Now that 2021 is behind us, it’s time to look ahead to the new year. There’s no telling what 2022 will bring us, and I’ve been struggling with feeling optimistic as we head into another year of the pandemic, but at least one good thing is certain: there will always be new books! In fact, there are so many exciting new releases coming, that I was able to compile this year’s list of books to read in record time. Here are just a few of the books I’m looking forward to: Continue reading Books I’m Excited for in 2022
My 2021 Reading Challenge Recap
This year has been an amazing reading year for me—though it’s been a real rollercoaster of a year in almost every other way. These days, I’m reading at a pace that I haven’t matched since high school, often finishing more than one book a week. This is the first time in many years that I’ve easily blown past my numerical reading goal. However, I wasn’t quite as successful with my content-based goals. Let me walk you through my year in books:
Books I Edited in 2021
Reflecting back on 2021, the thing I am most proud of this year is finally kicking off my freelance editing career in a serious way. And the years of working on this blog seriously helped me to get there! I’ve held editorial ambitions since well before I launched The Gothic Library, but spending the last six and a half years writing weekly posts in which I critically evaluate books, communicate about what works and doesn’t work in a story, and build relationships with authors and publishing professionals has given me the foundation I needed to finally embark on this path. And I’ve found editing books to be even more fulfilling than I could have imagined! Read on to learn where you can find some of the books that I’ve worked on this year: Continue reading Books I Edited in 2021
A Tribute to Anne Rice
Gentleman Death has come in silk and lace to put out the candle of one of our most beloved writers. Anne Rice’s son Christopher announced to her fans via Facebook late Saturday night that the Vampire Chronicles author has passed away due to complications from a stroke. But much like her creations, Anne Rice is truly immortal—in the sense that her literary impact will continue to affect writers and readers for generations to come. Continue reading A Tribute to Anne Rice
Cursed Gifts in Gothic Literature
‘Tis the gift-giving season! As the days grow cold and dark here in the northern hemisphere, giving your loved ones presents for the holidays can be an excellent way to warm each other’s hearts. But if you’re living in a Gothic story, you should probably be wary of any gifts you receive…. What seems like a gift often turns out to be a curse instead. Here are a few of my favorite examples of ill-fated gifts in Gothic literature:
Review of The Witch King
Would you want to rule over a kingdom that hates you? Wyatt Croft certainly doesn’t in H. E. Edgmon’s The Witch King. This debut YA fantasy novel came out this past summer and centers on a trans witch who escapes from a fae kingdom, only to be dragged right back into its politics and prejudices—and romance! I’ve been hearing so much hype for this book this year, and I’m so glad I finally got the chance to read it. Continue reading Review of The Witch King
Gothic Settings: Abbeys and Monasteries
I’ve discussed before on this blog how the Gothic literary genre takes its name from the Gothic style of architecture. Appropriately, the medieval structures that typify this architectural style are often used as the backdrop to Gothic stories. The obvious example, and the very first structure I discussed in this series on Gothic settings, is the castle. But another place we see Gothic architecture from the Middle Ages is in religious buildings, such as monasteries and abbeys.
Review of Comfort Me with Apples
Catheryn Valente is known for drawing on fairy tales and retelling classic stories, such as in her Russian folklore-inspired novel Deathless. But her latest book takes quite a different approach, obscuring exactly which story it is retelling until the very end. Comfort Me with Apples, which came out just last week, is a bite-size horror novella that packs quite a punch for its small size. Continue reading Review of Comfort Me with Apples
Preview of The UnConvention 2021
Well, it’s been over two years since I last participated in a convention or large-scale event of any kind. Attending conventions was, of course, only one of the many activities that had to be put on pause at the height of the pandemic. But now I am excited to cautiously venture out again into the world of conventions, starting with a brand new event this year: The Unconvention.
2021 Jane Eyre Retellings
Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is one of literature’s best-known Gothic novels and certainly one of the most commonly read—and for good reason! Jane Eyre was at the forefront of a wave of a new variation on the genre that really gave the Gothic Romance a sense of the romantic. The interplay between Jane’s fierce independence and her blossoming passion for the brooding and Byronic Mr. Rochester is a love story as relatable today as it was in 1846. And I do mean today: 2021 seems to be the year for revisiting Jane Eyre. Of course, there have been reimaginings of Brontë’s story in years past—most famously Jean Rhys’s feminist and postcolonialist vindication of the “madwoman in the attic” with Wide Sargasso Sea in 1966. But something in the air seems to have everybody returning to this Gothic classic all at once right now. Below are a few Jane Eyre retellings that all came out within the last year: Continue reading 2021 Jane Eyre Retellings