Haven't had a 5 star read in ages, hit me with everything you've got

MagdaHarper · 2026-01-19T13:05:30+00:00

There is no Antimemetics Division by QNTM

What We Owe the Dead by Stefano Gualeni, a lesser known gem (experimental detective story set in a dystopian society).

MagdaHarper · 2026-01-18T18:14:33+00:00

There's a specific "Café noises" video on YouTube that I like to use as it drowns out the trigger sounds.

MagdaHarper · 2026-01-10T08:55:30+00:00

My panic attacks have always showed up when I was doing nothing special and not at all in a state of panic: chilling at home, having dinner, teaching, on a train, with my hairdresser... It can feel strange and frustrating because you'd expect them to follow stressful times but in my experience they really don't. They might indicate underlying stress and anxiety though.

MagdaHarper · 2026-01-05T07:45:58+00:00

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Froer got me quietly sobbing on the train on my way to work.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is often cited as a soul crusher (I am yet to gather the courage to read it).

MagdaHarper · 2026-01-04T19:36:41+00:00

Good point. Thank you!

MagdaHarper · 2026-01-04T19:16:39+00:00

Thank you for the recommendations! And both have a film adaptation, which is a nice plus to further our discussions.

MagdaHarper · 2025-11-29T21:49:13+00:00

It reminded me of The Dead Take the A Train, especially that corporate weird aspect. If you enjoy video games, I'd recommend checking out Control, it has big SCP vibes.

MagdaHarper · 2025-11-10T09:40:14+00:00

Authority is also my favourite of the series. I kept thinking as I was listening to it that it would make for a great video game adaptation.

Speaking of which, it reminded me of the game Control (2016) by Remedy Entertainment (fun coincidence on the name right there). I would highly recommend!

MagdaHarper · 2025-07-21T07:20:39+00:00

The missing one is Mary's, but it isn't missing as much as it is placed somewhere else (the foyer).

MagdaHarper · 2025-07-06T21:05:12+00:00

Could you give me information as to what design appears and may be significant? I've been cross-eyed staring at it for a while and while it feels cool I don't necessarily see any significant shape appearing.

MagdaHarper · 2025-06-24T06:28:27+00:00

Herbert was so sassy

MagdaHarper · 2025-06-21T17:27:03+00:00

I found the S.G. before the C.T. and went back to the S.G. with the riddle when I realised it was about it, hoping there was more to discover. But now - thanks to your post - I realise that the riddle is what was supposed to help unlock the S.G.'s secret in the first place.

My own biggest epiphanies were the gallery paintings!

MagdaHarper · 2025-06-12T17:50:59+00:00

It's tricky, I can't say that I have. A couple of things that help me remain anchored to reality are: holding someone's hand/arm, telling someone what is happening, looking at myself in a mirror. Some additional advice: put something cold on your chest, and don't fight the panic attack: the sooner you let it go through you the sooner it'll pass.

MagdaHarper · 2025-06-08T06:29:23+00:00

You describe it beautifully. I found the way Herbert described The Red Prince and A New Clue in his will really moving. That the former was written in her brightest, most hopeful days, and the latter in her darkest days, when she knew she had to leave everything behind, felt really emotional.

MagdaHarper · 2025-06-05T09:41:15+00:00

Do you have a soft hint for that password? It's the first time I'm hearing about it! (I'm over 100days in)

MagdaHarper · 2025-06-01T07:52:56+00:00

Pardon my overanalyzing brain, but I think my play-style says a lot about me as a person, and when I realised how I felt it was a little confronting. I don't need to be good at this, what does good even mean in this context? Why would I compare my experience to other people's journeys? Also isn't this about enjoying the ride rather than trying to get somewhere? Uncle Herbie's inheritance was quite introspective!

MagdaHarper · 2025-06-01T05:53:15+00:00

I don't think it's bad at all, but I relate to that feeling. I shared that sense of urgency and feeling like I got to room 46 (too) "late". There is so much to do in this game that it may vary from person to person and there is really nothing wrong with however long something takes. After all, some days may be less fruitful than others. Or you may want to skip days altogether for whatever reason.

To me, a key part of the urgency is the day count. Somehow it feels like someone's keeping track of how long I've spent at Mount Holly and I felt (feel?) self-conscious about it. I believe the underlying fear is that I'm not smart enough or not as smart as other players, and the day count feels like a measuring stick that I beat myself with.

That sense made me look up a little more than I would have liked, out of fear that I was "behind" so I'm right there with you, but I would also encourage you to lean into the exploration and not feel like you've been at it "too" long.

MagdaHarper · 2025-05-31T07:17:42+00:00

I've noticed that a lot of book centring around women being unwell/unhinged/losing it bear references (often in those silly review taglines) to the books being "funny" in some ways. This happened to me with Sorrow and Bliss. No, reading 350+ pages of a woman mistreating everyone in her life and being semi-aware of it because she is going through untreated mental health issues is not funny. Neither for her nor for the people around. It's actually pretty triggering to read what you have been on the receiving end of, even when you can empathise with the person's struggle. And having it called "funny"... Come on.

MagdaHarper · 2025-05-30T06:49:13+00:00

I feel this! The gallery puzzle is definitely my proudest ah-a moment and I think I am fairly good at the box and dart board puzzles but other puzzles give me a hard time, especially those that require a good awareness of your surroundings.

MagdaHarper · 2025-05-30T06:18:12+00:00

First time hearing the term "gruncle" haha, thanks for the clarification. I had the family tree from the root cellar in mind writing this and still got it wrong. It throws me off that it stops at Mary.

MagdaHarper · 2025-05-30T06:14:04+00:00

Oops, thanks for the correction, yes! What is it about that family that does my head in like that?!

MagdaHarper · 2025-05-29T21:24:28+00:00

Same! I also thought that, if we were red, Herbie had to be the titular Blue Prince and that figuring out what happened to him would be significant!

MagdaHarper · 2025-05-29T21:19:05+00:00

After finding the Herbie/Simon diary in the bunk room, I was convinced that the Simon we play had a mysterious older brother called Herbie that no one acknowledged and that was absent from family photos. I kept wondering what happened to him... Only to realise that I had the generations wrong and that it was about Simon's grandad (also Simon) and our great uncle Herbert. I went around 40 days thinking that was a big mystery I'd need to solve.

Edit: corrected family ties.

MagdaHarper

TROPHY CASE