Happy Halloween all. I hope you all weathered the storm well. Thanksgiving is nearly upon us and soon after that Christmas! Where has the year gone?
I am in the middle of Bleak History by John Shirley and so far really liking it.
Last Months thread.
NaNo starts at midnight as well 
Time to dive into The Inventor and the Tycoon tomorrow.
Wow, it’s not even November over here yet. But I’m about halfway through The Concrete Blonde, the third and final entry in a Michael Connelly anthology of the first three of his Detective Harry Bosch series. Enjoying it like all the others.
D’oh! :smack: Forgot to flip the calendar. It’s November 1 here. :o
Unveiled: The Hidden Lives of Nuns by Cheryl L. Reed. Fascinating, insightful, thoughtful look at members of various orders of American nuns. I am not Catholic but I’ve enjoyed reading about the lives of some very radical and quite modern women.
Yeah, but I always start these a day early anyway…
Listening to the audiobook of Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente and oh my, but it is good! It’s a retelling of a Russian folk tale (featuring Koschei the Deathless) set in the Stalin-era Soviet Union. The language is gorgeous and the juxtaposition of fairy tale elements with the Glorious Revolution is fascinating; for example a dragon said to dine on bones is now a bureaucrat “dining” on the files of political prisoners.
( missed the 5 min editing window)
On a related note, devoured Mark Millar’s Superman: Red Son graphic novel. What if Kal-El had landed in the Ukraine in the 1940’s, instead of Kansas? What if Lex Luthor becomes the “good guy”, at least as far as the US is concerned? For a child of the 80’s Cold War - this was a fascinating twist on a semi-familiar story. I loved the way Millar brought in a couple of other DC superheroes and the artwork is very powerful as well.
Currently reading a fascinating book by Ernesto Dalgas, a young philosopher and mental patient who killed himself in 1899. Very strange stuff, but pretty sweet so far, kinda like a mix between Dante and Weininger.
I just read “Penpal” bay Dathan Auerbach. Very good short book that was perfect for halloween night!!
Moving from one Pulitzer Prize winner to another, after finishing Founding Brothers I’m now starting The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner.
I’m about 1/2 way through What I Found at Hoole by Jeffrey E. Barlough. It’s the 7th and probably last of his Western Lights series. it’s been great fun reading the series over the past 13 years!
I’ve never heard of it. It’s SF, I see, but what’s it like?
The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver.
It’s much more fantasy than sf, despite being arguably an alternate history.
It’s set in a Dickensian sort of background, with characters and often language to match. Outside the towns and villages though, strange creatures from the ice age roam, or are harnessed up as draught animals or mastodon freight trains, etc.
There’s also various Lovecraftian threats, ghosts, ancient Etruscan mysteries or dreamlands encountered in each of the various books!
They all have a common background but there’s little overlap in specifics of setting or characters so they could be read in any order, but I’d suggest starting with any of the first three (published by Ace) or maybe Anchorwick (#5). The pacing is quite slow and the language tends to slow you down as well.
All the covers
Thanks, Meurglys! I dig Dickensian anything so I’m there.
Expect lots of inns with roaring fires, ales and rich food, sea fog and lawyers! And, because it’s set in a version of the Pacific North West, dank forests and wild beasts!
Finished Mongoliad - Book 2 and I must say that I’m throroughly enjoying this series. Followed that up with A wild sheep chase by Haruki Murakami which, for me, is one of his books I enjoyed most reading. Am currently reading Quarantine by Jim Crace
I just finished Stephan King’s 11/22/63. I gave up on King after Tommyknockers, which I thought was shite, and over the years tried a couple more of his books without much success. I figured the guy was just out of material. But I have to say that this book was pretty much a fine and satisfying yarn. I hope it’s an indication of what may come.
That’s nice to know, I, too, haven’t read anything since Tommyknockers which was utter garbage. No insult to Shirley Manson