Bloggiesta To Do List: Fall 2016

This is a little last minute, but I’m hoping to hop on the Bloggiesta train once again. Bloggiesta is a regularly occurring blogging marathon in which a bunch of bloggers band together to challenge and support each other as we each work on improving our blogs, and it’s starting RIGHT NOW! The Fall Bloggiesta 2016 runs from today (Thursday, September 15th) until Sunday, September 18th. You can learn more on the Bloggiesta website.

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I’ve participated in two Bloggiesta events since starting this blog—the Winter 2016 Mini Bloggiesta and the Spring 2016 Bloggiesta (I missed the Summer Mini Bloggiesta)—and I’ve found these events to be very helpful for accomplishing long-term blogging goals as well as for connecting with other bloggers.
Since I didn’t get the chance to do any planning in advance this time around, and since I’m also going to be out of town this weekend without my computer, I’m going to be kind of loose about my timeline for accomplishing my Bloggiesta goals and probably won’t get the chance to participate in any mini-challenges. But I figured I would lay out some objectives and see how many I can accomplish over the coming weeks.
To Do List
  • Post reviews since last Bloggiesta on Goodreads and Amazon with links back to the blog
  • Revisit the Bookish Mastermind Group I joined last time and try to get that going again.
  • Plan out some Halloween posts
  • Comment on at least one other blog participating in Bloggiesta
  • Update my spreadsheet of book review requests

Are you participating in Bloggiesta? What are your goals? How is it going so far? Let me know in the comments!

With This Curse Review–An Excellent Victorian Gothic

With This Curse coverWhat could tempt you to reenter a cursed house, where all that you loved had already been taken from you once before? For Clara, only the dismal prospects of being an unmarried Victorian woman without hope of employment could drive her back to Gravesend. This predicament opens the story of With This Curse by Amanda DeWees, a traditional-style Gothic novel which won the 2015 Daphne du Maurier Award. Amanda’s books were first recommended to me by an author I’ve talked about at length in many posts here, Leanna Renee Hieber. I knew I could trust such glowing praise from one of my favorite authors, and when With This Curse arrived in the mail and I saw its gorgeous and elegant cover, I was even more excited to read it. It took several months to make its way up my to-read list, but when I finally cracked the spine, I was not disappointed. Continue reading With This Curse Review–An Excellent Victorian Gothic

Review of Ashwood–A Haunting Debut Horror

Ashwood CoverEvery time Willow falls asleep, she wakes up back in the twisted world of Ashwood Asylum. Her haunted dreams are the subject of Ashwood, a young adult horror novel by debut author C.J. Malarsky. I requested a copy of this book many, many months ago, shortly after it was first published in 2015. Now the book is being re-launched by Fantasy Works Publishing this week! The new paperbacks will be available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble starting on September 7, and you can even find some signed copies at Kinoyuniya NYC. The ebook will be available at Amazon, iTunes, Smashwords, Kobo, and Nook. Continue reading Review of Ashwood–A Haunting Debut Horror

Back to School Reading List

School Supplies

It’s that time of year again! I’m still getting used to the idea that I will no longer be heading off to school in the fall, but I can’t help getting into the back-to-school spirit. If you are continuing your formal education for another semester, be sure to check out your English class syllabus to see if you have any great gothic reads coming up. I always loved reading these books in class because you can get a lot more out of them by learning about their literary and temporal context and by engaging in analysis and discussion with others. But for those of you not going back to school, or whose reading lists are lacking in the dark and macabre—not to fear! I’ve made a gothic syllabus of my own for you. Last summer, when I first launched this blog, I made a Gothic Lit 101 list for you in my Gothic Lit Starter Kit post. Consider this Gothic Lit 102 (not necessarily to be taken in order):

Continue reading Back to School Reading List

Review of Neil Gaiman’s Trigger Warning

Trigger Warning coverI know this may be considered blasphemy in both the goth and book worlds, but I personally find Neil Gaiman’s writing to be kind of hit or miss. I absolutely loved The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and found Good Omens to be a pleasantly amusing read. And of course I’ve been quite enjoying my foray into comics with his classic Sandman series. However, my first impression of Neil Gaiman’s writing was not a great one since I felt the first of his books I picked up—American Gods—failed to live up to the hype. His latest book, a collection of short fiction titled Trigger Warning, left me feeling similarly ambivalent. Most of the stories were great, but a couple were simply bizarre, mediocre, or boring, and I really didn’t buy into his overarching theme. Continue reading Review of Neil Gaiman’s Trigger Warning

Poems to Read in a Graveyard

There’s something about goths, graveyards, and poetry that just seem to go together. Well, part of that is because, long before there were any goths, a number of poets frequented graveyards, viewing them as the ideal setting for melancholy contemplation. This trend was popularized in the eighteenth century by a group of pre-Romantic English writers who became known as the Graveyard Poets. The tradition was continued by the Romantics, who have had a significant influence on popular gothic aesthetic and sentiment, and it has since been revisited by many writers into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Below are five of my favorite poems that were written or take place in a graveyard:

Reading in graveyard Continue reading Poems to Read in a Graveyard

Eterna and Omega Review: Sensitives, Psychics, and Spirits, Oh My!

Eterna and Omega coverOur favorite Victorian paranormal research teams are back this week, with Book 2 of the Eterna Files! Back in January, I posted about how much I loved The Eterna Files, the first book in Leanna Renee Hieber’s latest series. Tomorrow, August 9th, the story continues with the release of Eterna and Omega. I’ll be attending the New York City book launch event this Thursday at the Morris-Jumel Mansion. If you’re going, come say hi! If you’re not in NYC but still want a signed copy, WORD bookstore is offering signed and personalized copies for preorder! You can also find it on Amazon or at your local bookstore starting tomorrow. Continue reading Eterna and Omega Review: Sensitives, Psychics, and Spirits, Oh My!

Dead and Vengeful Cats in Gothic Fiction

I spend a lot of time thinking about how much I love cats. They’re cute, cuddly, clever, and just a little bit demonic. Sadly, I don’t own an adorable fluff-ball myself, so I must find other venues for my cat appreciation. This generally involves visiting friends who own cats, looking at cats on social media, and of course, reading books that feature cats. Fortunately, cats—long associated with magic, mystery, and devilry—often feature prominently in gothic literature. Less fortunately, they also have a tendency to die in these stories… But cats are not creatures to be trifled with, and they are particularly adept at exacting revenge. Below are some of my favorite tales starring dead and/or vengeful cats: Continue reading Dead and Vengeful Cats in Gothic Fiction

Limetown Review: A Suspenseful Sci-fi Podcast

I tend to focus primarily on books on this site, but this week I decided to branch out into a new medium—podcasts! I just finished listening to Season 1 of Limetown, a podcast drama produced last summer about mysterious disappearances, mind-blowing scientific advancements, and the quest for truth, even in the face of death.

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Limetown is a fictional podcast in the style of a radio show, much like the ever popular Welcome to Nightvale. Or so I’ve heard anyway, since I haven’t actually listened to Nightvale, yet. Podcasts are a new medium for me, and I find myself easily intimidated by the idea of committing to a long series with so many episodes. For this reason, my friend recommended that I start with Limetown, which has a similar sense of sci-fi spookiness but on a much more easily digestible scale. Continue reading Limetown Review: A Suspenseful Sci-fi Podcast

Bird Box Review: From Fear of the Unseen to Fear of Seeing

Bird Box coverWhat if the most dangerous thing you could do was to look outside? This question is the premise of Bird Box, a horror novel by Josh Malerman. I’ve been on a real horror kick lately and am loving getting back in to the genre. This book in particular was such a new and unique example of the genre for me, and it reminded me just how much is out there that I haven’t read yet. Bird Box blends elements of horror, thriller, post-apocalyptic survival, and sci-fi/fantasy. It takes the fear of the unseen to a whole new level: the fear of seeing!
Continue reading Bird Box Review: From Fear of the Unseen to Fear of Seeing