Book Lists 2023 • Page 3

These days I mostly read comics in TPB because 1) I can get them from the library and 2) I have such a backlog that I don't need to do otherwise most of the time. But when I'm caught up on Monstress I just might switch over to single issues, haha. Such a gorgeous and intricate story.

Also, thanks for the heads up on Batman/Catwoman, I don't think I would have caught that. (Reading orders are, of course, their own nightmare, and periodically I have to do a deep dive and figure out what I'm missing from my lists.)

I think because I'd been away from Batman for a few months, Knightmares was a great reintroduction to see what's going on without throwing me back into the action. But I'm excited to see what's next.

 

So this year has started off with a bang, thanks in large part to three attorneys abruptly quitting our firm and a fourth retiring leaving me with hours upon hours of mindless administrative tasks to close their practices giving me time to fly through books.

Rules of Civility might be my favorite read thus far. Tress as well.

 

A surprisingly strong start to the year. I was not prepared to read ten books at the start of the year, but I'm fine with it.

Some notes/observations:

• What Moves the Dead and You Should Have Left were both fun and quick lil reads.
• Hawk Mountain was fine; the local library had it in the horror section and I don't think it belongs there.
• How to Sell a Haunted House was my first five star book of the year. It was everything I could have wanted from a Grady Hendrix novel.
• White Smoke was solid YA horror. I currently have Jackson's The Weight of Blood on my TBR pile and am hoping to read it this month.
• I probably would have gotten more out of A Church Called Tov if I still worked at a church, but it was a very important book and I'm grateful that it was written.

For this month, I'm hoping to finish Bad Cree before diving into The Weight of Blood and Tananarive Due's The Good House.

 

I have a love/it-was-fine relationship with Tom King, but I read his Batman run last year to prepare for Chip Zdarsky taking over and I thought it was good! Will definitely need to read Batman/Catwoman and close the circle.

 

What other Grady Hendrix books have you read?

 

Continuing my Memory Sorrow and Thorn read with the Dragonbone Chair. Going to take this slow though because I want to enjoy it.

I have started The Eleventh Cycle by Kian Ardalan which was released today. There have been strong comparison to Soulsbourne here so i'm excited to get into it.

Listened to Every Heart a Doorway which was good, not great, but its fine driving listening so i'll continue with that series. And Saga vol. 10, i think i'll need to reread the series again but it was good to be back!

 

Currently reading How to Sell a Haunted House and enjoying it so far. Loved The Weight of Blood. Couldn't put it down. I want to get to White Smoke sometime this year

 

I saw you'd started that, interested to see what you think of it. It's on my "I'm absolutely going to read this this year" list, and so far I've heard great things, but I'm curious what your take will be.

 

Good start to the year. The Killing God is my favorite so far, that book was excellent. Anxious People was fun, not really my kind of book, but it was given to me by a friend so I felt compelled to read it. Babel was also excellent, a very slow start, especially for someone who is over books about schools, but the last act made everything worth it. I finally decided it was about time to finish up these last David Gemmell books I have, just one more Jon Shannow book then the Troy trilogy. Feels good to be back.

 

Im sure I’ll keep you all updated if I’m enjoying it. So far it’s such a smooth read but also pretty dark.

it’s a cool concept, I won’t spoil it but you can see the lore comparisons so far to Dark Souls. Hoping to read more this week.

 

I think all of them at this point. I read Horrorstör a while back when I first realized how much I enjoy the genre and have been reading his books ever since.

That's up next for me! I hope you get to White Smoke and enjoy that too!

 

January update.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - I liked this well enough while reading it, especially the second half, but it definitely didn't live up to the praise and high placement on best books of the year lists for me.

The Starved Rock Murders - Written by a local reporter shortly after the events, so it doesn't have the new information that came up around the HBO series and people digging into this case again over the past few years. I love rural Illinois history, so that aspect of it worked for me, but it's pretty dry around the trial (all books like this are) and has this thesis about how this investigation changed homicide investigation forever but doesn't really dig into that as much as I would have liked.

The Passenger - I'm all in on McCarthy so it's no surprise that I loved this. It's so full of loneliness and paranoia. 89 years old and he's still got it.

 

I have his newest on hold at the library and am looking forward to it. Currently have Horrorstor checked out and plan to get to it soon. Hoping I enjoy them more than Final Girls Support Group

 

Final Girls Support Group is my least favorite Grady Hendrix novel, so I'm feeling positive you will. If you haven't read them yet, I'd highly recommend My Best Friend's Exorcism and Paperbacks from Hell (a non-fiction book he wrote about the horror publishing boom).

 

Updated List:

January:
1. Stella Maris - Cormac McCarthy
2. The Light Pirate - Lily Brooks-Dalton
3. No One Left to Come Looking for You - Sam Lipsyte
4. The Deluge - Stephen Markley

February:
1. The Drop - Dennis Lehane
2. On the Road - Jack Kerouac (This has been on my shelf for forever but I've somehow never read it)

 

Currently reading:

2. Ken Follet - Never , It will take a long time, there are many pages.

Read:

1. Tom Franklin - Crooked letter, crooked letter , en español: Letra torcida, letra torcida 5/5

 

Pretty new to consistent reading. I’m a slow reader, which has caused me not to read much for many years. I now implement a 5 pages a day plan for myself. A non-shame based plan where all I have to do is read 5 pages. Occasionally, I read more. Sometimes I forget to read, but generally I can count on 5 pages.

With this plan, so far this year I read:

The Heart of The Buddha’s Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh
Nonbinary by Genesis P-Orridge

last year I read:

The Searing Light, The Sun and Everything Else: An Oral History of Joy Division
Naked Lunch by William S Bouroughs

once I’m finished with Nonbinary in a couple days, I’m going to start Our Digital Soul by Jennifer Black, which is about the concept of media trauma.

So jealous of all of y’all who read so fast and so much

 

Eleventh Cycle has been such a great read, not my favourite this year but wow, this world was amazing. It was bloody and brutal and filled with hope. Dark Souls-esque but it's unfair to solely compare it to that. Cannot wait for the sequel already, can see this being a special series. I received an ARC copy of Veronica Roths new book and it was a good read but this should have been a full novel. So many unanswered plot points.

Been listening to Wayward Children by Seanan McGuire whilst doing my long drives. Fun series, nothing special but i know it is praised everywhere. Just not hitting with me that well but im still liking it for being what it is.

Also started Berserk last year and slowly getting through it!

Moving forward - i want to really start Memory, Sorrow and Thorn but i'm always getting distracted!

 

I need to get caught up on Wayward Children but glad you are sha also enjoying it

 

Im enjoying it - it's a nice easy read. Not fully invested but its a unique and quick listen.

 

I've read the first Wayward Children, but have the next four (Tor gave them all away in eBook sometime last year).

 

I have them and was wondering where i got them! haha. that explains it!

 

Anyone read Stonefish by Scott R. Jones?

 

Haven't heard of it before but it sounds good.

 

Completely loved the Dragonbone Chair and can't wait to continue it. The Fear of Moncroix is an interesting take on vampires but its a short story, really enjoyable. A House with Good Bones was just not for me. Repetitive and unnecessarily cruel and bleak. Not good for my first foray into T. Kingfisher.

Planning to read the next MS&T book and also In Ascension by Martin McInnes which sounds brilliant!