Every year in June, at the middle of the road, I turn back to take a look at the year in horror and the books I have read so far, and since time is nothing but a blur these days, we're there already. In order to do so I answer a series of questions that we use to sum up our reading year/half year over at the Shine and Shadow reading group on Goodreads. I feel like my reading considerably slowed down this year, and I indeed decided to read less fluff and more books that are of value to me. I still feel like chasing my own tail though, and I'm not achieving much of my reading goals. Let's break it down to how it went so far!
1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2025?
2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2025?
I'm not sure I have read many sequels this year, although at some point I thought I did (Or, was that last year? I don't know, everything starts to merge and mix after a certain point.) I looked it up and found that I've read Along the River of Flesh by Kristopher Triana this year though, which is a sequel to the Riverman book, and as it looks, an opener for further installments in the series.
3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to?
I have been eyeballing BOREAL: An Anthology of Taiga Horror, ed. by Katherine Silva for quite some time and I just recently ordered it. I feel generally a little behind with anthologies and short story collections, so there's no harm in speeding up in that aisle.4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?
As I have said before, there are two books I'm hugely anticipating this year, and the first one is The End of the World As We Know It, ed. by Christopher Golden, which is an anthology set in/revolving around Stephen King's The Stand universe. I have been re-reading The Stand for some time now, so that I can enjoy this anthology to the fullest and catch all references and easter eggs.
5. Biggest disappointment?
Fears: Tales of Psychological Horror, ed. by Ellen Datlow.6. Biggest surprise?
The Priest, the Boy and the Slug: A Dark Children's Fairy Tale for Adults by Sirius Imnot. This is written by Federico DN, one of my Goodreads friends, and it was so good! It was a surprise because I didn't know he was taking his time to write a book (longer short story more like), and I'm always happy to endorse and support friends.7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)?
My friend Dorothy Scarecrow (obviously her nom de plume), recommended me Sarah Langan's Good Neighbors for the Horror Crime corner in Hammett, and I was so captured by this story that I was literally glued to the book for the time I was reading it. So, very great recommendation and very good author I'm happy to have discovered.
8. Newest fictional crush?
9. Newest favorite character?
Homa from Marjan Kamali's The Lion Women of Tehran, a book I buddy-read with some people from the Shine and Shadow group and which revolves around the 1979 revolution in Iran and women living through it.
10. Book that made you cry?
There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak. Again, a book I have buddy-read with some people from Shine and Shadow and which orbits around a young boy who grows up poor in 19th century England, an English woman of Iranian origin who recently separated from her husband and lives in a house boat, and finally a duo of a Yezidi girl and her grandmother trying to reach their holy land in the middle of the IS attacks which saw hundreds of Yezidi people, notably women, brutalized, violated, and enslaved.
11. Book that made you happy?
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto, because Vera is a delight to read. Sometimes among all the gloom and doom you need something funny and heart warming.12. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)?
13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
OK, in order to have enough runners up for my end of the year list, I still need to do a lot of reading, or else I'll need to reduce the number of nominees.
I still need to find 3 novels; 4 freaky books (I found one which I'll read soon, and that's Janitors vs. The Living Dead by Michelle Garza, but that still leaves 3 to go), a bunch of novellas I already bought (A Feast of Putrid Delights by Valentina Rojas, The Organization is Here to Support You by Charlene Elsby, Cathedral of the Drowned by Nathan Ballingrud, and Die Closer to Me by David Kuhnlein - the novella category looks best so far), 3 anthologies (BOREAL: An Anthology of Taiga Horror ed. by Katherine Silva, The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King's The Stand ed. by Christopher Golden as well as The Off-Season: An Anthology of Coastal New Weird, ed. by Marissa Van Uden) and finally 2 more one-author collections. As you see, there's so much to read, I really hope I'll find enough nominees for the top 5 in each category.
I think the reason there's still so much to read is that I have been reading a lot of "normal" literature, and not always the newest books, as I'm rather looking for answers than thrill this year. And since my end of the year list concentrates on books that were published that year or slightly earlier, I either need to change the nature of my list and open it for all books, or reduce the number of nominees, or speed up from now on.
14. Worst book you've read so far?
GOTH by Otsuichi. Sorry, wasn't mine.
15. Have you joined any Shine & Shadow reads this year? Which one has been your favorite?
I have joined lots of ShiSha reads and my favorite was The Spare Room by Helen Garner. A woman opens her house to a friend of hers who has cancer and nobody to take care of her. I thought a subject as heavy as this was treated quite light-heartedly and with very relatable characters, I really liked this.
16. And just because I'm curious, share a personal accomplishment you have achieved this year! ❤️ (it doesn't need to be reading related!)
OK, I guess the one thing I have accomplished this year is that I have made considerable progress in beating the paralysis in my left shoulder through physical therapy and exercise. In October/November last year I gradually was unable to move my arm, which was due to a disorder in my shoulder which was also very painful, and I couldn't move my left arm, couldn't sleep on it, had difficulty dressing, holding things, doing stuff and had to stop working out completely - my whole life turned upside down and it was painful on a physical and psychological level. I have now progressed so much, with the help of my physical therapist Paula, that I can raise my arm at 90° (it was 20° in December). I can't thank her enough for enduring me twice a week every week and for helping me so much. I hope to go back to normal gradually, and life already looks better now.
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