WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ? by Jason Pargin

My quip: Sit Back and Smoke a Bowl. 🥬 The World's Ending.

Today’s Topic: What The Hell Did I Just Read? by Jason Pargin

From the Top: Clocking in at around 97,000 words, this book is a fever dream of cosmic proportions. Pargin (pka David Wong), the mastermind behind the John Dies at the End series, delivers a third installment that’s equal parts mind-bending horror and oddly soothing chaos. It’s the literary equivalent of staring into the void while sipping chamomile tea spiked with benzos…then spiked with Adderall. The story is unsettling, sure, but with a strange aftertaste of comfort and a consistent sense of relatable humor. Set in the perpetually bizarre town of Undisclosed, readers follow the best dysfunctional trio—David, John, and Amy—as they stumble through/by an interdimensional clusterf*ck, government conspiracies, and creatures that defy any logic (or basic biology).

My Quip: WTHDIJR is technically cosmic horror, but it’s comforting, especially now. Written in 2017, this book feels like it’s winking at us here in 2025. While the world outside continues in its ridiculous d*ck-measuring contest, Pargin’s version of the abyss feels like a familiar friend who shows up with a six-pack and a shrug, saying, “Yeah, it’s messed up, but we’ve got snacks and cigarettes.” Dave, John, and Amy aren’t heroes, they’re just relatable characters (with more tangible access to the Cosmos) trying to survive the incomprehensible, and there’s something deeply reassuring about that. The horror’s still there, lurking in the corners with its freaky little claws, but it’s balanced by the crew’s refusal to let the universe win. And the repartee is impeccable.

Tie it Off: This is gonna be for all fans of cosmic chaos, dark humor, and the kind of hope that sneaks up like an unexpected but surprisingly easy morning poop. 😌 I would definitely recommend this series to anyone who loved YA when they were young but feel too alienated from it now. Also, the series is made up of four books and they can be read out of order and in any direction.

Flavor Profile: Fried chicken, chocolate sauce, and that weird green ketchup that Burger K*ng used to hand out.

P.s, I think I may have existed in a timeline where this book was actually titled, What The F*ck Did I Just Read? If you remember this too, please shoot me a message.

Srsly.