What are you currently reading?

[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.

[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

[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

[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.

[RonClinton]

Currently reading HIDDEN PICTURES by Jason Rekulak.

[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.

[brlesh]

Finished Dust Devils by Jonathan Janz. A definite disappointment.

Plan on starting Swedish Cults by Ander Fager tonight.

B

[brlesh]

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.

For what it’s worth, I’ve reread Ghost Story & liked it more the second time.

First read was in the mid 80’s when I was on a Straub kick in high school.

Reread it in the mid to late 90’s when the SF book club came out with the Stephen King library.

I think I got more of the story (as it is a very involved read) the second time around ( also probably helped that I was older).

B

[RonClinton]

On a bit of a Walter Tevis kick at the moment, and just finished THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. Centipede also has an edition of it forthcoming, so it was nice to acquaint myself with it (for the first time) beforehand. I have THE HUSTLER and THE COLOR OF MONEY waiting in the TBR pile.

[sholloman81]

On a bit of a Walter Tevis kick at the moment, and just finished THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. Centipede also has an edition of it forthcoming, so it was nice to acquaint myself with it (for the first time) beforehand. I have THE HUSTLER and THE COLOR OF MONEY waiting in the TBR pile.

Am very intrigued by this post. I loved those movies (HE HUSTLER and THE COLOR OF MONEY) and did not even realize they were based on a book. I ashamedly have never heard of this author but will have to remedy that at some point soon! I mean, if Centipede is doing an edition, than he must be a worthwhile author!

[RonClinton]

Am very intrigued by this post. I loved those movies (HE HUSTLER and THE COLOR OF MONEY) and did not even realize they were based on a book. I ashamedly have never heard of this author but will have to remedy that at some point soon! I mean, if Centipede is doing an edition, than he must be a worthwhile author!

Tevis also did THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, which was a fantastic miniseries on Netflix not too long ago. I finished THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, and while I wasn’t bowled over by it, I did enjoy it enough to look forward to those other two, THE HUSTLER and THE COLOR OF MONEY.

[brlesh]

Finished up Swedish Cults by Anders Fager, a collection of Lovecraft inspired stories set in Sweden and Norway, which I liked a lot.

Currently about a third of the way through The Possession by Michael Rutger, and also enjoying this one very much.

B

[RonClinton]

Finished a couple Fracassi novellas, now on to HEAT 2 by Michael Mann (signed) and Meg Gardiner.

[dannyboy121070]

Keep us posted on HEAT 2. HEAT is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I'm curious about the book. Although I do have to admit that, as big a fan as I am, I have never been the least bit curious about the lives of any of the characters before or after the events of the movie.

And where did you score a signed copy? I'd love to get one myself!

[Sock Monkey]

Gonna second dannyboy’s request for feedback on HEAT 2. I’ve been on the fence about picking it up.