Five Books That Effed Me Up!

We all have those books in our lives that we read under certain circumstances or just messed you up to the point where you don’t ever want to read again. These are those book for me. Hi, my name’s Hannah, and I like to overshare on the internet.

A spoiler alert is in order for all of the book I talk about on this list. I also would like to say that none of the books on this list are poorly written or are books I consider bad, these are just books that have messed me up emotionally and/or mentally.

5. Starting us off is a short horror story that I’ve thought about reviewing on the blog in the past. “The Dualitists: Or, The Death Doom of the Double Born” by Bram Stoker was not what I expected it to be upon first reading it. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was not two children who murder two toddlers. Yes, I read and listen to a lot of true crime, but I’m not a fan of fictional stories about child murder; especially since this story doesn’t take itself so seriously. Next time I see this story, I’m just gonna pass on it.

4. We all know the world is a garbage fire, but I’m glad I don’t live in the garbage fire that is Gilead. Yes, number four is Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. This book scared me, not gonna lie. I don’t ever want to live in a world where women are just used for their reproductive organs; that’s messed up. It is a really great book. It’s a great piece of feminist literature, and it’s a great piece of dystopian literature, but I don’t have it in me to read it more than once or twice in my life. I still have the sequel in my TBR pile since last year, and I don’t know if I have it in me to read that; at least not yet.

3. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews is a twisted tale. For those of you who have never read the book just know that this story deals with child abuse, incest, rape, and murder just to name a few things. I feel that this is an iconic book to see on lists of stories that have fucked people up. It definitely deserves the title of “most fucked up book.” One read is good enough for me when it comes to this one.

2. “I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream” by Harlan Ellison brings us in at number two. There are only five people who live and make up the human race in a dystopian future where AI rules the world. That AI tortures these five people through various fucked up means. This story is sadistic. It’s really good, incredibly well written, but I never want to read it again. It is nightmare fuel, and it will keep you up all night.

1. Out of all the books I’ve read in my life, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold messed me up the most. I read this after losing people in my life I was extremely close to, my dog passed away when I was in the middle of this book; right when the dog in the book died I may add. I was just a mess, and this book did not help me. If you haven’t read this then you should, but be warned you will be a puddle of tears on the floor and it’ll keep you up at night thinking about what happens after death.