Book Review: Hear Us Scream: The Voices of Horror edited by Catherine Benstead, S.C. Parris, and Violet Burns

**Cross Posted from the Circulation Desk**   Hear Us Scream, 2021 ISBN: 9780645235500 Available:  Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition  ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )   Vivid and intimate, these nonfiction reflections examine how and why folks find homes in the horror genre.   The women and nonbinary contributors’ offer personal horror journeys that blend and balance scholarly insights with intensely personal […]

Nonfiction Review: Women Make Horror: Filmmaking, Feminism, Genre edited by Alison Peirse

**Cross Posted from the Circulation Desk** Rutgers University Press, 2020 ISBN-13: 9781978805118 Available: Paperback, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com ) Women working in the horror industry today are severely underrepresented. Although they have been making horror for centuries, many women have been cut out of that history and/or had their authorship and creative influence denied. What is more, […]

Book Review: Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pains of the Real Vampira by Sandra Niemi

***Cross Posted from The Circulation Desk*** Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pains of the Real Vampira by Sandra Niemi Feral House, 2021 ISBN-13: 9781627311007 Available:  Paperback, Kindle ( Bookshop.com  | Amazon.com ) Glamour Ghoul is the biography of the woman who was Vampira, Maila Nurmi, written by her niece, Sandra Niemi. Pieced together from diaries, notes, family stories, and an unexpected […]

Book Review: 1000 Women in Horror, 1895-2018 by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

***Cross Posted from The Circulation Desk*** 1000 Women in Horror, 1895-2018 by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas BearManor Media, 2020 ISBN-13: 9781629333861 Available:  Hardcover, paperback ( Bookshop.org ) 1000 Women in Horror, 1895-2018 is a beautiful book that includes the stars and women behind the scenes who have molded the horror genre. Heller-Nicholas provides a global view of the “vast number of […]

Book Review: The Science of Women in Horror: The Special Effects, Stunts, and True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fright Films by Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence

***Cross Posted from The Circulation Desk*** The Science of Women in Horror: The Special Effects, Stunts, and True Stories Behind Your Favorite Fright Films by Meg Hafdahl and Kelly Florence Skyhorse Publishing, 2020 ISBN-13: 9781510751743 Available: Paperback, Kindle edition  ( Bookshop.org) The Science of Women in Horror explores theories behind women’s roles in horror. The book is broken […]

Book Review: Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle

**Cross Posted from the Circulation Desk.** (  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com  ) Melville House Publishing, 2019 ISBN-13 : 978-1612197920 Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook Sady Doyle has written a witty, chatty, insightful, and angry book on female monstrosity. Her premise is that women who claim ownership over their voices and bodies are constructed as monsters because they violate […]

Book Review: The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Meara

***Cross posted from The Circulation Desk*** (  Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com  ) The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick by Mallory O’Meara Hanover Square Press, 2019 ISBN-13: 9781335937803 Available: Hardcover, paperback. Kindle, Audible audiobook When Mallory O’Meara discovered that one of her favorite movies, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, featured a […]

Book Review: It Came From: …The Stories and Novels Behind Classic Horror, Fantasy and Science Fiction Films by Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison

**Cross Posted from the Circulation Desk.** (  Bookshop.org ) Midnight Marquee Press, Inc., 2020 ISBN-13: 9781644300916 Available: Paperback In this book, critics Jim Nemeth and Bob Madison explore genre films and the written works that inspired their creation,  Each is presented in its own section, chronologically, and the written works that inspired them. While this book primaritly […]

Graphic Novel Review: A for Anonymous: How a Mysterious Hacker Collective Transformed the World by David Kushner, illustrated by Koren Shadmi

 ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com ) **Cross posted from the Circulation Desk.** Bold Type Books, 2020 ISBN-13: 9781568588797 Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle While A for Anonymous doesn’t fall into the category of horror and dark fiction or horror-adjacent titles that Monster Librarian typically reviews,   there are a number of real-world horrors that are addressed by author David Kushner and illustrator Koren Shadmi […]

Book Review: Writing In The Dark by Tim Waggoner

**Reposted from the Circulation Desk.** Guide Dog Books, 2020 ISBN-13 : 978-1947879195 Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition  ( Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com ) To properly review this book, I believe a writer needs to be at the helm. New writing manuals crop up so often, it’s tough to decipher which are worthy additions to your collection.  I challenge any […]