Carrie by Stephen King

I read this for my bookclub’s “Read Outside Your Comfort Zone” theme. I read a wide breadth of genres and horror is the one I reach for the least. I do like gothic horror especially in classics, but I am too much of a scaredy cat for most horror movies, TV, or books. I have wanted to try Stephen King for years because he is apparently a good author. I read this all in one sitting. It was a good read. It was short, propulsive, had decent character work, and was not too gory. I was pleasantly surprised by the epistolary sections. This was a very good debut. I would read more from Stephen King if it was not too gruesome and tense. He is a verbose author so it may be awhile before I get to something like 11/22/63.

September 20, 2026.

The Best of Me by David Sedaris (Narrator)

I had to really rush to finish this because it was due on Libby. I even got the Libby 30 min grace period as I listened to the end and the interview on super speed. I had listened to read most of the essays in this book already.

September 19-23, 2026.

Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie with Hugh Fraser (Narrator)

Hercule Poirot #12 1935. More enjoyable procedural characters in this one than Three Act Tragedy. Good twist on how the murder happened. I called the killer halfway through. I like when Poirot acted as matchmaker as well.

September 19-24, 2026.

Ascendance of a Bookworm (Manga) Part 4 Volume 4 by Hikaru Katsuki, Miya Kazuki with Quof (Translator)

Schwartz and Weiss were introduced and the cuteness factor went up with the secondary characters reading to them. I liked seeing the academy library in more detail. I have one more volume in October before I am caught up with the library copies. I am really grateful to whomever ordered this series at my local library. I saw it in the online catalogue years ago and made me curious. My comfort series for the last couple of years.

September 24, 2026.