What are you currently reading?

[TacomaDiver]

Last night I began the next installment of Martha Well's Murderbot series - Fugitive Telemetry. I know it's not the newest book, but it's next for me.

Before I started this last night, I finished a re-read of Neil Gaiman's Coraline. Pretty sure I hadn't read that since it came out originally, and it's a hit for me. Gaiman seems to be hit or miss with his novels, but this one one was one of the good ones. Hopefully I can revisit the film soon (I have a sweet 4k version downstairs that I haven't watched yet.)

I started Coraline because while I wanted to read some comics, my iPad's battery was dead, so I needed a shorter book, and it was available on Libby.

The big book I finished before these was Katherine Arden's newest The Warm Hands of Ghosts. I first found her via her Winternight trilogy which I LOVED! I even got to meet her at ECCC in 2019 - I got the best inscription from her since she knocked her water bottle all over my books. (Luckily nothing was damaged!) Her newest is a ghost/love story that takes place in World War I, and is told from the two main character's perspective. It did not click for me. I think I gave it three stars in Goodreads because I didn't want to be too hard on it (although I may revise that rating to two stars the more I think about it.) I don't know, just something about the book as a whole didn't work for me. Which is a bummer because I bought SO MANY versions of this book from retailers all over the world (well, US and UK - that's all over the world!)

[TacomaDiver]

Trying to get into LONESONE DOVE for a second time, after my first try three decades ago or so didn't work.

I'm pretty sure my wife has been "reading' this book for as least as long as we've been together (so nearly 13 years . . .)

[RonClinton]

Trying to get into LONESONE DOVE for a second time, after my first try three decades ago or so didn't work. Slow going thus far on this Great American Novel, and it feels like I'm again not in the right headspace for it, but trying to push through. If it doesn't happen, will likey try again in a month or two. This after AFTER WE FELL by Dennis Lehane, which I flew through...yeah, it was some issues of strained credulity and some purplish padding in spots, but it was, for me, the definition of compulsive reading.

[Boggle Champion]

Just finished reading the Gauntlet LE of Blake Crouch's "The Last Town", a first time read for me. This book was exactly what I was hoping for when I finished the last book in the series. It pretty much picks-up right where that book left off, and boy was it a pure high-octane horror show of a read, and that ending had me completely in my feels for the rest of the day. Man, what a great way to end the Wayward Pines trilogy! I've only read this series & Dark Matter so far, but boy can Crouch write!

Am now reading the SST signed slipcased LE of Stephen Graham Jones' "Don't Fear the Reaper", the second book in his Indian River trilogy and a first time read for me. I have very high hopes for this one as I enjoyed the first book and am a big Jones fan in general.

I'm also reading SST's Don't Fear the Reaper, a re-read for me...getting ready for Angel of Indian Lake, which I'm so excited for!

I haven't read any Blake Crouch yet, but just this week I got the Pines Limited off of Ebay and I'm looking forward to reading that soon.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Gauntlet LE of Blake Crouch's "The Last Town", a first time read for me. This book was exactly what I was hoping for when I finished the last book in the series. It pretty much picks-up right where that book left off, and boy was it a pure high-octane horror show of a read, and that ending had me completely in my feels for the rest of the day. Man, what a great way to end the Wayward Pines trilogy! I've only read this series & Dark Matter so far, but boy can Crouch write!

Am now reading the SST signed slipcased LE of Stephen Graham Jones' "Don't Fear the Reaper", the second book in his Indian River trilogy and a first time read for me. I have very high hopes for this one as I enjoyed the first book and am a big Jones fan in general.

[brlesh]

Doing something I haven’t done in 20 years - reading a Dean Koontz book.

Devoted.

120 pages in and so far so good.

B

[Halaineza]

Currently reading Atomic Habits and I love it.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Thunderstorm Black Voltage of Michael Seidlinger's "Anybody Home?", a first time read and author for me. While the idea behind this story is cool, I can't lie, this was a tough book for me. I'm not the biggest fan of books written in the second person; so, that took me a bit to get used to. I also thought the book's tone was a bit too meta/slick for my taste and that a lot of the characters' actions seemed unlikely. That being said, there was always something happening that seemed to keep me reading, and there were some seriously upsetting scenes sprinkled throughout the story. I think that I might have enjoyed this story better if it was a novella rather than a novel. Overall, glad to have read the book as the author had a cool idea (and the reference to the Saw movies in the story was quite funny), but I doubt that I will be rereading it any time soon.

Am now reading the Gauntlet LE of Blake Crouch's "The Last Town". I'm super excited to finally be reading this book and to see how the Wayward Pines trilogy wraps up!

[brlesh]

Finished up The Outsiders by SE Hinton. Thoroughly enjoyed this YA classic about high school kids and class distinctions in a small Oklahoma town in the 60’s.

After The Outsiders, finished up Riding the Nightmare by Lisa Tuttle, another very good collection from this underrated author.

Later tonight I’m starting Rolling in the Deep, the final novella in the Mira Grant collection Apocalypse Scenarios: These are the Ways the World Ends. Really liked Into the Drowning Deep when I read it a few years ago, and the chance to read this prequel novella was my main reason for picking up Apocalypse Scenarios.

B

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Thunderstorm Black Voltage of Brian Everson's "Redemption", a first time read for me. Redemption is the end of a trilogy of books and sticks the landing in good fashion. There are lots of truly unique and quite horrific scenes in this one and all the main characters get a resolution to their stories. Much like King has his Dark Tower and Keene has his Labyrinth, Everson has his Carburide mythos, and it continues to get expanded in this one which was also very enjoyable as a long-time reader. Also, as usual, Thunderstorm's production values for the book were great. Especially like those endpapers, which fit well with the cover design. Overall, I'm glad to have finally read this story and added this book to my Thunderstorm collection.

Am now reading the Thunderstorm Black Voltage of Michael Seidlinger's "Anybody Home?", a first time read and author for me.

[sholloman81]

Just finished reading the Thunderstorm Black Voltage VS of Brian Keene's & JF Gonzalez's "Clickers Vs. Zombies", a first time read for me. Had previously read a few of the other books in this series and always found them fun; so, I decided to give this one a try. Very glad that I did as this book was a blast. If you've enjoyed other Clicker books, then you will enjoy this one too. Even though I'm not as huge a Keene fan as others, I have read a handful of his books; so, it was fun seeing some of the characters from those books appear in this one, although I'm sure that I missed as many connections as I noticed. It was also very cool seeing some of his Labyrinth mythos laid out in this book. Definitely made me wany to read some of his backlist. Also really enjoyed the production values that Thunderstorm used for this one. The art fit the story, the binding and endpapers were great, etc. I hope Paul keep going with the VS line of books as I've enjoyed every entry so far!

Am now reading the Thunderstorm Black Voltage of Brian Everson's "Redemption", a first time read for me. I have high hopes for this one as I've enjoyed the previous entries in this series of books and can't wait to see how the story ends.

[brlesh]

About 30 pages to go in The Outsiders by SE Hinton. Thoroughly enjoying this YA classic, though I’m several decades beyond the target audience.

B

[Boggle Champion]

Read Come Closer by Sara Gran on Friday, loved it. Great one-sitting book that really creeped me out.

Currently reading Odd Hours by Dean Koontz, the 4th Odd Thomas book. It's been about 2 years since I was last reading the series, but I find it enjoyable (didn't like book 2) and would like to maybe finish it this year.

[Ben Staad]

Thanks for the update and offer. Hopefully someone here can take you up on that.

May not be relevant, but we have a paperback of a short story collection by Kraus coming out in a few months, and it might scratch the itch without taking as much of an investment! Also, some of y'all talked about posting reviews--I know no one ever has a TBR run empty, but if you enjoy digital copies and want free access to any of the upcoming CD trades, you can absolutely reach out to Lisa Lebel or me (if it's to me, I'll forward you her way!).

 

[DanFranklin]

May not be relevant, but we have a paperback of a short story collection by Kraus coming out in a few months, and it might scratch the itch without taking as much of an investment! Also, some of y'all talked about posting reviews--I know no one ever has a TBR run empty, but if you enjoy digital copies and want free access to any of the upcoming CD trades, you can absolutely reach out to Lisa Lebel or me (if it's to me, I'll forward you her way!).