I also got more into horror this year :) and completely agree - this year the fantasy and sci-fi goodreads choice awards list is quite weak. Of the books you mentioned i only read the T. Kingfisher one, and like you said, I liked it okay and will continue with the series. For the Goodreads horror list, or really most "best of horror" lists, they dont really work for me. For other lit. genres, I'm generally quite open to reading different subgenres and all kinds of stories. But horror is very specific for me - im not interested in a lot of it, and i just dont wanna engage with other parts of it. I think horror is very personal - your enjoyment of it will depend largely on your own fears, curiosities and "triggers". Some that did work for me were The Sluts by Dennis Cooper (body horror, mental illness, prostitution), The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (Gothic, supernatural), works by Ryu Murakami and Shirley Jackson, Perfume by Patrick Suskind (buildungroman of a killer) My horror reading list for 2025 will be Dark Matter by Michelle Paver (the Arctic!), Zone One by Colson Whitehead (zombies!), Cipher by Kathe Coja (supernatural, experimental), Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix (haunted Ikea?), Monk by Matthew Lewis (18th century lustful gothic horror which caused a scandal when it came out), Night Film by Marisha Pessl (haunted movie mystery?) and however many more I manage to get to. This will be my first time reading all these authors, so fingers crossed. It feels weird getting into a new genre, where you dont already have a vetted list of authors whose new publications/backlist titles you can look forward to. I hope any other Goodreads horror book you try, work for you! :)
I read The Woman in Black a few years ago and really enjoyed it! I've seen Perfume and Ryu Murakami quite a bit this year and will definitely give them a go! The Sluts sounds interesting too. FWIW, I'm honestly kinda over the GoodReads awards. Its fun to see how my reading matches up with the masses, but I am so incredibly picky lol. From your 2025 list I have read Horrorstor and really enjoyed it. If you like it, I recommend Finna which has similar vibes but is more sci-fi than horror.
20:00 ive only read one book by stephen graham jones and it was the audiobook for The Babysitter Lives. The ending was definitely emotionally raw.... uhh and disappointingly sad lol. The characters are gay and i was like "ok fine youre gonna ruin these gay girls' lives??? Ok but youre dummmb for it" the rest of the book before the end actually rocked pretty hard though.
I also got more into horror this year :) and completely agree - this year the fantasy and sci-fi goodreads choice awards list is quite weak. Of the books you mentioned i only read the T. Kingfisher one, and like you said, I liked it okay and will continue with the series.
For the Goodreads horror list, or really most "best of horror" lists, they dont really work for me. For other lit. genres, I'm generally quite open to reading different subgenres and all kinds of stories. But horror is very specific for me - im not interested in a lot of it, and i just dont wanna engage with other parts of it. I think horror is very personal - your enjoyment of it will depend largely on your own fears, curiosities and "triggers".
Some that did work for me were The Sluts by Dennis Cooper (body horror, mental illness, prostitution), The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (Gothic, supernatural), works by Ryu Murakami and Shirley Jackson, Perfume by Patrick Suskind (buildungroman of a killer)
My horror reading list for 2025 will be Dark Matter by Michelle Paver (the Arctic!), Zone One by Colson Whitehead (zombies!), Cipher by Kathe Coja (supernatural, experimental), Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix (haunted Ikea?), Monk by Matthew Lewis (18th century lustful gothic horror which caused a scandal when it came out), Night Film by Marisha Pessl (haunted movie mystery?) and however many more I manage to get to. This will be my first time reading all these authors, so fingers crossed. It feels weird getting into a new genre, where you dont already have a vetted list of authors whose new publications/backlist titles you can look forward to.
I hope any other Goodreads horror book you try, work for you! :)
I read The Woman in Black a few years ago and really enjoyed it! I've seen Perfume and Ryu Murakami quite a bit this year and will definitely give them a go! The Sluts sounds interesting too.
FWIW, I'm honestly kinda over the GoodReads awards. Its fun to see how my reading matches up with the masses, but I am so incredibly picky lol.
From your 2025 list I have read Horrorstor and really enjoyed it. If you like it, I recommend Finna which has similar vibes but is more sci-fi than horror.
20:00 ive only read one book by stephen graham jones and it was the audiobook for The Babysitter Lives. The ending was definitely emotionally raw.... uhh and disappointingly sad lol. The characters are gay and i was like "ok fine youre gonna ruin these gay girls' lives??? Ok but youre dummmb for it" the rest of the book before the end actually rocked pretty hard though.
@@Horrorbabe4 I think a lot of his books end with him ruining his character's lives lol
@TiffReadsBooks at least he doesn't discriminate then