What are you currently reading?

[Martin]

Horns is my favorite Hill novel. Loaded is probably his best story for me overall. I'm also a big fan of Locke & Key and NOS4A2.

Heart Shaped Box is my top Hill novel, but I like them all.

[Brian861]

Yeah, I was pretty ambivalent about Revival when I first read it a couple of years ago.

Reread it last fall and came away with a much greater appreciation for the story.

Certainly not one of King’s better books overall, but probably one of the better books he’s written since the late 90’s.

I could say the same thing about Horns by Joe Hill. Also reread it last fall and had a much greater appreciation for the story the second time around, probably even more so than with Revival.

B

Horns is my favorite Hill novel. Loaded is probably his best story for me overall. I'm also a big fan of Locke & Key and NOS4A2.

[Sock Monkey]

Just finished Don Winslow's "City on Fire". Don Winslow is my favorite living crime writer; however, his last novel, "The Force" just didn't work for me. There was nothing wrong with it per se, it just didn't leave me with the usual feeling that I have upon completing one of his novels, that I've just read something truly special. It was more like a double versus the home run that he usually hits. "City on Fire" is the return to form that I was hoping for. It has everything that makes a Don Winslow book great, an amazing story, fantastic dialogue, realistic characters and settings, etc. If you like crime fiction, this is a book you should definitely check-out. This book is the beginning of a trilogy which some people may not like. For me, in this case, that is a plus since I consider his last "Cartel" trilogy to be some of the best crime books that I have ever read!

I think I will read Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun" next. I have never read the book or author and have no idea what to expect. I was lucky enough to score a copy via Suntup's dinged-book sale a while back and figure now is the time to finally give it a read.

I'm not a huge crime fiction guy, but your praise has me intrigued.

[sholloman81]

Just finished Don Winslow's "City on Fire". Don Winslow is my favorite living crime writer; however, his last novel, "The Force" just didn't work for me. There was nothing wrong with it per se, it just didn't leave me with the usual feeling that I have upon completing one of his novels, that I've just read something truly special. It was more like a double versus the home run that he usually hits. "City on Fire" is the return to form that I was hoping for. It has everything that makes a Don Winslow book great, an amazing story, fantastic dialogue, realistic characters and settings, etc. If you like crime fiction, this is a book you should definitely check-out. This book is the beginning of a trilogy which some people may not like. For me, in this case, that is a plus since I consider his last "Cartel" trilogy to be some of the best crime books that I have ever read!

I think I will read Dalton Trumbo's "Johnny Got His Gun" next. I have never read the book or author and have no idea what to expect. I was lucky enough to score a copy via Suntup's dinged-book sale a while back and figure now is the time to finally give it a read.

[brlesh]

Duma Key and 11/22/63 definitely the highlights for me after the classics. Revival seems to have tripped a lot of triggers but it was garbage for me. Yet I own a flat signed copy and other varies states of the book. Billy Summers for pretty good for me and once it cools off a bit, I'm looking no forward to a trip down to Don's Place.

Yeah, I was pretty ambivalent about Revival when I first read it a couple of years ago.

Reread it last fall and came away with a much greater appreciation for the story.

Certainly not one of King’s better books overall, but probably one of the better books he’s written since the late 90’s.

I could say the same thing about Horns by Joe Hill. Also reread it last fall and had a much greater appreciation for the story the second time around, probably even more so than with Revival.

B

[Brian861]

I go into every King book any more wondering if he’s got one more great one in him.

For me, Billy Summers was his next great book.

Certainly my favorite going back 15 years (Duma Key), arguably his best in the last 25 years (circa late 90’s Green Mile & Wizard and Glass).

Let the count down start again with Fairy Tale.

B

Duma Key and 11/22/63 definitely the highlights for me after the classics. Revival seems to have tripped a lot of triggers but it was garbage for me. Yet I own a flat signed copy and other varies states of the book. Billy Summers for pretty good for me and once it cools off a bit, I'm looking forward to a trip down to Don's Place.

[RonClinton]

King stories generally range from the good to great categories for me. My exception would be Rose Madder which I rate as junk. I would list Billy Summers in the very good category. My favorite in the last 15 years is easily 11.22.63 which I rate as great!

I enthusiastically agree with 11/22/63...my favorite King since his early classics.

I wish I'd had the experience with BILLY SUMMERS as brlesh, but no luck...going into it, I had very high expectations as I'm sucker for hitman novels.

Then again, I'm not sure I can count myself as a King fan anymore, so maybe I just don't click with his work anymore. I love just about everything from CARRIE to NEEDFUL THINGS, but post-1991 the only full-length novels I've only really cared for is THE GREEN MILE (2000), UNDER THE DOME (kind of) (2009), JOYLAND, (2013), and 11/22/63 (2011). I'm always a bit (unpleasantly) surprised when I realize that.

[Martin]

I go into every King book any more wondering if he’s got one more great one in him.

For me, Billy Summers was his next great book.

Certainly my favorite going back 15 years (Duma Key), arguably his best in the last 25 years (circa late 90’s Green Mile & Wizard and Glass).

Let the count down start again with Fairy Tale.

B

King stories generally range from the good to great categories for me. My exception would be Rose Madder which I rate as junk. I would list Billy Summers in the very good category. My favorite in the last 15 years is easily 11.22.63 which I rate as great!

[brlesh]

I agree with your assessment of Billy Summers. I also think the ties to prior stories was done on the context as the current story. Sometimes he throws in links that have no bearing on the story being told. That was not the case here.

I go into every King book any more wondering if he’s got one more great one in him.

For me, Billy Summers was his next great book.

Certainly my favorite going back 15 years (Duma Key), arguably his best in the last 25 years (circa late 90’s Green Mile & Wizard and Glass).

Let the count down start again with Fairy Tale.

B

[RonClinton]

Thanks for the BLIND VOICES review…glad to hear you generally enjoyed it, and as such I’ll bump it up a bit on the TBR plan. I bought it because of its Bradburyesque carnival, pastoral setting and its positive reputation. But it does have its detractors, and I began to wonder if its positive reputation was based more on the special circumstances of its author — only novel, published posthumously — than the work itself. Good to hear my concerns were unfounded, and am looking forward to diving in.

[sholloman81]

Glad you enjoyed BILLY SUMMERS much more than I did. Very much looking forward to your take on BLIND VOICES...I've had the S/L HC from PS in my TBR for a long time, but haven't cracked its spine yet.

Just finished "Blind Voices" by Tom Reamy. Really enjoyed it and can see why it gets the Bradbury/Something Wicked comparisons as it shares most of the same ingredients; however, I feel like Reamy went much darker with his story. There were some horror scenes in this book that I just wasn't expecting and landed quite hard after the pastoral build-up of the first quarter of the book. I also liked that Reamy funneled his story through three young women rather than young boys as Bradbury did. Kept it feeling fresh. I was also a bit shocked at some of the sex scenes/implications in this book. Not that they were especially graphic or anything, I just wasn't expecting them in this sort of story so they landed quite hard as well. While I did enjoy the book, it wasn't quite as perfect (imo) as Something Wicked. There were a few words that were repeated a few times throughout the book and stuck out quite a bit such as phantasmagorical and akimbo. Also, there was one especially shocking scene/plot point, and while it made sense plot wise, the other characters reaction to it in the story felt very inauthentic, especially for the time-period this was set as well as it being set in a small town. That being said, I pretty much loved everything else and am glad to have read/own this.

Think I will be reading Don Winslow's "City of Fire" next. Winslow just might be my favorite (alive) crime writer today and I can't wait to dig into this one!

[RonClinton]

Starting UPGRADE by Blake Crouch, the signed and numbered Goldsboro UK HC.

[dannyboy121070]

Cool. Thanks! I’ve put this in my “need to buy” list.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, Sock!

[Sock Monkey]

Nineteen stories, and ten of them were new. New introduction, and each story had a photograph by Michael Marshall Smith to accompany it.

Cool. Thanks! I’ve put this in my “need to buy” list.

[RonClinton]

Just finished Stephen King's "Billy Summers". Really enjoyed it. Thought the book within a book device was clever. I also dug the various Easter eggs for the Shinning and the Stand. Wouldn't crack my top-ten favorite Stephen King books list; however, I think this was a very solid book for King and one I'm glad to own.

Think I will be reading "Blind Voices" by Tom Reamy next. Have had it in my to-read pile for quite a while and am finally ready to give it a go. Hope it lives up to the Bradbury comparisons.

Glad you enjoyed BILLY SUMMERS much more than I did. Very much looking forward to your take on BLIND VOICES...I've had the S/L HC from PS in my TBR for a long time, but haven't cracked its spine yet.