What are you currently reading?

[RonClinton]

To my shock and dismay, I couldn’t finish Westlake Soul. I loved the beginning but liked it less and less with each page. And it’s not a bad book. It’s beautifully written and very original it just wasn’t for me. Felt like a YA novel. So I closed it and shelved it.

I enjoyed it for the most part (the SST edition was also my first reading of it), but did feel it went on a bit long. Felt like a novella padded out to novel length, and the sympathy for the character seesawed a bit as well because of it (and some inconsistencies in character). I'd give it a 6.5 or 7 out of 10.

[Martin]

To my shock and dismay, I couldn’t finish Westlake Soul. I loved the beginning but liked it less and less with each page. And it’s not a bad book. It’s beautifully written and very original it just wasn’t for me. Felt like a YA novel. So I closed it and shelved it.

Then I started reading SEED by Anita Ahlborn and so far I’m loving it.

I have only read Owens introduction so far. It sounds intriguing so hopefully I will like it.

Seed was just middling for me.

[mhatchett]

I found it to be a fast paced, entertaining read, but it's pure fantasy horror.

If's definitely a popcorn novel.

B

And I have no problem with those, we all need some brain Candy once in a while LOl!!

[jeffingoff]

Touch The Night by Max Booth - disappointing. Gave up on this one a little over half way through.


Oh well, time to finish up The Classic Horror Collection - 2 more stories to go.

B

I finished Touch the Night and I’m a little envious of your foresight.

[brlesh]

I finished Touch the Night and I’m a little envious of your foresight.

Good to hear I didn't miss out on anything by not finishing that one!

[brlesh]

Finished And Cannot Come Again by Simon Bestwick last night.

Very impressed with this collection.

Will definitely be seeking out more of his work in the future.

Plan on starting Ravenous by Ray Garton tonight.

B

[c marvel]

I finished Touch the Night and I’m a little envious of your foresight.

I read Touch the Night and all I could think was Cornell Woolrich title. I just now remembered his book was Into the Night. lol ~Cap

[sholloman81]

Just finished Seanan McGuire's "Dying with Her Cheer Pants On". This was my first read from this author and was a pure impulse buy. Am glad for the purchase as I enjoyed the heck out of this book. Very fun with tons of great Halloween vibes. I love interconnected short story/novella collections like this one. Reminded my of other such collections like this that I have read in the past such as Malerman's "Goblin" and Charles Grant's "Oxrun Station" books.

[RonClinton]

Finished up WALTZ OF DARKNESS by Cornell Woolrich -- about as dark a noir spiral as vintage noir gets -- and am now starting something a bit different, a hitman thriller by Ryan David Jahn entitled THE GENTLE ASSASSIN. I've read Jahn several times before and he's pretty good (THE DISPATCHER is probably my favorite).

I picked up THE GENTLE ASSASSIN during a trip to Ireland a year-and-a-half-ago or so at a two-story store called CHAPTERS, probably my favorite bookstore I visited (and I visited 15 of them during a very long day of walking, the voyage of which can be seen in this ten-post thread w/ pics starting here: https://twitter.com/ron_clinton/stat...389990912?s=20 ).

[c marvel]

I finished reading Stories To Be Whispered: The Collected Short Fiction of Cornell Woolrich Volume Two. I had trouble following Murder, Obliquely. I finished reading Murder in the Blackout by J. Russell Warren. Now I am reading The Fair Grounds by Tobias Seamon and a Dollar Double sleaze consisting of The Sherwood Scandal by March Hastings/Oh, Sweet And Gentle Harlot by Nancy Dean as told to Jack Powers. Since I finished Stories To Be Whispered tonight that makes seven books I've read since we shut down here again. It's not a sure thing yet, we are scheduled to go back to work on Feb. 5.


Cap

[RonClinton]

Starting THE FAMILY MAN by T. J. Lebbon, Tim Lebbon's "pseudonym" for the couple of tpb-only suspense thrillers he wrote a short while back.

[Parviz]

Just finished Live Girls by Garton. First time I've read him. Starting 1Q84 by haruki murakami. Middle of The Silence by Lebbon..

[TacomaDiver]

Currently about a third of the way through the first full length Murderbot novel from Martha Wells - Network Effect..

The other book I've read (that didn't have pictures) was the first Rivers of London novel - coincidentally called Rivers of London, by Ben Aaronovitch. I saw something about how fun these novels were, so I ended up getting ALL of them from Book Depository (I liked the UK covers better, plus they were quite a bit cheaper than Amazon's pricing for the US versions.) Took me longer to get through the first one that I expected, and now I'm kind of having buyer's remorse. I wasn't hooked like I thought I would be. Maybe they get better later in the series.

The other 2021 books I have read - this time with pictures - was the Sweet Tooth comic series from Jeff Lemire. I've really enjoyed Black Hammer, and wanted to try some of this other work. Sweet Tooth was really good, but also awful at the same time. Not that the work was awful, but what happened in the work. There were some truly cruel and evil characters present.

[mhatchett]

I like the Murderbot series!

[brlesh]

Finished Sharp Objects, Gillian Flynn's first novel last night.

Great book. Dark story about one seriously screwed up family.

So much better than Girl Gone, IMO.

Have a few more stories to read in Ghostly, a anthology of ghost stories edited Audrey Niffenegger.

Not bad. Some hits, some misses.

B