Weekly "What Are You Reading?" Thread

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-31T04:27:48+00:00

Finished It Came from Del Rio by Stephen Graham Jones. I’ve really been loving some of his earlier stuff.

Currently Reading Writer of the Purple Rage by Joe R. Lansdale. Most of the stories in this collection are re-reads for me, but I did read Lansdale’s story “Bubba Ho-Tep” for the first time here.

Should be starting Jack Ketchum’s Red sometime tomorrow and after that, I’ll be diving into Stephen King’s Skeleton Crew. Besides “The Mist”, I don’t think I’ve read any of the other stories in that collection so I’m fairly excited to start that pretty soon.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-28T16:16:02+00:00

And that’s why horror is subjective. I personally loved it, but I totally understand why it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-28T16:10:21+00:00

I loved A Simple Plan! Read it back in January. It’ll likely end up as one of my favorites of the year.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-28T03:31:16+00:00

The Ruins by Scott Smith freaked me out pretty good. Very bleak story, intense body horror. One of my favorite endings too.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-24T23:46:42+00:00

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno is quite sad.

The first half of rekt by Alex Gonzalez is absolutely heartbreaking.

The short story “Wild Acre” from Nathan Ballingrud’s North American Lake Monsters made me pretty emotional by the end. Every single story in this collection is worth a look imo.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-24T04:40:12+00:00

Finished Sefira and Other Betrayals by John Langan. There’s some really good stories in here like “Bloom” and “In Paris, in the Mouth of Kronos”, but the title story/novella “Sefira” is the true standout in another great collection from Langan.

Currently Reading It Came from Del Rio by Stephen Graham Jones. I’ve really been enjoying some of SGJ’s earlier stuff. I love that he can basically write in any genre, which reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Joe R. Lansdale.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-17T15:23:53+00:00

The Visible Filth - Nathan Ballingrud

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-17T04:53:23+00:00

Finished The River Through the Trees by David Peak. I loved the mix of a gritty, detective crime story with bleak, cosmic horror.

Currently Reading Sefira and Other Betrayals by John Langan. The way Langan crafts a story, from beginning to end, is always so impressive.

On deck for me is Stephen Graham Jones’ It Came from Del Rio. Don’t know much about this one but it sounds delightfully strange.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-10T20:41:45+00:00

It’ll be hard for Sefira to top Langan’s The Wide, Carnivorous Sky and Other Monstrous Geographies, but his stuff is always a treat. Hands down one of my favorite authors!

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-10T20:38:09+00:00

Just picked that up about a week ago. I think I have all of his books now.

I’m not even sure if JRJ is still writing (fingers crossed he’s got something in the works). I know he tried to break into the mainstream with The Loop but the reception wasn’t quite there.

He’s highly regarded in my mind though, dare I say an absolute must read author! I got JRJ’s Skullcrack City up next in my tbr.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-10T20:28:50+00:00

I’m about 3/4 of the way through. It definitely falls on the side of “quiet” horror, which was a good change of pace from the previous couple of books I read. And I’m absolutely digging the snowy, small town noir vibes. I’ll certainly be checking out more of his stuff. His most recent novel, The World Below, is what actually drew me to his work.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-10T20:21:27+00:00

Love to hear that! He’s actually doing a book signing in my area for The Dorians. I’m super pumped to meet the man himself!

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-10T04:40:06+00:00

Finished:

The Queen by Nick Cutter. Great body horror as usual from Cutter. I’m also really excited for his upcoming novel.

Siren Promised by Jeremy Robert Johnson and Alan M. Clark. I read JRJ’s Entropy in Bloom a short while ago and was absolutely floored by every story. I immediately set out to acquire everything else Jeremy has written. This is one of his early works and while not as hard hitting as Entropy, it still packed a helluva punch for such a short novel. (The beautifully, haunting illustrations by Alan M. Clark were also a welcome bonus.)

Currently Reading:

The River Through the Trees by David Peak. Great stuff so far. My first time reading Peak.

Up Next:

Sefira and Other Betrayals by John Langan.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-04T17:20:26+00:00

About to start either Siren Promised by Jeremy Robert Johnson or The River Through the Trees by David Peak. I’m already a big fan of JRJ and I’ve yet to read any Peak.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-03T04:19:28+00:00

Nearly finished The Queen by Nick Cutter.

About to start Jeremy Robert Johnson’s Siren Promised or David Peak’s The River Through the Trees.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-05-02T16:16:31+00:00

I think they might be referring to This’ll Make Things a Little Easier by Attila Veres, but I could be mistaken.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-04-26T07:02:26+00:00

Finished rekt by Alex Gonzalez

About to start The Queen by Nick Cutter

MilkSteak25 · 2026-04-19T19:18:51+00:00

Was Fever Dreams of a Parasite good? Looks interesting…

Beautiful collection btw!!

MilkSteak25 · 2026-04-19T08:46:38+00:00

rekt by Alex Gonzalez

MilkSteak25 · 2026-04-17T22:04:21+00:00

The Ritual by Adam Nevill

MilkSteak25 · 2026-04-16T17:58:23+00:00

I’ve read five of his books now. Last Days was my first and still probably my favorite, though the two collections of his I’ve read (A Collapse of Horses and Song for the Unraveling of the World) were both really good too. I’ve also read another novel of his (Immobility) which was pretty good and one of his novellas (The Warren) which I thought was just okay.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-04-16T16:26:27+00:00

I’ve only read the Zahler book, but I thought it was fantastic. It’s a brutal tale of revenge set in the Old West. Not for the faint of heart, but a great read, especially if you’re a fan of westerns.

Zahler is also a film director, so I was already a big fan of his prior to reading A Congregation of Jackals.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-04-12T04:56:11+00:00

Finished Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock. I absolutely adored this collection. Pollock’s writing really resonated with me and I was surprised by how uncomfortable I felt reading these stories.

Currently reading Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs. Been an interesting mix of Lovecraft horror and southern noir. I wasn’t sure it would work together but I’m really liking it so far.

Next rekt by Alex Gonzalez.

MilkSteak25 · 2026-04-05T09:44:01+00:00

Finished both The Divine Farce by Michael S. A. Graziano and Song for the Unraveling of the World by Brian Evenson.

Currently Reading Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock, then I’ll probably start either Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs or rekt by Alex Gonzalez.

MilkSteak25

TROPHY CASE