Nocturnal Reader’s Box- March 2018

          This box of Nocturnal Reader’s Box has two interesting books, a mug, a bag, and a print.

Ana Godis with the Ice cream man.

The bag...

Stickers and a bookmark...

The Mug...

And finally the books.

THE FURRY is our classic book. It is also book one of THE FURRY series. From Goodreads: "Gillian Bellaver’s family is one of the wealthiest in the world. Robin Sandza’s father Peter is a government assassin. The two teenagers seem to have nothing in common. Yet they are spiritual twins, possessing a horrifying psychic energy that threatens humanity. While dangerous and fanatical men vie for the secrets of their awesome power, Peter Sandza, using all the ruthless skills of his trade, makes a final desperate effort to save them. Exploring with extraordinary skill the myths and legends deeply rooted in the subconscious mind, this novel builds, scene by shocking scene, to a night of chilling horror that surpasses anything you’ve ever experienced . . . First published in 1976 and made into a successful movie written by the author and directed by Brian De Palma in 1978, The Fury is one of the all-time classics of the horror genre."

THE GONE WORLD is a mix of science fiction and thriller. From Goodreads: "Inception meets True Detective in this science-fiction thriller of spellbinding tension and staggering scope. The Gone World follows a special agent into a savage murder case with grave implications for the fate of mankind.

Shannon Moss is part of a clandestine division within the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. In Western Pennsylvania, 1997, she is assigned to solve the murder of a Navy SEAL's family--and to locate his teenage daughter, who has disappeared. Though she can't share the information with conventional law enforcement, Moss discovers that the missing SEAL was an astronaut aboard the spaceship U.S.S. Libra--a ship assumed lost to the darkest currents of Deep Time. Moss knows first-hand the mental trauma of time-travel and believes the SEAL's experience with the future has triggered this violence.

Determined to find the missing girl and driven by a troubling connection from her own past, Moss travels ahead in time to explore possible versions of the future, seeking evidence or insight that will crack the present-day case. To her horror, the future reveals that it's not only the fate of a family that hinges on her work, for what she witnesses rising over time's horizon and hurtling toward the present is the Terminus: the terrifying and cataclysmic end of humanity itself.

Luminous and unsettling, The Gone World bristles with world-shattering ideas yet remains at its heart an intensely human story."

Nocturnal Reader’s Box- November 2017

          Continuing with the boxes from November, this is the Nocturnal Reader’s Box. The box contains a beanie, a packet of coffee, 2 books, a pillow case, a flag, and a print. So let us get into it!

          I’m not one for wearing beanies but my husband does and he loves this beanie with a Game of Thrones reference...

I love getting coffee in my subscription boxes and this looks like an interesting blend, Hell House blend from Coffee Shop of Horrors.

     

 A pennant from 2 Gould Press.

          

 The first book is The Wilderness Within by John Claude Smith. This is a previously released book.

The new release book for this box is Ronald Malfi’s first short story collection. 

An art print inspired by Clive Barker’s Hellbound Heart and the Heallraiser films. The artist is Chris Galen.

Finally, a throw pillow case featuring a Shirley Jackson Quote.

The Nocturnal Reader's Box

          This is the Nocturnal Reader's box for October. It has three books, a T-shirt or a tote bag, a bar glass, on of three types of candles, a patch, and an art print. I'm going to start with the books.

          The first book is What The Hell Did I Just Read? By David Wong and it is the Sequel to This Book is Full of Spiders though each can be read as stand alone. 1 in 3 copies are signed and I got one of the signed ones. From GoodReads: "NYT bestselling author Wong takes readers to a whole new level with his latest dark comic sci-fi thriller, set in the world of John Dies at the End and This Book is Full of Spiders Dave, John and Amy recount what seems like a fairly straightforward tale of a shape-shifting creature from another dimension that is stealing children and brainwashing their parents, but it eventually becomes clear that someone is lying, and that someone is the narrators. The novel you're reading is a cover-up, and the "true" story reveals itself in the cracks of their hilariously convoluted, and sometimes contradictory, narrative."

          

          The new release for this box is Valancourt Book of Horror Stories by Various Authors. From GoodReads: "Valancourt Books has earned a reputation as one of the foremost publishers of lost and rediscovered classics, reissuing more than 400 unjustly neglected works from the late 18th century all the way to the early 21st. In this second volume of rare horror stories, the editors of Valancourt Books have selected fourteen tales – all by Valancourt authors – for this new collection spanning two centuries of horror. This volume features a previously unpublished ghost story by Nevil Shute, a brand-new tale by award-winning author Stephen Gregory, and twelve other tales that have never or seldom been reprinted. In this volume, you will encounter tales of ghosts, haunted houses, witchcraft, possession, demonic pacts, and ancient, nameless horrors. Stories of the weird and macabre, of a man tormented by an age-old evil, a corpse returned from the dead, a brutal killer with a shocking secret, a contraption with the power to trap its victims eternally inside a nightmare. With stories ranging from frightening to horrific to weird to darkly humorous, by a lineup of authors that includes both masters of horror fiction and award-winning literary greats, this is a horror anthology like no other."

          The previously release book, Cold Moon Over Babylon by Michael MacDowell, shows how terror grows in Babylon, a typical sleepy Southern town with its throbbing sun and fog-shrouded swamps. Margaret Larkin has been robbed of her innocence -- and her life. Her killer is rich and powerful, beyond the grasp of earthly law. Now, in the murky depths of the local river, a shifting, almost human shape slowly takes form. Night after night it will pursue the murderer. It will watch him from the trees. And in the chill waters of the river, it will claim him in the ultimate embrace. The cold moon rises, the awful squishing sounds begin.. (from GoodReads)

          Next comes the tote bag since I don't like t-shirts. It is inspired by The Long Walk by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman. I love tote bags since they are very useful too me.

          The box also includes a very nice bar glass inspired by American Gods an features the funeral parlor.

          Dark Carnival is the NaturaAmantis candle I got. It is inspired by Something Wicked This Way Comes and is one of three possible candles you could have gotten. It is apple, cinnamon and caramel and as soon as I opened the lid the smell hit gloriously!

          Finally, there was a Ring Series Patch by Koji Suzuki featuring the creepy Sadako Yamamura and an Art Print by Ivan Belikov.

The Nocturnal Reader’s Box

            The theme of this box is Monster Mayhem. Now there was an option to choose a t-shirt instead of a tote bag but I can never get the sizes right so I opted for the tote bag. So without further ado let’s get into the box.

          The first thing I pulled out of the box was a water bottle. It is an exclusive metal water bottle with the Miskatonic University logo. 

        The next thing that caught my eye was the Frankenstein’s Monster quote tote bag. I’m going to use it to carry my books and iPad places. 

          I’m not a big fan of sleeping aids but I make exceptions for herbal stuff and the box included an organic herbal sleep oil called “The Sandman’s Despair” created by Natura Amantis. 

          I love notebooks and this exclusive notebook is my new love. It is from The Howling and I love the picture on the cover!

          There are two books in the box as usual one is a previous release and one is a new one. And there is a one in four chance you get a signed copy. 

New Release: The Wicked by James Newman

From GoodReads: AN ANCIENT EVIL RISES...BURNS...KILLS... After a fire consumes the Heller Home for Children, the residents of Morganville, North Carolina thought they knew evil... They were wrong. Unaware of the turmoil in their new hometown, the Littles--David, Kate, and seven-year-old Becca--are moving from New York City to Morganville in hopes of repairing their own lives, which were recently shattered by an act of sexual violence. Before long, David realizes that his family's troubles are worse than he could ever have imagined. An ancient demon lurks beneath the town of Morganville, an unholy creature conjured into existence by the Heller Home tragedy. Its name is Moloch. It is hungry for the souls of the townspeople. But most of all, Moloch wants the children. It will not rest until it has them. All of them.

Previous Release: Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt with a one in four chance of getting a signed copy. 

From GoodReads: In his striking debut collection, Greener Pastures, Michael Wehunt shows why he is a powerful new voice in horror and weird fiction. From the round-robin, found-footage nightmare of "October Film Haunt: Under the House" (selected for The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror) to the jazz-soaked "The Devil Under the Maison Blue" (selected for both The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror and Year's Best Weird Fiction), these beautifully crafted, emotionally resonant stories speak of the unknown encroaching upon the familiar, the inscrutable power of grief and desire, and the thinness between all our layers. Where nature rubs against small towns, in mountains and woods and bedrooms, here is strangeness seen through a poet's eye. They say there are always greener pastures. These stories consider the cost of that promise.

          Also in every box there is a suitable scary print and I really love this one by Ivan Belikov called The Great Old One. 

          Finally, there is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde enamel pin and a magnetic bookmark featuring The Night King of Pop.

I’m never disappointed with my current book subscriptions. 

The Nocturnal Reader's Box August 2017

          I think this might be my favorite of the Nocturnal Reader's boxes I got so far, you'll see why in a minute. The box has the theme: Monster Mayhem! As usual the Kuwaiti customs had to take their customary look inside the box, hope they were suitably creeped out 😆

          So the first thing I decided to pull out of the box was the hat of course, and hidden behind the hat were two other things that I also loved, but first the hat. It is an exclusive hat inspired by Stephen King's The Strand. My husband called dibs on it and has been wearing it since it came out of the box.

          Behind this pretty hat was a snuggly wrapped package which contained a mug (my most favorite thing to own besides books) and a bath bomb. The mug is an exclusive designed and created by Jeff at exhumedvisions.com and it features The Exorcist. The bath bomb is also an exclusive from Alice at Fizzy Fairy Apothecary entitled "Infected/Infested" and supposedly has a surprise in the middle...I gave it to my cousin, didn't tell her about the surprise in the middle *Evil Laugh*

          The last four things to come out of the box before I go to the books are an amazingly creepy print by Ally Burke called "The Woman Who Never Killed Bugs" and you can find Ally at deadspiderhands.net, a glow in the dark pin inspired by Patient Zero made by Joe Ledger, a post card and a creepy bookmark.

          Now let us talk about the books in this box. There are three pretties! Two of the books are new releases and one is a previous release.

Book One (New Release):

Title: The Grip Of It

Author: Jac Jemc

ISBN Number: 9780374536916

Pages: 272

Published: August 1, 2017

Publisher: FSG Originals

Synopsis (from GoodReads): 

A chilling literary horror novel about a young couple who purchase and live in a haunted house. Jac Jemc’s The Grip of It tells the eerie story of a young couple haunted by their new home. Julie and James settle into a house in a small town outside the city where they met. The move—prompted by James’s penchant for gambling, his inability to keep his impulses in check—is quick and seamless; both Julie and James are happy to leave behind their usual haunts and start afresh. But this house, which sits between ocean and forest, has plans for the unsuspecting couple. 

As Julie and James try to settle into their home and their relationship, the house and its surrounding terrain become the locus of increasingly strange happenings. The architecture—claustrophobic, riddled with hidden rooms within rooms—becomes unrecognizable, decaying before their eyes. Stains are animated on the wall—contracting, expanding—and map themselves onto Julie’s body in the form of bruises; mold spores taint the water that James pours from the sink. Together the couple embark on a panicked search for the source of their mutual torment, a journey that mires them in the history of their peculiar neighbors and the mysterious residents who lived in the house before Julia and James. 

Written in creepy, potent prose, The Grip of It is an enthralling, psychologically intense novel that deals in questions of home: how we make it and how it in turn makes us, mapping itself onto bodies and the relationships we cherish.

Book Two (New Release): 

Title: Mapping the Interior

Author: Stephen Graham Jones

ISBN Number 9780765395108

Pages: 112

Published: June 20, 2017

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Synopsis (from GoodReads): 

Mapping the Interior is a horrifying, inward-looking novella from Stephen Graham Jones that Paul Tremblay calls "emotionally raw, disturbing, creepy, and brilliant." 

Walking through his own house at night, a fifteen-year-old thinks he sees another person stepping through a doorway. Instead of the people who could be there, his mother or his brother, the figure reminds him of his long-gone father, who died mysteriously before his family left the reservation. When he follows it he discovers his house is bigger and deeper than he knew.

The house is the kind of wrong place where you can lose yourself and find things you'd rather not have. Over the course of a few nights, the boy tries to map out his house in an effort that puts his little brother in the worst danger, and puts him in the position to save them . . . at terrible cost.

Book Three (Previous Release):

Title: This Book is Full of Spiders

Author: David Wong

ISBN Number: 9781250036650

Pages: 450

Published: October 8th 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Synopsis (from GoodReads): 

As the sequel to John Dies At The End, we find our heroes, David and John, again embroiled in a series of horrifying yet mind-bogglingly ridiculous events caused primarily by their own gross incompetence. The guys find that books and movies about zombies may have triggered a zombie apocalypse, despite a complete lack of zombies in the world. As they race against the clock to protect humanity from its own paranoia, they must ask themselves, who are the real monsters? Actually, that would be the shape-shifting horrors secretly taking over the world behind the scenes that, in the end, make John and Dave kind of wish it had been zombies after all. Hilarious, terrifying, engaging and wrenching, This Book Is Full Of Spiders takes us for a wild ride with two slackers from the Midwest who really have better things to do with their time than prevent the apocalypse.

**So I was a little bummed that this is a sequel. I hate getting the second book in a series BUT I checked on Goodreads and apparently when they refer to events from the first book it is usually explain. So you can read this book without reading the first one. YAY!

And that is all she wrote. Amazing haul from this box in terms of books and other useful stuff!

The Nocturnal Reader's Box July 2017

          I have a new box for you guys today: The Nocturnal Reader's Box. From CrateJoy: "We are a monthly subscription service that specializes in bringing our customers new and exciting books from well established authors, to lesser known ones. We curate our merchandise to keep with the theme of the books for a given month."

          Each box contains newly released novels, previously released novel (not used), custom themed art print, 1-2 wearable items. Usually there are 6-8 items in every box priced between 60 - 80 dollars.

          Let us get into July's box. The theme of the box is "The Feast". As usual the box was opened in Kuwait customs but nothing was moved.

The first thing that came out of the box was a bike license plate, which reads Nosferatu...if you were wondering. At least I think that is what it says. 

Next item was an apron which says "Friends don't let friends eat friends."

Third item to come out of the box was a mini stemless wine glass, which has a Silence of the Lambs theme.

I think the keychain that is inspired by Jaws was really cute and I know just the person I'm going to give it too. 

The print included in this box comes from Michael Broom, and you can see his other works on Instagram: @MICHAELBROOMART I think I am in love! (Please excuse the two light spots I have horrid lighting)

Now for the books. The new release is called Come to Dust by Bracken Macleod. You have a 1:4 chance of getting a signed copy...I didn't 

Synopsis from Goodreads: "Ever since her mother abandoned her, five-year-old Sophie has had to depend on her uncle Mitch for everything. But he’s struggling. Restarting a life interrupted by time in prison is hard enough without having to balance work and single parenthood. Mitch is determined to make it work though, striving to keep their family together despite the obstacles in their way, because no matter how difficult things get, they are good for each other. And life for the two of them seems to be looking up. But when Sophie dies tragically, it all comes crashing down. Mitch descends into a crippling grief, coming to understand how little his freedom means without her to share it with. And though released from the sudden responsibility thrust upon him, all he wants is his niece back, safe and alive.

When he gets his wish and scores of children around the world begin to inexplicably rise from the dead—Sophie among them—everything becomes much harder.

Mitch rescues her from the morgue, determined to carve out a normal life for them no matter what, though it soon becomes clear that may not be possible. While the kids who’ve returned behave like living children, they still look very dead. And they can do something else that normal children cannot. Something terrifying. Beliefs differ whether the children’s return is a mercy or a sign of approaching judgment, and a congregation of religious fanatics determined to usher in the apocalypse has their own plan for salvation.

Now Mitch must find a way to save Sophie from an increasingly hostile world that wants to tear them apart and put her back in the ground for good."

The second book is a previous release called Bleed by Ed Kurtz. You also have a 1:4 chance of getting a signed copy and again...I didn't.

Synopsis from Goodreads: "When Walt Blackmore moves into an old gable front house on the outskirts of a small town, things are really looking up for him—he has an adoring girlfriend, a new job, and an altogether bright future. But Walt's destiny is irreparably changed when a dark red spot appears on the ceiling in the hallway. Bit by bit the spot grows, first into a dripping blood stain and eventually into a grotesque, muttering creature. 

As the creature thrives, Walt finds himself more and more interested in fostering its well-being. At first he only feeds it stray animals, but this soon fails to satisfy the monster's ghastly needs. It is gradually becoming something more, and for that to happen it requires human blood and human flesh. And once Walt has crossed the line from curiosity to murder, there is no going back."

To go with the book there were two identical pretty bookmarks. 

Finally, a pin.

The theme for next month is also revealed as Infested & Infected.

Books: Bleed 17.91 dollars, Come to Dust: 17.93 dollars
Novelty License Plate: 8 - 20 dollars
Apron: 5-10 dollars
Jaws Key Chain: 5 dollars
Mini stemless wine glass: 5 dollars
Art print: I can't find a dollar value for it but I've seen prints this size go from 20 - 50 dollars.

So this box costs between 60 - 70 depending on what average you use.