Welcome to Litsy!

I was not expecting this to be as good as it was. It‘s a bit of a slow start I guess, but when it gets going, it REALLY gets going. I got so frustrated with the main characters, which I think we‘re supposed to. The slow and insidious horror…so good. And 50 years later, it still seems timely. “Whatever I‘ve done, you‘ve let me do.” (Shivers)

I seem to be among the minority on this book. I didn't enjoy it like so many did. I felt there was too much repetition. There was potential to feel emotionally invested in John and Mim, but they were kept at arms length. I kept reading because it seemed like it was going somewhere, but it never did.

The scariest book I‘ve read this spooky season because everything in it could actually happen. No monsters or cults. Nothing supernatural. Just people. Terrifying, atmospheric social horror. As relevant now as when it was first published in 1976. I‘ll be thinking about this one for a long time.

Time for #coffeeandabook - vanilla latte and a waffle 🧇 and my spooky book

“Then he said, the words piling high on each other with the difficulty of saying them, with the horror of having done it, ‘It was a bad mistake, burnin‘ Mickey‘s money.‘
And his wife turned to him sobbing very suddenly, as though she had been crying all along and he had not been able to hear it.”

It‘s a dreary October day, but perfect for #coffeeandabook - vanilla latte with an extra shot, a pumpkin spice cake bite, and a spooky book

“Mim caught her lower lip in her teeth and unconsciously grasped Hildie by the shoulders. ‘What did he do?‘ she whispered.”

I don't know if "pick" is quite the feeling I have about this book - it's well written but profoundly depressing, what with it being about living under rising fascism.

When describing the moon, what is the difference in shape between a half orange and a whole orange?

“‘I‘d like to know by which old-time values Harlowe needs such a heap of deputies,‘ John said.
‘There you go, John,‘ Mim said. ‘Lookin‘ for worries again.‘
‘Not me,‘ John said. ‘We‘re quit of the auctions for our part. It‘s nothin‘ to me what they do in town.‘”

I think that analytically the story bit off more than it could chew and unceremoniously spat the morsel back out, with Dunsmore's brief, unrevisited foray into nazi racial rhetoric. But when it keeps its gaze strictly on the howling emptiness at the heart of whiteness, and how it eats itself when it has no racialized others to feed on (like, say, in an all-white small town) it's a solid story about u.s. imperialism coming home to roost.

Another fantastic audiobook by Valancourt Books! This is my favorite kind of horror - one where the tension slowly builds until you‘re caught up in the middle of it. This story had me wound up the entire time and made me question whether I‘d choose fight or flight if facing someone like Perly Dinsmore.

The narration was excellent! I‘ll definitely look for more books narrated by Matt Godfrey. I know he‘s done a couple others for Valancourt. 🎧

YESSSSSS! I‘ve been obsessively checking Valancourt Books‘ site the past couple months, waiting for this audiobook‘s release date. I just happened to stumble across their Instagram post saying it‘s now available. And now it‘s waiting for me in my Audible library...so excited! 😃

This will definitely be my next audiobook. I‘ve loved Valancourt‘s other audiobook releases so I expect this one will be great too! I‘m hoping to start it during #24in48.

Seemed like appropriate hotel reading material for the Ghost Town Writers' Retreat. Grady Hendrix basically says this is a forgotten horror classic!