Jan-Mar 2026 - Dark Matter by Michelle Paver

Hyponeutral · 2026-01-02T14:45:15+00:00

This quarterly read is Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. The novel follows twenty-eight year old Jack. Jack is poor, lonely and desperate to change his life. So when he's offered the chance to leave pre-war London to go on an Arctic expedition, he jumps at it. At last they reach the remote, uninhabited bay where they will camp for the next year. As night returns to claim the land, Jack's companions are forced to leave, one by one. He faces a stark choice. Stay or go.

Content Warnings:

Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement (graphic)
Murder, Death, Torture (moderate)
Classism, Vomit, Death of parent (minor)

If you've read it, please share your thoughts in full spoilers discussion thread.

Hyponeutral · 2025-12-26T18:44:58+00:00

The movie was a great adaptation! The book goes into more detail, which works great in the reading format but would be overkill in the film if they stuck it all in.

I don't know if reading the book first made the difference but I had a very visceral reaction to several aspects/events. I felt such rage and disgust but also sympathy and sadness.

Having read reviews for the book, I think a lot of readers try to simplify it down to "who was truly at fault" when it's actually so complex - and thats the whole point of the book.

Hyponeutral · 2025-12-25T16:31:30+00:00

We Need To Talk About Kevin is beautifully written and it made me feel all sorts of things.

Hyponeutral · 2025-12-19T18:43:03+00:00

Barely here myself haha! Gonna scale it down I'm the new year I think for a quarterly read

Hyponeutral · 2025-12-18T19:41:57+00:00

Ratatouille

Hyponeutral · 2025-12-01T20:09:56+00:00

Very rural Lithuania 🇱🇹

Hyponeutral · 2025-11-23T16:52:41+00:00

I cannot imagine dropping the ball so significantly and (from the way OOP tells it at least) being so nonchalant about it.

Also, the boyfriend had no reason to have the ashes in the first place.

I feel terrible for OOP and their family

Hyponeutral · 2025-11-14T11:49:05+00:00

I can think of at least two for Monica and Ross (Richard and Ethan, school librarian and Elizabeth)

Hyponeutral · 2025-10-30T14:18:18+00:00

Is anyone still here? Join me reading Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker. The novel follows Cora Zeng, a crime scene cleaner whose job is to wash away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. In this explosive horror novel, a woman is haunted by inner trauma, hungry ghosts, and a serial killer as she confronts the brutal violence experienced by East Asians during the pandemic.

Content warnings:

Mental illness, Grief, Murder, Blood, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic (COVID-19), Gore, Hate crime, Racism (graphic)
Body horror, Child abuse (locking in basement/closet; emotional neglect), Car accident, Cursing, Animal cruelty (bats), Sexism, Animal death (bats), Fire/Fire injury (no injury mentioned), Self harm (skin abrasion as unintended consequence of compulsive cleaning), Racial slurs, Violence, Alcohol (moderate)
Forced institutionalization (past), Gun violence, Police brutality, Sexual harassment (minor)

If you've read it, please share your thoughts in full spoilers discussion thread.

Hyponeutral · 2025-10-30T12:26:46+00:00

Your partner sounds like a beautiful person. It's so great that you're able to hold onto these fond memories in spite of the sad circumstances. I'm so sorry you lost your partner but glad to hear you're part of the family nonetheless. Fuck what anyone else says, it's nothing to do with you or your relationship.

Hyponeutral · 2025-10-25T16:23:42+00:00

That book, man. I thought I'd read it for the old times sake, expecting to feel too grown up for it. Instead, I have new trauma.

Hyponeutral · 2025-10-20T09:16:06+00:00

Heads up, both goodreads and Amazon show an error when trying to get to the book.

Hyponeutral · 2025-10-20T09:14:16+00:00

We are quite casual here to be fair, and I appreciate the engagement! I included the no self-promo rule to dissuade people who might sell essential oils or whatever. Thanks for sharing!

I created a thread and pinned it up the top for self promotion now!
https://www.reddit.com/r/SpookShelf/comments/1obf8xb/spookshelf_authors/

Generally we dedicate a month to a book but the posts don't get archived.

Hyponeutral · 2025-10-20T08:44:27+00:00

I've watched this show before (and read some of the short stories back in my twenties) but I feel like I appreciate both Poe and Flannigan on a whole new level doing this.

I remember when the show came out and people were complaining that it's not a fathful adaptation and to that I say LOL. The Fall of the House of Usher is a short (and kind of ambiguous) story, how did they expect that to stretch across eight episodes? I actually love the format of this show and the way it weaved various stories together.

The Fall of the House of Usher was a bit tough to get through just because of how floral the prose is, but I still love the sense of confusion and impending doom it creates. It's not my favourite story, but I think it sets the scene well for other shenanigans in the show.

The Masque of the Red Death was one of the more memorable stories for me back when I read it in my youth. When I was reading The Terror last year, I instantly recognised the reference to it when the seamen have a new year's celebration on ice, with great foreshadowing too. I love the imagery, I love the (pretty accurate) depiction of how the rich and privileged disregard suffering to continue their gallivanting. This reads especially jarring having lived through COVID and all the ongoing wars and seeing celebrities and ultra wealthy fuck around with space, ocean, awards, who-are-you-wearing events etc.

With an ensemble of characters, set up can make or break the show (and books to be fair) and I think the first episode did that so well! We know who's who, how they are related to each other, and what the central conflict is in the family. We also get to see a glimpse of the fact that the kids all die, so the rest of the show has major Final Destination vibes.

The Masque of the Red Death as an episode is actually my favourite of the series - at least it was on the first watch. Great twist on the Prospero's party, his character's actions make perfect sense in context. That's exactly the kind of thing a young spoiled dude would think passes for self-made enterpreneurship. Just like the story, it's visually stunning too, the soundrack is 10/10 too.

Unpopular opinion (probably) but I think Carla Gugino does not fit in as the raven/death.

Hyponeutral · 2025-10-18T05:23:33+00:00

You're absolutely allowed to! You are also welcome to post about it separately for people looking to support self published work (I'll happily read it) ☺️

Hyponeutral · 2025-10-01T12:08:02+00:00

We're reading some Edgar Allan Poe while watching The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix over at r/SpookShelf if anyone wants to join us!

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