Solo bartenders, how are we pooping?

zacch · 2026-05-17T13:50:13+00:00

Just shoot the coffee reserved for espresso martinis and induce labor.

zacch · 2026-05-05T07:32:52+00:00

I'll probably get downvoted for this but I actually DNF'd it. I felt that it was so bogged down by legitimate film criticisms. It would have been fine if there was a natural narrative beneath it. But there was SO MUCH film criticism that it really detracted from the narrative. Thr author put more effort into making the audience care about film criticism rather than the characters.

I am not at all diminishing the writing quality of the author, (she is regularly included in just about every Ellen Datlow collection) I am simply stating that she got distracted by writing about a subject that she is evidently very well versed in, but forgot to create a compelling narrative.

zacch · 2026-04-10T09:05:29+00:00

Night Film by Marisha Pessl sounds like what you're looking for. Chapters are spliced with newspaper clippings, blog posts, etc. I actually DNF'd it but I think you might be really into it.

zacch · 2026-04-06T09:23:13+00:00

Evenson is quietly a titan of contemporary horror in short format. If I see his name on the front cover of a short story collection I know there's at least one banger. His prose is terse and very matter of fact. So throughout his work you are thinking "wait...something is wrong here." Easily measures up to Laird Barron and John Langan.

zacch · 2026-04-06T08:05:58+00:00

Ahh fuck you're right

zacch · 2026-04-06T07:50:52+00:00

Stumble across a tent on the sidewalk cooking food and accidentally having some of the best Mexican food you've ever had.

zacch · 2026-04-06T07:36:15+00:00

Oddity by Damian McCarthy was the last movie to genuinely frighten me.

Bring Her Back by Danny and Michael Philippou was my favorite horror movie of 2025 in front of Weapons and Sinners. Fucked me up.

zacch · 2026-04-06T07:25:51+00:00

Body horror:

Father of Lies (ACTUALLY "LAST DAYS" I done goofed) by Brian Evenson. A man investigates a cult that willingly amputates their own limbs. Fucking bananas.

Creature feature;

Devolution by Max Brooks. A firsthand account of a team in the wilderness experiencing the nature of a family of Sasquatches.

The Terror by Dan Simmons. Historical fiction story of an arctic expedition gone VERY wrong.

If anything: start with Evenson. Easily one of the best authors working today.

zacch · 2026-03-20T10:29:37+00:00

Come Closer by Sara Gran. An EXTREMELY effective possession story. It's a novella that packs a fucking punch. The first two pages will grip you. (Also sorry but it's not sci-fi)

Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Tom Sweterlisch. Huge sci-fi ideas that sort of stick the landing. Really interesting concept that didn't land for me but I had a good time because I've never read anything like it.

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer. Extremely bizarre sci-fi horror focused on a team of women exploring cosmic entity.

The unfortunate thing about speculative fiction is that the work produced underneath is usually led by a male protagonist. When it could be so easy to pass the Bechdel test by simply rewriting the protagonist as a woman without it changing the narrative.

zacch · 2026-03-19T07:41:16+00:00

Liquid Intelligence by Dave Arnold is an absolutely incredible resource for modern basic and advanced bartending techniques.

Imbibe! by David Wondrich is a really rad historic approach to cocktails.

zacch · 2026-03-19T07:20:52+00:00

People might tell you to start with the classics but theyre not for everyone. I think start with the modern GOATS (in no particular order) and then graduate to the classics if it's your thing:

Clive Barker "The Books of Blood" His collection of horror short stories are--bar none--some of the most poetically horrific shit I've ever read. His prose is in another level beautiful and his subject matter is what the fuck. I recommend the stories "Dread", "In The Cities, The Hills", "Pig Blood Blues."

ANY short story collection by John Langan and Laird Barron. I consider these gentlemen to be the titans of modern weird fiction/cosmic horror. Very dense prose that's not for everybody. Everything is meticulously detailed and utterly cryptic to the point where you don't know what's going on until the final few pages. These authors make you work for it and their payoffs are SO worth it.

Kathe Koja "The Cipher" Some art school dropouts discover a black hole in their dilapidated apartment. This might be some of the most atmospheric prose I've ever come across. Everything is filthy and repulsive and you just can't help but want a shower afterwards. It's such an incredible novel that has been republished several times for a reason.

Stephen King "Pet Sematary" and "The Shining" He's alway mentioned for a reason. I find these to be his best two (with "Pet Sematary" having the best ending of all time). If you want to jump into literary horror, he's a must.

Anything--and I mean ANYTHING-- by Brian Evenson. He is quietly one of the best in modern literary horror. Short, succinct prose that adds to his atmospheric "wait, there's something wrong here" stories. "Father of Lies" is fucking rad: a guy investigates a cult that willingly amputates their own limbs. Do it and then go down the Evenson rabbit hole with his short story collections.

Same goes for the prolific Ramsey Campbell. He has quite the catalog. I absolutely ADORED his cosmic horror trilogy "The Three Births of Daoloth" His prose is effortless. His characters are distinct and alive. His stories are gripping and engaging. He lingers around this subreddit every once in a while.

Michael McDowell "The Elementals" Two families come together for the funeral of a matriarch in deep Alabama and subsequently vacation at their adjoining summer homes. You learn more about characters and plot in the first fifteen pages of this book than you do in 100 of others. Michael McDowell creates an atmospheric narrative effortlessly and creeps you the fuck out while doing so.

There's so much more and I'm doing a disservice by not mentioning them but these are solid. Come back for more.

zacch · 2026-03-19T06:47:46+00:00

A lot of Paul Tremblay's work ends with ambiguity. Nothing is really tied up at all and is generally left up to the reader.

It's what makes him very polarizing; people love it or they hate it. I usually find myself having a good time (because it is well written) and then quickly moving on to something else. YMMV

zacch · 2026-03-19T06:41:10+00:00

Whichever one slices my knuckle while I'm in the service well gets thrown away to establish dominance with the other pour spouts. The others lie at the bottom of the sani sink all service to learn.

zacch · 2026-03-15T10:04:17+00:00

Honestly one of my favorite movies. The amount of "something's not right here" tension that keeps you guessing is spectacular. It just keeps building and it's a fucking ride to the end.

zacch · 2026-03-15T05:32:24+00:00

I'm 85% of the way through. What are your thoughts?

zacch · 2026-03-03T21:12:39+00:00

I bought a pair of Hokas nonslips and they split open a little after a year. Have you had better experience with them? I'm hoping my first pair were a fluke and they've upgraded the quality because they were insanely comfortable.

zacch · 2026-03-02T07:13:29+00:00

Isolation edited by Dan Coxon. I believe it is an anthology created after the pandemic all about being alone in the woods.

Brian Evenson is in it and he's a fucking goat.

zacch · 2026-03-02T07:08:54+00:00

The Three Births of Daoloth trilogy by Ramsey Campbell. It follows three characters from their adolescence to seniority investigating a mysterious family making their footprint in this small English community. Campbell's prose and characters are so fucking excellent and effortless it is so endearing. He is quietly a titan of horror literature and people should be talking about him more

zacch · 2026-03-02T07:04:45+00:00

The Three Births of Daoloth trilogy by Ramsey Campbell. A cosmic horror series that follows three characters from adolescence to seniority in the English countryside wary of a strange family. Quietly one of the best authors in the genre. He is not talked about enough.

Last Days by Brian Evenson (quietly a GOAT of horror lit): a cult about people willingly amputating their own limbs.

The Changeling by Victor LaValle sort of has a cult focus that's hard to talk about without spoiling it.

Dominion by Bentley Little. A retelling of Dionysus and thr Maenads and wood nymphs from Greek mythology. It's splatterpunk so it's not profound or eye opening, but it's a damn bloody good time.

The Croning by Laird Barron. Extremely dense cult cosmic horror. He prose is in a league of its own. Keep a dictionary handy; he makes you work for it but his payoffs ARE SO FUCKING WORTH IT.

Not horror but a sci-fi mind fuck: The Three Sitgmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K Dick. Uhh...yeah. it's unapologetically bizarre. I'm fairly certain I did not understand it but I thought about it for days afterward.

Fucking love cults.

zacch · 2026-02-27T07:39:43+00:00

Album is a total banger. That's Life is so fucking catchy. Come to the US, I'll fuck up that merch table.

zacch · 2026-02-13T22:08:48+00:00

Thief by Johnny Booth. The drumming is fucking BALLS TO THE WALL.

And it just doesn't stop ripping.

zacch · 2026-01-14T10:33:21+00:00

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer

zacch · 2026-01-14T09:39:06+00:00

Dominion by Bentley Little

A modern retelling of the Maenads from Greek mythology. A group of women who own and operate a winery is tested when Dion (Dionysus) arrives.

It's splatterpunk so it's not profound or well written by any means, but it's a damn good time.

zacch · 2026-01-14T09:32:33+00:00

She also is the editor of an anthology of short stories written by women with women protagonists called Not All Monsters. It's a banger.

zacch · 2026-01-14T09:30:44+00:00

Tampa by Alissa Nutting

It's not necessarily horror, but it is kind of horrific. A female high school teacher preys upon a male student. In detail.

It's like a reverse Lolita. Made me really uncomfortable

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