Listening a Podcast where they outlined their own Personal Canon that wasn't just list of favorites. Limiting it to 5 kind fo turning points made for a somewhat interesting list/exercise.

John McPhee‘s Irons in the Fire is a masterclass in literary journalism. With his signature precision and curiosity, McPhee uncovers unexpected depth in overlooked corners of American life, from a Nevada brand inspector navigating modern cattle rustling, to FBI geologists solving crimes with grains of sand.

Essays span topics like forensic geology, WWII balloon bombs, parole hearings, tire fires, untouched forests, and even exotic car auctions.

A brutal story of grief, obsession, and the internet‘s darkest corners. The novel follows Sammy Dominguez, a young man spiraling after his girlfriend‘s death, who discovers a sinister website showing videos of people dying in horrific ways.

Curated by Becky Spratford, a respected horror expert and librarian, this essay collection is a celebration of horror in all its chilling, cathartic, and emotionally resonant forms. The book features essays from some of the most influential and diverse voices in contemporary horror. I loved nearly every essay in this one

An imaginative sci-fi novella that explores the dark side of power, cruelty, and hubris. When a wealthy man acquires alien creatures that worship him and wage wars for his amusement, his sadistic games spiral out of control. Martin masterfully blends psychological horror with speculative science fiction, delivering a story that‘s both disturbing and thought-provoking.

A harrowing account of a bear attack in Kamchatka, where anthropologist Nastassja Martin survives a brutal mauling through sheer will and extensive surgeries. As the narrative unfolds, it shifts from raw physical trauma to a metaphysical exploration of identity and transformation, blending memoir, philosophy, and animist beliefs -- that are hard for me to take seriously

Thought-provoking in places, but overall a pretty underwhelming read. Some ideas linger, about the 3/11 disaster, but the execution didn‘t quite land.

A thought-provoking novel that uses generative AI not as focus but as a lens on language, identity, and culture. Qudan contrasts AI‘s fluid speech with human complexity, raising questions about meaning, and control. Beneath its forward-looking themes lie conservative undercurrents, especially in characters‘ views on language and justice. The result is a meditation on how even radical ideas remain rooted in tradition.

A well researched and resonant account of the turbulent months between Abraham Lincoln‘s election and the outbreak of the Civil War. Known for his ability to turn historical nonfiction into page-turning drama, Larson delivers a compelling narrative, but this time, with an even deeper reliance on primary sources and firsthand accounts.

Psychic Teenage Blood Bath starts with a compelling, chaotic premise; psychic teens caught in a violent spiral of supernatural horror and adolescent angst. Setting up a campy horror that promises a wild ride. While the concept is strong, the execution struggles. The pacing falters midway, the narrative is repetitive, losing the sharp edge. The plot leans too heavily on shock value without developing the characters or the thematic stakes.

What begins as a brutal sea tale: a young sailor joins a ship where mutiny, madness, and cannibalism erupt, that descends into a crimson-hued alien landscape, where nature itself seems hostile, plunging the reader into a world of red mountains, blood-colored skies, and grotesque creatures.

Though short, the novella is dense with allegory. It‘s not a story of survival, but of transformation and annihilation.

Two-Step Devil is a haunting Southern Gothic novel that follows the unlikely bond between a reclusive visionary known as the Prophet and a teenage girl named Michael, whom he rescues from a life of trafficking. Blending lyrical prose with philosophical inquiry in deeply Southern atmosphere.

As fun to read as I remember the movie being! Better less Hollywood ending.

Definitely need more books to fill in my States of Horror.

Strange Houses is not particularly well-written in the conventional sense, dialogue can be clunky, pacing uneven, and the prose occasionally veers into the unintentionally surreal. Yet, despite its flaws, it‘s oddly compelling.

Building tension through architectural oddities and visual storytelling. What makes Strange Houses work is its atmosphere. The horror here is slow, methodical, and deeply psychological.

Haunting, yes. Memorable, perhaps. But for me, Jackson‘s longer fiction doesn‘t quite cast the same spell as her shorter works.

A restrained horror novel that unfolds with eerie calm, only to erupt into visceral terror in its final act.

True to Japanese horror, Audition delays its descent until the end, where emotional repression gives way to torment and psychological collapse, where trauma festers beneath social decorum and violence erupts from emotional neglect. The horror here isn‘t supernatural; it‘s human, intimate, and inevitable.

A brutal, unflinching dive into the psyche of a teenage boy unraveling amid the violence and neglect of Yokohama‘s slum. Stark and relentless, it‘s a haunting portrait of innocence lost and a society in decay, and pretty well written too.

Amazon has put out exclusive short story collections by some of the best modern horror authors.

These are awfully good ones from the shivers series, but awful that they are stuck on Amazon exclusive platforms.

Hard Mountain Clay is a gritty novella that follows siblings Ben and Maisy as they navigate a childhood shaped by addiction, violence, and neglect in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The story‘s strength lies in its emotional immediacy. Blackwell doesn‘t flinch from the darkness, but he also doesn‘t exploit it. The conclusion is especially effective, delivering a quiet but powerful emotional punch that lingers.

It's been a couple of years but finally got Litsy back on my phone.

Let's see if I remember how to do this: American Scary is not a quick read, but it‘s a rewarding one. For horror enthusiasts, cultural critics, and anyone curious about why Americans are so drawn to the macabre, this book offers a rich and thought-provoking journey through the haunted heart of the American imagination.

A very thorough history of horror literature through the 20th century. All the major influences and authors are covered here. I've added a ton of backlog to my own reading list. There's definitely some omissions here and there but it would be impossible to cover every author. Only wish Nevins highlighted more translated works in the horrors from other countries, so many good stories we are missing. Perhaps that says more about publishing.

Not the strongest drama ever. But a mostly fun play about losing sight of the important things in social media driven ecosystem.

Most like this more than I did. It was all too predictable to get truly immersed in the story. It is well written, just wish she had twisted the trope in a new way.

A very unique fact paced retelling of Jonah and the Whale. Claustrophobic in both the Whale and family expectations. Really well done for a concept that is hard pull off within a modern context.

Fujino plays and twist horror tropes in beautiful ways subtle ways. It's biggest flaw is all the stories could be longer.

Need more Japanese horror in bookish life.

Mostly forgettable. But quick read, not much stands out in this long short story.

Little's stuff always gets weird, but never in interesting way.

This is a pitch perfect. Small town, small minded religious with horror. Could not have come to a better end.

Supernatural but not full witch-y stereotypes. Was the kind of witch horror I have been looking for, for a long time

Rincewind and the luggage are great characters. The sarcasm and general story lines are good. I should like these stories. I think why these are just meh for me is that it lacks the distinct place, like the Chalk or Ankh-Morpork to anchor the story, making it all feel unmoored.

The Witches series feels much the same to me, with the Tiffany Aching series making the correction to the amorphous settings

Great new-age wellness cult honor setup, but when the action kicks off it falls flat for me. The Villains felt too cutout and didn't match the deep setup, another novella that could have used more room to breath.

Deeply dark and deeply raw.

I think I have finally found my Oates wheelhouse. The criminal revenge tales.

A remarkable and harrowing novel about the Vietnam War. A raw semi-autobiographical account capturing the brutal dehumanizing effects of war. The pacing is intense and chaotic fitting the narrative perfectly. It is quite the novel.

At times a cutting satire on the publishing machinery and who gets to tell certain stories. At others overwrought. The characters are two shallow for the who gets to tell what kind of stories to hit. Still well written and an opening for a discussion.

Folk horror is always a tough subgenre for me, never quite connecting with it. Lute fits the me not connecting with premise which is fine, however this book isn't just meh, but is in the bad camp for it's awful, obnoxious terrible American narrator that we are stuck with. She is both naive and a bit daft which makes the plot jumpy and provides 0 insight into the characters we are supposed to empathize with or something. It's direction less at best

A fun campy horror convention turned on its head. Not the most memorable but wasn't badly written. A little thin and could have been expanded into a longer more drawn out story.

Hard hard science fiction stories. Told in report format 4 strange case studies reading like real biological studies. The drama is in the science. No plot, no interpersonal character angst. Not for everyone.

Good slasher bones and great setting. Ruined by stoner dialogue, too much sarcasm, and a villain with the dumbest reasoning for spree killing ever.

Great addition to the series. There are now a couple lose threads that I hope get tied together in the next school story!

Short Story

A unique and quit metaphor about death and dying.

Realistic reflection on the decay, loneliness, and even small joys on the process. Not the most comforting read ever, but a worthwhile one.

Mostly good. A more or less a how to guide for becoming an active listener. Wanted a bit more science or objectivity to this and a bit less biographical anecdotes. Not bad but didn't really live up to the promise of the synopsis for me.

I am not a vampire guy, but Matheson found a way to make them even more tedious and boring. Hated the weirdly horny alcoholic main protagonist and everything he did and said.

Feels like a zombie book but he wanted to twist with dumb vampires. It would still be boring but would make more sense.

Books on the Freezer prompts. Not an official graphic but it'll work for now!

Couple of these are going to be a challenge to find books for 😅

A fun challenge. Found I kept to a couple of categories and never really touched the YA one. Hope Books in Freezer comes out with another horror challenge for 2023. I like this one it's pretty easy to follow lol. Or I might have to find something else like it.

Pretty good year! Happy New Year y'all!

#Top22of22

Four loosely related mysteries taking place within the police force of a metropolitan Prefecture. The stories deal largely with the internal machinations of the force. Why certain personnel refuse to step down, minor scandals, ambition, and politics navigating a bureaucratically dense system.

These vignettes are told in a very Japanese style, full of proper etiquette and deference paid to superiors. Each taking a slow and twisty turn.

Maybe I've read too many of these type books, but I found the big twist predictable. Not a bad story if a bit drawn out in places. Well drawn up for the twist in the plot, even if I saw it coming.

Still mostly enjoyable.

I do like the Rewind or Die series, they are unapologetically campy horror that is short and to the point. Perfectly short slashers on a theme.

Camp Neverland - Campy witch story seeking revenge against the men/boys that have done them wrong. An actual witchy horror, which doesn‘t come that often. I bit eye rolling as a scientist reading about astrology type jiggery pokery.

Chopping Spree - twisted subversive 80s mall slasher. Great playlist.

Creepy pen pal stories are always a bit hard to pull off. This one is solid, the letters will put you on edge. The story around the letters lacked the details necessary to land the impact. It was an almost there book for me

Reverse hunter-hunted story, uniquely told. Fun a readable slasher with a predictable ending but hella good ride. A total page turner.