What are you currently reading?

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading Michael McDowell's "Blackwater". This was my first time reading anything by McDowell and my mind has officially been blown. I can't remember the last time I have ever read something this good, that had such an impact on me. Definitely the best Southern Gothic that I have ever read. I've basically fallen head over heels with this story and now have it very high on my all-time-favorites list! Is it horrible that I already want to read it again? Feels so bittersweet knowing that I won't get to spend anymore time with the Caskey family. Overall, cannot recommend this book enough! Please do yourself a favor and seek this out if you haven't read it.

Will probably read Catronia Ward's "Last House on Needless Street" next. Have never read this author; however, after seeing all of the praise for this book, I decided to pick-up a copy from Lividian when it was offered. Think it's finally time to give it a go!

[RonClinton]

Trying Stephen Volk for the first time, a PS Publishing short-story collection. Only one story in so far, so too early to tell if this is a keeper or not...Nathan Ballingrud sure talks up Volk in his introduction, but we'll see.

Not a fan of this collection…found myself doing a lot of skimming, ultimately a DNF. I won’t be going back to the Volk well for more…one and done.

[Ben Staad]

Started reading Survivor Song by Tremblay. Only 78 pages in and finding it to be a slog. There have already been sequences which I am only scanning and there were 5 pages of texts which I skipped after the first page. Not a fan of texts in my life and don't find them anymore appealing in a book.

[sholloman81]

Just finished Catronia Ward's "Last House on Needless Street". Had picked-up a copy via Lividian. First time reading anything by the author but had heard the hype for the book and decided to give it a try. I struggled through the first half of the book and was very close to tapping out; however, I forced myself to continue and am glad I did so as the second half got much better, and the ending was a revelation. Totally forced me to reassess my feelings towards the book. Normally, I would give some details as to why; however, this is a very spoiler-heavy book. Overall, I am very glad to have read this and to have added this book to my collection.

[brlesh]

Just finished Catronia Ward's "Last House on Needless Street". Had picked-up a copy via Lividian. First time reading anything by the author but had heard the hype for the book and decided to give it a try. I struggled through the first half of the book and was very close to tapping out; however, I forced myself to continue and am glad I did so as the second half got much better, and the ending was a revelation. Totally forced me to reassess my feelings towards the book. Normally, I would give some details as to why; however, this is a very spoiler-heavy book. Overall, I am very glad to have read this and to have added this book to my collection.

I couldn’t make it to the half way point on this one, but based on your assessment & other reviews that say you need to finish the book, I may have to give it another shot.

B

[brlesh]

Not a fan of this collection…found myself doing a lot of skimming, ultimately a DNF. I won’t be going back to the Volk well for more…one and done.

Sorry to hear your Volk experience didn’t work out.

B

[brlesh]

Started reading Survivor Song by Tremblay. Only 78 pages in and finding it to be a slog. There have already been sequences which I am only scanning and there were 5 pages of texts which I skippafter the first page. Not a fan of texts in my life and don't find them anymore appealing in a book.

Read this a couple of months ago and thought it was great.

One of my favorite books so far this year.

If you’re not engrossed in the story by page 80, odds are you won’t be (engrossed) moving forward.

B

[brlesh]

Finished Guests by KPB. A very solid 4-story collection.

In between (as I was only reading Guests on the weekends) I was reading New Mythos Legends ed. by Bruce Gehweiler.

Quite the contrast with Guests, and not in a good way.

B

[Ben Staad]

I will plug away a little bit more and see what develops. The main issue is the descriptive way he writes each scene/sequence. It's like reading a manual.

If you’re not engrossed in the story by page 80, odds are you won’t be (engrossed) moving forward.

B

[sholloman81]

I couldn’t make it to the half way point on this one, but based on your assessment & other reviews that say you need to finish the book, I may have to give it another shot.

B

Totally understand. If I hadn't purchased my copy from Lividian and had instead just purchased a trade or paperback copy, then I probably wouldn't have continued on past the half way mark as I was really turned off by the book at that point; however, like previously mentioned, the 2nd half does get much better as the picture starts to come into focus and you realize exactly what the author is doing. If you can make it over that hump, I think you'll find the payoff well worth it.

[sholloman81]

Just finished Paul Tremblay's "The Little Sleep". While it wasn't groundbreaking by any means, I had a lot of fun with this book. I really enjoyed the main character, PI Mark Genevich, quite a bit and was glad that Tremblay didn't make the character too quirky or cliched. I also adored the main characters' dialogue as it felt almost exactly like my father used to speak, a lot of the same slang and sayings. If I had one (minor) complaint with this book it would be that the case itself felt pretty straightforward. If you've read a fair amount of noir/PI fiction before, than you can probably guess the mystery/final reveal quite easily. I do have the 2nd book (No Sleep Til Wonderland) on order from SST and can't wait to read it when it is published later this year.

[brlesh]

A little more than half way through The Inamorta or, Death’s Beloved by Joshua Rex.

This short gothic novel is the first thing I’ve read by Rex.

So far, so good.

B

[sholloman81]

Finished reading Joe Lansdale's "Radiant Apples". I pretty much adore everything Joe Lansdale has written and this was no exception. Was very happy to get to spend some more time with his Nat Love and Choctaw characters from Paradise Sky. Was fun to visit them as older gents. I just wish we could have had a full blown novel versus another novella as this one flew by way too fast!

Think I will read Stephen King's "Billy Summers" next. Have had it in my to-read pile since publication and was putting off reading it until I finally received the slipcase for it from CD; however, I'm tired of waiting on the delayed slipcase and think I'm going to breakdown and read it now.

[brlesh]

A little more than half way through The Inamorta or, Death’s Beloved by Joshua Rex.

This short gothic novel is the first thing I’ve read by Rex.

So far, so good.

B

Well, the second half of the story did not hold up. It really dragged, especially the last 30 pages.

Also finished up New Mythos Legends, which has to be one of the worst anthologies that I actually finished.

Don’t know what the editor was going for, as there is very little if any actual Lovecraft mythos in these stories.

B

[dannyboy121070]

I've been chipping away at the massive THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF FOLK HORROR, which has been a great read, until the novella that closes the book, Kim Newman's THE GYPSIES IN THE WOOD. Holy crap, where has Kim Newman been my whole life? I have 5 pages left, and I had to put the book down because I didn't want the novella to end. I'll savor those last 5 pages later or tomorrow. I'm going to load up on Newman books, for sure. Novella and book as a whole highly recommended.