it’s complicated: mother-child relationships
Fiction & nonfiction books that explore the complexities and traumas of mother-child relationships or in which such relationships play a central role. While many books on this list are what I’d classify as including “mommy issues” there are others that are more about the different perspectives and nuances of the mother-child (often specifically mother-daughter) relationship. Some books center the child, some the mother, some both.
Suggestions are welcome.






assigned by frankie
almost every single book mentioned* on 🔗 Frankie's Shelf youtube channel because their taste is wild and i love it.
updated as frankie posts. *mentioned as in the book is the focus of the video, listed in the description, or offhandedly said.






Weird Gurls Read Weird Horror
the gurls NEED to read horror books 💋 i wouldn’t say these are all horror but that’s left to the reader to make that assumption






Feral and Hysterical: Works by Women
List of recommendations included in Sadie Hartmann's Feral and Hysterical: Mother Horror’s Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark and Disturbing Fiction by Women.
Pairs with 50 States, 50 Books by Women list.






Cunty Sapphic Horror
Horror recs for the weird sapphic girly pops






Aardvark Book Club master list
Every single Aardvark Book Club book pick since its inception. Updated monthly!






Irish Horror Fiction
Horror and horror-adjacent books set in Ireland and/or by Irish authors. I welcome additional recs!






Let's get weird and existential!✌️🤪
Books that make you feel things. Or want to feel things. Or unsure of what you're feeling. Things get weird, you're unsettled and on the edge of your seat, and you can feel your brain physically rewiring itself while you're left questioning "WTF did I just read, and what do I do now?" The answer, of course, is to touch grass and read the next book on the list.






Femgore
Horror stories focusing on female characters who commit acts of violence rather than being the victims.






grief is a journey
fiction books centered around characters processing grief 🦋






Scream Queens
A reading list celebrating the women who know exactly how to get under your skin! Thankful for the gurlies!!!






Weird Women Horror
"Weird girl literature" with different flavours of horror elements
💜 yarnandbooks






sapphic horror






Widows Bay Required Reading
if you’re craving something that feels like the next martha’s vineyard (iykyk)! books that evoke the same feeling as the magnificent tv show ‘widows bay’






oh brother, this guy stinks! 🍅
books to hate-read, recommended by the pagebound club comments
people hate the character(s) but they couldn't put the book down 😋
(antihero, villain protagonist, unreliable narrator, etc.)
boo!! tomato tomato!! 🍅🍅🍅






Goodreads "Horror For Beginners"
Created from the list on Goodreads by Cybil and Sadie Hartmann (September 29, 2025)






“Weird Girl” Books to Read to Feel Well Adjusted
It’s always nice to feel like a normal person by reading about those more unhinged than you 😌 These are all women focused books. Some I’ve read and some I’m going to read. Apologies in advance if it gets long. Recommendations are absolutely welcome!! So please feel free.
I know a couple are written by men which might be taboo for some but I’ve included because I thought they were appropriate or the author has a track record of writing women well.






Pink Horror
Horror focusing on themes of womanhood (including girlhood, sisterhood, motherhood, daughterhood, wifehood, female friendship) and the experiences of women and fem people (such as misogyny, body autonomy, feminine rage, sexualization, beauty standards, trauma, etc)
Not always necessarily written by women but I think I want to keep this list limited to books written by women and nonbinary people
Always looking for recommendations!






My reading slump did my reading goal dirty
Playing the catch up game!
Last year my slump hit me hard so here’s a collection of quick read to help you catch up or just town over the line in time!
It’s a mix but promise the all pack a punch! All <270 pages 🥳






trick or treat: short and sweet
horror books under 250 pages





