When I was in the seventh grade, I went to summer camp and discovered books I had never heard of or seen before. Other girls brought books like Flowers in the Attic and Forever, stolen from their older sisters. We all borrowed them and couldn’t get enough of these adult-seeming books. And then one girl showed us The Shining. I had no idea what it was, but she told me it was scary. And Constant Reader, it was scary. But not scary enough. I devoured The Shining, […]
How much of you can fall off before something important is lost?
OK I swear I got the recommendation to read this book from my fellow CBR 8 readers. I can’t seem to find it again on this site though! Anyway, whoever recommended it to me (it had to be someone?), thanks! It’s definitely a mind hump (I didn’t want to use the F word). Here are my favorite things in books: an unreliable narrator, apocalyptic / post apocalyptic / dystopian worlds, and being in suspense. This book had 2 out of 3 (there was no apocalypse). […]
Faces look ugly when you’re alone
It figures that a book about people who are happy in their isolation would resonate with me. Shirley Jackson’s self proclaimed “paean to agoraphobia” gives of a sense of unease even during what should be the most mundane domestic scenes. Mary Katherine “Merricat” Blackwood, her sister Constance and their ailing uncle Julian are the surviving members of a once prestigious family. The surviving Blackwoods are hated and ridiculed by the surrounding villagers due to an incident which resulted in the death of Merricat and […]
Bow down
How the fuck did I get to my thirties without having read Shirley Jackson!? I feel like my teachers, parents, and book-loving friends have all let me down by not foisting her writing upon me. I feel like most people read The Lottery in school, but for some reason I didn’t have it assigned to me. Shame on my teachers! We Have Always Lived in the Castle is creepy as hell. Merricat lives with her sister Constance and ailing Uncle Julian in the large estate […]
For the night is dark and full of shadows
This is volume 3 in an ongoing story arc and really won’t make much sense to anyone beginning the series here. Start at the beginning with Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft. The three half-orphaned Locke children, Tyler, Kinsey and Bode, have already gone through so much horror and heartbreak, and it doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon. Their mother is becoming less dependable, as she’s gradually descending further into alcoholism and madness, aggravated by the evil spirit haunting their lives. Kinsey is […]
I Promise I Tried With This One
Sometimes, a book shows up and you read it knowing full well it isn’t for you. This, friends, is one of those books. I’m participating in Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge again this year since I’m usually looking for an excuse to read something different and I have been trying to expand my tastes. One of the challenges, number one in fact, is to read a horror book. Fear was struck into my heart because I don’t even watch horror movies, let alone read horror […]