What I'm Reading- Library Journal Horror Column and Backlist Ghosts and Haunted Houses

Today I have two different types of horror content. My brand new Horror Column for Library Journal and then the announcement of 10 consecutive weeks of brand new book related content archived on the Horror Blog. And what it all means for you is lots of suggestion options for your patrons.

Let's get started.

I have the links to the 8 Horror reviews which make up my June 2021 column in Library Journal. You can use the links for each title to see details from my Goodreads account which includes links to the final LJ reviews as well as bonus info on each title, including the original notes I took when reading the books and preparing the formal reviews.

I also did an interview with debut novelist, V. Castro that is in the print magazine and available online here.

Please consider adding all 8 of these titles to you collections. Every single one of them was excellent, I just limit myself to giving a maximum of 3 stars per column. The range here in the identities of the authors, the horror subgenera represented, and the range of scares is vast. There is something for everyone, especially in those 3 starred reviews.

There were three starred reviews this month:

•  Castro, V. The Queen of the Cicadas/La Reina De Las Chicharras [revenge, unflinching, voice to the voiceless]
• Interview with the author
• Hendrix, Grady. The Final Girl Support Group [darkly humorous, great world building, flawed but sympathetic narrator]
• Ward, Catriona. The Last House on Needless Street [layered, multiple point of view, heartbreaking]

And five glowing reviews of titles you also should purchase:

• Khaw, Cassandra. Nothing But Blackened Teeth [intense unease, character centered, haunted folklore]
• Mandelo, Lee. Summer Sons [character centered, menacing, slow burn]
• McOmber, Adam. The Ghost Finders [atmospheric, strong sense of place, character centered]
• McQueen, LaTanya. When the Reckoning Comes [vengeance, strong sense of place, upsetting]
• Whiteley, Aliya. From the Neck Up: Stories [beguiling, the ordinary made strange, unnerving]

And, as promised, I don't just have new books today, I also have backlist books. It's part of a series of bonus content for the new book that will be unveiled 1 list a week for the next 10 weeks and filed into an archive. That archive and the link to the first list of Ghosts and Haunted House Tales is below. 

Third Edition Bonus Content: More Subgenre Annotations 

When I was writing the Third Edition of the Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, I originally had over 20 annotated choices per subgenre appearing in chapter 4-13. However, for word count sake, I had to reduce each lists to a well packaged dozen. Obviously making the cuts was hard, but I was able to include the tittles of those deleted annotations in an appendix at the end of the book with a promise that the annotations would run here on the blog.

Each list was posted on the blog over a series of weeks to promote the release of the book in the summer of 2021. This page is the official home of those annotated lists so people can find them as they encounter the blog.

In the book, my top three choices in each list are marked to denote Becky's Picks. I will also do that in these lists to give you a place to begin as you suggest. Just like the titles in the print book, every title appearing here is a great options for all public libraries. You can use these lists for collection development, displays, lists, and suggestions. Each subgenre has an essay discussing its history and appeal in the book which you can order here. And if you use the code RGH21 at check out you get $5 off!

• Chapter 4: Ghosts and Haunted Houses
• Chapter 5: Vampire Menace [appearing 6/8/21]
• Chapter 6: Zombies [appearing 6/15/21]
• Chapter 7: Witches, Curses, and the Occult [appearing 6/22/21]
• Chapter 8: Monsters and Ancient Evil [appearing 6/29/21]
• Chapter 9: Nature Gone Wild [appearing 7/6/21]
• Chapter 10: Satan and Demonic Posssession [appearing 7/13/21]
• Chapter 11: Psychological Horror [appearing 7/20/21]
• Chapter 12: Lovecraftian and Cosmic Horror [appearing 7/27/21]
• Chapter 13: Body Horror [appearing 8/3/21]

Click here to order a copy