Hey guys, it’s been awhile since we last talked, hasn’t it? I haven’t had any reviews this month, among other things–but we’ll get to that later. I’ve got a few updates to share with you all, so I figured I’d do it all in one post. We’ll start with the one I’m most excited about: the return of the #spookyfriendsbookclub!
#spookyfriendsbookclub
What is #spookyfriendsbookclub? It’s a Kindle Unlimited book club where each month, members vote on three horror titles curated by yours truly from the KU library. More often than not, this is a blind read–meaning I have not read the book before. Once a book has been selected, a schedule will be posted in Grimscythe’s Graveyard (my own personal discord) for its completion over the course of the month, with a weekly check in Wednesdays at 8PM CST on twitch where we’ll discuss what we’ve read so far! (Sounds fun, right?)
Why did it go on hiatus? When I fell out of remission (which I’ll go into detail later in this post), I had to downsize on some of the things I was doing. Because I was poorly managing the time I set aside to read, especially book club selections, I felt overwhelmed by the book club and felt it was necessary to take a break from it. Hence why there has not been any voting the last few months.
How do I join? Just hop in Discord and chat with us! Vote, download the book, read, and enjoy!
For November 2018, we’ll be voting on the following tales:
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Suicide Forest by Jeremy Bates
- Just outside of Tokyo lies Aokigahara, a vast forest and one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in Japan…and also the most infamous spot to commit suicide in the world. Legend has it that the spirits of those many suicides are still roaming, haunting deep in the ancient woods.
When bad weather prevents a group of friends from climbing neighboring Mt. Fuji, they decide to spend the night camping in Aokigahara. But they get more than they bargained for when one of them is found hanged in the morning—and they realize there might be some truth to the legends after all.
- Just outside of Tokyo lies Aokigahara, a vast forest and one of the most beautiful wilderness areas in Japan…and also the most infamous spot to commit suicide in the world. Legend has it that the spirits of those many suicides are still roaming, haunting deep in the ancient woods.
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Dead Spirits Farm by Geoffrey Sleight
- The plan was for Ben and Eleanor to put business life behind them and spend idyllic days living at an old farmhouse in beautiful countryside. The reality became a living nightmare, with ghosts in the evil farmstead driving them towards insanity, trapped into suffering the same horrors of its grisly past.
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The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
- … Do I need a synopsis for this one, boils and ghouls?
Updates
So, what’s been going on with me, you ask? Here’s the hold up with your reviews, posts, the whole booktube idea, and more:
Several months ago I began falling out of remission for my ulcerative colitis. As of the past month, it has been downright horrible and unbearable. As it turns out, I built anti-bodies to the medication I was put on that we hoped would help me. Since March, I have been hospitalized twice and seen at the emergency room several times for emergency fluids, steroids, and blood work to verify that I don’t need transfusions. I have been put on biologics and taken off of them, another form of chemotherapy is my next step which will, hopefully, put me back in remission.
Am I going to be okay? Yes. I’m not dying or anything, so there’s no need to be too worried about me. Just keep me in your thoughts and prayers.
What does this mean for reviews? It means they are coming. Slowly, yes, but they are coming. My focus right now is primarily on myself and doing what makes me feel better first and foremost. I am currently not taking review requests as I work my way through the backlog I already have, and it will remain that way until I am caught up.
But what’s up with the streaming? Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been streaming games and writing on Twitch. This is a way in which I de-stress and socialize without stressing my body out. Just because I appear well on camera, or appear to have it together, does not mean I do. It takes a lot less brainpower to blab randomly about doing something stupid in a game than it does to talk intelligently about the pros and cons of a book. If you feel like chatting about books though, do stop in!
So, booktube? Is that still a thing? More than likely, yes. I want to get to where my reviews are primarily by video at some point in the future. There will be transcripts or a written version to go with them, especially for the purpose of posting to NetGalley and GoodReads, but for the most part I would love to transfer to visual format–especially in a way that allows me to interact with an audience of fellow readers.
