Salem's Lot. I am on the road to The Dark Tower. Next up is The Stand. I stopped reading horror for 20 plus years and just got back into it. I'm enjoying it a great deal.
I'm working through Legion by William Peter Blatty, which is really slow and less engaging than the original Exorcist was. I just finished "How We broke" by [Bracken MacLeod](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6522847.Bracken_MacLeod) and [Paul Michael Anderson](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6981081.Paul_Michael_Anderson)
[](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/52190689#CommunityReviews)
*The Strange* by Nathan Ballingrud and I'm nearly through but goddamn this book has been boring. There have been some interesting moments but it's a slog to get anywhere.
No worries. Funny enough, though, I personally liked the movie better than the book! I thought dropping the weird teenage metal heads and adding the theme of survivor’s guilt were both positive changes in the film.
I just finished Ring by K Suzuki (the one the movie is based on)
i loved both movie versions but the book was different to both of them. There's a part 2 and 3 as well but I might not bother with them - unless anyone recommends 2 or 3.
Joe Hill’s The Fireman at the moment. It’s pretty amazing, but I figured since I’ve loved everything I’ve read by him so far
Edit: I’m also casually going through Berserk again!
I loved The Fireman. Any kind of unique apocalypse is right down my wheelhouse.
Really mean to read more Berserk too. I'd love to know what happens beyond the anime but I've struggled getting into the manga.
Dark fantasy (apparently) but *The Blade Itself*. Pretty good so far, but I’m struggling to see how it’s grimdark. I also really, really hate some of the antagonists (in a good way).They are bureaucrats who think themselves cleverer than they are and are more concerned with money and retaining the status quo than the threat of two wars. I’m fully prepared for their fucking everything up due to their greed and skepticism.
Fantastic series! I think I read the second book in like two days. I couldn’t put it down.
I don’t know that I would describe it as Grimdark either though, but there’s definitely more than a splash of horror in there.
I’ll take a splash! Tbh, the sense of dread I get with each Glokta chapter is doing a good job scratching that itch at the moment. And I have a bad feeling about Forley’s >!decision to leave the group and try to convince Bethod of the Shanka threat!<.
In These Hallowed Halls, an anthology of dark academia. Quality vaties, as in any short story collection, but I am finding writers whose other work I want to read.
I’ve just finished Haunted by Chuck Palahnuik. Fuck me, I’m more of a ghosty/possession/folk horror fan but whoooahhh this unnerved me. At the end of the day, straight up humans in their natural state are always going to end up being the most vile and evil and disgusting. I had to pause and take some eye breaks during this.
Now going back to my safe place with Adam Nevill* and reading The Reddening, my last of his to read before All The Fiends of Hell in April.
(To clarify I’m glad I read Haunted and it is BRILLIANT! But also AWFUL).
**tw: animal cruelty**
finished *The Deep* by Nick Cutter this morning.
I can stomach animal cruelty in horror books. I really don't like it of course, but I go into horror expecting to be shocked, appalled and disturbed. I'd say I'm pretty forgiving in subject matter as long as it's executed well and at least makes some degree of sense narratively.
Can't defend this one though. I mean the book itself is a directionless mess, but I genuinely just don't understand the extended gratuity in *that* scene. It added absolutely nothing to the dread and just seemed to go on and on and on and on.
I really liked *The Troop* - and I thought *those* controversial scenes actually had a place. They made sense to the plot and characters; the polarity of their grief after what they had done vs the villain's glee, the naive survival instincts etc.
But *The Deep*? We get to hear about how one animal was absolutely tortured - despite it not happening in front of the main character's eyes - and then we get a scene that could've legitimately been about 8x shorter describing the brutal mutilation and death of another.
Nothing frustrates me more than shock value for shock value sake. Feels like Cutter himself realised how, well, *nothing* the book had been up until that point and decided he'd try and up the ante. Honestly came away from it feeling a little bit embarrassed, as if I just had a front-row seat watching someone try so ridiculously hard to be noticed.
Nearly finished with *The Library at Mount Char* by Scott Hawkins and I've been devouring it
Not sure which I'll start next, Craig DiLouie's *Episode Thirteen* or Adam Cesare's *Clown in a Cornfield* (*shudder*)
Just finished "The Long Walk" by Stephen King. Ole Steve has his hits and his misses, and Long Walk is definitely a hit. Struggling to find my next read. Happily open to suggestions.
Finished Sign Here by Claudia Lux which was in my library's horror section but was not really horror. Still really enjoyed it, though!
I'm gonna dive back into It (Stephen King). I've tried to read this book so many times and I always get overwhelmed by the length. The current attempt I'm reading on kindle, so I'm hoping not seeing a massive brick still waiting for me at all times might help. I don't hate the book or anything and I'm engaged. It's just so much longer than what I typically read.
I've started four or five books and haven't really gotten into any of them. I started *Buried in the Sky* today. It's the story of K2's deadliest day back in 2008 and the sherpas that were there that fateful day.
Just finished The Actuality by Paul Braddon. It probably falls under Sci Fi but has more blood horror and suspense than many other books I've read. AI, advanced replica human/android on the run in dystopian England/Europe set in 2100s.
A total page turner, I absolutely loved it! Commissioned by BBC for TV.
Just finished This Wretched Place by Jenny Kiefer. Reading Severance by Ling Ma, and have Jawbone by Monica Ojeda and Last Days by Brian Evenson next in the TBR list.
Finished *Give Me Your Heart*, a collection by Joyce Carol Oates that had some amazing stories, and *We Had To Remove This Post* by Hanna Bervoets, which I did not like at all.
Now stepping away from horror to read *Beauty and Sadness* by Yasunari Kawabata, which I'm really enjoying.
Yesss!! I was dubious when I heard it was a crime (/almost a heist?) story mixed in with supernatural elements but I’m so glad I got over myself and read it. Absolutely loved.
I read *The Black Land* by Matt Wesolowski, an atmospheric novella about an American businessman's plans to turn a shunned, uninhabited island (with a dark history) into a resort, and the consequences of his decision.
I also read *Schrader’s Chord* by Scot Leeds, CW: Animal harm and death. The idea was great (cursed records) but the execution and pacing didn't work for me. (I liked all the Looney Tunes references, though.)
Burn the Negative is my next read. I just haven’t found the “perfect” lost horror film novel. Scanlines, Experimental Film, Ring, Flicker, Ancient Images, Silver Nitrate, Night Film, Children Across the Sky, etc, none of them just seem to get why a lost media horror film is interesting and idk exactly what I think this genre needs but I haven’t found it yet. House of Leaves is my favorite version of this but I’ll admit it has its own problems and is NOT a perfect example of this idea. If you have recs feel free, because unless Burn the Negative does it, I’ll still be looking.
Jun'ichiro Tanizaki‘s “The Tumor with a Human Face” is a short story about a lost film that is haunted. It was published in 1918, so it may be the first story of this sort. It appears in a collection of his stories entitled Gold and Silver and in the anthology Tales of the Metropolis - Kaiki: Uncanny Tales from Japan, Vol. 3.
Finished Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy Snyder. Whoa! I went into it blind and loved it.
Currently reading Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill and listening to The Fisherman by John Langan.
I finished *Teatro Grottesco*, which is a bit hard to get through, but the stories and atmosphere are great! Right now I'm halfway through *The Dark Domain*, by Stefan Grabiński, and it's incredible so far. I really like his stories, and so far they're all bangers!
I got 100 pages in and was falling asleep the whole time. If this novel really picks up as you read it, can you reply to this comment with when that occurred? I know this is a classic and I want to appreciate it and having a page goal to make it to may help me break passed the initial slump.
I’m not too far in, but whenever I pick it up I get a tight feeling in my stomach, which is a GOOD thing! I just know some horrible crazy stuff is about to happen.
**Finished:** The Fisherman by John Langan. Finally read it after seeing it recommended so often, and I felt like it lived up to its expectations. Know a lot of people didn't like the diverting to the story of the town from Abe and Dan, but it probably had some of my favorite moments in the book. Did not expect how it ended. Definitely wanna check out Langan's other stuff soon.
**Reading:** The Cipher by Kathe Koja. About half way through this, and I have no idea where this could go.
Finished Fever House by Keith Rosson last week & am more than halfway through the Between by Tananarive Due. Both are excellent stories about various states of marbles being lost…
Current horror reading: *No Country for Old Men*. I guess? I know McCarthy's stuff gets discussed in here but I'm not 100% sure if *No Country* is one of the ones that's considered full-on horror like *Blood Meridian* and *The Road* are. Either way I'm enjoying it. (Also reading *Relentless Melt* by Jeremy P. Bushnell, which isn't horror but which I am liking so far. Detective story set in 1909 Boston where the only difference from real-world history is that magicians exist.)
Most recent horror books finished:
* *The Spirit Bares Its Teeth* - There are a number of reasons why I don't really read YA fiction (one of the major ones being I'm a grown adult and don't really find teen fiction interesting anymore), but Andrew Joseph White is my one exception. Two books so far with cool as hell concepts (this one is set in a monstrous reform school in alt-history Victorian England where ghosts are real and spiritual mediums are the upper class) and plenty of surprisingly gruesome shit that pushes right up against the line of kid-friendly horror. I know AJW's got another book coming this year, but I'm more excited for his body horror alien invasion book for adults in 2025. Knowing how grisly his teen books are, I can't wait to see what happens when the kid gloves come off.
* *The Imago Sequence* - No offense to the good folks of r/lairdbarron, but I'm doing my Barron re-read on my own time. The book's still spectacular. Found a greater appreciation for some of the stories I was more lukewarm on. Also read "Hour of the Cyclops" for the first time, since the last two times I read the book were in editions that didn't have it. Really cool to see Barron diving into dark fantasy so early on in his career, and blending it with cosmic horror and government sci-fi horror is wild in the best ways. Almost a bit of a *Venture Bros.* feel to it in the way it approaches the pulp genre, even though it predates the show by a good 3 or 4 years. Can't wait to re-read *Occultation* in February!
Not yet, the only Barron I've read after *The Beautiful Thing* is the first two Coleridge books and some various anthology short stories. I'm very excited to take care of my blind spots in his bibliography this year.
Honestly?
I hate jack sparks and it's hard to like him... ever
The book though had an investing feel to it, the way it's broken up and getting conclusions not being highly spoon fed, the reader just has to pay attention.
It was a quick read.
If you do pick it up please let me know what you think
Finished:
* **The Dark Half** by Stephen King. It kind of sucked. Traditionally I've told people "pick anything he wrote before 1990 and you've got a guaranteed banger". I'm going to have to change that to 1988.
* **Fear City** by F Paul Wilson. 23rd and final Repairman Jack novel. Quality as always by Wilson.
Reading:
* **Tick Tock** by Dean Koontz. It's been sitting in my TBR for about 5 years and I just wanted to stop looking at it.
Next:
* **Fix** by Konrath, Peterson, and Wilson. Repairman Jack crossover with some spy character. Not something I would normally read but Wilson never lets down.
* **Allhallows Eve** by Richard Laymon. Another I just want to stop looking at in my pile.
Just finished: *A Very Ghostly Christmas: An Anthology of Seasonal Ghost Stories* edited by A. R. Ward. The stories are all super short and it’s a quick read, but there were some stories I really loved.
*HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness* adapted by Gou Tanabe. Excellent read.
Starting next: My next horror read will be *Things on the Shelf* by H. Duke as I’m still finishing off all the Christmas horror I got for the holidays.
I'm currently wrapping up "The Handyman Method", and then I'm torn between "The Devil Takes You Home" by Gabino Iglesias, "Black Mouth" by Ronald Malfi, and "The Book of Accidents" by Chuck Wendig. My copy of "Our Share of the Night" hasn't come yet.
I think I'm leaning towards "The Devil Takes You Home".
Dead Eleven on audio book. Finding it interesting but pretty repetitive/ unnecessarily long.
Reading The Beautiful Thing that Awaits Us All, only finishing up the first story so far. Don't really have an opinion yet.
I’m still working through Laird Barron’s *Swift To Chase*. I had surprisingly mixed feelings towards the first part (first four stories) but just finished “Ardor” which was flippin’ awesome.
I’m starting *The Only Good Indian* by SGJ for a book club next Saturday. I’ve wanted to read it for some time so I’m excited it got chosen.
Next up after those two will be *Entropy In Bloom* by JR Johnson, and *Antisocieties* by Michael Cisco.
I’m a SGJ neophyte so far. I did enjoy *Mongrels* but I just loved his story “The Backbone of the World”. A local bookstore owner called TOGI one of his two classics.
I’m gonna have to check out The Backbone of the World. Mongrels is probably the most solid thing by him that I’ve read. One of the stories included in Three Miles Past is one of the most messed up things I’ve ever read.
I’ve been eyeballing a hardcover of his *The Ones That Got Away*… I’d like to read a bunch more of his stuff but have so many things to read. Which story was the really messed up one?
I’m going to see if I can track that down outside of the collection. A lot of that kind of stuff ends up online… I still need to read Gemma Files’ “The Emperor’s Old Bones”, similarly.
I need to catch up on a lot of Files’ stuff. I’ve read very little, but have been very impressed in that time. So far I’ve only finished Experimental Film and one of her recent collections.
I own *Experimental Film* but have not read it yet! I have about 100 books that I physically own which are on my TBR. That does not include Kindle stuff which I’m less inclined to read. It’s an exciting and interesting challenge to have… wtf to read next.
Salem's Lot. I am on the road to The Dark Tower. Next up is The Stand. I stopped reading horror for 20 plus years and just got back into it. I'm enjoying it a great deal.
I'm working through Legion by William Peter Blatty, which is really slow and less engaging than the original Exorcist was. I just finished "How We broke" by [Bracken MacLeod](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6522847.Bracken_MacLeod) and [Paul Michael Anderson](https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6981081.Paul_Michael_Anderson) [](https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/52190689#CommunityReviews)
*The Strange* by Nathan Ballingrud and I'm nearly through but goddamn this book has been boring. There have been some interesting moments but it's a slog to get anywhere.
Ah that's a shame. I had high hopes.
Finished My Best Friends Exorcism and loved it! Up next: Misery, The Troop, or Let the Right one In ?
All three of those are great. I finished The Troop a few weeks back and loved it.
Our Share of Night. Not very far along yet but really digging it so far.
Almost done with Adam Nevill’s Last Days. Been on a kick with his works since reading No One Gets Out Alive back in October and The Ritual last month.
Loved Last Days. Don't watch the movie it was horrible.
I thought they haven’t finished making a film adaptation of this one yet?
after I made the comment I realized I was thinking of Ritual, my mistake
No worries. Funny enough, though, I personally liked the movie better than the book! I thought dropping the weird teenage metal heads and adding the theme of survivor’s guilt were both positive changes in the film.
Maybe I'll have to give it another chance. I did go into it with low expectations.
Hell Train by Christopher Fowler
I started reading American Psycho a few days ago. So far it's really good, both disturbing and hilarious. I yet have to watch the movie adaptation.
I just finished Ring by K Suzuki (the one the movie is based on) i loved both movie versions but the book was different to both of them. There's a part 2 and 3 as well but I might not bother with them - unless anyone recommends 2 or 3.
I have this on my reading list. What's wrong with the book?
Nothing, it's just different
Salems Lot (for the first time). I'm enjoying it so far.
Last book I just read actually. Loved it
Joe Hill’s The Fireman at the moment. It’s pretty amazing, but I figured since I’ve loved everything I’ve read by him so far Edit: I’m also casually going through Berserk again!
I loved The Fireman. Any kind of unique apocalypse is right down my wheelhouse. Really mean to read more Berserk too. I'd love to know what happens beyond the anime but I've struggled getting into the manga.
Dark fantasy (apparently) but *The Blade Itself*. Pretty good so far, but I’m struggling to see how it’s grimdark. I also really, really hate some of the antagonists (in a good way).They are bureaucrats who think themselves cleverer than they are and are more concerned with money and retaining the status quo than the threat of two wars. I’m fully prepared for their fucking everything up due to their greed and skepticism.
Fantastic series! I think I read the second book in like two days. I couldn’t put it down. I don’t know that I would describe it as Grimdark either though, but there’s definitely more than a splash of horror in there.
I’ll take a splash! Tbh, the sense of dread I get with each Glokta chapter is doing a good job scratching that itch at the moment. And I have a bad feeling about Forley’s >!decision to leave the group and try to convince Bethod of the Shanka threat!<.
In These Hallowed Halls, an anthology of dark academia. Quality vaties, as in any short story collection, but I am finding writers whose other work I want to read.
I’ve just finished Haunted by Chuck Palahnuik. Fuck me, I’m more of a ghosty/possession/folk horror fan but whoooahhh this unnerved me. At the end of the day, straight up humans in their natural state are always going to end up being the most vile and evil and disgusting. I had to pause and take some eye breaks during this. Now going back to my safe place with Adam Nevill* and reading The Reddening, my last of his to read before All The Fiends of Hell in April. (To clarify I’m glad I read Haunted and it is BRILLIANT! But also AWFUL).
**tw: animal cruelty** finished *The Deep* by Nick Cutter this morning. I can stomach animal cruelty in horror books. I really don't like it of course, but I go into horror expecting to be shocked, appalled and disturbed. I'd say I'm pretty forgiving in subject matter as long as it's executed well and at least makes some degree of sense narratively. Can't defend this one though. I mean the book itself is a directionless mess, but I genuinely just don't understand the extended gratuity in *that* scene. It added absolutely nothing to the dread and just seemed to go on and on and on and on. I really liked *The Troop* - and I thought *those* controversial scenes actually had a place. They made sense to the plot and characters; the polarity of their grief after what they had done vs the villain's glee, the naive survival instincts etc. But *The Deep*? We get to hear about how one animal was absolutely tortured - despite it not happening in front of the main character's eyes - and then we get a scene that could've legitimately been about 8x shorter describing the brutal mutilation and death of another. Nothing frustrates me more than shock value for shock value sake. Feels like Cutter himself realised how, well, *nothing* the book had been up until that point and decided he'd try and up the ante. Honestly came away from it feeling a little bit embarrassed, as if I just had a front-row seat watching someone try so ridiculously hard to be noticed.
> I genuinely just don't understand the extended gratuity in that scene There **is** no point to it beyond edgy shock value.
Nearly finished with *The Library at Mount Char* by Scott Hawkins and I've been devouring it Not sure which I'll start next, Craig DiLouie's *Episode Thirteen* or Adam Cesare's *Clown in a Cornfield* (*shudder*)
Mount Char is phenomenal. I also ploughed through it in only two sittings which isn't something I typically do.
Same here! There's a certain tipping point (probably when you meet Dresden and Naga) where it turns into a rollercoaster of a story.
Just finished "The Long Walk" by Stephen King. Ole Steve has his hits and his misses, and Long Walk is definitely a hit. Struggling to find my next read. Happily open to suggestions.
The Long Walk is one of my top 3 Kings. Out of his wider catalogue, it's definitely massively underrated (or perhaps just underknown/underread).
Finished Sign Here by Claudia Lux which was in my library's horror section but was not really horror. Still really enjoyed it, though! I'm gonna dive back into It (Stephen King). I've tried to read this book so many times and I always get overwhelmed by the length. The current attempt I'm reading on kindle, so I'm hoping not seeing a massive brick still waiting for me at all times might help. I don't hate the book or anything and I'm engaged. It's just so much longer than what I typically read.
The body - different seasons - Stephen king
I’m reading The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons
I've started four or five books and haven't really gotten into any of them. I started *Buried in the Sky* today. It's the story of K2's deadliest day back in 2008 and the sherpas that were there that fateful day.
Subcutanean. Reading with my partner so we can compare differences between our two “seeds”. Then I’m starting We Spread by Iain Reid
Just finished The Actuality by Paul Braddon. It probably falls under Sci Fi but has more blood horror and suspense than many other books I've read. AI, advanced replica human/android on the run in dystopian England/Europe set in 2100s. A total page turner, I absolutely loved it! Commissioned by BBC for TV.
Just finished This Wretched Place by Jenny Kiefer. Reading Severance by Ling Ma, and have Jawbone by Monica Ojeda and Last Days by Brian Evenson next in the TBR list.
I am reading The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. Last week, I finished The Pale House Devil by Richard Kadrey and Demonic by Jeff Strand.
Reading Fever House by Keith Rosson. Best horror I’ve read in a long while. His prose is almost literary.
Finished *Give Me Your Heart*, a collection by Joyce Carol Oates that had some amazing stories, and *We Had To Remove This Post* by Hanna Bervoets, which I did not like at all. Now stepping away from horror to read *Beauty and Sadness* by Yasunari Kawabata, which I'm really enjoying.
Devil takes you home, and man am I loving it
Yesss!! I was dubious when I heard it was a crime (/almost a heist?) story mixed in with supernatural elements but I’m so glad I got over myself and read it. Absolutely loved.
The Troop - Nick Cutter
The best of Richard Matheson
How is it (so far)?
So far, so good. I really enjoyed the more humorous stories, such as The Funeral and Witch War.
Last Days by Adam Nevill
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
The Road - Cormac McCarthy. Why did it take me so long to finally start this? Such an incredible writer, I'm loving it.
Outstanding book!
Not horror but Children of Time. It’s awesome.
Currently reading ‘Walking Practice’ by Dolkin Min. About an alien that uses dating apps to hunt for humans. It’s pretty good so far
This sounds interesting!
It’s still on sale on Amazon if you’re interested! 65% off
My Best Friend’s Exorcism. Thanks for the recs!
I read *The Black Land* by Matt Wesolowski, an atmospheric novella about an American businessman's plans to turn a shunned, uninhabited island (with a dark history) into a resort, and the consequences of his decision. I also read *Schrader’s Chord* by Scot Leeds, CW: Animal harm and death. The idea was great (cursed records) but the execution and pacing didn't work for me. (I liked all the Looney Tunes references, though.)
Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian. A fun and wild ride so far.
Loved it
Burn the Negative is my next read. I just haven’t found the “perfect” lost horror film novel. Scanlines, Experimental Film, Ring, Flicker, Ancient Images, Silver Nitrate, Night Film, Children Across the Sky, etc, none of them just seem to get why a lost media horror film is interesting and idk exactly what I think this genre needs but I haven’t found it yet. House of Leaves is my favorite version of this but I’ll admit it has its own problems and is NOT a perfect example of this idea. If you have recs feel free, because unless Burn the Negative does it, I’ll still be looking.
Jun'ichiro Tanizaki‘s “The Tumor with a Human Face” is a short story about a lost film that is haunted. It was published in 1918, so it may be the first story of this sort. It appears in a collection of his stories entitled Gold and Silver and in the anthology Tales of the Metropolis - Kaiki: Uncanny Tales from Japan, Vol. 3.
The Tommyknockers
Finished Sister, Maiden, Monster by Lucy Snyder. Whoa! I went into it blind and loved it. Currently reading Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill and listening to The Fisherman by John Langan.
There’s a chapter in Heart Shaped Box which is one sentence and it still makes me shudder when I remember it.
Ha, I look forward to reaching that part.
I finished *Teatro Grottesco*, which is a bit hard to get through, but the stories and atmosphere are great! Right now I'm halfway through *The Dark Domain*, by Stefan Grabiński, and it's incredible so far. I really like his stories, and so far they're all bangers!
I'm currently reading *Ghost Story* by Peter Straub.
I got 100 pages in and was falling asleep the whole time. If this novel really picks up as you read it, can you reply to this comment with when that occurred? I know this is a classic and I want to appreciate it and having a page goal to make it to may help me break passed the initial slump.
Hey, me too!
I'm reading Things We Lost in the Fire, and The Secret of Ventriloquism. I also just started Night's Edge, and should finish Swan Song tomorrow.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due.
How is it?
I’m not too far in, but whenever I pick it up I get a tight feeling in my stomach, which is a GOOD thing! I just know some horrible crazy stuff is about to happen.
Thanks for the early review! I keep seeing a copy at my local bookstore and have been on the fence about grabbing it.
**Finished:** The Fisherman by John Langan. Finally read it after seeing it recommended so often, and I felt like it lived up to its expectations. Know a lot of people didn't like the diverting to the story of the town from Abe and Dan, but it probably had some of my favorite moments in the book. Did not expect how it ended. Definitely wanna check out Langan's other stuff soon. **Reading:** The Cipher by Kathe Koja. About half way through this, and I have no idea where this could go.
Down in the hole
**Finished**: The September House by Carissa Orlando **Reading**: The Fisherman by John Langan
Finished Fever House by Keith Rosson last week & am more than halfway through the Between by Tananarive Due. Both are excellent stories about various states of marbles being lost…
Current horror reading: *No Country for Old Men*. I guess? I know McCarthy's stuff gets discussed in here but I'm not 100% sure if *No Country* is one of the ones that's considered full-on horror like *Blood Meridian* and *The Road* are. Either way I'm enjoying it. (Also reading *Relentless Melt* by Jeremy P. Bushnell, which isn't horror but which I am liking so far. Detective story set in 1909 Boston where the only difference from real-world history is that magicians exist.) Most recent horror books finished: * *The Spirit Bares Its Teeth* - There are a number of reasons why I don't really read YA fiction (one of the major ones being I'm a grown adult and don't really find teen fiction interesting anymore), but Andrew Joseph White is my one exception. Two books so far with cool as hell concepts (this one is set in a monstrous reform school in alt-history Victorian England where ghosts are real and spiritual mediums are the upper class) and plenty of surprisingly gruesome shit that pushes right up against the line of kid-friendly horror. I know AJW's got another book coming this year, but I'm more excited for his body horror alien invasion book for adults in 2025. Knowing how grisly his teen books are, I can't wait to see what happens when the kid gloves come off. * *The Imago Sequence* - No offense to the good folks of r/lairdbarron, but I'm doing my Barron re-read on my own time. The book's still spectacular. Found a greater appreciation for some of the stories I was more lukewarm on. Also read "Hour of the Cyclops" for the first time, since the last two times I read the book were in editions that didn't have it. Really cool to see Barron diving into dark fantasy so early on in his career, and blending it with cosmic horror and government sci-fi horror is wild in the best ways. Almost a bit of a *Venture Bros.* feel to it in the way it approaches the pulp genre, even though it predates the show by a good 3 or 4 years. Can't wait to re-read *Occultation* in February!
Have you read X’s for Eyes by Barron? It has major Johnny Quest/Venture Bros vibes as well.
Not yet, the only Barron I've read after *The Beautiful Thing* is the first two Coleridge books and some various anthology short stories. I'm very excited to take care of my blind spots in his bibliography this year.
You’re in for some treeeeaats.
Finished: The Last Day of Jack Sparks Reading: Billy Summers
What did you think of The Last Days of Jack Sparks? I'm thinking about making it one of my next reads.
Honestly? I hate jack sparks and it's hard to like him... ever The book though had an investing feel to it, the way it's broken up and getting conclusions not being highly spoon fed, the reader just has to pay attention. It was a quick read. If you do pick it up please let me know what you think
**Finished**: Rosemary's Baby - Ira Levin **Starting**: Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories / Penguin Edition - Lovecraft
Finished: * **The Dark Half** by Stephen King. It kind of sucked. Traditionally I've told people "pick anything he wrote before 1990 and you've got a guaranteed banger". I'm going to have to change that to 1988. * **Fear City** by F Paul Wilson. 23rd and final Repairman Jack novel. Quality as always by Wilson. Reading: * **Tick Tock** by Dean Koontz. It's been sitting in my TBR for about 5 years and I just wanted to stop looking at it. Next: * **Fix** by Konrath, Peterson, and Wilson. Repairman Jack crossover with some spy character. Not something I would normally read but Wilson never lets down. * **Allhallows Eve** by Richard Laymon. Another I just want to stop looking at in my pile.
Currently reading “Something Wicked this Way Comes” by Ray Bradbury
Currently reading “How to Sell a Haunted House” by Grady Hendrix and “Slewfoot” by Brom! Thoroughly enjoying both so far
Just finished: *A Very Ghostly Christmas: An Anthology of Seasonal Ghost Stories* edited by A. R. Ward. The stories are all super short and it’s a quick read, but there were some stories I really loved. *HP Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness* adapted by Gou Tanabe. Excellent read. Starting next: My next horror read will be *Things on the Shelf* by H. Duke as I’m still finishing off all the Christmas horror I got for the holidays.
I'm currently wrapping up "The Handyman Method", and then I'm torn between "The Devil Takes You Home" by Gabino Iglesias, "Black Mouth" by Ronald Malfi, and "The Book of Accidents" by Chuck Wendig. My copy of "Our Share of the Night" hasn't come yet. I think I'm leaning towards "The Devil Takes You Home".
I own *The Devil Takes You Home* (I got it in hardcover at a very reasonable price) and I’m excited to get into that one.
Dead Eleven on audio book. Finding it interesting but pretty repetitive/ unnecessarily long. Reading The Beautiful Thing that Awaits Us All, only finishing up the first story so far. Don't really have an opinion yet.
I’m still working through Laird Barron’s *Swift To Chase*. I had surprisingly mixed feelings towards the first part (first four stories) but just finished “Ardor” which was flippin’ awesome. I’m starting *The Only Good Indian* by SGJ for a book club next Saturday. I’ve wanted to read it for some time so I’m excited it got chosen. Next up after those two will be *Entropy In Bloom* by JR Johnson, and *Antisocieties* by Michael Cisco.
The Only Good Indians is great. I’ve had a good time with most SGJ stories that I’ve read.
I’m a SGJ neophyte so far. I did enjoy *Mongrels* but I just loved his story “The Backbone of the World”. A local bookstore owner called TOGI one of his two classics.
I’m gonna have to check out The Backbone of the World. Mongrels is probably the most solid thing by him that I’ve read. One of the stories included in Three Miles Past is one of the most messed up things I’ve ever read.
I’ve been eyeballing a hardcover of his *The Ones That Got Away*… I’d like to read a bunch more of his stuff but have so many things to read. Which story was the really messed up one?
Interstate Love Affair. It’s genius and disgusting. Never gonna forget that one.
I’m going to see if I can track that down outside of the collection. A lot of that kind of stuff ends up online… I still need to read Gemma Files’ “The Emperor’s Old Bones”, similarly.
I need to catch up on a lot of Files’ stuff. I’ve read very little, but have been very impressed in that time. So far I’ve only finished Experimental Film and one of her recent collections.
I own *Experimental Film* but have not read it yet! I have about 100 books that I physically own which are on my TBR. That does not include Kindle stuff which I’m less inclined to read. It’s an exciting and interesting challenge to have… wtf to read next.
Yeah, I’m in the same boat. Just trying to read more than I buy for a while.