Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Five Unexpectedly Haunting Books You Should Read - Top Ten Tuesday


Top Ten ( or however many I can come up with ; ) Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week there is a new theme, and this week the theme is spooky books.




I don't read very many "scary" books, so this one was tough for me! However, I think that there are definitely elements in books that are terrifying to me, just because they play into my own, sometimes ( almost all of the time ) irrational, fears. Here are five books that scared me - whether they were meant to be haunting or not! Click on the cover of the books to view the book on Amazon, or visit your local library to check these books out!

Behind Closed Doors
B.A. Paris 



This book seriously gave me the chills SO MANY TIMES. I was totally freaked out reading this. It feels so scary and real. Jack, a lawyer, and Grace, his doting wife, appear to be the perfect couple - but behind closed doors they are anything but. Grace, her neighbors and friends come to realize, is never alone. At every turn Jack is by her side, seemingly the perfect partner- but the reader comes to suspect fairly quickly that there is more to the story. "Behind Closed Doors" is terrifying in its possibilities- their story is all too real for many women. Beyond their abusive relationship, Jack's character just really gave me the creeps, so I think it would make a great Halloween read! Read my review here.

Feel like being spooked right now? Read a sample of the book here!

The Age of Miracles

Karen Walker
I'm not even sure that this book is meant to be scary, but it really freaked me out. "The Age of Miracles" follows 11-year-old Julia and her family who wake up one morning to discover that the rotation of the earth has unexpectedly begun to slow. This slowing causes days and nights to grow longer, gravity is also affected, and the environment becomes apocalyptic. Julia faces the struggles and confusion that come with getting older, and the new conditions make those discoveries that much more important and difficult. Books about this stage of an apocalypse freak me out because they feel so real and connected to our day to day life. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more books from this author.

Defending Jacob
William Landay


"Defending Jacob" follows the story of the Barber family after a tragedy strikes their community, a young boy is murdered in the park. Andy Barber, is an upstanding attorney who is shocked when his son, Jacob, is accused of the crime. While Andy believes in Jacob's innocence, as an parent would, the reader is left to wonder if perhaps the evidence suggests otherwise. This book is such a great thrill ride! nd for as many thrills as this book has, it had many creepy moments. It is unsettling to imagine anyone close to you might be capable of committing a terrible crime. I loved this book! Such a page turner!

Brain on Fire
 Susannah Cahalan
I was haunted for weeks after reading this terrifying and true story! "Bran on Fire" follows the story of Susannah Callahan, a young and talented journalist who is inexplicably incapacitated, seemingly overnight as she becomes violent and psychotic. Callahan and her family are in a race against time and medicine as they try to determine why this has happened to Susannah, and how to keep it from happening to someone else. This amazing book will also be a movie soon staring Chloe Grace Moretz and I can't wait!



What books have haunted you? Have you found a book particularly scary, even though it might not have intentionally been written to be haunting? Give me some recommendations below or let me know if you were scared by any of these books, too!

27 comments:

  1. Behind Closed Doors looks so good! :-) I'm intrigued!

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    1. I really enjoyed it chrissireads. It was pretty scary!

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  2. I feel the same way about apocalypse or disaster books - the ones that are set right at the beginning of the disaster are the scariest because they feel the most real, and I sit there wondering what I would do in the same situation.... :S

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  3. I didn't love Brain on Fire the way it felt like everyone else did...I'm usually super into medical mysteries, especially brain stuff, but that one I was super hyped for and fell flat for me :( Do you ever get that "what am I MISSING?" feeling when it seems like everyone but you loved a book?

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    1. Definitely! It's tough when you read a book everyone else loved and walk away feeling like you missed something.

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  4. Behind Closed Doors and The Age of Miracles both sound great, I'm putting them on my to-read list for sure.

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    1. Great! Let me know what you think of them when you finish!

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  5. These are interesting picks for this topic. The story of "Girl On Fire" does sound really scary. Have you read Station Eleven? That's another one that I've been thinking about ever since I've read it.

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    1. I haven't read that yet, but I really want to! Thanks for the reminder!

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    1. I agree, Jennifer. These books definitely spooked me.

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  7. I haven't read any of these, but I definitely want to try Behind Closed Doors.

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    1. It's a great Halloween time read! Let me know what you thought of it when you finish!

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  8. Hi! The Age of Miracles sounds interesting. :) Thanks for stopping by.
    Leslie

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    1. Happy to visit your blog : ) And the Age of Miracles is really interesting! I recommend it.

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  9. Defending Jacob has been on one of my TBR shelves for a while now, and your great description has me wanting to bump it up the list!

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    1. That's awesome, Becca! Thanks! I'd love to hear your thoughts about it when you read it!

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  10. Behind closed doors looks pretty interesting :-)

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  11. Love this! As you saw on my blog, I'm not much of a fan of contemporary (ALSO MY BLOG NAME GIVES IT ALL AWAY SPOILER). But I love how you took the TTT theme and made it your own :)

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  12. I definitely agree with the age of miracles belonging on your list!

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  13. Behind Closed doors and Brain on fire seem really chilling! Gonna add them to my TBR!

    Thanks for visiting Books.Bags.Burgers. Katie :)

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  14. Interesting list. I haven't actually heard of any of these books, but dang they look like they would be really good reads. Might just have to add them to my enormous TBR.

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  15. Great picks for this week! I haven't read any of these books but I am definitely intrigued by your descriptions of them so I may be picking some of them up in the future. :)

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  16. I bought Behind Closed Doors on Audible but haven't listened to it yet. I agree that The Age of Miracles is kinda of freaky! I liked that one. Brain on Fire is on my Wishlist. It would be a frightening read because it's true!

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