I’m a big King reader and when people find out, I usually get one of two reactions:
1) Ew. I don’t like horror/King/white male authors.
2) I’ve never read a King book but I know he’s popular. If I WANTED to read one, which one should I pick?
I suspect the reason people haven’t read Kings (when they don’t hate the idea in the first place) is because they’ve seen the size of It, Needful Things, The Stand, Tommyknockers, etc etc etc and are intimidated.
So I ask if they like horror, as King does so much more than just horror.
If they say yes, I direct them to this book.
I wouldn’t say it’s his strongest book, but I would say it probably has the most King tropes boiled down to the minimum level before the sauce turns to goop, if you know what I mean.
It’s short but loaded with horror and the werewolf aspect is a comfortable cultural touchstone. People know what werewolves are where they might not be familiar with the lore of, say, killer shapeshifting sewer clowns.
It’s also got enough of King’s… we’ll say social commentary.
There’s more of everything in other books, but if anyone wanted to give King a shot and they liked horror, this is a good taste.
This edition, though… ugh. H&S printed this as part of their big re-do of the Kingbow and it’s a size that doesn’t match with a spine that doesn’t match in an already questionable theme.
For context, for whatever reason, this second stab at a Kingbow features neutral and pastel colors and absolutely zero organization as a total collection. They could have gone ROYGBIV from first book to last but no. Or they could have kept this fuckin’ thing going to fill in the big gaps but no - newer paperbacks have different spines with colors that don’t fit the theme.
Seriously guys, what the hell? All the heavy lifting was already done! How hard is it to just KEEP GOING?
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #cycleofthewerewolf #hodder
#readersofpixelfed
I read that we’re halfway through the year and got excited.
But that’s false. It’s day 174 with 191 days remaining. That’s… that’s close, I’ll give it that. But close only counts in horseshoes, hand-grenades, and area spells.
What a bummer to start the day on because next year is going to be VERY exciting for me. This year is more just the drag. The slog. The tortuous calm before the storm and I’m fuckin’ STOKED to get on with it.
Anyway. The Babysitter.
RL Stine, I have always said, is pretty awful at writing sequels. He had a bad habit of resetting any character growth and the stories feel like either retreads like with the Silent Night series or WILD jumps like with the 99 Fear Street series (which we’ll get to - don’t worry).
This is a weird mix of the two.
Honestly, you’d expect that this girl would stop interacting with children either because murderers always seem to be close to them or because, you know, she grows up.
Serious question: in the fourth entry with the same protagonist, why is she not just an adult out in a sane world doing sane things at this point?
Anyway, the kid nextdoor is a ghost and you might think I just spoiled the story, but you’d be wrong; it’s pretty obvious from the word “go.”
And with this “twist” telegraphed so starkly and so early, you’re left with only the story and writing to validate the book’s worth and I think the sad truth is that the greatest worth of this book is that it’s short.
I didn’t have a good time.
“But you’re an adult!” You might yell in a fit of nostalgic defense.
True enough. My 12yo also tried to read it - PRIME Stine age, I would argue - and didn’t even finish it because they were so bored.
It’s just not all that great.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #thebabysitter
But that’s false. It’s day 174 with 191 days remaining. That’s… that’s close, I’ll give it that. But close only counts in horseshoes, hand-grenades, and area spells.
What a bummer to start the day on because next year is going to be VERY exciting for me. This year is more just the drag. The slog. The tortuous calm before the storm and I’m fuckin’ STOKED to get on with it.
Anyway. The Babysitter.
RL Stine, I have always said, is pretty awful at writing sequels. He had a bad habit of resetting any character growth and the stories feel like either retreads like with the Silent Night series or WILD jumps like with the 99 Fear Street series (which we’ll get to - don’t worry).
This is a weird mix of the two.
Honestly, you’d expect that this girl would stop interacting with children either because murderers always seem to be close to them or because, you know, she grows up.
Serious question: in the fourth entry with the same protagonist, why is she not just an adult out in a sane world doing sane things at this point?
Anyway, the kid nextdoor is a ghost and you might think I just spoiled the story, but you’d be wrong; it’s pretty obvious from the word “go.”
And with this “twist” telegraphed so starkly and so early, you’re left with only the story and writing to validate the book’s worth and I think the sad truth is that the greatest worth of this book is that it’s short.
I didn’t have a good time.
“But you’re an adult!” You might yell in a fit of nostalgic defense.
True enough. My 12yo also tried to read it - PRIME Stine age, I would argue - and didn’t even finish it because they were so bored.
It’s just not all that great.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #thebabysitter
So… I’m either reading or re-reading all of Stephen King’s stuff and this is a thing that he wrote and published as an Amazon single.
It’s interesting.
He makes a lot of good points as a guy who owns and seems to like guns. There’s space for nuance here somewhere between “guns are evil,” and “all guns should be open-carried all the time in all the places by all the people,” that I feel not enough people want to acknowledge.
More importantly (to me), though, was the defeated tone that comes from having watched shooting after shooting after shooting. All the thoughts and prayers that don’t amount to shit, all the legal measures blocked by politicians that live in gun manufacturer’s pockets, and the crushing depression that comes from the certainty that this will continue to happen until the end of time or until something substantial happens.
But the thing that’s interesting to me is that so many people who obviously can’t read subtext in King’s books freaked out when this came out. They said he shouldn’t get political or opine on serious matters but held been doing that literally since his first book.
These are the idiots who failed English in high school for not being able to recognize symbolism, subtext, or meaning. The people who are taking everything at face value.
You know. Morons.
And these people were upset but I don’t get it. This isn’t anti-gun. This isn’t anti-gun owner. This is a measured appeal for common sense that made people upset because it dared to ask for limits on supposed freedoms.
Look, take it or leave it, okay? People believe what they want to believe. But I think there’s something wrong with someone who ignores literally everything except the boo-scares in a series of over 60 novels and then complains when the author’s feelings become too obvious to ignore.
Maybe King just isn’t for them.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #guns
It’s interesting.
He makes a lot of good points as a guy who owns and seems to like guns. There’s space for nuance here somewhere between “guns are evil,” and “all guns should be open-carried all the time in all the places by all the people,” that I feel not enough people want to acknowledge.
More importantly (to me), though, was the defeated tone that comes from having watched shooting after shooting after shooting. All the thoughts and prayers that don’t amount to shit, all the legal measures blocked by politicians that live in gun manufacturer’s pockets, and the crushing depression that comes from the certainty that this will continue to happen until the end of time or until something substantial happens.
But the thing that’s interesting to me is that so many people who obviously can’t read subtext in King’s books freaked out when this came out. They said he shouldn’t get political or opine on serious matters but held been doing that literally since his first book.
These are the idiots who failed English in high school for not being able to recognize symbolism, subtext, or meaning. The people who are taking everything at face value.
You know. Morons.
And these people were upset but I don’t get it. This isn’t anti-gun. This isn’t anti-gun owner. This is a measured appeal for common sense that made people upset because it dared to ask for limits on supposed freedoms.
Look, take it or leave it, okay? People believe what they want to believe. But I think there’s something wrong with someone who ignores literally everything except the boo-scares in a series of over 60 novels and then complains when the author’s feelings become too obvious to ignore.
Maybe King just isn’t for them.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #guns
I used to read my oldest Roald Dahl when they were young. One of my favorite pictures in the world is of them looking up at me as I sat next to their bed reading Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. They were really into that story.
I don’t blame them. Great book.
And I grew up reading every bit of Dahl I could find, too.
Ah, but the present spares no person, right? And stories about Dahl being a misogynist, anti-Semitic person who abused the publishing staff to the point where they didn’t even try to renew his contract - when he was selling a TON of books in the height of his popularity.
Do you know how much it says when a BUSINESS says you’re too much of an asshole for them to tolerate when you’re making them a load of money?
And it would be foolish of me to think I am immune to letting these revelations creep into my own appreciation of him and/or his writing.
Anyway, this is one of my least favorite books from him.
Maybe it’s because I read it as an adult away from the warm glow of a child’s appreciation. Maybe it was the stories about how much of a dick he was.
But maybe - just MAYBE - it just plain wasn’t all that great.
For me. Your mileage may vary of course.
I found it boring and I didn’t like the characters NEARLY as much as ones from his other books.
Even his autobiography was more entertaining than this.
Honestly, I’m kind of scared to re-read my favorites from him now.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog
I don’t blame them. Great book.
And I grew up reading every bit of Dahl I could find, too.
Ah, but the present spares no person, right? And stories about Dahl being a misogynist, anti-Semitic person who abused the publishing staff to the point where they didn’t even try to renew his contract - when he was selling a TON of books in the height of his popularity.
Do you know how much it says when a BUSINESS says you’re too much of an asshole for them to tolerate when you’re making them a load of money?
And it would be foolish of me to think I am immune to letting these revelations creep into my own appreciation of him and/or his writing.
Anyway, this is one of my least favorite books from him.
Maybe it’s because I read it as an adult away from the warm glow of a child’s appreciation. Maybe it was the stories about how much of a dick he was.
But maybe - just MAYBE - it just plain wasn’t all that great.
For me. Your mileage may vary of course.
I found it boring and I didn’t like the characters NEARLY as much as ones from his other books.
Even his autobiography was more entertaining than this.
Honestly, I’m kind of scared to re-read my favorites from him now.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog
I really like cozy mysteries but there’s no getting around that someone somewhere told pretty much all cozy authors that the unbreakable RULES of the genre can basically be described as “write a book for Grandma.”
No sex. No explicit violence. Nothing too exciting. Also, make sure the sleuth is a woman that the cops don’t think is worth their time and that is attractive, but thinks she’s nothing special, not overly sexual but make sure you explicitly say she’s no prude either, and for god’s sake don’t curse.
Bonus points if you can shoehorn in a cute animal and a hobby in a quirky wannabe Star’s Hollow for maximum relating from the reader.
And, honestly, this gets pretty fuckin’ boring after a while.
And, to an outsider like me, Evanovich was questionable. Her books are a series with cutesy titles and a lot of the cozy tropes are there EXCEPT there are actual stakes, actual violence (nothing too extreme, though), some sex - even some questionable consent stuff in this one, some cursing, and, probably most critical for me, the protagonist makes sense.
Sure, you can make a baker or a quilt maker or a cook or whatever a sleuth for one book but you really have to wonder why they’re ALWAYS the sleuth as time goes on.
Making the sleuth a bounty hunter? That not only means they’ll be near the crimes but that they’ll be TRYING to solve cases without the cops or risk losing out on money.
A SMART move as an author.
Honestly, this is one of the best cozies I’ve ever read because it’s not retirement home tapioca. It’s an actual story and it’s great because of it. I would 100% be down to read more.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #cozymystery
No sex. No explicit violence. Nothing too exciting. Also, make sure the sleuth is a woman that the cops don’t think is worth their time and that is attractive, but thinks she’s nothing special, not overly sexual but make sure you explicitly say she’s no prude either, and for god’s sake don’t curse.
Bonus points if you can shoehorn in a cute animal and a hobby in a quirky wannabe Star’s Hollow for maximum relating from the reader.
And, honestly, this gets pretty fuckin’ boring after a while.
And, to an outsider like me, Evanovich was questionable. Her books are a series with cutesy titles and a lot of the cozy tropes are there EXCEPT there are actual stakes, actual violence (nothing too extreme, though), some sex - even some questionable consent stuff in this one, some cursing, and, probably most critical for me, the protagonist makes sense.
Sure, you can make a baker or a quilt maker or a cook or whatever a sleuth for one book but you really have to wonder why they’re ALWAYS the sleuth as time goes on.
Making the sleuth a bounty hunter? That not only means they’ll be near the crimes but that they’ll be TRYING to solve cases without the cops or risk losing out on money.
A SMART move as an author.
Honestly, this is one of the best cozies I’ve ever read because it’s not retirement home tapioca. It’s an actual story and it’s great because of it. I would 100% be down to read more.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #cozymystery
I’m big on movie novelizations. They’re usually written with the original script before cuts/alterations are made which USUALLY means that scenes deemed unnecessary in the finished movie are included in the book.
It made the book discovery scene in Ghostbusters 2016 make sense.
They also scratch an itch while I wait for the physical release.
AND I fucking love Batman.
I actually think the 1989 Batman novelization was the first adult book I ever tried to tackle as a kid. I definitely read Batman Forever, though.
So when I watched the best Batman movie yet (wanna fight about it?), I had to look for a novelization.
Result? One fucking book and it’s a kid’s book. Not even a junior novelization like with Jurassic World, either.
It’s a prequel book. About how Bruce Wayne is an illegal street racer.
A smidge lame.
But it also leans hard into the Riddler and his struggles as a kid and adds more meat to his story. It wasn’t so tragic it’s funny, but actually done pretty well.
I liked it.
I do REALLY wish there was an actual movie novelization.
Maybe with the next one?
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #batman #thebatman #movienovelization
It made the book discovery scene in Ghostbusters 2016 make sense.
They also scratch an itch while I wait for the physical release.
AND I fucking love Batman.
I actually think the 1989 Batman novelization was the first adult book I ever tried to tackle as a kid. I definitely read Batman Forever, though.
So when I watched the best Batman movie yet (wanna fight about it?), I had to look for a novelization.
Result? One fucking book and it’s a kid’s book. Not even a junior novelization like with Jurassic World, either.
It’s a prequel book. About how Bruce Wayne is an illegal street racer.
A smidge lame.
But it also leans hard into the Riddler and his struggles as a kid and adds more meat to his story. It wasn’t so tragic it’s funny, but actually done pretty well.
I liked it.
I do REALLY wish there was an actual movie novelization.
Maybe with the next one?
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #batman #thebatman #movienovelization
Oh man, I can’t wait for Pixelfed to slowly degrade this image like it’s done for SO many of my others!
Anyway.
Just in case you were curious, it’s impolite to ask a vet (or anyone, I guess?) if they’ve killed someone. It’s usually not something they’re stoked or wanting to talk about.
If you HAVE to ask, you ask “did you see any action?”
That’s the most polite way to ask an impolite question.
Just FYI.
Anyway, Beauchamp served in the Army and learned lessons that just about all vets learn like how you don’t fight for leadership but rather to keep the person next to you alive.
But the most interesting part is his identity crisis. After he got out of the Army he leaned hard into becoming a professional writer and found himself not fitting in with the typical city-dwelling writer crowd.
Or THINKING he didn’t.
I actually have doubts about this. There’s a lot of internalized “these people wouldn’t get me,” that is brought out of the service but I think the civilian population - while not being able to FULLY understand - could certainly understand ENOUGH to realize the nuance of the individual within the larger body of the military branch. They might not support wars or missions (or even the specific branch) but I have to believe that they won’t fully dismiss the vet for serving.
Anyway, I don’t think military service acts as a worthwhile contrast to critique modern culture. It just doesn’t make any sense.
Actually, it sounds more like regret than anything else. It’s like Beauchamp resents civilians for not going through or learning what he did. Kind of like how you envy/hate children because they don’t know the absolute JOY of paying bills.
I didn’t hate it. There’s a lot of applicable stuff in here that would shed some light on typical service stuff for civilians if anyone is interested.
I wouldn’t hold it against anyone if they weren’t, though.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog
Anyway.
Just in case you were curious, it’s impolite to ask a vet (or anyone, I guess?) if they’ve killed someone. It’s usually not something they’re stoked or wanting to talk about.
If you HAVE to ask, you ask “did you see any action?”
That’s the most polite way to ask an impolite question.
Just FYI.
Anyway, Beauchamp served in the Army and learned lessons that just about all vets learn like how you don’t fight for leadership but rather to keep the person next to you alive.
But the most interesting part is his identity crisis. After he got out of the Army he leaned hard into becoming a professional writer and found himself not fitting in with the typical city-dwelling writer crowd.
Or THINKING he didn’t.
I actually have doubts about this. There’s a lot of internalized “these people wouldn’t get me,” that is brought out of the service but I think the civilian population - while not being able to FULLY understand - could certainly understand ENOUGH to realize the nuance of the individual within the larger body of the military branch. They might not support wars or missions (or even the specific branch) but I have to believe that they won’t fully dismiss the vet for serving.
Anyway, I don’t think military service acts as a worthwhile contrast to critique modern culture. It just doesn’t make any sense.
Actually, it sounds more like regret than anything else. It’s like Beauchamp resents civilians for not going through or learning what he did. Kind of like how you envy/hate children because they don’t know the absolute JOY of paying bills.
I didn’t hate it. There’s a lot of applicable stuff in here that would shed some light on typical service stuff for civilians if anyone is interested.
I wouldn’t hold it against anyone if they weren’t, though.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog
One of the most interesting things in the world to me is the self-help book. Where some people weaponize it against desperate people (see: The Joy of Missing Out), constantly asking you for your information, attention, or money, some people are more interested in putting out the information and that’s about where it stops.
Enter Greg McKeown and Essentialism.
This is a philosophy book (or it would be if it was older. For now we’ll have to call it self-help) and it never asks you for your information. No email lists to sign up for, no websites to visit, no social media accounts to follow. Nothing more than this book - a book with all the information anyone would need to help them…
To help them…
Hm.
I have to be careful with describing this because essentialism (a legitimate thing) sounds an awful lot like minimalism (which is a racket).
It is the reduction of noise in your life. It is the hard truth that you can’t please everyone and you shouldn’t try. That specializing in things might actually be a good thing.
That saying NO might be a good thing.
Even at work.
This is one of my favorite parts because self-help books are always like “tired at work? Take a nap!” as if you wouldn’t get your ass fired. McKeown recognizes this and uses his own examples.
It’s good.
Real good.
I work with a lot of people who slip into workaholism. I was a workaholic myself. It took a lot of work to break that and I’m better for it. This book definitely helped on that journey.
Nothing is going to make us super enthusiastic about the machinations of life destroying everything we hold dear in the pursuit of money but we CAN mitigate the effects a bit and this book has some great tips on how to do it.
And it’s a HELL of a lot better than anything that woman who wrote the Joy of Missing Out ever wrote.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #essentialism #gregmckeown #philosophy #philosophybook
Enter Greg McKeown and Essentialism.
This is a philosophy book (or it would be if it was older. For now we’ll have to call it self-help) and it never asks you for your information. No email lists to sign up for, no websites to visit, no social media accounts to follow. Nothing more than this book - a book with all the information anyone would need to help them…
To help them…
Hm.
I have to be careful with describing this because essentialism (a legitimate thing) sounds an awful lot like minimalism (which is a racket).
It is the reduction of noise in your life. It is the hard truth that you can’t please everyone and you shouldn’t try. That specializing in things might actually be a good thing.
That saying NO might be a good thing.
Even at work.
This is one of my favorite parts because self-help books are always like “tired at work? Take a nap!” as if you wouldn’t get your ass fired. McKeown recognizes this and uses his own examples.
It’s good.
Real good.
I work with a lot of people who slip into workaholism. I was a workaholic myself. It took a lot of work to break that and I’m better for it. This book definitely helped on that journey.
Nothing is going to make us super enthusiastic about the machinations of life destroying everything we hold dear in the pursuit of money but we CAN mitigate the effects a bit and this book has some great tips on how to do it.
And it’s a HELL of a lot better than anything that woman who wrote the Joy of Missing Out ever wrote.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #essentialism #gregmckeown #philosophy #philosophybook
It's #PrideMonth! That means it's finally time for me to start #HellFollowedWithUs by #AndrewJosephWhite. The main character is a trans guy, which is why I saved this book for June.
#bookstodon #readersofmastodon #readersofpixelfed #bookdragon #reader #transgender #transrep #dystopianfantasyhorror #tinyone7 #demiboy #hethey
#bookstodon #readersofmastodon #readersofpixelfed #bookdragon #reader #transgender #transrep #dystopianfantasyhorror #tinyone7 #demiboy #hethey
I like comics, I like pugs. This was a must-buy at the used bookshop.
That said, I’m sure thinking about moving to New Zealand to go to university and I’ll need to pay to ship all my stuff so now I’m looking at my books with a critical eye.
How many of these things do I want to pay a LOT (probably) to ship to the other side of the planet just so I can try to jam them into a tiny (affordable) apartment?
How much do I want to pay weekly (they do rent by the week there) to let my books live with me?
It’s not only made me critical of the books I’ve read but also the books I HAVEN’T read. My TBR is looking less like a wine cellar waiting for me to be in just the right mood to dip into a book and more like a serious gamble as to whether it’s worth paying for the trip/real estate.
Anyway, I don’t think this one’s going to make the cut. It’s cute, but I don’t see me re-reading it often enough to bring it with me everywhere.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #newzealand #moving #tbr
That said, I’m sure thinking about moving to New Zealand to go to university and I’ll need to pay to ship all my stuff so now I’m looking at my books with a critical eye.
How many of these things do I want to pay a LOT (probably) to ship to the other side of the planet just so I can try to jam them into a tiny (affordable) apartment?
How much do I want to pay weekly (they do rent by the week there) to let my books live with me?
It’s not only made me critical of the books I’ve read but also the books I HAVEN’T read. My TBR is looking less like a wine cellar waiting for me to be in just the right mood to dip into a book and more like a serious gamble as to whether it’s worth paying for the trip/real estate.
Anyway, I don’t think this one’s going to make the cut. It’s cute, but I don’t see me re-reading it often enough to bring it with me everywhere.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #newzealand #moving #tbr
What a fun book.
For those that don’t know, 30 Days of Night is a horror comic that came out when horror comics weren’t really a thing anymore. It centers on a town in northern Alaska that has about 30 days of darkness in the winter and you’ll never guess who likes darkness.
Vampires.
It’s a fun, bloody story.
Someone thought it would be a good idea to drop Mulder & Scully into that world and they… they were right.
I really like how The X-Files has grown over the last few decades as people have started… commandeering it for their own fun purposes. And the creators/cast feel pretty onboard with just about anything. It might be tough to get another season made for TV but the actors seem pretty willing to record parts for audiobooks.
I don’t know. It’s tough for me not to like this. I liked the first 30 Days of Night and I fuckin’ LOVE the X-Files. It was the perfect blend of spooky and conspiratorial for me and it really held me by the hand and led me to a deep love of horror and a fairly suspicious view of governments and politicians.
I love it.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #xfiles #30daysofnight #vampires
For those that don’t know, 30 Days of Night is a horror comic that came out when horror comics weren’t really a thing anymore. It centers on a town in northern Alaska that has about 30 days of darkness in the winter and you’ll never guess who likes darkness.
Vampires.
It’s a fun, bloody story.
Someone thought it would be a good idea to drop Mulder & Scully into that world and they… they were right.
I really like how The X-Files has grown over the last few decades as people have started… commandeering it for their own fun purposes. And the creators/cast feel pretty onboard with just about anything. It might be tough to get another season made for TV but the actors seem pretty willing to record parts for audiobooks.
I don’t know. It’s tough for me not to like this. I liked the first 30 Days of Night and I fuckin’ LOVE the X-Files. It was the perfect blend of spooky and conspiratorial for me and it really held me by the hand and led me to a deep love of horror and a fairly suspicious view of governments and politicians.
I love it.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #xfiles #30daysofnight #vampires
A little about me: I grew up as an art kid failure. Big aspirations, not enough skill. But I took enough art classes to start to appreciate the unfinished project as much - if not more - than the finished.
So when I saw one of Batman’s critical arcs collected solely as penciled panels, I was sold. And in hardcover no less.
This is a good story. I think it makes for a fine bridge story from young, grieving Bruce putting all of his pain into playing detective to the Batman we all know and love.
The flaw here is that if Bruce gets scared away or fails, why did it take so long after donning the cowl to get back into the mystery as an adult?
Regardless. Court of Owls is a fantastic arc with very few flaws. It’s a shame it was used in the wildly mediocre Gotham Knights video game. Some of the scenes are direct lifts but would have been better as… well, you know. An actual Batman game rather than playing as one of the Knights.
And now the story feels used up because they used so much of the actual story in their padded game that anything new will feel derivative.
Bummer.
Oh well. We’ll always have the book at least.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #batman #courtofowls #detective
So when I saw one of Batman’s critical arcs collected solely as penciled panels, I was sold. And in hardcover no less.
This is a good story. I think it makes for a fine bridge story from young, grieving Bruce putting all of his pain into playing detective to the Batman we all know and love.
The flaw here is that if Bruce gets scared away or fails, why did it take so long after donning the cowl to get back into the mystery as an adult?
Regardless. Court of Owls is a fantastic arc with very few flaws. It’s a shame it was used in the wildly mediocre Gotham Knights video game. Some of the scenes are direct lifts but would have been better as… well, you know. An actual Batman game rather than playing as one of the Knights.
And now the story feels used up because they used so much of the actual story in their padded game that anything new will feel derivative.
Bummer.
Oh well. We’ll always have the book at least.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #batman #courtofowls #detective
What this book is NOT is a philosophical critique about our modern capitalist society.
Okay? I don’t know why I thought it was when I went into it.
What this book IS is half (the back half) snippets of guides that don’t go too deep. How could they? This is supposedly about how you can weaponize your love of something, turn it into a career, and win a game that favors the rich.
The front half of the book is the hook.
If you read just the back half, you’d be suspicious. There’s a lot of strangely convenient things that happened to our intrepid author that can’t really be replicated and, since it’s trying to cover everything so broadly, the tips aren’t exactly worthwhile. One would be forgiven for thinking the book is a shallow cash grab with little substance.
The way to combat this is to load the front half of the book with a personal story that makes the people who are desperately seeking help (which, let’s be honest, if you weren’t in that position you wouldn’t buy this in the first place) see themselves in this rich and successful author.
It’s the “you can be successful just like me because we’re basically the same,” pitch.
Which is a protective pitch in case didn’t know. It shifts all of the onus onto the reader rather than the author. You see it a lot in bullshit self-help programs where, if it doesn’t work for you, it’s because you didn’t WANT it hard enough or something and NEVER because they’re conmen and women.
And I fucking hate that. This SCREAMS abuse at worst, but even at best it feels like manipulation. Part of the income streams the author is getting is from this book so it’s pretty goddamn suspect that it builds on “I was poor once,” and then gives - and I can’t emphasize this enough - advice that puddles formed after light mists can rival in depth.
This was an irritating waste of time.
#dontkeepyourdayjob #books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog
Okay? I don’t know why I thought it was when I went into it.
What this book IS is half (the back half) snippets of guides that don’t go too deep. How could they? This is supposedly about how you can weaponize your love of something, turn it into a career, and win a game that favors the rich.
The front half of the book is the hook.
If you read just the back half, you’d be suspicious. There’s a lot of strangely convenient things that happened to our intrepid author that can’t really be replicated and, since it’s trying to cover everything so broadly, the tips aren’t exactly worthwhile. One would be forgiven for thinking the book is a shallow cash grab with little substance.
The way to combat this is to load the front half of the book with a personal story that makes the people who are desperately seeking help (which, let’s be honest, if you weren’t in that position you wouldn’t buy this in the first place) see themselves in this rich and successful author.
It’s the “you can be successful just like me because we’re basically the same,” pitch.
Which is a protective pitch in case didn’t know. It shifts all of the onus onto the reader rather than the author. You see it a lot in bullshit self-help programs where, if it doesn’t work for you, it’s because you didn’t WANT it hard enough or something and NEVER because they’re conmen and women.
And I fucking hate that. This SCREAMS abuse at worst, but even at best it feels like manipulation. Part of the income streams the author is getting is from this book so it’s pretty goddamn suspect that it builds on “I was poor once,” and then gives - and I can’t emphasize this enough - advice that puddles formed after light mists can rival in depth.
This was an irritating waste of time.
#dontkeepyourdayjob #books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog
I generally like Stine’s longer standalones. They’re usually a good time.
This one’s a bit of a mess, though.
There’s a lot of head hopping, but it doesn’t happen between chapters so it’s easy to catch and you bounce between first and third-person for LONG stretches that probably would have been clearer if Stine used italics like King does to tell you were in the character’s head.
Meanwhile, Stine tries to write the worst character and does a decent job of writing a shallow, materialistic girl.
But it’s funny how time changes how you read something, right?
I read this as a kid and thought she was the worst. Then I read it as an adult and just saw a poor kid whose dad abandoned her, leaving her with a lot of trust issues for people and clinging to material objects because they will never go out for smokes and never come back.
This girl may be a villain, but she still needs therapy.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #rlstine #rlstinebook #theboyfriend #boyfriend
This one’s a bit of a mess, though.
There’s a lot of head hopping, but it doesn’t happen between chapters so it’s easy to catch and you bounce between first and third-person for LONG stretches that probably would have been clearer if Stine used italics like King does to tell you were in the character’s head.
Meanwhile, Stine tries to write the worst character and does a decent job of writing a shallow, materialistic girl.
But it’s funny how time changes how you read something, right?
I read this as a kid and thought she was the worst. Then I read it as an adult and just saw a poor kid whose dad abandoned her, leaving her with a lot of trust issues for people and clinging to material objects because they will never go out for smokes and never come back.
This girl may be a villain, but she still needs therapy.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #rlstine #rlstinebook #theboyfriend #boyfriend
As a kid I read a LOT of RL Stine. I started with Goosebumps, moved to Fear Street, then his stand-alone novels, and then, unfortunately, his adult novel.
And beyond the adult novel, “Superstitious” - which I seem to remember having VERY awkward sex scenes - this is the book I remember the best.
Because this book is bananas.
Not in a bad way. During this re-read, I have been less than hospitable to Stine and my own memories because a LOT of them don’t hold up but this is just as bananas and FUN as I remember.
The idea of coming home to your parents being missing is intriguing. As a teenager, you’re in that awkward stage where you know a lot of what’s going on and you know people should be listening to you and treating you seriously but everyone is hung up on the idea that you’re still a kid.
Because you are! Kind of! It’s an awkward time where you have zero power, aren’t treated seriously, but you aren’t oblivious like a younger kid would be. You see the threats, you know the danger, and you wish someone would listen to you.
It’s weird in the series. A protagonist kills a dog (weird in this series), two people die (also weird in the series), and this is before the CULT pops up. The cult that thinks America is on the wrong track and wants to use violence to take over the country and “Make America Great Again.”
Basically.
*shudder*
I never thought I’d say this, but RL Stine CALLED IT in a fuckin’ YA horror novel.
Y’all! Whodathunk?!
Also, there’s a lot of head-hopping between chapters with no chapter names to let you know who’s head you’re in and that slows you down as you figure it out. That’s the worst part of the book, though.
The rest is just a bananas, weird, fun time.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #rlstine #fearstreet #cult #fearstreetbook #missing #rlstinebook #rlstinefearstreet
And beyond the adult novel, “Superstitious” - which I seem to remember having VERY awkward sex scenes - this is the book I remember the best.
Because this book is bananas.
Not in a bad way. During this re-read, I have been less than hospitable to Stine and my own memories because a LOT of them don’t hold up but this is just as bananas and FUN as I remember.
The idea of coming home to your parents being missing is intriguing. As a teenager, you’re in that awkward stage where you know a lot of what’s going on and you know people should be listening to you and treating you seriously but everyone is hung up on the idea that you’re still a kid.
Because you are! Kind of! It’s an awkward time where you have zero power, aren’t treated seriously, but you aren’t oblivious like a younger kid would be. You see the threats, you know the danger, and you wish someone would listen to you.
It’s weird in the series. A protagonist kills a dog (weird in this series), two people die (also weird in the series), and this is before the CULT pops up. The cult that thinks America is on the wrong track and wants to use violence to take over the country and “Make America Great Again.”
Basically.
*shudder*
I never thought I’d say this, but RL Stine CALLED IT in a fuckin’ YA horror novel.
Y’all! Whodathunk?!
Also, there’s a lot of head-hopping between chapters with no chapter names to let you know who’s head you’re in and that slows you down as you figure it out. That’s the worst part of the book, though.
The rest is just a bananas, weird, fun time.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #rlstine #fearstreet #cult #fearstreetbook #missing #rlstinebook #rlstinefearstreet
Oh boy. Ohboyohboyohboyohboy, did I love this book!
I think this is in my top 5 King books. It sums up everything (but horror) that makes King such a great author. You can relate to the characters, there’s a heavy sense of nostalgia, there’s crime (though I will admit that the amount of crime made me wonder why this was a Hard Case book), and it’s a big slice of life book.
It’s charming.
Yeah, that’s the word: charming.
It’s about a college boy who gets a summer job at an amusement park where there may or may not be a ghost but there was DEFINITELY a disappearance/death.
My only critique is that King’s mysteries aren’t so much “mysteries” in the traditional sense where the reader is given enough clues to figure it out on their own. Usually King’s involves a character looking at something and realizing SOMETHING doesn’t seem right but they just can’t put their finger on it until… oh my god, they figured it out. But you, the reader, are not given the clues. You’re one step away from the protagonist and you can’t read his mind.
Which is kind of strange since King’s known for conveying inner thoughts.
Anyhoo, I’d say I don’t like that delivery of a mystery if King didn’t make his books so entertaining.
To be clear: I don’t go to King for Christie stories. I go to King for King stories.
And I REALLY like this older King style of storytelling. It’s more conversational and way more… I don’t know… intimate? It feels like I’m a kid at the foot of my grandfather’s rocking chair next to the fire rapt in the yarn that he’s spinning and that makes King unique and special in my book.
Also, I think this is a PERFECT book to loan to someone who is uninitiated. At this point people will say they haven’t read him because his books are long or they don’t like horror. Neither is a factor here.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #joyland #stephenkingbook #hardcasebook #crimebook
I think this is in my top 5 King books. It sums up everything (but horror) that makes King such a great author. You can relate to the characters, there’s a heavy sense of nostalgia, there’s crime (though I will admit that the amount of crime made me wonder why this was a Hard Case book), and it’s a big slice of life book.
It’s charming.
Yeah, that’s the word: charming.
It’s about a college boy who gets a summer job at an amusement park where there may or may not be a ghost but there was DEFINITELY a disappearance/death.
My only critique is that King’s mysteries aren’t so much “mysteries” in the traditional sense where the reader is given enough clues to figure it out on their own. Usually King’s involves a character looking at something and realizing SOMETHING doesn’t seem right but they just can’t put their finger on it until… oh my god, they figured it out. But you, the reader, are not given the clues. You’re one step away from the protagonist and you can’t read his mind.
Which is kind of strange since King’s known for conveying inner thoughts.
Anyhoo, I’d say I don’t like that delivery of a mystery if King didn’t make his books so entertaining.
To be clear: I don’t go to King for Christie stories. I go to King for King stories.
And I REALLY like this older King style of storytelling. It’s more conversational and way more… I don’t know… intimate? It feels like I’m a kid at the foot of my grandfather’s rocking chair next to the fire rapt in the yarn that he’s spinning and that makes King unique and special in my book.
Also, I think this is a PERFECT book to loan to someone who is uninitiated. At this point people will say they haven’t read him because his books are long or they don’t like horror. Neither is a factor here.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #joyland #stephenkingbook #hardcasebook #crimebook
I like baseball so this might be a bit biased.
I do NOT like baseball so much that I thought King’s “Faithful” was an exciting read, but I do like baseball and a common critique I hear about this story is that it’s boring because it focuses on, well, baseball.
But I love it. This is a novella written as an interview transcript. The interviewee, a character talking to King himself, is giving his memories on a player called Blockade Billy. It documents their season and ends about how you would expect a Stephen King story to end.
This isn’t the first time King has done stories written as transcripts (Dolores Claiborne was a whole NOVEL written as one) but I could see how it would throw some people off.
Look: I get why people might not like this story.
It’s short, it’s not horror in King’s traditional sense, it’s a transcript, and it’s about baseball.
But I think it’s great. It reminded me of those 1990s Disney sports movies, documenting the dramatic rise of the underdog to a big ending (though the endings are quite different) and I thought it was very exciting. It felt weird to get this nostalgic hit for DISNEY movies while reading KING but it happened.
Also, if you’re struggling with the transcript angle of the story (same for Dolores), I recommend checking your favorite audiobook sources for it because the narrator is very good and gives the transcript a lot of life and drama.
I think this is easily one of King’s hidden gems. People see the cover, shudder because they don’t like baseball, and dismiss it. But they shouldn’t be so fast because there’s a lot to love in this little novella.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #constantreader #blockadebilly #stephenkingbook
I do NOT like baseball so much that I thought King’s “Faithful” was an exciting read, but I do like baseball and a common critique I hear about this story is that it’s boring because it focuses on, well, baseball.
But I love it. This is a novella written as an interview transcript. The interviewee, a character talking to King himself, is giving his memories on a player called Blockade Billy. It documents their season and ends about how you would expect a Stephen King story to end.
This isn’t the first time King has done stories written as transcripts (Dolores Claiborne was a whole NOVEL written as one) but I could see how it would throw some people off.
Look: I get why people might not like this story.
It’s short, it’s not horror in King’s traditional sense, it’s a transcript, and it’s about baseball.
But I think it’s great. It reminded me of those 1990s Disney sports movies, documenting the dramatic rise of the underdog to a big ending (though the endings are quite different) and I thought it was very exciting. It felt weird to get this nostalgic hit for DISNEY movies while reading KING but it happened.
Also, if you’re struggling with the transcript angle of the story (same for Dolores), I recommend checking your favorite audiobook sources for it because the narrator is very good and gives the transcript a lot of life and drama.
I think this is easily one of King’s hidden gems. People see the cover, shudder because they don’t like baseball, and dismiss it. But they shouldn’t be so fast because there’s a lot to love in this little novella.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #constantreader #blockadebilly #stephenkingbook
Oh yeah, THIS is worth reading. Not joking at all.
It’s about a man who wakes up as a great big beetle-like thing. He was a former solider and had been happy once but that was a long time ago. Now he is the sole provider for his parents and his little sister and they are just worthless. Absolutely worthless. They leech off him and he’s not happy about it.
But here’s the thing: they’re not happy about it either and when he turns into this beetle the roles initially reverse and they have to take care of him but with no jobs, that’s a big ask.
So the father goes back to work and the mother rents out a room and the family suddenly realizes that they only THOUGHT they had nothing to offer so they never tried. Robbed of the guy they were mooching off of, they realized they are stronger and more resilient than they thought.
They’re still miserable, though, because they have to take care of this giant beetle.
Okay, small aside: most classic literature is spoiled. You know how Mice & Men ends and you might not have ever read it.
And studies have shown that if you know the ending you actually enjoy the story more.
But if that’s not the case for you, just go get this book and stop reading this.
I love this book. The learned helplessness of the family and the ridiculous martyrdom of the protagonist was so frustrating and well-written. I hated every single character in the best way if that makes sense.
And when our beetle guy gets stabbed and DIES and this turns out to be the family’s ticket to freedom, it really hit me.
I don’t think Kafka was writing about learned helplessness but that’s certainly what I got out of it and I began to look around me and wonder: as the breadwinner who is often not happy for a family who leans on me more and more, am I doing them a disservice by doing so much for them?
You know a book is good when it makes you reevaluate your whole life.
#books #bookrecommendation
#bookstagram #readersofpixelfed #readinglog #kafka #matamorphosis #read
It’s about a man who wakes up as a great big beetle-like thing. He was a former solider and had been happy once but that was a long time ago. Now he is the sole provider for his parents and his little sister and they are just worthless. Absolutely worthless. They leech off him and he’s not happy about it.
But here’s the thing: they’re not happy about it either and when he turns into this beetle the roles initially reverse and they have to take care of him but with no jobs, that’s a big ask.
So the father goes back to work and the mother rents out a room and the family suddenly realizes that they only THOUGHT they had nothing to offer so they never tried. Robbed of the guy they were mooching off of, they realized they are stronger and more resilient than they thought.
They’re still miserable, though, because they have to take care of this giant beetle.
Okay, small aside: most classic literature is spoiled. You know how Mice & Men ends and you might not have ever read it.
And studies have shown that if you know the ending you actually enjoy the story more.
But if that’s not the case for you, just go get this book and stop reading this.
I love this book. The learned helplessness of the family and the ridiculous martyrdom of the protagonist was so frustrating and well-written. I hated every single character in the best way if that makes sense.
And when our beetle guy gets stabbed and DIES and this turns out to be the family’s ticket to freedom, it really hit me.
I don’t think Kafka was writing about learned helplessness but that’s certainly what I got out of it and I began to look around me and wonder: as the breadwinner who is often not happy for a family who leans on me more and more, am I doing them a disservice by doing so much for them?
You know a book is good when it makes you reevaluate your whole life.
#books #bookrecommendation
#bookstagram #readersofpixelfed #readinglog #kafka #matamorphosis #read
A long time ago, King’s “Under the Dome” came out and I read it immediately. I’ve been huge King fan forever and it was a natural thing.
That book broke me. Absolutely destroyed me.
It wasn’t scary, it was… I was heartbroken.
The story centers on a town that inexplicably is cut off from the rest of the world and normal people are turned into monsters by a charismatic man who thinks he knows best.
And it didn’t take too much effort.
It’s the fact that the people were so easily turned that hurt, sure, but King is REALLY good at writing humans and I could see it happening in the real world. I could see some charismatic ass-hat basically giving permission to let peoples’ worst selves out for the world to see.
And hey, what do you know? Look what happened a few years later.
Anyway, I mostly stayed away from King from then on but I got a wild hair and decided why not give this a shot.
I did, and fell in love with it. It’s not perfect, but it’s really good. It’s got a lot of heart.
Two things:
1) This series ties into the Dark Tower
2) Both authors made a big mistake with the man’s name. They didn’t think anything of it, finished the story, it went to print, and not a single person along the way said “hey guys, why did you use the initials that are always used for a big bad in the King multiverse?”
So chalk it up to coincidence when you read it and try not to get too upset that it doesn’t play into fan theories as well as one would initially hope.
It’s a short, fun book. I’m a huge fan of this era of King’s work.
Pretty sure I’m going to need to read more.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #richardchizmar #gwendy #gwendysbuttonbox #stephenkingbook #castlerock
That book broke me. Absolutely destroyed me.
It wasn’t scary, it was… I was heartbroken.
The story centers on a town that inexplicably is cut off from the rest of the world and normal people are turned into monsters by a charismatic man who thinks he knows best.
And it didn’t take too much effort.
It’s the fact that the people were so easily turned that hurt, sure, but King is REALLY good at writing humans and I could see it happening in the real world. I could see some charismatic ass-hat basically giving permission to let peoples’ worst selves out for the world to see.
And hey, what do you know? Look what happened a few years later.
Anyway, I mostly stayed away from King from then on but I got a wild hair and decided why not give this a shot.
I did, and fell in love with it. It’s not perfect, but it’s really good. It’s got a lot of heart.
Two things:
1) This series ties into the Dark Tower
2) Both authors made a big mistake with the man’s name. They didn’t think anything of it, finished the story, it went to print, and not a single person along the way said “hey guys, why did you use the initials that are always used for a big bad in the King multiverse?”
So chalk it up to coincidence when you read it and try not to get too upset that it doesn’t play into fan theories as well as one would initially hope.
It’s a short, fun book. I’m a huge fan of this era of King’s work.
Pretty sure I’m going to need to read more.
#books #bookrecommendation #booktok #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksky #readersofpixelfed #read #readinglog #stephenking #richardchizmar #gwendy #gwendysbuttonbox #stephenkingbook #castlerock
I read this over the course of a few days and I loved every minute! I loved Vale and Arawn's story and the crazy tension that would build between then. I won't lie, I was tearing up at the end because it was so perfect and sweet.
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