Hello, Kittens!
I had originally blocked off this post for a review of the incredible novel HOUSE OF LEAVES, but I am nowhere near being finished. Now I’m a pretty speedy reader, but this novel is a delightful chore.
For starters, it’s a book within a book, about a film that doesn’t exist (or does it??). Confusing, eh? I’ll try and explain. The first book starts with an introduction. The narrator is a hot mess. He finds a book, which becomes the second story being told. THAT book describes a film (our narrator has never heard of / doesn’t exist) and the trials the film family goes through. The film family has an interesting problem…they’re living in a house that is bigger on the inside than it is the outside.
So not only is it a super trippy timeline/method of storytelling, but the entire book is littered with footnotes, references to essays, books, ancient transcripts, songs etc. Some pages just have one word on them, others the lines are sideways.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed while reading it and I have to put it down for an hour or two. The book has a weird way of sucking you in and making you feel…uneasy. Maybe the book you’re reading is bigger on the inside than the outside? I don’t know, but it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before, and I’m only 70 or so pages in.
I’ll report back in a couple weeks and let you know how I’m progressing. If I’m brave enough, that is.
Anyhoo, why I’ve summoned you to my tiny corner of the interweb is to bring your attention to some delightful delicacies for your ears. Like many of you, I commute to work. It’s an easy trip – only 15 minutes of highway driving and 15 minutes of city. I usually listen to audiobooks but the past few months I’ve been answering another siren’s call….podcasts.
I fucking love podcasts. We were even lucky enough to have Aaron Mahnke, the creator of LORE, on the blog a few months ago. Which brings me to this – Jenna’s ultra awesome list of horror podcasts!
- LORE – Aaron Mahnke.
- This one is one of my favourites. Aaron is an incredible storyteller and researcher. He dives so deep into history to bring us some of the creepiest, truest bits of horror from all over the map. The fact that my kid goes to sleep the moment I turn it on doesn’t hurt either.
- Favourite Episode: Ropes and Railings
- NoSleep – David Cummings.
- I am addicted to the subreddit NoSleep, where the podcast gets some (possibly all?) of their stories from. Each episode has 3 (5 if you’re a season pass holder) stories. While the stories are fiction, they’re narrated like they are 100% true. Sometimes they do a little too good of a job and I find myself staring out my window, expecting to find an impossibly tall, impossibly thin man swaying in my backyard. Ugh.
- Favorite Episode: I love the Halloween special they did this year.
- Pseudopod – Alasdair Stuart (Host)
- Okay, so I unintentionally listed these in least to most scary. Pseudopod is not for the faint of heart. They are a no-holds-barred horror podcast and nothing is taboo (incest, abuse, sex, graphic violence/gore). What I absolutely adore about this one is the insane variety of genres. While it’s all horror, they have freaky dystopian, SciFi, fantasy, cannibalism, etc. It’s terrifying and wonderful.
- Favorite Episode: 436 – Favours from Hell * Trigger Warning : Incest / Child Abuse / Sexual abuse *
- **I know you’re probably wondering why I like it, but the storytelling and narration is out of this world **
That’s all for today. If you need me, I’ll be hiding in the nest, trying to pick my way through HOUSE OF LEAVES.
X,
Jenna