Recs if you like Spread Me...

Keep tracking of PB lore one TBR train book at a time. List of books that have unexpectedly + delightfully affected our PB experience. (PB pyramid scheme name approved by our queen of clownery @ayzrules + the book that led the scheme by our pink queen @crybabybea)

are you sick of being recommended stephen king when you ask for a horror novel? have you picked up a book expected to be scared, but the scariest thing about it was a woman being needlessly tormented and gaslit? have you read 4627473 books about a man in a haunted house and need something different?

if so, this list is for you :)

a masterlist of horror by anyone who isn't a straight cis white man, started in 2022 and brought to pb in 2026.

forced into unending sleep or perilous insomnia, repeating tedious daily routines until your body rots, watching as your skin starts to glow or your hands sprout scales - these novels feature illnesses that are far from typical

if you enjoyed / find yourself enjoying my strange plagues quest, you’ll find even more suggestions for further reading within the niche here!!!

Ever dreamed of getting railed by Pyramid Head? What about falling in love with a murderous monster? Then, babes, you're in the right place. These romance and erotica reads are horrifying, frightening, and downright titillating. 😏

For interconnected series, only book 1 is listed. Open to recs!

Note: These are romance/erotica books with horror themes and horror books with romantic/erotic themes. Come get this hot and scary goodness!

Book that have an element you’ll miss out on if you read as an audiobook, whether it’s fun formatting or illustrations

As you turn the first page, a wave of dread consumes you. You see a library ticket at the front; 'The Library of Jurgen Leitner'. Who is this man? And why does this book seem to have such a horrible effect on your mind, your body, the world?

(For The Magnus Archives enthusiasts. Suggestions welcome though I may be a bit picky 🤓)

This is a list of Mushroomcore related books! We have everything from horror, to cozy and fantasy/sci-fi. This is the era of Spontasy (Fantasy), Spomance (Romance) and other genres too. Essentially it's time for the mushroom goblins to take over the world

Horror books with a page count of 200 pages or less.

Before we started defining novellas by word count, they were defined as being any book less than 200 pages. Source: my Analysis of Short Stories & Literature professor in community college. I loved that class. But he loved James Joyce. So, ymmv, I guess.

Weird, unusual, or taboo LGBTQ books that may make you slightly uncomfortable

If I had a nickle for every time a book about milk and minotaurs ended up on my TBR because of book social media, I’d have 2 nickels; which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it’s happened twice.

This is dedicated to the weird AF romance/erotic books I’ve come across.

erotic ≠ smutty (necessarily) it just may be erotically charged (ie Lobster)

submissions welcome

//PLEASE CHECK TW BEFORE READING ANY OF THESE BOOKS - READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION//

Books We Love from NPR began in 2013, always boasting over 200 books (almost 400 in recent years) featuring genres from memoirs, to cookbooks, to graphic novels, to children’s literature, to nonfiction, to novels. Check out NPR’s website to filter this massive list.

The list is in reverse alphabetical order directly from NPR.

The stars are beautiful, but the void is hungry. These are stories of cosmic dread, alien mysteries, and the terrifying unknown lurking beyond our own planet.

These people are not following proper first aid protocol, but who's complaining? A hole is a hole, regardless of how the hole got there. Open to suggestions of all genres and to all "first aid" decisions.

Short-ish (& sometimes spicy) standalone speculative stories.

all things fungal horror ❤︎⁠ there are a few mushroom and cottagegore lists around, but i wanted to make a comprehensive guide to the genre! suggestions welcome :)

Horror and thriller stories that prominently feature trans characters, across age groups and sub-genres. 🔞

Recommendations welcome!

✦ I have not read all of these books - if you notice anything that seems to be mis-labeled/mis-placed on this list, please let me know! ✦

Books featuring spores, molds, and fungi. Suggestions welcome.

queer books under 200 pages because sometimes you just want to read something short (and queer)

Call me a monster? Have it your way 🤷‍♀️ Queer characters who become something wild, feral, misunderstood--and maybe also a literal creature.

Suggestions welcome!

If horror, why hot?