Fall Reading: 10 Books for #RIPxx

 

The  most wonderful time of the year is upon us (no, not Christmas, though that one's nice as well)! As usual I'm super excited for fall, pumpkin everything and spooky books, which means the yearly R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril challenge, now in its 20th year!!

I already have a loose tbr of possibles ready and there are many great new books out or soon to be released, so I thought I'd make a list of exciting and creepy reads in honor of #RIPxx:

1. Futility by Nuzo Onoh

Murder, revenge, soup, perfect recipe for a cozy fall night. Futility by Nuzo Onoh, the queen of African horror, comes out October 14th.

"Betrayed by the men in their lives, two women seethe with rage and bitterness. When a trickster spirit offers them the gift of revenge, they cannot resist.

Chia runs one of the best restaurants in Abuja, Nigeria, and is renowned among the male clientele for her captivating beauty and delicious hot pepper soup. But her hot pepper soup has a secret ingredient, and her beauty is not what it seems.

Claire is a 50 year-old British woman living in Abuja with her young Nigerian boyfriend and his beautiful cousin, Shadé. Consumed by jealousy and resentment, Claire’s carefully organised life spirals into chaos after a night out at Chia’s infamous restaurant."

2. The Map of Lost Places by Sheree Renée Thomas and Lesley Connor (eds.)

"In your hands is a travel guide to the strange and surreal. From arcades along a boardwalk and jetties at the edges of tourist towns, to a rural village in Pakistan and hollows hidden deep within a forest in Pennsylvania, strange things can happen no matter where you are. You can become lost in a city crowded with people, haunted within your own home, and slip from one reality into another in the space of a step.

With twenty-two stories by authors such as Brian Keene, Maurice Broaddus, Ai Jiang, Samit Basu, and KS Walker, editors Sheree Renée Thomas and Lesley Conner take readers on a tour of places where weird things happen. Places where ghosts are real, old gods are hungry, and towns are not as idyllic as they appear to be.

Welcome to The Map of Lost Places. Enter at your own risk."

3. Zegaajimo: Indigenous Horror Fiction by Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler and Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (eds.)

"A brand-new, spine-chilling collection of horror/thriller fiction, Zegaajimo includes stories from eleven leading First Nations and Metis authors from across the territories of Canada: Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler, Dawn Dumont, Daniel Heath Justice, D.A. Lockhart, Karen McBride, Tyler Pennock, Waubgeshig Rice, David Robertson, Drew Hayden Taylor, and Richard Van Camp. The collection is co-edited by Nathan Niigan Noodin Adler and Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm."

4. Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond

"What if nobody ever freed the slaves…because they freed themselves – 150 years before the Civil War?

In the Province of Carolina, 1710, freedom seems unattainable for Willie, for his beloved Gertie, and for their unborn child. They live, suffer, and toil under their brutal master, James “Big Jim” Barrow, whose grand plantation was built by the blood, sweat, and tears of the enslaved. To flee this hell on earth is be hunted and killed. Until one strange night Willie is offered a dark hope by Rafazi, an enigmatic slave with an irresistible and blood-chilling path to liberation.

Hailing from the Kingdom of Ghana, Rafazi is the lone survivor of the Ramanga, an African vampire tribe rendered nearly extinct by plague. Rafazi has roamed the world for centuries with an undying desire to replenish the power that once defined his heritage. In Willie, Rafazi has found his first biddable subject to be turned and to help in a hungry revolt. And Willie desires nothing more than to free his people from malicious bondage. Whatever it takes.

One by one, as an army of blood slaves thirsting for revenge is gathered, the headstrong Gertie fears that no good can come from the vampiric legacy that courses through Rafazi’s veins. Willie knows that only evil can fight evil. And when the woman he loves stands between the reemergence of the Ramanga and the justified slaughter of the oppressors, Willie must make an irreversible decision. Only one thing is certain: on the Barrow plantation, and beyond, blood will spill."

5. The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas

"In 1765, plague sweeps through Zacatecas. Alba flees with her wealthy merchant parents and fiancé, Carlos, to his family’s isolated mine for refuge. But safety proves fleeting as other dangers soon bare their teeth: Alba begins suffering from strange hallucinations, sleepwalking, and violent convulsions. She senses something cold lurking beneath her skin. Something angry. Something wrong.

Elías, haunted by a troubled past, came to the New World to make his fortune and escape his family’s legacy of greed. Alba, as his cousin’s betrothed, is none of his business. Which is of course why he can’t help but notice the growing tension between them every time she enters the room…and why he notices her deteriorate when the demon’s thirst for blood gets stronger."

6. Black Water Tales by Jean Nicole Rivers

"As Simone Parker’s belly swells with baby number three, she is anxious to move her husband and two daughters to her childhood home in the picturesque town of Black Water, even if it was the site of her family’s massacre twenty-three years ago. Resettling there won’t be easy, but she is determined to break generational curses and reclaim her good memories. While dismissing the adolescent, town legend that her family was murdered by the Sandman, Simone cannot deny that some unsettling haunt remains. As the evil builds to a peak marked by the brutal birth of her son, Simone is forced to realize that the monster is real and has returned. She must face him or lose her children to his eternal sleep. Hush little baby, don’t you cry. Here comes the Sandman close … your …eyes. To the Moon and Back is the third installment in the Black Water Tales psychological horror series."

7. The Shadow by Melanie Raabe

"'On February 11 you will kill a man called Arthur Grimm. Of your own free will. And for a good reason.’

Norah has just moved from Berlin to Vienna in order to leave her old life behind her for good when a homeless woman spits these words at her. Norah is unnerved: many years earlier, something terrible happened to her on February 11. She shrugs this off as a mere coincidence, however, until shortly afterwards she meets a man called Arthur Grimm.

Soon Norah begins to have a dreadful suspicion: does she have a good reason to take revenge on Grimm? What really happened in the worst night of her life all those years ago? And can Norah make sure that justice is done without herself committing murder?"

8. Beyond the Bounds of Infinity by Vaughn A. Jackson and Stephanie Pearre (eds.)

"Welcome to a world of horror viewed through a kaleidoscope lens. Embark on a journey to untangle the writhing tendrils of human terror in a dimension where the possible and impossible blend; an unstable realm where comfort can be found in the coldest pits, and dark gods feast upon the sweetest suffering, where infernal sounds birth silent letters that drift along midnight shores and the unexplained lurks beneath crumbling urban structures. Step over the edge of what you think you know, and find yourself…Beyond the Bounds of Infinity!

Featuring stories by L. Marie Wood, S.A. Cosby, Jessica McHugh, and Mary SanGiovanni alongside newer voices like Cassius Kilroy, Jessica L. Sparrow, and Vicky Velvet—Beyond the Bounds of Infinity offers a collection of weird fiction and cosmic horror stories that are diverse down to the cellular level. From Taíno folk horror to the horror of identity in a world that just doesn’t understand, from cozy to apocalyptic, and everything in between, let these authors show you what fear really is, and what it means to them."

9. Roots of  My Fears by Gemma Amor (ed.)

"British Fantasy and Bram Stoker-nominated author Gemma Amor brings together a unique line-up of 13 authors to explore heritage and horror, featuring stories from Gabino Iglesias, Erika T. Wurth and many more

It’s a bedtime story, ancient family lore, a secret passed down from generation to generation. Stories that have deep dark roots, ever-growing, ever-creeping.

This anthology explores stories of heritage and horror. The tales we grew up on, hometown rumours and legends.

The things we pass down through our bloodlines."

10. Curdle Creek by Yvonne Battle-Felton

"Welcome to Curdle Creek, a place just dying to make you feel at home.

Osira, a forty-five-year-old widow, is an obedient follower of the strict conventions of the remote all-Black town that’s stuck in the past and governed by ominous rituals including a one in, one out population policy. Though she’s always been considered blessed, her luck changes when her grown children run off to parts unknown, she comes in second to last in the Running of the Widows, and her father flees after his name is called in the annual Moving On ceremony.

Forced to jump into a well in a test of allegiance, Osira finds herself transported first back in time, and then into another realm where she must answer for crimes committed by Curdle Creek. Exile forces her to jump realms again, landing Osira even farther away from home, in rural England. Safe there as long as she sticks to the rules, she quickly learns there are consequences for every kindness. Each jump could lead Osira anywhere, but will she ever find a place to call home?"

*****

The Month in Review: January 2025

 

image credit: nini kvaratskhelia

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Time flies, how is it almost the end of February already? I started 2025 with lot's of reading goals and I managed to keep to some of them, even if my reading is still not happening as regularly as I'd like. Thus, this blog post of monthly mini-reviews.

Alien Clay was my first read of the year and I wanted a clever scifi mystery to kick things off with from my nest on the couch. Tchaikovsky has written one of my fave scifi series, but while this one was solid with cool ideas, it didn't wow me and it didn't quite live up to its premise. The repressive regime on future Earth that sends revolutionaries off to dangerous new planets was a wonderful idea, but then the narrator was just too annoying for me and the other characters weren't strong enough. The alien world Kiln with its remnants was intriguing and mysterious but then turned into too much body horror and amazing ideas but too many ideas, I prefer things to eventually narrow down rather than utter chaos. So while I liked a lot of the elements gathered in this book and I loved them in Shards of the Earth, it didn't really come together for me in the way I wanted it. Still going to try his next works though. (3 stars)

Dial A for Aunties is a well-done mashup of rom-com and murder mystery and really silly and funny. This sort of read like a movie and I absolutely enjoyed the mad dash to the finish with all the narrowly avoided discoveries and ridiculous situations. I enjoyed the author's Vera Wong, even more so than this one, and have been meaning to read more of her work. This one has more romance than I usually prefer, but it was well-tied into the mystery plot. Like Vera Wong, I loved the relational focus of the book and the aunties are all pretty wild but amazing in their own right and will somehow take care of the body. Looking forward to the second Vera Wong book that's releasing in April. (4 stars)

Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude definitely wins for best title, right? It's "a sustained meditation on that which goes away—loved ones, the seasons, the earth as we know it—that tries to find solace in the processes of the garden and the orchard. That is, this is a book that studies the wisdom of the garden and orchard, those places where all—death, sorrow, loss—is converted into what might, with patience, nourish us." I listened to the audiobook read by the author and it was fantastic. This collection is so warm and beautiful, focusing on the small moments like tea and gardening and food and the essential relationships in life. (5 stars) Here are some of my favorite lines:

"I am sorry. I am grateful.

I just want us to be friends now, forever.

Take this bowl of blackberries from the garden.

The sun has made them warm.

I picked them just for you. I promise

I will try to stay on my side of the couch.

*******

2025 Reading Plans

 

It's 2025 and  my plan for this year is to try and actually blog a bit again in a quiet and out of the way corner, where I can try to put some words into something hopefully halfway coherent and make grand reading goals without any pressure. So consider this blog my training wheels.

A new year means I get to make all shiny new reading plans that I prooobably won't stick to that much (mood reader!). But every January I show up excited and optimistic and that's half the fun anyway. I set my Goodreads challenge for 52 books again, but this time I also want to read more regularly again instead of this mad dash to the finish line I've been doing the last years. I already started on this by setting myself the daily habit of reading for 30 minutes and have not missed a day this year. It's most difficult when I've finished a book and can't decide on my next read😬

SFF

Since The Expanse got cancelled, I've been wanting to read the book series that the show was adapted from. I read Leviathan Wakes and really enjoyed it, even though this might be one of the few cases where I prefer the tv adaptation (less dude-ish perspective, more rounded characters). I've got book 2 waiting on my shelves and can't wait to meet book-Avasarala, who I've been promised curses much more than the tv version (who I adore). Then I'm also excited to read Corey's new series, it's already been optioned to be adapted (but I've not given up hope yet that they'll get to finish The Expanse once Amazon's rights run out), and the second book is coming out this year. Two other newish works by favorite writers have been on my list for a while, I'm waiting for them to be on Everand or show up as a Kindle deal.

NONFICTION

Another goal this year is to read more nonfiction and more specifically, expand my reading beyond self-help and brain books (which served their purpose) again. I've got my eye on memoir and essay-type works and then the ultimate dream: to have the energy and focus to read from the DukeUP catalog again. Should that happen, I'm eyeing Between Shadows and Noise by Amber Jamilla Musser.

WORLD LIT

I've also missed reading more international lit, I used to just grab what looked interesting at the library but then with my study focus I shifted towards mostly US/UK lit, so I want to get back to that. I'm including German lit in this category, because while I don't enjoy a lot of it, there have been some exciting publications in recent years that I want to catch up on.

And generally I want to finish or finally DNF all the about 12 books I started, read poetry collections while listening to the audiobooks version and also read lot's of cozy comfort reads (usually funny scifi or mysteries and maybe a MGlit work here or there).

The Year in Review: 2024

How is it 2025 already? I actually had a mostly lovely 2024 with quite a few wins, it's just hard to catch up to how fast it went by. One of my goals was the yearly Goodsreads reading challenge of course and I think I set mine for 60, but realized around summer that I would really struggle with that, so dropped it down to 52. I think that is just where my level is in this phase of my life and that's where I'll set my goal again for this year. Rather than change the number of books, I want to shift focus to the types of books for 2025 as I feel like my capacities growing slowly (but that's the topic for the next post).

But first, let's reflect on 2024 by way of StoryGraph's excellent graphics:

"You followed cryptic trails of secrets, explored the shadows of the human psyche, and teetered on edges of anticipation.

The narratives flowed at a comfortable, engaging tempo."

One of my favorite things about StoryGraph is the mood graph:

I've alway scored highest in mystery for as long as I've been on StoryGraph, but in 2024 the other main moods of adventurous and funny shifted to dark and intense. I think this is due to my usual reread of the Murderbot series, which I didn't do in 2024 and reading science fiction that is edging into horror.

I read 53 books and I'm very happy I met my goal. I implemented a habit of reading for 30 minutes every day to read more regularly, however slumps and other responsibilities caught me out, so my reading has been way more up and down than I'd like. Slow and steady is my motto for this year.

My most common genres are probably a given:

That's definitely what I read most of the time nowadays, although I usually read more poetry and less short stories, I think those are due to the Amazon Originals I read to boost my reading. Because I still struggle with finishing short story collections. I also read a bit of nonfiction, although more in self-help than I usually like, but I suppose that's just where I'm at at the moment and it has actually been really helpful.

These wonderful books are my 5 star read and I loved them all. 

• Sea of Tranquility was one of my first reads of 2024 and exactly what I craved: Imaginative, reflective scifi with great characters and thoughtful writing. Definitely not my last read by this author, in fact I recently got Station Eleven, which I hope to read in 2025.

• Homeland and Forest of Noise are both Palestinian literature, the first a beautiful book about growing up in Palestine through the lens of remembering the author's father. The second a memoir/poetry collection about living in Gaza and fleeing into exile that I listened to on audiobook and would love a print copy of, it was so good.

• Both 1919 and Falling Back In Love With Being Human are poetry collections and I adore them both. I love listening to poets performing their works, so I chose the audiobooks, but it's even nicer to read a long, so I'd like these for my shelves for rereads as well. Thom's collection was just what I needed, a very moving and powerful work and it helped restore my belief in humanity a bit.

• I read Kimmerer's The Serviceberry around Christmas and it was the perfect time for it with the way this slim book focuses on the gift economy and a more holistic communal view of giving and receiving, and it's definitely a world I want to live in.

Other favorites that were 4 or 4 and a half stars:

• The Legacy of Arniston House by T.L. Huchu
• Japonisme: Ikigai, Forest Bathing, Wabi-sabi and more by Erin Niimi Longhurst
• A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
• Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum with Shanna Tan (Translator)
• The Writer's Cats by Muriel Barbery with Alison Anderson (Translator), Maria Guitart (Illustrator)
• Amari and the Despicable Wonders by B.B. Alston
• Paradise-1 by David Wellington (along with the sequel Revenant-X)

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Happy New Year!

November Reading Plans

It's November and as the year comes to an end, my reading plans are mostly focused on getting my Goodreads challenge goal in (I'm at 69% 😬) and getting lot's of cozy time on the couch with a hot cup of tea. But there are two reading events I definitely want to join.

November is, as always, NonFictionNovember and I'm hoping to read at least one book for the challenge, especially seeing as I've barely read any nonfiction at all this year. And I've got some really exciting ones waiting on my tbr:

Hardwiring Happiness is a book I've got on my bedside table and read a few pages here and there every week. It's a wonderful book, teaching an essential life skill for our times. Ace has been patiently waiting for me to be in the right mood, and Wanderlust has been gathering dust even longer. But I'm currently trying to re-establish my walking routine (day 2, yess!), so it's a case of the right book at the right time.

Another fun reading challenge is the SciFiMonth event. Very fun cause I'm always in the mood for scifi and I've got a pile waiting to be read. But here are the few I might actually manage to read:

I'm still mourning the end of The Expanse tv series and decided afterwards to read the books, so I could find out how it all ends. Last year or so I read book one and while I actually prefer the adaptation for once, I'm happy to get to return to the Expanse universe again. And the show's seasons 2 and 3 were my favorites, so I can't wait. I read two short stories/Novelettes by Divya and really enjoyed her imaginative worlds, and Meru promises all that plus intricate politics, I hope i can keep up. And last month I powered through Paradise-1, which basically read itself even at nearly 700 pages. But it ended with an abrupt TBC, so I'm relieved book 2 is out now.

#RIPXIX: R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril

 

@perilreaders

Happy fall, y'all! It's finally my favorite time of the year and with that comes my favorite reading challenge, the legendary R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (RIP) still going in its 19th year! The challenge runs from September 1st till Halloween and I've got all the plans, which is at least half the fun.
Here are a few of my RIPXIX potentials:

P. Djéli Clark is one of my favorite writers and I can't wait to read his newest work. The Dead Cat Tail Assassins is set in Tal Abisi a fantastical city full of gods and assassins, just waiting for the release of the UK edition here.

I'm already reading the super British super cozy The Potting Shed Murder and it's very charming so far and someone's going to off the principal any page now.

Got to have some space horror, one of my favorite settings for some good horror and Paradise 1 sounds right up my alley. There's an alarm blaring, an empty vessel and Earth's first deep-space colony has disappeared, ahh!

Weird Black Girls is "an irresistibly unnerving collection of stories that explore the anxieties of living while Black—a high-wire act of literary-fantastical hybrid fiction".

Where the Dead Brides Gather, the newest work from one of my favorite horror writers Nuzo Onoh, is "a powerful Nigeria-set horror tale of possession, malevolent ghosts, family tensions, secrets and murder".

Then to recover, Murder Your Employer is a lighter read: "The McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, dedicated to the art of murder where students study how best to “delete” their most deserving victim." The applied sciences part already has me chuckling.

The Creepening of Dogwood House by Eden Royce is a Middle Grade Southern Gothic tale of loss. I already love her creepy short stories, so I'm excited for this one.

Lastly, The Reformatory is another newer book by one of my favorite writers. I still get goosebumps just thinking of her The Good House, and this one seems to have a lot of painful but fascinating personal history about segregated reform schools to it as well.  

*****

Weekly Reading Recap

 

Happy Christmas! I've been spending a lot of my time reading, to catch up on my Goodreads challenge and re-prioritize reading. And it's been a lot of fun exploring more poetry and novellas especially, having the opportunity to just try books at no additional cost thanks to Scribd. Wish they'd support downloads to the Kindle, but perhaps I'll consider getting an e-ink tablet at some point in the future, it's just so much more relaxing for my eyes.

That Time of Year by Marie NDiaye (transl. by Jordan Stump) is a very weird short book, it almost feels absurdist and reminiscent of Kafka. It's about Herman, a Parisian teacher, and his wife and son, who spend every summer outside of the city in a village. Each year they leave promptly on the last day of August like the rest of the tourists. However, this year, they stay till September and everything changes. Rose and the child disappear and Herman initially searches for them, trying to get the villagers to help and cooperate, but the place and people are completely changed.

Reading something by NDiaye has been my plan for years, so I was happy to get my hands on this novella. This is a very weird book with a story that seems to go nowhere with unlikeable and absurd characters, but I really enjoyed it. Much of this is due to this amazing dark and sinister vibe that accompanies the absurd story, and also the satire of provincial and city relationships. Apart from that, NDiaye's writing is excellent. That Time of Year also made me take note of the publisher Two Lines Press and I've already added a bunch of their other titles to my tbr. Recommended: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I listened to the audiobook of Roxane Gay's Wiriting Into the Wound. It's a very short nonfiction title and I was interested because in it Gay goes into detail about the publication of her amazing but very personal book Hunger. She opens up about how stressful the reception was and how discriminatory and insensitive journalists were, but also how she returned to Yale and conceptualized a workshop on writing trauma. Recommended, especially if you've read Hunger: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

So Late in the Day is a short story taken from Claire Keegan's collection of the same name. Set in Ireland, the story is about the relationship of a hetero couple, told from the perspective of the Cathal. As he leaves work and gets on the bus home one day, he reminisces about his relationship with Sabine and its ending. The story is told in a slow unfolding contemplative style and very well written, Keegan sharply reveals the everyday-ness of misogyny. Will be interested to read some of her longer works, recommended: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is a cozy mystery about the senior Vera, who still keeps her crumbling tea shop in China town going, despite only having one customer a day - and who is her friend to boot. It was such a fun read and Vera is a wonderful character, very forceful and assertive, but also warm and loving. She's not for everyone, but I thought she was wonderful and I loved the way she built community around her, even in the middle of her murder investigation. I really hope this will turn into a series, but until then I will read Sutanto's other works. Highly recommended for a fun time: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wait for Night is a Tordotcom horror short story by Stephen Graham Jones that puts new spin on a familiar monster. Set in Colorado, Chessup only signs up to work as a laborer to clean up the canals to receive new work boots. It goes well and he gets along with most of the crew, but then they cut down the old Willow tree and find something only Burned Dan might have expected. I really liked the sense of place and the atmosphere of this one. I listened to the audiobook and it was suspenseful and not confusing even on audio. Definitely makes me want to read more of Jones' horror stories. Recommended: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pretty Deadly: The Shrike is the first volume in the comics series from Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Emma Ríos. It could have been a quick tale about Death's daughter and revenge, but I found the arrangement (or lack thereof) of the panels confusing, making it hard to follow the story at first. I think it will be much easier for regular comics readers or on a second read. I found the art style quite explosive but also really good, drawing me in much more than the story. I wish I could have felt more of a connection with the characters, so I'm giving it a good-ish ⭐⭐⭐.

Time to readathon the last 7 books to finish my reading challenge! 😁📚