The Book of Lists: Horror
Amy Wallace, Del Howison, & Scott Bradley

Harper
Paperback, 410 pages, $14.95
Review by David B. Silva

Some books are simply fun to read. The Book of Lists: Horror is one of those.

Let me get the negative out of the way first, so we can enjoy the rest of this effort. I’m not sure why they did this, but the table of contents in The Book of Lists: Horror is essentially useless. It really doesn’t help you navigate anything in the book. Even worse, there’s no index. This is a book begging for an index. If you want to track down anything specific, you’re on your own. Quite honestly, with 410 pages of material, it’s a pain to find anything unless you go through and make your own notes.

With that said, how could you not enjoy reading great little pieces like Ray Bradbury’s Five Horror Films That Most Influenced Him As A Youth, or Johnny Ramone’s Top Ten Favorite Horror Movies (believe it or not, Bride of Frankenstein (1935) is on the list)? There’s Anthony Timpone’s (the editor of Fangoria) Ten Movies I Wish I Never Put On The Cover of Fangoria. And Alan Beatts’s (he’s the owner of the Borderlands bookstore in San Francisco) Five Common Tactical Errors In Horror Films. And Victor Salva’s Ten Things We Have Learned From Horror Movies. And Stephen King’s Ten Favorite Horror Novels Or Short Stories.

You see?

It’s just a fun time all around. There’s over a hundred original lists, and for the most part the pieces here don’t take themselves too seriously (how about Top Ten Horror Movie Actresses Who Should Have Gotten Naked … But Didn’t?). Even in those entries that are more straightforward or even scholarly, the reading is absolutely fascinating.

Not all of these lists are original to this book. For example, Stephen King’s entry previously appeared in The Book of Lists 3. However, the vsat majority do appear here for the first time.

If you love the horror genre, you’re guaranteed to enjoy diving into this one.

Check it out: The Book of Lists: Horror

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