Tag Archives: movie recommendations

‘Tis the Season for Gift Giving – A Secret Santa Shelf Pick

, , , , ,
images-of-presents-wrapped-in-plain-butcher-paper-and-twine-with-red-labels
Photo by Erica Marsland Huynh on Unsplash

Happy December, happy holidays, and happy last month of 2024! (As delightfully kooky youtuber Jenna Marbles once said, this year felt both short and terribly and insufferably long at the same time.)

My fellow HOTS writers and I thought we’d switch things up a little this month. In the spirit of gift giving and shelf picks—which is a personalized reading recommendation service where library staff introduce you to titles based on your preferences—we thought we’d do a sort of Secret Santa exchange of recommendations.

And thus, this post is dedicated to Claire and what I think (and hope!) she might like to read and watch, in the event she hasn’t yet. I gotta confess, this was a nerve-wracking test of how familiar I am with Claire’s taste and preferences.

Aiming to not give a gift that sucks, I revisited some of Claire’s posts and took literal and actual notes, by hand, in a notebook, to then do research with. I’m hoping that paid off! I’m also hoping you—dear reader—will find this list of recommendations to be a gift as well (pun fully intended).

Continue reading →

Spooky Stories for Scaredy Cats

, , , ,
image-of-jack-o-lanterns
Photo by Ross Sneddon on Unsplash

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I am not a fan of horror. And yet…there are definitely spooky stories out there that, despite my self-proclaimed scaredy cat status (I dare you to say that three times fast), I enjoy! I don’t seek them out, necessarily…but much like Wikipedia research rabbit holes, I get lured in by one thing or another and then I’m hooked before I know it.

Before we jump into a list of recommendations though, I was curious as to why we’re drawn to horror at all. According to this article by The Washington Post, “[horror offers] a combination of an adrenaline rush and an opportunity to learn about dealing with scary situations in a safe environment”. And according to this more recent article by Crime Reads, “[horror] provides us with a distraction from the terrors of the real world” but that “there’s something beyond distraction and catharsis that horror gives us. The gift of control.”

That makes sense to me, but I still like my scares to be slight, so I’ve put together a non-exhaustive list of movies, shows, and books that I can recommend if you, like me, are horrified by horror, grossed out by gore, and scared of suspense…and yet can’t help but be curious of the creepy.

(Can you tell I’m having a lot of fun with alliteration?)

Continue reading →

Trilogies! Because Good Things Come in Threes

, ,
projector
Photo by Alex Litvin on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again; autumn is on its way, there’s frost in the mornings but summer can still be felt at noon, and it’s practically sweater weather in the evenings…and I am feeling just a little bit burnt out. Which is terrible timing; as everyone goes back to school and library programming ramps up, I need to be energized! I need to be on top of so many things!

But there’s no fighting reality, so when I feel burnt out, I do what I always do: I hole up with my comfort films, which never fail to soothe and rejuvenate me after a long few days.

And something that I’ve noticed is that a lot of my favourite films are trilogies (or should have been trilogies, and I dismiss any sequels past the third with extreme prejudice).

So let’s talk trilogies!

Continue reading →