McCarthy
Heart Shaped Box - Hill
The Passage - Cronin
A Head Full of Ghosts will be my next horror read, Mike gave it a glowing review on his channel…Can’t go wrong when my 2 favorite book tuber’s recommend the same book!😈👻🎃✨
I'm so happy Mike loved it!
I love that book
Anytime I see someone recommending Hex I have to come celebrate in the comments, because it’s one of my favorite horror books. But I totally agree about the wrong expectation possible ruining this one!
I also really loved The Only Good Indians.
Red X now added to the tbr.
Yeah Hex seems to be one of the more controversial books I recommend on my channel
Did you read his next book "Echo"? The prologue of that one was terrifying. Loved it!
@@OronoDiane I did! Best horror prologue ever in my opinion. I’m Dutch so I get to read all his books right as they come out fortunately 🤗
Another terrific video! Thank you.
I would add "We Spread"- Iain Reid to this list. Not scary in a jump scare kind of way, but in a "can I trust myself/ my perceptions of reality?" Kind of way.
Love Thomas Olde Heuvelt. The prologue to "Echo" may be the scariest thing I've ever read. The book itself was scary, but the prologue was absolutely the most frightening.
I've been wanting to read House Of Leaves, but everyone seems to agree if read "correctly" it takes a major time commitment which sounds like a lot of work. I have so many other books I want to get to and never find the time to commit to that one.
Oh yes We Spread is a good edition
I didn’t care for A Head Full of Ghosts when I first read it - a few years later I re-read it and gave it 5 stars. The difference was that I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle in between those two reads. I would highly recommend reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle prior to A Head Full of Ghosts as you can definitely see the influence that book had on A Head Full of Ghosts.
Oh yes that's a good point with Castle
I did that accidentally and yes best to read Castle then Ghosts. 😄
I just finished head full of ghosts...meh. It read like a YA. But I will be starting the Jackson book tomorrow. I hope it's better❤❤
Fully agree on The Only Good Indians, SGJ's writing style is very hard to get into in general. That's why I like his silly slasher stories like The Last Final Girl and Night of the Mannequins, I think he's great at mixing humor in his horror.
I think one advanced horror book I'd recommend would be The Boatman's Daughter by Andy Davidson, the language is very lyrical while being surreal. Not the easiest narrative to jump into as it's purposefully oblique, but it's a gorgeous book and very disturbing at times too. Thanks for the recs as usual!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds SGJ writing a little challenging.
Boatman is one I haven't read because I'm so intimidated by it
The only good Indians has to be one of my all time favorite books ever! I listened to the audiobook and in my opinion the narrator was absolutely amazing! I grew up near reservation and the way Stephen brings the culture and myths together is brilliant. I appreciate how some who have not grown up in proximity to the reservation may not understand this book but I do and I love it! I am so grateful to have stumbled across the narration because it made the book that much better.
(Also need to read Only Good Indians... The Lake Witch Books and Mongrels are AMAZING)
Yes having a connection to indigenous culture really enhanced the story for me
@@blakebellis Do recommend reading or getting the audio book if available? I listened to The Only Good Indians and loved the narration. I would like to actually read the book now having listened and see what different perspectives I may have.
@@heatherlilly2344 I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask lol; with My Heart Is, Don't Fear, and Mongrels all I went back and forth from print reading to audiobooks. I will say the narrator from My Heart Is really rubs a lot of people the wrong way but I felt probably those same qualities that made her embody Jade for me in all her neuroatypical splendor!
There's a chapter called "Her Name Was Jade" in Don't Fear the Reaper that I literally cheered out loud reading, and I don't do that often.
I will def check out the audiobook for "The Only Good Indians" next! Thanks for recommending!!!
Funny that House of leaves was my first horror book ever, i have no idea why i did that to myself, i was terrified and confused and i had the best time ever reading that book i, however am a horror fan since i was young i have watched probably all horror movies there is so maybe that helped, great list as usual 🤩
That's awesome! I don't think it would have been a good place to start for me, but so glad it worked for you
It a wonderful book but it was so hard to get into tbh, i totally agree with you it's not for beginners,i just wanted to say i love your channel thank you so much for your recommendations, they are always the best 💚🙏
Fantastic list! I can only imagine a young mind absorbing House of Leaves, along with a lot of these, as their first horror book and loving it. It would probably become the book they measure all future horror books they read.
Apparently a few of the commentors did start there... I'm impressed
What really got to me about "The Only Good Indians" was this -- I grew up in an area that was economically struggling, not to the extent of the Blackfeet reservation itself, but far more so than the cities that some of the characters were living in. Those characters reminded me of a lot of my friends (and myself), and the feeling of being trapped without realizing it by decisions you made far in the past was the most powerful aspect of the book for me.
🎃Happy Halloween and Book for Treat day everyone ✨
Happy Halloween!
I love House of Leaves! I first read it almost 20 years ago and there are parts that still haven't left my brain. Ive been meaning to re-read it but I still remember so much of it I still don't think i HAVE to, you know?
Yeah I have books like that. Just imprinted in my brain
Oh man, I’m glad you talked about House of Leaves because when I first got into the genre seriously this year, I just couldn’t get into that book even though people kept saying it was great. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it when I get to it later but for now, I’m really enjoying the ride of “cozy horror” and cosmic horror books that I’m in right now. I hope you do a video on cosmic horror, if you haven’t yet though I realize it’s not everyone’s cup of tea 😅 Love your content, as always, Rachel! 🖤
Yeah Cosmic horror isn't quite my thing but I'm still planning a video
House of leaves does sound creepy! I wondered if there are passages that require a mirror in order to read them? 😅
Yup
@@TheShadesofOrange LoL of course ☺️
Great suggestions! Red X definitely sounds interesting
I would love to see your list of advanced books
@@TheShadesofOrangeI’ll have to give it some thought!
House of leaves was one of the best reading experiences ive ever had. Nothing gets into my head and under my skin as much as that book, not scary in the traditional sense, but it just stuck with me like almost no other.
I need to get to A Head full of ghosts, i think its the only Tremblay I havnt checked out yet.
My recomendation for an advanced horror book may be a bit odd, The Haunting of Hill House took me until my second read a few years agter the fkrst for me to appreciate. Coming off the netflix show, and expecting a more straightforward scary ghost story, i was left dissapointed the first time. But a few years later on a re-read I found it fantastic.
i agree with so many of these!! makes me even more excited to add hex & x to my tbr ❤
Just found your channel. Thanks for list of horror books.
Great list! I have yet to make it through house of leaves. I recently purchased the devil in silver because of the mental health aspect. I hadn't heard of Red X before. I need to give that one a shot.
I hope you enjoy them
Happy Halloween Rachel! 🎃
Loving all these great October reads. Btw, today is also my anniversary. My wife and i always do something fun for Halloween and also as readers, we appreciate your list (although Im more of the horror/thriller fan than her.) Thanks for the recs and all you do.
What an awesome anniversary
so happy to see red x on this list! one of my favorite horror novels and super underhyped. only one on this list i haven't read is the devil in silver, will be checking out!
Agreed about Red X
What a great video. HEX is definitely going on the list. And, Red X. As someone who lives just outside Toronto, and that is close enough for me, it really stood out. I kept looking at Head Full of Ghosts so now I will stop looking and take it home lol. Thanks!
I bet you picked up references to Toronto that went over my head... I've only been in the airport
I've read "House of leafs", "Head full of ghostes" and "Hex", I got "The only good Indians" I get to it eventually. I've read his short story "Night of the manequin" which I really liked, I can't remember if that was out of yours or Godess of gore recomandation, I think it was Wix but not sure 100% so if you haven't read it I can recommend it.
You’re smart and intelligent. Much respect.
You've convinced me, I think it is about time I attempt House Of Leaves! 😅
I'd love to know how it goes
Great list! I would add American Psycho to the list, since it plays with what is real and what's in the character's head. Plus, some folks are going to wonder why the author spends a chapter or a good deal of some chapters talking about 80's music, and you have to pay attention to what events happen before those discussions. Everything is significant in American Psycho, even the things that don't seem significant.
Ooo yes I completely agree with your addition!
Awesome list!! Two books to go and I will complete it!! Thanks again Rachel!!
Thanks
Now this was a helpful video! adding these to my TBR!
I love the Tanz Dance Academy flag in your background.
The Only Good Indians is in the Top 25 Horror Books of my life and I have been reading horror for 48 years. I can't explain the feelings I experienced while reading this book. I'm so glad you included it in this list! 🧡
That's high praise!
First of all this video is great thank you! I honestly laughed at the Hex placement here because I had the exact take you mentioned! I didn’t even finish it. Maybe ill go back to it later. But i do own House of Leaves and really want to read it but have heard what youve said about it from others has well. Im not super well-versed in horror but have read id say about 15 books in the genre (over half of which are stehpen king) What specific books or what amount of books would you consider enough to enjoy house of leaves because I really want to get the most out of it when I read it
I definitely don't think you haaave to read X number of books to read it. As long as you're a focused reader, you should give it a try. It's not quite a favourite of mine... but it's an experience
haven't read any of them yet but did read one of trembly's novels after stephen king praised it sorry to say thought it was pretty bad but that was the ONLY time king steered me wrong on book recommends⚛😀
Oh which one?
don't recall the title but it was about a male gay couple with an adopted child who were attacked and held captive by some sort of weird cultists@@TheShadesofOrange ⚛😀
Great video! I think I only have to read Hex, The Devil in Silver and Red X (I hadn't heard of that one, but it sounds great!) from the list. It's strange, because I read The Only Good Indians and A Head Full of Ghosts in the beginning of my horror era and loved both, but I am a weirdo and I like being taken on strange rides! Now I'm curious to see the horror for beginners video :D (it is helpfully queued up). for that specific reason, I have no idea what I'd recommend, though, to advanced horror readers
Hey I love hearing that you read some of these as a newbie without issue. This has been such a requested video but I honestly feel like Horror is more personal vs difficult to get into. For me, finding a book that scared me was what "hooked me" on the genre
This was a great video! I am new to your channel, and just subscribed. I appreciate the detailed information and assessment you gave on each of the books you spoke about. I already have "A Head Full of Ghosts," and will be reading it, now looking forward to it even more. And I downloaded "House of Leaves," "The Devil in Silver," and "Red X," as you really peaked my curiosity. I have been a fan of the Horror Genre for many years, Stephen King and Dean Koontz being among my favorite authors, and have now been open to exploring other authors that are new to me. I read EBooks primarily, but have always loved physical books as well, until it became more difficult to store them. I look forward to watching other videos you have posted! Thank you again! Enjoy the rest of your week!
I love introducing people to lesser known horror authors so I'm thrilled by your comment
@@TheShadesofOrange Thank you! And I continue to love your channel!
❤❤
I have to try to come back around to house of leaves and all the good Indians myself… I just couldn’t get into either 😅😅
I took multiple attempts to get through both
I had the same experience with The Only Good Indians! I have been wanting to give it a second read, so I might have to listen to the audiobook. 😈
Definitely recommend
Hex ruined me... I remember reading the final pages of it while camping on top of the highest hill. I was curled up in my tent while the flaps of the tent was aggressively hitting my face. I was curled up with 4 of my friends in a really big tent.
Oh wow!
I love A Head Full of Ghosts! It was actually my very first horror novel 😅
Oh nice!
Tried House of Leaves and thought it was just okay. Author seemed more interested bells and whistles than storytelling. I’ll give it a re-read.
Yeah I don't love it as much as others
HEX was sooo good
Yeah, I went into HEX with that expectation and didn’t love it haha wish I saw this video before I went into the book. 😅
Yeah the synopsis and reviews are often misleading
I realized with horror that I'd read all but one of your recommendations. I am an Advanced Horror Reader! Shudder...
Congratulations!
Shades! Make a video of "If You Like Nos4a2 or IT, You Might Like"... please!
I think most slashers are for advanced horror readers, or more specifically, people who watch slasher movies, because they tend to be very meta and tropey and you will appreciate it more if you are familiar with those tropes
I agree with that. So much would be missed by people who don't know the tropes
Maeve Fly (C.J. Leede),
Paradais (Fernanda Melchor),
The First Bad Man (Miranda July) . More of a thriller than horror.
🗡
Love reading your recs
Hex was wild!!!! I wish they would make it into a movie! I disagree with you... The Witch was scary to me!
I'm curious if you've read Negative Space by B.R. Yeager. I read it this month and for some reason remembered learning about it from this channel and then couldn't find it on your channel at all. haha. So maybe I learned about it from somewhere else. But it's so horrific and so bizarre, also very ambiguous. Curious what your take on it would be.
No I haven't
I don't believe in the beginner senior tiers for readers. I hardly ever read horror, but hit me with the wildest stuff.
Yeah I definitely don't want them to come across gatekeeping. Just a fun way to create a list
Read House of Leaves. Found the way it was written interesting and engaging but ultimately I found it repetitive and unsatifyingly unresolved, like a creepypasta that goes on too long.
for horror books i think are better if you're already invested in the genre i'd say the red tree y caitlin r kiernan, fever dream samanta schweblin (genre is debatable but i'm counting it), plus livia llewellyn's short stories. i always wanna recommend the red tree to people who liked the concept of house of leaves but didn't totally connect with the book (meeee)
Love your recs
Hi Rachel, it's not book related. But have you seen the horror movie " When evil lurks" ? I saw it recently and I think it is one the best horror movies this year.
I'm dying to watch it! Trying to find a night with my friends
Love your channel
I loved Hex. Great horror book IMHO.
The Head Full of Ghosts is cringe that made me hate and drop the book. The social commentary makes no sense. In terms of suggestions they are pretty good. I think the most hard is without any doubt is House of Leaves. Although there are others that I woudl suggest like Laird Barron, Philip Fracassi (some of his books), Caitlin R Kiernan among others. Bentley Little is one that is nto for everyone since it's not normal horror like the Store or the Association.
Love reading your advanced horror recommendations
Thank you 😊
I see many people classify House of Leaves as a horror book. I don´t know why. What is there horrific in it?
It's a psychological horror if you can get immersed in the book. It sometimes messes with people's brains
Thoughts on Wounds by Nathan Ballingrud?
Haven't read that one
Have you read I’m Thinking Of Ending Things? I just wanted to know your opinion on it!
Loved it. One of my all time favourite books. I have a spoiler free book review on here where I gush about it
Have you read any Tananarive Due. Some are saying she is very good.
Yea I like her. My favourite is the Good House
Do the other genres of fantasy and science fiction have their books for advanced readers?
I'd like to make some follow-up videos
Graham Masterton is a great horror Author.
House of Leaves is among many things a critique to the incestuous and redundant nature of academia and its literature…. But that’s apparently just MY opinion? Because I haven’t seen literally anybody else voicing it 🙃
I struggled with it. I have a vlog documenting my experience with it
📚
Hello there hey
Hex was terrible.....such a let down at the end.....
For once I have a criticism about Rachel's video. It is clearly mentioned in the title itself that these books are for advanced users. Why would any beginner take offence to that. But most of the video feels like Rachel is justifying her choice about doing this video. First she justifies it in the intro which itself is long. After that each book recommendation is accompanied by the same kind of justification. Just give recommendations and don't justify your choices so much.
That is a long intro for me... I added a timestamp. I'm a natural apologizer so I'll try to avoid the extra justifications if I make part 2
She's giving her opinion of the books and stating why she feels that way, it's a subjective review/recommendation. That's how many of the book reviews are done on youtube. If you prefer objective recommendations with no explanation or justification, Google is your friend.
Please, please offer up some more original recommendations. I swear you cycle through the same 30 books each year. Perhaps I should just move on from your channel. It’s a shame because I really like you as a reviewer.
Rachels favourites come up very often, your right. But when they fit the theme, it is absolutely ok! She always recommends new and interesting books in a whole array of videos, so I personally do not see any problem here, tbh. On the contrary, my wallet sighs in relief when she mentions a book I already own 😂.
I'm sorry 😞 I knew I was putting out of a lot of favourite content this fall season. I was hoping ppl wouldn't mind
Thanks for the alternative view. I feel pretty bad if I'm not reading fast enough anymore
This is so rude, making video content is so time consuming and a labor of love and obviously there is always something to critique but it also costs nothing to consider how your words would be received before saying them.
What do you recommend? Let's see how ori you are lol
You always have the best recommendations! House of Leaves has been on my tbr forever…one day I will read it. I enjoyed Hex, The Only Good Indians, A Head Full of Ghosts, and The Devil in Silver. I also want to read Red X. 🏠🍂🧙♀️🫎🏀 👻🐃❌
Hi! Big fan of your channel. Just finished The Girl in Red after your recommendation- loved it! And having just watched this video ordered Hex. Mucho gracious!
So happy you loved it