Yes! The Rats was one of my favorite books I read in 2021 for the same reasons you mentioned. What an interesting point you make about exorcisms! I haven't read many books (if any) about the topic, but you're absolutely right.
Great video Michael. Loved the format too where you read excerpts from the books. Of the books on your list that I’ve read I totally agree with your views. Ira Levin is one of my favourite horror writers so can’t disagree with Stepford Wives being at the top of your list.
I remember reading Red Dragon ( I believe it was the 70s) while working as a nurse on the night shift. Do I have to tell you how frightening it was in that very quiet low lit environment? I loved it! Thank you for the great synopses.
I've read The Shining twice and the Hedge Animal scene is still creepy AF. The Stand, IT and Mr. Mercedes I may get to this year. Space horror: Did I mention Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown? Fun palette cleanser. Sam (Superblomper) is uploading again and she recommends some very disturbing books. I'm currently reading a ScFi tale about the Earth sending a space ship to contact an alien race and ask forgiveness about destroying the planet's atmosphere. It's called Apollo-G. I'm in a reading slump so i went back to reading a few manga titles I have stashed in a pie chest. Great content. Always a fun time.
I looked up Scourge Between Stars on Goodreads. The blurb sounds very intriguing. Unfortunately, the cover looks cheap and unflattering (in the contemporary style)😔But it's a Tor book and they usually put out good things. I'm hoping you get over your reading slump. I hate those.🤞
I simply was wondering if your jacket is suede? I agree with your rant, not a fan of the Exorcist. I did love Interview with the vampire tho! Have a good weekend Michael! xx
How are you doing mr Michael. Thank you for your wonderful cultural channel. I chose one of books you mentioned just main theme and author biography briefly here it’s jaws plot summary about large great white shark that preys upon small Long Island resort town and three men who attempted to kill . This novel published in 1974 spent 44 weeks on New York Times best seller list . Film rights to book were bought before it was even published. The novel grew out of Benchley interest in shark attacks after he learned about exploits of montauk New York shark fisherman frank kmundus in 1964 . Double day commissioned him to write in 1971 period when he worked as freelance journalist. Peter Benchley ( 1940- 2006 ) he was American author, screenwriter, ocean activist. He is known for his bestselling novel jaws and co wrote it film adaptation with Carl gottlieb . Several more of his works were also adapted for both cinema and television including deep , island, beast and white shark . His Wendy Benchley known for co founding various environmental organizations for being wife of author . She is ocean conservationist, environmental activist former council woman . Thank you for giving us chance to read learn new information improve our English as well. Good luck to you your dearest ones .
Thank you for the comment, the kind words, and the info. I didn't realise Benchley and his wife were involved in environmental conservation movements. Interesting. Thanks😁
I was going thru my boxes of crap that was stored at my mom’s house while I was doing undergrad and grad school, and randomly found a copy of The Totem in a box not containing any other books. I never bought the book and don’t know how it got there Had no idea this was the same dude who did First Blood. Definitely going to read The Totem. I have a feeling that there will be a scene or two in it that would work well with some feverish Ligeti harpsichord stuff.
Nice! I don't know about harpsichord. The Totem is quite rural (Montana or Wyoming I think). But if you hear harpsichord, more power to you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.😃
That makes sense. When I think of harpsichord, I think of inside a dark room. Whereas the horror in The Totem takes place out of doors. That's all I meant. But I'm with you.@@Summalogicae
Hi Michael. Another great watch. Thank you. Got me thinking about the exorcist thing and although the film has significance to me from a nostalgia perspective (as an adolescent bunking off school and sneaking into a cinema to watch it) I have never felt compelled to read the book. When I was a young child we were poor and I spent many hours alone ‘playing outside’ and frequently killed time inside a local cathedral. There I secretly observed went on. I am grateful for those lonely moments as I learned from the age of 8 what bullshit religion is. Religion is pernicious as you rightly highlight. On a lighter note I am very pleased that you mentioned Revival by Stephen King. I have never encountered anyone who has mentioned it before and I thought it was a superb read. I have actually avoided most of his earlier work after reading a few which I found underwhelming. In a similar vein I dont have that sense of nostalgia with his books. That said I did enjoy the Bachman novels. I cut my teeth (if that’s the right expression) with James Herbert and although recent re-reads have left me disappointed I look back with fondness at those times spent in the horror he gave the world. I have added The Sentinel to my growing list of books recommended by MW. Thank you and Bon weekend.
Thank you, Phil. What a wy to skip school! But how did you manage to sneek into a movie theatre? I've heard of that happening but can't imagine how one would pull that off.
@@Michael_Wertenberg ah, forgive me Michael. A poor choice of words. Sneak not accurate, more like subterfuge. A friend and I were 15 at the time and the movie was rated 18 so we had to act and look older. Probably more luck than skill that we made it inside. Good memory though.
🙂That makes sense. I was imagining some sort of coordinated ninja operation, scaling walls and crawling on ceilings. But, fair enough. Sneak has other meanings too @@philbennett1908
Looking snazzy in that jacket. How dare you leave off Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausées et Démons! Philosophy books with fight scenes and Gahan Wilson illustrations don’t grow on trees! Not even chestnut trees! Ok, that’s done. We can tell you’re a *truly* dedicated horror fan when your favorites list is so focused on”Oh, sure, most of the book is crap but these two scenes are great” and all that. We are panning for gold just downstream of the local industry’s favorite dumping spot. William Burroughs has an essay on how to do plagiarism in The Adding Machine, and would approve about Carrie. Also, in fairness to King, mysterious rock falls were actually a thing in ‘70s allegedly true parapsychology literature. That is an absolutely fascinating rant about exorcism. And…I find myself completely agreeing. I already knew I didn’t approve all the films treating the Warrens as anything but dangerous frauds, but hadn’t thought about it more generally. Thanks, seriously.
Dude just curious... What, exactly, kind of accent is that that you have? Very exacting pronunciations but odd... almost like an actor pretending to be an alien pretending to be a human
"an actor pretending to be an alien pretending to be human" Perfect. That's how I feel most of the time. I'd say I have a US accent, but I have lived in 9 countries and speak 6 languages, so the accent is a mix of all those experiences
Yes! The Rats was one of my favorite books I read in 2021 for the same reasons you mentioned. What an interesting point you make about exorcisms! I haven't read many books (if any) about the topic, but you're absolutely right.
Thank you for the feedback, Patricia. I'm happy you agree with me about exorcisms. I felt weird voicing that opinion, but apparently I'm not alone :)
Great followup to your 70's trilogy! Agree about The Exorcist.
Thanks😁
Great video Michael. Loved the format too where you read excerpts from the books. Of the books on your list that I’ve read I totally agree with your views. Ira Levin is one of my favourite horror writers so can’t disagree with Stepford Wives being at the top of your list.
Hi Gary. Thanks for the kind words. I'm happy you liked the vid😁
I remember reading Red Dragon ( I believe it was the 70s) while working as a nurse on the night shift. Do I have to tell you how frightening it was in that very quiet low lit environment? I loved it! Thank you for the great synopses.
Wow. You picked a great place to read a scary book!I'm envious.😃I'm off the hook for not putting it on my list though; Red Dragon came out in 1981🤭
I’ve never heard of Hell Hound, but it sounds like something I will look to pick up. The 70’s really are the golden age of good horror.
I agree! If you do end up reading it, let me know how it works out for you.
I've read The Shining twice and the Hedge Animal scene is still creepy AF.
The Stand, IT and Mr. Mercedes I may get to this year.
Space horror: Did I mention Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown? Fun palette cleanser.
Sam (Superblomper) is uploading again and she recommends some very disturbing books.
I'm currently reading a ScFi tale about the Earth sending a space ship to
contact an alien race and ask forgiveness about destroying the planet's atmosphere.
It's called Apollo-G.
I'm in a reading slump so i went back to reading a few manga titles I have stashed in a pie chest.
Great content. Always a fun time.
I looked up Scourge Between Stars on Goodreads. The blurb sounds very intriguing. Unfortunately, the cover looks cheap and unflattering (in the contemporary style)😔But it's a Tor book and they usually put out good things. I'm hoping you get over your reading slump. I hate those.🤞
I've read The Exorcist. The writing approaches literature...extremely well written for a horror novel.
I've herd good things about it. Probably not for me, though.
I also have no intention of reading The Exorcist and fully agree with your take on that and the practice of exorcism
Amen!
I simply was wondering if your jacket is suede? I agree with your rant, not a fan of the Exorcist. I did love Interview with the vampire tho! Have a good weekend Michael! xx
I'm pretty sure it's corderoy.Thank you. Have a good weekend too.😁
How are you doing mr Michael. Thank you for your wonderful cultural channel. I chose one of books you mentioned just main theme and author biography briefly here it’s jaws plot summary about large great white shark that preys upon small Long Island resort town and three men who attempted to kill . This novel published in 1974 spent 44 weeks on New York Times best seller list . Film rights to book were bought before it was even published. The novel grew out of Benchley interest in shark attacks after he learned about exploits of montauk New York shark fisherman frank kmundus in 1964 . Double day commissioned him to write in 1971 period when he worked as freelance journalist. Peter Benchley ( 1940- 2006 ) he was American author, screenwriter, ocean activist. He is known for his bestselling novel jaws and co wrote it film adaptation with Carl gottlieb . Several more of his works were also adapted for both cinema and television including deep , island, beast and white shark . His Wendy Benchley known for co founding various environmental organizations for being wife of author . She is ocean conservationist, environmental activist former council woman . Thank you for giving us chance to read learn new information improve our English as well. Good luck to you your dearest ones .
Thank you for the comment, the kind words, and the info. I didn't realise Benchley and his wife were involved in environmental conservation movements. Interesting. Thanks😁
I was going thru my boxes of crap that was stored at my mom’s house while I was doing undergrad and grad school, and randomly found a copy of The Totem in a box not containing any other books. I never bought the book and don’t know how it got there
Had no idea this was the same dude who did First Blood.
Definitely going to read The Totem.
I have a feeling that there will be a scene or two in it that would work well with some feverish Ligeti harpsichord stuff.
Nice! I don't know about harpsichord. The Totem is quite rural (Montana or Wyoming I think). But if you hear harpsichord, more power to you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.😃
@@Michael_WertenbergHarpshichord’s strike me as freaky at times, and Liget is often that-so are totems in a horror context, at least for me.
That makes sense. When I think of harpsichord, I think of inside a dark room. Whereas the horror in The Totem takes place out of doors. That's all I meant. But I'm with you.@@Summalogicae
Hi Michael. Another great watch. Thank you. Got me thinking about the exorcist thing and although the film has significance to me from a nostalgia perspective (as an adolescent bunking off school and sneaking into a cinema to watch it) I have never felt compelled to read the book. When I was a young child we were poor and I spent many hours alone ‘playing outside’ and frequently killed time inside a local cathedral. There I secretly observed went on. I am grateful for those lonely moments as I learned from the age of 8 what bullshit religion is. Religion is pernicious as you rightly highlight.
On a lighter note I am very pleased that you mentioned Revival by Stephen King. I have never encountered anyone who has mentioned it before and I thought it was a superb read. I have actually avoided most of his earlier work after reading a few which I found underwhelming. In a similar vein I dont have that sense of nostalgia with his books. That said I did enjoy the Bachman novels. I cut my teeth (if that’s the right expression) with James Herbert and although recent re-reads have left me disappointed I look back with fondness at those times spent in the horror he gave the world. I have added The Sentinel to my growing list of books recommended by MW. Thank you and Bon weekend.
Thank you, Phil. What a wy to skip school! But how did you manage to sneek into a movie theatre? I've heard of that happening but can't imagine how one would pull that off.
@@Michael_Wertenberg ah, forgive me Michael. A poor choice of words. Sneak not accurate, more like subterfuge. A friend and I were 15 at the time and the movie was rated 18 so we had to act and look older. Probably more luck than skill that we made it inside. Good memory though.
🙂That makes sense. I was imagining some sort of coordinated ninja operation, scaling walls and crawling on ceilings. But, fair enough. Sneak has other meanings too @@philbennett1908
May I have question are you sir American and have France citizenship or resident . Just curious.
Yes. Double nationality.
Looking snazzy in that jacket.
How dare you leave off Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nausées et Démons! Philosophy books with fight scenes and Gahan Wilson illustrations don’t grow on trees! Not even chestnut trees! Ok, that’s done.
We can tell you’re a *truly* dedicated horror fan when your favorites list is so focused on”Oh, sure, most of the book is crap but these two scenes are great” and all that. We are panning for gold just downstream of the local industry’s favorite dumping spot.
William Burroughs has an essay on how to do plagiarism in The Adding Machine, and would approve about Carrie. Also, in fairness to King, mysterious rock falls were actually a thing in ‘70s allegedly true parapsychology literature.
That is an absolutely fascinating rant about exorcism. And…I find myself completely agreeing. I already knew I didn’t approve all the films treating the Warrens as anything but dangerous frauds, but hadn’t thought about it more generally. Thanks, seriously.
😁🤣Best Comment ever!💥🎖🏆
Dude just curious... What, exactly, kind of accent is that that you have? Very exacting pronunciations but odd... almost like an actor pretending to be an alien pretending to be a human
"an actor pretending to be an alien pretending to be human" Perfect. That's how I feel most of the time. I'd say I have a US accent, but I have lived in 9 countries and speak 6 languages, so the accent is a mix of all those experiences