Sunday Morning Book Thread - 10-30-2022 ["Perfessor" Squirrel]

Welcome to the prestigious, internationally acclaimed, stately, and illustrious Sunday Morning Book Thread! The place where all readers are welcome, regardless of whatever guilty pleasure we feel like reading. Here is where we can discuss, argue, bicker, quibble, consider, debate, confabulate, converse, and jaw about our latest fancy in reading material, even if it's nothing more than "The Corsicana Horror" (TXMOME edition). As always, pants are required, especially if you are wearing
these pants...(WARNING! EYE BLEACH REQUIRED!)

So relax, find yourself a warm kitty (or warm puppy--I won't judge) to curl up in your lap, dig through that Halloween candy before the neighborhood kids get to it, and crack open a new book. What are YOU reading this fine morning?

PIC NOTE

I tried to find a decent picture of Orne Library, which is part of the fictional Miskatonic University, located in the equally fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts. Both locations were created by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, one of the greatest horror authors of all time. Orne Library has been "defictionalized" online as there is a website that is devoted to a collection of strange manuscripts that are supposedly housed at the "real" Orne Library - https://www.miskatonic.online/rare-books

HORROR

Horror is that sense of dread we feel when we know things are not quite right, when the shadows creep in around us, and we start to feel anxious about our surroundings. It's a primal emotion, perhaps the FIRST emotion ever felt by living creatures, because we know our very existence may depend on us reacting to the stimulus causing our fear response.

Horror in literature has been around a long, long time. Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764) is credited as the first Gothic Horror novel, though elements of horror can be found back as early as the plays of William Shakespeare, if not earlier. After all, stories about supernatural beings that can cause harm and prey on humans have been around as long as we've been able to share campfire tales about the monsters hiding in the dark.

Horror can be divided into numerous subgenres. We have the aforementioned Gothic Horror, with its towering castles, ancient family secrets, and dark romances. We can also find Psychological Horror stories, which explores the depths of human emotion and trauma to instill fear in the reader. And we have my personal favorite, Cosmic Horror, which is characterized by its depiction of human existence as meaningless in the grand scheme of the universe, as beings much greater and more powerful exist around us in ways we can never fully comprehend, lest we go mad from the revelation.

One of the fun things about the horror genre is that the subgenres are not mutually exclusive, meaning you can mix up Sci-Fi Horror with Cosmic Horror (the movie Event Horizon), or you can blend Splatter Horror with Survival Horror (most of the Resident Evil movies). At the moment, I've been reading P.C. Hodgell's excellent Chronicles of the Kencyrath which takes a low fantasy setting and adds significant Gothic and Cosmic Horror elements, and then blends in dreamlike Surreal Horror to tell an epic story about three people who are destined to come together to face the ultimate nightmare of their race. However, they first have to overcome their mistrust of each other and of their enigmatic, uncaring Three-Faced God that forged their people into a weapon.

Some stories can start out as one genre then morph into another genre, like horror or suspense. For instance, I just finished reading H.G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau this week. The very beginning of the story is about a man who is rescued from being shipwrecked, so it starts out as a sort of adventure story. Then he gets to the island, and it quickly turns into a mystery because he doesn't know anything about his benefactors, who are clearly hiding something from him. From there, it rapidly becomes a horror story as the protagonist explores the island, eventually discovering the twisted creatures created by Dr. Moreau's mad genius.

I know many members of the Moron Horde are not really into the horror genre and that's fine...But if you do like horror, what are some of your favorite stories in this genre? What are some good stories that mash horror with other genres (e.g., mystery, romance, science fiction, fantasy, etc.)?

TXMOME SUMMARY

Attending the TXMOME for the second year in a row was an amazing experience. Last year, I was something of a nobody, just some random commenter on the blog. This year, I was able to attend as a COB, with an actual dental plan! It was an interesting experience being a minor celebrity of sorts. I was also able to have great conversations with people who read the Sunday Morning Book Thread, but don't often comment for one reason or another (usually because it's posted at an inconvenient time for them). And I got to meet some of the other COBs who have given me excellent advice and encouragement.

THANK YOU to everyone who contributed books for the Saturday night prize drawing. I hope everyone who received some books is able to enjoy them as much as I have.

THANK YOU to everyone who reads this meager corner of the mighty AoSHQ Media Empire. The Moron Horde is among the best-educated population on the planet, due in no small part to our obsessive need to read. For us, reading is just as important as breathing. We'd die if we didn't have something to read.

THANK YOU for providing me with more ideas for continuing the Sunday Morning Book Thread. Next week we will be entering November/Thanksgiving territory, so I hope to have some posts up about that which are relevant to reading. It's also National Novel Writing Month or something to that effect, so expect the focus to be on writing as much as reading. Can't have one without the other, after all.

MORON RECOMMENDATIONS

I didn't really have a chance to go through the Moron Recommendations from last week's comments...I promise I'll be posting more of these next week!

More Moron-recommended reading material can be found HERE! (466 Moron-recommended books so far!)

WHAT I'VE BEEN READING THIS PAST WEEK:

• God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell -- A young woman emerges from the Haunted Lands, her ultimate fate to assume the identity of the avatar of Regonereth, That-Which-Destroys, one aspect of her Three-Faced God.
• Dark of the Moon by P.C. Hodgell -- We are introduced to Jame's twin brother Tori, who is at least a decade older than her (it makes sense in context--well, not really, but roll with it), and who is struggling to assume his role as Highlord of the Kencyrath.
• Seeker's Mask -- Book 3 of The Chronicles of the Kencyrath. Jame has been reunited with her people, only to discover a world of brutal intrigue and twisted family secrets...
• The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells -- A classic horror story if ever I've read one, although it also contains some science fiction elements.
• The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury -- A childhood tale of wonder and adventure as eight young lads travel across time and space to explore the history of Halloween in an attempt to save their friend's life and soul.

That's about all I have for this week. Thank you for all of your kind words regarding my Sunday Morning Book Thread. This is a very special place. You are very special people (in all the best ways!). The kindness, generosity, and wisdom of the Moron Horde knows no bounds. Let's keep reading!

If you have any suggestions for improvement, reading recommendations, or writing projects that you'd like to see on the Sunday Morning Book Thread, you can send them to perfessor dot squirrel at-sign gmail dot com. Your feedback is always appreciated! You can also take a virtual tour of OUR library at libib.com/u/perfessorsquirrel. Since I added sections for AoSHQ, I now consider it OUR library, rather than my own personal fiefdom...

PREVIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BOOK THREAD - 10-23-22 (hat tip: vmom stabby stabby stabamillion) (NOTE: Do NOT comment on old threads!)

("Huggy" Squirrel is reading some of the finest cosmic horror fantasy ever written! Highly recommended!)

posted by Open Blogger at 09:00 AM

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