A perfectly bleak internet-native occult horror novel; a discombobulating Lynchian sci-fi epic; and a summery psych-disco album

Roundup 07/29/2024

Greetings from Read Max HQ! Ongoing request alert: I’m still looking for stories and examples of A.I. slop, wherever you encounter it: On platforms! In your workplace! On the subway! In the library! In the background of movies! I will take any and all anecdotes and samples of weird, shoddy, uncanny, annoying A.I. crap in your day to day life. If you have any good leads or stories, email me: maxread@gmail.com.

Welcome to our weekly roundup column, in which I pick out some worthwhile and often overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers. For this week’s round-up, I’ve got:

• A creepy, evocative occult horror novel with an excellent sense of contemporary internet life;

• a strange and unpredictable sci-fi movie that’s like David Lynch doing Cloud Atlas; and

• a lush, lovely album of sophisticated psych-disco.

If any of that sounds interesting -- and if you want to support Read Max in its continuing mission of explaining the future to relatively normal people -- please subscribe below. Subscribers get access to these weekly emails and to the comprehensive Read Max Master Lists of Good Movies to Watch and Good Books to Read--as well as preferred pricing on merchandise like the Read Max “EMAIL SUPPLY” caps. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you.

I love to hear from readers who want to recommend a cool book or movie (or whatever!) to me, or from readers who are looking for specific kinds of recommendations. Just leave a comment or drop me a line at maxread@gmail.com.

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Now, the roundup.