So, 2020 was an absolute sh*t show, and the coping strategy that I chose was reading. In the past, I remember feeling bad about staying in and reading all the time, and I would constantly tell myself that I should probably leave the house more often. However, this year gave me an opportunity to reframe this guilt, and I was able to tell myself that I was just doing my part (yay me).
Continue reading “My 2020 Year in Books”
New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman’s transcendent series THE SANDMAN is often hailed as the definitive Vertigo title and one of the finest achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman created an unforgettable tale of the forces that exist beyond life and death by weaving ancient mythology, folklore and fairy tales with his own distinct narrative vision.
In PRELUDES & NOCTURNES, an occultist attempting to capture Death to bargain for eternal life traps her younger brother Dream instead. After his 70 year imprisonment and eventual escape, Dream, also known as Morpheus, goes on a quest for his lost objects of power. On his arduous journey Morpheus encounters Lucifer, John Constantine, and an all-powerful madman.
This book also includes the story “The Sound of Her Wings,” which introduces us to the pragmatic and perky goth girl Death.
Read from December 25, 2020 – December 26, 2020
Neil Gaiman is a literary juggernaut, and I’ve always felt like I should read at least one thing by him. I’ve looked at his books, but none of them seemed like something that I’d enjoy. However, The Sandman explores some myths and legends that I haven’t heard of before, and I was really intrigued by Dream, The Sandman‘s mythical protagonist who just so happens to look like a My Chemical Romance song personified.
Continue reading “The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman, Sam Kieth (Illustrator), Malcolm Jones III (Illustrator), Mike Dringenberg (Illustrator)”
In a small Western Queensland town, a reserved young woman receives a note from one of her vanished brothers—a note that makes question her memories of their disappearance and her father’s departure.
A beguiling story that proves that gothic delights and uncanny family horror can live—and even thrive—under a burning sun, Flyaway introduces readers to Bettina Scott, whose search for the truth throws her into tales of eerie dogs, vanished schools, cursed monsters, and enchanted bottles.
In these pages Jennings assures you that gothic delights, uncanny family horror, and strange, unsettling prose can live—and even thrive—under a burning sun.
Holly Black describes as “half mystery, half fairy tale, all exquisitely rendered and full of teeth.” Flyaway enchants you with the sly, beautiful darkness of Karen Russell and a world utterly its own.
Read from December 12, 2020 to December 21, 2020
As soon as I saw the word ‘gothic’ in the synopsis, I immediately added this novella to my Want to Read shelf. Then, when I saw that there would be some f*cked up family dynamics involved, I instantly moved it to my Currently Reading shelf. What can I say? I love reading about problems that aren’t my own.
Continue reading “Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings”
The very first collection of superb short stories featuring Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings…
First there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond… then came the ‘suicide’ that was murder… the mystery of the absurdly cheap flat… a suspicious death in a locked gun-room… a million dollar bond robbery… the curse of a pharaoh’s tomb… a jewel robbery by the sea… the abduction of a Prime Minister… the disappearance of a banker… a phone call from a dying man… and, finally, the mystery of the missing will.
What links these fascinating cases? Only the brilliant deductive powers of Hercule Poirot! Get ready for:
1. The Adventure of The Western Star
2. The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
3. The Adventure of The Cheap Flat
4. The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge
5. The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
6. The Adventure of The Egyptian Tomb
7. The Jewel Robbery at The Grand Metropolitan
8. The Kidnapped Prime Minister
9. The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
10. The Adventure of The Italian Nobleman
11. The Case of The Missing Will.
It should be noted that the above stories are the contents of the original UK edition. The American edition, which came out a year later in 1925, had three extras and more Hercule Poirot. They are:
12. The Veiled Lady
13. The Lost Mine
14. The Chocolate Box
Read from December 6, 2020 – December 11, 2020
The moral of the story is: stick to the Sherlock Holmes short stories. I prefer the Hercule Poirot novels over the Sherlock Holmes ones, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the OG detective short story author. (I’m still going to read the rest of the Poirot anthologies because my goal is to read the whole series, but it doesn’t mean that I have to like them all.)
Continue reading “Poirot Investigates (Hercule Poirot #3) by Agatha Christie”
A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel.
Pray they are hungry.
Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.
Read from November 28, 2020 – December 1, 2020
I went into this book hoping that it would make me pee my pants, and it almost did, but not because I was scared. It was because this book was surprisingly hard to put down and it almost made me forget about the fact that I have a bladder and that it needs to be relieved frequently.
Continue reading “The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher”
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