I read The Girl Next Door not fully realizing what it was, and once I found out it was a true story with basically just the names changed, it gave me a real ethical dilemma to finish reading it. I think this book took advantage of the real life victim for sales. And some of the reviews I see by men saying they loved all the horrific stuff makes me feel icky.
The actual events of The Girl Next Door are heartbreaking. Sylvia Likens was just let down by so many people, and a lot of the things she endured were to protect her little sister. Well that was my understanding after learning about the case.
I tried 3 times to write a comment on the film it's just the case details and the fact Ruth got the other kids to do what they did I'll be a long time before I ever rewatch/read it if I do it's to honor Sylvia and the sad reality she never should have had to endure 😣
I've noticed you're using your library a lot more in your videos this year, and I love it! You used to buy quite a lot of your books for videos, and I always got disappointed for you that you spent so much money on books that you didn't always end up liking. But nothing is better than free books from the local library.
I thought "oh no!" when I saw you select The Girl Next Door. I didn't even realize it was a book when I watched the movie adaptation, just that it was based on a true story. I was seriously disturbed. Then I learned about the book and I have not been able to bring myself to read it, as it seems it would be worse than what the film did. Your reaction just solidified that for me.
Omg same. It’s called An American Crime. As Kayla was describing the book I was like wait…is this based on the murder of Sylvia Likens because I’ve literally never been the same since learning about it.
@@alexandracraveiro2091 oh wow! This is not the same one I saw. This one seems to be based on the actual crime while the one I saw was based on the Jack Ketchum novel (that was based on the crime). It sounds equally as disturbing.
I've read "The Girl next door" last year and it was by far the most distrubing book I've ever read. Not only because of the torture p*rn , but that the author decided to sexualize the victims. And in the end it feels like you're supposed to symathise with HIM. A bystander... a participant. Honestly, f**k Jack Ketchum. 🙄
So excited to see "our share of night" reviews pop up in my international fave booktube channels ❤ 🇦🇷 edit: I'm so glad you liked it! It is certainly one of my favourite books of all time since I read it and please give her short stories collections a try.
The daughter became a teacher once she got out. The silver lining people found out she changed her name and they told the school board so obviously she’s no longer a teacher. True crime is in my opinion the most insidious because it’s true. The depths of what people can do to one another is absolutely scary.
I read the true crime novel of what happened to Sylvia Likens and it was way less gratuitous than what Jack Ketchum wrote and that says a lot of if you know the case. I feel like Jack Ketchum did a disservice to Sylvia Likens.
I’ve never touched a Jack Ketchum book because in my mind they’re all overtly disgusting, trauma p0rn and now I know that I was correct lmao I know everyone reads for different reasons but I can’t fathom why people entire taste is the most fuked up thing they can get their hands on. Could never be me🫣 Our Share of Night really intrigues me but idk if I can commit to the thicc boy😂 I loved this vlog!!
Years ago I visited a friend and stayed at her family home before we embarked on a road trip. A beat up copy of The Amityville Horror called to me from a bookcase in the hallway and I sat up reading it all night while listening to the sounds of their old home, because I was too scared to go to bed.
Ahhhhh yes I love when you make horror focused reading vlogs!! 😍 I read The Grip of It years ago, before I was reading a lot of horror and I gave it 3 stars, but after seeing how much you loved it and comparing it to so many of my all time faves I’m thinking maybe I need to reread it?? I think maybe I’d feel different about it now?? Haha
Oh man. Poppy Z Brite was THE defining author of my teen years. I do agree that some of his books have not aged as well as they could, both in the being written in the 90's sense, and the I'm not 15 anymore sense. But my favorite of his by far is Drawing Blood. I read it so many times in high school. It's a haunted house story that's also about hackers, comics, ghosts literal and figurative, finding the effed up people you belong with, and hallucinogens 🙃I still love it as much now as I did then, though I admit I probably can't be objective. It's one of those books that's like worked into the fabric of my DNA or something
The beauty of horror to me and why it is my favorite genre is that it goes well with anything and it can be anything. Like Kayla says herself, it's very personal. Being scared isn't the only deciding factor imo. I do get that it can be frustrating when you are looking for a specific thing, but horror is such a rich genre.
I specifically remember reading The Only Good Indians and having my stomach drop when we first saw the buffalo headed woman through the gaps in the train that was going by. That whole first part of that book honestly really freaked me out.
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno is definitely one of the scariest books I’ve read in recent memory. Not because of the “haunted Alexa” premise (though that was definitely freaky), but because grief horror feels so real to me and very much in the realm of what’s actually possible. That book gave me nightmares about losing people I love. (And to be clear I loved it and it was one of my top books of last year lol.)
I love horror but the girl next door is a no for me. It just exploits the Sylvia Likens case and makes me sick that some man just learned about that case and decided to write trauma porn about it...
me pausing this video to go on a deep dive into the murder of sylvia likens, i’m so disturbed, how the fuck were those sick people let OUT OF PRISON??!!
I screamed NOOOO when you picked up the Girl Next Door. I haven’t read the book but I did watch the movie without knowing anything for a halloween movie marathon one year and holy shit it’s the most traumatize I’ve ever felt by a movie even all these years later I’m repulsed. Fuck that move and fuck the book too (as you said), I would rec to no one ever!! Avoid avoid avoid!!!! Pet Sematary is definitely in my top 10 scariest as well. It’s the book that got my into reading horror and still to this day idk if I’ve read a psychological horror that has gotten into my head and felt so real and so uneasy as this one. Really loved this video tho and I’m so excited to read Our Share of Night!
I just went and read the synopsis of 'The Girl Next Door' because I didn't think I actually want to read it anyway and wanted to see what your reactions were about and WTF! Jesus. Are you okay? I'm sorry you had to read that. I was angry just reading the synopsis.
Negative Space is by FAR the scariest book I've ever read and all the friends I've recommended it to have agreed! Definitely worth checking out imo but I would give the trigger warnings a look first
i’m so glad you included your reactions to exquisite corpse in this video…i was waiting to hear you talk about that one 😂 i made the mistake of reading tender is the flesh and exquisite corpse in the same month a while back and some of those visuals are going to stay with me forever
Thank you for a wonderful video! I have to say that The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher really messed with me. Not so much while reading it, but I think about certain scenes and the whole concept frequently.
@criminolly is doing a disturbing book project and has read the Poppy Z Brite book you read here. He has some interesting things to say about why he wants to read these disturbing books. Although I would never read these books, it's interesting to hear Olly's thoughts on the books. I didn't realize that this author is trans! I don't plan on reading his books, but at least now I can use proper language when and if I talk about them! I found the whole sweat lodge scene in The Only Good Indians very scary! Something about the almost boredom of the unsuspecting group inside, even ignoring signs that something is amiss out of obliviousness, balanced against the threat outside was super scary and creepy to me.
The scariest, most unsettling book I have read was Intensity by Dean Koontz. I read it almost 20 years ago, and I often wonder if it would hold up, but my memory of it is so vivid that I can't make myself reread it. I've read tons of horror, yet this is the book that has stuck with me.
OMG THE TIE DIE OPTIONS! Would defs buy. Also super excited you liked Our Share of Night because I bought it and realized it was so big and have been too intimated to read it - so I'm gonna have to give it a go now!
i Hated The Grip Of It when I read it but I also recommended it to you when I finished it so I was so conflicted on whether or not I wanted you to like it 😂
Watching Kayla read the beginning of Exquisite Corpse "That's about what I remember." You might like Drawing Blood better. It's a haunted house story. Parts haven't aged well, from what I recall from rereading it several years back, but it's more of a standard horror story than a gross out one.
Thank god I watched this or I might have picked up The Girl Next Door with no idea what it was. Horror and thriller books based on true stories always end up feeling very exploitative and do nothing but make me uncomfortable and sad. Very much just not for me.
The girl next door disturbed me to my core and is something that has stuck with me forever but it's not a book I would EVERRRRR recommend to anyone because it's so fucked up.
i believe the real case behind the girl next door, sylvia likens, which took place in my state, also has a movie about it. i want to say it’s called an american crime or something along those lines.
oh my gosh! Father, Son, and Holy Rabbit (I think that's the first story in The Ones that Got Away). It's my all-time favorite short story... I LOVE how the twist happened at the end of that story. I have read it multiple times... it's so messed up and left me feeling so creeped out. I'm sad you didn't like it very much!! :)
As a horror reader I love this concept. I often have a hard time thinking of a book that really scared me, other than Wounds by Nathan Ballingrud. Looking back, a lot of the scares were situational. Reading Salem’s Lot at 3am when I was 14 and imagining the Glick boy scratching at my screen. That sort of thing :-) Also, I highly recommend the Talking Scared podcast. Each week he interviews a different author about their upcoming book. I have found some great reads from here, and it has overloaded my TBR.
My go-to whenever I have to recommend horror (not a genre I'm well versed in) is The Call by Peadar O'Guilin. It takes place in Ireland, it has body horror and just a generally unsettling vibe to it. It is YA, but it feels grittier than most other YA's I've read, because while the protagonists are teenagers, they are trying to survive in this horrific world.
I think of myself as someone who only in recent years realized that I read and enjoy things from the horror genre. Watching this video reinforced for me the understanding that I only like certain kinds of horror, and I'm not at all interested in reading anything close to real life scenarios. Give me fantasy, ghosts, haunted houses, unreliable characters... I hadn't heard of When the Reckoning Comes and grabbed it on sale for my Kindle - thanks.
I've had Our Share of Night on my TBR for a few months now and I think I might actually check out the audiobook version because I'm still super interested but am afraid if I try to read it physically I'll not get through it 😅 but honestly I'm always trying to figure out what on my TBR I want to do audio version instead on so I'm glad you read & discussed this one!!
I watched the movie An American Crime (also based on the murder of Sylvia Likens), and cried about it for days. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to read a piece of fiction based on it. So horrifying.
I know you don't do true crime but I'd still highly recommend The Monster of Florence because it's more about the wacky mystery of the case than the actual murders. It had a lot to say about police and politics and journalism. Just a strangely fantastic read. I reccomend the audiobook as well.
I've seen that Stephen Graham Jones book at a local book store (Ontario based). I'd recommend them if you are ever looking for horror, fantasy and sci Fi that isn't super popular. They also have a lot of Canadian authors stuff if that's interesting. They are Baka Phoenix (they ship to other places in Canada)
I listened to the audiobook of this and there is a specific part where the narrator changes voices THAT SHOOK ME to my core lol. Thats a 5 star book for me!
I work in the "true crime" field as a forensic interviewer, and sometimes I've just hit my limit of hearing about depravity. I absolutely can not read fictionalized work about SA, murder, trafficking, torture, etc. I spend 5-7 days a week listening to those stories in person and I just can't bring it home with me. I can very much appreciate a well rounded nonfic such as Know My Name or What Is A Girl Worth, but when it's fictional, I can't stomach it because it feels like the author is creating more victims (albeit fictional) when there's already plenty
I also found House at the Bottom of the Lake really unsettling, and The Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires gave me nightmares. I'm even more intrigued to read When the Reckoning Comes now!
A book I loved that gave me the creepy crawlies was You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann. It's a tiny little book about a haunted (?) house (?) that I should not have read while housesitting alone in the dark.
One of my fav SGJ short stories is one about a book club reading a short story by Stephen king and a man shows up who is eerily similar to the main villain of the king short story.
The Return is one of the few books that's given me physical chills. But there's a specific things that happen and it's something that I have reoccurring nightmares about and it's just always stuck with me. So I love it. But I read cackle and has such a different tone and hated it. So now I don't know if I should read the 3rd one.
My vote for scariest shock value horror goes to Woom by Duncan Ralston. It’s blurbed as an extreme horror and it definitely is. It’s sort of told in a short story format so definitely a quick read. My recommendations for an unsettling atmosphere with beautiful writing are Our Wives Under the Sea (which you loved) and Motherthing (which has some themes you don’t usually enjoy).
I never heard of the girl next door but by the first description I could already tell which story it was based on :( yeah wouldn't want to be in that mindset either.. hope you're feeling better now!!
I read The Girl Next Door in middle school having NO IDEA what I was getting into. I remember crying and having nightmares. So I echo your thoughts, F that book.
I’m going to read The Night Prowler by Jon Athan. Horror is one of the hardest things to write because we all have different perspectives on what is scary. Is there enough macabre, or blood, grossness……etc. It’s so vague. Last year one of my favorites was The Omen. It was written after the movie was made. I thought it was great. It was nostalgic because I saw it as a kid. Maybe I was 10. Revisiting it in book form was good. I thought really disturbing but in a what is wrong with you sort of way.
I've listened to podcasts and videos of the real case behind The Girl Next Door. It's absolutely horrific. I would not be able to read the book, I cried enough listening to what happened in that.platform.
A book sometimes compared with The Girl Next Door is Let's Go Play at the Adams' by Mendal Johnson. This book was published in 1974 but went out of print for 40 years. it only came back into print a few years ago (2020, I think.) It's speculated that both are based on the Sylvia Likens true crime but GND is more direct whereas LGPATA is a looser adaptation, even only inspired by the case. In a sentence LGPATA is about an extended babysitting job gone horribly wrong. Despite it being more of a slow-burn I found LGPATA a more powerful story. The first half of the book spends time in each of the 6 character's heads. Read it last year and it still haunts me. GND was rough, but the other is rougher in my opinion. So I recommend it with caution. Beware of reviews as some have spoilers without warning.
Re: the authors collaborating and having relationships, I remember in Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts there is a character called Stephen Graham Jones, haha.
I think The Girl Next Door was the same true crime story the movie An American Crime was based on. It was awful, and traumatizing to watch. I watched it when I was younger, not knowing what I was getting into. I would never watch it again. That woman was evil.
Do I already have a crew neck and a mug? Yes. Did I immediately order the tie dye shirt? Also yes lol. That snow cone color is so cute! Also... Oof I'm familiar with the real case The Girl Next Door is inspired by and I would never read that, it's so sad. 😢
So Gavin read The Girl Next Door sometime last year and he said it was based on real events so the dumbass that I am went to read all about the real life events and that was a terrible mistake. It left me feeling so angry and upset learning about what really happened to that poor girl and that so many people allowed it to go on for so long and actively participated in it. I will never read that book or watch the film because the real events have traumatized me enough.
I had the same experience when I read The Girl Next Door. I found myself questioning the author and his motives for writing the story and I felt conflicted about that judgement because it’s based on a true story, but also, who am I to judge an author based on the darkness of their story? As someone who likes dark stories and can acknowledge that writers exploring that darkness is literally what is asked of them, I was questioning myself too. 💀 🤦🏼♀️
It has been years since I read this book and it still haunts me. I actually gave this book away immediately after finishing in because it just felt haunted 😂
I've read the Exquisite Corpse when I was like 14-15 and I have 2 thoughts: 1. I'm so glad I don't remember a single thing from that book from what you've said, it's disgusting 2. I have no idea why I've read such a book that young when even back then horror and gore stuff weren't my thing (still isn't 15 years later)
I'm don't read a lot of horror, mostly thrillers. The scariest book I've ever read was probably Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. The descriptions of the murder in that book were horrifying and still stick with me. I will also say the rat scene in The Southern Book Club's guide to slaying vampires was so disgusting to me.
Kayla very random but i need to hear yours and robs new ranking of the scream series again now 6 is out! You both share similar thoughts on movies as me so you've saved me alot of money example being that awful cabin one recently that people should not pay to see😅
If you haven't already, check out the podcast interview with Mariana Enriquez on Between the Covers with David Naimon. It gives INCREDIBLE insight into the book, the author, Latin American horror in general, and so much more. In fact, if you don't listen to Between the Covers already, I think you might like it. He interviews a fair number of authors who I think are/would be up your alley!! Thanks for the great video!! 🥰
I read Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean Hicks back in 2020 and I remember thinking “I think Kayla would like this” multiple times! Obviously that was a few years ago at this point so I don’t know if the recommendation would hold up in 2023, but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts if you ever decide to pick it up 😁
There’s a horror novella series you might enjoy. I’ve read two of them so far and loved them both. I’d recommend #thighgap by Chandler Morrison and Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu (and the other books in the series I haven’t yet read). They’re not connected.
Your mention of books-I-would-read-at-14-because-they-seemed-edgy reminded me of the choices I made during sustained silent reading at school… I think I stopped because I got actually ANGRY at Chuck Palahnuik’s Lullaby, core unsettling read for fifteen-year-old me.
Kayla talking about horror for nearly an hour,
say less my schedule has been cleared :)
I read The Girl Next Door not fully realizing what it was, and once I found out it was a true story with basically just the names changed, it gave me a real ethical dilemma to finish reading it. I think this book took advantage of the real life victim for sales. And some of the reviews I see by men saying they loved all the horrific stuff makes me feel icky.
I stg it's always men who drool over the abuse of women in extreme horror books it's WEIRD
The actual events of The Girl Next Door are heartbreaking. Sylvia Likens was just let down by so many people, and a lot of the things she endured were to protect her little sister. Well that was my understanding after learning about the case.
I tried 3 times to write a comment on the film it's just the case details and the fact Ruth got the other kids to do what they did I'll be a long time before I ever rewatch/read it if I do it's to honor Sylvia and the sad reality she never should have had to endure 😣
LETS GOOO *grabs snack and hops in bed*🤩
Same!!!!!
But same lol
same! lol
Exactly what I have done!!! ☺️
I've noticed you're using your library a lot more in your videos this year, and I love it! You used to buy quite a lot of your books for videos, and I always got disappointed for you that you spent so much money on books that you didn't always end up liking. But nothing is better than free books from the local library.
am i too baby to ever read horror? yes
does that mean i won’t watch kayla read and talk about horror for 58 minutes? absolutely not
I thought "oh no!" when I saw you select The Girl Next Door. I didn't even realize it was a book when I watched the movie adaptation, just that it was based on a true story. I was seriously disturbed. Then I learned about the book and I have not been able to bring myself to read it, as it seems it would be worse than what the film did. Your reaction just solidified that for me.
WAIT. Is this the girl next door with Blythe and Blanche that came out in 2007? Omfg that movie made me cry!!!
@@sailingqueen678 That would be the one.
Omg same. It’s called An American Crime. As Kayla was describing the book I was like wait…is this based on the murder of Sylvia Likens because I’ve literally never been the same since learning about it.
@@alexandracraveiro2091 oh wow! This is not the same one I saw. This one seems to be based on the actual crime while the one I saw was based on the Jack Ketchum novel (that was based on the crime). It sounds equally as disturbing.
I've read "The Girl next door" last year and it was by far the most distrubing book I've ever read. Not only because of the torture p*rn , but that the author decided to sexualize the victims. And in the end it feels like you're supposed to symathise with HIM. A bystander... a participant. Honestly, f**k Jack Ketchum. 🙄
So excited to see "our share of night" reviews pop up in my international fave booktube channels ❤ 🇦🇷 edit: I'm so glad you liked it! It is certainly one of my favourite books of all time since I read it and please give her short stories collections a try.
The daughter became a teacher once she got out. The silver lining people found out she changed her name and they told the school board so obviously she’s no longer a teacher. True crime is in my opinion the most insidious because it’s true. The depths of what people can do to one another is absolutely scary.
The real case behind the girl next door is horrendous! I wouldn't read the fiction as I've heard the real story many times.
I read the true crime novel of what happened to Sylvia Likens and it was way less gratuitous than what Jack Ketchum wrote and that says a lot of if you know the case. I feel like Jack Ketchum did a disservice to Sylvia Likens.
I’ve never touched a Jack Ketchum book because in my mind they’re all overtly disgusting, trauma p0rn and now I know that I was correct lmao I know everyone reads for different reasons but I can’t fathom why people entire taste is the most fuked up thing they can get their hands on. Could never be me🫣 Our Share of Night really intrigues me but idk if I can commit to the thicc boy😂 I loved this vlog!!
Years ago I visited a friend and stayed at her family home before we embarked on a road trip. A beat up copy of The Amityville Horror called to me from a bookcase in the hallway and I sat up reading it all night while listening to the sounds of their old home, because I was too scared to go to bed.
Ahhhhh yes I love when you make horror focused reading vlogs!! 😍 I read The Grip of It years ago, before I was reading a lot of horror and I gave it 3 stars, but after seeing how much you loved it and comparing it to so many of my all time faves I’m thinking maybe I need to reread it?? I think maybe I’d feel different about it now?? Haha
Oh man. Poppy Z Brite was THE defining author of my teen years. I do agree that some of his books have not aged as well as they could, both in the being written in the 90's sense, and the I'm not 15 anymore sense. But my favorite of his by far is Drawing Blood. I read it so many times in high school. It's a haunted house story that's also about hackers, comics, ghosts literal and figurative, finding the effed up people you belong with, and hallucinogens 🙃I still love it as much now as I did then, though I admit I probably can't be objective. It's one of those books that's like worked into the fabric of my DNA or something
The beauty of horror to me and why it is my favorite genre is that it goes well with anything and it can be anything. Like Kayla says herself, it's very personal. Being scared isn't the only deciding factor imo. I do get that it can be frustrating when you are looking for a specific thing, but horror is such a rich genre.
I specifically remember reading The Only Good Indians and having my stomach drop when we first saw the buffalo headed woman through the gaps in the train that was going by. That whole first part of that book honestly really freaked me out.
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno is definitely one of the scariest books I’ve read in recent memory. Not because of the “haunted Alexa” premise (though that was definitely freaky), but because grief horror feels so real to me and very much in the realm of what’s actually possible. That book gave me nightmares about losing people I love. (And to be clear I loved it and it was one of my top books of last year lol.)
Same, one of my faves of last year! Very unsettling
I love horror but the girl next door is a no for me. It just exploits the Sylvia Likens case and makes me sick that some man just learned about that case and decided to write trauma porn about it...
me pausing this video to go on a deep dive into the murder of sylvia likens, i’m so disturbed, how the fuck were those sick people let OUT OF PRISON??!!
I screamed NOOOO when you picked up the Girl Next Door. I haven’t read the book but I did watch the movie without knowing anything for a halloween movie marathon one year and holy shit it’s the most traumatize I’ve ever felt by a movie even all these years later I’m repulsed. Fuck that move and fuck the book too (as you said), I would rec to no one ever!! Avoid avoid avoid!!!!
Pet Sematary is definitely in my top 10 scariest as well. It’s the book that got my into reading horror and still to this day idk if I’ve read a psychological horror that has gotten into my head and felt so real and so uneasy as this one.
Really loved this video tho and I’m so excited to read Our Share of Night!
Now this is what I call a Sunday treat!!!
The Girl Next Door is horrible real life situation. It is a movie also. The book gave me nightmares😢
That hot pink sweater is YOUR colour!!! Love the horror content 💕
Been watching your past videos I’ve missed literally all day and then you post?! I LOVE IT!
As a spooky boy this makes my heart so happy ❤️❤️
I just went and read the synopsis of 'The Girl Next Door' because I didn't think I actually want to read it anyway and wanted to see what your reactions were about and WTF! Jesus. Are you okay? I'm sorry you had to read that. I was angry just reading the synopsis.
Negative Space is by FAR the scariest book I've ever read and all the friends I've recommended it to have agreed! Definitely worth checking out imo but I would give the trigger warnings a look first
i’m so glad you included your reactions to exquisite corpse in this video…i was waiting to hear you talk about that one 😂 i made the mistake of reading tender is the flesh and exquisite corpse in the same month a while back and some of those visuals are going to stay with me forever
I've supported your romance era & cozy mysteries, loved the vlogs even though I don't read those genres, but now this one's for me!!!
Thank you for a wonderful video! I have to say that The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher really messed with me. Not so much while reading it, but I think about certain scenes and the whole concept frequently.
@criminolly is doing a disturbing book project and has read the Poppy Z Brite book you read here. He has some interesting things to say about why he wants to read these disturbing books. Although I would never read these books, it's interesting to hear Olly's thoughts on the books. I didn't realize that this author is trans! I don't plan on reading his books, but at least now I can use proper language when and if I talk about them!
I found the whole sweat lodge scene in The Only Good Indians very scary! Something about the almost boredom of the unsuspecting group inside, even ignoring signs that something is amiss out of obliviousness, balanced against the threat outside was super scary and creepy to me.
The scariest, most unsettling book I have read was Intensity by Dean Koontz. I read it almost 20 years ago, and I often wonder if it would hold up, but my memory of it is so vivid that I can't make myself reread it. I've read tons of horror, yet this is the book that has stuck with me.
that dark pink sweater and lip combo is YOUR color girl!
OMG THE TIE DIE OPTIONS! Would defs buy.
Also super excited you liked Our Share of Night because I bought it and realized it was so big and have been too intimated to read it - so I'm gonna have to give it a go now!
Ooo the tye dye turned out so well!
i Hated The Grip Of It when I read it but I also recommended it to you when I finished it so I was so conflicted on whether or not I wanted you to like it 😂
Watching Kayla read the beginning of Exquisite Corpse "That's about what I remember."
You might like Drawing Blood better.
It's a haunted house story. Parts haven't aged well, from what I recall from rereading it several years back, but it's more of a standard horror story than a gross out one.
Horror Rec: The Patient by Jasper DeWitt and Salem's Lot by King
King's novella collection: Different Seasons
I loved The Patient it was so creepy!
Thank god I watched this or I might have picked up The Girl Next Door with no idea what it was. Horror and thriller books based on true stories always end up feeling very exploitative and do nothing but make me uncomfortable and sad. Very much just not for me.
The girl next door disturbed me to my core and is something that has stuck with me forever but it's not a book I would EVERRRRR recommend to anyone because it's so fucked up.
loved the video!! But I got all excited you might finally read The Fisherman 😂😭
Same ! Such a good book
Your hair is always popping but omg the straight hair with this color on you is AMAZING
i believe the real case behind the girl next door, sylvia likens, which took place in my state, also has a movie about it. i want to say it’s called an american crime or something along those lines.
oh my gosh! Father, Son, and Holy Rabbit (I think that's the first story in The Ones that Got Away). It's my all-time favorite short story... I LOVE how the twist happened at the end of that story. I have read it multiple times... it's so messed up and left me feeling so creeped out. I'm sad you didn't like it very much!! :)
I love it when you do crafts or makeup, hair, etc. Vsco girl video of yours is one of my favorite
I also love your experiment videos. You really take things in all aspects. Reading speed one is so good.
As a horror reader I love this concept. I often have a hard time thinking of a book that really scared me, other than Wounds by Nathan Ballingrud. Looking back, a lot of the scares were situational. Reading Salem’s Lot at 3am when I was 14 and imagining the Glick boy scratching at my screen. That sort of thing :-)
Also, I highly recommend the Talking Scared podcast. Each week he interviews a different author about their upcoming book. I have found some great reads from here, and it has overloaded my TBR.
I do enjoy the emoji rating system and your title cards between reads 💖 (always)
My go-to whenever I have to recommend horror (not a genre I'm well versed in) is The Call by Peadar O'Guilin. It takes place in Ireland, it has body horror and just a generally unsettling vibe to it. It is YA, but it feels grittier than most other YA's I've read, because while the protagonists are teenagers, they are trying to survive in this horrific world.
The Call is so good! But my god, some of the scenes with body horror were so messed up. Amazing book, though!
Yes!!!! I don't hear much about this book and I recommend it all the time for horror!!
@@ladystark9652 it's such a good rec! I stumbled upon the audiobook completely randomly, had never heard of it! Do you have any other recs?
HellMouth by Giles Kristian is a great horror novella and Gone to See the River Man! Enjoy
"I cant imagine it getting more shocking"...my face having read this in its entirety patiently awaiting your final thoughts --> 😬
I think of myself as someone who only in recent years realized that I read and enjoy things from the horror genre. Watching this video reinforced for me the understanding that I only like certain kinds of horror, and I'm not at all interested in reading anything close to real life scenarios. Give me fantasy, ghosts, haunted houses, unreliable characters... I hadn't heard of When the Reckoning Comes and grabbed it on sale for my Kindle - thanks.
Have you done a book blog on JUST books about cults? because I'd love to see that
Aww I have missed that screaming girl sound bite!👻
I always feel bad using my library because it doesn't give money to the author, but I also want to support my library. I can't win
9:26 I love that reference from The Mask!🐸🤣
I've had Our Share of Night on my TBR for a few months now and I think I might actually check out the audiobook version because I'm still super interested but am afraid if I try to read it physically I'll not get through it 😅 but honestly I'm always trying to figure out what on my TBR I want to do audio version instead on so I'm glad you read & discussed this one!!
13:59 I loved finding out what Triangle of Sadness meant while watching the movie
Our Share of Night written by Mariana Enriquez.. translated by Megan McDowell.
That one has been on my TBR for a while.. hopefully can read this year!
I watched the movie An American Crime (also based on the murder of Sylvia Likens), and cried about it for days. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever be able to read a piece of fiction based on it. So horrifying.
I know you don't do true crime but I'd still highly recommend The Monster of Florence because it's more about the wacky mystery of the case than the actual murders. It had a lot to say about police and politics and journalism. Just a strangely fantastic read. I reccomend the audiobook as well.
„it’s going well. There’s no plot, NOTHING happens” 😂😂
I've seen that Stephen Graham Jones book at a local book store (Ontario based). I'd recommend them if you are ever looking for horror, fantasy and sci Fi that isn't super popular. They also have a lot of Canadian authors stuff if that's interesting. They are Baka Phoenix (they ship to other places in Canada)
Oh I'm soooo ready for this!
I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Ian Reid is a book I remember being genuinely scary reading it the first time and I loved it!!
I listened to the audiobook of this and there is a specific part where the narrator changes voices THAT SHOOK ME to my core lol. Thats a 5 star book for me!
I work in the "true crime" field as a forensic interviewer, and sometimes I've just hit my limit of hearing about depravity. I absolutely can not read fictionalized work about SA, murder, trafficking, torture, etc. I spend 5-7 days a week listening to those stories in person and I just can't bring it home with me. I can very much appreciate a well rounded nonfic such as Know My Name or What Is A Girl Worth, but when it's fictional, I can't stomach it because it feels like the author is creating more victims (albeit fictional) when there's already plenty
I also found House at the Bottom of the Lake really unsettling, and The Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires gave me nightmares. I'm even more intrigued to read When the Reckoning Comes now!
A book I loved that gave me the creepy crawlies was You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann. It's a tiny little book about a haunted (?) house (?) that I should not have read while housesitting alone in the dark.
Probably the most excited I've ever been to watch a booktube video 👀
I found the ones that got away underwhelming. I feel like his other collection is better: all the people's lights are off.
One of my fav SGJ short stories is one about a book club reading a short story by Stephen king and a man shows up who is eerily similar to the main villain of the king short story.
The Return is one of the few books that's given me physical chills. But there's a specific things that happen and it's something that I have reoccurring nightmares about and it's just always stuck with me. So I love it. But I read cackle and has such a different tone and hated it. So now I don't know if I should read the 3rd one.
My vote for scariest shock value horror goes to Woom by Duncan Ralston. It’s blurbed as an extreme horror and it definitely is. It’s sort of told in a short story format so definitely a quick read.
My recommendations for an unsettling atmosphere with beautiful writing are Our Wives Under the Sea (which you loved) and Motherthing (which has some themes you don’t usually enjoy).
Sucks that you're feeling sick, but I do highly recommend the new Scream movie. I thought it was super fun.
I never heard of the girl next door but by the first description I could already tell which story it was based on :( yeah wouldn't want to be in that mindset either.. hope you're feeling better now!!
I read The Girl Next Door in middle school having NO IDEA what I was getting into. I remember crying and having nightmares. So I echo your thoughts, F that book.
I’m going to read The Night Prowler by Jon Athan. Horror is one of the hardest things to write because we all have different perspectives on what is scary. Is there enough macabre, or blood, grossness……etc. It’s so vague.
Last year one of my favorites was The Omen. It was written after the movie was made. I thought it was great. It was nostalgic because I saw it as a kid. Maybe I was 10. Revisiting it in book form was good. I thought really disturbing but in a what is wrong with you sort of way.
Totally sold me on the merch with the tie dye idea.
I've listened to podcasts and videos of the real case behind The Girl Next Door. It's absolutely horrific. I would not be able to read the book, I cried enough listening to what happened in that.platform.
A book sometimes compared with The Girl Next Door is Let's Go Play at the Adams' by Mendal Johnson. This book was published in 1974 but went out of print for 40 years. it only came back into print a few years ago (2020, I think.) It's speculated that both are based on the Sylvia Likens true crime but GND is more direct whereas LGPATA is a looser adaptation, even only inspired by the case. In a sentence LGPATA is about an extended babysitting job gone horribly wrong. Despite it being more of a slow-burn I found LGPATA a more powerful story. The first half of the book spends time in each of the 6 character's heads. Read it last year and it still haunts me. GND was rough, but the other is rougher in my opinion. So I recommend it with caution. Beware of reviews as some have spoilers without warning.
Sorry if this got posted twice. i did not intend that.
You were THIS close to reading The Fisherman 😭😭😭😭😭😭
Love the straight hair! (Love the video too)
Re: the authors collaborating and having relationships, I remember in Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts there is a character called Stephen Graham Jones, haha.
I think The Girl Next Door was the same true crime story the movie An American Crime was based on. It was awful, and traumatizing to watch. I watched it when I was younger, not knowing what I was getting into. I would never watch it again. That woman was evil.
Do I already have a crew neck and a mug? Yes. Did I immediately order the tie dye shirt? Also yes lol. That snow cone color is so cute!
Also...
Oof I'm familiar with the real case The Girl Next Door is inspired by and I would never read that, it's so sad. 😢
So Gavin read The Girl Next Door sometime last year and he said it was based on real events so the dumbass that I am went to read all about the real life events and that was a terrible mistake. It left me feeling so angry and upset learning about what really happened to that poor girl and that so many people allowed it to go on for so long and actively participated in it. I will never read that book or watch the film because the real events have traumatized me enough.
I had the same experience when I read The Girl Next Door. I found myself questioning the author and his motives for writing the story and I felt conflicted about that judgement because it’s based on a true story, but also, who am I to judge an author based on the darkness of their story? As someone who likes dark stories and can acknowledge that writers exploring that darkness is literally what is asked of them, I was questioning myself too. 💀 🤦🏼♀️
So sad you skipped Last Days, that’s my favorite horror book, I think you would really like it! ❤ great video as usual!
I’m surprised you haven’t read The Ruins by Scott Smith! It’s an amazing horror novel. I can not recommend enough.
It has been years since I read this book and it still haunts me. I actually gave this book away immediately after finishing in because it just felt haunted 😂
@@Charlotte-ud2to right!! I read mainly horror and The Ruins is definitely one of the scariest!
I’m so ready for this! ❤
With warmer weather coming a recommendation I have as a horror fan is reading The Ruins and then watching the movie. ❤
I've read the Exquisite Corpse when I was like 14-15 and I have 2 thoughts:
1. I'm so glad I don't remember a single thing from that book from what you've said, it's disgusting
2. I have no idea why I've read such a book that young when even back then horror and gore stuff weren't my thing (still isn't 15 years later)
I'm don't read a lot of horror, mostly thrillers. The scariest book I've ever read was probably Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. The descriptions of the murder in that book were horrifying and still stick with me. I will also say the rat scene in The Southern Book Club's guide to slaying vampires was so disgusting to me.
Oh boy I can already tell from the intro that you read the girl next door 🫢
Awesome vlog! ❤
Was really fun to watch. Think the first two books will really be for me, so looking those up
Totally off topic but your hair is stunning!
Kayla very random but i need to hear yours and robs new ranking of the scream series again now 6 is out! You both share similar thoughts on movies as me so you've saved me alot of money example being that awful cabin one recently that people should not pay to see😅
If you haven't already, check out the podcast interview with Mariana Enriquez on Between the Covers with David Naimon. It gives INCREDIBLE insight into the book, the author, Latin American horror in general, and so much more. In fact, if you don't listen to Between the Covers already, I think you might like it. He interviews a fair number of authors who I think are/would be up your alley!! Thanks for the great video!! 🥰
I read Break the Bodies, Haunt the Bones by Micah Dean Hicks back in 2020 and I remember thinking “I think Kayla would like this” multiple times! Obviously that was a few years ago at this point so I don’t know if the recommendation would hold up in 2023, but I’d be interested to hear your thoughts if you ever decide to pick it up 😁
There’s a horror novella series you might enjoy. I’ve read two of them so far and loved them both. I’d recommend #thighgap by Chandler Morrison and Bound Feet by Kelsea Yu (and the other books in the series I haven’t yet read). They’re not connected.
I’ve been wanting to get my hands on these for a while now! Did you buy physical copies?
@@TynaTheReader yeah! I have physical copies of the two I’ve read. They’re really good and so cute on my bookshelf
i just read the new eric larocca collection as the old edition this month, and it took me ages to put two and two together too lmao
Your mention of books-I-would-read-at-14-because-they-seemed-edgy reminded me of the choices I made during sustained silent reading at school… I think I stopped because I got actually ANGRY at Chuck Palahnuik’s Lullaby, core unsettling read for fifteen-year-old me.