literature
Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.
The Best Books of 2026. Top Story - August 2026.
I'm a reader. I love nothing more than sinking into my couch on a dark and rainy day and devouring the words of a talented author. A few years ago, I wrote a post like this one explaining that I was hoping to increase my yearly reading, aided by Goodreads Reading Challenge . Welp, it's worked. I think I went from 15, 20 a year to 50 a year. Still not the most prolific nor studious reader in the world, but what can you do?
By Jon Dobbin2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Babycakes" by Armistead Maupin
You can read my review of another Armistead Maupin book here: Yes, I'm reading them out of order but honestly I don't care at this point. These books are brilliant and this book, entitled Babycakes, is no exception. These books deal directly with the prejudice faced by the LGBT folk at the hands of an era that truly didn't think they were real people with real lives and feelings. They navigate a world in which they are often told they don't fit and yet, in Babycakes, we are in San Francisco in the 1980s and for the first time I am aware of in this series, we witness the AIDS crisis. Harrowing, raw, emotional and yet, so moving and brilliant - I am adoring the works of Armistead Maupin so far and I hope I find more as I go along.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Dark" by James Herbert . Top Story - August 2026.
You can read my review of The Fog, also by James Herbert, here: Written in the 1980s, The Dark was called one of the novels that made James Herbert one of the greats of horror according to many of the reviews I read after the fact. I'm not going to lie to you though, I didn't enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed The Fog. Namely, that's because The Fog was more visceral and entertaining, it had more of an intensity about it, more atmosphere and it was overall, a bit more frightening. Be that as it may, that doesn't mean that The Dark was no good at all. It just means, there's something a bit better I've already read and therefore, it's a bit of a downer.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
In 1885, Robert Louis Stevenson claimed this story first came to him in a dream, which he rapidly expanded into a manuscript. Rumours state that his wife burned the first manuscript after stating it was not good enough and he went to work on a new one. The cheap paperbacks of the day aptly named 'shilling shockers' were circulating and in 1886, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was released as one of them, followed by an American edition the next year.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Courtiers" by Lucy Worsley
For those of you who are sick of reading about my experience of various thriller and horror novels, then I have read another Lucy Worsley book. Previously, I have read a number of her books including Jane Austen at Home, Queen Victoria and If Walls Could Talk. I have really enjoyed her books and as you can see, if she's writing anything else soon then I'm probably going to read it. One thing about her works is that she tends to centralise women and even though this is true, I do also love her showing the frailty of man. And thus, we see the male-centred Georgian Court in all of its strange, fragile and volatile glory...
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Neighbours" by Ania Ahlborn
So I recently read The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn and though I did enjoy it, I also found there were a couple of issues which made me cringe from time to time. Be that as it may, it was fun and I think that is something horror literature lacks sometimes. Not funny. But something that is more like a roller coaster. It doesn't go too deep into anything and feels like watching a slasher movie from the 80s. Ania Ahlborn has inserted herself perfectly into this gap and if The Shuddering didn't show it to us, I think The Neighbours definitely does.
By Annie Kapur2 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Shuddering" by Ania Ahlborn
If there are any books I enjoy it is the fun sub-genre of horror which teaches you to pay attention to your own sense of hubris. It may be the very thing that gets you into difficulty. In this case, Ania Ahlborn also shows us an almost folk horror like atmosphere, something though set in the cold. I only had a few minor issues with the coherency of this novel and the long stretches of relationship drama which didn't really add much to the intensity of the horror. Be that as it may, the book was still a fun and enjoyable read and before you ask, yes I have read Brother - but unfortunately for all of us I did that on my one-year hiatus from this site some time ago.
By Annie Kapur3 months ago in Geeks
Draco Malfoy is the Best Character in Harry Potter
Harry Potter is the hero. Hermione Granger is the brightest witch of her age. Ron Weasley is the fiercely loyal friend who repeatedly stands beside Harry despite being terrified, overlooked and usually hungry. Neville Longbottom grows from a nervous boy who loses his toad into the man who stands in front of Voldemort and refuses to surrender.
By Millie Hardy-Sims3 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Keep It in the Family" by John Marrs
I've been reading a lot of thrillers lately and we all know how it goes when I start doing that. Step one, I think everything is fine and I'm genuinely shocked by certain things, step two is that I become hypercritical and then, finally there is step three. Step three is where I kind of go off them because they've become too similar. Unfortunately enough for me, I tend to become addicted to crime novels and thrillers. I mean a few years' back, you probably remember how I basically read nothing but British Library Crime Classics for a few months. Let's just hope I can stop myself before I just read nothing but these for ages too...
By Annie Kapur3 months ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Off the Deep End" by Lucinda Berry
Lucinda Berry is one of those authors where you get lost in the drama. When I was reading Saving Noah I read the whole thing in one sitting and was simply devastated. Best of Friends was a brilliant novel too - there were so many twists and turns and secrets, it was intense. I read The Perfect Child and again, was simply left covering my mouth with my hand and yes, I also read Phantom Limb which is something else entirely. When She Returned had its faults but it was still very tense and very entertaining and now, I'm reading Off the Deep End. It's yet another thrilling read which starts with something earth-shattering. We are then thrown back into the narrative between various characters, each of whom has their own motivations and their own secrets. Each of them: bewildering...
By Annie Kapur3 months ago in Geeks
