I‘m not sure why I finished this one—maybe out of spite? It‘s a collection of short stories in a style that is a mixture of the worst aspects of hard-boiled detective stories, Lovecraft, and sometimes Hemingway. Very macho characters who are very proud of their penises. The stories are not even scary, just annoying.

Another book from my #31DaysOfHorror marathon in October I‘m late on posting. I enjoy reading this every year, reading a chapter a day (even though this is a fairly short book). I generally like books that use classic characters (Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, etc), and they are so well done here. The new characters (the animal companions) though are the real stars here. The world is enchanting and puts me in the Halloween spirit every time.

So this arrived today. Because I am the Grinch

I listened to this on and off while creating cosplays (lots of sanding outside). It‘s a cozy mystery with good narration. The reader has a soothing voice and is easy to listen to. It‘s the first of a series and while the characters solve the mystery by the end, they don‘t give up their own secrets. Some of the tropes are well-worn but I did love the protagonist, a widow who secretly draws political and satirical cartoons in Regency-era England

While the first volume was several stories, this one is a longer story about revenge and forgiveness. It‘s also about the death penalty in Japan (I believe this series came out originally in the late 90s-early 2000s, so the laws may have changed since). It‘s not so much about whether the death penalty is right or wrong, but how it affects both the families of the victim and the condemned.

I wanted to like this graphic novel more. It‘s a caper story: a retired (incarcerated) thief is hired (jail broken) by a wealthy man to pull an unusual (supernatural) heist. He hires old buddies: a skeptic, a magician turned fence, famous ghost-hunting brothers. He is also saddled with a dubious psychic and a dangerous thug, neither trustworthy. It‘s very gory and a great set-up, but some of the story doesn‘t quite make sense.

I recommend this manga with the warning that it quite graphic (no pun intended)—lots of nudity, gore, and disturbing situations. It‘s about a group of students who have special powers and skills that allow them to find and determine the last wishes of the restless dead. Not only do these editions have beautiful art, there are appendices that explain how to read manga, Japanese writing systems, etc.

I reread this book because I want to experience again some of the books I‘m donating to a LFL. I remember this story being vaguely horror, more like horror-adjacent. A blurb on the cover describes it as an “eerie and quite lovely coming-of-age tale.” It is not lovely. It can be graphic, at times gross, and also sad. It is still quite a good coming-of-age story, though one plot point resolves a little too neatly and easily.

Yes, I tore through the sequel to My Heart Is a Chainsaw. In true horror film fashion, the characters waste no time convincing anyone there is a slasher in the hapless town from the first book. Instead, the survivors from the first story are prepared, as much as they can be. The story is a bit convoluted—lots of lore and local legends here—and a lot more horror (and serial killer) groupies (ick) too. Definitely a fitting sequel

#31DaysOfHorror is well underway. To supplement my diet of horror films I‘m also reading some scary books. In this one, a high school kid named Jade is obsessed with slasher films and is sure one is about to unfold in her little town. I hate that I identified with Jade a little too much—though I was the nerdy good girl, I remember that feeling of being the weirdo and inhaling horror films like Halloween candy. Good gory stuff

Zachary Quinto has a gorgeous voice. Yes, this is fun mystery with a sci-fi (or fantasy?) twist, but his performance really makes this audiobook. It‘s an interesting premise—no one knows why, but people who are murdered simply come back to life as if nothing has happened. Scalzi builds an interesting “post-murder” (mostly) world while telling a compelling, and sometimes heartbreaking, mystery.

A fast, enjoyable read (listen?)—like M Night Shyamalan‘s films, all of these short stories all have twist endings. Unlike his films, while some stories are better (and/or less predictable) than others, all of them are well-written and make sense. Some twists are sad, some are delightful. It‘s a slight book in comparison to Weir‘s other works, but worth the listen.

In WWII Leningrad, a looter and a deserter are given a reprieve by an officer to complete a ridiculous task (I don‘t want to spoil what it is). These two boys go on an Odyssey—and yes, there are obvious parallels to that story—that takes them through a starving and bombed out city to behind German lines. There are several harrowing moments and I actually shouted at a particularly intense scene, but it never feels completely bleak or humorless

This was a fun romp and even though I love Lois MCMaster Bujold‘s fantasy writings, I wasn‘t sure about this one based on the description. Turning the “damsel-in-distress” trope on its head isn‘t enough to make something a good story, but luckily the characters are well-written and the universe building is top notch.

Absolutely loved this book. It‘s quite short (only a little over 100 pages), but full of big ideas about space travel and time and even a little bit about magic. In a distant, dystopian future, five beings in a near microscopic ship are exploring an anomaly—a thing less than a millimeter in size that could change our entire solar system. CW: this book has portrayals of oppression and transphobia, but ultimately has a very hopeful message.

This is absolutely delightful—witty and at times even poignant. Yes, it really is about a flock of sheep solving the murder of their shepherd. I‘ve been describing this as Agatha Christie writing Shaun the Sheep—I could easily see this an animated movie.

I couldn‘t sleep so I‘m up and finished The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. Holy crap is this scary and surprisingly gory. About a week ago I was reading this in a Starbucks (of all places) and at a one part I actually gasped and said “NO” a little too loudly. I‘m supposed to be sending books I‘ve finished off into the world via little free libraries, but I‘m not sure I can with this one.

“This bitch again.”

—me, at the return of an annoying femme fatale character

Holy cats, was this great! Written as journal entries and interviews, this is horrifying story of a perfect storm of a volcanic eruption, inept city folk moving to an ill-prepared, high tech “green” community, and….Sasquatch. Only Bigfoot isn‘t a shy, gentle giant—the creatures are cunning, strong, vicious and actually very scary. I listened to the audiobook which has a marvelous cast. Very well done all around.

This is just vol 1—vol 2 seems to be out of print unfortunately. Two sisters, long estranged and scarred from a childhood tragedy, are forced back to the tiny mining town of their childhood for their mother‘s birthday. But their mother is missing and the town has been overrun by a supernatural force. The art is beautiful and creepy in dreamlike black-and-white, though the story is a bit hard to follow—having the second book would probably help

A great revenge/heist/spy caper about a special ops group who were burned by someone in the CIA. While they could be profiting by stealing money and drugs used by the CIA to fund black ops, they‘re just looking to keep themselves off of a kill list. Big A-Team/Bad Batch/D&D adventure group vibes. I generally like the art too, though I had some problems telling the difference between two characters who look very similar

This is actually for the first volume of Heavy Vinyl (Riot on the Radio). This is a very cute YA title about an awkward teen whose first job is at a record store (something teenaged me would have given her left arm for). If that wasn‘t cool enough, she discovers the employees are part of a secret all-girl vigilante club. Her fellow employees are a little too effortlessly cool for my taste, but pre/young teen me would‘ve loved this.

My first book/graphic novel of 2023. This is just a gorgeous book. Jill Thompson‘s watercolors are extraordinary and expressive and this version of Diana‘s myth is heartbreaking.

For #bannedbooksweek I‘m reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. This is my first read for both (you can shame me if you want for waiting this long). Enjoying coffee from one of my favorite mugs, which came courtesy of Book Riot in one of their book boxes.

This is the first Agatha Christie book I‘ve read, though I‘ve seen plenty of adaptations (but not this book). Her style is breezy and wry, a quick and engrossing read, and even though I had guessed who the murderer was well before the end, it was still fun to see how it ends. It did feel a bit rushed, with 2 more murders happening very quickly and towards the end, and I‘m a bit surprised that Miss Marple isn‘t actually in the novel all that much.

The first book I finished for 2020 was absolutely enraging & discouraging. “Hitler‘s Last Hostages” was a term for art stolen or sold for a song by desperate European Jews during WWII. After discovery of a hoard of art in 2012, the author traced the history of the artists and families affected and the thieves who suffered no consequences for their crimes. The wife of one art dealer even brazenly begged Jewish refugees for help post-war (see pic).

Book 9: I watched the only season of the series based on this book. The basic story is the same: on the way to intercept an alien ship, the crew of The Nightflyer experience strange things. Gory deaths occur. The story isn‘t substantial enough for multiple seasons—the important plot points were covered in one. The characters are very different, but are more fleshed out and interesting in the series. It‘s good, but not his best. #30booksin30days

Book 8: As much as I love comics, I used to not count graphic novels as real reading, but there is so much more to them. It took FOUR people to produce this volume (Joe Henderson, Lee Garbett, Antonio Fabela and Simon Bowland). It‘s beautiful, a whole world—an earth on which gravity has failed—brought to life. How would we live, grow food? What happens when it rains? Why did it happen at all? Lots of action, but also heart. #30booksin30days

Book 7. I was dubious about my 1st western. Written in 1912, I expected casual racism but was surprised by deep anti-Mormonism. The elders are kidnappers, murderers, & implied rapists. The protagonist, Jane, a wealthy rancher, is pressured by the elders into marriage to punish her willfulness. Jane loves her church, but also wants to do what‘s right, whether helping poor Gentiles or keeping her freedom. It‘s both hilariously bad & lovely in spots

Book 6—I‘m not sure about the protagonist, Eden, a woman who admits that she is too passive & ashamed of crippling fear of the dark. It was hard to listen to the other characters bully & blame her for things that are clearly not her fault. I did like how Eden‘s own story is revealed, layer by layer, explaining her compulsions and self-hate. It‘s a decent mystery; I think fans of British murder mysteries will enjoy this in spite of its faults.

My fifth book I think was a disappointment, because it is award-winning and considered a classic but I just thought it was tedious. The premise is interesting--after death, all humans wake in a new body on the bank of a giant river. Being humans, they quickly wage war on each other and rape and pillage, more from boredom than anything else. The main character is famous, good at everything, and completely an ass.

I loved this audiobook. The reader, Paul Michael Garcia, is wonderful and this is just a great story. Chronically unemployed and self-described asshole Web takes a job with a crime scene cleaning company. There‘s a bit of gore and a bit of noir and a bit of the seedy side of Hollywood, all of which are great fun. But Web isn‘t just a lazy asshole and the slow reveal of who he is and how he got here is really the best part. #30booksin30days

2 September 2019
It‘s satisfying to read a 100+ year-old book about time travel on a technologically advanced device (my iPhone, using the Serial Reader app). I loved how the Time Traveler at first believes the regression of the Eloi is due to communism, but in reality is the result of extreme capitalism. The Morlocks eat the rich indeed. #30booksin30days

So here's a thing: I can't bear to write in a book and yet I am utterly delighted when I find someone else's marginalia, especially in such lovely handwriting.

Listening to the audiobook and just wanted to say David Pittu is a wonderful reader/performer.

Currently reading....

My favorite place to read: by the fireplace in this Starbucks. The day I was reading this, the person next to me told me he was friends with the author‘s mother and we had a nice chat about the book. Both of us had lived in Uptown (where the book is set) and I shared my favorite illustrations of the neighborhood. It‘s an odd feeling seeing a place you know well in a book (or a movie), especially when the creator knows it so intimately.

"There's a lesson there, of course," Smith said. "When a rat pokes his head up from a sewer, he needs to be hit on the head with a shovel immediately. You cannot just sit back and think, Well it's just one rat or That's somebody else's problem. Because it's never just one rat, and it eventually becomes your problem."

Current read

In honor of Independent Book Store Day last weekend, Libro.fm gave away several audiobooks, including Tangerine. I've been listening to it while I run or use the stair mill. I like the narrators--the reader for Lucy in particular is a little frightening. As an aside, I like the idea behind Libro.fm and I chose Women & Children First as my local shop. ❤️

#beatthebacklist2018 prompt for 3 May--a book set in another country: Smila's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg. This book hits a lot of my reading challenges task. It's one that I've been meaning to read for years and it fulfills the Nordic Noir task for one of the various clubs I belong to. In honor of Star Wars Day tomorrow, I present the novel on my Star Wars body pillow.

May the Fourth Be With You!

My hold came in at the library :)

Technically my second backlist read of 2018, but I posted the first last week #beatthebacklist

#BeatTheBacklist the current book I'm reading is Acacia by David Anthony Durham. Not sure how I feel about it so far.

The bookmark isn't being rude. It's from a company called Novel-T, who make "team" shirts for different books and authors. They also made little bookmarks/cards with the same design. This one is for Moby Dick. They have had a booth at the Printers Row Lit Fest if you're in Chicago.

You can see more shirts at www.novel-t.com

I'm not sure how this book got on my radar - I don't read mysteries often. I did like this one generally although I feel like the balance between exposition and detective work was off. Cordelia starts off as a competent detective and her observations are keen. She makes reasonable inferences from clues she finds. But then characters will simply blurt out what they did and why. Even so there were some surprising bits, twists I wasn't expecting.

Here's something fun- the Bookout app can generate an infographic about a book you've read.

I read this book for a class and found it very useful and insightful. Although the title implies math, it explains concisely how we learn and create memories in general. It outlines strategies and techniques to study for comprehension (not just test taking), to handle procrastination, to create new habits, to improve memory, and to reduce performance anxiety. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to continue to learn in any setting.

My review below is very general because I don't want to spoil anything about the plot (it is a mystery after all). Rating an audiobook is a little tricky too - the previous book I listened to had a narrator I didn't like and that left me wondering how much of the book I may have liked more if I had read it in print.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1883663015