13 more disturbing books

[@eriebeverly]

"Biologically implausible" is the best catchphrase for a lot of extreme horror. Here is to you finding some great reads in the rest of the books.

[@Aslowfade]

There is a film made in 1971 of Johnny Got His Gun Directed by the author with Donald Sutherland and Timothy Bottoms. Might be worth tracking down.

[@gracewinchester-baggins4205]

Pretty Girls is one of my favorite Crime Books. I love Karin Slaughter. False Witness is a pretty disturbing and gripping Crime Thriller as well. If you want to finish this project, but still want to read it, it is Crime. That should fit into the Crime part of ‘Crime, Pulp, Horror, that kind of thing.’

[@BigDog366]

Another excellent vid. Mo Hayder's Jack Caffery novel Birdman is the 1st in a series of seven. I've read the first four and you've now just reminded me that I need to get the next three! They are all just as good as Birdman. I hate losing track of a series I'm following... so thanks!

[@Greencava11]

I have the last two they were given to me would you say I definitely need to read the earlier ones or can get away with catching up at a later date ?

[@elliyo4286]

You talking about books always makes me feel so excited for books in general :D I'm looking forward to the last books in this series! ^-^

[@Momba_Jules]

I love this series.. its actually what made me find your channel. I can’t wait for your final ranking video!

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you! Hopefully I’ll get to it before too much longer!

[@MarilynMayaMendoza]

Hi Olly, I’m a wimp, but have recently read a disturbing mostly nonfiction book, “closing time” the true story of the good bar murders. Unlike the original looking for Mr. Goodbar, which I found disturbing when I read it, this one, because it was true, was chilling. The author focuses on the killer instead of the victim, which I usually don’t like.but the author explains that the victims family wouldn’t talk to her so she relied on her friends and newspaper accounts at the time. I was in New York at the time of this very notorious murder of.Roseann Quinn so it was doubly disturbing to me, Truman, Capote said it was a literary masterpiece. The author Lacy Fosbourg passed away. Sorry for the long comment. Aloha.

[@kevinjones4808]

Your analysis is wonderfully articulate. You make me feel like I’m part of the illiterati.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you

[@dmitriguzhel9515]

Thank you for a great video. There’s one thing that really disturbed me while listening, and I’m only saying it because I’m going through it myself now. I’m worried about the way you sound. Please, check your sinuses. Something is definitely wrong there, unless you are just having a plain cold while filming (in which case, I apologize)

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Thank you! I do have persistent sinus issues

[@dmitriguzhel9515]

@@CriminOllyBlog I have the same. Going for a surgery this year. Best wishes to you, man

[@ohitbe3616]

Really love these videos been laid up on the couch for a few days with Flu watching them

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Hope you’re feeling better soon!

[@BlueEyedMatt42]

Your mustache is coming along nicely! I finally finished The Reddening, and quite enjoyed it.

[@GentleReader01]

Olly, do you have any thoughts at this point on story length and effectiveness? Are you finding more short stories grabbing you, or novellas, or novels? Or is the best stuff spread all through the lengths like scattered viscera? :)

[@captain07234]

I thought I was the only peson who'd read A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts. I read it in a collection years ago, and it stayed with me for a long while. I wanted to read more from Charles Birkin but as hard as his work is to find in the UK, it is impossible to find here in the US.

[@Marylily2]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- you really must read Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes! 😍 No, it’s probably not as disturbing as Notice by Heather Lewis, but it’s certainly a horrifying novel. Another very different one is Out of the Dark by Linda Caine and Robin Royston. That’s a fantastic read so well written, very gripping and extremely disturbing in its own way. No one has heard of it though!

[@StuckLikeCement]

Dead Inside made me so uncomfortable! I agree that extreme horror can be a bit much and unrealistic at times, but I recommend Roe v. Wade by Matt Shaw…it was definitely a bit too close for comfort and I stared at the wall for a good 20 minutes after finishing the book.

[@CinePhill]

Catching up on you videos and loving them as always mate. Sounds like I need to read The Pillowman, big fan of McDonagh. Reminds me from the description of a very short Pinter play I saw performed by him called One For The Road that chilled me to the bone! 30 pages max and I had to order it from my local bookshop 20 plus years ago as a script for theatre products. Sure it’ll be collected now and the Pinter performance was on BBC4 many moons ago.

[@billfreeman5914]

I read Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. I expect you’ll be fine with it (and probably not especially disturbed) but it convinced me not to read any more Slaughter.

[@michaelconnor3128]

I came to the exact same conclusion too.

[@alisonmercer5946]

r . Omg I read that book beuxae I was trying to remember the name of a book about this guy who kidnaps a lady and he collects butterflies and someone thought that was it. It wasn't. The book I was thinking about is called the collector. it's old from the 50s. The collector by John ... Can't remember the last name. It was so sad and truly disturbing. And why and nobody mentioned anything by Irvine Welsh. That's some disturbing horrible human depths of depravity that's pretty well written. And so darkly funny , there lol moments throughout his books as depressing as they are. Much better than any of these newer extreme horror books I've read. And then there is Hubert selbly junior. Incredible writing and disturbing . Cause the characters seem like real people and I give a damn whether I hate them or care about them.

[@themildrumpus]

Thanks. I was getting a little too comfortable in my reading. Bring on the trauma! :P

[@heidifogelberg3544]

Thank, Olly! I was wind wondering how you were doing on this!

[@Emberwrought]

“Sorry this has been a long video” Equivalent to saying “Sorry you enjoyed this too much” 😂 Great video.

[@sarahcountryman1776]

I've only read Tell Me I'm Worthless from your list. I don't seek to read disturbing books though. I like to read to distract myself from things I find disturbing.

[@ScottShedd123]

You have peaked my curiosity with this book "Notice", sounds like a diamond in the rough for the macabre connoisseur. It is a rare find meaning that I can't find it and feel I am being brutally teased by intrigue. I am resolved to settle on your "Birdman" recommendation. I hope that it does not disappoint or I will return to lash you in the comment section.

[@nicholasjones3207]

Any chance of a vid on cannibal horror books? Kin and off season were really good so I’m keen to know of other titles missed over the years

[@Unpotted]

Geez, I hope you aren’t looking for how-to manuals. 😳 😺✌️

[@johnward5404]

If you liked Dead Inside, read along the path of torment also by chandler Morrison. It was nasty, funny, and actually really good IMO. I read it to be disturbed, and while it was sort of disturbing… I just thought it was a good story.

[@pandastrix4082]

love following along on this series :), I've had so many great recommendations thanks to it. I'm currently reading cows by mattew stokoe (i like the plot but omg it is fucking vile and nauseating) and I just finished Pieces by Matt Shaw (not for me) and Weed Species by Jack Ketchum (depraved asf but also not for me)

[@chickenconpollo1482]

great video as always. fun fact, Metallica's song One (off 1988's ...And Justice for All) is based on Johnny Got His Gun. and the viedo, featuring clips from the 1971 movie, sure disturbed the hell outta this 11 yr old!

[@mysteriousoul]

Another fun fact, Metallica bought the rights to the film so they can keep using the footage from the film in the One video

[@Kirk_Hammett_Bit_Me]

Kirky, baby‼️🤘❤️

[@grandpacat]

Hey! thank you for all your reviews and recomendations that´s mostly how I got a hold of the most disturbing books I got, however I wanted to know, would you consider Mathilda, a Mary Shelley novel, to be very disturbing? thanks for reading our comments!.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I haven’t read that one. Glad you enjoy the channel!

[@sdruss83]

Have you read Mo Hayder's The Devil of Nanking? I'm currently halfway through it and I love the writing and mood. Easy 5 stars so far. I wouldn't call it extreme horror but, like anything with Nankingin the name, it is certainly disturbing.

[@johnward5404]

Came to say this…. AGAIN. Such a good book I am excited for you to finish it. Exceptional writing and storytelling.

[@sdruss83]

@@johnward5404 I just finished it and WOW! It's the perfect book for me. Dark and disturbing without being egregiously so. Beautiful writing without being too "purple". Historically, culturally, and geographically accurate. It was truly such a pleasure to read every sentence - and I'm someone who thinks most books have lots of filler paragraphs and even chapters. Can you recommend any other books? Either similar to The Devil of Nanking or just what your other favorites are since we might have similar tastes.

[@Meow-Meow501]

Most disturbing book that I’ve read lately that continues to live in my brain rent free is Burner by Robert Ford. ( not disturbing as gross out, but enough of that for me with the stays with you story)

[@brettrobson5739]

What about disturbing non-fiction? I haven't read Notice, but my understanding is it is somewhat of a memoir. I was deeply disturbed and still think about many years later, books like Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and If This Is A Man. Blood Meridian is fiction but based on true incidents. It is an effective look at what a true lawless frontier would look like and what kinds of people it would produce. It too has stuck with me far longer than any of the "extreme" horror I have read.

[@alisonmercer5946]

Extreme horror that's just a long list of gross thing is boring. I find lots of the flies way more disturbing and imo a lot of classic lit is pretty disturbing and I care about the characters. Disturbing non fiction which haunts me that I read recently is final truth by pee wee Gaskins. That man is true extreme horror. I shouldn't have read it , it is that horrific. The gulag archipelago is nonfiction , great writing and I'll never get over it.

[@alisonmercer5946]

Lord of the flies lol. Not lots of flies. Oh and lolita by Nabokov is beautifully written horror. The amount of garbage writing I gotta go through to find a good book is disturbing lol.

[@lukawalli]

I really loved "What Good Girls Do" and its sequel "What Good Men Do" by Jonathan Butcher, the first was more disturbing for me though. Telling a story of a girl who was abducted as a baby and grew up in the cellar of a pedo-ring working as a sex slave is disturbing by itself, writing it from her perspective is what really got me, her vocabulary and how she perceives the world is just so disturbing and bleak. You should check it out.

[@Unpotted]

Ian McEwan makes a good living writing disturbing books. I haven’t read any recent titles, but that’s because I avoid his work. 😝 I guess there’s a market for that type of thing, but I’m not his target demographic. It’s important for personal growth to get out of one’s comfort zone, but I have limits. Thanks for doing such good work and posting another enlightening video. 😺✌️

[@JimJimson729]

Regarding what you said here about In the Miso Soup- it's worth pointing out that Murakami's Audition was published in the same year. I think Murakami had a much deeper understanding of gender relations than you are giving him credit for here. He was definitely no Tarantino

[@williamcookauthor]

Would still rate Hubery Selby Jnr's 'The Room' as one of the most disturbing novels I've ever read.

[@alisonmercer5946]

Omg yes. just mentioned him and that stuff is the most extremely disturbing horror to me. The writing is great but ask me to explain what makes good or BAD writing and I can't. Ive read a bunch of extreme horror that is boring garbage. It's not scary it's not disturbing .

[@kamidsjournee]

I would love to read these too, but I’m often affected by what I read. Do the stories stick with you and give you flashbacks as if you’ve internalized the story?

[@stephennootens916]

I still fine it funny how often extreme horror goes for incest given how popular it is in some other genres of books and films since Game of Thrones became so popular. That said I picked up Tender is the Flesh which is popular enough to be sold at Wal-Mart for my dad for father's day and got more than a shut when I asked his view of it to. For Christmas I bought Gone to see the river man and hopefully it isn't one of those scrappy barely a plot extreme horror stories.

[@BigDog366]

I'm curious to know if you've come across Stuart McBride's writing. His Logan McRae series is crime, horror and very disturbing, whilst also being some of the funniest novels I've ever read. His standalone novella Sawbones is so horrific and yet so funny that it seems almost wrong to enjoy it so much. His standalone crime/science fiction novel Halfhead is utterly unique and beyond horrific. I highly recommend you give him a go. I was listening to your video, checking out the books as you went, and discovered I'd read most of them but had no memory at all of them. I guarantee you won't forget Sawbones or Halfhead or any of the characters in McBride's novels ever! After Tender is the Flesh (Bazterrica) and Meat (D'Lacey) I still ate meat. Not after Book #4 in the McRae series...

[@BernieSymes]

Yes. Read all his books. Enjoyed all of them and the female character(you know who) is brilliant and so funny.

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Repeating “Lucky 13” to myself ad nauseam.

[@JordanTatum-ck3uh]

“Cows” still haunts me

[@slnd666]

i'm having a hell of a hard time finding even a digital copy of Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts to read. does anyone have any advice?

[@marineboy-kv6rf]

One of the most disturbing books i ever read was about 15/20 years back about a society where animal meat is so scarce that humans are eaten.It mostly took place in a uk human abattoir where one of the slaughterman falls in lust/love with one of the female's destined for slaughter.Lots of scenes of nastiness and i wish i could remember what it was called?If anyone can help i'd be grateful,i think it had just one word in it's title..Flesh/Meat?

[@Tessothemorning]

It's Tender Is The Flesh, I think. I'm fairly sure Olly has talked about it himself, in a previous video about this project.

[@davidmajor5393]

Tender is the flesh. Its set in Argentina. Fantastic book.

[@gisellegee5984]

The story of the eye by Georges Batallie? Hope u have read this and reviewed :)

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I have! There’s a review on the channel 😊

[@TheJericho1123]

i just watched Johnny Got his Gun, i`m still looking for the book.

[@rustybadis2635]

Olly is a brilliant man.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Not sure that’s true, but thank you!

[@josephperkins6625]

I just started tell me I'm worthless. Very good so far.

[@joebreakerx]

It stil baffles me that Donald Ray Pollock would waste a blurb on a writer like Raymond Chandler

[@ghstbird3338]

I wonder where do you have the time to spare to read so many books - all in a month or in a year? I rarely read these days, even the online newspaper. I often wonder how people are able to have so much leisure time…….. I spend quite a bit on audiobooks per year as it’s the most convenient way for me to ….. read? With a busy lifestyle - cooking, cleaning, laundry, doctor visits, pets, husband, parents, friends, siblings, gardening and THEN trying to get 8 hours of sleep per night, I don’t find the time to sit and read. I don’t even watch television…… my husband doesn’t allowed it in the house.

[@rosecorvin]

All you had to say was Morrisey and I was immediately disturbed. 😅😂

[@CriminOllyBlog]

😂😂😂

[@JohnFriel-m3l]

Anything by martin Amis, don't know who wrote it but the butcher boy.

[@nopenope7654]

Can someone direct me to a pdf of "A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts"???

[@michaelconnor3128]

I have a copy of shafts of fear that includes that story .I'd be happy to send it to you if your uk based but no idea how you'd give me your details. I wouldn't be comfortable handing them out on here .

[@Marxmiprefer]

Why Birdman and not The treatment though

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Because I haven’t read The Treatment yet 😊 it’s on my list to get to soon

[@nightmarishcompositions4536]

Disturbing books are my favorite 🎶

[@queen_in_yellow]

Still don't see The Discomfort of Evening on your lists

[@J.S.3259]

If The Pillpwman disturbed you, try Sarah Kane’s play Blasted

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I have heard that's really dark!

[@jasonmorgan5004]

Started off really well with good prose and unique zest. But after I passed the middle, I thought this protagonist is just going on and on like a broken record about animals and the landscape and his brother. He started to sound very one-dimensional and even a little implausible and contrived. It was too boring and repetetive to finish.

[@DoolallyProductions]

I like your channel and appreciate your recommendations, but I just finished Come Closer by Sara Gran and Holy Hell!!!!, that was an absolutely bare-bones, amateurish piece of garbage. Luckily it only takes two hours to read. Hopefully these books are better.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Ha! Well I guess we can't always like the same things

[@joshroberts5661]

Woom was good!!!! Talk about a twist! Lol

[@nunyabidness4220]

Great reviews. I thought Woom was absolute crap. Just stupid, stupid, stupid. It was based on a premise that doesn't even make any sense and was apparently written by a "gorehound" who has not even a basic understanding of human anatomy. Being morbidly obese doesn't make ya bigger inside. Also, I don't think anyone, no matter how crazy, would ever actually want to do what goes on in there. I wasn't disturbed or grossed out at all, I just felt my time had been wasted by an idiot. It was a bore. (Another numbingly stupid and vastly overrated book, Kin by Kealan Patrick Burke, also displays the same anatomical ignorance). Johnny Got His Gun is excellent. Cement Garden is also really good. "Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" has a big reputation, but I don't really know why. Yeah, it's disturbing, but there's nothing particularly clever about it... you could see the ending coming from early on. I like Birkin, but that story's a bit overrated to me. The others I've avoided because they look like they're just other trying-too-hard look-at-my-chewed-up-food gross-outs, and I've gotten tired of those. It's too easy and limited and I've seen pretty much everything that's not silly by now. Most "disturbing" books have become really, really boring. And most of their plots just sounded stupid and didn't seem like there was much potential there. I did pick up Tell Me I'm Worthless, though, because I've heard good things and it seems like it could have some merit. And I love haunted house books. Just finished a re-read of J. F. Gonzalez's Survivor over the weekend, and that one's still great. It's disturbing because not only is it super-gory, it doesn't duck the emotional impact of the acts depicted... something most "disturbing" books aren't brave enough to do. That one's a classic, along with Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door. Both of those books will rattle ya.

[@alisonmercer5946]

Yeah there are a bunch of extreme horror that are just boring badly written stuff that I don't understand how anyone isn't bored by it .

[@JohnSeney]

Many of these sorts of books are written by hacks looking to make a buck by upping the ante on gore. "Let's Go Play At the Adams," "Notice," "Hogg," and a few others amount to a small group of actually readable and worth reading extreme books for those who can stand them.

[@Kirk_Hammett_Bit_Me]

💯%‼️

[@alisonmercer5946]

Yes yes yes. I really could write some of the crap I've read and that means it is not good writing lmao. I'm disturbed by the amount of hacks that got people saying how great it is.

[@susanburgess820]

Stach is looking aokay❤

[@johnnythepillpopper1974]

6:32

[@zachreads]

I have KZbin premium and access to a new AI tool, it said your name was "Crim olly" lol

[@martinmeek2766]

Flowers in the attic v.c andrews

[@CriminOllyBlog]

A classic!

[@KareBlueBear]

Midnight Meat Train find that and you'' be distrubbed

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I have read that! Love Barker

[@jontattum1476]

You’ve done some heavy lifting mentally over the past few months. Now go take a bath and watch some puppy videos

[@CriminOllyBlog]

Funnily enough I did just discover a really good cat channel and have been watching that this morning

[@headlessspaceman5681]

Looking forward to your Dalton Trumbo video. I'm ashamed to say I've been overlooking JGHG in thrift stores for years now because of its Vietnam affiliations, which hardly seems fair now. Thankfully America got over their paranoid fear of communist infiltration and Trumbo was vindicated. I was surprised at the role Kirk Douglas played in all of that too. I'm sure America would never again devolve into that kind of narrow-minded right wing paranoia and witch hunts.

[@alisonmercer5946]

Are you joking about america never devolving into that kind of narrow minded right wing paranoia and witch hunts again? 😂

[@wendyvilla2904]

💚🖤

[@pattayaesl7128]

Start writing dude.

[@CriminOllyBlog]

I do need to get back to it

[@hisworkmanship7258]

👃

[@susanburgess820]

Ollie hope you don't get too upset with me, but you looking to the side through the video has kind of thrown me off somewhat, cause I'm used to you looking straight at us for the most part. Pretty please, try not to dislike me for this comment. Maybe its just me being petty, but honest to God olly I don't mean to be.