Agreed—I’ve read the synopses of those three books and they’re all folk horror, maybe supernatural. ‘Cottagecore’ may be a lifestyle movement, but applying it as a genre of literature sounds like a bit of useless preciousness to me.

“…the question here is, seriously, what is the point in making subpar, incomplete, movies…”

I get this isn’t your literal question, but nobody (or almost nobody) sets out to make a bad movie, whether original or an adaptation. To answer your more specific question, it comes down to essentiality or practicality: Tom Bombadil—as many Lord of the Rings readers will tell you—is hardly germane to the plot of the book (I find he kills the story just as it—finally—gets going), and easily removable from a film adaptation, where length is key; as to Jurassic Parks’s raptor pen, that will have been as a result of special effects technology coming up against the budget, where the nascent CGI technology and practical effects of the time would have been far too expensive to justify a scene which is, as we see, largely inessential to the plot.

…that various television shows, along with video games and music, can tell powerful stories that change the lives of those who experience them on the same level, if not better, than books do.

Obviously you’ve allowed for the fact that this is true today, just as it was 70 years ago, when Bradbury originally wrote the book.

Upvote for “fuck his little cap”.

Is that the one where a character walks up and down the entire country looking for another character the reader knows they have mistaken for the character they’re supposed to be looking for, who the reader knows is actually across the sea on a different continent? Because that was a dull and frustrating 200 pages.

“Maybe I should’ve started writing smaller books…”

The irony being that, back in the '70s, Martin did start writing smaller books, mostly short stories, novellas, and a very few novels, at least two of them fix-ups comprised of shorter stories collected, and one of them co-written with Lisa Tuttle, so I’d posit that starting by writing smaller books is exactly the reason Martin has struggled with ASoIaF—he’s woefully unprepared and inexperienced in the long form of a novel series.

On the plus side, the browser version is at least less buggy and seems more recently updated and supported than the app, which I find practically unusable.

Not on the app, I don’t think so—you’ve have to use the browser version.

It’s the author’s tenth novel, so a maturation of style mid-book seems unlikely; and, again, if OP is worried they’re accidentally reading a book meant for younger readers, that’s a strange and largely inconsequential worry to be having, especially in public. There are plenty (given Sturgeon’s Law applying equally) of YA and even children’s books worth an adult’s time and attention, if they can just get over themselves.

This sounds like a slight thing for a 39-year old man to be worrying about—if you’ve started it and you’re enjoying it, read it. What does it matter what largely arbitrary marketing label is attached to it?

Ellison’s books have been out of print since his death, increasing in price accordingly. There is a new retrospective book of his collected stories called Greatest Hits due early next year, which will include ‘I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream’.

You may do better asking on /r/stephenking, but here’s how I answered this question on that sub some time ago.

Having been a Constant Reader for 40+ years, I would group King’s periods into smaller defined groups, as follows:

New and Hungry Writer (original ideas/original approach): Carrie to The Stand.

Booze and Cocaine, Part I (The Good Books): The Dead Zone to Pet Sematary.

Booze and Cocaine, Part II (Some Good, Some Bad, Some Ugly Books): The Talisman to The Tommyknockers.

Getting Clean and Sober (and rediscovering how to write without drugs, and with wife Tabitha’s help): The Dark Half to Needful Things.

Clean and Sober (with a 50/50 success rate): Gerald’s Game to The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.

Hit and Run (Books Written After a Near-Death Experience): Dreamcatcher to The Dark Tower.

Period of Public Acceptance (Post-2003 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters): The Colorado Kid to End of Watch.

Working Retirement (Books Quickly Written, and Hardly Revised): Gwendy’s Button Box to Fairy Tale and on.

Hope that helps!

Use a bookmark made of paper or thin card like God and nature intended.