I had a gift card to Barnes & Noble for my birthday and I picked this one up without having heard about it or reading a review of it. Been awhile since I did that, and it didn‘t let me down. It‘s just a simple concept—Sherlock x Lovecraft (and Lovecraft mashups are much in vogue at the moment) but it‘s just a fun, quick read. It doesn‘t try to pretend to be anything but fun. Recommended. Now I need to get the other two books in the trilogy. Sigh.

Another reread for me. Perfect autumn book and I plowed through in a couple days (which was nice because Rebecca took longer for me).

Side note here, I‘ll highlight the fact that while my bookmark states the truth, in the case of the screen adaptation you really can *almost* judge this book by its movie; it‘s fantastic and there are some changes that I think improve the story (he wrote the screenplay too so it‘s not sacrilegious).

There is one “twist” that you can definitely see coming...but the final one you don‘t see coming. Or at least I didn‘t.

It‘s a classic example of story over plot. For a good chunk of the novel it‘s all build...not a lot of notable events happen, just a sense of foreboding that‘s building. But I loved it.

A little over a third of the way into a book I‘ve long intended to read (ever since Stephen King said it was a big influence on ‘Bag of Bones‘, which is one of my top 10 King novels).

On a beautiful summer day.

It was a solid read, but I love Stephen King so I‘ve got a higher bar, and for me I didn‘t really feel it going until about the last 100 pages—which were great—but I felt it was a little dull getting there. Overall still a solid book by any other writer.

His last book was a home invasion story, and this one is a plague novel (a very contained “plague” though, not an end of the world thing), which either are not really strong interests for me. However great writers can make uninteresting things interesting, and that‘s what he does. It‘s a dark, hard novel, where not a lot of things go right. But it has beauty even in the darkest of places. Solid pick.

It‘s a beautiful day out here in my square of the world, and a nice day to dive into my ARC of Paul Tremblay‘s newest novel (coming out in July, I think?). I guess it‘s technically an ARE now, but that just doesn‘t sound right.

Not sure what to say, another solid collection. ‘Late Returns‘ and ‘Faun‘ are two particular standouts...‘By the Silver Waters of Lake Champlain‘ is another good one (and how great is that title?). If you like short stories, especially dark ones, then you‘ll dig this.

Put this down for a long time but don‘t get the wrong idea, I totally loved it. It‘s the only way I‘d recommend reading ‘Frankenstein‘. The book uses the original 1818 text, but it notes the changes in the text to the 1831 version, as well as three different drafts she had. Plus it adds clarity to the stories and poems she references...it‘s really the only way to truly understand it. Wonderful read. Also recommend Klinger‘s version of ‘Dracula‘.

Third time reading the ‘Lot, first time was back in ‘01...it was the first King book that I loved—and I‘m still a crazy Constant Reader to this day (looking forward to getting to ‘the Institute‘, probably after I finish ‘Annotated Frankenstein‘, and Joe Hill‘s ‘Full Throttle‘). It‘s not my favorite anymore, but still top 10 and worthy of a reread.

Wow it‘s been awhile since I‘ve finished a book. Been a rough fall and winter for reading. Just like the first one, it‘s a solid, easy read. Nothing fantastic, but a fun read that‘s on the shorter side—which is a nice break from my usual mammoth reads.

I grew up reading Goosebumps and Fear Street, but haven‘t read one since I was a teen. Decided to read one of his new ‘Return to Fear Street‘ books since I wanted a quick, easy, read for once, since I‘m about to start a longer book, and most of what I read isn‘t short.

R.L. Stine isn‘t a great writer, and he has very stock characters, but he‘s still a fun read if you‘re feeling a bit nostalgic.

I really loved ‘A Head Full of Ghosts‘, ‘Disappearance at Devil‘s Rock‘, and ‘the Cabin at the End of the World‘. Debated between “pick” and “so-so” but, like any short story collections, there are some you like better than others. In retrospect I think there were only a couple that I didn‘t love. Overall a very solid collection.

This book has been on my TBR since I read about it in ‘Danse Macabre‘ about a decade ago. They‘re adapting it for the follow up to Netflix‘s ‘Haunting of Hill House‘, so I figured it was a good time to check it out. It had some good creepy moments, but other than those moments there really isn‘t much going on. It‘s a story within a story but it doesn‘t bookend with the “first” story and that bugged me. Felt like it should have. It was okay.

Just finished my re-read, ahead of the new show, and confirmed that it‘s the best Joe Hill novel, and one of the best horror novels of the 21st century.

I‘ve wanted to read Anthony Horowitz for awhile (specifically the ‘Magpie Murders‘, or ‘the Word Is Murder‘, among others) and this is my first foray, so hard to say whether it‘s much different than his usual stuff. A really fun little novel. It‘s supposed to be James Bond‘s first case upon getting his 007 license. It really does feel like a first case, rather than an epic, fate of the world type story that come later.

Just finished this on audiobook. I went out of order and read the 4th book, ‘Lethal White‘, first a couple months ago—and it was fantastic. I hesitated between saying Pick or So-So for this one. The mystery was interesting, and had a satisfying conclusion, but there were more than a few parts that were pretty dull and could have been excised. But it seems the series gets better, so I‘ll probably check the next one sometime.

The official Stranger Things companion. Pretty straightforward if you‘ll be interested or not ; I‘m a huge ST nerd and I loved it—and the little season 3 tease was fun.

The book is sort of a novelty since it‘s co-written by Bram Stoker‘s great-grandnephew (or great-great?) who also co-wrote a sequel which was good. This book, a prequel of sorts, is more than a novelty though—it‘s a meta masterpiece. I really loved it.

Just finished re-reading this on audio. Better than I remember, reading it as a teenager. My kids are almost exactly the same age as Ellie & Gage and so it was really tough reading it. Tough enough that I‘ll definitely never read it again, it‘s too hard. But I finished it to read it one last time, and it‘s a good tale. Not my favorite King story but, to me, it‘s the darkest one.

This is the fourth book in the Cormoran Strike series but I‘ve just read this one. I saw it in a bookstore and started it and couldn‘t put it down. Didn‘t seem to matter too much that I hadn‘t read this previous ones, although I‘ll definitely check them out now. I don‘t read much detective fiction but Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) is just that good. Very recommended.

About a third of the way through JK Rowling‘s newest Galbraith novel. I‘m not usually into detective fiction (except for Sherlock, hello) but as a uber fan of the Harry Potter series I was of course going to give it a shot. This is the fourth in the series, and actually the first one I‘ve read but it appears more like a standalone, so it hasn‘t been as issue. Very good thus far.

It‘s not hard to tell, but this is not a novel. It‘s definitely a novella, it totally has that novella feel, just like a very long short story. It‘s a great little story. The basic premise has a slight fantasy bent, but everything else is just Stephen King‘s great characterization and insight into what happens in small towns. I like it, and especially recommend it as a respite from longer reads.

Powell‘s haul.

Just got this last week, started it today. The brand new one from Riley Sager...if you haven‘t read ‘the Final Girls‘ then do it.

A little slower than you might think given the premise. The prose seemed to make things a little more difficult, but worth the read, such a fantastic plot. It sets up a sequel, and with a premise that I‘d also like to read.

Started this one a bit ago and got side-tracked with something else. Not because it wasn‘t good, but just because I get side tracked easily with new releases by favorite authors. Very fun Scooby-Doo-ish premise, with a darker touch.

Hard to decide between So-So and pick. It‘s a fantastic plot written by a *competent* author, but not a great one. So it was good, but could have been better. The last third of the book is where it really took off, a lot of what came before dragged.

Reading by the lakeside this afternoon. It‘s a hot one so hiding in the shade. This book had a blurb that I just couldn‘t pass up, hadn‘t heard any reviews and didn‘t know the author. Thus far it seems like an R. L. Stine book, but for adults. The prose lacks a bit, you definitely wouldn‘t accuse him of being subtle, but the story has interested me enough to keep me hooked.

Wonderful. Difficult to read in places, but because you were invested in the characters, not because the prose was mediocre. Just like his last two novels you aren‘t sure what‘s real and what‘s not. Read it in a fever in two days. Definitely a pick.

Was dying for this book but the library didn‘t have it and I couldn‘t afford it for awhile but a friend gifted it to me. Having a lovely adult beverage and starting this.

Not going to go super in depth here, if you want a summer thriller, this is perfect. It‘s a horror movie concept, but it‘s really a thriller, and it‘s a fast paced read. Only about 330+ pages, so it‘s a quick little firecracker. Honestly felt it could have been longer, but leave ‘em wanting more, right?

Short review now because I‘m holding my sleeping son, but I loved it (and it‘s connections to other SK books).

Nothing surprising here, another entertaining memoir. If you like Bruce you‘ll love it. If you don‘t, you might after reading this.

Okay obviously this isn‘t ‘a Long December‘, but for some reason Litsy doesn‘t have Richard Chizmar‘s latest novella. I loved this story, a new update on a classic horror tale. It was fun, it was an easy read, not really much else to say. Not a challenging read, but just a hell of a lot of fun.

Just picked this up two days ago, essentially on a whim. It had been in my TBR pile for a couple years, with the adaption coming out I decided to finally get around to it. I just finished it and I *really* need the next two. I wish I had just bought the bound 1-book edition of the trilogy I saw at Powell‘s. If you‘re thinking about reading it, do so. It really just sets the stage for the next book, but not in a bad way...it‘s slow burn creepy.

Birthday haul from Powell‘s.

A little over a third of the way through this. A bit light but thus far a very entertaining overview of his life and career.

Got this for Christmas and just finished this all in one setting tonight. Says novel but this is a perfect little creepy novella. Perfect for a winter‘s night.

A great collection of novellas; ‘Snapshot‘ was favorite. ‘Loaded‘ did feel somewhat out of place in this otherwise fantastical collection, but not any less effective than the others. All solid stories, can‘t go wrong.

Always love Leslie S. Klinger‘s notes.

*Finally* got this from the library today after having a pending hold for like a month. Just got through the lengthy foreword and note on the text, and thus have technically just started the story but I‘m already enjoying Leslie S. Klinger‘s wonderful annotations. I loved his ‘New Annotated Dracula‘, so I‘m sure I‘ll love this as well. #CurrentRead

Was looking for a Lucky Day copy of ‘Sleeping Beauties‘, but came across this fantastic premise of a novel and had to give it a try.

Read this on the Kindle. A quick, fun read about the making of Mel Brooks best film. It was a quick little interlude between books.

I really debated between "So-So" and "Pick" on this one. It took me a long time to finish, and I would put it down for periods of time when it got slow. But every time I picked up I wondered why I put it down, and I loved spending the summer with these well defined characters. It's worth a read, especially if you miss Stephen King's characters from 'the Body' and 'It'. These characters are very much their own, but you can't help the comparison.

A little reading by the fire.

#MyPetitPrince

Finally finished this beast (not long after Frank Miller *finally* finished it). I know his style has soured on critics but he tells (with the help of a co-writer) a good story here; and if you've read any of the Frank Miller Batman, I think this is worth your time. Beautiful artwork throughout doesn't hurt.

I'm listening to this on audio, and I've been reading a lot of comics, but have no current read. I've read one novel since finishing 'the Dark Tower' series but haven't been able to pick another. I usually avoid recommendations since I've got more than enough to read for one lifetime already, but I'm curious what people might say. Looking for fiction, preferably dark, but other than that give me a rec!

My Powell's Pick tonight.