What Are You Reading?

bluntforcetrauma · Jun 28, 2011

Much Ado about Nothing

Yes, Virginia, I can't go for long without my dose of Shakespeare. I dare you read this play and not laugh. The man was a comedic genius.

Alma Matters · Jun 29, 2011

Currently reading The Dark Tower vol. VII by King.

I'm with dondomat - Thomas Ligotti is very good. Highly recommend to anyone who has yet to read his stuff.

FOTSGreg · Jun 29, 2011

Pollota's "Judgement Night" was decent, a good read overall.

"Odd Hours" is proving difficult to grab hold of. It's one of those rare Koontz books that seems somehow lacking in theme.

"A Brief History of Medieval Warfare" is dry and proving to be a slog in some areas even though I usually enjoy military history.

"Guns of the American West" is one of those essential coffee table book's I find fun to just leaf through until I see a gun that interests me and I want to read more about plus there's a ton of historical information in it regarding all kinds of stuff Old Western.

Feidb · Jun 29, 2011

I'm currently reading Mask of Troy by David Gibbins. OMG! A snails-paced "thriller." I can hardly wait to get to the end of it just so I can finally get to Devil Colony by my "bud" James Rollins.

As for icky bug, I wish Bentley Little would come out with another one, or Scott Nicholson would come out with another one in print (instead of e-book). I'm still waiting for F. Paul Wilson to finish up the Repairman Jack series also.

dondomat · Jul 29, 2011

I read two Mastertons in a row: The Manitou and The Pariah. About 70% good. In both cases (spoiler alert) ancient native american evil is thwarted by use of modern technology.

Maybe I've just overdosed on the man, but I just can't find anything as good as Plague and Death Dream (although the Wells of Hell was almost as good). Likewise with Bentley Little - I can't seem to find something as good as The House.

Which brings me to Robert McCammon. I'm currently reading his collected stories, and not only is he as good a pretender for Bradbury's throne as China Mieville's short fiction, but the bugger actually has written a story around a plot which I'm using for my current project, which is almost finished, and which I honestly believed to be uber original. I'll strangle him!

I hate it when I've written half a book and suddenly I stumble upon someone who wrote the same thing ages ago, haha.

FOTSGreg · Jul 29, 2011

Currently running through,

Story Engineering
The Power of Myth
Business Is Warfare
Hacking Work

I'm light on fiction reading right now, but finished

The Haunted Stars
Monster Hunter International: Vendetta
The Wells of Hell

last week.

I love my iPad and Nook Color.

dondomat · Jul 30, 2011

FOTSGreg said:
Currently running through,

Story Engineering
The Power of Myth
Business Is Warfare
Hacking Work

I'm light on fiction reading right now, but finished

The Haunted Stars
Monster Hunter International: Vendetta
The Wells of Hell

So, a few books about structuring epic adventures, a few books about cutting through the crap, and a few sci-fi/horror classics and near-classics for the pleasure centers?
I can identify with this approach with ease, hahaha

FOTSGreg · Aug 1, 2011

Broke down and bought the second volume of Guillermo del Toro's The Strain for Kindle. Decent thus far.

dondomat · Aug 1, 2011

Bradbury is a reincarnation of the Buddha

After my adventures with the short fiction of Mccammon and Mieville, I decided to revisit the master and started reading Ray Bradbury's short stories. I hadn't done that in about fifteen years.

Good grief! I had forgotten what real prose is! Stephen King matches it in 4 - 5 chapters in his better novels and is the best in the field. Bradbury does it in every paragraph, with ease and elegance, never quite crossing over to snotty sentimentality. IMO.

And what a blow to my self-esteem, haha. So this is how a real writer writes. Well, so can I - in a few more years.

Feidb · Aug 2, 2011

I picked up The Whisperers by John Connolly thinking it was a superatural thriller. Had me fooled. Basically a ponderous detective story with just a tad of supernatural thriller toward the end dealing with Pandora's Box. Lots of other problems with the writing style and such, but nowhere near the icky bug I was expecting. Oh well...

dondomat · Aug 4, 2011

Feidb said:
I picked up The Whisperers by John Connolly thinking it was a superatural thriller. Had me fooled. Basically a ponderous detective story with just a tad of supernatural thriller toward the end dealing with Pandora's Box. Lots of other problems with the writing style and such, but nowhere near the icky bug I was expecting. Oh well...

Like Whispers by Koontz, eh? Haha

dondomat · Aug 11, 2011

On and off for the last year I've been trying to tackle "What The Night Knows" by Koontz. I shall not be defeated! I shall finish it sooner later!

The prose is simultaneously clunky and archaically imaginative, I like that in a horror narrative; the plot itself, although cliche since circa 1845 (as most non hard sci-fi plots are), is updated through details and has serious potential, but the pace... The pace... What happened to the pace..?

Rhoda Nightingale · Aug 12, 2011

Currently halfway through my Lovecraft-fest--I'm on "Cthulu" at the moment. Next, I'm going to hunker down and have a crack at Danielewski's House of Leaves. I've been saving it, because I know I'll need my entire brain and the right frame of mind.

@dondomat: Totally seconding the thoughts on Bradbury, i.e. "So this is how a real writer writes!" He will always be the pinnacle of poetic, imaginative prose to me. It's just beautiful.

TedTheewen · Aug 12, 2011

dondomat said:
After my adventures with the short fiction of Mccammon and Mieville, I decided to revisit the master and started reading Ray Bradbury's short stories. I hadn't done that in about fifteen years.

Good grief! I had forgotten what real prose is! Stephen King matches it in 4 - 5 chapters in his better novels and is the best in the field. Bradbury does it in every paragraph, with ease and elegance, never quite crossing over to snotty sentimentality. IMO.

And what a blow to my self-esteem, haha. So this is how a real writer writes. Well, so can I - in a few more years.

This is why I'm looking for a decent copy of M.R. James. I need to spend more time with the good stuff.

donatos · Aug 20, 2011

Anderson Prunty's The Beard
Wrath James White's Population Zero

AbielleRose · Aug 20, 2011

I just bought Neil Gaiman's Stardust today and will be starting it just before bed.

Fiona · Aug 21, 2011

I am currently near the end of Joe Hill's 21st Century Ghosts, and will then be starting Before I Go To Sleep (more of a thriller/psychological story than a horror).

dondomat · Aug 28, 2011

I looked at Brian Keen's free novel on his site ("Deluge") and checked out the start of his "Castaways", and maybe I'm just not in the mood, but I was very disappointed. Very. Every third choice of words seemed wrong, every third sentence off-balance; the structure of the narrative flow seemed horribly wrong as well.

It's not that I only like finicky prose; to the contrary - I can fully enjoy the simpler pulps of say Robert Bloch, heck, I can even enjoy a Stine, if only for the pace, which is otherwise impossible to find these days.

But my two attempts at Keene can only be likened to my attempts to read Sanderson's fantasy, only even more so. If trying to read Sanderson was not unlike watching an 80's Italian copy of Mad Max or Living Dead, then Keene was like watching an 80's Filipino copy of an Italian copy... Not in the sense of cliches or anything - I love cliches - I mean in the sense of every scene and every line in the movie being slightly wrong.

Opinion disclaimer: this is my personal opinion which has been known to change not only from year to year, but from morning to evening of same day. Or, in Internet speak: "IMAO BAO WAO, LMAO, HMAO, BUBAO". Oh wait, that's my takeaway order...

Calla Lily · Aug 29, 2011

Huh. I haven't read that yet. The last one of his I read was the worm one (The Conqueror Worms?). In general, I enjoy Keene because reading him is like watching an overblown 50s horror movie--which are my favorite kind of movies.

dondomat · Aug 29, 2011

callalily61 said:
In general, I enjoy Keene because reading him is like watching an overblown 50s horror movie--which are my favorite kind of movies.

That's the appeal my favorite Koontz books have for me - like a 50's - early 60's sci-fi/horror B flick, or a Twilight Zone/Outer Limits episode expanded and updated into a tale of suspense. Unless he's just retelling a morality crime pulp or ghost story, which in a way can be classified in the same way, only in a parallel 50's genre. Maybe we are all doomed to endlessly recycle our childhood and adolescent influences...

donatos · Aug 31, 2011

You should try "Take the long way home." It's a little novella by Keene but imo it's his best story. Pretty much it's a story of The Rapture but in horror terms. I did like Castaways but know what you mean about the writing throwing you off. Urban Gothic is a good novel to start with too because it opens so violently.

donatos · Aug 31, 2011

Just finished Population Zero by Wrath James White. This is easily the most messed up story I've ever read. Gruesome and ferocious. I don't even know if I would recommend this book or if I like it. It IS an experience though, that's for sure.

Calla Lily · Aug 31, 2011

donatos, is the novella in a collection of shorts? It's not coming up at my library as that title.

donatos · Aug 31, 2011

callalily61 said:
donatos, is the novella in a collection of shorts? It's not coming up at my library as that title.

It was published this year as a stand alone novella by Deadite Press. It has a previous publication date of 2006 and I think he states in the afterward that it originally was sold as a limited edition hardcover. I have the Deadite Press edition.

dondomat · Sep 1, 2011

I'll check out Urban Gothic soon, donatos, thanks

What Are You Reading?

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