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378 reviews for:
Cursed Objects: Strange But True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items
J.W. Ocker
3.66 AVERAGE
378 reviews for:
Cursed Objects: Strange But True Stories of the World's Most Infamous Items
J.W. Ocker
3.66 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
Neat little book. Was fun to read about cursed objects! Author had a relaxed, easy to consume tone and style.
A quick, slight read that offers an overview of a ton of cursed objects (and some not so much). I don't think this ever finds the right tone, and the author doesn't seem to believe in any of this stuff (rightfully so, to be honest). But it's interesting enough, I guess. It's fine.
I'm always a little worried about 'listicle' type books, e.g. whether they will be informative, consistent, will the focus be on quantity or quality?
For Cursed Objects there was absolutely no need to worry. Not only is there plenty of quantity and quality, Ocker has a clever knack for organizing the categories into useful and interesting ways; initially hitting us with different sorts of objects (e.g. specific items, tombstones, books...) Ocker moves onto to summarizing collections, and even has a section on "should-be" cursed items which are essentially some ghastly items that are oddly not cursed despite links to tradegy or horror.
In terms of tone I love Ocker's approach which is a good balance of tongue in cheek, some reverence and a good amount of thoroughness. Given the topic some of the items are downright ridiculous, some are actually quite tragic and some just plain weird, and I always thought Ocker captured this sensitively.
So overall Cursed Objects is a little silly, spooky and sad but always interesting. Definitely a good book for insipiration for a spoopy tale or a scary tour (assuming you can travel safely at present!). Highly recommended.
For Cursed Objects there was absolutely no need to worry. Not only is there plenty of quantity and quality, Ocker has a clever knack for organizing the categories into useful and interesting ways; initially hitting us with different sorts of objects (e.g. specific items, tombstones, books...) Ocker moves onto to summarizing collections, and even has a section on "should-be" cursed items which are essentially some ghastly items that are oddly not cursed despite links to tradegy or horror.
In terms of tone I love Ocker's approach which is a good balance of tongue in cheek, some reverence and a good amount of thoroughness. Given the topic some of the items are downright ridiculous, some are actually quite tragic and some just plain weird, and I always thought Ocker captured this sensitively.
So overall Cursed Objects is a little silly, spooky and sad but always interesting. Definitely a good book for insipiration for a spoopy tale or a scary tour (assuming you can travel safely at present!). Highly recommended.
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
Really really fun, but I wish he had pulled a Colin Dickey or Megan Rosenbloom and investigated the cultural or social impact of the curse rumors more. Still, a unique little book and fantastic for reading in quick but short snippets.
dark
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
3.5 stars. This was a fun, super quick book about a plethora of famous cursed objects. I appreciated that you could tell the author had an interest in the subject matter but didn’t necessarily propagate unfounded speculation. If there was evidence of a hoax, he talked about that too. This book has about 50 chapters worth of objects and they are all only briefly discussed. I listened to the audiobook and each chapter was only 5-7 minutes long. I sort of wish he’d written about half as many objects but with twice as much information. And maybe, since he touched on it just for a second, talk about why we are so fascinated and willing to believe in these cursed objects and the science behind it all. Regardless, it was a fun one to read just before Halloween
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
funny
informative
mysterious
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced