✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.

This week’s topic is:

Oh, the Horror

Suggested by: Snapdragon @ Snapdragon Alcove
Prompts: Do you read horror? What do you think of when you hear the word horror? Are there any books you read that are not practically horror but have some horror element in them?

Do you read horror?

I make no secret of the fact that I’m a total scaredy cat. My overactive imagination does a bang up job of bringing to life all the worst horrors I could ever imagine, so for my own well-being, I tend to stay away from all things horror, especially when it involves anything related to the paranormal. That said, I’ve dabbled in the genre and picked up a few horror books over the years—much to my future self’s dismay when I end up not being able to sleep at night, panic flailing at the slightest sounds, and taking minuscule sips of water after 8pm so I won’t risk having to go to the bathroom late at night when I’m home in my three-story house all alone. 😮‍💨

When I say that my imagination takes me to the worst places, I really do mean it, lol.

Lately though, I’ve been finding myself intrigued by several horror titles. I recently read We Used to Live Here and some of the imagery certain scenes in that book conjured up still, unfortunately, live rent free in my head. 🙃 Despite being scared witless for much longer than I care to admit, I actually loved that book. It was so weird and twisted and I still think about how it ended and what all of it meant. Other books in the genre that I’m surprisingly keen to give a try are Vampires of El Norte, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, and more books by SGJ (I have a few on my TBR).

What do you think of when you hear the word horror?

The paranormal—all things to do with spirits, ghosts, hauntings, possessions, and the like are top of mind when I hear the word horror. Gothic imagery and creepily eerie settings that cause chills to race through your whole body. There’s also the monstrously human things like serial killers, stalkers, and psychopaths and nightmare fuel a la the Jigsaws, Leatherfaces, and Freddies of the (real and imaginary) world. Body horror and gore are also things that come to mind when I think of the word horror and it always does make me feel queasy while reading about it.

Honestly though, I don’t think the latter elements get to me nearly as much as the former. My sister often says to me that humans are scarier than any entity that you can’t see or touch, but my wildly creative imagination begs to differ because absolutely not! 🤣 No, the paranormal aspects are what always get to me whenever it comes to horror and it’s the main reason why I stay away from so much of it. Even if it doesn’t end up being a massive part of the story (and thus not mentioned in blurbs and what not), if the scene or moment is described vividly enough, it will stick in my head and my imagination will run with it. 😅

When I think of horror, these are some of the books that come to mind—I’ve read a few, but most are still on my TBR so I’ve only heard about the horror elements.

Are there any books you read that are not practically horror but have some horror element in them?

Probably unsurprisingly, I can’t really think of many titles at the moment. 🫣 Most recently, I read Strange Pictures by Uketsu that had a few elements of (human) horror to it, but for the most part, I think it fell more into the psychological thriller/mystery category… I do recall reading other books that were not categorized as horror (or at least, I’m not sure whether they were classified as such or not) but the first that came to mind was the 2025 release: Unhallowed Halls. It had all the hallmarks of classic horror, I think. From vengeful spirits, gore, body horror… It was dark!

Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽

---

Leyre @ Read You Leyre
Tiffany @ Romantasy Life
Elle @ Unwrapping Words
Yolanda @ Past Midnight
Annemieke @ A Dance With Books
Raji @ Worlds Unlike Our Own
Abyssal Librarian
Rachael @ The Green Tea Librarian
Snapdragon @ Snapdragon Alcove

---

If I’ve missed your post this week, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments, and I’ll add you to this week’s list of community posts ASAP!

Do you read horror? What do you think of when you hear the word horror? What are some of your favourite horror books (maybe even some that aren’t *so* scary that a curious scaredy like me could even try it!)?

• Follow me on Goodreads!
• Follow me on Bluesky
• Follow me on Instagram!
• Follow me on Twitter!