Welcome back to If You Like This, Read That: Part 3. In this series, I pair books with similar vibes/content.

If you like Let The Right One In, read The Midnight Shift by Cheon Seon-ran.

Why? Both translated novels center on vampires. They feature kids making bonds with these vampires.

If you like Maeve Fly by CJ Leede, read Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito

Why? Both feature unhinged women who aren't afraid to act out their darkest fantasies.

If you like Penpal by Dathan Auerbach, read Dear Laura by Gemma Amor

Why? Both center on stalking targeting children.

Hello, Sickos! The October polls for the History/Fiction Sickos Book Clubs are live! You can go vote on them in the appropriate Discord channels (scroll down and you'll see #fiction-vote and #history-vote). The polls run for 72 hours so you've got plenty of opportunity to bully and bribe.

If you're not seeing the channels, make sure you've linked your Bindery subscription to Discord via the Account Settings page. Those vote/discussion channels unlock at the Sicko plus paid tiers, so if you're a "Follower", you'll need to upgrade. Along with the book club forums you also get access to a ton of other channels for various genres, book recommendation requests, movies/TV, buddy reads and much more.

Back to the options... These are the 8 books across the 2 clubs that we're voting on.

FICTION SICKOS

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Incarcerated people fight in televised gladiatorial matches for a chance at freedom.

James by Percival Everett

A reimagining of Huckleberry Finn that retells the journey down the Mississippi from the perspective of the enslaved Jim.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

A group of elite classics students at a New England college cross a line with deadly consequences in this dark academia novel.

She's a Doll by Barbara Truelove (a Bindery book from Ezeekat Press!)

After being murdered, a young woman possesses an antique doll and sets out for revenge against her killer.

HISTORY SICKOS

The Invention of Prehistory by Stefanos Geroulanos

How the modern idea of "prehistory" was created, and how theories about humanity's origins have been used to justify empire, racism, and violence.

Carthage Must by Destroyed by Richard Miles

The rise and destruction of Carthage, from its Phoenician origins and through the Punic Wars with Rome.

The Trojan War by Barry Strauss

A historian looks behind Homer's epics to ask what archaeology and ancient evidence can tell us about the real war that may have inspired the legend of Troy.

King of Kings by Scott Anderson

A narrative history of the 1978-1979 Iranian Revolution that brought down the Shah and transformed Iran.

That's it, go vote! (and make sure you've got your copy of A Complement of Scoundrels!)