Books That Scare Me | TBR Chronicles

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They sit on my shelves, looming over me: the books that scare me. Some of them are huge, some are anticipated reads, and some are promising to wreck me. Whatever the reason, sometimes books are terrifying! It is those books in particular that tend to stay on my giant TBR for years and years. So in today’s TBR Chronicles post, let’s talk about the books that scare me!

The Poppy War – R. F. Kuang

First on the list is The Poppy War. Not only is this a fairly big book, but it’s also historical (fantasy) fiction and I have been warned many times that it’s going to ruin me.

Now, I am always up for a little bit of ruination. I do like crying over books. But honestly, I’ve always felt unprepared to dive into this series. I know absolutely nothing about the historical events this is referencing and it’s been a while since I read either epic fantasy or anything historical fiction adjacent.

Additionally, I’m not doing so hot mentally right now…so reading a book about the horrors and trauma of war probably isn’t a great life choice. But I promise, one day I’ll give this series a chance. For now, it’s just going to be one of those books that scare me.

The Five – Hallie Rubenhold

We continue with one of the books in my death books collection! To be honest, a lot of them scare me for various reasons. Sometimes the notion of having to face my own relationship with death and grief is scary, okay? And big nonfiction books are terrifying all in their own way.

This is the category The Five belongs to in my brain. It’s chunky nonfiction and honestly, who knows if I have the brain cells for that these days.

Bridge of Clay – Markus Zusak

This book is big, yes, but the reason it scares me is another one. I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak is one of my favourite books of all time. It was incredibly formative for me and for years it was the book I gave to all my friends. It is also the only book by Zusak that I have read.

I got Bridge of Clay for Christmas the year it came out…and haven’t touched it since. Sure, I’m scared because it’s a big hardback and my wrists are crying at the thought of holding it. But I’m most definitely also worried I won’t like it. It also seems like a pretty weird book (I think it’s technically literary fiction?) and I’m worried I won’t “get it”. Does anyone else ever worry about feeling stupid when reading? Because apparently, I do.

You’ve Reached Sam – Dustin Thao

All of my friends were crying over this book. And as someone with a deep interest in books about death and grief who also immediately cries when thinking about losing someone…this book scares me.

Maybe reading it and sobbing uncontrollably is going to be cathartic. Maybe it’s a terrible experience. Either way, one of these days I’m facing my fear and I’ll read this book.

There’s a part of me that hopes it won’t be that bad and I’ll cry like the women in the movies: beautiful and dignified. Unfortunately, I usually sit firmly on the “snotty nose and breathing through sobs” end of the crying scale. Which is a deeply unpleasant experience, let me tell you.

But I am also incredibly intrigued by this book and I just know that if I give it a chance, it could be something really special!

The Drowning of Arthur Braxton – Caroline Smailes

I briefly talked about this book in my The Oldest Books On My TBR post and yup, still haven’t read it yet!

At this point, I think I’m scared of the fear itself. Why on earth have I still not read this book? What about it is so unapproachable to me? Am I worried about being disappointed?

I have a feeling that this book is going to stay unread for a while longer. But maybe I should take away its power and simply read it, preferably in an unexciting place like Ikea.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars – Christopher Paolini

This book is a chunky boi. The audiobook clocks in at over 32 hours. Yeah, that was the face I made too when I read that number.

Don’t get me wrong, I am both a lover of sci-fi and of audiobooks…but this has earned its place on the list of books that scare me. I’ve been avoiding this book for so long, I don’t even remember what it’s about!

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is definitely one of those books that I worry about being too stupid for. Which is such a silly fear because I don’t have to “understand” every book! And just because my brain isn’t suited to the style or content of every book doesn’t mean I am any less of a reader. Besides, I haven’t even started the damn thing so I really can’t know how I get along with it.

Maybe I’ll try to do a mini-readathon this year and tackle all of these scary books.

Forever Red – Margaret Stohl

This might seem like an odd choice, a Marvel YA novel on this list of otherwise objectively scary books? Listen, I love Black Widow. She is one of my favourite characters of all time. So much so, that I talked about her in one of my final exams.

When I found out there were official novels featuring her, I was so excited! But with excitement comes the inevitable possibility of disappointment. And trust me, Marvel has disappointed me enough with their treatment of Natasha. So I’m really not ready to be disappointed again!

However, I am currently working on a small little fanfiction project featuring Black Widow. Because while I doubt that I’ll ever be able to write an official Marvel Black Widow novel (honestly a true dream), I might as well become a professional Black Widow fanfiction writer. The things I do to procrastinate uni work…

The Things We Don’t See – Savannah Brown

And finally, The Things We Don’t See. Savannah Brown’s debut novel The Truth About Keeping Secrets is one of my all-time favourite books. So naturally, I’m a little scared to read her next book!

I’m also still waiting for the perfect time to read this! Which, speaking from experience, is never going to come. But hey, sometimes a book seems to demand a particular time of year or mood to read it, right?

I have been on a bit of a YA thriller binge recently so maybe (and just maybe), I can use that momentum to finally read this book too!

Let’s Chat!

And those are some of the books that scare me! Please tell me I’m not the only one with a list like this. Thanks so much for reading! And as always, if there’s a prompt for a future TBR Chronicles post you have in mind, please let me know!

💀 What’s a book that scares you?

💀 Do you have a plan to tackle these scary books?

I hope you have a lovely day,

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