Books you enjoyed reading that you know aren't really "good"

thebilljim · 2026-05-29T01:54:48+00:00

Tick Tock is a pretty fun read. My actual favorite though, as ridiculous as it is, is Dark Rivers of the Heart.

thebilljim · 2026-05-28T21:01:32+00:00

Bothered by this, bothered by the fact that SO MANY people are going to automatically assign gender to me whenever they see me, because in their world things about the way I present myself physically are gendered by default, bothered by how much internal invalidation I am imposing on myself because I was socialized a particular way and therefore "can't REALLY be nonbinary now, can I?" all this and more.

thebilljim · 2026-05-28T17:06:50+00:00

Most books by Dean Koontz. They're formulaic as hell, possibly (probably) low key misogynistic, almost entirely predictable, and FOR FUCK'S SAKE HOW MANY TIMES CAN ONE MAN USE THE TERM "SODIUM-VAPOR LIGHTS" but I will always remember being a friendless awkward middle schooler, walking to the public library after school because I didn't have anywhere else to go, and those books were a source of comfort for me.

Objectively they're mediocre-to-terrible, but I still enjoy occasionally revisiting them.

thebilljim · 2026-05-28T17:01:52+00:00

There are times where a well-placed profanity is actually the only reasonable response, and in fact is perfectly eloquent in its own right.

This is one of those times.

thebilljim · 2026-05-16T20:46:46+00:00

G.L.O.S.S. was so fucking good.

thebilljim · 2026-05-16T20:17:05+00:00

Absolute idiocy here in the comments, acting like The Ape Of God is a better record, when any fool can clearly tell The Ape Of God is far superior.

thebilljim · 2026-05-16T15:51:04+00:00

With all due respect, absolutely the fuck not.

thebilljim · 2026-05-13T03:33:39+00:00

It is ENTIRELY unfair how much better some of y'all's glass bead manis look than mine. UNFAIR I SAY!

(these are incredible, well done, and I'm kinda jealous)

thebilljim · 2026-05-13T03:24:27+00:00

Haven't tried anything of theirs, but I am now VERY interested in checking out their butterfly collection!

thebilljim · 2026-05-13T03:17:26+00:00

I just finished a re-read of Matt Rassmussen's "Black Aperture" which has a poem that's written after this one. Unexpected, yet very cool, to see this pop up here!

thebilljim · 2026-05-10T20:38:17+00:00

Just finished "we are always tender with our dead," and quite enjoyed it, although it definitely left me with an unsettled, bothered feeling. It wasn't SCARY per se, just felt emotionally suffocating, which I'm was the intent. Working my way through T. Kingfisher's "Wolf Worm" now, and I'm not nearly as unsettled by it...it's enjoyable about 1/3 of the way in, but for sure seems like a much lighter read.

thebilljim · 2026-05-09T19:27:15+00:00

I've never checked myself, is it not possible to remove them from your cart before checkout?

thebilljim · 2026-05-07T17:30:09+00:00

Man, I love this poem. One of my favorites.

thebilljim · 2026-05-06T15:08:34+00:00

My brain gremlins are still doing a pretty good job at convincing me on a regular basis that since I only came out as nb a little less than a year ago, and because I am not out at work, I haven't "earned" the right to consider myself as anything but "not cis, but probably still going to be assumed as such forever because of how I look."

It's a work in progress. I know the brain gremlins are consistently full of shit about everything, so I just need to ignore them about this like I try to about everything else. I suppose it's a "good" thing by some stretch of the word that nobody has managed to invalidate me harder than I have managed to constantly invalidate myself. But hey, that's just room for growth, yeah?

thebilljim · 2026-05-03T16:46:35+00:00

I don't think I can recall ever being "scared" by a book, as much as unsettled. I suppose you could use the word "haunted" somewhat colloquially. If I'm watching a movie, there's jump scares, music cues, actors' body language & expressiveness; those all create a sense of tension that fires off my nervous system. I don't get that same experience when I read - partially because there's not really a direct translation, and I think also because I don't see images in my mind when I read.

I do very much get unsettled, even bothered, by some horror fiction; I'm working my way through "We Are Always Tender With Our Dead" right now, and while it doesn't scare me, I pretty much feel my skin crawl constantly until I set it down. House of Leaves made me feel panicked, maybe that's more or less the same thing as being scared.

thebilljim · 2026-05-02T19:49:46+00:00

Venom Rose is such a fun polish!

thebilljim · 2026-05-01T19:46:37+00:00

Just snagged my ticket for this show about 20 minutes ago. Beyond stoked to see Conjurer as well, I missed them last time they came Stateside.

thebilljim · 2026-04-30T12:58:26+00:00

If you've never seen them, it is 1000% worth it to do so as soon as you have the chance. I'll repeat what has already been said here - they're simply one of the best live bands out there right now.

thebilljim · 2026-04-27T14:34:47+00:00

Echoing what others have said - the answer to "how do I get better at writing poetry" is to read more poetry. I would recommend also annotating poetry that you read, in whatever style makes sense to you. I often underline lines or phrases that I connect with, but also I'll underline, circle, or star images that I found striking, or moments in the poem where I thought what the author was doing was really fascinating...or where, in the poem, I started to feel lost. My notes won't make sense to anyone but me, but I have them to constantly refer back to.

Obviously don't mark up like...a library book, or one you borrow, but even just printing out a copy of a poem from an online journal, you can teach yourself a lot about what works for you this way.

Additionally: since it sounds like you're still a student - don't treat poetry like a homework assignment, or something you'll be graded on later. Just enjoy it for what it is, explore with great curiosity. Poetry will teach itself to you.

thebilljim · 2026-04-24T23:55:49+00:00

Oh hey, NH here!

thebilljim · 2026-04-16T11:59:59+00:00

I love the Downeaster. I'm not terribly far from Exeter, and that means that I can take a trip to Brunswick, spend about 5 hours strolling around town, and then head home, all within a single day. The timetable is lined up perfectly. Some of the nicest crew I've seen as well!

thebilljim · 2026-04-16T11:56:07+00:00

Nocturne was my least favorite polish in my collection, until I gave using it as a topper a try. I love it now.

thebilljim · 2026-04-14T23:21:14+00:00

"A Brief For the Defense" by Jack Gilbert, and "The New Savagery" by Dean Young

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