156 – Sadie Hartmann & The Books of Our Horrid Hearts

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Sorry not sorry this week. Yes I’m going to destroy your wallet and your bookshelves…but you LOVE IT!!

Our guest is Sadie Hartmann, AKA Mother Horror to the likes of us. One of the most influential horror reviewers in the world. The editor in chief of Dark Hart Books and the co-owner of the Night Worms horror subscription service. She knows a thing or two about this haunted library.

And she’s written a book to guide the unwary, or the just-plain curious. Or anyone who wants a new book to read. 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered is Sadie’s guide to the horrid books that she loves – the ones that chill her blood, warm her heart and turn her stomach. 

We talk about her selection process, her blogging origin story, the gatekeeper problem in horror, our shared fear of certain kinds of book and the joy of scary stories featuring kids on bikes. 

Renew your library card or get ready to buy some books!

101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered was published on August 8th by Page Street Publishing

Other books mentioned in this episode include:

The Devil All the Time (2012), by Donald Ray PollockKnockemstiff (2008), by Donald Ray PollockCome Closer (2003), by Sara GranLord of the Flies (1954), by William GoldingBoys in the Valley (2023), by Philip FracassiThe Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore (2018), by Kim FuDevil’s Creek (2020), by Todd KieslingGather the Daughters (2017), by Jennie MelamedThe Girl Next Door (1989), by Jack KetchumAlong the Path of Torment (2020), by Chandler MorrisonApartment 16 (2010), by Adam NevilleLast Days (2012), by Adam NevilleThe Reddening (2019), by Adam NevilleLonesome Dove (1985), by Larry McMurtryA House with Good Bones (2023), by T. KingfisherNumber One Fan (2020), by Meg EllisonHouse of Leaves (2000), by Mark Z. DanielewskiLet the Right One In (2004), by John Ajvide LindqvistBetty (2020), by Tiffany McDanielOn the Savage Side (2023), by Tiffany McDanielWhalefall (2023), by Daniel Kraus

 
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