5-18-25 — Christina Critiques Stoker, Booker List, and Indie Horror
- Christina Pfeiffer
- May 18
- 4 min read
Happy Sunday once again! Can you believe we are almost in June? Well, no matter what month it is, we have reviews to attend to. And there is a nice mix for everyone. Even grandma!
SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN LONG NON-FICTION
**I want to preface this category with I could not access some of the nominations and one was a DNF. Unfortunately, only one will be reviewed.
HORROR FOR WEENIES: Everything You Need To Know About Films You’re Too Scared To Watch
By: Emily C. Hughes
Release: 9/3/24
Page count: 272
KU: No Hoopla: Audiobook only
Synopsis: Are you like me and hate watching horror films but still wanna be a cool kid and know the scuttlebutt? This is your chance.
First line: “I didn’t start habitually watching movies until adulthood (a fateful viewing of Poltergeist at my tenth birthday party scarred me, and it took a while to get past it.”
Favorite line: “… it’s [horror] a genre that explores fear, how it motivates and shapes our lives and those of the characters we’re watching.”
Thoughts: I FINALLY feel like I know about these movies (even though I didn’t watch them). I make no secret that I’m a wuss when it comes to horror movies (says the woman who has memorized parts of a book titled Genital Grinder and the Header trilogy). I really hope this isn’t a one and done type of book, I could read this yearly. Hughes packs thorough spoilers, trivia, and humor.
Rating: 6/5
INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLIST FINALIST
ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME (Book 1)
By: Solvej Balle
Translated by: Barbara J. Haveland
Release: 11/26/24
Pages count: 161
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Tara and Thomas must navigate life very differently after the November 18th.
First line: “There is someone in the house.”
Favorite line: “We live in a world of ghosts.”
Thoughts: I want to immediately disclaimer this book: it ends abruptly. I mean, think THE SOPRANOS abrupt. (Not the plot but you know what I mean.) If you don’t enjoy those types of books, this isn’t for you. It is a series so I’m assuming it gets resolved although I haven’t continued just yet. BUT if you aren’t a baby and can handle it, it hurts. It forces you to go through the days with the couple and ask yourself, is this worth it? Should she leave? Would I? Could I survive this? And it just leaves you sighing in sadness. (Which I looooove).
Rating: 6/5
Other recommendations: I will be continuing the series.
INDIE HORROR
HAIRS
By: Ira Rat
Release: 12/1/24
Page count: 56
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Pulling back the social concepts of art, perception vs. reality, the quest for perfection and need for approval from parents, Rat refuses to sugar coat any of that in this short story collection.
First line: “You are the same decaying meat as everything else; the mirror read in the jagged fumes of a seasoned street tagger.”
Favorite line: “Would you die for modern art? At least conceptually?”
Thoughts: Are you going through Chandler Morrison withdrawals? Ira and more than scratch that itch for you. Bleak, nihilistic, and some of the most soul revealing prose I have ever read. I just kept thinking, “Damn, where have you been?” Don’t let the length of the stories fool you, there’s more than meets the eye with these.
Rating: 6/5
TEENAGE GRAVE
By: Jo Quenell, Sam Richard, Brendan Vidito, and Justin Lutz
Release: 4/30/22
Page count: 46
KU: No Hoopla: No
Synopsis: Four stories that focus on death and love in very different ways.
First line: “Dad’s house reeked of rotten fish.”
Favorite line: “The guilt that festered inside Caiden meta sized, rampaging through him like some necrotic infection.” - “Apate’s Children” by Brendan Vidito
Synopsis: Brutal but not in a bloody way per se. More in how each sentence is another layer to peel back to expose a deeper meaning of the story and you, the reader. Yep, it’s one of those collection that can turn into a study of self-reflection and I am loving it.
Rating: 5/5
Other recommendations: TEENAGE GRAVE 2
ZomCom’ics
By: Emi MG
Release: 4/15/25
Page count: 272
KU: No Hoopla: Yes
Synopsis: Zom is a zombie girl just living life - as best she can. Along with her friends, a werewolf and a vampire, all hell can break loose at any time.
Another disclaimer: This graphic novel has no words
Thoughts: This is a picture book for adults, and I loved it so much. It allows the reader to infer so much and lets YOU decide what’s funny without needing punchlines forced on you.
But I learned somethings in this graphic novel:
sometimes the Grim Reaper fucks with you and kills your plants (is is a reminder or a threat)
best part of being a zombie is a detachable head (useful as a weapon in a pinch)
werewolf parenting in the worst on a full moon (just go to sleep!)
werewolves are really just adult dogs (the worst)
All jokes aside, this was just belly laugh after belly laugh. I really hope hope to see this as a Stoker nominee next year. It deserves all the above.
Rating: 5/5
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