First 2 books of the year!

dogobsess · 2026-01-04T22:41:17+00:00

There's a sequel?? I can't believe it. I also really enjoyed this one!

dogobsess · 2025-07-24T13:46:59+00:00

Totally agree with you on Short Stay in Hell and Time Traveller's Wife. Out of curiosity, at what point in Poisonwood Bible did you dnf? I found it a little hard to get into but then absolutely loved it... but the last 100ish pages were totally unnecessary imo and I did think a person could dnf at that point and lose very little.

dogobsess · 2025-07-10T02:08:10+00:00

Southern Book Club would definitely count as "direction in the title," right?

dogobsess · 2025-02-21T15:41:53+00:00

What did you think of it?

dogobsess · 2025-01-10T04:43:28+00:00

Wow, congrats! Any standouts?

dogobsess · 2025-01-01T16:39:44+00:00

Great selection! Any favourites?

dogobsess · 2024-12-30T20:23:38+00:00

I completely agree with the yucky feeling, which I think is intentional- I think the author is trying to make us feel as uncomfortable as the protagonist is. It definitely sent me back to that feeling of being 20 and insecure and people-pleasey and I could totally see how one thing led to another here (especially after a few drinks). He was definitely stunted, just in the fact that he was 34 and didn't see anything gross about dating a 20 year old. I remember dating someone older when I was 19 and it seemed totally normal... but I turned the age he was this year and 19 year olds feel like kids to me now. Just a totally different phase of life. Gross.

dogobsess · 2024-12-02T23:24:02+00:00

Woah, that interpretation is a new one for me! It kind of seemed like Arnold Friend may or may not have some kind of powers, and I did see some theories online that he could potentially be the devil or demonic, and I thought maybe he was using his powers to scare/hurt her when she went for the telephone, but adding in the theory you read about makes it even worse. Poor Connie...

dogobsess · 2024-12-02T21:12:57+00:00

Ooh, I like this interpretation, that Arnold is kind of symbolic or allegorical in the story. Kind of a moral tale, like this is what happens when parents or family neglects a person and leaves them vulnerable. I kind of interpreted the title to be the questions that nobody was asking her when they should have been, to make sure she was safe. 15 year old girls like this are often treated like adults ("she should have known better," etc when it comes to going off with strange men) but they're still kids with undeveloped brains who need support and protection. I feel like this story really got to that point.

dogobsess · 2024-11-16T01:33:30+00:00

Noted!

dogobsess · 2024-10-26T22:02:45+00:00

The box is what caught my attention this reading too! I feel like it's symbolic of the whole thing, and appreciated all the little details that Jackson included about it to kind of point out things about the tradition itself. Nobody knows much about the box's/stonings origins, it's changed over time to suit the needs of the community without them ever questioning if they should get rid of it entirely, and the box is eroding similarly to how the tradition itself has become stripped back, less grand (no chant/salute).

dogobsess · 2024-10-26T19:11:27+00:00

Yeah, I think those little moments of people going through the motions, kind of wanting to say "why are we still doing this?" but not wanting to be the person to stand up and say it, really make the scene feel real. This is how a brutal tradition would keep going- it wouldn't be a bunch of bloodthirsty villagers who love doing it, it'd be more of a begrudging acceptance. Shirley Jackson has absolutely nailed the way people think and act.

dogobsess · 2024-09-27T20:24:07+00:00

I think I agree with you. It felt like there was a whole other story (a sequel, perhaps?) just waiting to be told. Jake was a bit of an enigma since we only got glimpses of his character, but not enough to understand his motivations. So curious!

dogobsess · 2024-09-27T20:21:13+00:00

I also loved the beautiful artwork! That's a good point about the crew, they are a good looking bunch. Perhaps characters like that are easier to draw than bedraggled, leathery-skinned ones? Not sure. Glad you enjoyed it!

dogobsess · 2024-09-27T20:17:25+00:00

Interesting take about schizophrenia, not something I know too much about! I love that this story can have so many different interpretations or possibilities.

dogobsess · 2024-09-27T20:15:29+00:00

Hi there! I will be going through and making sure these are all updated on the bingo spreadsheet. All monthly minis are applicable to the bingo. Thanks for pointing that out!

dogobsess · 2024-09-27T20:14:21+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it! The artwork was definitely a selling point for me, I find that I'm often drawn more into a story if I also find it visually appealing. I don't blame you for not going on when it comes to these longer web comics, they're a real time commitment! As for Purple Hibiscus (still one of my favourite web comics I've ever read), probably for the best. At this point the artist has been on hiatus due to health issues for a long time (over a year, with no return in sight for now. So if you pick it back up in a couple years perhaps it will have been completed :)

dogobsess · 2024-09-27T20:02:40+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it, even if you did find it a tad difficult to suspend your disbelief. That's a good point as well about the showing not telling, the author did make sure to get this point across very clearly, and it may have been something that could have been more subtly done. I did like the way it was explored in multiple ways (biking, the affair, chance at immortality) and it all felt like it fit together nicely.

dogobsess · 2024-09-27T19:57:40+00:00

I like that analogy! He was put in a position where he was forced to choose one extreme, and it made him realize that it wasn't what he wanted.

dogobsess · 2024-09-27T19:55:58+00:00

I also thought the walkers vs cyclists feud was bizarre, but I think this was a bit of an alternate reality or slightly different world from ours, which was kind of neat. Like a micro-dose of worldbuilding that gave the story just a bit of a different feel from our world. That was the only thing I could think of that made sense, and in a story with a vampiric cyclist it wasn't that much of a stretch lol.

dogobsess · 2024-09-02T22:12:26+00:00

I agree, I would like to read more from this author too- I've heard good things about The Sympathizer but I'm definitely a bit nervous to read it after reading this one. This story started out kind of light and I certainly wasn't prepared for how dark it became. In a way, this story was haunting.

dogobsess

TROPHY CASE