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How comfortable are you with ambiguity in horror? One thing I've noticed is that there's a spectrum when it comes to comfort levels with ambiguity as a plot device in horror. Some people prefer the very ambiguous, creeping, growing dread of existential horror like in Bird Box, while others prefer the explicit, in-your-face, "I'm going to kill you right now with this knife I'm holding in my hand"-sort of unambiguous terror like in slashers and gore-fests.

I fall almost completely on the side of the former; I don't want to see what the monster looks like or even know if there's really a monster there at all, I just want to be afraid that there could be a monster and believe it's probably horrible, if so. What about you?

 

I read White Noise earlier this year and I really liked it. I want to read another DeLillo but I don't think I'm ready to do Underworld. any recommendations?

 

I read Big Fish pretty quickly, it's such a miniature novel compared to Sanderson/Jordan and the usual reads. The stories within the story were pretty clever and creative but I feel the movie portrayed the visual medium a lot better. Especially the ending.

 

The Names
Americana - his first novel, I’d maybe avoid reading this until you read some of his other work. I enjoy this though and it oddly reminds me of Mad Men and On the Road,
End Zone
Running Dog
Zero K
Libra
Mao II
Point Omega - very short book

these are all enjoyable DeLillo books that are around the length of White Noise or shorter. Underworld is by far his longest book and is a true outlier as far as page count and scope of story.

none of the books listed are like White Noise in terms of story but DeLillo uses a lot of the same themes and writing styles and I find all of his work (even the ones not listed) very enjoyable. By far my favorite writer.

 

this is great, thank you! i’ll probably see which one of these is at the library or my local store

 

welcome!

I would imagine most of the ones I have listed would be at either location as they must be better sellers than the others. I find these ones at most stores when i browse the sections. Some of his other works (Ratner’s Star, Players, Great Jones Street, etc.) I only found on Amazon.

 

I picked up Legend of the Condor Heroes and Call of Cthulhu because they both interest me! Never read Lovecraft before

 

Audible’s members Black Friday sale went live and I’m already feeling the bank account pain

 

Has anyone read Coyote Songs?

 

I have finished Imaginary Friend and this book is everything I love in a horror novel!

The plot is so god damn eerie yet simple to begin: a little boy and his mom escaping an abusive marriage, come to a new small town, and the 7 year old boy goes missing in the woods for 6 days to only come back with talks of an imaginary friend.

The first 300 pages builds the story, characters, and town like most Stephen King novels do, and it only turns into an epic (or brutal) battle of good vs. evil. It has twists, it has some very great "horror" scenes, and then has a very ambitious ending.

I do think the climax took a while to get there and got a little messy at parts, but in the end, it was totally worth the 704 page journey and I'm bummed I'm no longer reading this. Chobsky's writing is so easy and this novel reads quick, and I really want more horror novels from him in the future. To go from Perks to this is absolutely ridiculous lol.

 

anyone got any best of the decade lists/suggestions? I've been really slack the last few years but hoping to make up for it over Christmas if I can

(having said that, just started Hanif Abdurraqib's They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us. it's goddamn incredible)

 

The Guardian has a pretty good one I think

 

I couldn't get through the "lost" Walt Whitman novella. I immensely love Leaves of Grass but this was a slog to read, and more of a novelty item IMO. If I hadn't known Whitman was the author, I would've put it down much earlier. A shame.

Now I'm between Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer or Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera--not sure which to choose. I've read Kingsolver before (The Poisonwood Bible is incredible) but this would be my first foray into Márquez (would 100 Years be a better starting point?)

 

For what it's worth, I think 100 Years is a masterpiece, and I found Cholera to be a total slog.

I'm also reading Poisonwood Bible now (a bit over halfway through) and I love it.

 

I’m read Tolkien’s Letters From Father Christmas and it’s really sweet

 

100YOS is amazing

 

Good to know @troyplaysbass. Prodigal Summer, it is.

 

yeah Solitude is magnificent and Cholera was a sluggish chore.

 

I get to redeem one free Audible book because of the settlement but I'm struggling to decide what I want. I normally read fantasy and I'm in the middle of the Stormlight Archives but none of those are eligible via the redemption code.

I'm interested in Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail but I'm not too keen on the narrator from the sample I listened to. Anyone have some recs?

 

settlement?

as for recs—always shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

 

Yeah I'm not sure about the fine details but apparently they did some shady stuff? I just happened to be a member during that time frame so I got an email with a link to a free audiobook lol

Audible Audiobooks Class Action Settlement | Top Class Actions

 

i was a member during this window. Hmmmmm. I want a free book.

 

The A.V. Club’s 15 favorite books of 2019

 

Keep thinking of books I'd like to get for christmas, but really the better gift would be time to actually read them.

 

really want to pick up the Raphael Bob-Waksberg book.

I loved loved loved Kevin Wilson's Nothing to See Here. a very quick, funny, strange, beautiful read. definitely recommend.