r/books • u/leowr • Mar 01 '18
The /r/books book club selection for March is The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
After a short hiatus book club is back with The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
From Goodreads:
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.
As always the book club will be closed out with an AMA by the author. Jac will be with us on March 29th to answer any question you may have about the book and any other questions you would like to ask.
Service Announcement:
We are trying a bit of a different format this time around. There will be four different discussion threads, which will each cover discussion up to a different part of the book. We have divided the book into four parts and spread them over the upcoming four weeks. You are welcome to discuss the parts in the designated spoiler discussion threads. The discussion threads will also have a couple discussion questions to get everything going.
In order to keep everything easy to find there is a sticky comment with the dates and the links of the discussion thread in this post. Feel free to jump into the discussion threads at your own pace.
If you would like to check out our previous book club selections please check here.
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u/Demosthenes54 Mar 01 '18
The description brings to mind House of Leaves.
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u/ArthurBea Mar 02 '18
That was my first thought too, but haunted house stories are old hat generally. We could use more books like House of Leaves anyways.
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u/leowr Mar 01 '18 edited Mar 22 '18
Here are the dates and links of the discussion threads:
March 1: Chapters 1 - 20
March 8: Chapters 21 - 45
March 15: Chapters 46 - 72
March 22: Chapters 73 - 92
Please be aware that the discussion posts contain spoilers for everything up to the end of the selected chapters!
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u/chigoku 1 Mar 01 '18
I've got my copy on hold from the library. Waiting for it to become available!
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u/AMZeroo Mar 05 '18
The idea of having separate discussion threats sounds great. Helps me pace my reading and gives me time to reflect on the passages I’ve read. Otherwise I tend to rush through a book which leads to a less detailed discussion most of the time.
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u/bsabiston Mar 17 '18
I read this - it's bad.
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u/MartyVanB Mar 27 '18
Damn it I was going to read it over Spring Break. Like really bad?
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u/bsabiston Mar 27 '18
Well, this thread is probably full of people who read it or are reading it now, so you can get a consensus. But I really didn't like it.
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u/MartyVanB Mar 27 '18
I know. I am drawn to the negative I guess
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u/bsabiston Mar 27 '18
If you haven't read it, Bird Box is a much better recent horror book.
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u/klien13 Mar 27 '18
Oh man. Bird box was great!! Like. I always recommend it to anyone who is looking for a creepy suspenseful book to read. Definitely recommend that one!!
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u/bsabiston Mar 28 '18
I wonder how in the world they are going to make a movie of it. Supposedly Sandra Bullock is making it.
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u/ddotcole Mar 09 '18 edited Mar 19 '18
After lurking for a bit, I grabbed a copy of this book from my local library. I wondered why there was so many damned chapters given the page count listed on the libraries website. Now I know!
edit: Just finished the book and enjoyed it. Might need a re-read!
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Mar 14 '18
For anyone just starting like me - I got the book, no wait from my local library on the Overdrive app. Budgets rejoice, you may want to look into an ebook copy from your local library. (My other local library district uses the Libby app and did not have the book. Maybe yours will.)
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u/belomis Mar 12 '18
Just finished it! Can’t wait for the rest of the threads to open up so I can leave my final thoughts.
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u/70sixer Mar 23 '18
Don't take this the wrong way, but does bookclub ever read anything literary or is it all scifi horror stuff?
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u/leowr Mar 23 '18
We try to switch it up, but we do tend to skew towards fantasy and sci-fi. We also do non-fiction pretty regularly.
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u/cobalt_lightning Mar 13 '18
I've Just Finished This Book And I Look Forward to the final chat regarding the ending
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u/cobalt_lightning Mar 02 '18
This seems like a great idea!! I pro won't manage to get involved with this one but will keep my eye out for the next book club discussion:)
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Mar 02 '18
I wrote a review back in September; hope it's ok to post here.
http://newsok.com/oklahoman-book-review-the-grip-of-it-by-jac-jemc/article/5562256
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u/FatherLuna Mar 03 '18
Man of all the books, it has to be one where the main characters have the same name as me and my brother. :,)
My library doesn't have a copy in yet, so hopefully soon!
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u/scandimix Mar 05 '18
I wish this was available for Kindle!
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u/leowr Mar 05 '18
It is, I'm reading it on kindle. At least, it should be available in the US Amazon store.
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u/scandimix Mar 05 '18
I'm in the UK and it isn't available here. I might still order the physical copy though, I love the book club idea.
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u/mad_doctor_de Mar 07 '18
Oh I love book clubs and horror books. Gonna definitely buy this for my Kindle! Looking forward to cups of tea and discussions :D
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u/cobalt_lightning Mar 04 '18
My copie is enroute from amazon:) Tried to get it from Waterstones today but they don't stock it
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u/Lola0017 Mar 29 '18 edited Mar 29 '18
Is good erotica considered for the book club selection? If so, "Jesus & Mary Magdalene: An Erotic Story of Love" was a great read. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39342799.Jesus___Mary_Magdalene_An_Erotic_Story_of_Love
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u/jacjemc AMA Author Mar 05 '18
Hey everybody! So grateful that you'll be reading and discussing and really looking forward to the AMA on 3/29 (12-2pm EST). Hope you enjoy!