God damn it, guys. I forgot how much I hate doing this.

Alright, I guess it’s that time of year. Last year at the halfway point of 2025, I put my favorite reads so far in a tournament-style bracket to see which was the best. It was a traumatic experience.

So of course I had to do it again at the end of the year, using my favorite reads of the second half. And at the end of all that, I pitted the winners of H1 and H2 against each other. I ended up having to pit You against Maeve Fly. And yes, I did force myself to pick a winner.

The best book I read in 2025:

Awful. I hated it. Imagine having to choose a favorite child. Or cat. Or… well, you know. Book.

So, of course I have to be consistent and put myself through it again.

Even just putting the titles in the randomizer killed me. I now present the contenders!

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio (2018)

Hallowed Be Thy Name by Brooke Winters (2026)

The Rotting Room by Viggy Parr Hampton (2025)

The Invention of Sound by Chuck Palahniuk (2020)

Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian (2023)

You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews (2026)

Strange Pictures by Uketsu (2025)

Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky (2022)

Hazelthorn by CG Drews (2025)

The Trees Grew Because I Bled There by Eric LaRocca (2023)

Just Watch Me by Lior Torenberg (2026)

The Troop by Nick Cutter (2014)

Discontent by Beatriz Serrano (2025)

Sky Daddy by Kate Folk (2025)

The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers (1895)

House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski (2000)

Click on any of the titles below in Round 1 to purchase them!

Also, here’s my ritual disclaimer: Just being included in this tournament means that I found the book fantastic. You’re all winners in my eyes!

Round 1

Empire of Silence vs Hallowed Be Thy Name

Winner: Hallowed Be Thy Name

Well, this was a strange one right off the bat. Having to choose between an epic sci-fantasy similar to The Kingkiller Chronicle and Red Rising and my latest indie obsession (I’m talking rabid obsession, like, liking every one of Winters’ Threads post because I want her to have a great day)? This is already so not fun.

Ultimately, I’m going based off of my personal enjoyment of the books in this tournament, and I devoured HBTN in two days because I just couldn’t stop reading it, whereas during EOS I had to force myself to pick it back up sometimes (even though ultimately I loved the book). So, here’s a win for you, Brooke Winters! Support indie authors, a lot of them are actually amazing!

The Rotting Room vs The Invention of Sound

Winner: The Invention of Sound

Alright, this is just no fun at all. I loved both of these books so much. TIOS was so addictive I literally read it in one day (we had a power outage at work, but still). And The Rotting Room literally made me gag while reading, which is very hard to do.

These are both so good. I’m just going to reiterate that just making it into this post means I thought the book was FANTASTIC.

I’m sorry, Viggy. I think this goes to Chuck, given that after reading this book I ordered ten more of his.

Red Rabbit vs You Did Nothing Wrong

Winner: You Did Nothing Wrong

Now this is just no fair. Anything pitted against CG Drews is already at a disadvantage by default.

Red Rabbit was such a heavy hitter for me. We had ghosts, witches, friendship, love, and, of course, badass women being badass.

On the other hand, I was absolutely blown away by the skill and sensitivity CG Drews employed with their autism representation in YDNW. It had a creepy house whose walls literally bled, twists and turns, and a loving but gritty story of motherhood and the harder parts of it.

I think I’ve got to stick with CG Drews for now, though I really recommend picking up Red Rabbit if you haven’t already.

Strange Pictures vs Children of Memory

Winner: Strange Pictures

I know what you’re thinking. “Ava picked something over a Tchaikovsky???”

I’ve got my reasons. First, I love every book in the Children of Time series. Nobody else has ever written anything that’s quite like those babies.

BUT!

Children of Memory was my least favorite so far in the series. NOT saying I didn’t like it; clearly, if it’s part of my bracket at all, I thought it was fantastic. But it wasn’t quite as life-changing for me as the first two.

On the other hand, Uketsu absolutely came out of nowhere for me and gripped me hard (ouch!). Japanese horror has always been on a completely different level for me, and I loved the way Uketsu slowly and methodically presented me with a tantalizing mystery only to dismantle it and blow me away with masterful skill.

Damn. I should be a literary critic.

I’ve already read Strange Houses as of writing this, and it’s definitely going in H2 of this year’s bracket.

Hazelthorn vs The Trees Grew Because I Bled There

Winner: Hazelthorn

This was another horribly difficult choice. The stories in TTGBIBT were on a whole new level for me compared to other LaRocca works I’ve read, and it’s quickly become my favorite of his collections. I’m looking at you, chimp story.

Buuuuut remember how I said CG Drews is a heavy-hitter in this competition?

I’m an absolute FOOL for a queer gothic horror. And the eco-horror here was absolutely unmatched by anything else I’ve read so far. I actually got itchy while reading it.

Prediction: For my H2 bracket, Drews’ upcoming Scorpion Deep will last at least two rounds.

Just Watch Me vs The Troop

Winner: Just Watch Me

So, people give The Troop low ratings and bad reviews because it was hard to read and made them feel terrible. But if you read that sentence again, you’ll see that those people are kind of missing the point…

Nick Cutter has written scenes that make me want to shower in very hot water. And there are two specific scenes in The Troop that I will never, ever forget (for the curious, they’re the animal testing transcript and the turtle).

But I became an instant superfan of Lior Torenberg after I read Just Watch Me. It’s some of my favorite lit fic I’ve ever read and I immediately got depressed when I finished it because I wanted it to go on forever. She’s become an auto-buy author for me with just her debut, and I’m anxiously pacing in my cell waiting for her next release.

Discontent vs Sky Daddy

Winner: Sky Daddy

It’s very sucky that two of my favorite lit fics of the year ended up facing off in round one. I loved both of these so much. They both scratched this really specific itch I always have for that great weird fiction that you won’t see on shelves at Target.

I chose Sky Daddy because it had me in an absolute chokehold the entire time I was reading it. The premise sounds a little gimmicky- a woman who’s attracted to planes- but it’s actually a very addictive, funny, real and occasionally touching work of fiction. Discontent was quite similar in terms of the weirdness, but I did wish it was just a little bit longer.

The King in Yellow vs House of Leaves

Winner: House of Leaves

So, this match is pretty amusing to me. Both stories are great examples of weird horror, and I read them at around the same time. Main difference, though, is The King in Yellow took me an afternoon to read, while House of Leaves was over a month of suffering, groaning, shuddering, craning my neck, and attempting to solve puzzles for a few minutes before giving up and Googling the section.

House of Leaves felt inapproachable at times, but that’s something that comes with the premise of “insane guy writing a nonfiction book about something that canonically does not exist” (or does it?). I mean, Johnny literally said that you can skip whatever parts you want.

The thing that impressed me most about House of Leaves was the sections where the text is arranged on the page to reflect what was being said. When we’re in a cramped passage having to crawl on our knees, we only get small blocks of words in the center of each page. It’s actually quite genius. There are a ton more examples of it, but that was my favorite.

I do have a lot of love for The King in Yellow, though. It inspired a short story adaptation I posted here a bit ago, which in turn inspired my next collection, Cobwebs, due in September.

Round 2

Hallowed Be Thy Name vs. The Invention of Sound

Well, this feels like pure evil. My newest indie obsession vs. hometown hero Chuck Palahniuk? What makes this even harder is that both of these were devoured in short periods because they were so addicting.

You know what? I think this one goes to Brooke Winters. It’s just a gut thing.

Winner: Hallowed Be Thy Name

You Did Nothing Wrong vs. Strange Pictures

Yeah, we’re getting to the part of the book bracket where I just want to cry and delete the entire post. And also, just so you know, I’m deciding the winners as I write these. So you can witness my torment and misery in real time.

AGHH. Okay, fine. I’ll go with Strange Pictures. Don’t worry, CG Drews is still in the game with Hazelthorn.

Winner: Strange Pictures

Hazelthorn vs. Just Watch Me

I want to throw something at a wall.

Listen. Both of these have unexpected turns in their later sections that blew me the fuck away. And both feature incredibly deep and human characters that I felt like were my friends by the end of things.

I’m straight-up staring at my computer screen clenching my jaw trying to decide here.

Okay, fine. It’s Hazelthorn.

Winner: Hazelthorn

Sky Daddy vs. House of Leaves

What sucks is that since I’m doing the first half of 2026, I have to do the second half and declare a winner for the year. I can’t back out after this. I have to do this at least one more time in my life.

But it hurts, guys. It hurts so bad.

Listen, I will be thinking about House of Leaves for years. I can’t be blamed for that. There’s a reason it’s legendary in horror circles.

I think I’ll have to be consistent with my earlier self, though, and make this decision based on personal enjoyment. And, as Saige can testify, I had quite an abusive relationship with House of Leaves while reading it (evidence: the five snapchats a day of a ridiculous page captioned “GOD DAMN IT”).

Winner: Sky Daddy

Round 3

Okay. This is about to get nearly impossible, so I’m going to stop yapping and go purely off of my gut instincts for this penultimate round.

Winner: Strange Pictures

Winner: Hazelthorn

Final Round

Strange Pictures vs. Hazelthorn

What sucks about this decision is that these books are so different. Yes, they’re both horror, but they scratch two entirely separate itches for me (I don’t know why I keep using that metaphor, but it fits).

Those who are familiar with my very active Goodreads account know that, among other things, two of my great loves are 1. Japanese horror and 2. Queer horror. But these vibes are so different.

Hazelthorn makes you fall in love with and have empathy for its vibrant characters. It’s got an intoxicating setting with monster plants. Monster plants, for fuck’s sake. And the journey that both Evander and Laurie go through over the course of the narrative feels so real and earned. It is also (like You Did Nothing Wrong) a great metaphor for how people with autism constantly have to mask and often feel like prisoners around others. Also, I don’t know how but CG Drews writes some of the most intense romance ever while somehow keeping it all completely PG. That shows skill. I’m looking at you, bite scene.

Strange Pictures is an eerie trip through a foggy town in the middle of nowhere (not literally, but that’s how I’d describe the vibes). We start with a few odd drawings and somehow link them across a decades-long murder mystery that unravels before our eyes. Uketsu masterfully crafts a logical puzzle that tittilates (such a fun word) just enough to get us to think, but we’re ultimately satisfied with no questions left unanswered by the end. The mountain hiking section is particularly memorable in that it presents a very unique setup for showing evidence, and I love how we have to employ logic to determine the correct sequence of events. After I read this book, I immediately bought Uketsu’s other publications (and I think I liked Strange Houses even more-we’ll see it in H2 for sure).

So, if I had to pick (which I do, otherwise this whole post would be incredibly anticlimactic), which do I go with?

I think it’s coming down to the question of what I value more in a book- skilled characterization or its ability to thoroughly creep me out?

And you know what, I think I just answered my question there. Because one of these books has both those things, and the other only has one.

Winner:

Congrats, CG Drews! You’ve officially dominated my book bracket for the second time (H1 of last year came down to Maeve Fly and Drews’ Don’t Let the Forest In).

I’ll see you in half a year for the second round of torture.

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Monthly Writing Goals Update

17,926 / 20,000 WORDS

Alright, since you all are my most loyal followers, you get news before everyone else does.

My second collection, Cobwebs: Reimaginings of Classic Horror, is coming in September!

Right now you can pre-order the eBook from Amazon, or if you’re wanting a physical copy (old school like me), I’ll be handling the fulfillment of those orders myself this time (recall me ranting back in April about Amazon printing the wrong version of Losing Air!). It’ll be a little bit before I’ve got everything set up for the distribution, but you will be the first to know when I’ve got that ordering system up and ready to go.

In the meantime, it’s listed on Goodreads and if you’re a regular user of the platform, I’d love to see some of you mark it “Want to Read”!

If any of you reading are simply frothing at the mouth for an early copy of the book and would like to be an advance reader, please reach out to me via email– I’d love to get you an early copy if you’re willing to drop me an honest rating on your platform of choice!

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