Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

A Spooky Read for Spooky Season

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

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It’s October, and while I might not read *solely* spooky books this season, it seemed appropriate to kick off the month with a master of the genre. I have never read anything by Shirley Jackson (no, not even The Lottery) and I was most familiar with her work via Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House. Which is an excellent show (highly recommend!) but by all accounts not a great adaption of the source material. More like, inspired by. So I went into We Have […]

Hello Darkness My Old Friend

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson

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I think I’ve found my favourite genre! It only took me 37 years (as of today)! Dark Tales is a collection of dark short stories by Shirley Jackson. They range from biting yet realistic dissections of suburban life to classic ghost stories and fever-dream-like tales with loose endings frayed as cut ribbons. My favourite stories were ‘Paranoia’, in which an ordinary businessman is hunted through the big city by mysterious figures, and ‘What a Thought’, in which a housewife experiences life- ending changing urges after […]

‘Who wants us, outside? The world is full of terrible people’: A castle can be a home, a fortress, a prison

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

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Since I finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle — my second Shirley Jackson thanks to JenX’s recommendation — I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the things that are not said. We go through so much of life living in our own heads while interacting with others who carry their own histories and lives and have their own shit happening. As important as it is to hear what is said to us, just as important is the ability to see the meaning behind […]

‘Hill House is vile, it is diseased’: People may be haunted, but Hill House being the way it is probably didn’t help

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

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“Fear and guilt are sisters” — this simple declaration comes mid-way through Haunting of Hill House as Eleanor and Theodora decide to go wandering out in the middle of the night. Author Shirley Jackson appears at first glance to be portraying both women as either emotion, as they are locked in a sort of childish standoff, so fixated on remaining engaged in their emotions that they don’t seem to notice that they were traipsing out of Hill House at night — at night! — into […]

Conversations with Houses

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Rose/House by Arkady Martine

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CBR16 Bingo: Dun Dun – Both books play on your nerves, and just when you think the protagonists may be reaching safe harbor things only get worse for them. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson – 4 stars Four people go to an allegedly haunted house to investigate – a scientist, a cheerful artist, a low down scoundrel, and a fragile, friendless young woman. All of them don’t return. This is a short book and slips by almost without you noticing it. At first […]

“Is everyone really crazy but me?”

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

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30 Books in 30 Days, Vol. 4 Book 25/30 This is one of the best short story collections I’ve ever read. 3.7 stars is the actual number averaging all the stories out, but that’s really high for me and short stories, especially literary ones. And also, I’m rounding up. Specific thoughts on all the stories in my updates, but overall this is a great collection of stories about the ways that arbitrary social rules degrade our humanity. Brief thoughts on each story below. [3.70, rounded […]



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