Reading Challenge: Books in the Freezer Podcast 2023

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This is the second year I’ve participated in the Books in the Freezer Horror Reading Challenge, and both times have been an absolute blast. I love listening to Stephanie on the Books in the Freezer bi-weekly podcast — which discusses “the deliciously disturbing world of horror fiction” — as she welcomes a range of amazing guests and covers a variety of fascinating, horror-related topics.

As with my prior reading challenge post, I’ve included the prompts for the Books in the Freezer 2023 Reading Challenge above (click on the images to view larger versions) and my selections for each below.

​​2023 Books in the Freezer Horror Reading Challenge:

• Book Published in 2023; Spooky Non-Fiction: A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak
• Horror Retelling: The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
• Book with an Orange or Purple Cover: The Only One Left by Riley Sager
• Single-Author Short Story Collection: They Were Here Before Us by Eric LaRocca
• Book with Chapter Titles: Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
• Book by an AAPI Author: Chlorine by Jade Song

• The Title is a Place: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
• Translated Horror Novel; Food-Centric (Bonus): The Vegetarian by Han Kang
• Indie or Small Press Book: The Vein by Steph Nelson
• Book with an LGBTQ+ Protagonist: These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall
• Book with a Dysfunctional Family: Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
• Book About a Fictional Show/Movie (Bonus): Ancient Images by Ramsey Campbell

Of the books I chose, my favorites were Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones, The Vein by Steph Nelson, A Mystery of Mysteries by Mark Dawidziak, The Only One Left by Riley Sager, Chlorine by Jade Song, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, and Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin (so many new and new-to-me books to love!).

And, in keeping with the podcast’s theme, my freezer-worthy titles were . . . pretty much all of them, as every single book had at least one component that gave me (the good bookish type of) anxiety while reading and would absolutely terrify me in real life! Even Northanger Abbey, which I found to be an absolute delight, was full of stringent manners, restrictive societal expectations, and conniving faux-friendships horrifying enough to make anyone run for the hills!

Are you participating in any horror reading challenges in 2023? If so, what new favorites have you discovered along the way?

❤Amanda

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