To be honest, I was reluctant to start The Reformatory. I’d read so many good things about it, I was afraid it would fall short of its reputation. But Tananarive Due has never disappointed me yet. Characters to care about, in a suspenseful and heartbreaking story. Just to complicate things for the main characters, who already are dealing with angry ghosts, a psychopathic warden, and the Klan, they also have to manage well-meaning allies who don’t believe in spirits or who do believe in the fairness of the justice system. This book kept me up late at night turning pages.
Category: Reading
Recent reading, Feb 5 2025
Queer Little Nightmares
Queer Little Nightmares: An Anthology of Monstrous Fiction and Poetry, edited by David Ly and Daniel Zomparelli; Arsenal Pulp Press, 3rd printing, 2024.
This is what small presses are for! Queer Little Nightmares is a collection of stories and poems for the monsters in all of us (especially the queer ones). Diverse in style and content, these works are both deliciously weird and grounded in emotional truth. Standouts for me include the stories “The Vetala’s Song” by Anuja Varghese and “Strange Case” by Eddy Boudel Tan, and the poems “Godzilla, Silhouette Against City” by Ryan Dzelzkalns and “Cryptid Cruising” by Avra Margariti. But they’re all worth reading.
Horror: A Literary History
Horror: A Literary History, edited by Xavier Aldana Reyes; The British Library, 2020.
This collection of essays surveys the horror genre in English and American literature from the 18th century to today. Sometimes the style is ridiculously academic, but the content is interesting throughout. Every chapter ends with a list of references and a “What to Read Next” section, making it a useful book to keep on hand.