31. Short Story Club: Horror Story by Carmen Maria Machado and spooky book recommendations
Today Chelsey and Sara are discussing \u201cHorror Story\u201d by Carmen Maria Machado for this season\u2019s installment of Short Story Club. Each quarter, we choose a short story that\u2019s widely available and discuss its genre, themes, and important moments before recommending books to pair with it. For spooky season, we decided to go with a fresh, new voice we both love. This super short \u201cmicro story\u201d felt like the right balance of spookiness for two readers who don\u2019t love horror. Of course, we end up taking a bit of a deep dive into the horror genre anyway. If you read the story and join us for this mini book club, please let us know what you think of the story!
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Our discussion includes:
- Machado\u2019s striking imagery and sparse prose
- What does the horror genre do? Why is it popular?
- Gaslighting in horror stories
- Deeper themes and metaphors
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Plus, as always, we\u2019re recommending six pairings,\xa0 including a modern gothic novel and a few scary short story collections.\xa0
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Shop the pairings: https://bookshop.org/lists/novel-pairings-for-horror-story
Books mentioned:
In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
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Shop the pairings:\xa0
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Chelsey\u2019s Pairings:
- His Hideous Heart ed. by Dahlia Adler [32:47]
- Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez [39:18]
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- Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft ed. by Jessica Spotswood [45:05]
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Sara\u2019s Pairings:
- The Bright Lands by John Fram [30:17]
- When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole [35:18]
- Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia [41:22]
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Also mentioned:
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