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The Accursed
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
A major historical novel from "one of the great artistic forces of our time" (The Nation)an eerie, unforgettable story of possession, power, and loss in early-twentieth-century Princeton, a cultural crossroads of the powerful and the damned Princeton, New Jersey, at the turn of the twentieth century: a tranquil place to raise a family, a genteel town for genteel souls. But something dark and dangerous lurks at the edges of the town, corrupting and infecting its residents. Vampires and ghosts haunt the dreams of the innocent. A powerful curse besets the elite families of Princeton; their daughters begin disappearing. A young bride on the verge of the altar is seduced and abducted by a dangerously compelling mana shape-shifting, vaguely European prince who might just be the devil, and who spreads his curse upon a richly deserving community of white Anglo-Saxon privilege. And in the Pine Barrens that border the town, a lush and terrifying underworld opens up. When the bride's brother sets out against all odds to find her, his path will cross those of Princeton's most formidable people, from Grover Cleveland, fresh out of his second term in the White House and retired to town for a quieter life, to soon-to-be commander in chief Woodrow Wilson, president of the university and a complex individual obsessed to the point of madness with his need to retain power; from the young Socialist idealist Upton Sinclair to his charismatic comrade Jack London, and the most famous writer of the era, Samuel Clemens/Mark Twainall plagued by "accursed" visions. An utterly fresh work from Oates, The Accursed marks new territory for the masterful writer. Narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling supernatural elements to stunning effect.
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review
perfectsinner
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
Bailedbailed

Bailed after 200 pages. The book desperately needed a better editor, and after reading some Goodreads reviews, helped make up my mind to just forget about this convoluted story that needed condensing and a better ending. Life's too short for bad books.
I'll go ahead and start a reread of Rebecca.

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perfectsinner
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates

I thought this sounded good and kinda spooky.. we're only a few days into November, so it's still not too late for spooky season, right? 🙂 hoping it's a good pick.

BookmarkTavern It‘s never too late for spooky! 👻 1w
5 likes1 comment
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perfectsinner
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Random used book sale haul #1
14 📚🤓 for $22

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OrangeMooseReads
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Mehso-so

I‘m not sure what I just listened to, lol. It was strange and at times hard to follow. At the end it made sense but until then it was annoying to be honest. It was a unique-ish story being that it was based at Princeton and had fictionalized real people for characters.
I wish it had been better organized and easier to follow.

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OrangeMooseReads
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Started this one. I feel like I should start it over because I feel lost and confused. I‘m well over an hour into it though. Maybe I‘ll catchup and things will click.

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catebutler
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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I‘m breaking in my new autumn mug with a favourite herbal tea, Winter Spice by Twinings. It‘s a comforting blend of apple, chamomile, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves - perfect for a crisp autumn day. I have the last 100 pages of my book to finish before book club tonight, so I‘m trying to sneak in a chapter or two, in between meetings and emails.

Bklover Perfect fall mug! 5y
catebutler @Bklover I had to make a quick stop at Target last night to pick it up! So glad I did, it was the last one in stock. 5y
TEArificbooks Great photo. The tea sounds good 5y
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catebutler @mdm139 Thank you! I especially love this tea in the evening. Perfect bedtime tea. 🌙 5y
BethM Cute mug! I love that tea! 5y
catebutler @BethM Thank you! I‘m so glad you love this tea too! It‘s perfect for the colder months. 🍂 5y
Nute I like everything about this post!🧡🍂🍁☕️ 5y
catebutler @Nute You are so kind, thank you!! 🤗 5y
LeahBergen I must try this tea! ❤️ 5y
catebutler @LeahBergen I know you‘ll enjoy it. Another favourite is the Pumpkin Spice Rooibos from Trader Joe‘s and their Autumn Spice Tea. Both are equally delicious!! 🦊☕️🍂 5y
rubyslippersreads Sounds delicious. 😊🍂🍁 5y
41 likes11 comments
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catebutler
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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I‘m making my way through Joyce Carol Oates, ‘The Accursed‘ for my IRL book club next week. Set during the turn of the twentieth century in Princeton, New Jersey. Strange things begin to happen...vampires, ghosts & a powerful curse befall the residents of a normally genteel town. I‘m also loving the real life characters crossing in & out of this twisted & complex novel: Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Jack London & Upton Sinclair, to name a few.

TEArificbooks Great photo. Love that book mark 5y
catebutler @mdm139 Thank you! The bookmark is from JatipDesign. 🤗 5y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Beautiful photo!! I always love seeing yours! 💗💗 5y
Alora This is gorgeous!!! 🍁 🍂 5y
46 likes4 comments
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Reviewsbylola
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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The book itself was a slog tbh, but that cover. 😍 #covercrush #7days7covers Day 5

Megabooks That just makes me want to do a blood draw! (We usually take from the jugular in dogs and cats.) So thanks for making me feel like a vampire, Steph! 🤪🤣 5y
75 likes1 comment
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Author_Chelsea_Warren_PA
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Started this today because I needed a change of pace while I'm fighting a severe Fibro flare!

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Tex2Flo
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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#winmyheart
Buy me and book and win my heart. Read to me and discuss it and you might as well propose.

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GinEyre22
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Joyce 👏Carol👏Oats👏

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sprainedbrain
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Purchases made at the annual used book sale to support a local-ish library are exempt from my book buying ban.

Because I‘m a grown woman and I make the rules here.

Also, because I needed something to put in the tote.

😂

Sophoclessweetheart Ah! The Alienist! I need this book x 6y
Tamra Yes you do! 😁 6y
Chocamanda I loved The Accursed! I got to meet Joyce Carol Oates last month too. Enjoy your amazing haul! 6y
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Readerann Wait! Library sales are exempt from book-buying bans?! You just made my day! 👍😀📚📚📚 6y
Amanda.T I like your rules! I think I‘ll adopt them for my library‘s bag sale next month. 😂 6y
sprainedbrain @Readerann @Amanda.T I am not a lawyer, but I believe there is a sub-clause that allows purchasing books to support a library. 😂 6y
TheRiehlDeal Good job on getting Thunderstruck and The Alienist! 👌 👍 My library sale is in September, and it can't come soon enough! 6y
LaraReads I‘m pretty sure that rule is in the handbook I have around here somewhere! Now if only I could find it amongst these stacks of books! 🤣🤣🤣 6y
Liz_M The Hours! Loved the book and the movie, especially as it was my gateway drug to V. Woolf 😁 6y
janeycanuck Ooh, I‘m very pleased to hear about this rule! 6y
157 likes10 comments
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Asktheletters
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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On the first day of my end-of-year, Christmas holidays: what could be better than some postmodern gothic. ‘Tis the season...😝

10 likes1 stack add
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Velvetsun
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Hoping for a stress free day of reading.
🤞📖💜

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Velvetsun
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Velvetsun
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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This book has gotten so many less than steller reviews, I have to admit it has kept me from reading it for years. But, I'm about 200 pages in , and I think it's absolutely fascinating. Really enjoying it so far.

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beckygracelea
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Payday book treats

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aa_guer2021
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
Mehso-so

I don't bail on books, unless they are absolutely deplorable. An author had spent valuable time spinning, and researching, their tale, and therefore it deserves a fighting chance. This being said, what I just finished was slow-moving, entirely too verbose, mostly superfluous, and therefore fairly disappointing. There were moments that peaked my interest, and even rare moments of brilliance, but I cannot recommend this book. 3.5/5 😬😕😩🚫🐦

BookishMarginalia That's interesting. For me a 3.5 is still a recommend -- I enjoy the carpet of reviewing styles and criteria! 8y
aa_guer2021 @BookishMarginalia 3.5 is probably high for it, to be honest. There WERE moments of brilliance, and it did hook me in (somehow) to keep reading it, so...mixed feelings. 8y
5 likes2 comments
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PNWBookseller85
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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My MIL (hi @Yuki !!) is with the kids so I'm having lunch out alone. Hoping to make some serious progress in this book for my readalong with @BookishFeminist - I'm hitting a groove with it now.

Cinfhen Your lunch 🍴 looks yummy 😋 8y
PNWBookseller85 @Cinfhen it was! ☺️ 8y
84 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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aa_guer2021
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Last book in my first #TBR stack. About 145 pages in, and that barely puts a dent into it. Having trouble with this excessively wordy, tangential narrative style. 😕😩 Hopefully this will pick up soon... #thisisachallenge #stickingtoitfornow
@BookishFeminist your opinion would be appreciated. I think you are reading this, too?

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BookishFeminist
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Perfect fall weather means I've moved my Monday reading party outside. (And also caffeine. I desperately needed more caffeine.) Now sitting at Starbucks with a pumpkin spice latte & a scone. ☀️🎃🍂🍁

Picking this creepy, messed up gothic book that's set in Princeton back up. Reading it along with @BeckyMerilatt but I had to set it down when I was in an awful reading slump at the beginning of the month!

#BooksNBucks

Suzze I am in the house and I'm freezing. Brrrr 🌬🌬 8y
BookishFeminist @Suzze Oh no! I'm in Virginia so it's sunny and 65° today. Makes for a nice fall! Hope it warms up a bit by you. 8y
PNWBookseller85 I set it aside for a bit too. Will pick it up again tonight! Your weather sounds perfect. 👌🏻 8y
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PNWBookseller85 Also - how is the dreaded reading slump? You ok? Need to talk about it? Are there therapists out there for this specific problem? Cause there should be. 8y
BookishFeminist @BeckyMerilatt Awesome!! Our weather really is perfect today. My reading slump is much better! Not great but I can read now. 😀👍🏼 There really should be therapists for this specific problem. 😂 I am okay though—it's been the election triggering me so I've been unable to concentrate well. But I do have a therapist helping me with that! And the election will be over soon. My vacation this weekend helped a ton! 8y
beaniebankbeth @BookishFeminist Ooh, we need to TALK when you're done with that one. I read it back in the very month it was released & had to speed through it since it was in high demand at the library. I was convinced by the NYT Book Review to read it & I still feel like I'm sorting the whole thing out. Love the New Jersey setting, though. I was still living in Bordentown when it came out, so in hollering distance of many of the settings. 8y
Suzze @BookishFeminist Yeah, no. In the 40's most of the week. 8y
Chachic I love scones! And I keep hoping Starbucks would start serving pumpkin spice latte in Singapore so I could try it. 8y
PNWBookseller85 Glad you're feeling better! Just filled out my ballot tonight. Can't wait for it to be over as well. I have been having stress dreams about it for months. 8y
booksandsympathy It's still in the 90's here. They were saying it was supposed to be in the 70's on Halloween. Don't know if that'll change or not. Last election year it was 100° that day. This election year has triggered a lot of women, myself included. I can't wait for it to be over. 8y
160 likes7 stack adds10 comments
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PNWBookseller85
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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The Accursed, the unconsoled, asleep / here I am / a discovery of witches

#readathon #spinepoetry

I was going to try to make a haiku. Maybe I'll try again later.

Dragon Nice 👍 8y
jpmcwisemorgan I like this one! I can't do spine poetry as a lot of my books are still packed up. 8y
Reviewsbylola I hope you're enjoying The Accursed. I liked it overall! 8y
87 likes3 comments
review
Reviewsbylola
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Pickpick

Finished less than 30 minutes before the start of the readathon! This was definitely a labor of love. JCO is overly wordy, which worked in this instance. The Accursed is so creepy and atmospheric, perfect for this time of year. I loved the setting of Princeton and the addition of actual historical figures such as Grover Cleveland, Upton Sinclair, Woodrow Wilson, etc.

aa_guer2021 @Reviewsbylola I just started this (at p. 145) and am having difficulties with the wordy, seemingly tangential narrative style.😩 You rated it as *PICK* so it picks up, and not worth bailing yet? 8y
Reviewsbylola I would say that if you don't like the wordiness now, I would bail. I feel like JCO goes overboard with her inflated writing style in this one and it worked for me (for the most part) but I definitely think it is not something a lot of people would love. @ruskigurl16 8y
51 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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BookishFeminist
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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I'm going up to PA/NJ for the weekend & don't think I have enough reading. 😉

#AllHallowsRead #GiveAScaryBook

Megld4 Never! 8y
DiruVamp LOVE your tote! 😍🤓 8y
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KellyTurner Love, love, love the bag!! 💼📚❤️ 8y
LeahBergen 😂😂 8y
Amandajoy You never know when there might be a freak storm. Always be prepared. 8y
Megabooks Nope! Definitely not! 😉😎 8y
obviateit Safe travels! Be sure to wave if you take 95 into PA! 😁🙋🏻 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I'm with @obviateit, wave as you pass through PA! 8y
BookishFeminist @obviateit @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Waving to you both from outside Philly! 👋🏼👋🏼 8y
Leftcoastzen You need one for every mood! 8y
luckymuffins I'm from Bucks County! How about you?? 8y
BookishFeminist @luckymuffins I'm from Virginia. :) Came up to PA this weekend for a wedding! I went to Rutgers in NJ so tons of my college friends are around the Philly area. 8y
150 likes13 comments
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Reviewsbylola
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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My little sleepy heads finally fell asleep so I am going to squeeze in some much needed reading time. Hoping to finish this behemoth before the readathon but I'm not sure how likely that is.

britt_brooke 😍 8y
MrBook 👌🏻 8y
scripturient 😍 8y
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PNWBookseller85 I'm reading this as well! It's a slog! I'm hoping it picks up some momentum soon. I'm about 200 pages in. 8y
Reviewsbylola JCO is very hit or miss for me. She is so verbose but in this instance it is working for me. I was thinking though that a lot of people would find it hard to get through!! I am right around page 250. @BeckyMerilatt 8y
PNWBookseller85 I appreciate the subtle humor and I don't mind the language. I'm not sure how I feel about all the major plot points being told from the perspective of characters on the sidelines. 8y
AmyWrites Adorable. 💗the pacifier 💗 8y
Reviewsbylola Some of the fringe characters are confusing to me. I am a little past 300 pages now and only just starting to understand how Upton Sinclair ties into the story. @BeckyMerilatt 8y
76 likes2 stack adds10 comments
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Reviewsbylola
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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You know you've got a chunker when you're 100 pages in and you've barely made a dent. #ilikebigbooksandicannotlie

LauraJ Well said 😉 8y
74 likes2 comments
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Reviewsbylola
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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#bookmail from the past week. I made a Thrift Books order thanks to @BeckyMerilatt 's post about The Accursed and then today I got my #BOTM order. I just finished my current book about an hour ago so now comes the impossible question of what to read next?

jessberk13 Good as Gone is a quick read! 8y
PNWBookseller85 If you start The Accursed you could join @BookishFeminist and me in our readalong! We're taking it pretty slow. It'd be easy to catch up! 8y
Reviewsbylola Awesome, I am definitely thinking about starting it next. Thanks for the offer! @BeckyMerilatt 8y
Lacythebookworm The Mothers! 8y
65 likes4 comments
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PNWBookseller85
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Three things:
Yesterday I found out via #Pottermore that I am in #Gryffindor. I can't help wondering what house my 11-year-old self would have been sorted into.

Also, trying my best to keep up with @BookishFeminist in The Accursed. It's picking up! I think I'm going to like it.

My Hogwarts mug is fading from overuse.

BookishFeminist Don't worry about keeping up! We can read at whatever pace you need. How far along are you? 8y
MMFinck Waving to you both! :) @BookishFeminist 8y
PNWBookseller85 @BookishFeminist I'm on page 97. Adelaide McLean Burr's journal. Ghosts and a possible (I mean, it's pretty obvious) vampire so far. You? 8y
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PNWBookseller85 @MMF 👋🏻 8y
BookishFeminist I'm around the same! Totally a vampire. ⚰ Hi @MMF !! 👋🏼 8y
WordWaller I need to read this!! I've had my eye on it for a long time 8y
82 likes4 stack adds6 comments
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BookishFeminist
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Gothic novel + blackberry Cabernet sorbetto = cure for a case of the Mondays. ??

Starting this book to read along with @BeckyMerilatt! Princeton is cursed and has ghosts and vampires. The first section is called "Demon Bridegroom." SOLD. ?? Interested to see how realistic this book is to IRL Princeton since every time I visit I'm convinced this book might be a nonfiction account, and that's just the students. ??

#scaretober

Tcip Oh my Monday has no cure. None at all. 8y
BookishFeminist @Tcip 😨 that's awful! I'm sorry to hear that and hope your Tuesday is better! 8y
Kkhalifeh Yum! 8y
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Tcip I hope so too. I really just want to be independently wealthy and never work again. I mean is that so much to ask for?! 😅 8y
shawnmooney I haven't been able to talk myself out of dismissing JCO out of hand because of her off-the-charts prolificness, if that's a word. My stubborn brain has decided nothing she's written can be any good when she churns out so very very many doorstoppers a year. But I'll keep the inner dialogue going, and maybe one of these times I'll give her a try. :) 8y
BookishFeminist @shawnmooney She's really good, but her work isn't always consistent. There's a reason she's an esteemed professor at Princeton though & as well known as she is. I have some different beef with her about white privilege 😒 but she is an absolute scholar on gothic novels and has an impressive body of work. 8y
BookishFeminist @Tcip 😂😂 Right? Is there some book lottery we can enter?! 8y
PNWBookseller85 This will be my first Joyce Carol Oates. But I am a fan of excessive prolification (that's definitely not a word) so I'm excited about this. 8y
Clare-Dragonfly I never knew I would be interested in Joyce Carol Oates before your posts, but clearly I am. What's a good place to start? Should I just grab the first book of hers I see at the library? @shawnmooney Off the charts? Have you heard of Nora Roberts? 😁 8y
shawnmooney @Clare-Dragonfly Off the charts for a writer some consider to be literary, then :) 8y
Larkken I've been flirting with trying JCO for a while, but I am fully on board with your choice of sorbetto! I'm going to have to find them both now. 8y
Rebeccak This looks fascinating. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. 8y
149 likes16 stack adds12 comments
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PNWBookseller85
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Excited to start my readalong with @BookishFeminist ! Anyone else want to join? I just finished Deborah Harkness' All Souls Trilogy. More vampires, you ask? No better time than #scaretober.

#hellooctober

Side note: counting down the days until Tana French day! I'm still debating whether I'll buy my own copy or wait for the library. I'm like 200th in line. 😱

BookishFeminist Buy your own! 🙅🏻 to being 200th in line at the library. I can't wait to start this tonight! How fast do you want to read it? 8y
PNWBookseller85 Not very fast! Lol. I manage about an hour of reading a day. If both kids nap well. 🙄 I've never done a read-a-long, but I'm assuming it's pretty straight forward? @BookishFeminist 8y
BookishFeminist @BeckyMerilatt I will take my time then 😀 Readalongs are pretty straightforward and we can set our own rules or have no rules! I'll read no more than a chapter a day to take my time with it 8y
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PNWBookseller85 @BookishFeminist that sounds good! I'll let you know if I'm able to go quicker. 8y
alanacristin I started this one awhile back and could never make much progress. Looking forward to your review! 8y
Reviewsbylola This is a great cover. 8y
ApoptyGina69 I am looking forward to Tana French also. Didn't flip for The Secret Place, but loved the others. 10/4 come on down!! 😉 8y
PNWBookseller85 @ApoptyGina69 I felt the same way about Secret Place. I'm excited for a new one though! I think my favorite so far is Faithful Place. 8y
83 likes9 stack adds9 comments
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BookishFeminist
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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One of my favorite #mapsinbooks is in the inside cover of JCO's The Accursed. It's a map of Princeton in 1905, when the book takes place. It's such a beautifully bound book altogether, from a pearly cover, to deckled edges, to pretty maps. I haven't read it yet but plan to soon because gothic vampires in Princeton? Sign me up. 💯💯

#somethingforsept #septphotochallenge

Laalaleighh This is gorgeous and makes me want to read said book. So, stacking 📚 8y
AmandaFields I love that map! And I may have underestimated Oates - I had no idea her books had vampires. 8y
BookishFeminist @Laalaleighh YESSS. It is gorgeous. I hope it's good! It's hard to mess up a gothic vampire story, though. 8y
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BookishFeminist @AmandaFields this one does! I don't know whether her others do but she usually writes gothic fiction, not always of the supernatural variety though. :) 8y
PNWBookseller85 I have this on my shelf, but haven't read it yet either. It seems a bit daunting, but I want to get to it one of these days. 8y
LeahBergen I've been eyeing this one for ages. 8y
BookishFeminist @BeckyMerilatt It looks like it would be a great moody fall read for October! 8y
BookishFeminist @LeahBergen It looks good! I am probably digging into it for #scaretober even though it is probably going to be more like #emotober 8y
PNWBookseller85 I'm just finishing up the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Maybe I will just continue on with the vampire theme. And you're so right. It's the perfect time of year for it. 8y
BookishFeminist @BeckyMerilatt Let me know if you want to do a readalong! 8y
PNWBookseller85 I would love that. It's slow going over here between me and books cause of the toddler and baby thing. Having kids really messes with a TBR pile. 😬 I'll get started on it in the next week or so. You in? 8y
BookishFeminist @BeckyMerilatt sure am! Let me know when you're ready- I'm flexible :) 8y
127 likes18 stack adds12 comments
review
ATB
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
Mehso-so

The style got in the way of the story for me.

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ATB
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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Somebody's gotta do it.

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ATB
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
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So many good quotes. Interesting to read this historical fiction. It is a slow go though cuz it has driven me to do research on both Woodrow Wilson and Grover Cleveland.

3 likes1 stack add
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triskeleseeker
The Accursed | Joyce Carol Oates
Pickpick

Bought the ebook on sale on a whim. I suspected I would need a few uninterrupted hours to get into this book, and I was right. Worth it. Strange, creepy, quasi-alternative-historical fiction. My first attempt at reading Oates; I will definitely read more.