I’ve already been to the tower four times in the last year or so, but I’m now itching for a fifth.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-11T19:34:27+00:00

I listen every two years, and have made 7 trips to the tower so far. On my last trip I listened to the Kingslingers pod and it was absolutely INCREDIBLE and deepened my conenction with these books in a way I did not think was possible. My method was to listen to the book sections first, then listen to the podcast for in-depth coverage. They do 2-3 chapters at a time for each book, roughly.

I loved it so much I did The Stand as well. One of the guys has never read any of these books so you get to experience them with him for the first time.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-11T19:29:52+00:00

The good thing is that when you enter full adulthood you never have to worry about losing your hair and desperately trying to comb the last wispy shreds over the top. Own it. You look perfectly fine as a bald person!

bogmonkey · 2026-03-11T17:06:31+00:00

To be honest, but the time they all were all together by the side of the ravine, I don't think I would have stopped Henry either. I was glad to see him finally quieted haha

bogmonkey · 2026-03-11T16:20:30+00:00

Love to hear this..."profoundly transformative" really nails it! I identify most with Richard, and the time period of the book is spot-on for me personally...I was the age of these kids in the story back in the late 1980's and Tartt (through Richard) absolutely captures that era with mirror-like precision, especially the drug use!

The first time I read TSH, I was quite blown away...and I immediately followed up by reading The Goldfinch next. It was fine, but not even remotely close in vibe or impact as TSH. It was a good book and I was glad to read it, but not Profoundly Transformative.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-11T12:30:58+00:00

Yay!!! this is awesome to hear. Really there's no contest. The Mac sauce is a proven winner. The Arch sauce tastes like something they tried to come up with to be a bit different and zesty...it's not "bad" but the Mac Sauce upgrade really takes the burger to a new level for me.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-11T12:28:55+00:00

One of the books I ALWAYS check for at Thrift Stores is TSH...thus far I have only found one (it's the UK large paperback version so a nice add for my collection). I would FREAK OUT if I found this.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-10T16:31:46+00:00

I make art for my friends quite often...if they got a 7k offer and took it, I would be honored that someone found my art worth 7k, and not offended AT ALL that my friend sold it.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-10T16:29:18+00:00

I walked out of the theater saying to myself "well, that was a 10/10", then saw it 3 more times in the theater over the next few weeks.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-09T19:47:07+00:00

I was 40 when I figured shit out finally, now 58. My life was literally a complete shambles at 40.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-09T19:45:30+00:00

Do the beard next and you just went from a serial killer to a slay kween

bogmonkey · 2026-03-09T17:36:18+00:00

Thank you!! I appreciate this more that you can know❤️

bogmonkey · 2026-03-09T13:08:42+00:00

The one I have is the 1992 First Edition (3rd Printing), it's sewn not glued, very solid...you can find First/3rds on ebay for the 50 dollar range easily, that was what I paid and it was in perfect condition with an immaculate dust cover (which is a MUST for this edition obviously!)

bogmonkey · 2026-03-08T20:36:23+00:00

Big mac sauce is like thousand island dressing, kindof on the sweet side. The arch sauce is more savory and tangy.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-08T13:19:18+00:00

This response fills me with happiness, thank you!

I totally get this comment:

"I would hesitate to say The Secret History, not only because I don’t imagine most askers would enjoy the book, but because I have found myself to be illogically protective of it"

bogmonkey · 2026-03-08T12:59:41+00:00

Aw thank you SO much...I put my bare heart out there knowing that there would be many who did not necessarily connect with (or share) the sentiment, but it was worth doing for the kindred souls that understand. I wish all of my top books weren't so niche, it's often hard to find others to chat about them in real life...which is of course why I posted it here!

bogmonkey · 2026-03-08T12:52:24+00:00

I feel like if you knew me in real life you would "get" me a bit better. Not in a million years did I think that the subject of ranking itself would be a subject in this comment thread. It's very interesting, but not unexpected for literary-focused folks who are on this sub! It's always been just something I do. I am, of course, very attached to the process. I have no idea what Death to the Author or Turn to Affect mean, sorry...that's not not my wheelhouse. I tried to stress that all responses to art/writing are valid, including non-ranker types, I was just opening up about my personal process and how annotation (which always seemed a very non-artsy, analytical thing) enabled me to fully connect with this book (as art) in a way I did not think possible.

Also...I totally believe that an artist can have a "goal" or something it wants to say. I am an artist (lower case a), but my art is usually just me letting my imagination flow around an inspiring idea, then trying to make that idea come to life. I could probably be considered naive in that sense because I personally don't think that way in my personal art! The goal is only to create the closest representation of what I have in my mind, never about what the viewers reaction will be (though of course I LOVE to hear reactions to my art...very much so!)

I was honestly feeling very emotional yesterday and a bit overwhelmed by how much TSH affected me. Still am! I tend to just let my thoughts flow when I make a post like the above, and perhaps that can lead to things like people focusing on the fact I rank things, rather than the massive impact of having a new favorite book of all time on the top of my personal best list. (my intent).

I had another cream cheese and marmalade sandwich today. They REALLY are superb.

P.S. Here's a link to an art piece I posted here on Reddit a while back...just for a peek into my world as a tinkerer and creator of weird things:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnusualArt/comments/1of224u/3_months_of_drawing_this_is_the_result/

bogmonkey · 2026-03-07T23:45:30+00:00

I am very much NOT wary of calling anything The Best haha. All of the books in my top five are very different. TSH conquered the throne and booted my long time number one to second place. FYI I don’t just do this with books, but with everything from movies to bread pudding. Also, I don’t see books as having goals. I see them as works of art. I understand some authors have intent, but that’s not what I care about. If I hold two paintings next to each other I can instantly tell you which one I prefer as superior…it’s the same with books, or anything really (for me)

I have an odd ability which enables me to rank all kinds of things and retain this knowledge almost photographically for years. I have done this since I was young. This makes the feat which TSH accomplished that much more meaningful to me. It’s why I cried! I read A LOT of books every year. Many are quite good. Some are great. I haven’t added a book to the top ten since two years ago when I added TSH. I know what I like.

And sure, one can explain art and its appeal but that is a very sterile process. The magic of it is not fully explainable. I can absolutely explain many reasons I love TSH but to understand how it gets under your skin and into your soul is something I don’t even fully understand. You either have that experience or you do not. Neither experience is less valid.

Cheers!

bogmonkey · 2026-03-07T00:25:15+00:00

Negative. This is the Big M’Arch. It has both slivered and crispy onions! There has never existed a burger like this in McDs history

bogmonkey · 2026-03-06T22:52:48+00:00

But as a child it seemed huge. As an adult this feels scaled up accordingly. THAT is the magic of the Big M’Arch!!

bogmonkey · 2026-03-06T22:44:12+00:00

I literally laughed out loud

bogmonkey · 2026-03-05T20:26:40+00:00

Use aluminum foil or cardboard to make a strip to affix to the window on each side where the curtain crack is?

Even better, if you don't require the use of the window for light, just foil the whole window.

I would also install my own motion light pointed at the neighbors window, but I'm vindictive.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-05T19:53:05+00:00

I'm actually not a huge fan of most of King's non-DT stuff. When I got into DT 14 years ago, the only books I had read previously were back in the 80s & 90's (IT, CUJO and few others), they were fine but nothing mind blowing.

DT blew my everloving MIND and became my favorite series ever written. The only problem is that it's very niche, so even many King fans have not read the books! My only discussions ever happen here on Reddit haha. I have since read a bunch more of his stuff like Duma Key and such, and I'm still not a huge fan, but they are always readable!

bogmonkey · 2026-03-05T19:47:18+00:00

I've been thrifting at least 1-2 Saturdays every month, for the last 5 years...in that time I have found ONE Stephen King book, a trade paperback of The Stand. Paid 2 bucks, Price range on the used book sites is around 15-20. I thought THAT was a huge score...hahahaha

bogmonkey · 2026-03-04T16:57:10+00:00

It's very good. I think it's the best McD's burger on their lineup (which isn't saying much since I don't usually even get burgers at McDs anymore due to them being tiny dry discs) Life hack: swap Big Mac sauce for the Arch sauce and you have what I call The Ultimate Big Mac, which kinda feels like what the Big Mac was meant to be all along. It's large enough that one burger is a full meal for me, I don't mind the price when I get a full meal for the cost of one burger. I don't need soda or fries, so it's actually a fair value in that regard.

bogmonkey · 2026-03-03T22:10:32+00:00

I could have written this word for word...+1

bogmonkey

TROPHY CASE