My Weirdest Reads of 2023
From morbid, gore filled horror to sock puppet love triangles - I've got your weird reads covered!
As an extra little gift on top of the two YouTube videos I have scheduled for this week, I wanted to give you a little more weird. Weird is my thing, after all. If you are a podcast person, you are in luck! If not, read on for the list in print.
Keep in mind, these are not mentioned based on star rating or my overall feelings about the book. These are simply the WEIRDEST books I read over the year. Some I liked, some I didn’t but all of them brought the strangeness. Enjoy!
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
This is a quirky little dystopian that follows a domesticated crow named Shit Turd as he navigates the end of the world by way of zombie apocalypse.
Swallow Me (W)hole by Briar Ripley Page
This is a short story so I won’t give too much away but the main character has a gaping, bottomless hole in their chest and the concern for this only grows over time.
Corrupted Vessels by Briar Ripley Page
A culty queer horror novella where “a tiny cult of vagrant youth, a web of sexual and romantic jealousy, angels, ghosts, insanity, and murder.” Very intense.
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman
Dark, historical fantasy following a disgraced medieval knight. In a village obliterated by the Black Plague, he encounters a young orphan girl who claims she can speak to angels and that the Black Death is only the beginning.
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
A mental health transcriptionist becomes infatuated by one of the clients who she affectionately names “Big Swiss.” If that isn’t strange enough, their paths cross and a relationship shortly follows. Weird and witty.
Bunny by Mona Awad
Very strange horror fiction with some magical realism splashed in. A college student becomes a member of a strange group of closeknit, pretty girls who affectionately call each other “bunny” and turn men into… animals? I don’t know, I still don’t really know what i read if I’m being honest.
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
AVAILABLE ON KU — In this sci-fi, dystopian, mothers who make mistakes are sent to the government sactioned reform school: The School for Good Mothers. It was strange, heavy and thought provoking.
Chlorine by Jade Song
An intense queer, horror fantasy following a passionate young girl determined to be the best swimmer, no matter the cost. It is dark and twisty. The audiobook was extra tense to experience.
Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca
Another queer horror heavy on weird from LaRocca! A Faustian deal gone wrong.
A Puppet Scorned by Jamie Kort
AVAILABLE ON KU — I discovered bizarre fiction this year and I have Jamie Kort to thank. A Puppet Scorned is a short story centering around 2 sock puppets in love, living in someone’s attic. Trust me, it brings the weird.
Unhinged by Vera Valentine
AVAILABLE ON KU — An erotic door romance. Need I say more?
Disseverment by Z.C. Krol
AVAILABLE ON KU — An extreme horror novella filled with gore and grotesque goings on. A man visits his long estranged and mentally ill mother and things go wrong. So, very wrong.
Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnam
AVAILABLE ON KU — Here we have another extreme horror novella about a husband and wife. The husband is a doctor and slowly dying from an unknown illness and the wife is a nurse who is caring for him as he goes. Lots of yuck.
Edmund Kemper, The True Story of the Co-Ed Killer by Jack Rosewood
A straightforward but interesting nonfiction novel detailing the life and crimes of serial killer Edmund Kemper.
What Kind of Mother by Clay McCleod Chapman
Southern gothic horror with a bunch of gory weirdness. This story follows a woman who moves back to her hometown to be closer to her daughter who she recently lost custody of. Her path crosses with a guy from her past who is searching for his missing son. Together they get into a mess.