March HORRORscope
by: Katelynn Jasper
Shop this article: https://bookshop.org/lists/suspense-readin-magazine *affiliate linkDear reader,
March is upon us and it’s the perfect time to prepare for eclipses, retrogrades, and more with a new book. Get ready for Mercury retrograde to make you think deeply about communication, and with International Women’s Day on March 8th, this is the perfect time to pick up a horror book in translation by one of the many talented women writers and translators in the world. These ladies have the power to make you scream—no matter the language!
*Please check trigger warnings.*
Aquarius
January 20 – February 18
Aquarius, when you communicate with others, they appreciate your open-minded, original, and thoughtful approach to getting your point across. This March is a great time to put that power to use by contacting your local representatives to speak up for those (and yourself) in your community. On your TBR for this month, check out Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (Argentina), translated by Sara Moses. Hamburgers, hotdogs, and chicken tenders aren’t what they used to be in Bazterrica’s terrifying dystopian world where animals have been wiped out. But people still hunger for flesh, tender flesh. Marcos is in the business of slaughtering “special meat” and is a man who likes to stick to his very methodical process. But all of that goes down the drain when he is offered a rare, live specimen. Little by little, Marcos begins to communicate and bond with this fresh meat and suddenly the question of what it means to be human will cause a growing crack in his perception of the world.
This book is truly a one-of-a-kind reading experience with straightforward, inescapable writing that will leave you with your jaw on the floor as you experience every twist.
Pisces
February 19 to March 20
Pisces, you are an expert at flowering your communication with metaphors and stories that leave those lucky enough to hear you speak with a dreamy, poetic experience. This March, try your hand at writing poetry and then take it one step further by attending a local poetry reading near you to share your creations with others. On your TBR for this month, check out Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin (Chile), translated by Megan McDowell. Part eco-horror and part ghost story, this book will leave you feeling like you were dreaming with your eyes wide open. In a rural hospital, a young woman named Amanda lies in a bed awaiting death. Beside her, a young boy named David keeps her company. But Samantha does not know the boy and he doesn’t know her, yet both their stories weave together to tell a haunting tale of broken souls, corrupt power, and love spurred on by desperation. This is a book that will leave you waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat—wondering what it really means to be awake and if you ever were.
Aries
March 21 – April 19
Aries, you don’t play around with your words, preferring to get straight to the point with anyone you chat with. This March, try lending this power to attending your local community town hall and letting your representatives hear you loud and clearly on the issues that lie dear to your heart. On your TBR for this month, check out Pink Slime by Fernanda Trías (Uruguay), translated by Heather Cleary. The world teeters on the edge of apocalypse as a mysterious plague wreaks havoc after the appearance of a strange algae bloom. The narrator of the story, a nameless young woman, refuses to leave her community, her mother, and the young boy she’s been left in charge of—even when the air grows toxic and the only food available is a revolting pink paste. While the privileged escape, those left behind and their stories paint a harrowing story of love, responsibility, and resilience in the face of the destruction of humanity.
This book will help you find the most succinct way to not only stick up for yourself and others but also say no to that questionable dish at your next office potluck.
Taurus
April 20 – May 20
Taurus, while you might be slow to open up at first, once you do, those around you will see how direct, patient, and consistent you are with your expression. This March, try prioritizing getting together with friends over coffee and share something about yourself you haven’t before. On your TBR for this month, check out Woodworm by Layla Martinez (Spain), translated by Sophie Hughes and Annie Mcdermott. There is a house—a house where secrets, ghosts, and cursed women haunt every hallway and lurk behind each unopened door. When the women finally decide to join forces with the spirits that have haunted their family line for a long time, they get closer to the thing they’ve always craved—justice. Brutal justice. This class-conscious horror novel will make you put your shyness away as you crave to tell every stranger you meet about it.
Gemini
May 21 – June 21
Gemini, you are the master of banter, often wooing others with your wit, curiosity, and quick-thinking wordplay. This March, join your local improv group and put those impeccable communication skills to good use! On your TBR for this month, check out The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez (Argentina), translated by Megan McDowell. Get lost in a twisted world where a woman is obsessed with human hearts, missing children suddenly reappear, and a trip to a swimming hole turns into a bloody nightmare. This collection of macabre short stories is set against the backdrop of contemporary Argentina and pays homage to the darker things in life we often like to ignore. Whether you read this book from front to back or skip around from story to story, you will find yourself clinging to every clever and disturbing sentence.
Cancer
June 22 – July 22
Cancer, you are not one to let your emotions or your thoughts lay dormant, and therefore crave meaningful conversations where you can express yourself freely. This March, try visiting your local bookshop and picking up a new journal to capture the ways you find yourself feeling throughout the year. On your TBR for this month, check out Revenge by Yōko Ogawa (Japan), translated by Stephen Snyder. This collection of short stories highlights a wicked web of the fates of doomed strangers set to cross each other’s nightmarish paths. When an aspiring writer moves into a new apartment, she discovers her landlady hides her awful deeds in her garden. Meanwhile, a man festers with his thoughts of preserving the heart of a woman who has become his obsession into a custom-tailored bag. This book will leave you feeling emotions you never even knew you could experience before.
Leo
July 23 – August 22
Leo, you are a natural storyteller with the power to command attention through words glittering with flair and warmth. This March, consider starting a podcast or writing for your favorite magazine (*cough cough* Readin’) so that others can enjoy the true work of art your words are. On your TBR for this month, check out Sing, Nightingale by Marie Hélène Poitras (Quebec, Canada), translated by Rhonda Mullins. The Malmaison estate has seen the generations of men, the women they trap, and the children they leave to rot come and go. For a long time, it has sat quiet, but the son is returning home—evoking an awakening of the women doomed to lurk in the shadows and their hunger for violence. Malmaison estate will witness it all, like it has for centuries. It’s time for the hunters to feel what it’s like to become the hunted. This gothic tale, perfect for fans of Angela Carter, will demand to be front and center in your mind, so prepare for it to be a top read of your year.
Virgo
August 23 – September 22
Virgo, there is never a detail you leave out or a word that hasn’t been precisely chosen when you use your voice. This March, try joining a local book club where others will surely appreciate what you bring to the table with your analytical, thoughtful, and detail-oriented way of communicating. On your TBR for this month, check out I Remember You: A Ghost Story by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (Iceland), translated by Philip Roughton. While renovating a rundown house in an isolated location, three friends discover the place might not be as empty as they thought. Something is there with them, and it’s very clear that it wants them to leave. Meanwhile, in a nearby town, a doctor investigates the suicide of an elderly woman who was shockingly obsessed with his vanished son. Both parties will soon learn that the truth is often more terrifying than anything they could imagine lurking in the darkest, remote corners of this earth.
No matter how many lights you try to turn on in your home, they won’t be enough to keep the terrors in this story from creating shadows in the corners of your eyes.
Libra
September 23 – October 23
Libra, you always find a way to maintain harmony and balance in any conversation in which you choose to partake. This March, take a spontaneous trip and strike up a conversation with a local who is sure to feel flattered by your charming and tactful conversation topics. On your TBR this month, check out Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval (Norway), translated by Marjam Idriss. Dripping with lyrical, sexual, and political imagery, this novel focuses on Jo, a young exchange student desperate to find housing in the foreign land she finds herself in for university. With flats filling up in the blink of an eye, she takes a chance on a strange house with no walls, occupied by an even stranger roommate. A roommate that awakens Jo’s senses as something deliciously dark grows between them among the random mushrooms and rotted apples that litter the place. This novel is heady with queer desire and wrought with prose perfectly balanced between alluring and off-putting.
Scorpio
October 24 – November 21
Scorpio, it is no secret that you like to delve deep when given the chance to converse with others. Your communication often goes beyond words as you utilize your intense gaze, magnetic presence, and controlled movements to get your message across. This March, take a dance class where you will thrive by communicating less with words and more with your body. On your TBR this month, check out Through the Night Like a Snake (Latin America), edited by Sarah Coolidge. Ten terrorizing tales leap from the minds of an ensemble cast of contemporary Latin American writers to infiltrate every page with unimaginable horrors. Get to know a murderous Kermit the Frog, or indulge in a story where mountain fog isn’t what it seems. Your definition of what a horror story is will forever be changed after reading this collection of works.
Sagittarius
November 22 – December 21
Sagittarius, everyone around you knows you love to indulge in a philosophical discussion. While you may be blunt, your positive outlook is at the cornerstone of every conversation you strike up. This March, don’t be afraid to express what you want and go after it. Invite a friend with you to try out a new restaurant and order exactly what you want, even if that means asking for a side of ranch along with your chat session. On your TBR this month, check out Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung (South Korea), translated by Anton Hur. Grotesque and gripping, this short story collection explores a plethora of genres ranging from horror to sci-fi. Buckle up and get ready to dive into frightening tales that begin with a head that appears in a woman’s toilet and even covers a woman trapped in a sinking car with only a cold hand for company. This is a collection that isn’t for the faint of heart but will win you over if you are willing to give it a try.
Capricorn
December 22 – January 19
Capricorn, you are not a fan of small talk and prefer to share deeper, more practical matters loudly and proudly. This March, get a group of your friends together and give surprise presentations on something that is important to you—whether that be Taco Bell’s newest menu item or Beyonce’s Best Album win. On your TBR this month, check out Eartheater by Dolores Reyes (Argentina), translated by Julia Sanches. In this novel, a young woman finds herself drawn to eating the earth, and with every bite of gritty dirt, she is brought visions of murdered and missing people. When the young woman starts a relationship with a moody and withdrawn police officer, word of her ability spreads and desperate community members begin to relentlessly beg her to find their loved ones. This novel does not spare a single space on the page, filling every inch with a complex, dark, and surreal story that highlights the pain and silencing women often are forced to endure.
No matter your communication style, we want to hear YOU talk about the books you love. Afterall, no matter where you come from, a good scare is a universal language that brings us all together. I hope the stars align for you to find your next favorite read.
Till next time!
Yours dreadfully,
