From December 8th to 17th I participated in LibFave2021 on Twitter. LibFaves is a Twitter crowdsourced best list by library workers. For 10 days we all tweet out 1 title a day, a 2021 release that we would consider one of our favorites of the year.
Because every title that is mentioned eventually gets included in a spread sheet which contains every single title Tweeted during the event, I use the event each year to highlight my personal Top 10 of 2021 #HorrorForLibraries titles.
For more on #LibFaves2021 you can see this post from 12/8 on the general blog.
Here is my Twitter thread of the 10 books I added to the conversation during the official event . I did not put them in any ranked order, but here today, I will with my 3 words and links to my longer reviews. Please remember, this list is my PERSONAL best list. Some of it crosses over with critical lists I have been a part of [some still to be published] but not all of it.
But before that list, here is a reminder that I have all of my annual "Best Horror" lists going back to 2005 on my "Archive of Becky's Lists, Articles, and Presentations," a permanent page on the Horror blog at this link. Because yes, I follow my own rules and make sure backlist best lists are easily to access anytime and with on click on any new best list. These books are still "best," they just aren't brand new.
Okay, with no further ado...
Becky's Personal Top 10 Horror of 2021
10. Hearts Strange and Dreadful by Tim McGregor [pervasively creepy, strong sense of place, slow burn]
9. Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark [audio, read by the author] [conversational, compelling, empowering]
8. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix [darkly humorous, great world building, flawed by sympathetic narrator]
7. The Last House of Needless Street by Catriona Ward [layered, multiple points of view, heartbreaking]
6. Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo [strong world building, relentless pace, harrowing]
5. Queen of Teeth by Hailey Piper [body horror, thought provoking, immersive] Also my pick for first novel of the year
4. My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones [heartbreakingly beautiful, meticulously crafted, thought provoking]
3. Things Have Gotten Worse since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca [epistolary, menacing, engrossing]
2. Goddess of Filth by V. Castro [reclaiming the possession trope, unsettling, immersive]
1. Reprieve by James Han Mattson [thought provoking, immersive, high anxiety]
Feel free to share your favorites int he comments. And check out the general blog next Monday for my final post of 2021 and my overall best reads of the year [regardless of publication date].
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