GothicDreamer

Trying to pick reading back up after my maths degree had me years without touching a non-academic text. She/her. 24. 🏳️‍🌈.

258 points

0% overlap

My Taste

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Aristotle and Dante, #1)

Reading...

El infinito en un junco: La invención de los libros en el mundo antiguo

GothicDreamer commented on a post

GothicDreamer

Edited

Thoughts from 100%

spoilers

View spoiler

GothicDreamer paused reading...

Babel

R.F. Kuang

From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a historical fantasy epic that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British Empire Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel. The tower and its students are the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver-working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as the arcane craft serves the Empire's quest for colonization. For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide . . . Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

GothicDreamer created a list

If you liked Welcome To Night Vale...

by GothicDreamer

5 books

Joseph Fink (one of the writers of WTNV) gave us a recommendation list on Tiktok for fans of the podcast, so I thought it would be nice to bring it here.

💜

🤯

🎙️

Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Wayside School, #1)

GothicDreamer earned a badge

Level 3

250 points

GothicDreamer is interested in reading...

Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories

Aviaq Johnston

“Taaqtumi” is an Inuktitut word that means “in the dark”—and these spine-tingling horror stories by Northern writers show just how dangerous darkness can be. A family clinging to survival out on the tundra after a vicious zombie virus. A door that beckons, waiting to unleash the terror behind it. A post-apocalyptic community in the far North where things aren’t quite what they seem. With chilling tales from award-winning authors Richard Van Camp, Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley, Aviaq Johnston, and others, this collection will thrill and entertain even the most seasoned horror fan. Ages- 16+ Includes some explicit content.

GothicDreamer is interested in reading...

A Haunting in the Arctic

C.J. Cooke

A deserted shipwreck off the coast of Iceland holds terrors and dark secrets in this chilling horror novel from the author of The Lighthouse Witches. The year is 1901, and Nicky is attacked, then wakes on board the Ormen, a whaling ship embarked on what could be its last voyage. With land still weeks away, it’s just her, the freezing ocean, and the crew – and they’re all owed something only she can give them... Now, over one hundred years later, the wreck of the Ormen has washed up on the forbidding, remote coast of Iceland. It’s scheduled to be destroyed, but explorer Dominique feels an inexplicable pull to document its last days, even though those who have ventured onto the wreck before her have met uncanny ends. Onboard the boat, Dominique will uncover a dark past riddled with lies, cruelty, and murder—and her discovery will change everything. Because she’ll soon realize she’s not alone. Something has walked the floors of the Ormen for almost a century. Something that craves revenge.

GothicDreamer is interested in reading...

Moon of the Crusted Snow (Moon, #1)

Waubgeshig Rice

A daring post-apocalyptic thriller from a powerful rising literary voice. With winter looming, a small northern Anishinaabe community goes dark. Cut off, people become passive and confused. Panic builds as the food supply dwindles. While the band council and a pocket of community members struggle to maintain order, an unexpected visitor arrives, escaping the crumbling society to the south. Soon after, others follow. The community leadership loses its grip on power as the visitors manipulate the tired and hungry to take control of the reserve. Tensions rise and, as the months pass, so does the death toll due to sickness and despair. Frustrated by the building chaos, a group of young friends and their families turn to the land and Anishinaabe tradition in hopes of helping their community thrive again. Guided through the chaos by an unlikely leader named Evan Whitesky, they endeavor to restore order while grappling with a grave decision. Blending action and allegory, Moon of the Crusted Snow upends our expectations. Out of catastrophe comes resilience. And as one society collapses, another is reborn.

GothicDreamer TBR'd a book

Horrorstör

Grady Hendrix

Something strange is happening at the Orsk furniture superstore in Cleveland, Ohio. Every morning, employees arrive to find broken Kjerring bookshelves, shattered Glans water goblets, and smashed Liripip wardrobes. Sales are down, security cameras reveal nothing, and store managers are panicking. To unravel the mystery, three employees volunteer to work a nine-hour dusk-till-dawn shift. In the dead of the night, they’ll patrol the empty showroom floor, investigate strange sights and sounds, and encounter horrors that defy the imagination. A traditional haunted house story in a thoroughly contemporary setting, Horrorstör is designed to retain its luster and natural appearance for a lifetime of use. Pleasingly proportioned with generous French flaps and a softcover binding, Horrorstör delivers the psychological terror you need in the elegant package you deserve. Designed by Andie Reid, cover photography by Christine Ferrara.

GothicDreamer commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

intofolklore

what is a book that everyone loves but you hate?

no judgement zone here! i’m always curious about this and what made the book so bad to someone

mine is between if he had been with me and a thousand boy kisses. these books i was so excited to read but when i did, i absolutely hated them. i cringed way too hard during both of them. i know they are supposed to be heartbreaking, but it’s hard to be hurt by a book that made me want to chuck it across the room because of how bad it was

178

GothicDreamer commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

rey.read

This or that? Book edition 📚

hardcover / paperback
physical books / e-books
standalone / series
single pov / multiple povs
dark themes / lighthearted reads
happy ending / open ending
annotating / keep pristine
buying books / borrowing books
daytime reading / nighttime reading
one read / multiple reads

126

165

GothicDreamer commented on a post

feralraccoonqueen

Thoughts from 55%

spoilers

View spoiler

GothicDreamer commented on a post

feralraccoonqueen

Thoughts from 36%

spoilers

View spoiler

GothicDreamer commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

IsaMichelle

Gothic horror novel recs

Hey. I just wanted to ask if anyone had gothic horror recommendations. I just read both Blood On Her Tongue and My Darling Dreadful Thing, and I would just love to keep going with that subgenre that I have only now found for myself. What are your favorite books within the genre? Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this, and respond, if you have any responses. I truly appreciate it. Have a wonderful day, all of you 😊😊❤️❤️

GothicDreamer commented on a post

vumaisbooked

Edited

Thoughts from 16% (page 55)

“But, Nelly, if I knocked him down twenty times, that wouldn’t make him less handsome or me more so. I wish I had light hair and a fair skin, and was dressed and behaved as well, and had a chance of being as rich as he will be!”

Heathcliffe being miscast as white with brown hair in several film adaptations reminds me of the online discourse that for white people, colourism is simply blonde hair vs. brunette hair 🫠. These descriptions are extremely lost in translation. This kind of despair in your own skin is a rite of passage for young children of colour in predominantly white spaces, but somehow, several film directors have read whatever they wanted to.

I relate to Heatcliffe so much as a WOC but looking at the film posters, I’ve never wanted to read this. Emily, I’m truly sorry, I wasn’t familiar with your game!

GothicDreamer earned a badge

Winter 2026 Readalong

Read at least 1 book in the Winter 2026 Readalong.

GothicDreamer TBR'd a book

The Vampyre

John William Polidori

This classic vampire story has inspired generations of authors, from Bram Stoker to Charlaine Harris. A young English gentleman of means, Aubrey is immediately intrigued by Lord Ruthven, the mysterious newcomer among society’s elite. His unknown origin and curious behavior tantalizes Aubrey’s imagination. But the young man soon discovers a sinister character hidden behind his new friend’s glamorous facade. When the two are set upon by bandits while traveling together in Europe, Ruthven is fatally injured. Before drawing his last breath, he makes the odd request that Aubrey keep his death and crimes secret for a year and a day. But when Ruthven resurfaces in London—making overtures toward Aubrey’s sister—Aubrey realizes this immortal fiend is a vampyre. John William Polidori’s The Vampyre is both a classic tale of gothic horror and the progenitor of the modern romantic vampire myth that has been fodder for artists ranging from Anne Rice to Alan Ball to Francis Ford Coppola. Originally published in 1819, many decades before Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and misattributed to Polidori’s friend Lord Byron, The Vampyre has kept readers up at night for nearly two hundred years.

GothicDreamer earned a badge

Gothic Literature

Bronze: Finished 5 Main Quest books.

GothicDreamer joined a quest

Gothic Literature 🏰💀👻

🏆 // 5417 joined

Not Joined

I like my castles cold, my moors windswept, and my heroines swooning.

GothicDreamer joined a quest

Iconic Series 📚👤💭

🏆 // 6584 joined

Not Joined

A collection of the pilot books for popular series, for those of us who love to follow a character's journey for as long as an author will let us! Some of the below series have heavily debated starting points and book read orders--in those cases the pilot was selected based on what seems to be the most popular approach.

GothicDreamer earned a badge

Iconic Series

Bronze: Finished 5 Main Quest books.

Gift Pagebound Royalty Merch Store Roadmap Founder Announcements

Support

FAQ Contact Us Report a bug

team@pagebound.co

Company

About Us Terms of Use Privacy Policy Content Policy

Gift Pagebound Royalty Merch Store Roadmap Founder Announcements