About two years ago, I discovered Valancourt Books, which reissues out-of-print horror, generally from the 1970s and early 1980s, in really attractive slim trade paperbacks. My latest read from them was Elizabeth by Ken Greenhall (originally published under the pseudonym Jessica Hamilton). What a disturbing little book about a 14-year-girl who seems to be a complete sociopath … Continue reading Golden Ages of Horror: Reading Elizabeth
Here we are almost at the end of April already, so I'm declaring my favorite book of the month to be The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch. I received this book in a mystery box and had no idea what it was about. I discovered a complex and unique story combining elements of time travel, multiverse, police … Continue reading Reading April 2018: The Gone World and more
Autumn is my favorite time of year. The crisp weather, the leaves turning, the light getting slantier--this is the perfect time to settle in with a spooky story, which happens to be my favorite kind of story. And even though Halloween is tomorrow, it's not too late to get your spook on. Here are few … Continue reading Halloween Reading
I've been reading a lot of horror this year. More than I usually do, which was already a large amount. I've been feeling the need for extreme escapism. And despite the truism that good horror reflects current societal fears, I still find it very escapist. Recently, I shared this article from Tor about women characters in … Continue reading Why read horror?
In a small town somewhere in America, when the children reach adolescence, they breach. On the nights of the full moon, they give in fully to instinct and run wild and naked in the streets. Everyone else stays indoors. There is sex, there is violence; anything can happen, and almost everything is allowed. Lumen Fowler, … Continue reading Recommended Reading: When We Were Animals
October always gets me in the mood to give myself the creeps. I've been behind in posting book recommendations lately, so here are three recs for the price of one, all guaranteed to make you shiver. First up is The Three by South African writer Sarah Lotz. Four planes crash simultaneously in different parts of the world, three … Continue reading Recommended Reading: Three creepy reads for October
I was saddened to hear of the death of Katherine Dunn. I only recently read her “underground” novel, Geek Love. While it may not be what is conventionally considered horror, it is still a horrifying book–in only the best way. In Geek Love, the owner of a struggling carnival and his wife decide to “create” … Continue reading Recommended Reading: Geek Love
Finally, I have a new book to recommend, and it's a really good one: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. When she was eight years old, Merry's big sister Marjorie developed severe schizophrenia--or perhaps, as their dad came to believe, she was possessed by a demon. Desperate for both money and a cure, Marjorie's parents agreed … Continue reading Recommended Reading: A Head Full of Ghosts
It's been over a month since I've posted a reading journal update. Most of my reading has lately not-so-inspiring--although I did enjoy reading Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor so much that I wrote a rather long response to it. Another post-apocalyptic book I enjoyed was Far North by Marcel Theroux. It is set in post-climate change Siberia and … Continue reading Reading Journal: Beginning of April
As I was reading Margaret Atwood's Negotiating with the Dead, it hit me that the six identities of the writer she explores can also be interpreted as six story archetypes. Almost every story I could think of fit at least one of the archetypes, and many took elements from several of them.Clearly, these are stories that resonate deeply … Continue reading Six identities, six stories
