The Strange Bird, by Jeff VanderMeer, is as lovely and horrifying and heartbreaking as I’m accustomed to from his writing. It’s 109 pages, so a short read, and is in the same world as Borne, and should definitely be read after Borne given its spoilers for the previous novel. I’ll be very surprised if it doesn’t pick up awards.
I just read Love by Hanne Orstavik. A Norwegian novel, very atmospheric and ominous, with a relentless narrative that seems to be moving toward some terrible conclusion. I won’t say more than that but I recommend this book highly.
I’ve just started reading a thriller called The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd. Pure fluff and not very compelling so far. I wouldn’t even mention it but for the following complaint. The writer is British but many of the characters and the early setting are American. One intensely annoying thing is that the American characters use British turns of phrase that no American would ever use. A decent editor should have picked up on this issue since the writer herself was clearly unaware of it.
Lethal Bayou Beauty, by Jana Deleon. Really funny cozy mystery.
The first of this series is on Amazon free for Kindle.
I finished re-reading “The Adventures of Roderick Random” by Tobias Smollett, which is probably my favourite book written in the 18th century. I think what sets it apart from the average picaresque novel are the autobiographical elements (like the description of serving as a naval surgeon or Mr Melopoyn’s story of trying to get his play performed on stage); Smollett’s genuine indignation (and sarcastic humour) really stands out in those parts.
Back after a couple weeks’ hiatus due to friends visiting from Thailand, another American (South Carolina)-Thai couple. All reading was suspended as we ran around the state, so I am still trying to finish Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens.
I just finished it today. I agree with you. She has been hitting it out of the park lately.
Sundiver by David Brin. Currently on a sci-fi bender.
While on vacation I finished The President is Missing, by James Patterson and Bill Clinton. It was a good enough read but not great, and I was reminded why I don’t read much Patterson these days.
I moved on to Jim Butcher’s Brief Cases, a collection of new-to-me short stories set in the Dresden Files world. Butcher hasn’t released new Dresden material since 2014’s Skin Game, and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy that world and those characters. I’d missed it/them, and am loving this collection. I’m about 80% done, and will be kind of sad when I finish it. In fact, I might go re-watch the old TV show (only partly for Paul Blackthorne ;)).
Finally finished Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens. A young lad in early 19th-century England suddenly finds himself with “great expectations” in life after being tapped by an anonymous wealthy benefactor. Adventures ensue. Very good. Not quite finished with the book though, as there some appendices and essays in this volume I want to read through.
Did your copy have the alternate ending? I found that fascinating.
It does, and that’s one of the appendices.
Dung Beetle have you seen this?
John Bellairs comes to the movies! I tend to avoid movie adaptations because I’m usually dissapointed, but Jack Black and Cate Blanchett tempt me mightily.
I have been tempted away into reading Crazy Rich Asians. It’s both enthralling (in the sense of I can’t put it down), and in desperate need of an editor. It’s a cacophony of names and places, with hints of a slightly catty tone that almost reminds of Wodehouse. If it achieved Wodehouse, it would be wonderful, but it doesn’t. It’s compared to The Joy Luck Club, but it doesn’t achieve that either. There are a handful of characters that we care about, but we spend relatively little time with them in the narrative.
My impression overall is that this is meant to be a “tell all” about the Asian rich. The story ends up split between the tell all, and the romance, and 3/4s of it becomes a blur that I am slogging through almost as a educational exercise.
:eek: No, it’s news to me! Good news? I’m not sure. I do know that I’ll be going to see it in the theatre…breaking my very long streak.
I hope they don’t lose the scary in the effort to show all the wackiness. Hand of Glory and all the rest!
I’m scared already. 
I’ve been reading off my Kindle lately and don’t have it handy, but from (faulty) memory I read Joe Lansdale’s Hoodoo Harry, Cold Cotton, Grady Hendrix’s Tales of the White Street Society, and am now re-reading Joe Hill’s Horns. Wow, I forgot how good this was!
Finished the appendices and essays accompanying Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations. Yes, the alternate ending was interesting.
Next up is Disaster at Stalingrad, by Peter Tsouras. An alternate history about what if the Germans had won that WWII battle? Loaned to me by a huge history buff who is a fan of the author, whose works are unknown to me.
I finished A Thousand Degrees Below Zero by Murray Leinster. I usually like him as an old school pulp sci-fi writer, but this was no better than ordinary. I kind of like how nobody notices that they have invented perpetual motion, but apart from that, evil genius tries to take over the world by freezing up New York Harbor and is defeated by the noble young inventor (in a biplane, no less) is pretty clockwork.
Right now, I am working on The Sicilian by Mario Puzo. So far it is more of a spin-off than a sequel to The Godfather, but it is too soon to tell. I re-read The Godfather earlier, and this has the same structure of introducing characters, then giving their back story, “trust nobody”. I don’t recognize anything from the book from the movie Godfather II, and the whole Vito Corleone back story is from the first book, but so far The Sicilian is holding my interest.
I also read Andrew Vachss’ Blackjack: A Cross Novel, but didn’t care for it all that much. Vachss doesn’t do the supernatural very well, and it read too much like a screenplay for a big budget action movie, and for some reason I am tired of the gang of semi-superhuman outcasts with unlimited access to magic technology as Vachss writes it. It seems like he invents characters just to be quirky, and it lacks the innocence of narrative to be convincing.
Regards,
Shodan
Recent reads
Wheel of the Infinite, by Martha Wells. If you like strong women characters and fantasy and have never read Martha Wells, I can’t recommend her highly enough. She’s really outstanding.
Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik. Outstanding women characters (I’m on a roll!) and a wonderful storyline evocative of fairy tales.
Ashes of the Elements, by Alys Clare. DNF. Her characters tell each other things they already know to advance the plot. “As you know, my son is the king of England!”
Scandal Above Stairs, by Jennifer Ashley. Historical mystery. Very readable but with so much in the way of coincidence and implausibility that it was hard to stay immersed.
Agreed on all counts. Fascinating yet sad.
I’ve just finished reading Staking Claims to a Continent which I mentioned last month. I’m afraid it fell between two stools. If you’re familiar with the US Civil War literature, you’ll probably find it just covers well-trod soil, and same if you’re familiar with Canadian Confederation.
While it’s easy to see the Union and the CSA as direct competitors, it’s harder to draw the link to Canada. Sure, there were interactions, like the Trent Affair, the St Albans raid, and so on, but there weren’t a lot of direct links.
Might be interesting for someone who isn’t familiar with the Civil War stuff, or someone who’s not familiar with the Confederation stuff, but I’m afraid I found it superficial, overall. (Plus I found errors in it - nothing major, but enough to make me dog-ear the pages and think about sending an e-mail to the author! Haven’t done that yet.)
Man, I sound grumbly. I think I’ll read an Agatha Christie or a Wodehouse to calm me down.