Author: Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

AUGUST 13: CAN BOOKS BE EFFECTIVE HORROR? (DANI)

Prompts: Some people love to be scared – others not so much. When it comes to reading do you think books can be scary? Are you less scared because there are no pictures? Do you feel other mediums such as film are more effective for horror? Have you ever been kept up at night by a book? 

Welcome everyone to another Let’s Talk Bookish, a meme here at DTRH hosted by Rukky and Dani (linked above!). Please follow them over on their blogs if you enjoy their content. Without further ado, let’s begin.

Horror books. Hmmm. While I love my thrillers and mysteries, I have to say I don’t generally consider myself to be a fan of horror, there are obviously unavoidable horror elements in these dark genres. I definitely think books can be scary, very scary. Although usually in thrillers, the emotional suspense is what makes it exciting, not necessarily horror components. That being said I have read some very dark and graphic thrillers that I wasn’t the biggest fan of.

It is arguable that books aren’t as scary because if you do get scared you could always just close and put down the book and look away, unlike a horror movie. On the other hand, the imagination is a very powerful thing, and even after I have put a book down, I can often feel the lingering emotions of imagining and visualizing what I have just read.

I think film does lend itself to very graphic and intense imagery, as that is literally what the medium was designed for. However, that isn’t to take away from the power of effective writing. The way a book can take me through an emotional rollercoaster page after page is honestly something far more impressive than any movie has reached before. Let me know in the comments below if you feel the same way about books vs. movies.

In the past when I was younger I have definitely been spooked by books. Not even really that scary of a book too. It was one of the Goosebumps series in which there is a haunted house I believe, and for some reason that really gave me a fright when I was younger. I think it was called Welcome to the Dead House. I don’t even want to look it up haha! But ever since becoming an adult and enjoying thrillers and mysteries, I’ve never been kept up at night or spooked by a book. I have read some books that made me cringe in disgust though – but I try to avoid those.

What do you all think about horror in books? Never as heavy as a movie? Or perhaps your own imagination in scarier than any CGI reality a movie could make?

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.

AUGUST 6: WHAT IS YOUR POSTING TYPE? (SUGGESTED BY NICOLE @ THOUGHTS STAINED WITH INK)

Prompts: Everyone blogs differently, how do you do it? Do you schedule posts long before they’re published, how long? Do you write several drafts of a post and edit them, or do you not edit at all? Perhaps you simply write a post and put it up for the world to see immediately? There’s no right or wrong answer!

Welcome to August everyone, and a brand new month of LTB topics, hosted by Rukky and Dani! If you haven’t already, please follow them over there on their blogs for their content as well, I have linked them in the quote above. If you have any LTB topics you’d like to see, you can also suggest it over on Rukky’s blog. Today’s topic is certainly a personal one, and I’d love to see what other bloggers have to say about their own style!

Here at DTRH we tend to try and have scheduled posts, but more often like a weekly rotation, rather than anything months ahead of time. We do try and discuss and check in with each other every so often to touch base and plan ahead. Since we both have busy lives, it’s just easier to stick to something with a bit more structure, just so that the blog could semi-run itself, even without much communication (should we be too busy to do so).

I personally write a draft, and try to edit it while I still remember the book that I’m reviewing. Or if it’s a discussion post, I will often write and edit it at the same time. I don’t usually like coming back and re-reading my post, wondering what I was thinking and then trying to edit it again. For me, it’s a bit more of a time-sink than I’d like it to be. I do occasionally gloss over a post before posting if I have written the draft a long time ago, just to see if anything is amiss. Other than that though, nope! Just a one time write and edit.

I rarely write anything spontaneously, although perhaps if there’s a pertinent world issue or something, there are times where it might come up. I am not against spontaneous posts, but I much prefer to work on a schedule, just so that I can plan ahead with my time. That being said, sometimes I’ll have more energy to write a review or a post ahead of time, so I’ll “spontaneously” write it, but not post it until an appropriate time. Does that count?

What about you all? Do you work like an engine and constantly churn out posts? Or perhaps have spurts of energy to create? I’d like to hear about it, whatever it is!