Daisy Pearce's "Dark is When the Devil Comes" is rated 3.5 stars out of 5. Published by Minotaur Press, it is 330 pages and will be published April 28, 2026.
Daisy Pearce's DARK IS WHEN THE DEVIL COMES is an uncomfortable abduction thriller. I say uncomfortable because you will spend a good chunk of it weighing the reliability of the narrator. Once things click into place, it's a wild ride to the end. Creepy and unexpected. #books
I'm about a quarter of the way through Christopher Ruocchio's EMPIRE OF SILENCE and it feels good to be back in the comforting waters of space opera. I'm glad I took the long detour to learn to enjoy reading fantasy, but I've been craving science fiction. #books
Video announcements started rolling out on BookTube for this year’s Horror Mayhem reading event, focusing on shorter works of horror. I have a few short story anthologies to pick through, but for novels I want to read Brian Keene’s THE SEVEN and John Halkin’s SQUELCH. #books
The player takes a selfie next to his jump rope trophy.
The player poses in triumph outside the Pokémon Center as the results of the jump rope contest are shown. He jumped 55 times.
Bulbasaur gives a jump rope trophy to the player.
Bulbasaur is one of my favorite Pokemon but he can go straight to hell and take his jump rope contest with him. I have a terrible sense of rhythm and it took me way too many tries to win that stupid trophy. #gaming #pokemonpokopia
Looking through my DVDs for movies to add to the Plex server. It turns out I forgot about buying the Criterion edition of Matewan. Sweet. 📀
Robert Jordan echoed The Fellowship of the Ring to ease readers into the first book of The Wheel of Time. This morning I started listening to the first book in Christopher Ruocchio’s Sun Eater series and it feels like similar trick but with echoes of Dune. #books
My (later than usual) #FridayReads update. I’m about a quarter of the way through an ARC of Matthew Betley’s THE COUNCIL, which is the kind of big dumb fun I needed. I also finished listening to C.J. Box’s BLOOD TRAIL. It may be my favorite book in the Joe Pickett series so far. #books
A series of 7x7 square habitats decorated in themes, such as a dorm room, a museum with a dinosaur fossil, and a tree-studded cliff with a waterfall.
I’m sure there’s a more organic way to place them, but I have a beach in Pokopia that’s my zone for building 7x7 habitats. #gaming
Dave Chappelle learning the hard way that when we can't tell the difference between your jokes and their hatred, we can't tell the difference between you and them either. Learn to apologize and be a better human or expect the better humans to leave your trash ass behind.
variety.com/2026/tv/news...
The player stands in the doorway of a Pokemart. Drink machines line one wall, and there are bookshelves and baskets of fruit.
The player stands in the doorway of a Pokemart. Drink machines line one wall, and there are bookshelves and an arcade machine.
So it turns out I could’ve been decorating my Pokemarts the entire time… #gaming #pokemonpokopia
A series of posters for movie collections Middle Earth, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Queer Movies, Slashers, Standup Comedy, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stephen King, Universal Monsters, and Vampires.
I recently learned how to make themed collections of movies for my Plex server. I kinda love that there are people out there designing posters for them. I need to make a Crestwood House-style Universal Monsters Collection poster to match all the individual posters I made for them.
Every year I tell myself I won't wait until the last minute to file my taxes online. Every year I manage to put it off. It's not like it's difficult -- I spent all of 30 minutes handling it this morning -- but it makes my eyes glaze over to think about it.
I watched the first Equalizer movie with Denzel Washington over the weekend, and it gave me the urge to read Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea." I think it'll be a nice palate cleanser after the book slog I just went through. Eager to read other stuff. #books
In Pokopia, the Ditto player is dressed like a member of Team Rocket and standing behind the counter of a kiosk selling newspapers, magazines and books.
When I discovered newspapers still existed in the world of Pokemon Pokopia, it was just a matter of time until I built a kiosk to sell them to creatures who have no money and can’t read. #gaming #pokemonpokopia
F. Paul Wilson’s “Virgin” is the 1996 selection for the My Novel Life reading challenge. The task: Read a novel from every year of your life in chronological order with no author represented more than once. The book is rated three stars out of five. Challenge created by author Mark Hodder.
I finished F. Paul Wilson's VIRGIN, my 1996 pick for the #MyNovelLife reading challenge. It was a decent adventure about Mary's body being found and the happy-go-lucky religious shenanigans that follow. The ending holds it back, wrapping too fast with a Very Important Message. #books
I dislike that smarmy zero-charisma chud, but I'd take him over his boss in a heartbeat. The evil would be the same, but at least it would be rational.
In Pokopia, storage boxes line a wall with framed photos showing the type of items inside: food, furniture, building supplies, etc.
Another view of the storage basement. A ladder leads up to the surface and is flanked by armored breastplates on pedestals.
The player gives a thumbs up while standing in front of a furnace that’s been set into the wall.
Pokopia Update: I played maybe an hour today, and all I did was improve my underground storage lair. Instead of being surrounded by bare earth on every side, it now has brick walls and carpeting and fluorescent lighting powered by a furnace set in the wall. Big improvement. #gaming #pokemonpokopia
Watching Empire Records while I work. It’s Rex Manning Day, when Toad the Wet Sprocket emerges from their studio. If they see their shadows, we have six more weeks of alternative music releases on EP.
I stopped at the Little Free Library on my walk to work and found a massive hardcover of Ken Follett's EDGE OF ETERNITY. I was tempted to grab it for my shelf. Digital is the way to go for his doorstops. Tom Brokaw's THE GREATEST GENERATION was in there, too. Someone's in for good reading. #books
Sounds like Zap Rowsdower.
A smiling Rex Manning under the words “Me telling everyone ‘Happy Rex Manning Day.’” Beside him is a confused teen and the words “People wondering who Rex Manning is and why I’m so happy.”
Happy Rex Manning Day to all who celebrate.
I've been expanding my Plex server. My current project is adding the boxed set of 28 movies Abbott and Costello made for Universal. I've also been going back and pulling DVD extras for movies that are already on the server. It can be tedious, but it's rewarding.
I've decided to pull the plug on my book review column. The reasons for doing it have gone away, and I said at the start that I would stop when reading began to feel like a job. I've reached that point. I'll review the ARCs I have and then go back to just reading what I want. #books
In Pokopia, a small exterior cafe is shown. Tables, chairs, a coffee mug, etc.
The cafe habitat in Pokopia requires two counters, two chairs, a sign board, a potted plant and a mug. I built the habitat into a 7x7 “home” and decorated it like a cute cafe exterior. #pokopia #gaming
The player and a Venusaur stand outside a house. A large temple is visible in the background.
My Pokemon buddies worked all night to build the Altar of Flame on one of my islands in Pokopia. I chose a mountaintop spot where it could loom in the background over my humble village. #gaming #pokemonpokopia
In Pokopia, a large house is raised above the valley floor on wooden columns. Stairs lead up to it and are covered with flowers growing in planters.
I made progress on the big house in Pokopia over the weekend, adding walls and decorating a little. I don't think I want my character to live there, so I'll probably make each room a habitat for various Pokemon. I just have to decide who gets to live there. #gaming #pokemonpokopia
My April TBR. Pretty sure I'll read all of these, unless I take a detour. #books
VIRGIN, by F. Paul Wilson
DARK IS WHEN THE DEVIL COMES, by Daisy Pearce
THE COUNCIL, by Matthew Bettley
KILLER'S PAYOFF, by Ed McBain
BLOOD TRAIL, by C.J. Box
EMPIRE OF SILENCE, by Christopher Ruocchio
My March TBR results. #books
✅ WOLF WORM, by T. Kingfisher
✅ ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE, by Robin Hobb
✅ KILLER’S CHOICE, by Ed McBain
❌ THE TALISMAN, by Stephen King & Peter Straub
✅ NEVERNIGHT, by Jay Kristoff
✅ MURDER AT THE VICARAGE, by Agatha Christie
✅ THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, by Alistair MacLean
A raised diorama on stone blocks shows a dorm room with blue carpet. There’s a narrow bed, a table and chairs, a study desk in front of a bookshelf, and dark television.
Pokopia players are making these little square dioramas and decorating them around a theme. The way habitats can be nested inside larger rooms, this 7x7 bedroom space I made can house six Pokemon… but probably not comfortably. Still, it’s a fun design exercise. #pokemonpokopia #gaming
I finished F. Paul Wilson’s vampire apocalypse novel MIDNIGHT MASS, and it was just as good the second time. I started an ARC of Daisy Pearce’s DARK IS WHEN THE DEVIL COMES. I’m about a third of the way through Agatha Christie’s MURDER AT THE VICARAGE (audiobook). #books #FridayReads