Authors should be able to write anything. And most writers actually write about things that disturb them. The whole "people are telling on themselves" movement just oversimplifies everything into meaninglessness.

I tried to write extreme horror, but now I write cozy mysteries. I'm not built for it, but I can watch you talk about it. I can only be extreme horror adjacent.

I'm getting the sense that most of these books DESPERATELY need an editor and proofreader to help either condense or expand on the writing and correct the mistakes.

The more I watch your videos on extreme horror literature, the more interested I am. I'm already a big fan of horror media and extreme cinema, especially New French Extremity, and I was a teen during the wild west of the internet, so I saw some truly horrific things whether I sought them out or not. You'd think I'd be thoroughly desensitized, yet somehow Chuck Palahniuk's Guts still makes me gag a little. Makes me wonder how these books will effect me. (Edited because I somehow fatfingered the comment button before I was done writing lmao)

Amazing lol I did a reading of 1-star reviews for woom on the clock app, people keep telling me to make a coffee table book out of them. As to your question, 1-star reviews for extreme horror are our bread and butter, probably sell the books as much or more than the "good" reviews. Thanks for the mention!

I love all this extreme horror. It’s giving me a lot to check out. I would love more

I love mainstream horror, but sometimes I want to read something that will make me uncomfortable. I've been desensitized over the years, so once in a while a extreme horror book is necessary.

I don’t write these kind of books, but they interest me a lot. I have read a few of them, and I actually really enjoyed them. I think authors should be allowed to write what they want and not be told they are disgusting for doing so. (Unless they are glorifying gross stuff in such a way that reads as if they are condoning it.)

As a published author myself, I had to get into a place in my head where I could read negative reviews of my work and not tear myself to pieces when someone decided that my book wasn't for them and DNF'd it, leaving a review for other potential readers saying how much they didn't enjoy it (admittedly, I only have one such review of the four of my novel, so it hasn't been that bad for me, the other three seemed to really like it...and actually, I'm not sure if he finished it or not. His review read like he finished it, so at least there's that). Now, with so-called "Extreme Horror", it could be that negative reviews work for the author almost as much as good reviews do. Readers looking for something way out of bounds might see such reviews and think: "Damn, gotta check that out!"

I often wonder about how to rate "trashy" books as well as extreme books. A simple number scale just doesn't do it.

"What do you call that, when you **** your sister?" lmfao! I love the levity you brought to this topic, considering some events in the extreme horror landscape, of late. And I think that reviewers should focus on the content of the literature itself, not think they have some carte blanche to make statements about the author's personal beliefs based on what they wrote. I personally go back and forth between reading regular horror, extreme horror, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy.

I was going to say that I bet my younger self would've enjoyed these books, but I really don't think that's true. I love horror books. Give me haunted houses, serial killers, whatever. I can't deal with the extreme stuff though. Even extra gory movies are getting to me now. Thanks for reading these so I know what to stay away from! Also, this vid was fun. I'd be down to watch more of these.

I love how you talk about the reviews. When they say they're being gross for just being gross sake.😂 It's like that's the whole point of extreme horror. Really behind everything. It's a story about isolation and loneliness. And a bit of Schizophrenia Showing how the human mind can be psychologically damaged. When you were talking about cows.

Nice! Thank you for this :) I wonder if the 'I am burning this book' is the person who actually burned it. Refreshing that in most of the 'ones' you chose they had actually read the book and didn't maliciously attack the author. This was a fun video!

I have just recently got into extreme horror. I do have limits. I don't like animal cruelty and I wouldn't read Baby in a Blender. But I think if someone is going to read an extreme horror book and it does what it is supposed to (shock, gross you out, etc.) you shouldn't rate it low. I mean it did what it was supposed to. I think a lot of extreme horror that I have read so far has a great storyline along with the shock/gross parts. Extreme horror to me is a good book to get me out of a reading slump. Oh, I meant to ask you, where did you get your shirt? I love it!

I remember being really amused by the Amazon reviews on Richard Laymon’s Endless Night and they were all horrified thinking that it was going to be a standard mystery novel, completely unprepared for cannibalism, sexual assault, skinning, scalping…

A vow the borealis on our wrist. We blink the way the headless horseman rides; how pounds the heart! his gallop on the bridge; commitments tame the dreadful course of Time. A bower parodies the guiIIotine. There, couples smile while cheating Death with bowed foreheads and lips about to meet where in Love's kiss eternity is fetched. This bond assists the newlywed’s escape, and laughing at the hooves behind their backs. The horseman’s tricked to stop at thrown bouquets, and at the graveyard groove they hide at last. With quiet giggling behind tombstones two hands between two stones are still eloped. my favorite sonnet that i wrote, nicholasleonardbookedits

Love the t-shirt that much i want that show to be made now. And a good way of keeping the original cast!

We need a part 2 immediately!!! This was so entertaining!!!

Reading Playground now. Halfway through! Thanks for all the great suggestions, love the content you put out 👻

6:50 ok if I ever write an extreme horror it's gonna have to to be about sunshine and rainbows.

Your so right. As someone who writes sometimes the point isnt to make you love it, its to make you sick, to make those looking for disturbing to face it❤

I just finished "Dressed for Her Own Funeral." Thanks for making my mid-life existential crises worse.

I am testing the waters by reading some of these books. Lol. Thanks Anda.

I did that! I made the mistake of reading Baby in a Blender when you mentioned that it was only 14 pages, I paused the video and read it first! I thought 14 pages, a five minutes read, how bad it can be? Pretty bad I discovered to my deepest regret! Worse mistake ever!! The worse part is I’m doing again, I just got Tender of the Flesh to read now! Why I do this to myself??

Hey, enjoying your channel! Next video focused on extreme horror you should review "Them a horror novella". After finishing it I had trouble sleeping for a week

Omg I love your shirt!

It makes me a little bit uneasy how many people seem to buy into/push the idea that anything in a work of fiction must be endorsed by the creator irl, and if you write Bad Characters there's something Wrong with you. It's pretty puritanical imo. I'm sure there are some extreme horror writers who write stuff to satisfy a fetish or whatever, and that may make you uncomfortable to think about, but it's also.... not a crime..... or the same thing as committing a crime ? (and I'm sure it also happens with a lot of non horror books too lol). I also wish people could accept that shock art/gross-out art is still a valid form of artistic expression. Sometimes you have to meet art on its own terms even if you don't like them (and if you read extreme horror what did you expect.... fork spotted in the kitchen moment). If a book only exists to shock you and it achieves that, isn't it a successful work?

Funny that very few low star Reviews of "Tender is the Flesh" mention how: 1) the book goes for cheap shock value while pretending to be something more 2) it's premise is extremely weak and from page one relies on suspension of disbelief

Where in the world of KZfaq was i lost in? Why didnt i come across your channel earlier? 😭❤️⭐️

I think some of the folk that are leaving reviews about how they are extreme for the sake of being extreme may have come across these boks by chance and all they knew about them was that they were horror genre. I imagine some of these book stores might just pop it in with more commercial horror books without differentiating it as the extreme or splatterpunk sub-genres?

You gotta read The Bighead by Edward Lee

Where did you get that shirt? I love it!

I randomly searched for Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe audiobook yesterday, which for some reason brought up @CriminOlly's video on Hogg, which was fascinating, and watching that lead to your extreme horror videos. I don't think this stuff is for me, but I definitely want at least give Maeve Fly and American Psycho a go, and will be sticking around as I thoroughly enjoy the way you discuss books. Something interesting that came up about Hogg was it being written by a gay man who it seems was at least in part trying to push the 'Overton Window' books, so sex between between people of the same gender was not seen as extreme, which is a noble and important endeavour. I think you make bread points about these books being what they are and not having to be for everyone. There's a lot of particularly extreme media I have no interest in, but find it depressing how quick some are to pathologise and label those who do. There are so very many reasons why we create and enjoy certain things, from assisting with processing trauma to just happening to enjoy something because of the joys of subjectivity. As long as no one is being harmed, I don't think we should limit art and entertainment. We just need to limit what we personally imbibe based on our own tolerances and capacity. Apologies for the long ramble. Take care x

Love these Extreme horror videos and it helped me discover godless (which I have now bought too many books from). In terms of how I review books I tend to base it on what the author set out to do. No one reading baby in a blender is expecting something with deep meaning they just want something obscene and gross so I ended up giving it 5 stars because god damn did it do that well. Also may I ask what you use to read E-books as I currently just use my phone but want to upgrade to something a bit chunkier.😮

I'm on the other side of the fence in a way. If the book sets out to be disturbing and vile and achieves it, good, but I want more, I want writers to really say something with the violence and bleak atmosphere. Violence as an allegory for women's liberation? Now I'm more interested and want to spend time with the book beyond the first read, but I understand that's not what everyone wants, not in many literary genres.

As a certified psycho..., sorry, Inhave a cold. I mean, as a certified psychologist I can state as a matter of fact there is nothing wrong with people who write this kind of fiction or those who enjoy it. Sure, some people who do either can be, say, dangerous, bit that's not because the books, likewise many peiple who don't like these will cause real damage into the world. Like Christians or fascists. And it's fun you made this video. I recentky read a review for a goregrind band called Cystic Embalmment and now I am writing a dungeon for Lamentations of the Flame Princess based on that review, the words they used.

Anda, what is that thingy you use to wipe your fingerprints off your tablet? Kinda looks like an octopus. Kind of looks handy! Where to get one? Thanks!

Nice intro 😊

I think the only 1 star review I've ever left for an extreme horror novel (as someone who has written several lesbian extreme horror stories, being a lesbian who's into extreme horror lmfao) was for this book called The Black Farm, which was just... like... badly written to the point when i heard it was based off of a reddit post I wasn't surprised. Some of the worst shit i've ever read. I recently finished Playground by Beauregard and I'm kind of debating giving it a 1 star, but I really actually liked the "son" character of the old nasty chick, and felt that Beauregard was trying to actually... /do/ something story-wise, as opposed to all of his earlier works that I read, so I'll probably give it like. a 3.5 or something, because I feel like he's trying to grow as a writer with the story and themes that he tells in his grotesquerie, and I want to personally encourage that. Sometimes I think about publishing my work even if it's on an independent website or something, but then ... I don't know if I want these "OH YOU CONDONE THESE ACTS" people coming at me because I may not be able to handle it, lol. Sorry for the long comment. I like your channel, especially the way you handle extreme horror. What's hard to talk about with Extreme Horror is that a lot of it just... isn't written well, or doesn't have a lot of research -- again, referring back to Beauregard's books, that really shows with The Slob / Son of the Slob, which were just like... my guy... that isn't how it works. And same with like, the old woman in Playground, lol. It's hard to critique extreme horror in some regard, because like... people will always say you're just overreacting to the material. I do think there's a nuanced talk to be had about the way SA is treated in the extreme horror space, along with racism (some of the 1-star reviews for Woom in particular talked about the author being questionable with nonwhite fans talking about his treatment of nonwhite characters) and homophobia. It feels, sometimes, like the "extreme horror" label is used to get away with gay bashing and racist nonsense, as well as women and sexual crimes. If you ever branch out further into extreme horror, I feel like you'll see what I mean. American Psycho, for example, has all of this fucked up shit in it... but that's the thing -- Bateman is a dude who you're supposed to feel revulsion towards. In some horror, there'll be a dude doing similar things... and then the narrative has this weird sort of "oh, he's so cool for doing these horrible things to women" vibe off of the way the author depicts these acts. If you're ever looking for more, The Cuck (by Beauregard, author of Playground) was like... an interesting story, honestly. Gross, but I feel like there's a point Beauregard's trying to make. The Dream House, by Carmen Maria Machado, is Nonfiction, but it's incredibly raw and real. To Be Devoured, by Sara Tantlinger, is a good one. If you're looking for a compilation -- check out Body Shocks, a horror compilation that has some truly incredible stories in it. There's enough for everyone in there! Sorry for like. Rambling so much, lol. Like your channel and wanted to say something now that I'm home from work.

Where do you get your t-shirts from? Love them! Sending love from Ireland ❤

COOL! I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE COWS TALK TO.

I'm currently reading Woom, I'm on the chapter of the same name, and had to put it down for the night. Oof!

i find the 'extreme to be extreme' negative comments forget that not everything has to be deep. i don't expect halloween haunts to be deep and meaningful. yeah horror can be reflective and meaningful and thought provoking but also like. . . slasher movies guys. they exist, we love them a lot, and they are not super deep at all. if we search for meaning in everything nothing's gonna mean anything.

Some books definitly fall outside the star rating system. I read Tick by Peter Sotos and rating it with a star was impossible. It's marked as read on my Goodreads with no rating or review. Best left at that. Cows, though, five stars!

I agree

no to be honest I'm with the reader all the way on the cows comment. I was considering reading it but this is the nail in the coffin on that idea. I could not stand a book just saying "male cow" the whole time instead of bull. It would infuriate me to no end.

You should read more one star reviews for a video. This was hilarious.

What are your thoughts on the Oofy Doofy Theory?

What I find hilarious is reviews that are overacting to books that are rehashing old themes. Tender Is The Flesh sounds suspiciously like Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal and Neil Gaiman's Baby Cakes, and themes of necrophilia come up in songs like TSOL's Code Blue, and films like Kissed, both of which are framed as love stories.

I just tend to get bored with extreme horror that’s only “extreme” for the sake of being extreme. I’m pretty desensitized to a lot of it. So when it seems like it’s only done for the purpose of being as gross as possible or to try and get a reaction out of readers I just get this “*sigh* 🙄 here we go” bored feeling.

COWS is fantastic if you *want* to react badly to a book. Because it was. Brilliantly vile and disgusting and wonderfully atmospheric.

Extreme horror is so campy! Like its the over the top, chaotic, wild stories that push boundaries. I feel like its the girls who get it kind of thing. I don't recommend this genre to most people, but the over the top is why I'm here!

I'm a phlebotomist and keep checking out your median cubitals.

Just read Baby in a Blender and to be honest, it made me cringe a few times, but like it seems like a horror version of the Aristocrats joke, Ya got the premise of a screwed up family, an intensely edgy gross, and ridiculous set up, and then the punchline at the end, that is kinda lackluster. That and the whole thing also kinda reads like mediocre death metal lyrics.

Write what thou wilt. Read what butters your biscuit. As long as nobody gets hurt, do your thing. Just don't ask me to like what you like: that goes for politics and religion as well as art.

Hey Anda extremely funny....... I give you 5 stars in general. Stay creepy.

Can you post a summary of your stories?

I am not a long term extreme horror fan, but i have nothing against those who read it or write it. For those who dont know what theyre getting into or cant handle the subject matter, pick up another book 📕

It's so hard to justify reading these books to your friends. The 'it's just fiction' doesn't seem to cut it =|

Are you a fan of horror manga? Like Junji Ito or Massaki Nakayama?

Where did you get baby in the blender please

I think it's kinda hard to say if the books are really saying anything about the author's mental health or not I know some author's are just like let's see how messed up I can go while other books are probably talking about how messed up the author is in the head. I really hope the case for baby in a bender is just one of those let's see how far I can go could be why it's so short maybe the author even grossed himself out

Do you think the author of Cows reads bad reviews and gets a shit eating grin?

i dont like these kind of books...DEFS not for me

Believe me I get not being into extreme horror or anything that deals in very heavy, disturbing subject matter. It most definitely is NOT for everyone...or most people, lol. But what will always piss me off is that so many people can't stop at "this kind of material isn't for me." No, they have to take their dislike and discomfort and PROJECT it onto the creators and fans. I can't believe people are still so up their own ass as to insinuate and moralize about the character of artists just because they create uncomfortable art. We've been doing this since the beginning of art for fucks sake, lol. I think it's time to stop, no? People have playing the idiotic "omg this person must be evil and fucked up cuz they make fucked up art!" game for ages and ages. Stttoooopppppp! THERE IS NO CORRELATION! What I find REALLY upsetting is that younger people in particular have veered wildly into what I call "progressive puritanism" where they get all up on their high horse about art needing to pass some virtually impossible purity test of ideology. Basic media literacy 101 is that an artist is NOT condoning or trivializing the actions they write about. Like, this is 1st level shit, guys.

Cows is a very hard read the word flow is very off putting more then anything, the story is okay but just doesnt flow when reading highly vulgar language .

LOOKING FOR A GOOD WINTER'S READ. I THOUGH OF ONE GOOD THING ABOUT WOOM. BUT I WAS WRONG. IT DIS LITE QUICKLY, BUT IT BURNED LN LESS THAN 2 MINUTES. THAT'S NOT MUCH WARMTH. I KNOW THIS IS NOT A ONE STAR RATING. MY APOLOGIES, I'M NOT FEELING THAT GENEROUS.

Personally, I love extreme horror/splatterpunk. Brian Keene is the best of the best of them, and Laymon was the king of it before he died. Even Koontz used to write it.