2015 Year in Horror Wrap Up and Looking Forward to 2016

This is a cross post with RA for All: Horror

RA for All: Horror is back for 2016.

As usual, I took a hiatus after Halloween until the end of the year. But before we start talking about 2016, I thought I would first post a few 2015 Horror Year in Review Best Lists.

First, let's look at what the librarians picked. Each year RUSA picks the best genre reads and announces then at the ALA Midwinter Meeting.  Here is the link to this year's Reading List, but for the lazy among you, below I have copied the entire Horror section:

Horror 

Winner: “The Fifth House of the Heart: A Novel” by Ben Tripp. Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.Flamboyant antiques dealer Asmodeus “Sax” Saxon-Tang made his fortune by accidentally killing a vampire with a horde of treasure. To protect the only person he loves, his niece, he’s forced to return to old Europe to assemble an eccentric team of vampire hunters in this gory, witty caper. 

• Short List“A Head Full of Ghosts” by Paul Tremblay. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins.
• “Little Girls” by Ronald Malfi. Kensington Publishing Corp.
• “The Silence” by Tim Lebbon. Titan Books.
• “When We Were Animals: a Novel” by Joshua Gaylord. Mulholland Books, a division of Little, Brown and Company.

One of the reasons I became a member of RUSA is because of how seriously they take genre fiction. I am not exaggerating. Once they gave Horror a place, I joined right up.

Now, that is the general librarian list.  Let's dig a little deeper for some more horror fan specific options. Please note, not every book on these lists would be worth adding to all public libraries, but if you have a decent horror following (and most libraries too), these are books to consider.

The Horror Fiction Review had a 2 part Top Ten Reading list.  Part 1 is here, Part 2, here. In general, this is an excellent place to fins out information about the newest and best in horror.

But the best "best" list out there for any reader is horror author Brian Keene's personal Top 10 of 2015.  Why? Well, first as he says himself, he has years of experience and understands the genre-- both the history and those currently writing in it-- better than almost anyone. Second, he does an excellent job of explaining why he liked a book, not just what happened. [For that part you need to listen to the episode of his podcast where he unveiled the list; I liked that even more than the summaries he wrote up].  And third, he takes the writing of female horror authors seriously and gives them the attention they deserve. But it is not only that he does not dismiss them wholesale [as some horror author still do, sadly]but also, and even better, he includes them because they are good enough as writers.

In general following Brian’s website will keep you up to date on everything that is going on in horror, in general, from the broad perspective.

Which reminds me, as a new year begins, it is always important to look back at the year that just happened. How did you serve your horror patrons? There are many of them out there, just a quick peek at the most popular authors, movies, and tv shows of 2015 proves that. Did you update your collections, weed old titles, replace tired but still popular volumes, and add new authors? Did you try to educate yourself about the genre and what it has to offer today beyond Dean Koontz and Stephen King?

I appreciate that many of you took my advice in 2015 and worked hard to help your horror patrons.  How do I know that you took my advice? Well, the ebook version of my book was #1 on the ALA Edition bestseller list in the Fall. I am not only appreciative that you supported me, but I am also energized. You believed in me and now I want to help you even more.

2016 is a big year for horror and this blog. In fact, I am currently working on my Halfway to Halloween column for Library Journal and it is going to be all about major coming attractions in the genre. These are titles EVERY LIBRARY needs to own, titles so good that you may be dealing with hordes of horror fans, beating down the doors looking for more.

As menacing as that sounds, I assure you, his is a good thing because I am always here to help you to help your “scariest” patrons. Today I am cross posting this on both blogs, but that is not the norm.  Remember to check the horror blog whenever you want to help your horror patrons. I will be there with posts [new and old], updated lists, and reviews all year long. When you are ready to work on your horror collections, just give me a click; I promise to be here.

My favorite horror book of 2015? It was the same as Brian Keene's.  Click through to see what it is for yourself.