The body in the library : a literary anthology of modern medicine --Iain Bamforth

Rosefolly, I totally agree about The Road being depressing. Terribly depressing, and terribly annoying in its writing style. I fear, though, that reading a lot of apocalytptic scifi has rendered me somewhat immune to the scariness of that particular book. However, looking back, after reviewing some of the old comments here, I remembered that Poe's "The cask of Amontillado" and (I may have the title wrong) "The Black Cat" were so horrible that I try not to recall their contents and have practically succeeded in the case of the latter story (remembering only that it was horrible). But decades ago, I had a year of teaching English at a girls' school, during which I unfortunately had to take up "The Cask...," and now much more of it than I like has taken up residence in my long-term memory! I avoid reading anything by Poe. [Edited the next day to echo Woodnymph's "I have avoided McCarthy's other books as well." Oh, I sure have done that, too!] Also awful (for me, though I know it is highly-regarded by some) was Where the Red Fern Grows). It started out pleasantly enough about a boy and his dogs, but there are some horrific gory scenes that I would never want to expose a child to. I detested The Day No Pigs Would Die, too, for the idea behind it. Again, I am sure many people would disagree with me. Fairy tales and some other children's stories can make me feel sad--like The Little Mermaid and The Little Match Girl--but not scared. Sci-fi is also not generally scary, although many episodes in the Lord of the Rings were enjoyably scary. So I offer the latter book, and--I just remembered another thoroughly enjoyable book that was also scary, The Thief of Always by Clive Barker--for the reading pleasure of Jennmonkey, who started this thread nearly 12 years ago. It was a shock to see that ancient date! And Kathy t: Oh, yes, I remember the scariness of Cape Fear, even though it was decades ago that I saw it. Very scary--partly because you knew it could happen; it wasn't just a fairy tale or fantasy.

Knee High by the Fourth of July -- Jess Lourey (Vee - Thanks. I can't explain it, but Roman numerals seem to be my specific learning disability. That and logistics.)

Love Story, Eric Segal (Love means never having to say you're sorry.)