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.

A Year in Reading 2020

 It's time to reflect on my year in books for 2020.  It has become my annual tradition to spotlight my noteable reads for the past year. I think 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 and God forbid, controversial ranked list.

I like to present those books that really stood out to me in the past year. I read forty books this year, one 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 2020:

• Florida Man by Mike Baron (2020) Wolfpack Publishing: This one suffered from a lack of direction. Despite the fact that the whole time I was reading this book I never understood the plot, it was still an insane, crazy ride of a read. I decided the plot was the title, the plot is Florida Man and that's good enough and different enough to earn a place on my list.

• The Hanover Block by Gregor Xane (2014) New Dollar Pulp: Look at that cover! If that cover alone doesn't make you want to pick up this book and find out what the hell that thing is all about then perhaps picking up the book and finding out what the hell that thing is all about will make you want to pick up the book to find out what the hell that thing is all about. And, I assure you, that thing on the cover is in the book and the book is full of mystery and intrigue. Its a book about keeping secrets and the biggest secret is that thing on the cover.

• We Don't Talk About Her by Andersen Prunty (2018) Atlatl Press: A story about the grass is always greener expect when it isn't. This one turns, flips, swerves and rolls over, keeping you on your toes. The truest meaning of a page-turner. My only complaint that is was too short. I wanted not to talk about her more, more, more!

• Mud Season by Justin Grimbol (2017) Atlatl Press:  Justin Grimbol has become a perennial fixture on my most notable book of the year lists. This year I read Mud Season, which continues the lovable poetry/prose styling that only Justin can seem to write. Not-so-obvious slices of life told beautifully and whimsically. There's nothing not to love about Justin Grimbol's work. Any of it.

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  The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum (1989) 47North:  I admit it. I didn't read The Girl Next Door until 2020. I feel like the member of some unfortunate club of people who've experienced this book. And, it is an experience. It felt real, too real. I felt as if by the very act of reading further I was causing the poor girl in this book to go through what she'd been through many times before in many other reader's minds. Scary. Truly, scary.

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  The Sea Was Angry by Armand Rosamilia (2020) Severed Press:  The Sea was Angry. The Sea was Pissed. The Sea was Irate. The Sea was Out to Get Us. The Sea was Relentless. Great cover. Wicked concept. Action packed dark thriller. Mindless fun.

• The Ballad of Ricky Risotto by Marc Cavella (2020) Belle Devereaux Publishing :  Marc Cavella came out of left-field for me. A total stranger whom I interviewed on my podcast (with focus on another of his books.) Marc talked about this book which was about to come out so when it was released I picked it up. The Ballad of Ricky Risotto was underpromised and overdelivered. Great, solid story about a fiction wrestling federation that takes place in the late 70s/early 80s right when a certain real wrestling federation was about to explode onto the world stage.

•  F250 by Bud Smith (2014) Piscataway House: I've been orbiting around Bud Smith for quite some time but a different book of his entirely. Then, I heard a glowing review for F250 on a book discussion show and decided I would start here. Bud Smith is a gem. This is what I like to call blue collar fiction. Its a character study of a guy working through life told by a guy who works blue collar jobs and writes on his iPhone about blue collar life.

• Wormwood by Tim Meyer & Chad Lutzke (2020) Thunderstorm Books/Silver Shamrock: You can expect nothing less than excellent story telling from each of these authors. Put them together and you are sure to get something extraordinary. And that is the result with their collaborative effort, Wormwood. Initially released as a limited edition paperback by Thunderstorm Books via Night Worms and subsequently released as ebook and paperback from Silver Shamrock. 
  
  

Honorable mentions for 2020 include: DEAD HIGHWAY by J.C. Walsh, a balls to the wall cosmic horror that crosses Fast and Furious with The Call of Cthulhu. KUMQUAT by Jeff Strand, his stand-out romantic comedy that is (I shit you not) a romantic comedy, no horror here just Jennifer Aniston level fun! There was also BRIDES OF HANOVER BLOCK by Gregor Xane that was just as good as the first book but I didn't want to include two books of the same series on the list. Lastly, DON'T SMELL THE FLOWERS THEY WANT TO STEAL YOUR BONES by Duncan Bradshaw, one of my favorite Bizarro reads of the year that fell just shy of making the most notable list.

This year, I rated four different books at 5 stars. That up from just one in 2019. Overall, it felt like a pretty good year in reading. Great stories are what helped keep our minds off the world outside the pages. I'm already looking forward to reading tons more potentially great books in 2021. Lord knows I have enough on the shelves (physical and digital alike) to keep me reading for many years to come. 

You can check out the complete list of the forty books I read on Goodreads.
You can check out my notable books read from 2019 HERE.