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Katie Jae || Bookstagram

@project.bookhem

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Reading through the AZ heat☀️
Horror • Thriller • True Crime🔪
Mediocre Reviews📝
2026 📚: 149/100

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“It’s all mirror, mirror on the wall because beauty is power the same way money is power the same way a gun is power.”
- Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk

Taking this moment to show off my growing Palahniuk collection. It’s steadily expanding and will probably keep growing until the end of time.

Chuck Palahniuk’s books are literary gut punches wrapped in dark humor and brutal honesty. His storytelling thrives on extremes: emotionally, physically, and socially. He delivers sharp, unapologetic commentary on identity, consumerism, and the desperate need to be seen in a world that prefers masks over faces. His books are pure chaos and even if I don’t always love the stories (looking at you Doomed) the writing is always top tier.

I know Chuck’s books aren’t for everyone, and they’re not meant to be. His stories are intense, often uncomfortable, and filled with characters who are messy, flawed, and hard to love (hey that’s me🙋🏼‍♀️). The humor is dark, the topics are controversial, and nothing is softened for the reader. Some will find his work brilliant and bold. Others will find it to be too much.

I get along better with the first group😉

*not pictured is Bait because it’s a coloring book and I kinda forgot about it😅

**shirt from Etsy, can you guess the book? by @project.bookhem

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a year ago

Flatlay Friday🧟‍♂️ Goosebumps edition

Obviously it’s spooky season, which means my Little Free Library is currently stocked with some spooky reads. Most of which includes this Goosebumps collection I thrifted.

I remember enjoying Goosebumps growing up, so I figured the kids in the neighborhood might enjoy them too. Didn’t know that they changed the covers. That was quite the surprise when I was shopping around lol.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a wonderful Friday!
Are you a fan of the Goosebumps books? by @project.bookhem

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8

3 days ago

Three for Thursday✨

Channeling the spirits to help choose my next read…👻

Just wrapped What Feeds Below and for being YA it was definitely quite the ride! If you haven’t added it to your list for spooky season, you should👀

Which book do you think should be next? by @project.bookhem

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4 days ago

Two for Tuesday✨ Frankenstein Edition

Can you believe I only read this for the first time 4 days ago? This is a classic, and with how well this story is written, I’m shocked it took me this long.

Pictured are my thrifted copy and my classic horror collection copy.

If you want my review, it’s in slide two (look at me doing multiple captions today). Easily a top tier read for me. If you haven’t read this one, I highly recommend it.

If you’ve read it and didn’t like it, you have no soul. I said what I said.

“The fallen angel becomes a malignant devil. Yet even that enemy of God and man had friends and associates in his desolation; I am alone.”

Frankenstein - by: Mary Shelley

I’m convinced that anyone who did not like this book has no soul. How do you read the masterpiece that is this story, the depth it holds, the emotions it evokes? If you can’t appreciate it, you’re the monster…

Frankenstein is a classic horror story. You have to remember the time period it was written in when you think about the horror aspect.

The story follows Dr. Victor Frankenstein and his creation, that’s right, Frankenstein isn’t the creation, guys, he’s the creator! *calms down*

Okay, so Dr. Frankenstein doesn’t understand his limits and creates something that frightens him and instead of facing the consequences of his actions… dude runs.

Sounds about right.

Now the creation… ugh, that poor soul. I refuse to call him a monster. You try getting plopped somewhere where you don’t understand the world around you. People don’t understand what you are, you don’t understand what you are; that’s pretty fucking lonely.

The story digs deep into humanity, the cruelty our species carries despite having the abilities to do good. It also challenges the idea of science and nature: where do you draw the line?

There were so many moments to love and appreciate in here. Emotions were felt, tears were shed, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Truly a new favorite, I’m upset it took me so long to read it, but it has made a home in my heart. by @project.bookhem

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6 days ago

Happy Monday Booksta🖤

Just here to show off my trophy copy of Dracula. It’s part of a 3 book classic collection with sprayed edges (if you missed my story showing it off, sorry not sorry).

I read this book last year with @alicia.is.booked, and recently did a reread on audio because of that Jonathan Bailey teaser… yeah, it’s delicious😂

But the teaser wasn’t the only reason I did a reread. Last night my fiancé and I attended a theater performance of Dracula. The thing is, it was with The Drunk Shakespeare Society, so it was actually called Drunk Dracula😂

Absolutely hilarious.

Anyway, that’s it. If you haven’t read this classic, you should because it’s excellent. Hope everyone has a great Monday🦇 by @project.bookhem

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7 days ago

If you’re looking for some recs this spooky season, look no further👻

These books are bound to give you the creeps and make you sleep with the lights on:

Intercepts • T.J. Payne⭐️ The Deep • Nick Cutter Widow’s Point • Richard Chizmar & W.H. Chizmar The Caretaker • Marcus Kliewer Incidents Around the House • Josh Malerman

Obviously, my fave Intercepts made the list again this year. I’ll never not recommend that book and will actually be doing a reread of it this month.

What would you add to this list?👀 by @project.bookhem

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10 days ago

“Your life collided with mine”, I explained “and you simply failed to survive the wreckage.”

Exquisite Corpse - by: Poppy Z. Brite

It’s been a minute since I found a book at random, bought it, then started reading the second I got home. I did that with this one.

Andrew and Jay are serial killers, existing miles and miles away from one another. When life takes a turn for one, their paths may soon cross…

Was this book dark? Yes Did I enjoy it? Also, yes

It was interesting watching events play out. Being inside the heads of Andrew and Jay was quite the experience. How they thought about their hobbies, their different approaches, and just their overall emotions about how they viewed the boys.

This story didn’t shy away from gore and violence, but it didn’t feel like it was written for the sake of shock. Every dark scene in here felt necessary. The different POVs really allowed me to see all the sides. I wasn’t sure how the characters were going to come together, and it was done flawlessly. Their paths didn’t feel forced together.

The writing took you through the characters’ environment, shedding light on HIV/AIDS while incorporating their lifestyles. It also made Andrew and Jay feel human. Yeah, they did horrible things, but there were blips where they dug into something real and I really appreciated that.

My only knock is I wanted less Luke/Tran focus and more Andrew/Jay.

Solid read. Not for everyone, so check triggers first: graphic gore and violence, cannibalism, necrophilia, etc. by @project.bookhem

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11 days ago

“I think sometimes your blood asks you a question. One that forces you to put yourself at risk for something you really need—a thing so important that the rest of your life hinges on it, and the penalty of not going for it means you’ll live half the life you could have.”

The Queen - by: Nick Cutter

Margaret receives a mystery phone with messages from her best friend, Charity, the thing is… Charity went missing over a month ago. What follows are events no one ever saw coming.

I liked this one but I didn’t love it. The tension building was SO good though. That constant “something bad is coming” feeling had me flipping pages because I needed to know what was going to happen, and Cutter really knows how to make you sit in that dread.

The horror side was where it fell a little short for me. It definitely had its creepy and gross moments, I’m not saying it didn’t, but it just wasn’t on the level of The Troop, which is still my favorite Cutter so far. That one messed me up. This one gave me a little ickiness and that was about it. I kept waiting for it to go full 🥴🥴🥴 mode and it never quite got there.

Cutter is still out here ruining oatmeal though🥣 Thankfully I can still eat it after this one, so take that however you want.

I did enjoy how it explored aspects of friendship, the complications that come with unresolved conflict. The push and pull of processing situations and knowing there’s no way to change things.

“It’s that reckoning that’s the hardest. That I hurt her. That I was selfish, and thoughtless, and cruel at the time she needed me most. I’ll never have a chance to fix that.”

Writing wise it’s classic Cutter, atmospheric and easy to get sucked into, so if you’re a fan of his you’ll probably have a good time.

Overall a solid read and I’m glad I finally picked it up. A goodie if you’re looking to add something with creepy crawlies to your spooky season TBR.

**if you’ve listened to Cutter’s The Breach, this is like an extended version of that imo by @project.bookhem

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12 days ago

“It’s always easy to think of reasons not to do something.”

Normal People - by: Sally Rooney

Marianne and Connell have a complicated relationship, in school they pretended to not know each other but behind closed doors it’s a different story. As the years go by, their relationship becomes even more complicated…

This book was a lot, you see the errors of the characters and you’re just mentally screaming at them “have a conversation!” But, of course, they don’t despite how much heartache it would have saved everyone.

Marianne was a character I really related with, the path of self-destruction she was on was very familiar. The push and pull to find her place, subjecting herself to different forms of abuse for the sake of connection. Very real.

Connell… ugh he drove me insane. I wasn’t surprised he made me crazy because he was very on par with some guys I’ve known, but man did he need to get a clue😂 The early scene where he didn’t understand Marianne suddenly disappearing really set in my dislike for him because how do you mess that up so badly?

There were a lot of big topics focused in here, obviously the relationship between Marianne and Connell was the main event but there were other topics that were brought to the forefront as well. I liked the focus the story brought to mental health, speaking to therapy, depression, grief, and more. These are things a lot of people experience in life that tend to get brushed under the rug so it was nice seeing characters get deep on page.

A very easy read, lots of dialogue and although there are plenty of time jumps it’s all done in a way where you don’t feel you’re missing anything of importance.

Ending was pretty unsatisfying but expected, I’m just going to pretend that the last conversation didn’t happen…

This isn’t the kind of story where you’re rooting for love, I mean you kind of do but there is so much here besides a love story. It really shed a huge light on the importance of communicating, expressing your feelings, and really ensuring that your people know you love and care about them. Your feelings don’t belong locked inside a box. by @project.bookhem

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13 days ago

Match Your Beer… round 3?

@smut_your_mouth2 tagged me to match beer to books because she knows this is our thing now. We buy beer and match it to our books, that’s the game.

So here are some beers I just picked up, along with the books I thought matched best with them. I tried to make them all Halloween themed, but ya know… I also wanted to make sure I’d actually enjoy drinking them, and Flying Objects sounds amazing. And in case you’re wondering, yes, that can will be going on the Beer Tree when Christmas rolls around.

Cheers, booksta🍻 by @project.bookhem

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14 days ago

Books are in the first photo, which makes this bookish, but books are not what this post is about.

Today is Star’s 4th birthday!🎉

December will mark her first year with us, but she made a home in our hearts on day 1. Star, or Starfish as I like to call her, is the goofiest of girls! Despite being majority Belgian Malinois, she’s not as chaotic as most would expect her to be.

Star is a big fan of naps, ice cream, and taking long rides in the car. When her batteries are fully charged, she loves bouncing off the furniture, chasing friends, and playing with her toys.

Star has committed the cardinal sin of chewing one of my books, but we’ve been able to move past it. It’s been understood that books are not to be left within her reach when she’s in a playful mood😂

If you’re not familiar with Star’s story, she was rescued pregnant last summer in California. The rescue we adopted her from took her and her babies in, and the puppies have since found homes (they’re bigger than momma!).

Swipe through to get a glimpse of life with Starfish✨

*She had her birthday party at daycare a couple days ago, so look out for those photos towards the end. by @project.bookhem

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16 days ago

Happy October One🎃

It’s been spooky season in my brain since July 5th, but now it’s officially spooky season!!👻

Ghostie is presenting the October TBR! You can tell how well the photos went based on the top two books😂

I may or may not have already started on one of these… but it’s fine because, again, it’s been spooky season for the last (almost) 2 months😂

Have you read any of these?
What’s on your list for spooky season? by @project.bookhem

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18 days ago