May ScaredyCAT - Close to home

There are two ways to complete this:

Read a book that addresses a personal fear:
If you’re afraid of heights, how about a book on climbing.
If you are claustrophobic, how about a tale set in a mine.

Or - if you’re afraid of nothing ;-)

Read a scary book set close to home as in your town or country.

Enjoy!

PS: sorry for the brevity of the introduction - I’m unexpectedly traveling...

Don’t forget the wiki:
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2018_ScaredyKIT#May:_Close_to_Home

Hmm...I have lots of fears to choose from. A couple of my biggest are probably something happening to one of my children (so maybe a book about an abduction or a child being hurt, though I'm not sure I'm wanting to really face that fear by reading about it; depends on the book, I think) and drowning. I can't think of any specific titles for either fear, though. I'm open to recommendations if anyone has any.

The books that would deal with my fears (all too serious) tend to not be scary books, or even books I'd necessarily pick up--for instance, my big fears are deaths of friends and family, cancer, and things of that nature. Not books that would scare me so much as depress me...

So, I'm alternately going to read something by an author of horror fiction who's work I've really enjoyed in the past, and who lives in the state I call home, Florida--I think this will be my definition of fiction close to home anyway. I'll be reading The Lesser Dead by Christopher Buehlman.

>2 virginiahomeschooler: Into The Water, the new book by Paula Hawkins, comes to mind.

I'd like to find a book set in Phoenix or Arizona,even partly, but the only one I can think of is Psycho and I've read it. I'd welcome recommendations. So for now, I think I'll choose a non-fiction, The Sociopath Next Door, because that's a scary thought.

I was waiting on the thread to be posted to explain "close to home"! I was thinking along the lines of a local author or local setting, but I love the idea of a personal phobia!

My biggest phobia is probably heights. At the same time, I kinda want to read a horror book or a thriller, so I'll have to see what's out there.

Alternately, and this is not a common phobia, but driving. I'll have to see if there is a horror or thriller with either of those predominant.

>4 sushicat: That's a good idea. I may go with that.

>7 LibraryCin: Christine? From a Buick 8?

My biggest fear is of slithery things (also called 'danger noodles'), and there is no way I'm reading an entire book about those! I would basically just read the cover and the back of the book, since I normally skip pages in books where slitheries are mentioned.

So, I'll probably try to find something either set in Washington State or by a local author.

>7 LibraryCin: If you haven't read it, Duel by Richard Matheson is a classic. It was made into a TV movie (directed by Steven Spielberg).

>8 virginiahomeschooler: Thank you for the suggestion! I read it way back in high school, but maybe it's worth a reread!

>9 owlie13: Oh, I have liked some of Matheson's books, as well! I'll take a look. :-)

>9 owlie13: I'm with you. No way will I read a book featuring those slithery things. Instead I'll be pursuing a geographic option.

Humm, I'm never sure if my idea fit. My first thought is to read Neurotribes, as one of my biggest fears as a mom is Autism.

However, this is a non-fiction book. So does it even qualify?

>2 virginiahomeschooler: I also have a deep fear of drowning (strange since a lot of my life was spent on the water). I had to stop reading The Perfect Storm when I came to the chapter which described in detail what happens to a person who is drowning. I found it too disturbing.

>14 mamzel: I have no idea where the fear comes from. I can swim perfectly well. But invariably when my face is under water I always have this thought that I won't be able to hold my breath long enough (even if I'm just at the edge of the waterline). It's weird. An extension of it is that I am terrified of driving over long bridges. This is an issue because I live in Southeastern Virginia, and you can't get anywhere without going over a bridge or through a tunnel (don't get me started on tunnels). My fear is that I'm going to somehow just drive off the edge and into the water and drown in my car. It's worse when my kids are in the car with me. Maybe I'm just like Charlie Brown and afraid of everything.

>15 virginiahomeschooler: I have no idea where the fear comes from. I think they're called irrational fears for a reason. I remember when I was a kid I couldn't have a hand or foot sticking out over the edge of my bed. I knew perfectly well there wasn't anything under my bed but that still didn't keep me from straying outside the imaginary wall around my bed.

>16 mamzel: lol I'm 43, and I still get a creepy feeling leaving hands or feet over the edge of the bed for imagining what could be lurking in the 4" gap between my box spring and the floor...irrational is right.

>5 mstrust: The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi is set partially in Phoenix. I really liked that book.

>13 dreamweaver529: I wanted shift the view on scary reads to something a bit different. So to my mind it fits.

>18 sushicat: I not only love to say his name, I love reading his books. The Windup Girl was the first I read and it knocked my socks off!

>18 sushicat: Thanks! I'll see if my library has it.

My unexplained, irrational fear is of spiders so I am going to try to read The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone. I am getting goosebumps just thinking about spiders!

>15 virginiahomeschooler:, I get Really scared going over bridges that go up, to where I can't see the other side that connects to land. I'm somehow always sure that the bridge is just going to stop, somewhere between its highest point and land. I'm okay once I can see the other side. I do all I can to avoid high bridges and overpasses, though, no matter how much it takes me out of my way!

>22 DeltaQueen50: Judy, a fear of spiders is totally rational. All those legs and eyes are for the storage of extra evil. The Hatching was recommended to me recently because of the spider plot, but not only would I not read it, I wouldn't bring it into my house. Good luck to you!

>23 whitewavedarling: I sometimes get that feeling but it usually occurs if I am crossing a drawbridge. Still, for me, better a bridge than a tunnel.

>24 mstrust: I am definitely giving myself a star of bravery for simply bringing a book about spiders into my house!

>22 DeltaQueen50: The title alone is enough to make that one a nope for me. You definitely deserve a star of bravery.

>23 whitewavedarling: most of our bridges are really long with the drawbridge in the middle. So driving over the drawbridge is the worst part for me. You go over this crack and it's like what if this section just dropped out from under me and we plummeted into the water below.

>26 virginiahomeschooler:, I know the exact area you're talking about :) My family's in Richmond, where I grew up, and I have family in southeastern VA---so, yes, absolutely!

>26 virginiahomeschooler: I used to have nightmares about drawbridges as a child. I’m still not sure if I witnessed something bad happening or if it was all made up. Luckily I seem to have grown out of this.

My fear is of heights.

When I was a kid I was scared of a Tsunami hitting our house, we lived near the beach. I don't really think about that much any more. My biggest fear now is if something terrible happened to a family member, especially one of my children. I also have a silly thing about bridges, probably related to how many bridges I've seen blown up in the movies. Plus I'm a bit scared of getting a speeding ticket, but I don't think there are any books about that! That's probably why I drive like a granny.

I may need some suggestions for this category! I have a fear of being trapped in enclosed spaces, such as in a cave or deep under the ocean or in an elevator. I also have a fear of airplane crashes, but I'm not sure I'm willing to read about that. And I have a fear of home invasion/violence against me or my son, but I definitely don't want to read about that. So enclosed spaces--there should be something... Any suggestions?

I've already read The Ruins, which is a good example of the being trapped theme. Also the scene in The Stand where Larry has to go through the tunnel scares me witless.

>30 sturlington: If you haven't read Horrorstor, it has several scenes that involve being/being trapped in tight spaces. I don't have claustrophobia but even I was antsy. Plus it's a good take on the traditional haunted house story.
I see you've already read The Grip Of It with it's closet scene.

>30 sturlington: have you read Sphere by Michael Crichton? Another, although it's a young adult book, is Tunnels. Both made me very uncomfortable in the feeling trapped in a confined space kind of way.

>30 sturlington:, Have you heard of Michael Koryta? I read the first in his thriller series, Last Words, a while ago, and it was Really Good--a 4.5* read for me. It centers on a detective investigating the death of a girl who was pulled from a cave, and a lot of the book revolves around who knows the cave system, why it's been closed for so long, and etc., until eventually of course they have to face the cave itself. It might be a good balance since you wouldn't spend a whole book 'in a cave' :) I've been meaning to get to the sequel for ages, but haven't quite gotten around to it.

At the top of my list of potential reads for this one is Force of Nature by Jane Harper. It is set in Australia (home for me), and is about 5 female workmates going on a team building bush trek but only 4 return.

So, I think I'm going with Under Currents, set in Seattle. It's tagged as a thriller and serial killer mystery. Hope that works!

Thanks, everyone, who gave me suggestions. I know they were good because I'd already read many of them.

I ended up choosing a book off my wishlist tagged "caving" and finished it a bit early: The White Road by Sarah Lotz. This is an uncomfortable book for claustrophobes as it begins underground in Wales, in a cave so dangerous that it has been closed to explorers. Simon is hoping to take pictures of three men who had previously died in the cave to post on a website he is trying to launch, but he and his guide, a surly and creepy alcoholic named Ed, become trapped by sudden flooding, and Ed dies. Simon barely manages to escape but comes out haunted. His next expedition is to Mount Everest, where he again has a near-death experience. I won't say much more so as not to spoil, but I enjoyed this, although Simon is most emphatically not a sympathetic character. The story explores survival in extreme situations, the Third Man syndrome, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and the sense of place in both the caves and on the mountains is excellent.

I have a phobia or at least a strong dislike of bees being in my space, so I am starting the month with The Bees by Laline Paull

My phobia is of moths (I hate even typing the word). I'm thinking of reading Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid if I can bear to hold a book with that word on it.

I haven't joined this challenge but can use this month's choice for the middle Bingo square (Read a CAT).

I've read the non-fiction The Sociopath Next Door for this group, and it's pretty darn scary. The author was on the psychiatric board at Harvard for 25 years and does an excellent job of describing the behavior of the sociopath and case studies.

>39 mstrust: I find sociopaths very frightening as well, especially the idea that we may know one or more and not be aware of it.

Yep, Dr. Stout writes that about 4% of the American population, or 1 in 25, is a sociopath. So if you live in America, you've encountered sociopaths.

Finished reading The Lesser Dead in less than 24 hours. It was so, so, so good... Full review written :)

I completed The Bees by Laline Paull. I have a phobia of bees, there is a small tag of "horror" but really it isn't too scary but there is something happening in the hive and in the environment that is ominous. A lot of what you read here is true about hive life, a lot is imagined/speculative but overall allegory for "difference and racism" in society.

This will make a good choice for "creatures" which I think might be a SFF kitten category coming later in the year.

I tried to read New York 2140, because catastrophic sea level rise caused by global warming is scary and I live near New York, but I couldn't finish it. Kim Stanley Robinson's style is just not my thing, at all.

>44 lavaturtle: I’ve wanted to read his books, but I’m daunted by their size.

I'm reading Dead Mountain - which I picked from a tagmash including mystery and climbing. Not a terribly good fit (there's no real climbing as far as I can tell so far).

I finished my read of The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone for this month's theme. I thought the book was a lot of fun but reading about spiders made me so itchy!

Ended up doing a physical "close to home" one, after all. Set in BC; I'm in Alberta.

Never Let You Go / Chevy Stevens
4.5 stars

Lindsey’s ex-husband, Andrew, has been in jail for the past decade. He was abusive toward Lindsey, and she has since built a new life for her and her daughter, Sophie. Unfortunately when Andrew gets out of jail, he comes back to the town where Lindsey and Sophie live.

I have not yet been disappointed in a Chevy Stevens novel. I found this very fast-paced and suspenseful, and I wanted to keep reading. I listened to the audio, which was very well done; it was read by two different narrators, one for Lindsey and one for Sophie. The book does jump around in time (now and then) and perspective (Lindsey and Sophie). Very very good, in my opinion! There was what I thought of as a coincidence at the end, but without saying too much, it turned out to be planned, so not a coincidence, after all.

I just finished issue #3 of Exiles, whose main plot involves a diabolical threat to New York City.

So, for my fear of drowning, I read Meg, which also would be good for fear of enclosed spaces, darkness, being eaten by large animals... It was a fun, if not very well written, adventure.

I don't really have any current fears or phobias to pick for this challenge, so I decided to use a fear I had as a kid: vampires. I had seen a few minutes of a movie where a woman was attacked by a vampire when I was about 6 or so and it had me terrified. I slept with the covers up over my head for years after that to deter the vampires from wanting to bite my neck :) I read and really enjoyed Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist, 4*.

I thought at first I had no book for this, but then it occurred to me that Les rouges du midi is all about the things I find scary about people: the unbelievable cruelties they inflict on each other in the name of an idea, a flag or a religion. It is a novel of the French Revolution, written by a fervent republican, and it is all black and white. The bloodshed is described in detail, and there is propaganda spouted in terms that send shivers down your spine.

I read Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid for May's "Close to Home" theme. It fills the Read a CAT square of the Bingo card.

As a debut novel, this deserves accolades. The story begins with a murder trial, but who is the guilty party. It's a familiar story of trying to keep up with contemporaries while hiding poverty. The writing is beautiful, the characters believable.

Daru's game of "moth badminton" and the lizard's dinner was enough to unnerve this ScaredyCAT.

Here's another book for claustrophobes: Unbury Carol by Josh Malerman.

Well, who wouldn't be terrified of being buried alive? Carol has a disease that causes her to fall into a coma that mimics death. Her husband decides to take advantage of her condition, put Carol in the ground before she wakes up, and get away with her fortune. This story was a weird Western adventure with more than a touch of horror. It has a fairy-tale-like setting that interested me right away: several towns, each with its own personality, are strung out along the Trail, a dangerous wooded road where outlaws lurk. When Carol's long-lost love learns of her "death," he immediately sets out to rescue her, racing from one end of the Trail to the other with a couple of very bad guys on his heels. But the way this story ends isn't quite what you'd expect. The characters aren't terribly deep, and the book may be a trifle overlong, but I enjoyed this overall--it was something quite different.

I managed to get in one more: The Outsider by Stephen King.

I didn't select this book for this challenge--I just got super excited to get a brand-new Stephen King book and wanted to read it right away! It begins with a horrific child murder, and all the evidence points to an unexpected suspect: a high school teacher, Little League coach, and family man. But after his very public arrest, other contradicting evidence comes to light--it appears that the suspect was in two places at once. This was solid King--a suspenseful plot, a chilling monster, and a band of characters you want to root for, and also perhaps a couple of hundred pages too long. It is less horror and more of a supernatural thriller, and fans of King's Bill Hodges trilogy will be happy that a beloved character from those books makes a reappearance here. The story ends up in a dangerous cave, sparking my claustrophobia yet again--which is how it qualifies for this challenge.