Monday, 31 March 2025

My Year in Books 2025: March

Another month where I didn't have much chance to read for pleasure, so another post with only one book on it. Ah well. I'm sure I'll catch up on my terrifyingly precarious to-read pile soon.

In case you're curious, here are my other posts from the year so far: January, February

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay (2024)


This one was another library book. I was drawn to it by the promise of horror, 90s nostalgia and a lost film. I love horror stories about lost films… and Horror Movie didn’t disappoint. This is definitely the best book I’ve read for a while, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since I finished it. The book’s narrator is an unnamed man who, when he was younger, took part in the filming of a horror film that was never released. In the present, a producer is interested in remaking (or rebooting or reimagining) the film, which has gained a cult following due to a couple of scenes being released onto YouTube. As the sole remaining cast member, the narrator is asked to advise and possibly even revisit his role as the iconic (or notorious) ‘Thin Kid’. The story unfolds through present-day sections about the Thin Kid dealing with the producers and his strange kind of fame, flashbacks to the original filming in the 90s, and sections of the film’s script. None of this description really does the book justice. It’s an immersive, unsettling read, and I just couldn’t put it down. The Thin Kid is without doubt one of my favourite horror characters in the past few years, and the way Tremblay unfolds the story before our eyes is mesmerizing. By the end, I felt like I could genuinely see the scenes from the eponymous film, as if I’d actually watched it. I can’t stop gushing about this book!