Tom Randall

Devoured this book - it made me want to start my career over as a materials scientist. I'll never look at concrete the same way again.

So great - will need to reread this for sure. Perfect antidote to the 2024 election results. 

Could have used more talk about horror

Parts of this were beautifully written but other parts felt like a slog. I'm not really sure what to make of it. 

The main thesis here is that Nazism was as much a cult as it was a political movement, and that the cult (including the occult rituals) continues today. Written in the early 90s, but some of the predictions and observations apply to today's far-right in the US, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. Concerning!

John Darnielle always seems to capture something about the Midwest that is so hard to describe. I didn't understand the plot at all until the final pages but the vibe is so familiar. 

The last stretch really dragged but the first 70% or so was great

I'm sold on the overall direction of the critiques but some of the particular arguments hit better than others

Always love Bruenig's writing and this is really effective. It feels like she's still circling a longer and more complete work on the subject, but I'm looking forward to reading that. 

Very awkward plane read

Really engaging, especially around the hunger strikes

I think I liked Kitchens of the Great Midwest better, but both fulfill the same upper midwestern comfort food need

Not my favorite Murakami but it certainly has some redeeming qualities

Really loved this little shot of nostalgia from a website I vaguely remember from my 20s

Loved this weird little book

Really love what this has to say about the true crime genre in general. At its best when describing nostalgia for childhood.

Started out fun but sort of dragged in the last 100 pages

Some highlights when talking about folk horror, Mark Fisher, etc. But ultimately too academic for me

The vast majority is a superficial description of various cults, with very little time spent on interesting cultish language

Sometimes I think, “I could write a book!” and then I read a masterpiece like this from someone younger than me and I decide to stay in my lane.

Ironically, about 150 pages too long.

Ah yes, fatherhood

I don't really have interest in reading pandemic books, having lived through it, but this one manages to be about the pandemic without really being about the pandemic. Loved the style and pacing.

Dramatic account of a turning point in the city's history. Impressive weaving together of multiple threads that are seemingly unrelated but together built the tension leading to the primary events.

Great overview and argument for the 1970s as the next decade of horror