FLoating Dragon by Peter Straub - the only book that kept me up at night. My Heart is a Chain Saw by Stephen Graham Jones - I got an ARC just before the book came out and this book truly disturbed me. The Lord of the Flies and The Grace Year - both very similar and both scared me.
Mrs. Bieker grew up in CA and now lives in Portland. That explains the metoo and capitalist pig, I mean husband, references. On another note: courtroom drama is a big snoozefest for me.
It's not his business or anyone else's what people buy with their hard earned income. If books aren't purchased then people won't write. lol. I chose to spend with discretion based on my income and I happily sacrifice other things so I can buy what brings me joy. This kid needs to lighten up. I don't what happened to his generation but they sure are unhappy and always seem to be telling the rest of the world should do and think.
🥱good grief. What else ya got Michael? None of these piqued my interest except maybe the Annihilation sequel/prequel. I haven't read them yet but Annihilation has been on my radar for a while now!
Yep, I'm with you. I'm in a bit of a rut, been in one for a while now... I blame the publishing industry! I keep trying, and I keep getting disappointed. I can only assume part of the blame...
Library: I have a hold on Creation Lake. Ficciones is in my grubby little hands and I'll start it as soon as I'm done with The Train (Roger Wheatley). 1 (one) Q84: Knocked Pillars of the Earth off the #1 spot for my favorite book of all time. Can you set up "Buy-Me-A-Coffee" where you are or is that an *American thang*?
OK, one more VERY strong vote of 1Q84. Yes, I must get around to that. And I'm excited for you reading Ficciones! I look forward to your reaction😁I'll look into 'buy-me-a-coffee'. I hadn't heard of it, but I'll look into it. Thanks
"that seems a bit redundant" 😂 Navigating the dysfunctional american health care system? Nope, see that every day. pass. For some reason, I can't see you liking the Midnight Library. Subtle it is not. The Empusium! Finally one of these piqued my interest. I've never read from this author before. Whoa, that cover of Absolution! Adding the original trio to my books to check out list. Not too many here for my tastes in reading, though I'm also interested in the Mariana Enriquez. I have Our share of night by her though, and I need to read that one first.
I'm with you on the Empusium! Lots of people love Mariana Enriquez'es work. Not me, though, the grouch that I am. But I hope it works on you, and I'll be curious to hear your thoughts on it.
@@Michael_Wertenberg The book I have is quite the chonker, so I'm intimidated to get into it. I will probably wait until after Halloween to dive in so I can give it the time it needs. Maybe just the one you read was a stinker?
I agree with the views you express so succinctly in your video. I adore the horror genre. I love well-written characters and stories that scare me. I've been struggling to find modern scary stories within the horror genre. Last year, I purchased twenty, highly-rated horror novels. I've read six novels in a row written by men. In each case, the male author wrote in first person through a female character. My complaint? The female protagonists felt, thought, and acted like men. I experienced two creepy moments spread over six horror novels. It's not all bad. I found modern Nick Cutter, Adam Nevile, and Ronald Malfi novels well-written with numerous creepy and scary moments.
I share your frustration! I haven't read Ronald Malfi yet, but he's on my radar. Don't miss my conversation with Nick Cutter coming soon to this channel! (Coincidentally, his latest is 1st person from a female perspective. But I think it's pretty good...)
@@Michael_Wertenberg Virginie Despentes has a new title out - Dear Dickhead - not sure if it's your cup of poison, but you'd be able to read it in the original French.
Very useful reviews. I own some of these titles. Will read The Deep for sure, and soon. Will not read Blood Kin (and what's up with that title? There are at least five other Blood Kin books out there, by different authors. Writers could try to be a bit more original, I think), and I will read the only book by Nevill that I have, Last Days, to check if i like his style. Thanks for the thoughtful list, and your cat is just too beautiful. Happy readings.
Thank you😁I'm really hoping you like Last Days. A lot of people do. Even if it's not one of my favourites of his. Let me know how it goes for you, if you do read it. And don't miss my conversation with Nick Cutter, coming in a few weeks! 😽😺
I just finished Blind Owl, It took me a while to finish such a short book. Like you said all I was reading was self-deprecating whining and moaning. I couldn’t really pull myself to finish it until I got to the second half. Now the second half pulled me in a bit more bc we got a sense of who this character is. I really liked how dark it was but I was uncomfortable with the dark sexual tension he had with his wife. He was so jealous of her. At first I was like dang, his wife sucks! But as I read on and saw how he would compare himself to her, assume she was cheating (I mean if she was I wouldn’t blame her lol) . The way he talks to her. Like I felt bad for his wife ! Overall it was a difficult read , I appreciate this dark side of literature and I’m glad I’m freakin done with it
I am just wrapping up my reading of Jose Rizal's _Noli Me Tangere_ , and I never even thought of it as, what you describe as 'agenda-driven' literature, but good grief does that description fit. Afraid it beats Yellow Wallpaper by about four years, and you are right, I cannot think of many earlier examples than that. Maybe Uncle Tom's Cabin? Anyway, I will probably have to steal your excellent insight for my review.
Enjoyed The Yellow Wall-Paper a great deal. Alas, the Calvino novel proved somehow impregnable to me - it repulsed my every attempt to get "into it". The Stars' Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry is an interesting take on The Count of Monte Cristo, but I must read the original. Finally, I must thank you for turning me onto Daphne Du Maurier -- I'm loving her writing.
@@Michael_Wertenberg I've been savouring her short stories (The Birds anthology). Next up will be Rebecca... So not a favourite as yet, but judging by her short stories, she's a wonderful writer.
I love the yellow wallpaper and have told so many people about it. Truly worried me, in a good way. Please keep them coming michael. Blessings from chicago hon❤😂🎉
Brilliant! I was getting ready to write in the comments "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" and then you got to your last entry. I've also read Numbers in the Dark and Invisible Cities by him and those are quite good too.
😁I think there's at least one word in every video that a viewer has to correct me on. I looked it up, so I should be good now😁Thanks (By the way, it's 'pedantic' not 'pedentic'🤪
Winter’s Night : It's at the library and I have a hold on FICTIONS. I'm currently reading I Who Have Never Known Men (Jacqueline Harpman) and The Inhabited Island (Arkady /Boris Strugatsky).
Sadly I've not read any of the classics you mention but made a mental note to investigate. Classic I remember reading are The Pickwick Papers, The Trial, The Sun Also Rises, Anna Karenina, Catcher in the Rye, The Fountainhead, lots of Norman Mailer (An American Dream & Harlot's Ghost are favorites), several Tennessee Williams' plays, and many of Chekhov's short stories which taught me the very important Chekhov's gun lesson. As much as I've liked them, or in Salinger's case disliked, I preferred From Russia With Love (Ian Fleming), The Way Some People Die (Ross Macdonald), My Gun Is Quick (Mickey Spillane), The Great Hunt (Robert Jordan), The Ninja (Eric Van Lustbader---it's hard to hold your breath for 500 pages) and, most recently, Mick Herron's eight Slow Horses novels, devoured in two weeks. I own and intend to read Crime & Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov, but have not to date.
Love the Yellow Wallpaper, read it a long time ago. Count Monte Cristo has been on my tbr for about 100 years now.😂 The Winter journey was just mentioned in Drawing Blood, Kinda weird huh. You need to do a part 2! xx
😁I think that story would actually make a very good horror if it were told from the point of view of Mercedes and not Edmond Dantes. (Keep that in mind when/if you read it😉)
😁I can't say enough good things about Adam Nevil's work (though I seem to be trying; I have made many videos about it). And I'll spare you my Exorcist rant (but you can catch it towards the end of my Top 10 Horror from the '70s video. Thanks for watching and for the feedback😁
You explained The Yellow Wallpaper beautifully. That ending,creepy. Have you ever read The Beckoning Fair One by Oliver Onions? There's a line in that story that gives me the shivers everytime.
Christine, I went to Goodreads and looked up the author and found this novella. You might want to edit your comment as to the spelling of the Title of this novella. It is called, The Beckoning Fair One. After reading what it is about I have put it in my October must read! So glad I read your comment.
I’ll give you the like but I refuse to subscribe. Since I already am. Count of Monte Cristo is so cool! It’s got enough story for all those pages. A fave. The Yellow Wall-Paper is great, with as much anger as calmly presented as Shirley Jackson. Umberto Eco in Postscript to the Name of the Rose: “I wanted a blind man who guarded a library (it seemed a good narrative idea to me), and library plus blind man can only equal Borges, also because debts must be paid.” The first chapter of If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler may be the truest and funniest thing ever written about book buying.
I’ve read The Yellow Wallpaper, which I very much enjoyed; but the other three all have been on my “I want to read this but am still reading other stuff” list. Don’t know why I keep doing that.
Star ratings come from other universes only occasionally like ours. Peter Straub takes his time, but I find the mass of detail ends up mattering. Great recommendation of Psycho 2. That rating of Apartment 16 is justification for some competency hearings. I wasn’t super grabbed by Mr. B. Gone, but it was still a darned good book. Early Ramsey Campbell is still a great time. Oddly, both times I’ve read it, it was mostly in waiting rooms and doctor’s offices. I haven’t read that Catriona Ward book yet, but it’s on my list. It sounds like I’ll enjoy it. Maybe those Nevill dislikers are reading some other version of his books. House of Small Shadows is so damn cool. And the dioramas make an interesting pair with one of the ships in Iain M. Banks’ Excession. Dearest is also on my list, and it’s your fault. :) I’m not super into Appalachian and Southern folk horror, but Tem keeps pleasing me. I’ll check out Blood Kin sometime. I’ve somehow missed Toll, but I really like Cherie Priest. Onto the list it goes. The Deep just didn’t work for me. The global crisis stuff at the opening seemed to just completely vanish. The tightly focused seafloor stuff is okay, but it felt like pieces of two almost unrelated stories. But then I just don’t hear the music with Cutter, and I’m willing to consider it’s a me problem. More Ward on my list.
😁Oh, my. Dearest is unconventuonal. We can blame Ciminoly for that; I found out about it from his channel😁If you do give it a go, I'd be curious to hear your take on it.
😁And you also have not unsubscribed to this channel despite my frequent and vehement slandering of a classic you hold in high regard, which is further proof of your open-mindedness and of your not being an insufrable book snob😻
"You might even be French. I'm not judging! It happens to the best of us." What an expert level joke, said in such a deadpan voice. Had be laughing so loud.
Congratulations on your One Year! Omg!! Absolutely brilliant! lol. Looking forward to your second year. ;). "Edifice Complex" and "Geek Love" are in my tbr. My life is too crazy to start " House of Leaves".
@Michael_Wertenberg - my upstairs neighbor's water heater broke so my dining room became a fountain attraction comparable to the Bellagio in Las Vegas lol.
And I did not have a heart attack reading that. Progress! 🙃Thanks for sharing. (To share a similar confession, I only heard about Thomas Ligotti a year or so ago thanks to a viewer of this channel.)
You're a unique voice in #booktube -- please don't stop anytime soon. Duly noted. In fact, I will strive to not be insufferable in general (I have some pretentious tendencies I must keep in check, especially since I'm "niks gewoond" as we say where I come from -- which basically means I'm an unsophisticated bumpkin). Great video.
Thank you for the kind words (and the new words!)😁Oddly enough, I found this comment in the 'blocked comments' folder. Maybe YT was afraid it would go to my head😅
