House of Leaves is the same as the house on Ash Tree Lane. It's bigger on the inside, contains more than it appears, but it doesn't mean anything. It defies logic and physics.
omg Kayla, please do a whole video discussing your and other people’s theories and like all the clues bc I could’ve watched hours of it in the live show😩😩
Chapter 9 (where Mollie stopped) is definitely the hardest chapter to get through in the entire book. It's the Labyrinth chapter and it's a doozy. But if you can get past that, the rest of the book is fairly easy to get through.
I would STRONGLY recommend going through S. and pulling out the inserts before reading it. I numbered them and wrote the numbers on the pages where they came from so I could reference them at that time they came up. Literally just had them all in a freezer bag so I didn't lose them.
ugh i put the book in my to-donate pile immediately after finishing it because i thought it was so boring and exhausting but now watching this liveshow... i kinda wanna reread it... what are you doing to me...
I just finished it and my perspective on it keeps changing. SPOILERS AHEAD - I believe that Johnny is made up and the women he is with is a fantasy Zampano is playing out with the women who come to write for him? He was married to P but their son died (Johnny's final chapter) and that made him make up a whole story about the Navidson stuff as the maze to me is about reuniting love. Possibly the Navidson twins are a way to play out his feelings about losing his son and not being able to do anything about it? Also about the photograph. P being in the asylum is ultimately how he sees her afterwards, like he's lost her and maybe even subconsciously blames her for the loss of his son (see how Johnny keeps not knowing if his mother tried to hurt him or not). He keeps losing himself in the son story and putting parts of himself in Johnny's story - like when the dog is killed how this woman is awful and she changed (maybe how he sees P) and the dog is representative of Johnny as well? Then again, it could all not be that at all!
Navidson record is made up and him falling into darkness is representative of Zampano's impending blindness and Karen coming back for Navidson and saving him is how he wished P would have realised what she had lost and come to save him.
I had the book before I seen your video about loving it Kayla! Then when you really loved it I went for it! It’s now one of my all time favourites. It was amazing. I read the Navidson story first with certain footnotes, then Johnny’s story and the end stuff like the letters last. I am not a good reader (memory of a sieve too 😆) and I managed to get through it so I highly recommend trying it at the very least if you’re nervous! 🍃💕 Also the science of sound is actually one of my favourite parts 😆 mainly the part about Echos and the mythology of it.
Just getting to the end and Piranesi is my all time favourite book right now. Definitely of the year. I love it so much. It’s not similar to House of Leaves but also is???? 😆 It’s a very easy read! Piranesi is a wonderful character! Highly recommended it! 💕
Alright, came back to report that I was finally able to rip out the first page but it was not at all easy, so I remain unconvinced that I was supposed to do that. Maybe some copies make it easier than others?
I actually liked Johnny, not necessarily his scenes but the way he was as a person. Maybe the German translation of the book changes his personality a little. Johnny to me seemed like a kid with a ton of issues but with a very kind heart. At many instances he felt like a child to me that just wanted to belong somewhere
I want to watch this soo bad (and any other discussions about the book). But I'm only a short way into the book, and don't want spoilers. At this point the book seems impossible and neverending. Can't wait to see what happens, and how this could possibly have an ending.
Also what i have sort of gotten by the way ppl say they read the book and the theories they have, there's a correlation there. I read in order and checked the appendixes when they told me to (the editors or johnny) and my theory is that johnny just is insane but also a liar :/ I can't think of that whole THEY WERE NEVER REALLL thing
I have a whole bookshelf of books that play with form like house of leaves does, let me know if you’re interested in recs!! Could be a fun reading blog, just saying!
I started reading this the day you did your live show (oops) and have waited all this time to finish so I could watch it. FINALLY!!! Haha this was very entertaining and now I need to deep dive into these theories that are so different from the ones I had. I really did enjoy the book!
I missed this live but I still enjoyed the conversation! I regret nothing DNFing this. I’m also super happy for those that loved it! What a strange book.
This was #22 on my TBR but now I’m racing to finish “Bitterroot Lake” in order to get to “House of Leaves” ASAP. Strangely, it’s Megan who sold me in it. The things she hates are all things I that are frequently autobuy for me. I can’t wait! BTW - Alicia Beckman’s “Bitterroot Lake” is well worth reading.
kayla, you would probably love S/ship of theseus thing cause it's very similar to house of leaves experience-wise but it might not be the best to buy it secondhand cause the added thing might be in the wrong place or some of them might be missing. cause the like beginners guide to reading the book [online[ even recommends taking all of the shit out of the book and marking with like post notes or smth what page it was on originally and then putting them somewhere else so you wouldn't lose any of them while reading the book or misplace them page wise
I have been waiting all month for this liveshow 😍😍 This liveshow convinced me not to read it. Hearing your theories and seeing how many there are, is way too much for me 😂 especially if the mysteries go allllll the way down to the actual book editions? Nah. That's a white man taking the p*ss 😂
🍁I’m not live but I want to read this so bad and couldn’t fit it in before the show 😭😭 I will only watch part of this before spoilers and can’t wait to finish the video soon!
I recently read and really enjoyed "Subcutanean" by Aaron Reed and it gave me strong Navidson Record's vibes. There's a version on Wattpad or you can order a copy, in which case it would be a unique version (the story is the same but some word choices are randomised, which works with the concept of the book)
I left out all of the videos about HoL so I wouldn't be spoiled and now that I've read it and seen your videos after that I kinda regret my decision. I really could've used the tip about reading the stories seperately cause now I'm conflicted between loving the Navidson's story and that feeling being pulled down by all of Johnny's ramblings in between
