iClassics Kickstarter—Interactive Gothic Lit for Students!

A brand new Kickstarter just launched last week with the hopes of using technology to make classic literature fun and accessible for students. iClassics is a Barcelona-based company that works to create an “interactive, illustrated, digital library,” as they explain on their website. At present, they already have several interactive literature collections available as apps for iOS devices. With the Kickstarter, they hope to raise enough funds to make the apps available to Android users, make them available in more languages, create new content, and make them free for as many students as possible.

iClassics Kickstarter image Continue reading iClassics Kickstarter—Interactive Gothic Lit for Students!

Shadowshaper Review–Representation in Urban Fantasy

Shadowshaper coverThe murals are weeping. This is the first thing that tips Sierra off that something strange is going on in her Brooklyn neighborhood in Daniel José Older’s fantastic urban fantasy Shadowshaper. I’d been meaning to read this book since I first heard Older speak on a panel at Book Expo America last summer and its gorgeous cover kept staring at me from large, blown-up posters. I finally got a chance to listen to the audiobook, read by Anika Noni Rose, which I highly recommend! Continue reading Shadowshaper Review–Representation in Urban Fantasy

World Goth Day 2016 and Some Reflections on Goth

This coming Sunday, May 22, is World Goth Day. Yes, you read that right—there’s a whole international holiday all about goths! World Goth Day was created to celebrate the gothic subculture and promote visibility and acceptance of goths—a group who are often feared, maligned, and misunderstood by the general public. The event originated in the UK in 2009, but quickly grew into an international affair. On Sunday, groups all around the world will host local goth events under the World Goth Day banner. You can look around online for events near you, start your own, or just take the day to indulge your inner goth in solitude or with friends. Here at The Gothic Library, I’m celebrating World Goth Day by sharing some of my thoughts on what the subculture means to me and how I got into it.

The official World Goth Day logo. Learn more at worldgothday.com
The official World Goth Day logo. Learn more at worldgothday.com

Continue reading World Goth Day 2016 and Some Reflections on Goth

The Best Bars for Gothic Lit Nerds (NYC Edition)

Some of you may know that I recently moved to New York City to begin my career in publishing. NYC is a great place to be a book nerd. Aside from the career prospects, it’s got amazing libraries, innumerable bookstores–including book-buyer’s heaven: Strand Bookstore, and constant opportunities to meet your favorite authors at book signings and events. The city is also a great place to be a goth, what with its diverse nightlife and themed bars and events. Since moving here, I’ve been looking for places where I can combine these two loves, and I discovered a surprising number of dark, literature-themed bars! Whether you’re specifically obsessed with gothic lit like me, or just a general literature nerd with a bit of a dark side, these bars provide the perfect atmosphere for indulging in languid literary musings over a decadent cocktail. I haven’t made it out to all of them yet, but I’m making my way down the list. If you’ve been to any of these before, let me know your thoughts in the comments! Continue reading The Best Bars for Gothic Lit Nerds (NYC Edition)

Gothic Tropes: Absent Mothers—A Mother’s Day Post

As many of you know, Mother’s Day in the United States is this upcoming Sunday. (If you didn’t know, there’s still plenty of time to buy a card!) I wanted to do a post about mothers in Gothic lit, but I realized…there aren’t many. One of the most prolific tropes of the Gothic genre is the absence of mothers.

Shout out to my awesome mom, who let me goth her up for Halloween!
Shout out to my awesome mom, who let me goth her up for Halloween this year!

Continue reading Gothic Tropes: Absent Mothers—A Mother’s Day Post

Strength Comes in Many Varieties: Leanna Renee Hieber and Strangely Beautiful

Last week, I posted a review of the new edition of Strangely Beautiful. Today, the author Leanna Renee Hieber has a guest post for us about the different ways in which characters can be strong. Read on to find out what Leanna has to say about the hidden strength of Miss Percy Parker…

Strangely Beautiful cover 2

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As my beloved and most well-known series, the Strangely Beautiful saga, is about to re-issue in a revised edition with new scenes and content from Tor Books, I’ve been doing a great deal of reflection and discussion about the oft beleaguered Gothic novel and my heroine Miss Percy Parker.

I believe in fiction that represents all people, types, perspectives, physiologies, tropes, gender identities, races, faiths, backgrounds, statuses; the whole beautiful complicated intricacy of humanity. There should be fiction featuring the vast lot, and in any genre it pleases. Continue reading Strength Comes in Many Varieties: Leanna Renee Hieber and Strangely Beautiful

Strangely Beautiful Review—New Life for a Strangely Beautiful Book

Strangely Beautiful coverAn amazing series is back from the dead—and full of new, vibrant life! You may have noticed by now that I love Leanna Renee Hieber’s gaslamp fantasy novels. I have previously read and reviewed Darker Still and The Eterna Files, the first books in her Magic Most Foul series and Eterna Files series, respectively. My obvious next move was to go back and read her first published series, the Strangely Beautiful saga. The only problem: it’s been out of print since the publisher went out of business several years ago. But we have good news! Leanna is re-releasing the series with her new publisher, Tor! Strangely Beautiful—the updated “author’s preferred edition” of the first two books of the series—comes out April 26th.

Preorder the book now, or pick one up from your local bookstore in just over a week. If you’re in the New York City area, you can also come hang out with me and Leanna for a Strangely Beautiful event at the historic and haunted Morris-Jumel Mansion on Saturday, April 30! Grab a book, get it signed by the lovely Leanna, and stick around for refreshments, storytelling, and sartorial extravaganza. And if that’s not enough Leanna for you, check back with The Gothic Library next week—I’ll be hosting a guest post by the author herself on the varieties of feminine strength as it relates to the protagonist of her Strangely Beautiful series. Continue reading Strangely Beautiful Review—New Life for a Strangely Beautiful Book

The Devil & Demon Literary Canon

So I’ve already done the Vampire Literary Canon and the Zombie Literary Canon. I feel like at this point, I’ve got to make one for all the Big Bads of gothic fiction. And who could be bigger or badder than the Devil himself? Devils and demons have been an important part of the tradition of disturbing and macabre literature long before Gothic even became an official genre. As the personification of all of humanity’s fears, the Devil is arguably a touchstone of the horror genre. Continue reading The Devil & Demon Literary Canon

Review of The Graveyard Shift–Stephen King Short Stories

Graveyard Shift coverI’ve been really trying to make good, lately, on my goal to expand my reading and get back into genres I used to enjoy. As you saw from my Bourbon Street Ripper review, I decided to start by trying my luck on a detective thriller series from an author I’d never heard of before, with mixed results. Having finished that, I was struggling to decide what direction to go in next when I remembered my general reading philosophy: when you don’t know where to start, start with the classics. Now, this usually means I go digging through my collection of literature from the Romantic or Victorian era, but a book doesn’t need to be centuries old to be a classic! Some authors become classics in their own time, like the father of contemporary horror and suspense, Stephen King.

I’m a little ashamed to admit that I really haven’t read much Stephen King before. I decided the easiest way to start would be with a collection of his short stories. So while doing menial tasks at work last week, I downloaded and listened to the audiobook of The Graveyard Shift which seems to be a small made-for-audio selection from King’s larger short story collection Night Shift, read by John Glover. The audiobook contains five of King’s short stories that showcase the versatility of his writing and the range of emotions he can evoke in the reader. Here are my impressions of each story: Continue reading Review of The Graveyard Shift–Stephen King Short Stories

The Bourbon Street Ripper Review–A Detective Thriller

The Bourbon Street Ripper coverI’ve mentioned before that I’ve been meaning to expand the types of books I read and review, especially by getting back into genres like mystery, thriller, and horror. Well the perfect opportunity to get started on this goal presented itself when a brand representative for Leo King contacted me about reviewing The Bourbon Street Ripper. The Bourbon Street Ripper is the first book in King’s Sins of the Father trilogy, a mystery series of the detective fiction subgenre. The representative hinted that there would be elements of the supernatural, but these didn’t seem to come into play much in the first book. Continue reading The Bourbon Street Ripper Review–A Detective Thriller