Update for May's books. Slowed down on comics this month, but I'll probably make up for that in June (I've got the Spider-Man run to catch up on and Spider-Geddon to read, which I'm really excited for). The Amazing Spider-Man side story (Amazing Grace) had a good concept but lackluster execution. The Renew Your Vows spinoff is really good though. And Shutter continues to be great and confusing and pretty. I just started Monstress, which is also amazing. Book-wise, May was a lot of fun. Finally finished The Help; I've been working on that audiobook for like a year lol (listening with my wife on long trips, so it makes sense that it took so long). Silent Hall was a really fun fantasy romp that I liked more than I was expecting. The Queen of Blood matched my taste in fantasy almost perfectly. I'm really excited to continue both series. One Word Kill is great, I'm reading the second book right now and loving it. Very fun, quick science fiction. The Maltese Falcon was the pinnacle of noir and I savored every word. Going to finally watch the movie(s) soon now that I've read it. And last, The Little Breton Bistro was, I think, just as good as The Little Paris Bookshop, which is one of my favorite books of all time. Exceptionally moving and poignant. Highly recommended. June promises to hold more comics, a bunch of fantasy novels, and maybe something outside my wheelhouse if I need a break.
Updated my list for the end of the month. It's a much shorter list due to reading The Stand and hitting a wave of wanting to play a lot of video games lately, but still on track to reach my goal of 50 books this year. The Stand is long as h*ck, but it's very good. Universal Harvester was fine; a weird read, but Darnielle is a fantastic writer. If anyone else had written it, I'd probably hate it. The Deep is easily my least favorite Cutter novel, but still good. I read And Then There Were None in high school and loved it; I didn't like it as much this time around, but that could be because I already knew what was going to happen and the mystery wasn't so mysterious. Other than Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man making me cry (again) and Zdarsky's Daredevil run continuing to get better, not a whole lot to report on comics. I'm kicking off the month by diving in to Lisey's Story by Stephen King. As always, send me any recommendations!
I'm reading The Hunger from Alma Katsu which came out on paperback recently and it's fuckin great. Meticulously researched historical horror fiction, a la Dan Simmons The Terror, about the Donner Party and *possibly a supernatural element. And like all good horror it has the King stamp of approval on the cover. I'm excited to dive into the rest of her books.
Comics: 1) Happy! 2) A Study In Emerald Audiobooks: 1) Midnight At The Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan 2) The Fifth To Die by J.D. Barker 3) Guess Who by Chris McGeorge 4) An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena 5) A Stranger In The House by Shari Lapena 6) The President Is Missing by James Patterson 7) The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor 8) The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas 9) Light As A Feather, Stiff As Board by Zoe Aarsen 10) Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus 11) The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 12) Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell 13) Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane 14) The Woman In The Window by A.J. Finn Books: 1) Elevation by Stephen King 2) The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas 3) Two Can Keep A Secret by Karen M. McManus 4) The Hiding Place by C.J. Tudor 5) The House Next Door by James Patterson 6) Hunting Annabelle by Wendy Heard 7) The Property Ladder by Ruth Ware 8) The Tale of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware 9) Light As A Feather by Zoe Aarsen 10) The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides 11) The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 12) The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz Updated as of today
Seven books in June and some that I really enjoyed. Firstly, The Woman In White was a fantastic read and one of the best classics I've read in recent times. Enjoyed the plot, the mysteries and the twists and I liked that it utilised different perspectives. Fun to read an early version of that kind of mystery. Gripping and enjoyable. My mother-in-law recommended the Nicci French book and it was nice to read a crime novel set in London and centring on a psychotherapist as the main character (particularly because I've just finished my foundation in counselling skills). There were some bits that weren't 100% there for me, but it was 95% hitting the spot and was a good foundation that got me interested, I'll definitely be reading the next one in the series and see how it goes from there. In terms of non-fiction, I really enjoyed the dialogue between the Dalai Lama and a bunch of scientists about Destructive Emotions - thought it was interesting and pretty readable to say it could have been overwhelming science based. And then Bad Blood by John Carreyrou was a brilliant read - my friend posted about it on Instagram and said she wished someone else had read it so that she could talk about it. Me being me (just fun to read literally anything) got it straight away from the library even though I hadn't got a clue what it was about. Genuinely didn't know anything until I opened the first page. I could not believe what happened and how crazy it was - not the kind of book I'd usually read but it was fascinating. If you haven't come across it, it's the account of the journalist who broke the story that Theranos, a Silicon Valley start up worth billions of dollars, was a sham. It's all about its genesis and how the lies get out of hand. A great read.
Creeping this it seems we like a lot of the same authors. I want to start some Ania Ahlborn books. Any recs for which one to start with?
Updated for June. It was a busier month than usual (I'm leaving my job and had one last mission trip with my high schoolers), but I got some good reads in. I liked Lisey's Story a lot. Not my favorite, but it was interesting; I loved the character development and definitely cried at least once. I devoured (heh heh heh) The Hunger; easily one of my favorite books so far this year. While Recursion didn't hit me as hard as Dark Matter, I really enjoyed it; equal parts thrilling and thoughtful. Planning on kicking off the month with Unbury Carol and Dave Cullen's book on Columbine.
I've only finished the two on my list so far; out of these, I enjoyed Brother a lot more than I did Within These Walls. I've been casually flipping through The Bird Eater at the library and have liked what I've read. @Vivatoto probably has some good thoughts as well.
Awesome thanks, I just added you on Goodreads. I had a profile but never really did anything with it until now. Only put my favorite books as what I have read so far, but hope to update it more as I start chronicling what i've read more.
I use Goodreads regularly, it's good to get into the swing of things and keep up to date. Especially with such mammoth books!
I have yet to read Experimental Film, but I can't recommend The Fisherman highly enough. Truly a stunning book.
Fisherman is one of the most original horror novels I've ever read. It's incredible. Experimental Film is also great.
Novels 1). The White Luck Warrior (The Aspect-Emperor #2) - R Scott Bakker 2.) The Great Ordeal (The Aspect-Emperor #3) - R Scott Bakker 3.) The Unholy Consult (The Aspect-Emperor #4) - R Scott Bakker 4.) Spores - Ike Hamill 5.) The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1) - Carlos Ruiz Zafón 6.) Before They Are Hanged (The First Law #2) - Joe Abercrombie 7.) Unbury Carol - Josh Malerman 8.) The Dunwich Horror - H P Lovecraft 9.) Providence - Caroline Kepnes 10.) Last Argument of Kings (The First Law #3) - Joe Abercrombie 11.) Hex - Thomas Olde Heuvelt 12.) Best Served Cold (The First Law World) - Joe Abercrombie 13.) Dustfall: What Lies Beneath (#5) - J Thorn & Glynn James 14.) The Heroes (The First Law World) - Joe Abercrombie 15.) Experimental Film - Gemma Files 16.) Red Country (The First Law World) - Joe Abercombie 17.) Sharp Ends (The First Law World) - Joe Abercrombie 18.) The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons #1) - Jenn Lyons 19.) The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth's Past #1) - Cixin Liu 20.) A Shadow in Summer (The Long Price Quartet #1) - Daniel Abraham 21.) Encounter (War for Earth #3) - Zach Bohannon & J Thorn 22.) Kellanved's Reach (Path to Ascendancy #3) - Ian C. Esslemont 23.) A Betrayal in Winter (The Long Price Quartet #2) - Daniel Abraham 24.) The Dark Forest (Remembrance of Earth's Past #2) - Cixin Liu 25.) Sefira and Other Betrayals - John Langan 26.) Death's End (Remembrance of Earth's Past #3) - Cixin Liu 27.) An Autumn War (The Long Price Quartet #3) - Daniel Abraham 28.) Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse #1) - James S. A. Corey 29.) The Price of Spring (The Long Price Quartet #4) - Daniel Abraham 30.) Caliban's War (The Expanse #2) - James S. A. Corey 31.) The Last Tower - J. Thorn 32.) Cari Mora - Thomas Harris 33.) Abaddon's Gate (The Expanse #3) - James S. A. Corey 34.) The Hunger -Alma Katsu 35.) Neuropath - R. Scott Bakker 36.) Blood Standard (Isaiah Coleridge #1) - Laird Barron 37.) Dark Ride - Iain Rob Wright 38.) The Acolyte - Nick Cutter 39.) If You See Her - Ania Ahlborn 40.) The Iliad - Homer, (translated by) Robert F. Comics 1.) Intersect: Metamorph (#1) - Ray Fawkes 2.) Masquerade (Project Superpowers) - Phil Hester, Carlos Paul, & Alex Ross 3.) Sir Edward Grey, Witchfinder: In the Service of Angels (#1) - Mike Mignola & Ben Stenbeck 4.) Abe Sapien: The Drowning (#1) - Mike Mignola & Jason Shawn Alexander 5.) Hellboy: The Wild Hunt (Omnibus #3) - Mike Mignola & Duncan Fegredo 6.) 303 - Garth Ennis & Jacen Burrows 7.) Northlanders (complete series) - Brian Wood 8.) After the Cape (#1) - Howard Wong & Jim Valentino 9.) Batman: Night Cries - Archie Goodwin & Scott Hampton 10.) Batman: No Man's Land (#1) - Greg Rucka, Alex Maleev... 11.) Angel and Faith (Season 10) - Victor Gischler & Will Conrad 12.) The Fade Out - Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips 13.) Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 10) - Christos Gage & Rebekah Isaacs 14.) Angel (Season 11) - Corinna Bechko & Geraldo Borges 15.) Ravine (#1) - Stjepan Šejić & Ron Marz 16.) Batman: No Man's Land (#2) - Greg Rucka, Dan Jurgens... 17.) Huntress: Year One - Ivory Madison & Cliff Richards 18.) Batman/ Huntress: Cry For Blood - Greg Rucka, Rick Burchett, & Terry Beatty 19.) Batman: Cacophany - Kevin Smith & Walter Flanagan 20.) Punisher: In the Blood - Rick Remender, Roland Boschi, & Mick Bertilorenzi 21.) The Umbrella Academy: The Apocalypse Suite (#1) - Gerard Way, Gabriel Bá, & Dave Stewart 22.) Batman: No Man's Land (#3) - Chuck Dixon, Dennis O'Neil, Janet Harvey... 23.) The Umbrella Academy: Dallas (#2) - Gerard Way, Gabriel Bá, & Dave Stewart 24.) Ravine (#2) - Stjepan Šejić & Ron Marz 25.) Batman: No Man's Land (#4) - Greg Rucka, Dale Eaglesham... 26.) Uber - Kieron Gillen, Canaan White & Gabriel Andrade 27.) Crisis on Infinite Earths - Marv Wolfman & George Perez 28.) Sunstone: Mercy (#6)- Stjepan Šejić 29.) Batman/Scarecrow Year One - Bruce Jones, Sean Murphy, & Lee Loughridge 30.) Mera: Tidebreaker - Danielle Paige & Stephen Bryne 31.) Blood Stain (#1) - Linda Šejić 32.) Lady Killer (#1) - Joëlle Jones, Jamie S. Rich & Laura Allred 33.) Lady Killer (#2) - Joëlle Jones & Michelle Madsen 34.) Replacer - Zac Thompson, Arjuna Susini & Dee Cunniffe 35.) Batman (Brubaker collection #2) - Ed Brubaker, Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens 36.) God Is Dead (Complete series) - Jonathan Hickman, Mike Costa... 37.) Shutter (Complete series) - Joe Keatinge & Leila Del Duca 38.) Plutona - Jeff Lemire, Emi Lenox & Jordie Bellaire 39.) Mockingbird: I Can Explain (#1) - Chelsea Cain & Kate Niemczyk 40.) Mockingbird: My Feminist Agenda (#2) - Chelsea Cain & Kate Niemczyk 41.) Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again - Cullen Bunn & Dalibor Talajić 42.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 11 - Christos N Gage & Rebekah Isaacs 43.) Blood Stain (#2) - Linda Šejić 44.) Fight Club 2 - Chuck Palahniuk & Cameron Stewart 45.) Transmetropolitan (complete series) - Warren Ellis, Darick Robertson & Rodney Ramos 46.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Reckoning (season 12) - Joss Whedon, Christos Gage, Karl Story & Stephanie Hans 47.) The Movement: Class Warfare (#1) - Gail Simone & Freddie E. Williams II 48.) Batman: Earth One (#2) - Geoff Johns, Gary Frank, Jon Sibal & Brad Anderson 49.) The Movement: Fighting for the Future (#2) - Gail Simone & Freddie E. Williams II 50.) Criminal: Coward - Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips 51.) Prophet - Brandon Graham & Simon Roy 52.) Prophet: Earth War - Brandon Graham, Simon Roy & Giannis Milonogiannis 53.) Morning Glories (compendium vol 1-7) - Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma & Rodin Esquejo 54.) First Born - Ron Marz & Stjepan Šejić 55.) Morning Glories: Rivals (#8) - Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma & Rodin Esquejo 56.) Angelus: Illumination - Ron Marz & Stjepan Šejić 57.) Morning Glories: Assembly (#9) - Nick Spencer, Joe Eisma & Rodin Esquejo 58.) The 7 Deadly Sins - Tze Chun, Artyom Trakhanov & Giulia Brusco 59.) Hitman: 10,000 Bullets (#2) - Garth Ennis & John McCrea 60.) Goodnight Paradise - Joshua Dysart, Alberto Ponticelli & Giulia Brusco 61.) Hitman: Local Heroes (#3) - Garth Ennis & John McCrea 62.) Broken Trinity - Ron Marz, Stjepan Šejić, Phil Hester, & Jorge Lucas The Hunger fuckin ruled. There's really nothing better than good historical horror fiction, fans of the Terror need to read. Neuropath was brilliant, one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. It's like if Hannibal Lecter were a brilliant neurosurgeon and could make anyone do anything by fucking with their brain. Also some good religion v atheism themes. The Acolyte was insane. Not horror in the way that Nick Cutter usually writes but equally terrifying. Ania Ahlborn's new book If You See Her was also awesome and up to her usual standard. So my easy favorite, and probably my favorite book of the year, was the Illiad, which I read for the first time. Holy fuuuuck. I had no idea that I would love it so much. Thought I might have some issues since I believe this is the oldest thing I've read, but I was completely engrossed from beginning to end. Blown away by how violent it was. Like yeah I'd always heard it was violent, but I didn't expect it to live up to the most violent fantasy today. If anyone is in the position I was where I love fantasy but hadn't read it yet, get the hell on it. Goodnight Paradise was my stand out comic. I was more or less just going through long series and finishing up some Top Cow stuff, so it's hard to compare. Hitman's hella fun and Morning Glories is still fantastic. I hate that I only have one more volume left since no questions have been answered and who knows if it will come back from hiatus.
Guess you learn about a new feature of chorus every day. I was briefly excited, and then disappointed, when you said it was Robert F., because the very best translation I've ever read of The Iliad is by Robert Fitzgerald. It's pretty spectacular regardless, but his translation really just works. If you ever want to read it again, give that translation a shot. Either way, I'm glad you read and liked it. I think too many people are put off by some of the classics like that, but they've lasted this long for a reason. If you haven't, you should read both The Odyssey and The Aeneid.