Welcome to Litsy!

Why would you ruin such a beautiful cover with a promotional sticker 😠 this sounds amazing tho super perfect for this perpetual snow storm I‘ve been living in 🌫️🌫️🌬️❄️

I literally cannot believe I slogged through this doorstop. Blergh.

I love a good history mystery. Polar explorers - two gigantic ships full no less - who disappear without a trace for almost 200 years? Yes, please.

I also love the random minutiae of arctic explorers in the 1840s - what clothing did they wear, what food did the ships store, what technological innovations did the ships have?

These minor cool things can‘t save this snoozefest.

Wild how different my life was before I became “mom”

After running around to some extended family members in the early morning and then rushing home to host my own Christmas Eve party, I totally overlooked posting my picture last night!!! The candy is already gone and the book is already on my physical TBR shelf 😁 thank you @Chili for the recommendation, this looks PERFECT for the crazy weather we are having right now! #jolabokaflodswap @MaleficentBookDragon

One of the most famous historical horror novels ever released — and for good reason. Vicious, tense, and horrific.

1️⃣ North Border by Benjamin Percy

2️⃣ I'm a regular subscriber to Illumicrate. In the past I was a subscriber to The Abominable Book Club, but it started getting poor.

3️⃣ I don't actually but ones I consider great winter books are The Shining by Stephen King and The Terror by Dan Simmons, to name a few.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

“The Terror” is my second Simmons book, and I had a similar experience reading this as when I read “Drood.” I flew through the first 200 pages, life got busy, and it took me 6 months to finish 😬 I enjoyed learning about the Franklin Expedition and the supernatural aspect, but the story felt off balance. I‘m not sure if more history or more horror would have helped.

Sometimes a hard read but an incredible story and often terrifying!

Okay, I've put this off for months, so I think it's time to officially bail on this one. 18%. It's just not for me. Super long-winded, very dull backstory. Every time I think of picking it up again I just can't bring myself to do it. The parts about the monster or whatever it will turn out to be just aren't worth the rest.

This is a mix of survival, historical fiction, and (some) horror. The horror (the “thing” out there), I found was minimal. The focus was on the survival aspect. The book is very long, and I had a hard time getting interested until the last 1/3 of the book. I wasn‘t able to keep straight who “belonged‘ on which ship. The end was a bit vague in a couple of cases, I thought. Cont in comments...

Sir John Franklin and Captain Crozier, with 135 men, make an ill fated attempt to find the northwest passage in the Arctic north. Their ships became trapped in the ice and they are never heard from again. This is where fact becomes fiction as something sinister begins to hunt them, one by one. I greatly enjoyed The Terror, but I listened to the abridged version. I think I would have DNF‘d the longer version based on other reviews.

This is my first real dip into the horror genre. I‘m a huge ship nerd and I remember seeing the article about finding the shipwrecks of the Erebus and Terror. I also saw the commercials for the tv show and immediately added the book to my tbr. Luckily, this is the abridged version rather than the 28 hour one😅

Good book but probably not one to read in the winter. It just made me feel colder. Which made me get under blankets where I‘d fall asleep. 🤷‍♀️ Will try to push this weekend for a bingo. #DoubleSpin competed for the month.

I finally finished this chunkster Tuesday night and it was well worth my time. Simmons‘ creates a slow burn horror novel fictionalizing John Franklin‘s lost 1845 expedition to finish navigating the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. We join the crews of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror as they have already been trapped in ice for a year. There is much to fear as there is no thaw in sight, rations are dwindling, men are becoming mutinous, and there is ⬇️

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would initially. Historical fiction isn't normally my thing but the terror element helped me to get into this one more. It was a slow starter for me with the flashback POVs in the beginning being a bit of a slog but once things started to really get going I was hooked. Crozier by far was my favorite and I think that was by design.
#BuriedAliveChallenge
#CalibreRoulette

It‘s a nice day to curl up with some good books and the girls. Hoping to make progress on both of my reads today.
#CatsOfLitsy

I‘m dying and feeling like such an idiot because I didn‘t read the blurb for this and only seeing the table of contents did I make the connection to the show. My friends were obsessed with the show so I feel like I should have realized the connection sooner.

Because I'm apparently addicted to RNG book picks I've once again drawn two titles from my Calibre Library to read this month. I filtered my library by books on the SFFBC shelf over at Goodreads. I haven't read the blurbs on either pick yet so I think I'll head in blind to both of them.
#CalibreRoulette

At 955 pages, this was a biggie to read. I enjoyed the atmosphere and the journey. I suffered and cried with these sailors and overall enjoyed it. A lot of boat and sailing terms I will never understand though. The very ending took a very weird turn, but it was creative. It possibly could have been trimmed by about 200 pages.

Day 21: The Thing

#horrorseason
@Klou

I think my Halloween aesthetic comes down to atmosphere. I love slow burn psychological horror books that are all about evoking a sense of unease and dread...especially with supernatural elements thrown in. These three books are among my favorites, although I am also quite fond of ghost stories. I don‘t seek out gore on purpose, but somehow all three of my chosen books have...a bit. 🙈

#hauntedhollowswap

? Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Terror

? Laini Taylor, Angie Thomas

? Titanic, ¡Three Amigos!, Trainspotting

? Twin Peaks, Torchwood, Top Gear (but only with Hammond, Clarkson, and May)

? The 1975, Turnpike Troubadours, Tame Impala, Traveling Wilburys

? Two (Ryan Adams), Take Me to Church (Hozier), True Colors (Cyndi Lauper), Tonight, Tonight (Smashing Pumpkins), Thunder Rolls (Garth Brooks), Thriller (Michael Jackson)

#ManicMonday

The search for the perfect soundtrack for The Terror is over! #booksandmusic

Distracted by our neighborhood bald eagle

I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description or reason for wanting to read the book. Some are old and some will be new. Don't judge me - I have a lot of books.
Day 25

#tbrpile #theTBRmountain

I came to Simmons late, via a friend‘s recommendation. Wow. He‘s better than King, stylistically: what I‘d call a ‘writer‘s writer‘. If you‘re ever tempted to take a foray into novel writing you could do a lot worse than start here. Accomplished, slow burning and dripping with dread, The Terror is hands down one of the best horror books I‘ve ever read.

Haven‘t really been active on Litsy for awhile. Slowly making my way through this book. It‘s definitely slower paced but it‘s keeping me intrigued

#audioknitting - I'm determined to finish this neverending sleeve today!

@whippoorwill815 I‘m so excited to start the new year off with books from your list! I have only read A Head Full if Ghosts. Several have been on my TBR for a bit and others are new to me. 😀 📚 🎉 #newyearwhodis

I really loved this book!

This is a very long (900+ pages) and highly researched/detailed slow burn of a horror novel. You will join John Franklin‘s (real) lost arctic expedition as they fall victim to relentless isolation, extreme cold, disease, and starvation... along with a bit of supernatural horror for good measure.

I love a good slow burn #chunkster and if you do too, this may be for you!

Inspired by true events, the doomed Franklin expedition searching for a Northwest passage, the book manages to perfectly combine the awful reality of those men with a terrifying supernatural element that enhances the sense of doom and terror throughout the story. Though it could use some heavy editing (there‘re some really problematic aspects, not just length-wise), it keeps an alert pace and the pages fly by. It‘s a gutwrenching & haunting story.

You will likely enjoy this. Eventually you may start to question, as I did, whether it really needed to be quite so long. Dan Simmons is a smart, enaging novelist and the book is meticulously researched. It is loads of intense, gory fun. But there is a leaner, meaner novel hiding inside it. The end of the book was creative and unexpected, but I don't find indigenous religious beliefs more convincing than any others.

First snow of the year has occurred today and it just so happens my current read is the perfect accompaniment for this weather! (setting: the Arctic in the 1840s)

This word!!!

I have never seen this word before yet it has immediately become my new favorite word.

My face when I realise no one is coming to #rescueme 😬

I liked the first season of TV adaptation of The Terror, a show based on the historical slash horror novel about the doomed 1845 Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage. Doom, death, ice, & the terror that stalks them.

#MOvember @Cinfhen

When you hear about a book and you think that you should read it but then you realize that the pile on the nightstand has literally tripled. 👀 But I‘ll probably start on “The Terror” as I heard some nice things about it. 🤓 and then go through this pile while ignoring the other pile much larger on my TBR shelf. 😂

A VERY young Jack Nicholson stars along with Boris Karloff in this wonderful film. I love watching films like these because it's like watching one generation pass the torch on to the next. It's a beautiful thing to watch!

1pt for #TeamStoker
#Scarathlon

Working on this while waiting to hear if they can repair my tire. I was caught off guard by a chapter that is clearly inspired by The Masque of the Red Death. I may need to reread that one soon just to see the parallels

Look what was waiting for me at the library!!! 😄

I loved this book. It was very well written and although long it felt like it went by fast. I enjoyed the plot of this book and the fact that it was historical and complete fantasy at the same time. And my puppy also approves this message

When bookoutlet has a sale I make my list and check it twice cuz this is better than Christmas #bookoutlethaul

Lazy Sunday morning with my reading buddy

Waiting for my lemon blueberry bread to finish baking

Rainy, cold days feel much colder when you‘re reading a novel about a boat stuck in ice. A few weeks off any real reading due to constant headaches and intermittent migraines. Excited to be diving back in!

Not feeling well this morning so I need a distraction

The perfect book for a week stuck in airports! Based on the true story of the Franklin Expedition to sail the Northwest Passage, Simmons adds extra terror to an already horrific situation with a supernatural threat on the ice. Packed with tension and an intriguing cast of characters, I didn't want to put this down for 900+ pages.

On a hot summer day, the only thing you can do is settle down with a drink and read about men freezing to death in the Arctic while being chased by a weird polar bear monster. It really works for me.

On a business trip; no direct flights so I spent about 8 hours at the airport/on planes yesterday, had my meeting today, and now am back at the airport. Figured I'd start a doorstop of a book; this one is about 1,000 pages and I'm about a third through. Hoping to hit the halfway point by the time I get home tonight but I don't think the rest of the trip will be as peaceful as the Rochester airport currently is.