The Final Gong

A Year of Reading 2021

 It's time to reflect on my year of reading for 2021.  It has become my annual tradition to spotlight my notable reads for the past year. It's a fun way to reflect on the best material I've had the honor of reading instead of making some inaccurate, ever-changing, or controversial ranked list.

I like to present those books that really stood out to me in the past year. I read thirty-eight books this year, two less than last year. The following are the books that have left an impact for one reason or another. They are presented in chronological order as I read throughout the year. I hope you will be inspired to check out any on this list that you haven't and discover those you wouldn't have ever considered.

And now, my most notable reads of 2021:

• The Writing Life: Reflections, Recollections and a Lot of Cursing by Jeff Strand (2020) Independently Published: I don't usually go for writing fiction but Jeff Strand's book on writing takes a different approach than most. Strand cut his teeth during a changing era and he's had a good degree of success in the digital publishing age. Not only do I admire his work, but also, his work ethic. A must-read for anyone writing and publishing in the digital age.

• Billy Silver by Daniel Volpe (2020) Independently Published: Real. Uncomfortable. Wet. Daniel Volpe exploded onto the extreme horror scene early in 2021 with his viseral book, Billy Silver. Its a gritty, honest tale that presents a protagonist that you have no right rooting for and yet, for some reason, you do. You feel left as disgusting a human being as Billy Silver is in the end. Great ride!

• The Slob by Aron Beauregard (2019) Maggot Press: The Slob is disgusting. This Splatterpunk Award nominated book tells the story of the most depraved, dehumanized serial killer ever. Picture an episode of hoarders but with kidnap victims and the remains of those who came before them. Yeah, that's The Slob. Gross.

• Hogzilla by Mike Baron (2020) Wolfpack Publishing:  Last year, Mike Baron's FLORIDA MAN earned its way onto my notable reads list. This year he has returned with an even stronger follow-up to its predecessor, HOGZILLA. Where Florida Man lacked a narrative direction, Hogzilla is a finely tuned machine of storytelling. All the while, never losing its bat-shit-crazy edge that made the original a sucess.

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  Bird Castles by Justin Grimbol (2019) Atlatl Press:  Justin Grimbol has appeared on every notable reads of the year list I've done. He's a fixture. Bird Castles is another charming, poetic, simple and beautiful addition to his pantheon of wonderful poetic prose. I look forward to presenting another Grimbol book on the list next year.

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  Zoltergeist the Poltergeist by Douglas Hackle (2021) Independently Published:  Douglas Hackle presents what he claims is the penultimate book of his catalog. Douglas Hackle is is own genre but for my money, Zoltergeist the Poltergeist is my #1 Bizarro Fiction book for 2021 and the only worthy candidate for the Wonderland Book of the Year. Plus, these this thing in a cabinet that's the creepiest fucking thing in a book ever.

• Things Were Easier Before You Became a Giant Fucking Mantis by Matthew A. Clarke (2021) Independently Published:  Had Douglas Hackle not gone and written the most brilliant Bizarro book since Danger Slater's I WILL ROT WITHOUT YOU, Matthew A. Clarke's charming, twisted tale of the trials and tribulations of inter-cryptid-alien-species love would have been my top pick for Bizarro book of the year. As it is, it sits at number two and still earns a privileged place on my list of notable reads for 2021.

• Mother Maggot by Simon McHardy (2020) Potter's Grove Press: To say Mother Maggot has had a complicated publishing history is an understatement. The initial appeal of this book, at first, was simply getting my hands on a copy. Mother Maggot kept getting deplatformed from any distribution platform it was placed on. And yet, it had incredible buzz for being the most disgusting book ever written. Finally I was able to snag a paperback copy before it was removed from the retail market again. What I read became a focal point for how, what and where I consumed my fiction ever since. Mother Maggot brought extreme horror back into province. It was the 'killer app' that field the early success of Godless.com (an extreme horror fiction distribution platform that doesn't give a fuck if you are offended.) Mother Maggot also gets my nod for Cover of the Year. Look at that bad-ass thang!

Honorable mentions for 2021 include: 

• EVIL BIGFOOT MONSTER by FF Monsoon, a book that figures into Jeff Strand's THE WRITING LIFE. 
• WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING, Max Booth III's book turned big screen movie about a dysfunctional family trapped in a bathroom after a tornado strikes.
• THIS IS A HORROR BOOK, Charles Austin Muir's short story collection that packs a whallop.
• THE DEMON, THE DUMBWAITER AND THE DOUCHBAG, newcomer Sal Cangemi's bizarro tale of an apartment building tormented by a fuzzy demon. Its a Troma movie told in words not celluloid.

This year, only two books of the thirty-eight I read earned my elusive 5-star rating.  I hope I'm not becoming too much of a curmedgion in my old age. This year, I found the books I reached for were different than years prior. A new crop of extreme horror has made a lot of people take notice, myself included. A new distribution platform, Godless.com, has fueled a lot of that attention. Godless is a disruptive force and so far has proven to be a game changer for a lot of readers. Much of what is offered on Godless is very short and inexpensive fiction, much of which I deemed too short to quantify as a read on Goodreads. I may have to do a separate list for the short Godless stuff next year because it still deserves attention and recognition.

You can check out the complete list of the books I read in 2021 on Goodreads.
You can check out my notable books read from 2020 HERE.