I was kinda disappointed by Doctor Sleep but damnit if I didn't have visceral nightmares of Rose tearing me apart.
Current reads
- Thread starter PhilKenSebben
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If you kindle, the whole series is on sale atm. I was missing a book, and shit saved my ass. $5 a pop.
Hile
I just finished Seeing by Jose Saramago.
I liked it a lot. I don't really know why. As for what to read next, who tf knows, lol.
Muraki is definitely a lot of fun. Doctor Sleep was okay, about as good as one might expect a sequel of an iconic property like The Shining to be, I guess. Did we need it? Maybe not.
I liked it a lot. I don't really know why. As for what to read next, who tf knows, lol.
Muraki is definitely a lot of fun. Doctor Sleep was okay, about as good as one might expect a sequel of an iconic property like The Shining to be, I guess. Did we need it? Maybe not.
So, I dunno if you folks know, but I read a LOT. And I write, going to school for creative writing. I am a complete and total bookworm.
"Summer of Night" by Dan Simmons. Which I somehow confused with "Boy's Life" by Robert R. McCammon, thinking I'd read it in the past.
I'd highly recommend both if you're into horror. Both share some similarities of being small town horror stories set around younger boys and their day to day lives.
Here's some of my favorites I read in the past few years that I'd recommend.
"Last Days" by Adam Nevill: Fucking stellar. Despite a slightly weak final few chapters this book was legitimately creepy, and I say this as a truly jaded old horror veteran. About a documentary film maker who takes up a desperate job from an eccentric old rich man to investigate and document meetings with a cult from the 70s that hopped between England, France and the US. Things go from creepy and strange to dangerous and fucked up quickly in this one. Featuring a central creature (or creatures) that that gave my wife trouble sleeping.
"I'm Thinking of Ending Things" by Iain Reid. Probably my overall favorite book I've read in the past 2 years. Apparently it's been green-lit for a Netflix adaption...though knowing what the story is, I'm honestly not sure how well it will translate to film. This is the ONLY book that I have EVER immediately re-read upon finishing. It's a short read, barely even a novel, but the twist at the end put an entirely new perspective on the entire rest of the book. Reading it a second time was like reading the same story but told from a completely different perspective with a different outcome...as strange as that is to even wrap your head around. It's a psychological mindfuck that all but demands an in-depth discussion with other when you've finished it. In the best way, of course. It's a book that I cannot stress you SHOULD NOT look into before reading. Honestly, the least you know about this before going into it, the better. I can't even really talk about what the book is about without ruining something. Just trust me when I say that if you appreciate psychological horror/thrillers, you'll probably like this.
"Heart-Shaped Box" by Joe Hill. This was my introduction to Joe Hill, a high recommendation for me. I didn't realize until about halfway through at the time that this dude is Stephen King's son. That cat's kind of out of the bag now involving that little secret, but at the time Joe kind of kept that under wraps in hopes that people would enjoy his work and not just because of his father's legacy. He needn't have worried about that, the guy's excellent, just like his dad. One of my favorite modern horror authors out there. This is the story of an aging, washed up death metal frontman who decided one day to purchase a reportedly "haunted" suit from an online auction to add to his collection of strange and macabre items. He gets a helluva lot more than he bargained for.
"The Fisherman" by John Langan. Quite honestly the best modern example of cosmic (Lovecraftian) horror I've seen written since Lovecraft himself or Robert E. Howard. (Possibly with the exception of some of Brian Lumley's early short stories.) An odd book in how exactly it's structured. As the author himself has noted from when trying to originally get it published, he had trouble in doing so because "It's too literary" for a fiction genre publisher, and "too genre" for a literary publisher. It's a slow burn to be sure, but damn does it pay off. A story that's part modern and part history lesson with a cosmic horror twist. It's a pretty unique read and masterclass for it's genre. Especially in this day and age.
"A Fine Dark Line" by Joe R. Lansdale. Possibly my favorite of Lansdale's work, who is probably my favorite living author period. Lansdale can tell one helluva story, and tells like to you like your funny uncle recalling a folktale to you on your front porch. Joe wrote the long-running Hap and Leonard series that spawned a successful and excellent TV show on Sundance that unfortunately was cancelled after it's third season during a a shuffling of the network's higher ups, despite having extremely positive user reviews and reception. But that's not what we're talk about here. (Though you really should watch that show and read the series.) A Fine Dark Line is a mystery story set in a little town during the late 1950s that still functions something like a town from a decade past. Just as much a coming of age story as it is a mystery, featuring Lansdale's trademark realistically believable and often likeable characters. Seriously guys...I don't care if it's this book or any other of his, you really need to check out Joe Lansdale. He is fucking amazing.
"Savage Season" by Joe R. Lansdale. The first book of the Hap and Leonard series. I just couldn't pass up also including this one. More people need to enjoy this man's work. And Hap and Leonard is easily his most well known. The story is centered around two fellas, as the name suggests. Hap Collins, a sort of every man with a good heart and a nice set of useful skills. Leonard Pine, a hard military veteran who happens to be black and gay and living a bigot filled South in the US during the 1980s. These two best friends find themselves trying to track down a stash of cash from a failed bank robbery in the past after Hap's ex-wife Trudy shows up out of the blue. The Hap and Leonard series is parts mystery, action, comedy and drama featuring one of the most endearing and fun duos in the past few decades of literature. Hap is a bleeding heart who tries his hardest to set wrongs right and avoid violence when possible, even if he is still pretty capable of handling himself. Leonard on the other hand is a smart ass, hot-headed fella who doesn't mind cracking skulls to get things accomplished and yet still comes off as extremely likeable and often laugh out loud funny.
"Summer of Night" by Dan Simmons. Which I somehow confused with "Boy's Life" by Robert R. McCammon, thinking I'd read it in the past.
I'd highly recommend both if you're into horror. Both share some similarities of being small town horror stories set around younger boys and their day to day lives.
Here's some of my favorites I read in the past few years that I'd recommend.
"Last Days" by Adam Nevill: Fucking stellar. Despite a slightly weak final few chapters this book was legitimately creepy, and I say this as a truly jaded old horror veteran. About a documentary film maker who takes up a desperate job from an eccentric old rich man to investigate and document meetings with a cult from the 70s that hopped between England, France and the US. Things go from creepy and strange to dangerous and fucked up quickly in this one. Featuring a central creature (or creatures) that that gave my wife trouble sleeping.
"I'm Thinking of Ending Things" by Iain Reid. Probably my overall favorite book I've read in the past 2 years. Apparently it's been green-lit for a Netflix adaption...though knowing what the story is, I'm honestly not sure how well it will translate to film. This is the ONLY book that I have EVER immediately re-read upon finishing. It's a short read, barely even a novel, but the twist at the end put an entirely new perspective on the entire rest of the book. Reading it a second time was like reading the same story but told from a completely different perspective with a different outcome...as strange as that is to even wrap your head around. It's a psychological mindfuck that all but demands an in-depth discussion with other when you've finished it. In the best way, of course. It's a book that I cannot stress you SHOULD NOT look into before reading. Honestly, the least you know about this before going into it, the better. I can't even really talk about what the book is about without ruining something. Just trust me when I say that if you appreciate psychological horror/thrillers, you'll probably like this.
"Heart-Shaped Box" by Joe Hill. This was my introduction to Joe Hill, a high recommendation for me. I didn't realize until about halfway through at the time that this dude is Stephen King's son. That cat's kind of out of the bag now involving that little secret, but at the time Joe kind of kept that under wraps in hopes that people would enjoy his work and not just because of his father's legacy. He needn't have worried about that, the guy's excellent, just like his dad. One of my favorite modern horror authors out there. This is the story of an aging, washed up death metal frontman who decided one day to purchase a reportedly "haunted" suit from an online auction to add to his collection of strange and macabre items. He gets a helluva lot more than he bargained for.
"The Fisherman" by John Langan. Quite honestly the best modern example of cosmic (Lovecraftian) horror I've seen written since Lovecraft himself or Robert E. Howard. (Possibly with the exception of some of Brian Lumley's early short stories.) An odd book in how exactly it's structured. As the author himself has noted from when trying to originally get it published, he had trouble in doing so because "It's too literary" for a fiction genre publisher, and "too genre" for a literary publisher. It's a slow burn to be sure, but damn does it pay off. A story that's part modern and part history lesson with a cosmic horror twist. It's a pretty unique read and masterclass for it's genre. Especially in this day and age.
"A Fine Dark Line" by Joe R. Lansdale. Possibly my favorite of Lansdale's work, who is probably my favorite living author period. Lansdale can tell one helluva story, and tells like to you like your funny uncle recalling a folktale to you on your front porch. Joe wrote the long-running Hap and Leonard series that spawned a successful and excellent TV show on Sundance that unfortunately was cancelled after it's third season during a a shuffling of the network's higher ups, despite having extremely positive user reviews and reception. But that's not what we're talk about here. (Though you really should watch that show and read the series.) A Fine Dark Line is a mystery story set in a little town during the late 1950s that still functions something like a town from a decade past. Just as much a coming of age story as it is a mystery, featuring Lansdale's trademark realistically believable and often likeable characters. Seriously guys...I don't care if it's this book or any other of his, you really need to check out Joe Lansdale. He is fucking amazing.
"Savage Season" by Joe R. Lansdale. The first book of the Hap and Leonard series. I just couldn't pass up also including this one. More people need to enjoy this man's work. And Hap and Leonard is easily his most well known. The story is centered around two fellas, as the name suggests. Hap Collins, a sort of every man with a good heart and a nice set of useful skills. Leonard Pine, a hard military veteran who happens to be black and gay and living a bigot filled South in the US during the 1980s. These two best friends find themselves trying to track down a stash of cash from a failed bank robbery in the past after Hap's ex-wife Trudy shows up out of the blue. The Hap and Leonard series is parts mystery, action, comedy and drama featuring one of the most endearing and fun duos in the past few decades of literature. Hap is a bleeding heart who tries his hardest to set wrongs right and avoid violence when possible, even if he is still pretty capable of handling himself. Leonard on the other hand is a smart ass, hot-headed fella who doesn't mind cracking skulls to get things accomplished and yet still comes off as extremely likeable and often laugh out loud funny.
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I feel that series is pretty overlooked in NA, I enjoyed both the Swedish and UK TV adaptions but never got into the books.
What were you doing in Latvia? I grew up with a ton of Latvians in Vancouver.
I’m reading Berserk, and love it so much. I’m also reading The Glass Key a pretty good noir crime book.
Yikes, I've been delinquent on the Forums already :\
The books have been great and I've loved them immensely. I only have two left and it's kind of a bummer. I want to watch the Branagh Wallander series, but I am also cheap and don't want to pay for it, haha.
My wife is from LV and I lived there for a few years teaching ESL while she wrapped up uni. We still go from time to time, but travel has become increasingly cost-prohibitive. I adore that part of the world, though. And yes, I'm very familiar with the Latvian contingent in parts of Canada
I worked with some Canadian-Latvians at my school when I taught.
Currently in a reading slump and I have several books I'm about halfway through, but haven't touched in months/years.
-The Illustrated Man
-Time of Contempt
-I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream & Other Stories
-Brave New World
-Cat's Cradle
-Berserk (re-read)
-Dragon Ball
and I'm probably about to buy some more books I'll slack on finishing
-The Illustrated Man
-Time of Contempt
-I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream & Other Stories
-Brave New World
-Cat's Cradle
-Berserk (re-read)
-Dragon Ball
and I'm probably about to buy some more books I'll slack on finishing
So I'm reading a lot of war narratives for my degree. Nothing wild has really impressed me yet, but some highlights that I've read in the recent past are Anthony Swofford's Jarhead and Ben Fountain's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. I'm optimistic about this collection called Fire and Forget: Short Stories from the Long War, edited by Roy Scranton and Matt Gallagher, and their own novels War Porn and Youngblood respectively. I'm also really excited to get to Uzodinma Iweala's Beasts of No Nation, because apparently I haven't left enough of my guts on the floor.
While I love war narratives, my last for-pleasure reads were Edgar Cantero's Meddling Kids and Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash. Meddling Kids was an absolute delight, and while it's not the best novel I've ever read, it's clear that Cantero had fun writing it. It's so much fun to read and will just endlessly entertain. It's Scooby-Doo meets Lovecraftian horror. Snowcrash has one of the best opening chapters I've ever read, and then proceeds to hit the brakes and take it slow as fuck through what would otherwise be one of the most entertaining and exciting cyberpunk settings out there. The end picks up a bit before it abruptly cuts off. It put me off Stephenson forever.
@me about Cormac McCarthy and Herman Melville.
While I love war narratives, my last for-pleasure reads were Edgar Cantero's Meddling Kids and Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash. Meddling Kids was an absolute delight, and while it's not the best novel I've ever read, it's clear that Cantero had fun writing it. It's so much fun to read and will just endlessly entertain. It's Scooby-Doo meets Lovecraftian horror. Snowcrash has one of the best opening chapters I've ever read, and then proceeds to hit the brakes and take it slow as fuck through what would otherwise be one of the most entertaining and exciting cyberpunk settings out there. The end picks up a bit before it abruptly cuts off. It put me off Stephenson forever.
@me about Cormac McCarthy and Herman Melville.
Last year for Christmas I got the fancy illustrated versions of the first 2 Harry Potter books. I finally decided to read them. Finished the first today. Ive always loved the books. But the illustrations are so goooood! I absolutely love the artist's vision for this world. If you're into Harry Potter at all, definitely give it a look.
Whoops, looks like I'm a bit late to this one. But I've been reading a couple of memoirs from the members of Band of Brothers. I finished Major Winters memoir and I'm reading Buck Compton's now.
