![]() ![]() ![]() In all the time I’ve run Fantasy Debut, the only horror novel I covered was Calling Mr. When Ana and Thea challenged me to this Dare, choosing a horror novel was an obvious choice. Peter Straub’s classic bestseller is a work of “superb horror” (The Washington Post Book World) that, like any good ghost story, stands the test of time - and conjures our darkest fears and nightmares. Now they are about to learn what happens to those who believe they can bury the past - and get away with murder. ![]() Why did we RECOMMEND this book: It’s one of Thea’s nostalgic favorites (both the book and the film, starring Fred Astaire) – one of those books she read as a young teen that got her into the horror genre in the first place!įor four aging men in the terror-stricken town of Milburn, New York, an act inadvertently carried out in their youth has come back to haunt them. Without further ado, we give the floor up to Tia! ![]() Finally, she settled on one of Thea’s personal favorites, the classic horror novel Ghost Story by Peter Straub. Tia revealed that her most dreaded genres were Horror and Paranormal Romance, and we gave her a tough selection of books to pick from. This month’s victim – er, guest – is the fabulous Tia from Fantasy Debut. For those new to the feature, our Guest Dare is a monthly endeavor in which we invite an unsuspecting victim to read a book totally outside of their comfort zone. Welcome to yet another Guest Dare – the June edition. ![]()
0 Comments
![]() And please say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It’s a great way to help new listeners discover the show. If you enjoyed this podcast, please write a review on iTunes. ![]() Gwen Glazer and Frank Collerius interview guests, discuss the books they’re reading, pop culture and the literary zeitgeist, and the world of libraries. Special thanks to The Librarian Is In, the New York Public Library’s podcast about books, culture, and what to read next. In his book, Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, Klinenberg calls this the “social infrastructure.” When it is strong, neighborhoods flourish when it is neglected, as it has been in recent years, families and individuals must fend for themselves. Subscribe to the podcast: iTunes | Stitcher | RSSĪs part of our series, The Keepers, The Kitchen Sisters Present an episode of the New York Public Library’s podcast The Librarian Is In featuring Eric Klinenberg, author of Palaces for the People about the power and promise of the public library and its critical role in the future of our society.Įric Klinenberg believes that the future of democratic societies rests not simply on shared values but on shared spaces: the libraries, childcare centers, bookstores, churches, synagogues places where people gather and linger, making friends across group lines and strengthening the entire community. ![]() ![]() Vague titles (titles where the viewers are trying to figure out what's trying to be said) will result in the post being removed. Your submission title should be descriptive. If you need help finding a suitable subreddit, click here. Exceptions include AMAs from people in fields that would be of interest to Cosmos viewers. If a submission is simply about Carl Sagan or Neil Tyson but not about Cosmos, more appropriate subs would be /r/CarlSagan and /r/NeilDTyson. Submissions must be Cosmos-related content. Don't spam your topic/comment due to a lack of response. If your post hasn't appeared yet, you should message us asking for approval. Repeat submissions will be removed (unless they add new content). Please check that your submission hasn't been posted already. ![]() Anything of this nature will be removed on sight. ![]() This could be in the form of hateful mail, hateful comments, and/or flame wars. ![]() ![]() Be sure to subscribe in order to tune into this excellent science series! Rules (hover for info)ĭon't be rude or disrespectful to other users. This is the sequel to Carl Sagan's original Cosmos.Ī place to discus the documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, and its sequel Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey. The official name of this Cosmos is Cosmos: A Personal Voyage.Īlso known as Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. This is the original Cosmos hosted by Carl Sagan. Welcome to /r/COSMOS! Be sure to check out our extensive episode guides for both COSMOS: ASTO and COSMOS: APV! ![]() ![]() ![]() Seeking answers in a journal which may or may not have been kept by Clark Ashton Smith, as well as an occult book called Megapolisomancy by the fictional Thibaut de Castriesa, Weston is not without geese to chase. Likewise, none seem able to explain the strange noises and visages in his San Francisco apartment. He has friends, but none seem to be able to explain away his lethargy. What else would a writer of the supernatural do?įranz Weston is down on his luck, and trying to find his spiritual side again. ![]() Our Lady of Darkness (1977) the result, Leiber put on the page what had been ailing him-not in self-abusing, self-pitying form, rather in a semi-autobiographical, occult quest. The death of his wife, problems with alcohol, and a career not exactly sparkling with new book sales, in the mid-70s Fritz Leiber turned his issues over to the typewriter. But perhaps no one knows the cathartic value of writing better than Fritz Leiber. ![]() Surely there are many writers who have taken their frustrations with work or marriage out in their stories. (Buy a motorcycle it will be more fun.) Another common enough approach is writing keeping a journal is one way to get the funk out. Get a dog, drown yourself in work, take up a new hobby, and if all else fails, become a Christian-ha!, just kidding. ![]() There are a lot of ways to get yourself out of a hole. ![]() ![]() ![]() The Husband, who our narrator tells us she met on, only speaks in "$$$," not words, which is very funny on the page.īut nothing is just one thing in Ma's writing: Satire swirls into savagery a gimmicky premise into poignancy. The deadpan tone of that narrator's voice implicitly urges readers to "just roll with it" and so we do. Take the opening story, called "Los Angeles." Here's how our narrator introduces herself and her world:īook Reviews 'Severance' Is A Sardonic Wake-Up Call For All Of Us Stuck In Routine In one of those short stories, "Office Hours," a film professor declares to his class: "It is in the most surreal situations that a person feels the most present, the closest to reality." That pronouncement could serve as an epigram for this entire collection, an apt way to characterize its distinctive aura. ![]() And, so, I felt reluctant, but compelled to pick up her new book, a collection of short stories called Bliss Montage. Ma's writing, in short, stays with you whether you want it to or not. The novel was already disturbing in and of itself because of its sardonic tone and its mundane imagery that smoothly morphed into the macabre. By early spring of 2020, Ling Ma was being hailed as an oracle of the pandemic.īut the prophetic quality of Severance only enhanced its power. Ling Ma's 2018 debut novel, Severance, imagined a world ravaged by the sudden onset of something called "Shen Fever" - a fictitious infection that originated in Southern China. ![]() |