What are you currently reading?

[brlesh]

Finished Dust Devils by Jonathan Janz. A definite disappointment.

Plan on starting Swedish Cults by Ander Fager tonight.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished F. Paul Wilson's "Midnight Mass". While not a ground breaking book by any means, I found it to be a very enjoyable vampire tale. The characterization was strong and there were lots of interesting scenes. Took a lot of the usual vampire troupes and either expanded on them or subverted them. Also enjoyed the various types of vampires displayed and their hierarchy. All that being said, this book did have some flaws. The religious bits in the book skew very Christian/Catholic. It didn't bother me and there is a very compelling reason for this story-wise; however, there were some lines and ideas in there that will be offensive to other religions, especially Islam & Judaism. I also didn't realize until I was about three-quarters of the way in, but, the book reads like the beginning of a series. Not sure if that was the intent, especially as Wilson hasn't written a follow-up in the almost 20 years since this one's publication; however, the last chapter definitely left a lot of room for more with a few of the characters left in (almost) cliffhanger like situations. Overall, I would recommend this book as it is a very solid vampire tale; however, it probably wouldn't crack my top-ten vampire books/stories of all-time.

[RonClinton]

Currently reading HIDDEN PICTURES by Jason Rekulak.

[RonClinton]

That Straub experience is why I’ve been too wary to reread GHOST STORY, a novel I have very fond memories of and a book I consider an essential classic and Straub’s finest work, right up there with King’s early classics.

I’d rather just let that belief stay frozen in amber.

[brlesh]

That's the reason I'm wary about rereading favorite books of which that I have especially fond memories...sometimes you just can't go home again, and the shattering of those memories is really unfortunate. Sure, maybe a particular book was a phenomenal read two or three decades ago, but I was a different person, a different reader, back then, so is is the book that has changed or is it me? Safe to say it's the latter, so sometimes it's just best to leave pleasant memories in place and try not to revisit them. One notable reread I had that led me to this conclusion was McCammon's SWAN SONG...yes, it's still a great read, but it's not the Top Five read that I remembered it to be...a book that was a stunning solid 9 or 9.5 back in the late eighties or early nineties became an entertaining read whose obvious mechanics and melodrama brought it down to a 7.5 or 8 when I reread it a few years ago...still quite good, but no longer the work of genre genius I remembered it to be. I got a friend to finally read James Cain's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, definitely a book in my Top Five, and he mentioned that the court scene that makes up a good portion of the second third of the book was a bit slow and ponderous...and I didn't even remember the court scene. :-/ Time has a way of preserving that which we loved about something and downplaying or forgetting the rest.

I’ve had both positive & negative reactions to books on rereading.

Positive - Weaveworld by Clive Barker. I originally read WW in the early to mid 90’s, and at the time thought it was OK, but didn’t get what all the hype was about. Some kind of war in a magic carpet.

About 20 years later I reread WW & was absolutely blown away. Thought it was great. To this day it’s my favorite read from Barker.

Negative - back in high school I read Straub’s Floating Dragon and at the time it became one of my favorite books.

I reread FD around the same time I reread Weaveworld, and had a completely different reaction.

30 years later I found FD to be a slow & ponderous read. I struggled to finish it. I was so looking forward to rereading it, and was so disappointed.

More recently, I’ve reread both Revival by King & Horns by Hill, and my estimation of both books went up upon rereading them.

I have been meaning to reread Swan Song, one of my all time favorites, though it’s been a good 25 years since my initial reading.

B

[brlesh]

Finished Lovecraft’s Legacy, a centennial anthology from 1990 marking Lovecraft’s birth.

It was OK.

Decent stories by Lumley & Gahan Wilson, a very good story by Graham Masterton (‘Will’) and F Paul Wilson’s classic, ‘The Barrens’.

After LL, started Dust Devils by Jonathan Janz.

20 pages in, and so far so good.

B

[RonClinton]

Rereading . . . I wished I hadn’t done the reread.

That's the reason I'm wary about rereading favorite books of which that I have especially fond memories...sometimes you just can't go home again, and the shattering of those memories is really unfortunate. Sure, maybe a particular book was a phenomenal read two or three decades ago, but I was a different person, a different reader, back then, so is is the book that has changed or is it me? Safe to say it's the latter, so sometimes it's just best to leave pleasant memories in place and try not to revisit them. One notable reread I had that led me to this conclusion was McCammon's SWAN SONG...yes, it's still a great read, but it's not the Top Five read that I remembered it to be...a book that was a stunning solid 9 or 9.5 back in the late eighties or early nineties became an entertaining read whose obvious mechanics and melodrama brought it down to a 7.5 or 8 when I reread it a few years ago...still quite good, but no longer the work of genre genius I remembered it to be. I got a friend to finally read James Cain's THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, definitely a book in my Top Five, and he mentioned that the court scene that makes up a good portion of the second third of the book was a bit slow and ponderous...and I didn't even remember the court scene. :-/ Time has a way of preserving that which we loved about something and downplaying or forgetting the rest.

[bookworm 1]

Rereading So g of Susana. I’m working my way through the whole series again. I forgot how much I enjoyed these books.
I’m also reading Maus in my year long journey to read at least one banned book a month this year. This is a great read and I encourage everyone to get a copy.
I also just finished a reread of all 6 volumes of The Books of Blood. 3 stars. A few of the stories still hold up well for me it most didn’t. It was one of those things where when I was done I wished I hadn’t done the reread.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading Kristopher Triana's & Ryan Harding's "The Night Stockers". Holy crap was this a brutal story. Felt like an Edward Lee story cranked-up to 11. If you're into the whole extreme horror/splatter fiction thing, then you definitely need to pick this one up. Tons of gore, tons of gross-outs, & tons of unique kills. Also had lots of fun nineties references and way more humor than I was expecting which I'm guessing was used to leaven the pure darkness of this story.

[RonClinton]

Struggling to stay engaged and get through my current read, Blake Crouch’s new one, UPGRADE. I never thought I’d ever be bored and disappointed by a Crouch novel, but I suppose there’s a first for everything. A little shy of halfway, and it’s taken me the better part of a week…hoping this isn’t going to be a DNF. Can’t believe I’m even saying that.

Struggled through it, and it didn’t get much better. A disappointment…but only my first such disappointment from Crouch, so still look forward to his next release.

[RonClinton]

Yeah, finished The Lake of the Dead this morning.

My initial impressions held throughout.

Was it a great book - not in my opinion.

However, it was a fast paced, entertaining read, with a kind of Scooby Doo-ish ending (the story itself is less than 190 pages).

If you are looking for a few nights of light, literary entertainment you could certainly do worse than The Lake of the Dead.

B

Thanks for the update. Sounds like a title well worth reading…but maybe not worth rushing to do so. I’ll just keep it on my Want List for now, then.

[brlesh]

Glad to hear you’re enjoying it…I’ve been curious about this one.

Yeah, finished The Lake of the Dead this morning.

My initial impressions held throughout.

Was it a great book - not in my opinion.

However, it was a fast paced, entertaining read, with a kind of Scooby Doo-ish ending (the story itself is less than 190 pages).

If you are looking for a few nights of light, literary entertainment you could certainly do worse than The Lake of the Dead.

B

[RonClinton]

About 2/3 of the way through The Lake of the Dead by Andre Bjerke and liking it so far.

A fast paced murder mystery tinged with the supernatural.

B

Glad to hear you’re enjoying it…I’ve been curious about this one.

[brlesh]

About 2/3 of the way through The Lake of the Dead by Andre Bjerke and liking it so far.

A fast paced murder mystery tinged with the supernatural.

B

[RonClinton]

Struggling to stay engaged and get through my current read, Blake Crouch’s new one, UPGRADE. I never thought I’d ever be bored and disappointed by a Crouch novel, but I suppose there’s a first for everything. A little shy of halfway, and it’s taken me the better part of a week…hoping this isn’t going to be a DNF. Can’t believe I’m even saying that.