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Air date: May 12, 2024
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JESSICA:
Hi, this is Jessica Russell. I’m the assistant director of collection services at Sno-Isle Libraries. And welcome to Book Buzz.
Today's two reading recommendations are spine-tingling books. One is a graphic novel, and the other is true crime.
First, we’re going to hear from Emily, library associate at the Marysville Library, for a horror story with laughs. Over to you, Emily.
EMILY:
I Hate This Place by Kyle Starks is a heart-pounding supernatural horror graphic novel with an offbeat sense of humor.
Young couple Trudy and Gabby arrive at the beautiful, secluded ranch they’ve inherited from an estranged relative and as the sun sets on their first day there, hundreds of vengeful spirits begin laying siege to the house. While they take refuge in a DIY panic room until morning, the women find a VHS recording from the ranch’s previous owner who offers them some hard-won advice: never leave for too long, don’t go out at night, don’t go into the woods any time, and if you see the “Horned Man,” run. If this ominous message from the beyond weren’t enough, more terrestrial threats are also headed for the property, including a deranged hitman and a cult leader from Gabby’s troubled past.
It was this hurricane of danger and the way Gabby and Trudy reacted to it that hooked me. Whatever comes for them, they don’t let it phase them for long. Right away, they’re seeking out local psychics, a freelance ghost hunter, and some mostly trustworthy farmhands to help them get their house in order.
The crew behind this series also contribute to the Hellboy: BPRD, Rick and Morty, and Peacemaker comics, so if you like dark and snarky, I Hate This Place is the place to be.
JESSICA:
Thanks, Emily! If you enjoy I Hate This Place, Volume 1 be sure to follow up with “Volume 2.”
Next, let’s switch to a more serious note and hear from Collection Development Librarian Bridget for a non-fiction book that explores violence and gender. Go ahead, Bridget.
BRIDGET:
When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold by Alia Trabucco Zerán offers a look at four homicides carried out by Chilean women over the course of the twentieth century. While some might offer a sensationalized account of the murders, this book instead offers a nuanced reading of these women's lives and the time in which they lived.
A shared factor in all of these murders is the shocked response, "but how could a woman do this?" Such violent crimes seemed unthinkable to investigators and the public, across decades and social classes. Even in researching, Zerán often finds herself stymied by both institutional and historical misogyny, as well as a desire to leave the past in the past.
Part true crime, part research diary, the book asks the reader what causes women to lash out against the restraints of gendered domesticity, and how does the world, including those reading, treat them once they do?
I found myself enraptured by Zerán's determination to tell the stories of these women, their victims, and in doing so, Chile itself. I highly recommend “When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold” to both fans of true crime as well as history.
JESSICA:
Thanks, Bridget! That sounds like a thought-provoking book.
Our recommendations this week are: I Hate This Place by Kyle Starks and When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold by Alia Trabucco Zerán.
Join us next time, when we’ll explore more great reading recommendations—interesting books you can find at your favorite local bookstore or at your local library.
Until then, I’m Jessica Russell from Sno-Isle Libraries.
Thanks for joining us for Book Buzz on KSER.
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