Because of PB I keep thinking about the reasons why I enjoy Gothic literature and why it works for me, and I keep coming back to the terror vs. horror aspect. So much of Gothic lit is about the anticipation of something terrible happening, as opposed to it being shown in graphic detail on page all the time, which over time might desensitise the reader. If the horrors are constantly shown, I tend to go in the mode of "ah... this too, huh?". But with Gothic, for the most part it's all about what could happen. All the fear, the anxiety, the thrill of it. So often there's a lot of build-up before the showdown and to me this is so delicious. This makes Gothic lit way scarier for me than lots of traditionally scary horror stories.

Maybe I'm an outlier with this, so I'm curious, do y'all feel like this as well, or do do you lean the opposite way and like Gothic because you find it less scary? What makes Gothic lit work for you?

And additionally, do you feel the same way when it comes to other genres as well? My (bad?) analogy across the confines of genre is romance, where (at least for me) I'm the same way: Explicit scenes (or "spice" as many might call it) mostly get an "ah okay, you're doing that, huh" out of me, whereas a slow burn with lots of build-up will get much more of a reaction out of me.

In a book club kit, there was this link for a Spotify playlist curated by the author. Could enhance the reading experience and connect on a deeper level. Or it could transport you to the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place as the author writes herself.

Currently rereading after roughly 20 years. I forgot how long this book is. The world is beautiful and mysterious and I love being in it, but my god… are we there yet?

I need fantasy trilogy (or more) books recommendations without romance or the romance is in the background and didn’t bother! I like the poppy war trilogy by R. F Kuang, the bloodsworn saga by J. Gwynne, the empyrean (first book) by R. Yarros. Thank you! 😇

i just want to say, this story did NOT disappoint. it was so vile and fascinating and fucked up on so many levels. no one is doing it like ms butler. chef's kiss

I'm struggling to get through my current read, not bc it's bad, probably because I'm not really in the mood for it, but I feel so bad for not having fun with it. I know it's good, I know it's the kind of story I like. The plot is interesting. But the writing didn't really pull me in so far.

In January I had many books I read very fast bc I couldn't put them down and this one I just don't know how to trigger the need or want to pick it up. I feel kinda bad. It happens especially with highly anticipated reads from authors considered geniuses and/or if the book is a gift. But other than that I have a hard time trying to pinpoint what exactly in a writing style will make it addictive to me bc the books that managed it are so very different.

I don't really know what I should do, force myself to pull through even if my progress is slow and I don't get a ton of enjoyment out of it, pause it and get back to it later, alternate with another read but risk my focus being taken completely away.

What are your thoughts and what did you do in similar situations?

Am I the only one who gets irritated when a book description starts with "abcbook meets xyzbook"? It makes me lose interest in the book immediately, especially if they're comparing them with books that I don't like.

It's also very silly because sometimes the book has NOTHING to do with the books they're comparing it too💀

So… since we’ve opened that can of worms about age on the forum recently 😆

Hi, I’m 40 and still love fantasy! Even though I loved ACOTAR, One Dark Window, Phantasma etc., it seems like the FMC is always (very) young.

I’m craving a little age-appropriate variety: give me a protagonist who’s a bit older, wiser, maybe even in their thirties. You know, someone who’s been around the block a few times but still kicks ass (or breaks hearts). 😇

What gems do you recommend?⬇️⬇️

𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: a collective thanks for all your recommendations. 🫶 Apparently I was living under a stone, because there is so much to choose from. 😄 I will check them all and make my own personal list. Feel free to add titles that your missing.

Again: thanks to all! 💝💐

I know this is one post too many, but I'm truly addicted to Pagebound💔. One question, though, is that while I receive notifications on the app, I can't enable them to receive them on my device, you know? So I have to constantly go to Page bound to check my notifications, which is a bit too much...

Am I the only one with this problem? Is it my device?