I Should Read That

Hi there! It has been awhile, hasn’t it? I was recently thinking about this blog, which I started back in 2017 as a way to combat a lot of free time at work (GDPR laws were starting to be announced and about 80% of my job violated them, so we had a couple months of me sitting around trying to figure out what to do). Since that time, I’ve grown massively as a reader, reviewer, and general human being. These days, I spend most of my time talking about books in places like Tiktok and Instagram, but lately I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic for my written reviews of old. So I thought to myself, why not start this site back up again?

I’m certainly reading just as voraciously as I was when I last posted in 2021. Reviewing my last few posts, I was reading a lot of fantasy and science fiction at that time. However, over the past few years, I’ve really gone in for horror books. “But Justine,” you might ask. “You cry at the idea of watching a horror film. You sobbed so hard 20 minutes into The Blair Witch Project that Scottish Husband had to turn it off and hold you for an hour. Why horror books?” A great and extremely valid question. Being a reader who doesn’t visualise very well certainly helps. But mostly, I really love the way that horror books explore society, relationships, and the world at large – especially queer horror. I’ve become a huge fan of haunted house books (The September House by Carissa Orlando was my favourite read from 2024 – highly recommended) and possession books (Come Closer by Sara Gran is another favourite). Plus, I’m a little bit spooky.

What else has changed since my last blog post? Sadly, we lost Queen Sophia, my cat soul mate, to kidney disease in 2023. Some of you may remember that she moved from New York to the UK with me almost 10 years ago – I wouldn’t have left without her. She was my best pal and she’s sorely missed (except by the vet, who I think is still scared of her). However, we adopted two kittens in February 2024 and they’re seriously filling the void. Antonio (Tony) and Fiona (Fifi) are brother and sister and pure chaos – they’ve brought us a lot of joy. Although Tony chews on my books, they do make excellent reading buddies and love nothing more than snuggling up with my and a good book. Dax, who is doing great and is cuddlier than ever, was baffled by her new siblings, but she’s come around. The three of them are thick as thieves now!

I’ll be doing some work on the site for a little while, so expect some changes to come! I’ll be getting some reviews and update posts ready, but wanted to say hi to you all first.

That’s enough about me! Tell me about you! What are you reading right now? Have your reading tastes changed at all over the past few years? Send cat pics too.