faustus99

Classic lit, gothic lit, anything that catches my fancy really...

491 points

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41%

faustus99 is interested in reading...

Word Painting: A Guide to Writing More Descriptively

Rebecca McClanahan

Let Rebecca McClanahan guide you through an inspiring examination of description in its many forms. With her thoughtful instruction and engaging exercises, you'll learn to develop your senses and powers of observation to uncover the rich, evocative words that accurately portray your mind's images. McClanahan includes dozens of descriptive passages written by master poets and authors to illuminate the process. She also teaches you how to weave writing together using description as a unifying thread.

faustus99 is interested in reading...

15h

Bolla: A Novel

Pajtim Statovci

From the author of National Book Award finalist Crossing comes an unlikely love story in Kosovo with unpredictable consequences that reverberates throughout a young man's life--a dazzling tale full of fury, tenderness, longing, and lust. April 1995. Arsim is a twenty-four-year-old, recently married student at the University of Pristina, in Kosovo, keeping his head down to gain a university degree in a time and place deeply hostile to Albanians. In a caf� he meets a young man named Milos, a Serb. Before the day is out, everything has changed for both of them, and within a week two milestones erupt in Arsim's married life: his wife announces her first pregnancy and he begins a life in secret. After these fevered beginnings, Arsim and Milos's unlikely affair is derailed by the outbreak of war, which sends Arsim's fledgling family abroad and timid Milos spiraling down a dark path, as depicted through chaotic journal entries. Years later, deported back to Pristina after a spell in prison and now alone and hopeless, Arsim finds himself in a broken reality that makes him completely question his past. What happened to him, to them, exactly? How much can you endure, and forgive? Entwined with their story is a re-created legend of a demonic serpent, Bolla; it's an unearthly tale that gives Arsim and Milos a language through which to reflect on what they once had. With luminous prose and a delicate eye, Pajtim Statovci delivers a relentless novel of desire, destruction, intimacy, and the different fronts of war.

faustus99 is interested in reading...

16h

Ace, King, Knave

Maria McCann

Betsy-Ann is a gambler dealing in gin and stolen goods, living with a grave-robber in Georgian London. Sophia is a demure Bath heiress married to the charismatic Edmund Zedland. But neither of their men is what he seemsâ€¦

faustus99 is interested in reading...

16h

The Wilding

Maria McCann

Jonathan Dymond, a 26-year old cider-maker in post-Civil War England, has enjoyed a quiet, harmonious existence until a letter arrives from his uncle with a request to speak with his father. When his father returns from the visit the next day, all he can say is that Jonathan's uncle has died. Then Jonathan finds a fragment of the letter, with talk of inheritance and vengeance...

faustus99 commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

16h

chelssicle

Library Summer Reading Bingo Just Dropped, In need of Recs!

Hi friends!

My library's summer reading bingo just dropped and I need help with a few prompts! Some of them are a little tricky. Since this is a summer challenge and I can't read that many books per month, I'm looking for books that are maybe on the shorter side? I'm thinking that will be easier. I can technically use one book for up to 2 prompts so if you know of a book that hits multiple please let me know!

I primarily read fantasy, sci-fi, horror, etc. Basically not much contemporary!

Here's the prompts I'm sorta stuck on: A book someone recommended to you (Luckily anything you all suggest will fit this one!) MC is the same age as you (I'm 32 but I'm thinking anything close would count? Also my aunt who is doing this with me need someone who is 51 ish. Similar genres but she'll read contemp romance too!) Make a recipe from a cook book (I have no clue for this one!) MC is neurodivergent Winter themed book Spin wheel and read non-fic category (I have to go into the library and spin a wheel but if you have short non-fics please recommend those! Not memoirs though, I won't read them.) Title has 5 words Classic published before 1900 Book with multiple timelines

faustus99 commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

18h

quackquackquack

Edited

English as second language

English is not my first language and I always feel cautious when writing comments in forums because of all the potential grammar errors/misunderstandings (I'll never understand English prepositions, but I've made peace with that).

Just wondering how many of us are there? What's your native language? It'd also be great to see a map showing where Pagebound users are.

Edit: wow, so many comments! I love to read about all the different native language, thank you! It's nice to think that, no matter how big the world is, there'll always be someone sharing the love for reading ❤️ (and now that I got cheesy it's time to find my exit).

faustus99 commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

18h

ReadingRainbow

Reader types: wade in or just dive in

One of the books I'm currently reading has a silly but useful author's note at the beginning. In the forum some people are mentioning how helpful that was and others are like "what note" or "that would've been helpful had I not seen it after finishing".

Out of curiosity, what is your reading experience? Do you read cover to cover and pass through every page? Or do you jump straight into chapter one?

faustus99 made progress on...

18h

A Room of One’s Own

Virginia Woolf

41%

faustus99 created a list

Books That Rip Your Heart Out

by faustus99

7 books

The most tragic books I’ve read so far, compiled into a list for your…. enjoyment…?

😭

💔

🌧️

faustus99 wrote a review...

faustus99

Jun 18, 2026

Winter Love

4.5

Enjoyment: 3.5Quality: 4.5Characters: 5.0Plot: 4.0

💌

🌦️

🌆

Emotionally, this was a painful read. It was really beautiful, and I am finding myself thinking about it a lot, but wow… the inner demons of Red and the lack of acceptance from society was devastating and brutal. I might have rated this higher if I had been in less of a reading slump, so I’ll definitely need to reread it again when I’m fully in the mood for atmospheric tragic war fiction.

If you’ve read this book and you want more tragic reads, I’d recommend As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann. I think if you loved this book, you’d love that one too.

faustus99 finished a book

Winter Love

Han Suyin

As a college student in London during the bitterly cold winter of 1944, Red falls in love with her married classmate Mara. Their affair unleashes a physical passion, a jealousy, and a sense of self-doubt that sweep all her previous experiences aside and will leave her changed forever. Set against the rubble of the bombed city, in a time of gray austerity and deprivation, Winter Love recalls a life at its most vivid.

faustus99 TBR'd a book

The Wolf and His King

Finn Longman

Madeline Miller meets Angela Carter in this spellbinding queer retelling of the 12th-century tale of Bisclavret the werewolf—unmissable for fans of Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Swordcrossed by Freya Marske, and The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. A noble knight hiding the beast inside. A lonely king isolated by his courtiers. Between them an impossible gulf surmountable only by the twists and turns of relentless destiny in this spellbinding retelling of Marie de France’s classic 12th-century tale of romance and adventure. The wolf-sickness strikes always without warning, stealing Bisclavret’s body and confusing his mind. Since boyhood he hasn’t dared leave his isolated holdings—not to beg the return of his father’s lost estate, not to seek brotherhood among the court, not even to win the knighthood he yearns for. But when a new king ascends, Bisclavret must deliver his kiss of fealty or answer for the failure. Half an exile himself, the young king is intrigued by this uneasy, rough-hewn nobleman. Bisclavret seems a perfect knight: bold, strong, and merciful. But he keeps his secrets close, and the king’s longings are not for counsel alone. As his fascination grows, the barriers between them multiply, until the king battles desperation and grief. Then Bisclavret vanishes beyond reach, just as the greatest threats to the kingdom converge. Only duty to his people stands between the king and ruin—duty, and the steady loyalty of the strangest wolf . . .

faustus99 made progress on...

Winter Love

Han Suyin

100%

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Winter Love

Han Suyin

faustus99 is interested in reading...

The Fall of the House of Usher

Edgar Allan Poe

Take the plunge. Dive into this classic from the singular mind of Edgar Allan Poe, who is widely regarded as the short story master of horror fiction. "The Fall .. " recounts the terrible events that befall the last remaining members of the once-illustrious Usher clan before it is -- quite literally -- rent asunder. With amazing economy, Poe plunges the reader into a state of deliciously agonizing suspense. It's a must-read for fans of the golden era of horror writing. "The Fall .." is one of Poe's best known short stories - if not the best. Librarian's note: this entry is for the short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher." Collections of short stories by the author, such as "The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales," can be found elsewhere on Goodreads.

faustus99 is interested in reading...

The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton

One might not expect a woman of Edith Wharton's literary stature to be a believer of ghost stories, much less be frightened by them, but as she admits in her postscript to this spine-tingling collection, "...till I was twenty-seven or -eight, I could not sleep in the room with a book containing a ghost story." Once her fear was overcome, however, she took to writing tales of the supernatural for publication in the magazines of the day. These eleven finely wrought pieces showcase her mastery of the traditional New England ghost story and her fascination with spirits, hauntings, and other supernatural phenomena. Called "flawlessly eerie" by Ms. magazine, this collection includes "Pomegranate Seed," "The Eyes," "All Souls'," "The Looking Glass," and "The Triumph of Night."

faustus99 joined a quest

Gothic Literature 🏰💀👻

🏆 // 7882 joined

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

faustus99 earned a badge

Gothic Literature

Bronze: Finished 5 Main Quest books.

faustus99 commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

unforth

Edited

Anyone want to do WWW Wednesday?

On Pillowfort, folks in the Bookworms community do WWW Wednesday every week. The Ws stand for three questions:

What are you currently reading?
What have you recently finished reading?
What will you be reading next? I already host a related chat on Discord and post my own WWW Wednesday weekly so I thought it might be fun to bring the chat over here too!

Share your own WWW Wednesday, see what others have to say, and have some fun!

(It's also a great way to find new friends with similar reading taste to yours!)

faustus99 made progress on...

A Room of One’s Own

Virginia Woolf

34%

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