Real horrorshow, friends.

Tough getting used to reading the slang but after about a 1/3 of the way through, it got much easier.

I picked up this book after Stephen King tweeted that it was a must read. It was a tough one to get ahold of from the library (probably because of the recommendation and it just came out)and I eventually just took out the large print. Anyway, on to the book. Linwood Barclay weaves a story based in New York that involves politics, journalism, and quite a bit of death via elevators. It’s a frightening tale that you could see happening in such a vertical city like NY. While the tag line on the front makes it sound like a cheesy read, “when the doors close he’s got you”, it’s not the case at all. About half way through the book the author has you wrapped up in the twists and turns and fully invested in some of the characters lives that when it all comes to a shocking end, you feel like your best friends moved away after a terrible tragedy. Good recommendation Mr. King.

My first experience with graphic novels was Fall semester 2019 for my MLIS. My assigned presentation was Craig Thompson’s Blankets. The length was a little concerning at first but it was a quick read. Craig Thompson writes this coming of age memoir about love and faith (and losing faith). His story is heartbreaking and resonates with me on a deeper level, growing up strongly scrutinized via Christianity, artistic and a little odd. The artwork in the book is beautiful, he’s truly talented and it’s unfortunate anyone would try to stop him from expressing himself through this form of art. I could go on and on (and even share my PowerPoint if you’d like, haha) but you should just read it yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

I chose to read this after completing a graphic novel course, mainly because it was a challenged book. This coming of age (surprise surprise) graphic novel tells about a young girl’s experiences growing up with a dysfunctional family that also runs a “fun”eral home. The author is a strong lesbian woman and came out in a time when it wasn’t as acceptable as it is now. The story tells of her relationship with her parents and her fathers (maybe not so accidental) death, coming out to her parents, finding out her father had some homosexual secrets himself. It’s an interesting read and an important story to tell.