The Most Deranged, Disturbing and Shocking Books I've Ever Read.
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ก.ย. 2023
- OOF!
I winced, I clenched up and I squirmed reading these books! Maybe I can dress up as one for Halloween, you know?
My Bookshop.org store where you can buy my favorite books:
bookshop.org/shop/AWJ
Where to find me:
Email: readingthenightaway@gmail.com
Goodreads: / ana-wj
Wanna buy my clothes?
Depop: www.depop.com/oanda/
Wanna use my music?
Music: Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com/referra...) *editing with music is a real lifesaver.
Thanks for being here! - บันเทิง
![แม่กลองสองใจ - ซีแกรม โตเกียว มิวสิค [ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/GSQfVjcr_f4/mqdefault.jpg)
my day gets better when ana uploads a new video
love ya so much for that
Great recs going straight to my tbr! And your hair looks so beautiful!
Great video as always, thank you!
Love from Portugal :)
Thank you so much! sending hugs from nyc!
i’m reading lapvona right now and i can definitely see why it’s such a divisive book among ottessa moshfegh fans lol, it is indeed gross and unhinged; that being said, i do really like it so far, especially the atmosphere-it’s very A24 period horror movie (à la the witch) so it’s a perfect halloween read!
ohhhh yes, ol Moshfegh is a wild girlie and I'm here for it. I felt like Hurricane Season could easily be made into an A24 film and I would absolutely collapse when viewing it
I just found your youtube recently and Im obsessed! you're the only booktuber I've found who reads books I'd have any interest in lol
Love you so much for saying that. Thank you for being here
missed ur energy queen!! i haven’t read too many books that disturb me to my core (thankfully lol) but My Heart is a Chainsaw has some gory bits but i love it hehe
oooh, even that title alone makes me feel like it would be a fun gorefest
Always enjoy a good Down with the Sickness rendition, thank you.
ew WAH AH AH AH!!!
the last novel that shocked me was "the sluts", it's about a male prostitute in la and it's told entirely through ratings posted to an old forum
it's deeply disturbing and sometimes it became too much, it felt violent for violence's sake, but i really appreciated how the lines between reality and lies are blurred online, and this was a really interesting internet biome to explore (who would be 100% honest on a private forum for gay prostitutes in 2001?) but please do check the trigger warnings before reading!
honestly anything by dennis cooper is a great pick for someone looking for a deranged and gut-wrenching read, he’s completely off the rails (and i love it)
Ohhhhh, yes. I have had Crash by J.G Ballard and The Sluts on my imaginary tbr for a long time. Surprisingly I haven't read anything by Cooper, but I know that it would be exactly what I want to read.
My pick for the most disturbing and shocking "literary" (i.e. not an "extreme horror" novel) I've ever read is "Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West" (1985) by Cormac McCarthy.
You have to read "Tender is the Flesh" by Agustina Bazterrica. Its absolutely amazing!!! Hugs from Argentina 🥰
I second this
YES YES YES! So disturbing but so good! It didn't feel exploitative or sensationalized just for the sake of shock value. Highly recommend!
I've heard it's an iconic read! I'm ready to get a copy and devour that wildness
@@AnaWallaceJohnson buen provecho 😋
@@AnaWallaceJohnsonthere’s a free pdf online too!! I understand wanting the physical copy tho. But they take up space and money so free pdfs are pretty great
In one of your vids you recommended Sedaris' Theft by Finding. Book arrived this morning. looking forward to give it a read.
omg!!! I hope you love it! Such a comfort read for any weird, struggly time in your life
Last Exit to Brooklyn is bleak without relief. I feel like if you read it during a rainy week in November it might just take you down with it. Have you read Earthlings by Sayaka Murata? It's super disturbing and trippy and a little Vonnegut-esque in my opinion.
Yep! I highly suggest sitting in the sun and reading that one through. Avoid the doom and gloom
Seeing that Sarah Kane collection absolutely gave me visceral flashbacks
Right? hang onto your eyeballs, amirite??
I’ve been gone on vacation so I have all of your videos over the past month or so to catch up on and I can’t wait! That being said I couldn’t resist watching this one first to tell you to read the novella/short story called “The Beauty” by Aliya Whiteley. It takes deranged to a WHOLE new level and is deeply disturbing at times. The writing itself is incredible if you can get past the story premise 😆 that’s all I’m gonna say about it
So happy you're here! And oh man, post apocalyptic fiction just hits different!! makes you think how you'd react if given the situation
Such interesting recommendations! “Tender is the Flesh” and “The Wasp Factory” are a bit like that too. Have you read anything by J.G. Ballard? “Crash” is definitely a wtf novel😂
Omg Crash is nuts.
So wild you say that. I've been looking for a used copy of Crash for years. It's one of the major books on my imaginary TBR. I loved the movie, so I need to get the novel.
@@AnaWallaceJohnson oooh...nice! Then you'll love it!
ahhhh so excited you made this video, im definitely gonna read the piano teacher!! in the vein of disturbing fiction, i think dennis cooper's 5 (6, if you count i wished) novella george miles cycle which is 100% my favourite thing ive read so far this year! it's v graphic though so warning for that, but it's truly fantastic. also crash by jg ballard was so so so defining for me last year, and the move is one of my favourites of all time :-)
^ especially if you like palahniuk, i always see him and dennis cooper as sort of in conversation/operating in a similar vein
AGREE about the movie of Crash. Rosanna Arquette and James Spader do not get the love they deserve! I want to read the novel sooooo bad. And basically anything Dennis Cooper too!
@@AnaWallaceJohnson YESSSSS agreed, rosanna arquette was my favourite part of it and james spader just did so many freaksex movies between 1989-2002...national hero honestly! also yes :D if im remembering right, there's also a movie adaptation of cooper's frisk that stars parker posey (that im yet to see, was heartbroken that gregg araki didn't get to fulfil his dream of directing it but alas) if that might also be of interest to you !
I haven’t started the video yet but it’s my favourite video of yours already. Fire content girlll
Beyond extreme horror, the most disturbing books I've read are:
The Bastard out of Carolina- Dorothy Allison
Betty- Tiffany McDaniel
The Devil All the Time- Donald Ray Pollock
The first two have remarkable heart in them as well which make them all the more brutal because you truly love the characters. Pollock is just a study in depravity. There's something about Appalachia that makes brilliant storytellers.
Ooh, have you read The Summer That Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel? So good, very disturbing in its own right. I think she's one of my favorite authors
@@cindyo6298 I did love that one too. Not quite as much as Betty. I need to read her newest but I think I can only handle one McDaniel book a year. She breaks my heart too badly. I actually wrote to her after finishing TSTME because there was a theme in both books I wanted to ask her about and she replied and was so lovely. Definitely a favourite.
!!!! omg, Appalachia storytelling is truly unparalleled. And I think it makes the teller naturally a little spooky. Feel that way about Louisiana too!
Hurricane Season is one I want to head to over ‘spooky dooky’ season. I loved This is Not Miami earlier this year, though I think it was a bit lighter. I’ve still not read The People in the Trees. Hahaha. The oofs. Oooooof. Ps. Lapvona, Lapvona, Lapvona.
I knoooow. I want to read more Moshfegh in general. I feel like I'd want to get a cup of tea with her! And be WEIRD!
i read ‘the yellow wallpaper’ this weekend and definitely found it disturbing. perfect little read to keep coming back to
oh yes! I want to read that. I've been hearing so much about it recently.
13:06 - People actually passed out during Palaniuk's readings of Guts while he was on the book tour for Haunted. I've read it and it makes me feel ill just to think about it.
I am now sitting here, sick and propped up only by my chair and the noodles I'm having for dinner. I'm sick, but not sick sick, so I can't even go crawling for sympathy. Needless to say- this video is a godsend. Also, you are looking fabulous!
You are winning me over to the Piano Teacher, my lord. I have seen it your videos on it, but I'm really intrigued!
I think I'm pretty stereotypical in saying that the most disturbing book experience I've had was reading Rant by Chuck Palahniuk. To be fair, I was around 14 years old then, and WAY too young. (For what it's worth, I think it's incredibly worthwhile for kids to read books that are "too old". It's like when your parents say 'I drove without a seatbelt at 14', except youre a suburban teenager and laws exist).
Other examples that I love are: Close Range by Annie Proulx, the collection that includes Brokeback Mountain. It is NOT Brokeback Mountain that disturbed me the most, I can assure you of that much. Perfume by Patrick Süskind is a killer one that I actually read WHILE in Paris. THAT was an experience.
Omg!! Feel better! It's runny nose and sick season, so stay hydrated and well rested!
And didn't realize Annie Proulx had a disturbing novel. Ready to get weird with that one! And I forgot about Perfume! I listened to that on audiobook, so I think the experience wasn't as heavy as I wanted it to be!!!
@@AnaWallaceJohnson If I could go back in time and save my copy of Close Range instead of giving it back to my school, I absolutely would have. Close Range is actually a collection of short stories with Brokeback Mountain being the most (obviously) well-known. There is a very heavy and long-running theme of violence against those who don't fit into the western "mould" of what a Wyoming man should be. It is about how the land hardens them, but also about how society forces them into the violence of isolation, as well as violence in order to preserve their own status and masculinity.
And yeah, it goes there. If I were to buy any short story collection, it would 100% be Close Range. If you ever read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (could also be classified as a disturbing read, but the writing is just so damn good that I can't even manage to be disturbed) and want something with a similar feel or vibe, Close Range would definitely be your girl.
Thanks for opening up a whole new dimension for me.
Minds have been altered!
Awesome recommendations. 🙂
thank you!
The Piano Teacher movie adaptation is one of the best ever. Highly recommend.
I agree! I have a video where I read the book and watch the movie! Isabella Huppert is an icon
@@AnaWallaceJohnson I’ll definitely have to check that out. Greatest actress of all time in my eyes.
ooh yes Sarah Kane is such a good wild rec!
Flipping through it made me realize it was time to pick it back up
I thought "The Vegetarian" by Han Kang was pretty disturbing
Yeah, I agree! I read that this year and it was weird for sure.
My absolute darlin just took me out
This Little Family by Ines Bayard - still haunts me! And I’m a die hard fan off all things horrific and disturbing
noted! I loooove a good crime fix!
The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat is definitely one to pick if you're looking for disturbing books.
!!! oh yeah, this one has been on my radar for a looong time
you KNOW I immediately clicked on this video, because it's Ana and because of the title 👀
[eta] - yep. Guts. It got me. I set the book down after that and never revisited it ever again
Love ya! Sometimes I think about Guts and it doesn't feel like it's something that should've ever been written, but then again, I have read the book 3x and it's the main story that sticks with me, so what's that say about me haha!
*adds every book to my TBR* I will follow you into the darkness Ana
lmaoooo I've got one little candle guiding us all
JG Ballard is a must. Crash aside, have a look for High Rise (phenomenal) and The Atrocity Exhibition (talk about woah). Absurdist metaphor of the highest order!
Thank you for the reccos!! I think I'll get into a deep rabbit hole with him either the end of this year or into next
Fulcrum by Jason Alan Patterson scared the hell out of me. And I wrote it.
God, fine. Here we go again. Adding *more* books to my wish list, you goddam queen lol. If I was to recommend a disturbing book, it would be Last Days by Brian Evenson.
Gosh you are so gorgeous it is hard to keep up with what you are saying its also super interesting rec
That Disturbed reference😂
ew wah ah ah ah!!!!
I've read S.: A Book About the Balkans lately and it is a very tough one. But definitely a recommendation.
omg, yes. I considered putting that on the list, but that shocked me in a way more deeper than I could articulate
We Need to Talk about Kevin disturbed me so much! I’ve never googled reviews so quickly after finishing it. It changed me in a horrific way 😅
omg! I've only ever seen the movie and contemplate reading the novel all the time, but the movie knocked me out hard
Ana, I can not reccommend Leila Slimani to you. So disturbing and I loved her!
Oh yes! I've heard about her writing--which book do you suggest?
@@AnaWallaceJohnson I have read both “Adele” and “The Perfect Nanny” and was Wooow!
Haunted genuinely made me feel unwell :')
Gotta have that barf bag ready at all moments
the judge in mccarthy’s blood meridian is the scariest book character! i just finished and it was a perfect pre halloween book it’s also just an amazing book!
Oooh, was just talking to a friend and he said that is his favorite book
I didn’t like Hurricane Season but I agree it was a gut punch of a book.
Wicked gut punch! Still think about it quite often
Oooo just my kind of video, loved the vid!!! Definitely agree with Hurricane Season and A Little Life being on the list!!! Hurricane Season was a masterpiece and I love the book, but equally the reading experience wasn’t exactly enjoyable because of how claustrophobic and suffocating Melchor’s writing and storytelling was (which ofc was Melchor’s intention but wow it was intense)!! Paradis by Melchior would also be up there for me, alongside Earthlings (by Murata), Cursed Bunny (by Chung), Tender is the Flesh (by Bazterrica), Tell Me I’m Worthless (by Rumfitt) and Things Have Gotten Worse Since we Last Spoke (by LaRocca)!!! Apart from the latter, all the others are some of my faves - God knows what that says about me and my reading taste 😅😂
I keep on hearing how wtf Earthlings is and I feel like the intrigue is getting to me! Also, THGWSWLS is a biiiig one I want to read (if only just to have that amazing cover on my shelves hehehe)
Well then you might as well read Melchor's "Paradais" and become totally ill 😸😆 If you really want to be disturbed there is Mendel Johnson's "Let's Go Play At the Adams" from the 70s. But beware going into it unprepared! Johnson drank himself to death within a year or so of writing it
Omg WHAT in the world is that book? hahaha. I have never heard of it, but it's insane to think that the premise was made into a novel. Definitely intrigued.
@@AnaWallaceJohnson 😸😆 It is sort of a classic among extreme horror readers, but is well-written. TOO well-written, it might be said. The focus is sadistic, soulless kids and what they do to a helpless babysitter, and it is completely uncompromising. It is easy to find online though the copies tend to be old. I was recently hearing talk about a pending re-release. Don't be fooled by phonies who claim they wrote sequels to it, the horrifying story ended with its author's life!
I definitely second Paradais! Liked it even more than Hurricane Season.
For actually disturbing I think only naked lunch and off season have registered. Edward lee’s the bighead is super messed up too
Oooh, I’m getting back into transgressive fiction lately. Pray for me lmao
"A Little Life" became a 4 hour play in the West End.
I heard! Also heard it was pretty rough to get through
Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille!
Ohh yes. I've heard that is WILD
@@AnaWallaceJohnson It’s such a good book that people misunderstand! There is so much depth to it, but people disregard it because of the explicit nature!
Fav video I’m suuuch in a horror/disturbing vibe
right?? give me that WEIRD!
Atrocity is a real page turner for me.
she is the moment
omg, you're iconic
Naked Lunch and Last Exit To Brooklyn probably tops for me. Also maybe Lolita--because it's largely played for laughs! A comedy about pedophilia! Also Blood Meridian but not necessarily for the graphic descriptions of violence but the seemingly random slaughtering of women and children. Then I figured out, "Oh, I get it. The scalp collectors won't know the difference and Apaches are too hard to find and plus, you know, they're Apaches". If McCarthy held your hand and made that clear it would somehow seem less shocking.
For deranged, disturbing and shocking books you pick almost anything by Wrath James White, Edward Lee and Matt Shaw.
The Sluts by Dennis Cooper
For me, no disturbing book has topped this, including Tampa and A Certain Hunger. It's written entirely in internet forums, emails, etc., circa AOL. It begins as reviews on an gay escort services review sites, and gets darker from there. Basically, you think of it, someone is turned on by it. Check the trigger warnings because there are things worse than death in here. I think what made me keep reading wasn't just the horror of it all (at some points I did have to take a break), but more so the way the author made you question what was real, who was actually who they say they were and who wasn't. He utilized the world of the internet where nothing can be trusted and yet everything comes from the human mind. It's probably the only book I wish I could cleanse from my brain, but at the same time the experience did change me. Please let me know if you (whoever is reading this) have read it.
I'm sooooo intrigued by The Sluts haha. I was just having a deep conversation with one of my friends about it. We both are ready to take the plunge. Crazy enough, as gory as it is, I haven't heard major complaints about it.
The piano teacher .see these are disurbing books. Not these new splatterpunk books that is nothing but boring non shocking crap.
The devil all the time, follow it up with the film adaptation.
omfg. I just looked it up and that seems WILD. Holy hell haha
Have you read *Lolita* ?
I have! It definitely hurt, but some of these ones took the cake
Thanks for this video, I love a sick and twisted read.
Me too!!
Comedy… it is something for you.
😂😂😂
Books & comedy!!
I stopped everything I was doing when I saw this video pop up
hugs and hugs and hugs
Story of the Eye!!!
Oh YES! Read it recently. WILD book
Did you like it? It's one of my three favorite books at the moment. Together with The Imp of the Perverse and Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Well, Anna… I think it is time for you to delve into the uncharted waters of „The story of the eye“ 🥚 it really doesn’t get much more disturbing than that..
I knooooow!!! I saw it at a bookstore not too long ago and I deeply regret not just jumping in and reading it
@@AnaWallaceJohnson also I feel like you need to read The original of Laura by Nabokov. Comically deranged in all the best ways.
Love a disturbing, twisted story! I am currently reading Big Swiss, and it has an interesting disturbing edge to it! Another semi-recent one is Lapvona, such a repulsive and stirring book!
I have heard mixed reviews about big Swiss, but I feel like I'd like it haha. Mosfegh is a writer for the weirdies and we love her for it!!!
Do you read self help books like Atomic Habits ? If so, can you do a top ten list of these ?
Haven’t really read too many, but I always suggest What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Murakami
Great video. You're gorgeous too, btw.
ur a freakin queen. SO funny SO smart SO beautiful. gorginaaaaa!!! i'm sorry i had to say it. also ur book recs are always amazing. i don't even really read like that but i freakin love ur videos, and i always add your books to my neverending list lol. anyways ur amazing, love ur vids !!!
omg, love this comment! you're an icon, a legend and the moment too, babes!
I’m not that stunning
baby, you're a firework
You are the fab one! 💅🏼 I’ve recently heard of the “In order to live” by Yeonmi Park related to her story of escaping North Korea. Also heard it’s quite disturbing but I am really curious to read it.
ohhh yes! I've heard a lot about that one. would be interested to read for sure!
OOF
Thge Child Buyer by John Hersey? Tanith Lee's Electric Forest? Ursula K. Leguin "The word for world is forest" Philip K Dick "The Puppet Maters"? (mbe).
Oooooh! Noted on those ones. I’m reading crash right now and loving it
You made me think of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which isn’t necessarily a disturbing book but a couple certain parts gave me that feeling.
You made me think of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which isn’t necessarily a disturbing book but a couple certain parts gave me that feeling.
Like Leila Slimani, hated Elfride Jelinek. Think Nobel prize went to her was total horror. The movie was good. Have you read French writer Lotreamon?
Haven't read Lotreamon, but if he died at age 24 and his legacy still remains, I imagine his poetry is superb
Sounds like you need to read Matthew Stokoe's COWS.
I KNOW! I tried to get it from the library, but it was only an ebook. I want the actual thing. Heard its insane
No, go deep.
I very much disagree that Tampa glorifies the abuser!
I hear you! Glorify probably isn't the correct word. I think I just hated the premise/the idea of the character so much and found traveling through her world and emotions so revolting (that being said I read it in like 2 days, so what does that say about me 😑)
Oh totally! The contrast between the way the world treats her because of her appearance vs. the depravity of her thoughts and actions is deeply upsetting, and I think key to the story. That's why I don't feel the book glorifies her 😉 @@AnaWallaceJohnson