My Month in Reading, August 2023

The books I read in August can be divided into three categories; great, amazing, and bonkers.

Great

Moonlit Path of Madness, by Catherine McCarthy (Nosetouch Press)
- My full review is here, but this is a gorgeous gothic novel.
Accidental Death of An Anarchist, by Dario Fo, Franca Rame, and Tom Basden (Nick Hern Books)
- Basden’s 2022 adaptation of the Fo classic play is hilarious. I really hope Daniel Rigby’s performance get filmed; I’d love to see it.
A Haunting in Hialeah Gardens, by Raul Palma (Penguin Random House)
- This was a real surprise, and I’m so grateful to Penguin Random House for inviting me to review. My thoughts are here, but this unique novel of human horror is worthy of your attention.

Chlorine, by Jade Song (William Morrow)
- This book, y’all. I was not ready. A bildungsroman, a story of abuse, a story of finding yourself, a story of love. And certain parts that I will never, ever forget.
A Guest in the House, by Emily Carroll (First Second)
- Another gorgeous, disturbing piece of work from Carroll, she is Through the Woods fame. I devoured this in a couple of hours. I loved it.
Chrysalis, by Anna Metcalfe (Random House)
- Another pleasant surprise; I actually requested this on NetGalley by mistake, and I’m so glad I did. Similar in tone to Chlorine, and incredibly well-written. I immediately sought out all of Metcalfe’s work after I turned the last page. Full review here.
Elena Knows, by Claudia Pineiro, translated by Frances Riddle (Charco Press)
- You were all right about this book, it’s amazing. I went in having no idea what it was about, and came away a changed person. So rich and absolutely devastating. I grabbed Pineiro’s latest work, A Little Luck, as soon as I could.

Wild Spaces, by S.L Coney (Tor)
- Another weird coming-of-age story. Full review here, but I would encourage going in without any prior knowledge. It’s pretty short too.
Revelator, by Daryl Gregory (Knopf)
- This has been on my shelf for a while, and I’m glad I finally got around to reading it. A weird god who lives in a cave, worshipped by a remote community? Yes please!
Where I End, by Sophie White (Tramp Press)
- Possibly the most brutal book I’ve read since Tender is the Flesh. So, so unsettling and weird. Highly recommended.
The Handyman Method, by Nick Cutter and Andrew F. Sullivan (Gallery/Saga Press)
- The Shining with an iPad. My full thoughts are here, but this was fun.