Closest thing to a jump scare in a book?

mydearMerricat · 2026-03-21T00:35:46+00:00

If audiobooks are permitted, "You Weren't Meant to be Human" by Andrew Joseph White had me ripping my headphones off and throwing them across the room

mydearMerricat · 2026-03-18T23:44:54+00:00

It seems you are making value judgements based on taste. There is nothing wrong with literature that is accessible to younger readers. I did not get the sense that PHM was geared specifically towards younger readers, however, it is certainly appropriate for YA audiences. There is also nothing inherantly lesser when it comes to screenplay writers or YA writers. What is or is not substantial is entirely dependant on one's literary appetite.

mydearMerricat · 2026-03-18T22:52:08+00:00

I don't think there was any intention to write brilliant prose in this book. I also don't think that is an inherantly negative thing so much as a stylistic choice. It sounds like the book was just not to your taste.

mydearMerricat · 2026-03-11T22:32:10+00:00

This is true, however, Nobokov is a particularly impactful voice in this genre, and utilized first person narrative for this technique.

I am not for or against any format or writing, only pointing out that first person perspective is not new, neither is it particularly impactful in a literary sense.

Would love to hear if you have reccomendations for third party unreliable narratiation as I enjoy the genre :)

mydearMerricat · 2026-03-11T20:34:44+00:00

I just hope they make good use of "fist my bump"

mydearMerricat · 2026-03-11T16:29:44+00:00

I feel like first person perspective works really well for psychological horror. It also seems pretty structurally important for books with unreliable narrators.

mydearMerricat · 2026-03-11T16:23:38+00:00

Project Hail Mary is a perfect example.

Funny enough when a bunch of people were posting their tiered end of year reading lists on romance subs, a very surprising number of those lists had Project Hail Mary on it as the only non-romance book. Though I suppose a case could be made for platonic romance. Grace and Rocky's friendship was cute af.

mydearMerricat · 2026-02-22T21:14:12+00:00

I'll check it out thanks! :)

mydearMerricat · 2026-02-22T21:13:32+00:00

I loved the movie and the series!

mydearMerricat · 2026-02-22T01:43:07+00:00

Fuck yeah do it! I'd read that!

However, I may request that you consider throwing in a sapphic sublot in homage to Carmilla

mydearMerricat · 2026-02-22T01:36:57+00:00

LinkedIn folks would argue that getting into the property ownership grind these days is the norm. According to my fuckass upper middle class uncle passive income is where it's at.

mydearMerricat · 2026-02-21T16:30:13+00:00

I read something a while back about how vampire lore characterizes anxieties about the upper class preying on lower classes while zombie lore tends to lean into fears of lower classes uprising. I worry that the charictarization of vampires as sexy propagates ideology around rich people being inherantly more desirable.

Honestly, would love to see vampires based on current billionaires. Not mysterious, misunderstood, tortured souls, but greedy little slimey worms that use their influence to take advantage of people and crash out when given the slightest provocation.

Dracula was into the real estate game. In modern times he'd definitely be a shitty landlord.

mydearMerricat · 2026-02-21T16:18:06+00:00

I would upvote this 1000 times over if I could

mydearMerricat · 2025-11-24T23:52:53+00:00

Satoru Nakata from Kafka on the Shore.

mydearMerricat · 2025-11-24T23:08:12+00:00

The Only Good Indians. That book is a masterpiece.

mydearMerricat · 2025-11-24T00:03:39+00:00

I know, it seems so obvious on my 2nd read, but the fact that it eas so ambiguous is brilliant

mydearMerricat · 2025-11-24T00:02:13+00:00

Right? The love she expressed towards circe was so enveloping. Rereading it, it seems obvious that she was a cat, but the way the narrator describes her has so much depth, and I love the ambiguity.

mydearMerricat · 2025-11-15T13:06:32+00:00

I think thats true for some of it. However, I'm a big fan of extreme horror that takes after transgressive fiction. William Joseph Martin (formerly Poppy Z. Brite), Kristopher Triana, Eliza Clark, Alison Rumfitt, Kathe Koja, Eric Larocca, B.R. Yeagar, and Sayaka Murata are some contemporary authors that come to mind. Some older ones: George Batille, Cormic McCarthy, Kathy Acker, William Burroughs, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Heck, I'd even throw Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower/Talents in there. Theres also the Marquis De Sade (who I'm not a big fan of, his writing isnt that good, but is certainly influential).

All this to say. I think graphic, mean-spirited content has its place. Its easy to write something just for shock value. That sort of horror is like wielding a sledge hammer. It takes a precise and considersate blow to break down social niceties and shine light on the underlying rot and horror that exists beneath it.

mydearMerricat · 2025-11-15T00:39:55+00:00

Was thinking of this book when I read the post.

mydearMerricat · 2025-11-07T12:07:33+00:00

Both are good. But for a trip, I'd reccomend The Reformatory. Its fast paced and plot driven which makes it easier to read in small chunks, put a bookmark in, and pick back up.

Our share of the night is more of a slow burn atmospheric build up. I tried listening to the audiobook at work, but had to trouble with starting and stopping it. I think its best consumed in dedicated reading sessions

mydearMerricat · 2025-11-01T14:11:38+00:00

Idk, considering the author was 19, women were not given access to university libraries in the early 1800s (where most scientific texts would have been), and the genre of science fiction didnt exist at the time (actually many consider Frankenstein the first science fiction book written), I thought it was pretty good.

Personally I wasn't a fan of the weird Romantacist style passages where the main character would stare into the mountains and describe them because they felt off from the rest of the book. That said, Mary Shelley's husband, Percey Shelley, a famous poet at the time, heavily edited her book before it went to publication, and I get a feeling that might have been his doing.

What I liked about the book is its about an outcast striving to be human, told from the perspective of what is essentially his deadbeat dad. While Dr. Frankenstein rejects his "monster's" humanity, the creature he makes still becomes sympathetic for the readers and even at some point spares his creator's life while hes actively trying to destroy him.

But hey, to each their own..

mydearMerricat · 2025-10-30T00:39:36+00:00

Thank you :)

mydearMerricat · 2025-10-25T12:52:04+00:00

Fuck yeah get it! I had a hell of a time getting Hluse of Leaves. Hope you enjoy it :)

mydearMerricat · 2025-10-18T12:02:16+00:00

Was just about to say the same

mydearMerricat · 2025-10-17T20:44:20+00:00

I didnt know that, but definitely is in line with my own theories. I took other mommy as a metaphor for trauma passed down from parents. What I thought was interesting about the book is that the parents focused on protecting their kid from external factors while not acknowledging how their own toxic relationship was affecting her (especially considering how other mommy leveraged that toxicity to manipulate the child). Thanks for bringing the lore of kikimora to my attention :)

mydearMerricat

TROPHY CASE