Started today on We Used To Live Here, by Marcus Kliewer. It’s about a couple who are renovating an old Victorian house in an isolated area. Then a family drops by to see the place, and won’t leave. Pretty good so far!
I also just finished listening to this. As I posted in the thread dedicated to this book, I thought all of the stories were good, and about half of them were great.
Next up, North Woods by Daniel Mason.
Finished The Man Who Solved Mysteries by William Brittain, of which the two best stories were “Mr. Strang Picks Up the Pieces” and “Mr. Strang and the Lost Ship”.
Now I’m reading Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World, by Ian Wright, and Seven Guitars, by August Wilson.
Started on The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman. The latest Alex Delaware/Milo Sturgis murder mystery.
Starter Villian John Scalzi
Comic sci-fi set in the present day. A young down-on-his-luck man inherits a business from his long-lost uncle. The business is essentially being a James Bond style supervillain.
Some pretty amusing moments, such as when the main character tries to organize a Zoom call with the other villains.
Recommended.
I love Scalzi, so I’ll definitely read it sooner or later.
Just finished Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett, a great WWII spy-on-the-run thriller. Highly recommended.
Halfway through a re-read of Fatherland by Robert Harris. Realistic, well-written and chilling. It’s one of my all-time favorite alternative-history novels and is also a great police procedural. An SS criminal investigator in 1964 Berlin looks into the mysterious deaths of several Nazi bigwigs, not long before Hitler’s 75th birthday celebration and an upcoming summit with President Joseph Kennedy Sr. Really, really good.
Now starting Earning the Rockies by Robert D. Kaplan, nonfiction about how continent-wide geography has shaped the development of the United States.
Finished We Used to Live Here. It was just all right. I enjoyed most of the journey; the author really knew how to set up some creepiness. There was a particular scene that made me shudder and think, “Oh man, here it comes!” But then it never really did. In the end, there were so many puzzle pieces, but not a whole picture.
Read it last year and loved it. Just silly enough to be fun, but serious enough to be alllllllmost plausible.
Finished Brilliant Maps for Curious Minds: 100 New Ways to See the World, by Ian Wright, and Seven Guitars, by August Wilson. My favorite map of the former was “Number of Heavy Metal Bands per 100K People”. Finland was far in the lead, with 65.9. (Note this was as of 2019.) Wilson’s play had powerful characterization.
Now I’m reading The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands, by Sarah Brooks. I picked it up recently and moved it up on my TBR list based on the recommendation of Left_Hand_of_Dorkness.
Finished The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands, by Sarah Brooks, which I enjoyed. (My copy didn’t have a map, however.)
Now I’m reading The Nine Old Men: Lessons, Techniques, and Inspiration from Disney’s Great Animators, by Andreas Deja.
Oh frabjous day! Started this morning on the new one by Jonathan L. Howard: The Shadow on The Glass, a Cthulhu by Gaslight novel. It sparks joy.
So glad you liked it! The map I was referring to was the map of the train. Does yours not have that map?
Great Adaptations: Star-Nosed Moles, Electric Eels, and Other Tales of Evolution’s Mysteries Solved Kenneth Catania
A zoologist describes some of his interesting research on unusual animals.
Enjoyable book.
Hat tip to @Dendarii_Dame who recommended it in a previous thread
No, mine doesn’t have anything like that at all, which is a shame.
Your welcome, zimaane!
Finished The Nine Old Men: Lessons, Techniques, and Inspiration from Disney’s Great Animators, by Andreas Deja, which I enjoyed, but which has quite a few typos and other minor errors.
Now I’m reading Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide, by John Cleese.
I finished reading Phallic Worship by George Scott. I picked it up for two bucks because it looked interesting. Instead, I got a book that somehow managed to make a subject like Phallic Worship dull and boring. I also disagreed with most of the author’s assertions and assumptions.
You’d think a book about this topic would at least be sexy. But no…
So I’m reading The Crime of the Century : How the Brink’s Robbers Stole Millions and the Hearts of Boston by a colleague who’s in two of my writing groups, Stephanie Schorow. I highly recommend all of Stephanie’s books, which are mainly about Boston history. If she chose to write a book about phallic worship, it wouldn’t be boring.
Finished Creativity: A Short and Cheerful Guide, by John Cleese, which was okay.
Now I’m reading Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson.
Finished The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman.
Next up: Paper Cage, a debut novel by Tom Baragwanath, an author from New Zealand. I’ll see how it goes.
That is a shame–the map was delightful, and I referred to it constantly.
Latest read: Service Model, by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I’ve really enjoyed other books by Tchaikovsky–especially City of Last Chances and House of Open Wounds. I’m very cold on the Murderbot books by Martha Wells. This felt like Tchaikovsky was writing a Murderbot book as a satire on the modern world, and boy did it ever fall flat for me. The satire felt obvious and on-the-nose, the jokes felt repetitive, the characters were one-note and dull, and the plot was predictable. I’m glad it works for other people, but it ain’t for me at all.
Glad to hear this! I just Kindled it as I begin prepping my “spooky season” reading list. Think it’ll be my first fall read. Excited for it!
Finished Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson, which was excellent.
Now I’m reading The Longmire Defense, by Craig Johnson.