literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
Book Review: "We All Want Impossible Things" by Catherine Newman
Used bookshops are great for getting not only great deals but books that are actually good quality (though they have clearly been read) on the cheap. I don't tend to care for buying brand new books with all the rising prices. I mean I went to Foyles recently and there were paperbacks for extortionate prices, I had noticed how much they were increasing. Books that would have been around £7.99 had gone up to over £10. Am I getting more book? No. Am I getting any extras? No. Are more people reading so there's a supply and demand issue? Obviously not (look around, people). It's greedy capitalism striking again. In other words, I now seek out used bookshops and eBay for the cheapest possible prices. I can wait a few days for them to come it's alright. Let's have a look at my latest pick-up then... We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman is such a heartfelt story about what happens to a forty-year friendship when one friend gets diagnosed with cancer.
By Annie Kapur13 days ago in Geeks
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the most iconic literary works of all time. It has received a number of adaptations and the newest one to join the ranks is Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein released just a little earlier this year. The memorable story was a match made in heaven for this well known and awarded director. With seemingly the perfect project, perfect director, and perfect cast many classic literature fans and cinephiles were waiting with baited breath for this film to drop in theatres and on Netflix.
By Alexandrea Callaghan14 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "What Waits Below" by Caleb N. Stephens
This is yet another one of those books I read on my phone. It's yes, another horror novel and I'm not sure what to think of this one. Previously called Feeders this book has a lot to study in terms of dynamics. What Waits Below is a strange book with weird characters, themes that seem universal even though you may not think they are. I wasn't sure I was going to like this - but in the end I enjoyed it a bit more than I thought I would. Let's explore what the book is about and what makes it a strange novel of weird dynamics...
By Annie Kapur14 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Really Good, Actually" by Monica Heisey
I'm trying to read things that are at least, remotely funny at the moment. Right now whilst writing this, I am over-caffeinated and I have a headache. But instead of not drinking more coffee, I am having another cup of coffee to try to get rid of the headache. I know, it's silly but hey, if I don't drink coffee then I'll get a headache from caffeine withdrawal. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Really Good Actually is a book about millennials, for millannials and possibly, insulting millennials as well. It's definitely funny and a book I would recommend for anyone just looking for a laugh.
By Annie Kapur15 days ago in Geeks
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
Everyone has heard of Gonzo Journalism and the fact that it began with the 1971 publication of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Pioneered by Hunter S Thompson and unfortunately bastardised since, this semi-autobiographical novel was based on Thompson's own experiences with taking a trip to Las Vegas with his attorney (a fictionalised version of his doomed friend Oscar Acosta). He was meant to cover a story for Rolling Stone Magazine and yet, he never actually completed it. Instead, he wrote a surreal narrative, a book formed out of chaos which blended fact with (very clearly) fiction. It was a brute critique of American society, a cultural shift which pointed the finger at the looming presence of the 60s which poured over into the next decade.
By Annie Kapur15 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Walkers" by Graham Masterton
You know how much of a fan of cheap books on my phone I am. Well, this is no exception. Graham Masterton is a really good author and honestly, though I've only read a couple of his books, there have often been some pretty interesting horror novels around the area. I'm quite surprised that more people haven't read this one considering it has such a great, classic kind of story. It feels like a cross between some sort of Stephen King novel and The Haunting of Hill House in a way. It feels very obsessive. I couldn't help myself. I told myself to go to bed at a reasonable hour, but this book definitely had other plans for me.
By Annie Kapur16 days ago in Geeks
The Story Behind "A Christmas Story"
A Christmas Story is one of the humorous Christmas flicks compared to Home Alone films and The Grinch. The film tells a young boy who wants a BB gun for Christmas but when he mentions a BB gun he gets the same pointless quote "You'll shoot your eye out". This film was told by humorist writer Jean Shepherd who wrote "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash" that. His story became a Christmas cult film and spawned sequels making this film one of the greatest humorous Christmas film.
By Gladys W. Muturi17 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Julia" by Sandra Newman
I have been waiting to read this for a long, long while. Basically since it came out. Julia is the story of the character 'Julia' from George Orwell's 1984. It starts with Julia working in fiction and we get to experience all the familiarities from the novel's origin story. I have always been interested in books like this. Books like what Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and what Foe by JM Coetzee is to Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. Again Julia by Sandra Newman is a retelling of 1984, something that should be very interesting to you at this particular moment in our cultural timeline.
By Annie Kapur17 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Human Monsters: A Horror Anthology" by Various Authors . Top Story - December 2025.
Yes, it's horror again. I'm feeling kind of down and whenever I'm down I read horror because it makes me feel better. Have you heard about that study that states people who are in depression should watch and read horror in order to make themselves feel better? Yeah, I checked it out some time ago - you should too. Human Monsters is exactly what you think it is, it is about monsters who are human - those who lurk in the normal world, not in the shadows, not in the darkness - they stand right in front of us. They are us. Let's go through my favourite stories in the anthology...
By Annie Kapur18 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Hotel World" by Ali Smith
I don't read Ali Smith often but this was on sale. I featured her book Autumn in my '5 Books for Autumn' article some years' ago. Hotel World though is a completely different book to everything I've heard by this author. There's something deeply existential about this book and it features some of the most interesting quotation I have read on the subject of death this year. I mean just take a look at this quotation from the first chapter entitled 'Past'. I think it's such a hard-hitting one (I even shared it on social media if you remember it popping up)...
By Annie Kapur19 days ago in Geeks
