Friday, April 11, 2025

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde - Review


I've had this book on my TBR for a long time. I am glad I finally read it. I've long been an Oscar Wilde fan. I was in his play, The Importance of Being Earnest in high school.
 
Dorian Gray is a good novel. It raises questions about narcissism, morality, even the association of ugliness with aging (and with evil), and the old being less than. It also has one of my favorite quotes, "The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." So true.

The only problem I had, and it's a minor one, were the long passage describing Dorian's interests, his fleeting passions, and Lord Henry's various monologues. Yet there's no denying that this is an excellent novel of Gothic fiction.

I have seen two film adaptations of Dorian Gray. The 1945 and 2009 films. Both of them changed the story and I have to say I much preferred the book. Not really a surprise though, right?

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Thursday, April 3, 2025

2025 I Read Horror Year-Round Challenge - First Quarter Check-in


Sorry I'm late! Big thanks to Marla for posting her update on Instagram...a nice kick in the pants since I forgot. 

So, how did the first quarter go for you?

I'm doing the Chilling level which is 12 books in a year (plus, I'm trying for the Cryptid Bingo). Here's how it's going so far...
  • Vampires
  • Witches
  • Folk Horror
  • Written by a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) author
  • A Ghost Story
  • Written by a female author
  • Cosmic Horror
  • Frightening Cover
  • Adapted as movie/series
  • Katsu, Ketchum, King, or Koontz - Holly, Stephen King
  • Black, gray, orange, or red cover - Horseman, Christina Henry
  • Book featuring a Cryptid (mark off one BINGO square!) - The Dover Demon, Hunter Shea
I'm currently reading The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde which will fit the "adapted as movie" category. I watched the 1945 film last week when I started the book.

Here's my updated Cryptid Bingo Card


I keep track of my yearly challenges over on my sister site, True Book Addict. There's a link to my 2025
challenge page in the menu above.


My Spring into Horror Readathon is going on this month over on Seasons of Reading so I expect I'll get some categories knocked out. If you would like to join us, stop over there. You can join in at any time during the month AND we're having a 24-Hour Readathon on April 12. 
Here are my planned reads for the readathon:


I hope you're enjoying your horrific reading! Share your progress in the comments (update, links to posts/reviews, etc.)...

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