The Night Ocean | 
pickA forgery wrapped in a hoax wrapped in a mystery. La Farge blends fact, fiction, and conjecture into an entrancing tale of the weird. I was most interested in Marina's search for Charlie, which I wish had gotten a bit more attention. The layered story of Lovecraft, Barlow, and Spinks is engaging but drags in a few places.
"Scratch a professor and you found a paranoiac, Barlow thought. But scratch a dean and you found a con artist."
In this creepy mystery, the narrator's husband disappears after becoming obsessed with H.P. Lovecraft. Madness and forbidden knowledge abound.
Thanks to @Linsy for this #scarathlonphotochallenge!
Today‘s prompt is #night and helped me find a strong contender for one of those Free bingo spaces this month!
Pictured with Sleepytime Sadie and her Teddy 🧟♀️🧸🖤💜
#TeamHendrix
#UglyCovers #BoringCovers #PuttingYouOffCovers
How about you? Care to join? Post covers of books that are ugly, boring, or just putting you off from reading the book. Don‘t forget to tag me so I can see your covers!
@Andrew65 @julesG @gradcat @Librarybelle
#7Days7Covers #day4 #CoverCrush
I‘ve not read it yet. Someday. I really bought this for the cover.
Join in everyone!
Starting a new book today.
#seasonsreadings2017 #favecoversof2017
I haven't read any of these books yet (all of them published in 2017) but aren't they just so striking?
Would you recommend any of them?
I think my family gets me. 😂
so-soThe first third of this was great. The next two thirds were long, detailed biographies of men that ultimately didn't seem to add up. I see where he was going and possibly where he wanted to end up but it didn't work for me at all.
This is definitely weird enough to hook me in. H.P. Lovecraft was a strange, mean little man and he seems to be using that to his advantage here.
My picks for #fivestarpredictions
I feel like I'm cheating with The Night Ocean because I've already read over 100 pages and it's sooooo goood.
Thanks @DebbieGrillo for tagging me.
I nominate @bitterbear and @TheGhastlyGrimoire
#ToB chose these 6 books as their 2017 #summerreadingchallenge and I did it--I read them all! And in a timely fashion too. The Night Ocean was my favorite, with Ill Will and Marlena also being excellent. Fever Dream was fascinating, but didn't feel finished. Temporary People is original, but I am not a fan of magical realism. A Separation was not for me. I am hoping some of these land in the next ToB.
pickThis was a fascinating read. It is about author Lovecraft, sure, but most of all is it a story about truth, about what is true and what to believe. I am not sure myself what to believe after finishing it! Weird! #tournamentofbooks
so-soMultilayered story within a story within a story within real life events. It's tough not to bail on this one but if you make it to the end you will be rewarded with something truly thought-provoking. 3.5 ⭐️s
#sizzlinsummerbooks #ocean
Just finished Night Ocean!
#bestreadsof2017sofar I have not had a great reading year. I had a 6-week slump from March into May. I haven't finished 40 books even--usually I am around 50. Trying to find my favorites showed what a drag the year has been--usually I would be struggling to choose 6. This year I have a screenplay, a graphic novel (series), a short story/novella, and just one wonderful big novel. *sigh*
No #litsypartyofone or #eclecticreadathon for me this weekend. Instead, I'm away for my annual girl's trip so lots of hiking, drinking, chatting, and laughing. It's one of the best weekends of the year.☺️
And this is my view. ⛰️⛰️⛰️
I'm quite enjoying this book. I went in totally blind, and only picked it up because of the Tournament of Books (summer edition). My only issue is I haven't read, and don't know much about H P Lovecraft, so I am constantly wondering how much is true and how much is fiction!
pickWow! I wasn't sure I would get through this, but ended up loving it. Yes it's about Lovecraft, but really it's about truth--what is truth, how do we know, how do we find it? I'm still struggling about what in this book is true--it's a novel populated by real people (and per the acknowledgements, descendants of those people provided source material--if that's true!). I would not have found this without #roostersummerreadingchallenge #ToB
I'm on page 35 so not sure what to think yet. But I also started The Call of Cthulhu because it is relevant.
pickThis is a weird one. I did not know much about Lovecraft or his following, so that was interesting. Parts dragged a bit, but overall I enjoyed it.
bailedQuickest bail in the east! Gorgeous gorgeous cover and I even like how the author is approaching the storytelling in a structural sense, but the obsessive focus on HP Lovecraft as the driving force of the book is just not going to work for me. I would still try another book by this author. Attempted for #tobsummerreading #tob
The words to describe it, I realized, with uneasy surprise, came from Lovecraft: a mephitic blast, or a nameless stench: words that have no particular power to terrify, until you find yourself in the presence of the thing to which they refer. Until you discover that there is a thing to which they refer.
pickWhat a book. Not at all what I usually go for, but holy cow, did I enjoy this one. Could not put it down, and the ending is haunting me. Great read.
pickThis was honestly so good. Each plot twist (and believe me, there were many) really kept me guessing as to what the truth was. And I'm still wondering about that ending.
#TBRtemptation post 3! This novel follows H.P. Lovecraft's inner circle: HP himself, Robert Barlow who killed himself after being blackmailed for his homosexuality, student & future author William Burroughs, & L.C. Spinks who is the only person who knows the origin of "The Erotonomicon". Marina's husband Charlie is obsessed with HP & thinks he's figured out what happened with HP in the summer of '34, & then disappears. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook ?
pickWeirdly I am going to have to rate this book as a pick. H.P. Lovecraft was a prolific writer of weird science stories. However, I think this book is also in its own way a weird science story. I was both intrigued and disgusted. I give it a pick to read because I think that is really how this book was supposed to make you feel. Certainly twisted and weird, but fascinating as well. Not an easy read for sure
Anyone who has read this, can you please explain to me what is going on? It is interesting enough that I will keep reading it, but I just keep wondering what is the story here?🤔🤔🤔
And on to the next one. I literally walked over to my stacks of books and grabbed one. If it is one a stack, going to have to get read at some point right?
bailedThis has to go back to the library tomorrow. I'm only about 25% into it and it's just not doing it for me.
Up next - this book with the trippy cover. #currentlyreading
so-soParts of this book had me reading like crazy. And other parts I had to skim. I don't know. Wanted to love. But meh.
Really loving this book so far. It's a story of a marriage (even if our narrator disagrees), and a character study, and is clearly heading to weird territory. I'm buckled up and ready for the ride.
pickLovecraft, conspiracies, scandals, mysterious books--what's not to love? This book is so incredibly well done that it will send you running to look things up because even though you know for a fact they can't be true, well, maybe they are. And there's just enough truth to make you wonder. And my god, that cover!
pickWhile I'd say this book was a little weird to me, it was still pretty good!
New book day for me. I LOVE the cover of The Night Ocean and it is signed! I also grabbed two new @Tin_House books- Turkish Delight and There are More Beautiful Things Than Beyoncé, East West, Spaceman of Bohemia, and @coffeehousepress Story of My Teeth. Yay books! @oblongirl 's store is my favorite place to go.
pickThanks to #NetGalley I got to read this amazing book! I seem to be in the minority for loving it but I did! https://litgoals.blogspot.com
bailedA 450 page tome that is quoting a fictional Middle English book about sex using made up euphemisms? Uh, nope. #netgalley
