Curious Things Found on the Internet – Part II

Hello guys and ghouls! This, being the second in the series of Curious Things Found on the Internet (you can read the first here), I’m running with a literary theme this week.

The way this works: I offer up an interesting tidbit found in my internet travels along with a book pairing inspired by the oddity, as well as a drink to go with it.

Without further ado, let’s get to it:

1. Popular Writers: A Stephen King interview

In which Neil Gaiman interviews Stephen King. This is an older interview, dating back to 2012, but if I haven’t already overstated it: both these authors have been top three material (for me) for the past decade or so. I heart them with such vicious abandon that I can hardly stand it. With talk of The Dark Tower being adapted for film, and further discussions revolving around Idris Elba considered for the role of Roland Deschaines and Matthew McConaughey as Randall Flagg, ’tis the season to revisit King, as they say.

Link: Popular Writers: A Stephen King Interview on Neil Gaiman’s Journal

Book Suggestion (like this wasn’t obvious): The Gunslinger by Stephen King
Drink Pairing: Two fingers of Bulleit Bourbon in a sort-of-clean glass, no ice

In The Gunslinger (originally published in 1982), King introduces his most enigmatic hero, Roland Deschain of Gilead, the Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting, solitary figure at first, on a mysterious quest through a desolate world that eerily mirrors our own. Pursuing the man in black, an evil being who can bring the dead back to life, Roland is a good man who seems to leave nothing but death in his wake.

2. The 10 Most Disturbing Books Of All Time

Challenge accepted! The thing about horror — after you step past the idea that a surface-level assessment of the genre is all chainsaws and killers that don’t die — is that it comes from a sentiment: a feeling. There’s something that rattles everyone, even the most staunch of us. The trick is finding what that squirming knot of worms actually is. There are some solid contenders on this list just for being bleak, others are outright… well… disturbing. Agree? Disagree? Got other recommendations that will make me want to scour out the inside of my brain? Please let me know in the comments. 😉

Link: The 10 Most Disturbing Books of All Time

Book Recommendations: Everything on this list
Drink pairing: To get through all of these books? How about a box of wine. The whole box. Doesn’t matter what kind. Quantity before quality.

3. The Ten Greatest Personifications of Death in Pop Culture

It’s no secret that I’m a little bit obsessed with an anthropomorphic personification of death; whether that’s as the grim reaper, or as a cute 90’s-styled goth chick who spends twenty-four hours as a human every century just so she can remember what the mortal condition is like. This is a great list with a few interesting suggestions including Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, J.K. Rowling, and yes, ladies — Supernatural.

Link: The Ten Greatest Personifications of Death in Pop Culture

Book Pairing: The Sandman by Neil Gaiman. All of it.
Booze Suggestion: Yalumba The Y Series Viognier 2012 — the driest, bone-white Viognier.

Until next time, lovelies!

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Have you found an interesting submission for Curious Things Found on the Internet? Post it in the comments or tweet me and I’ll include it in the next collection. ?