My soul has entered this new year in the most strange and unusual way possible. But of course, what else would be new… hey, Boils and Ghouls?

I mean, starting the year with the 2016 social media trend really warped my mind, especially when it dawned on me that 2016 was 10 years ago…

Time really has been flying and that’s quite a frightening concept to think about. A colleague in university once told me that every single semester would feel shorter and shorter until the very last “blink of an eye” one to graduation and oh boy, were they ever right.

So instead of inducing existential dread this evening, let’s switch topics and talk about other things… like how about the dark and disturbing horror books I’m excited to explore this year!

2026 Reading GoAl

one hundred books

Yes. You did indeed read that correctly.
100%

I’m aiming to read 100 books this year— with sub goals of shrinking my physical TBR collection, raising my NetGalley Feedback Ratio (which currently sits at 67%) and including more audiobooks in the mix.

Last year I finished 80 books so what’s another 20?

Annnd would you look at that!

There’s a very relevant WordPress Daily Writing prompt that can easily start our discussion…

While I will have so much to tell you about the books I chose to read in January, I’ve noticed that today’s daily prompt asks “What books do you want to read?” and well… I have already finished all nine of the books I picked for January (and then some…)

Then, I thought, I could just link to my never-ending TBR lists on Fable, Goodreads and StoryGraph to show your the various books that I cannot wait to read:

…but then that would be a rather short blog post.

So for my response to the Daily Writing Prompt, I thought I’d share with the WordPress community a little sneak peek of my February ’26 reading list.

I’ve chosen to read nine books in total to read next month. Two of them are digital advanced copies I’ve been approved to read via NetGalley, three others are audiobooks (that I’ve either purchased or borrowed from the library) and the rest are physical copies that I either own or plan to also get from my local library.

Let’s begin with a couple advanced copies I picked from my NetGalley shelf…

February’s Anticipated NetGalley Advanced Copy Reads

Hunger and Thirst by Claire Fuller

Releasing on June 02, 2026

Thank you Tin House for granting me access to this early copy in exchange for my honest review!

Format: eBook

A dark, intoxicating story about a young girl desperate to belong, a reckless dare, and a choice that will haunt her for a lifetime, from the critically acclaimed author of Bitter Orange and Swimming Lessons.

1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job delivering mail at a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and some new friends, including wild-child Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at the Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can’t resist this hodgepodge family. But as Sue’s behavior and demands become more extreme, Ursula, who has always been hungry—for food, but more importantly for love and acceptance—carries out her friend’s terrible dare. And, for this, Ursula finds herself literally haunted.

Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned but reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by a true-crime documentarian researching an unsolved disappearance. But the filmmaker is not the only one who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without—and if they will finally make her pay for her past mistakes.

Part gothic horror, part coming-of-age, and a with contemporary twist on the haunted-house story, Hunger and Thirst is a chilling tale of loneliness, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing, and of how far a person will go to truly belong.

I know you were taught never to judge a book by the cover, but no one ever told me you can’t choose one because of them. I am such a sucker for aesthetically-pleasing book covers so when I saw this title (the cover to be exact) I had to immediately request to be a part of the ARC review team.

The Problem Drinker by Kyle Kouri

Releasing on June 02, 2026

Thank you CLASH books for granting me access to this early copy in exchange for my honest review!

Format: eBook

His girlfriend is horror famous, his own writing and acting is floundering, and he is drinking to make sense of it all.

Kyle Kouri’s debut non-fiction collection is full of ‘whiskey courage’ staring at the abyss of family, writing rejection, relationships, and his own drinking. From hijinks at AWP to hustling in the movie business, Kouri bridges the gap in drama between indie and horror.

At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, The Problem Drinker is the story of an artist living with another artist, yearning to move the needle in his career, amidst a sea of personal tragedies and comedies. If F. Scott Fitzgerald had one foot in the 2020s horror scene, that’s the spirit of Kouri’s caustic and big-hearted, lush and refreshingly candid debut.

As a big fan of C.J Leede and her work (e.g., Maeve Fly, American Rapture) I had to request her partner’s upcoming novel on NetGalley. I’m very excited to get to experience life through his perspective, read his words and get to know of who has captured one of my favorite author’s heart!

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If you want to be a morbid creep like us…

and haunt your inbox with blog updates and events!

Alongside those anticipated NetGalley ARCS, I’m also looking forward to the terrifying audiobooks I’ve chosen to listen to next month.

Let’s call it a frightfully fabulous February, in my eyes.

February’s audiobook Playlist ▶️

Because I’ve recently found a new love for audiobooks over the holidays and have been crushing hours upon hours of them this year, I made the decision to subscribe to Libro.fm and seriously couldn’t be more excited to have access to the numerous audiobooks they have in their library!

What pushed me towards Libro.fm vs. other audiobook providers was their initiative to support local independence bookstores with every purchase, so while getting to enjoy the audiobook experience, I’m supporting my local bookstore with my subscription and purchases.

If you’re interested in learning more about Libro.fm‘s lore and how it works, check our their website to see the full list of their membership pricings and credit options.

You can also use my referral code to sign up and start listening 🎧

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Shrinking my Physical To-Be-Read List

I’ve been trying to read through my physical book collection but as a mood reader with Tsundoku, I love to fill my shelves with paperbacks that I will eventually get to read (unlike the part of the definition that states “…letting them pile up in your home, likely to never be read.”)

Well, 2026 is going to be the year I try and tackle as many of those books as I possibly can!

physical books To Read in February

8114 by Joshua Hull

I got this paperback copy over the holidays and just wanted to immediately dive in, however I had so many other books to finish before I could even think of opening another cover, so I made it my goal to read for next month.

Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi

While exploring various female BIPOC (and LGBTQ+) authors and their books, I discovered Akwaeke Emezi and Little Rot, and will admit that with cover art that eye-catching, I needed to own the paperback. Since February is Black History month here in Canada, I thought what a perfect time to read this book and reflect on the tremendous contributions that have been made to literature within the Black community, in Canada and across the world!

Oddbody by Rose Keating

Another book cover that captured the attention of my eyes (heart, and soul) during a book browsing experience at my local bookstore over the holidays… so I had to have her for my collection.

And again, since I had backlogged myself with so many books from the previous year, I decided to tackle it in February instead like a smart ghoul.

Now… I don’t want to say I’m not buying anymore books until I read the ones I own… but I do want to try and conserve funds in the current climate that is the state of our economy.

Therefore, for the next couple of months, I’m going to reduce my purchasing habits and lean more heavily on my local library as a reading resource (especially to get my copy of Piranesi which is one of next month’s Morbid Curiosities book club picks)

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Another thing I’d love to accomplish this year is to set up some community book swaps (for horror and other genres) in my area so I can really cultivate and establish an inclusive, creepy East Coast coven— that can come together, chat and summon collectively our literature love of all things horrific and morbid. 💀

Originally I was only going to choose eight books for February, but with the velocity in which this speed demon has been reading, I figured an extra book wouldn’t kill me.

With a reading goal of 100 books to finish before 2017 minus the 14 books I’ve currently read, I’m extremely hopeful that I can make it across the finish line this year with 100 books read (or more…)

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Thanks for stumbling into this creepy crevice of the internet and getting caught in the webbing that is this horror blog. I hope you enjoyed reading about my eagerly anticipated books for February and maybe even adding a few to your TBR.

I do hope you come by more often, consider subscribing to become a morbid creep like the rest of us, and also have your own frightfully fabulous books chosen for next month!

Until we meet again,

+ Creep The Backrooms

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