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 Pollock
• Knockemstiff (2008), by Donald Ray Pollock
• Come Closer (2003), by Sara Gran
• Lord of the Flies (1954), by William Golding
• Boys in the Valley (2023), by Philip Fracassi
• The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore (2018), by Kim Fu
• Devil’s Creek (2020), by Todd Kiesling
• Gather the Daughters (2017), by Jennie Melamed
• The Girl Next Door (1989), by Jack Ketchum
• Along the Path of Torment (2020), by Chandler Morrison
• Apartment 16 (2010), by Adam Neville
• Last Days (2012), by Adam Neville
• The Reddening (2019), by Adam Neville
• Lonesome Dove (1985), by Larry McMurtry
• A House with Good Bones (2023), by T. Kingfisher
• Number One Fan (2020), by Meg Ellison
• House of Leaves (2000), by Mark Z. Danielewski
• Let the Right One In (2004), by John Ajvide Lindqvist
• Betty (2020), by Tiffany McDaniel
• On the Savage Side (2023), by Tiffany McDaniel
• Whalefall (2023), by Daniel Kraus

 
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