Matt's Monthly Musings #1
January was a month of horrors both real and fictional
Welcome to my first monthly round-up type of post. Every month I’ll recap the books and stories I read, what I watched, and give you some brief thoughts on the art that I enjoyed.
It’s a terrible time to be anyone other than right-wing white cisgender, straight men who are not billionaires. And a stressful time for anyone with empathy or human compassion. I think it is more important now than ever that we all stick together, keep reading, and let our voices be heard. Even as a certain faction of red hat-wearing bigots tells you that you shouldn’t.
Anywho… for as anxiety-ridden as this past month was, I actually did a fair amount of reading and I read some really good books.
I kicked January off by reading Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, the brand new novel by Clay McLeod Chapman. If there was ever a novel made for the times we are in, it’s this. Half of the country, including Noah Fairchild’s previously polite southern parents, becomes possessed after watching right-wing news and other forms of media rabbit holes. This novel was over-the-top and on the nose, which was exactly how this story needed to be told. I nervously chuckled a LOT while reading this. Did you really have to ruin pizza cutters for us, Clay? I loved this book and you should check it out. Thank you to Quirk for an ARC and to LibroFM for the complimentary ALC (the audio for this one is fantastic).
Next up, I read this new short story by Michael R Goodwin, one of my favorite indie horror authors (and fellow Mainer). “Favorite Kind of Truth” is short and follows two unhoused men taking shelter under a bridge during a Christmas Eve snow storm, when a mysterious man appears before them. I liked this one a lot and if you’re into short stories, I’d recommend checking some of Goodwin’s works out.
Rachel Harrison is one of my favorite modern horror writers. She is one of the best at writing relatable thirty-something year old main characters with a strong voice and putting them into an array of classic horror tropes. Cackle is no exception to this as this is her witch novel. Annie, the main character, is possibly my favorite character I’ve read from her (I also loved Black Sheep and So Thirsty and those books respective characters). There are some genuinely creepy moments here and I flew through this book. If you haven’t read any of her books, you must change that.
Sterling City, the January book for SGJ Club (which I co-host with my friend tonyshorrorcorner on Instagram), is a weird little novella featuring a farmer (who is kind of a dick) whose wife leaves him at the same time a distant moon explodes and debris falls all around the farm. Craziness ensues and I never thought I’d be so interested in some of the intricacies of running a farm. This is a really solid novella from SGJ and was recently reissued by Open Road Media.
Speaking of reissues, Datura just reissued The Contortionist’s Handbook, which was the debut novel of Craig Clevenger. This one is more of a literary crime thriller about a man who uses his forging skills to constantly change his identity to avoid institutionalization after he overdoses, which happens every few months as he takes drugs to attempt to curb excruciating headaches that doctors cannot seem to diagnose. This book is sad, it is smart, and it is super interesting, especially if you’re into complex character studies. Thank you to Datura for an ARC and to
for facilitating.
Looking for a fun, old-school style horror with creatures, a serial killer, and teenage protagonists? Look no further than Children of the Dark by Jonathan Janz, yet another book I read this month that was re-issued, this one by Cemetery Dance last year. This book is so much and the horror, gore, and no-pulled-punches nature of it allow me to forgive some of the minor issues I have with the writing here and there. I co-hosted a read along of this with
and her Novel Nightmares book club, which included a Zoom discussion with Janz. I’m planning on reading the sequel soon!
My review for At Dark, I Become Loathsome can be found here. I really enjoyed this one and I listened to this thanks to Blackstone Publishing and LibroFM, who provided me with a complimentary ALC.
My last full read of the month was another ARC, this time Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito. This book is UNHINGED. This is American Psycho set in Victorian England, following a governess, Ms. Notty, who is well… a psycho. This book is tightly paced, short (~200 pages), and includes just about any content warnings you can imagine. I loved this book for somehow riding a line between being very over-the-top and in your face with the depravity, while simultaneously hinting at even more sinister undertones, especially as relating to Ms. Notty’s past. Also, did I mention this book is FUNNY? I felt so bad for laughing many times during this one, but according to
, I wasn’t the only one. Thank you to Liveright for the galley of this one. It is out on February 4th!Short Stories:
I also read several digital standalone short stories this month to scratch that itch a bit, including "And Contributions from Viewers Like You" by Patrick Barb from Shortwave's website, which is a creepy mixed media story about a strange local telethon broadcast tape. I read several short stories by Stephen Graham Jones, the standouts being "Bad Code", "The Joneses", and "Dear Final Girls".
TV/Film:
I’m rewatching Twin Peaks for the third time, while this is my wife’s first time watching it! We watched the pilot episode the day after David Lynch passed and she has asked me to watch more every day since. Proud Twin Peaks fan moment! I didn’t end up watching a single film this month. I blame playoff football.
Favorite Podcast Episode:
Sadie Hartmann's Horror Preview 2025
(The ARC Party)February TBR:
SGJ Club: Zombie Bake-Off
Paulbearers Club (Paul Tremblay Book Club): Growing Things and Other Stories
ARCs: When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy, Boreal: An Anthology of Taiga Horror edited by Katherine Silva, This House Isn’t Haunted But We Are by Stephen Howard
I hope everyone has a great February. Let’s stick together and read lots of horror.
Thanks for reading.