Christi NogleCritiques

A small press or indie book that I discovered because it was nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award. It was a little rough in the writing and plotting (and needed some copyediting), but I enjoyed it overall. It is about a girl who can see ghosts (shadows) and gives an unusual twist to the ghost story trope.

A collection of strange, dark stories. Some are not what I would personally classify as horror but they are all leaning to darkness. I appreciated the variety and imagination in the stories but for some reason didn't really connect with most of them. Maybe it was the feeling I often had that I couldn't quite understand enough to feel the full impact. A sense of mystery is good in a story, but for me it was too deep in many of the tales. This is certainly a book to consider if you want something a little outside of the box, however.

A wonderful collection of short stories which are creepy enough to make your skin crawl. All the stories have a different kind scary vibe. I have never read something like this. Christi Nogle, is indeed, an amazing horror writer. But, her stories are not for beginners, as, they are little bit difficult to understand. The plots totally have a spooky tone which makes it even more unputdownable.

Definitely, 4 stars for the book. Thanks to Netgalley and Flame Tree Press for providing me with an opportunity to be a part of the blog tour.

I got about halfway through before I called it quits. I think we have a mother, daughter and a little brother. The daughter talks about lessons from school and the baby brother is ignored. Someone goes missing and someone gives lessons about finding what you're looking for.... Hopefully a completionist writes a review that tells me how it turned out because I was lost.

We meet an adult woman who as a child was lost in the woods for 6 months after her family was murdered. We meet a couple of her shrinks, see her eat odd things but I was a bit bored by her and decided to move onto a different story. harsh, I know, but was the story the driblets of the past being shared or what she was currently doing that was odd or was it about her shrinks? idk.

Two friends living together, trying not to get eaten. One of them starts having a conspiracy theory about how to protect themselves from the zombies.

The host says Pseudopod gets lots of zombie stories, she liked this one, she felt it was different because the MCs get to have a choice.

I myself didn't care for the story but seeing that it was first published in 2021, I wonder if there is some analogy to COVID that has gone over my head (and maybe the host's)

Attempted to listen to Escape Pod #620

Maybe got about half way but I was a bit lost and nothing held my interest. A girl was accepted to go to join a cult or something. There ended up being other versions of herself or something. DNF

Offered by Toasted Cake: http://toastedcake.com/2020/10/toasted-cake-254-packet-c-by-christi-nogle.html
Originally published: Sabr Magazine, February 11, 2020

I really enjoyed that one. A thrift store find has a family doing a craft project together.
I don't want to say more. Check it out. It's like an old Twilight Zone story.

I listened to the podcast offered by Manawaker Studio.

An owner and a dog get a communication device because the dog has severe separation anxiety and the owner wanted to connect better, reassure the pup.

I didn't understand the ending therefore I can't say I enjoyed the story. ymmv.

The fascinating thing about Beulah is how Nogle manages to make ghosts unremarkable--and I mean that in the best way possible.

In another author's hands, 18-year-old Georgie's ability to see ghosts would be the centerpiece of everything, the keystone on which the rest of the story hinged. Instead, Georgie's struggle to simply exist, while being part of her family and taking care of her little sister, are the focus, and the ghosts and hauntings which torment her just as much as they keep her going are, in their own way, simply a part of her reality (and thus the reader's). There's no mistaking this for a coming-of-age story or a family drama, however, because the paranormal aspects of the story live in the cracks of each memory, in Georgie's every hesitation, and in every corner of Beulah that means such different things for the various characters in this book.

From the moment I fell into Nogle's novel, I was stolen into her world and her voice. It's hypnotizing, powerful, and the carrier of a reality that feels deeper than the story she's built. It is, simply put, pretty wonderful, and I hope you'll look it up. Just be ready for the darkness of it, and prepared to lose some days to its pull.

Absolutely recommended.