It has happened to every reader. You take a solo trip to Barnes and Noble. You take the obligitory bathroom break right as you enter. (seriously. why do I have to use the bathroom the second I walk through the door) You begin to peruse the shelves. And then you come upon it, the book that you judge by its cover because it is just so perfect!
I mean look at this cover? The perfect resemblance to a VHS tape from the 80’s? The sticker like embellishments? The spine that looks so perfectly like the VHS tapes lined up in the spare room of my childhood home? This was coming home with me!
I read “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” back in 2017 or 2018, so I can’t quite tell you why I didn’t love the book. I don’t remember. But, I disliked it enough that Grady Hendrix was added to my “do not read” list for a long time. It felt like Hendrix got a sign from the universe that I never wanted to read another one of his books again, and was determined to change my mind. I mean seriously, this man speaks to all of my interests with his choice of topics.
A washed up 90’s lead guitarist from “We Sold our Souls”
Nice North Carolina mom’s fighting against the undead in “A Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires”
To top it all off, they all featured female protagonists. It felt like Hendrix had my number and was just biding his time until I would crack and buy another one of his books.
He finally got me with “Final Girl Support Group”.
Now let me tell you something dear reader. I love a slasher flick. Specifically, pre 90’s slashers. Jason, Leatherface, Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers, Chucky. And the best part about the slashers? The women and girls who beat them and get away! The final girl. The pinnacle of resilience and “fuck you” to everything a slasher represents. Color me intrigued when a novel gets release where a bunch of final girls get together and go through group therapy together. Hendrix got me. He lured me in, and I needed a book for my new book club. “The Final Girl Support Group” was on the docket, and I was ready to enjoy my spooky read and discuss how bad ass the final girls were with my friends.
Alas, Hendrix tricked me again and I was left disappointed. By this point in my reading journey, I was using goodreads, so my hope was this was one of the books I left a written review on. Unfortunately, there is nothing but a two star review. I am left wondering why I disliked the book so much! Why the two star review? I am not scared of leaving a one star review if I truly despised a book. What did I find redeeming?
Again, I vowed. No more Grady Hendrix. We were done. I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.
Again, two years later, I returned to Hendrix.
I had resisted his 2023 release “This is How You Sell a Haunted House” without issue.
He did not come after me in 2024. No books released that year.
Then comes “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls” this year… damn it. Witchcraft, wayward, the groovy lava lamp cover. How is a FLswampthing to resist? She can’t! It has almost everything her Stevie Nicks loving swamp witch soul could want on a book cover. I was reading this one. But, I wasn’t paying for this one! Off to the library I went. And by off to the library, I mean off to my Libby app on my phone. Only 1 person ahead of me for the book. Not a long wait, but you never know how long someone will take to read a book.
I needed something else in the meantime. And since I was already dipping my toe in Hendrix’s writing again, I figured I would dive head first back into his world. I’ll go back to the book that I always eyed at the bookstore.
“A Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires”
Next post will be a deep dive into the two books….
Leave a comment