On my horror picks

Horror is a genre that I’m trying to get into more. But I have to be careful - reading the wrong book at the wrong time will keep me up all night (sometimes because I have to read a much calmer and fluffier book to calm down). For the moment, here are my horror story picks that will keep you on your toes:

• Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix - Dreadful things happen inside a haunted IKEA. This book is both hysterical and terrifying. It's a fun and quick read and definitely worth picking up (for the beautiful artwork if nothing else).

• Red Dragon by Thomas Hardy - This prequel to Silence of the Lambs is horrifying and incredibly memorable. This series is a must-read for those with a dark fascination with serial killers.

• Coraline by Neil Gaiman - A little girl in a new home finds a passage to another world where things seem to be better. But what seems good on the surface might be far darker underneath. This YA horror novel is a great start for any young readers who are interested in the genre.

• Slade House by David Mitchell - Every nine years, someone disappears near an abandoned house. How long will it take before someone can stop the inhabitants of the house from taking more innocent people? This newer horror novel is terrifying and an interesting look at supernatural forces controlling a creepy house.

• The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - This early horror/detective novel is an excellent start to the genre and shows that people can be quite evil without any supernatural assistance.

What horror books have you enjoyed recently? What horror books would you add to this list? How do you feel about horror as a genre?

On bookish goals and checklist mentality

I have what I call a “checklist mentality,” meaning I’m most motivated by checking things off my list. Measurable goals resonate with me and excite me, while vague, progress oriented goals are more difficult for me to work towards or stomach. That sometimes makes reading a bit difficult, since reading is checklist-oriented in small ways, but not always in bigger ways.

Goodreads challenges help my checklist mentality a lot. It gives me a way to easily measure my progress and check things off as I work towards a concrete goal. I love that.

Other sorts of reading goals are difficult for me. Something abstract like “I should read more science fiction” or “I’d like to learn more about David Bowie” aren’t usually helpful. I tend to lean more towards “I ONLY READ SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS NOW” rather than “I’ll read a few and that will help me be a better sci-fi reader”.

That’s why finding The Herd Presents 2017 Pick Your Genre Challenge really spoke to me. The challenge requires readers to pick a certain amount of books to read within a chosen category, thereby allowing me to have a checklist to finish while still reading books outside the genre. It’s a helpful tool to use and it’s useful to be accountable to other bloggers to achieve my goal.

So here is what I’m doing: I’m committing to read 15 sci-fi books this calendar year (since sci-fi is legitimately a genre I want to learn more about). Since this only recently became my focus, I’m still pretty far off, but I have several months in which to work towards this and hopefully get it checked off.

What are your bookish goals? Are there any genres you’re working to read more of? What cool bookish challenges have you participated in?