Gothic Book Club - Farewell to 2023

The sun sets on another year, but wonder awaits us with the new one

Hello little Ravens,

I do hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season, and got some time with those you love. It’s a strange year to be thinking of celebrations, however, we personally took it as more of an opportunity to express gratitude. It’s also a time of reflection, as another year draws to a close.

With that, I wanted to thank everyone who has participated in the Gothic Book Club in 2023. It’s been a wonderful experience to connect with so many passionate readers, especially those who have expressed their delight in finding a book club ‘for them’. That’s a huge reason why I set it up in the first place. A literary island of misfit mascots, if you will. I simply wasn’t finding book clubs which covered titles I felt I’d connect with or have interest in. Having a way in which to explore stories and authors that exist a little outside of the common conversation seemed like a worthwhile pursuit; turns out it was a good idea.

Each comment, share and interaction has been appreciated, and a special thanks to everyone who attended the virtual meet ups. They’ll remain a fixture into 2024, as they offer a superb way for us to collectively distill and investigate the themes, favourite moments and surprises we experienced as we read the monthly selection.

On that note, in January 2024, we will be reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy, which is an astonishing, bleak and deeply poetic piece of work. McCarthy’s accessible, lyrical delivery belies the brutality of the story. It’s a book I hold dear, with strong elements of both eco-gothic and familial gothic. There’s a lot of crossover between dystopia and the gothic, which warrants further discussion. Mostly when it comes to finding a glimmer of hope within a tragic situation. McCarthy knew darkness well, and explored the most terrifying elements of it in his work. That in itself makes him a perfect choice for the Gothic Book Club, and I hope you’ll be able to join us as we traverse his barren and heartbreaking landscapes.

An Post Book Club

Additionally, I will be hosting the An Post Book Club for January. An Post is the Irish postal service, who do a lot of work to support and promote Irish writers, publishers and bookshops. I’ve been collaborating with them a lot this year, and it’s been a thoroughly enjoyable experience. For January, we will be reading Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent, which is an exceptionally dark thriller set in rural Ireland. I really dug it, which makes it all the more fun to cover.

There’s an offer of 10% off the An Post title via their website.

Intentions (as opposed to Resolutions)

I always enjoy a new year, but I’m not one for resolutions (as I’m more of a constant betterment kind of person), however, I do have some intentions for the coming year. The Gothic Book club will continue. I am having far too much fun with you all to stop it. I also have the full year of titles selected, and there are some real delights in store.

I’m also going to delve into the world of classic literature a little more. This will be done with a non-academic lens, through which I hope to demystify some of the ‘great books’. This will be running concurrent to the Book Club, and you’ll be finding out more about all that through this newsletter, my Instagram and TikTok accounts.

As a form of counterbalance, I intend to explore authors and literature that I have no existing knowledge of. That’s where some of the greatest surprises of this year have come. Books by writers such as Georgi Gospodinov, Nona Fernández and Annie Erneaux remained the highlights of my year, and I hope to make many similar discoveries in the coming months.

In the meantime, however, enjoy the remainder of the holidays, take some time to rest and be kind to yourself if you can. I’ll be seeing you all soon,

With Love & Literature…

Colin