This is going to be a cruel summer, I can feel it. Extreme heat, monster bugs, the creeping dread of another presidential election in the States. I’ve decided to embrace it as best I can with a full Goth vibe, reflected in my TBR.
But regardless of the pain, summer is when things slow down for most of us, so I like to build an actual TBR pile for myself to enjoy while I have the extra time. Keep reading to see what I’ll be picking up over the next few months.
Every summer I like to set a fun theme for myself. It’s a way to play around with different clothes, music, food, makeup, etc. I’m someone who enjoys a bit of change, and when I feel things getting stale I like to mix it up. This themed summer lets me play with things to see what I might want to add into my everyday routine.
This summer’s theme is Goth, as stated above. I wasn’t a Goth as a teen, aesthetically speaking. I was much more a punk. But “goth music” has been a top favorite of mine my whole life. I’m a big lover of ‘80s New Wave and anything with ethereal synths and vocals. So I’m not completely unfamiliar with the vibe.
This summer I’ve bought myself several black linen dresses, a big floppy black sunhat, black lipstick (thank you to everyone on social media who helped me find good brands!), and my first harness. I’ve also built a massive Goth playlist on Spotify. It’s a bit broader than just Goth, but I tried to keep it all related.
For my Summer TBR I’m of course focusing on some Goth vibes but also on some fast summer reads. I want to relax and have fun after a hard few months.
Non-Bookish Recommendations
I’ve been enjoying a lot of new music lately! WILLOW’s new album, empathogen, is phenomenal. It sounds like a jazzier Tori Amos. WILLOW is one of my favorite artists, and this album did not disappoint. I’ve also been listening to a lot of metalcore, deathcore, and hardcore…all the cores! Spite, Thrown, and Knocked Loose have all been on repeat. I have a theory that Darius from Spite is actually the Vampire Lestat back again, but now in a harder band than his Nu Metal outfit in 2002.
My husband and I recently saw Knocked Loose live on their headlining tour (we’ve seen them live on other tours before), and they had a hardcore band from Australia called Speed open for them. Speed absolutely stole my heart at that show! Their energy was amazing, they were incredibly positive and community focused, and they did their research about the Pittsburgh hardcore scene and talked about it on stage.
Most importantly, their front man busted out a concert flute and jammed with it for a hot second. The image of that extremely jacked man two stepping with a silver flute in his hands is the most glorious thing I’ve ever seen, and it will be a cherished memory forever.
If you aren’t a huge fan of heavy music but instead enjoy musicals and silly things and West Side Story / Grease / Xanadu references, my coworker recommended the Teen Beach movies on Disney+ to me and they are delightful! The humor is smarter than I was expecting, the dancing is excellent, and they cheered me up!
My Summer TBR
This is my informal TBR for the warmer months. Some of these I crossed off the list in May, some of them I probably won’t be able to get to at all, but this has been and will be the pool I pick from when I need another read. An FYI, the majority of the below books are linked with my Bookshop affiliate links.
The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni: This is just a suggestion based on several books on this list, but maybe going to Italy or Greece just isn’t a good idea. Especially if it has anything to do with family. Alberta Monte has inherited a title and a castle in the Italian Alps. A dream come true! But once she gets there she learns a dark hidden truth about her ancestry. This sounds like more fun Gothic creeping dread!
The Dead Spot: Stories of Lost Girls by Angela Sylvaine: A new short story collection by one of my favorite horror authors! The cover of this collection has a delightfully Gothic vibe.
The Devil and Mrs. Davenport by Paulette Kennedy: A housewife in the 1950s begins to receive messages from the beyond, throwing her squeaky clean life into question. She begins to “act out,” disrupting the status-quo. Her God-fearing husband begins to believe she’s being controlled by the Devil. Is she?? I don’t know, but a lot of people enjoyed this books!
Diavola by Jennifer Thorn: A dysfunctional family goes on vacation in Italy, but their charming remote villa also happens to be dysfunctional…not a great combination. This is a haunted house story, and I love a good haunted house.
Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo: I’m kind of saving this one for my trip to Chicago in a couple of weeks. Pelayo write with an extremely strong sense of place, and her books are almost exclusively set in Chicago. This one is really calling my name. It’s deeply inspired by The Little Mermaid (not the Disney version) and incorporates a ton of Chicago history and crime. Very much for me!
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore: This is set in the Adirondacks in Upstate New York, so you know I’m already obsessed with it. A young teen goes missing from a summer camp in the 1970s, fourteen years after her own brother went missing from the same camp…a camp her family owns. I’m in.
Goth: A History by Lol Tolhurts: Tolhurst was an original member of The Cure, and this is his in-depth examination of the Goth subculture. This is exactly what I need to catch up to Gothic speed.
Goth by Otsuichi: Despite having the same name as the previous book, it’s not a historical retrospective of the subculture. This is a collection of related short stories about a weird Goth girl obsessed with murders who teams up with a classmate to investigate local murders of their own. Her fascination grows. This sounds like it has a similar vibe to the Keanu Reeves / Crispin Glover film River’s Edge, so I’m intrigued.
Jackal by Erin E. Adams: “A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the first--and she may not be the last…” This books takes place near Pittsburgh in a town with a horrifying real life history of its own. I’m so excited to finally read this Summer Scares title!
The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas: Newlyweds Evelyn and Richard have what should be a relaxing honeymoon planned on a small Greek island, which is deeply needed after a chaotic wedding. Unfortunately, relaxation is not what they get. This is supposed to be an unsettling, suspenseful modern gothic by a master. I haven’t read Thomas before, but she comes highly recommended.
Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison: I love Rachel Harrison, and for some reason I’ve been hoarding this one. I think I’ll like it the most, so I’ve been avoiding picking it up because once I read it it will be done. I have a problem with that. Anyway, this is a feminist werewolf story, and it’s also a Summer Scares pick. Perfect for this summer!
Tangerine by Christine Mangan: If you like Patricia Highsmith and Ottessa Moshfegh, this might be for you. Set in both Tangier and Bennington College in the 1950s, we follow two college roommates both in school and after. Lucy shows up unannounced in Tangier to visit her old college roommate, Alice. But Alice is not doing so well in her new life, or so Lucy thinks. Alice doesn’t understand why Lucy is there, especially after what happened back at school. This is a suspenseful thriller with unreliable narrators and a perfect summer setting. It also managed to hit on a specific fear of mine and really freak em out!
Things to Do When You’re Goth in the Country & Other Stories by Chavia Woods: I bought this short story collection back when it came out and it has sat looking beautiful on my shelves for years. Time to read it.
This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer: A geologist, his research assistant, a rock climber, and her boyfriend…they all travel to an untouched cliff in Kentucky determined to conquer it. But they disappear instead. Seven months later, three bodies are found in various states of desecration, but the rock climber remains missing. What happened??
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell: It’s shameful that I haven’t read this short story collection yet. I bought it on a good friend’s strong recommendation, and I’ve taken with me on countless trip, intending to read it, but I never do. I think it’s another example of me knowing that I’m going to love it and being scared of it being over. Whatever, grow up, Jocelyn.
What’s Next?
In June I’m hoping to return to some horror novellas. Fellow Southwestern PAer Micah Castle has a new novella out called A Home in the Darkness that I’m enjoying right now, and I of course have my ever growing stack of novellas to pick from. I’m not sure which I’ll feature yet (maybe two??). We’ll see!