October: How many books?

[Martin]

Four books for me this month but only one that I thought was worthwhile.

Luca D'Andrea - The Mountain (3/10) A promising murder mystery is spoiled by an unpleasant protagonist and a selection of suspects so plausible that when the true murderer is revealed you just shrug your shoulders. The blurb on the cover compares this to Stephen King but for the life of me I can't see why.

Earnest Cline - Ready Player One (7/10) Although I'm a non-geek and didn't get 90% of the references in the book, I found it to be a highly enjoyable adventure novel with good characterisation and some fun humour. My only real issue with it was the sheer volume of games, books, movies, tv shows, etc. that the main character was supposed to be familiar with. There just aren't enough hours in his teenage life to have completed all of them, particularly as he claims to revisit some of them every month.

Glen Hirshberg - The Snowman's Children (3/10) What could have been an exciting novel about a serial killer preying on local kids turns into a depressing story about mental illness. Disappointing.

Various - Four Ghosts (4/10) Three average stories by Ray Garton, Joe Hill & James A Moore and an absolute dog by Peter Straub.

I have been intrigued by Ready Player One but also being 'non-geek' was not sure I would enjoy it. Thanks for the review, I may have to check it out.

[Martin]

Lucky number 13 for me in October:

1. Ghost Story by Peter Straub: Started the month with a classic horror re-read. Been many years since I read this and have seen the movie many times since the last read. That led to me forgetting some of the story elements not in the movie. Overall great start to my October reads! 4 Stars.

2. Horns by Joe Hill: The Suntup edition of this had me thinking it was time to re-read this one. I love this story and really appreciate the Ig Parrish character. 5 Stars.

3. Lullaby by Jonathan Maberry: This was a free read from Audible. New parents buy a home that is haunted. Some real good chills and overall a good but not great story. 3 Stars.

4. A Season in Hell by Kenneth Cain (ozmosis7): First thing I have read by Kenneth Cain but it will not be the last. This is a tale about a man remembering a year in minor league baseball when a female player was brought onto the team and the players reacted poorly to her presence. The story is at time uplifting, at times infuriating and at times horrifying. A very good story. 4 Stars.

5. The Best of Richard Matheson by Richard Matheson: A collection of Richard Matheson short stories. Several of these stories are absolutely fantastic but many just fell flat for me. 3 Stars.

6. The Consuming Fire by John Scalzi: The is a second novel in the Interdependency series, the first being The Collapsing Empire. I thoroughly enjoyed book one and this one picks up right at the end of that story and continues on. This story closes out the prior tale and tells a new one without missing a beat. 4 Stars.

7. Hi Bob by Bob Newhart: Bob Newhart interviews and is interviewed by several comedic actors and comedians. Each chapter covers a different topic and the flow is very conversational. I really enjoyed this. 4 Stars.

8. Always Look on the Bright Side of Life: A Sortabiography by Eric Idle: If you grew up watching Monty Python, Robin Williams or listening to George Harrison you must read this book. This a very open look into the life Eric Idle has lived from his school years to current. Including meeting the members of Monty Python. Creating the show Monty Python. Realizing the success of Monty Python. His friendship with George Harrison and the assassination attempt against him. His friendship with Robin Williams and the impact of his suicide. All told in typical hilarity expected from a Python. One of the better autobiographies I have read. 5 Stars.

9. The Collector by John Fowles: I do not recall exactly how this book came into my vision. What I do remember is that I was reading an interview with Joe Hill and described this book and its influence on his writing. Th story sounded intriguing and I added it to my TBR. Audible had it on sale so I grabbed it. A young man with no social skills obsesses over a lady he sees frequently. I comes into a large some of money and buys an old home in the country side. He converts the basement into a dungeon and abducts the girl sure if he holds her for a while she will fall in love with him and they will build a life together. The development of the characters and they dynamics of their relationship is fascinating. The first part of the book is told from the mans opinion and you get a true sense of his feelings toward her and how he sees the world. The second part of the book tells of the same timeline from her point of view and provide the same sense with her as part one did with him. Some of he parts where she flashes back to her life before being taken prisoner slowed the story down for me. but overall a great story. 4 Stars.

10. A Little Cobalt Book of Old Blue Stories … And Stuff by Mort Castle: The latest in the Borderlands little book series. Most of these stories were original published in Men's magazines in the 70's. Most of these stories were very fun reads but a few fell flat. 3 Stars.

11. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury: I loved the movie and have long wanted to read the story so I figured it would be a good October read. This one was probably of too high of expectations for me. I enjoyed it but really wanted more. 3 Stars.

12. Elevation by Stephen King: Pre-bought the audible version so I had this the morning of release and got right to it. I purposely avoided advanced details about the story but I knew it was a Castle Rock story, that it involved a gay couple not being accepted in the community and a neighbor trying to help. At its heart this is a story about being kind to your fellow man. I enjoyed the story but expected more. I am not even sure what I mean by that. I have also purchased the hardbound with will read it soon. I would not be surprised if I appreciate the story better on the second read. 3 Stars.

13. Laurie by Stephen King: An audio version of this story was included with Elevation. I read the story when King released it earlier in the year. A man is given a dog after his wife's passing. He does not want a dog but soon he and the dog are inseparable. This a is a good story about love and loss with a wicked twist at the end. 4 Stars.

[JasonUK]

Four books for me this month but only one that I thought was worthwhile.

Luca D'Andrea - The Mountain (3/10) A promising murder mystery is spoiled by an unpleasant protagonist and a selection of suspects so plausible that when the true murderer is revealed you just shrug your shoulders. The blurb on the cover compares this to Stephen King but for the life of me I can't see why.

Earnest Cline - Ready Player One (7/10) Although I'm a non-geek and didn't get 90% of the references in the book, I found it to be a highly enjoyable adventure novel with good characterisation and some fun humour. My only real issue with it was the sheer volume of games, books, movies, tv shows, etc. that the main character was supposed to be familiar with. There just aren't enough hours in his teenage life to have completed all of them, particularly as he claims to revisit some of them every month.

Glen Hirshberg - The Snowman's Children (3/10) What could have been an exciting novel about a serial killer preying on local kids turns into a depressing story about mental illness. Disappointing.

Various - Four Ghosts (4/10) Three average stories by Ray Garton, Joe Hill & James A Moore and an absolute dog by Peter Straub.