pantyfire wrote:

I enjoyed that, I think I read the sequel as well but I'm not sure.

I think all 3 (?) of the books in the series are supposed to be tip top.

Been listening to James S Corey's "The Expanse" book series. Upto book 7 in the series now. I've been really enjoying them and have a growing affinity to the crew of the Rocinantie (name of the ship). Its been quite peaceful to listen to audio books while painting and decorating.

One of the two authors (under the pen name Corey) worked under George RR Martin (Game of Thrones). You can see some similarities (dont want to give any of the storyline away, in case i spoil it for someone else).

I cannot remember who it was that initially suggested it as it was a while ago, but, thank you to whoever first mentioned Senlin Ascends. I have just sat down with a big cup of tea, ignored my children for an hour and finished this wonderful book.

Wildly imaginative, excellent characters, a genuinely gripping story and a great deadpan sense of humour make it one of the best books I have read in a while. Absolutely adored it.

Book-wise I received a copy of The Global Village - Marshall McLuhan co-wrote. My the man had an intellect - even dipping in at random shows a frightening prescience.

Will be a challenge to keep up with him but I'll have a go.

You dick

I got two books for Chrimbo - Lincoln in the Bardo & Milkman. Also borrowed Warlight. So some literature awaits once I can find my reading mojo & cope with something above Haruki

My reads over Christmas included two more Lovecraft stories: The Call of Cthulhu and The Dunwich Horror. Both good, though I preferred Dunwich over the more iconic Cthulhu. Will be getting back to more of those throughout my larger reads.

Also did Jon Padgett’s The Secret of Ventriloquism. I knew what I was getting into with this one; I was after weird horror and I suppose that’s really what I got here. Nine short stories that are all in some way connected to the point where it feels more like a bizarrely plotted novel than a short story collection. Very strange, and I wonder if anyone other than Padgett himself actually knows what’s really going on it. I loved it. Incidentally, I think he’s the editor of Vastarian, which is some sort of Thomas Ligotti critical response/love-in thingy. Hopefully getting Ligotti’s Teatro Grottesco for my birthday later this month.

And right now I’ve just started Paul Tremblay’s A Head Full of Ghosts.

I tend to read one of Lovecraft’s short stories in between books. Some have been great (Colour from Outer Space particularly and The Thing on the Doorstep) but many have been poor. I love the whole Cthulhu mythos and the necronomicon stuff but the actual stories about them don’t tend to be the best.

I've never read an actually scary horror book in my life, and not for want of searching. I don't think the medium really supports it, too much contemplative space and time.

@Brooks Completely agree with that.

As for Lovecraft, I had to recalibrate my expectations after reading my first story of his (The Nameless City). He doesn’t seem to have any interest in having actual characters populate his tales (so far as I’ve read), just meat puppets to grind along his narrative, to be horrified so that we don’t have to. I’ve got used to his style and I’m enjoying them for what they are. The only one I’ve truly loved so far is The Colour Out of Space.

But I’m ready for more of this sort of thing, and have been compiling a list of authors I want to get to this year, including Clark Ashton Smith, Bruno Schulz, Robert Aickman, Harlan Ellison, Victor LaValle, Lauren Beukes, Arthur Machen, William Hope Hodgeson and Algernon Blackwood.

Lord_Griff wrote:

Uzumaki is a little creepy.

Yesssss.

Books are better at creating a feeling of unease rather than actual fear. I find Lovecraft more interesting on an academic level now. He's been far surpassed in the genre he created, I think.

Related: I read an interesting thread about the golden age of sci-fi the other day, basically saying not to bother unless you get super interested in the genre. It's largely been out done in style, plot, characterisation... Everything. Still worth picking out the great stylists and conceptualists but it's largely not the worth time at this point.

Got the audiobook of A Christmas Carol read by Tom Baker. Superb job.

Finished Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things a while ago. Collection of short stories and I loved it. Watched American Gods recently too and now I feel like I should pick up The Norse Mythology.

Picked up The Great Gatsby for cheap at a garage sale, only two chapters in but not sure what to think of it yet. I'm just picking up random books with titles / authors that vaguely ring a bell when I see them cheap. Another one that's one the pile is Lord of the Flies.

It was on Radio 4 recently and I think it's still available on iPlayer. If that's of use.

Reading Limmy -Thats your Lot. Some proper laughs alongside some absolute shit.