Geofferson

PAG

Just finished:

captainshatner

I'm currently reading the new Stephen King book, THE OUTSIDER. Am about a third of the way through it and am really enjoying it.

brainee

Finished:



I liked it (King rarely disappoints me). An interesting twist on a classic monster archetype, especially coming at it from a strong detective/forensics angle. My only quibble, a problem I have with a lot of King's writing, is that it feels a couple hundred pages too long.

Word of warning ... this book drops gigantic spoilers from the Bill Hodges trilogy (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, End of Watch). So if you haven't read those (but plan on doing so at some point), I recommend you read them before The Outsider.

Pointyskull

just finished:

Another brilliant work of dark, psychological horror from Tremblay...

just started:

Some chatter in the June thread had me add this to my list, and I picked it for my "going on vacation" book...

PAG

Just finished:

brainee

I've never read Tremblay, but he's definitely on my "to read" list. Is there one book of his that's the best introduction to his writing?

That was me that recommended this, so if you hate it I probably don't want to know about it Generally I'd say people who like sci-fi/horror tinged action adventure like James Rollins, Preston & Child, and Maberry's Joe Ledger books would like this. Long's a bit more literary than those guys.

Pointyskull

brainee - other than some of his short stories I would recommend 'Head Full of Ghosts' also from Tremblay. I'd say either will give you his style rather cleanly.

I am looking forward to The Descent. That is most certainly in my genre wheelhouse...

Goonies85

Peter Jackson & the Making of Middle-Earth. While I am not at all a fan of the films, I found the book fascinating, and it actually made me at least try and rewatch the films. I've always found that, even when there are movies I can't stand, I don't mind reading books about the behind-the-scene efforts that it took them to make the movie. Lots of interesting info is found in the book, and I'd recommend it to people who, like me, aren't even fans of the movies...

Born Trump. Great book that sheds a lot of light on the upbringings of Don Jr., Eric, Ivanka, Kushner (yes, they cover Kushner, too), and, to a lesser degree, Tiffany...Good read that only took me a day to read...Lots of details in the book will infuriate you, and it obviously doesn't paint the kids in the best of lights (which would've been almost impossible to do, given their behaviour and support of their father), but it's well worth a read...

Yes, We (Still) Can by Dan Pfeiffer. Much, much better than I expected. At least the author seems pretty honest and doesn't sugarcoat even the "misses" that occurred during the Obama administration...I'd say this was a pretty good read, and another one that really only takes a day to read...

brainee

Finished:



Revisionist fairy tales are nothing new, and I know "alternative" takes on Peter Pan have been in done multiple times in different mediums. Still, I thought this was very good. It's very short (a little over 200 pages) and a quick read. This goes into dark dark places, and is practically a horror story (with children dying horrible and gory deaths).

I need to pick up the author's similar take on Alice in Wonderland (which seems to be her most popular title).

PAG

Just finished:

writer106

brainee

Sucks so few people post in this thread. Surely other active posters here read. I enjoy seeing what others read since it sometimes points me in the direction of things I hadn't heard of.

Finished:



Which I think is one of those books I heard about first here in an earlier monthly thread. Good suggestion too. I think the cross between True Detective and Inception in the book description is a good one. But I would add in a grim twisty time travel story in there, like 12 Monkeys (with a sci-fi Hellraiser apocalypse on top). This wasn't an easy read, and it's easy to get lost in what is going on (not to mention keeping track of all the acronyms that the author likes to toss about). But certainly a worthwhile journey.

DaveNinja

I finished rereading The Stand and will start The Outsider next. I put The Gone World on my "to read" list

wishbone

Finished:



I bought this for a friend writing a novel; it was cheap so I got one too. Short reference guide with examples. It starts with, "This book will teach you how to write better ransom notes."

lopper

I read The Outsider earlier this month. It was fine, but I feel like King has lost his edge a little bit. When he's writing dialogue for younger characters, it comes across forced, unnatural, and basically like something a 70 year old man thinks a teen (or twenty-something) would say. And I liked the Bill Hodges trilogy well enough, but not enough to care about seeing any of those characters carried over into new material. Still, it was a good, if ultimately forgettable, summer read.

Also, I just finished Dark Matter by Blake Crouch last night. It was a fast paced and very entertaining book. I'm not a fan of things like time travel or interdimensional alternate realities in stories. It's usually just a way to make a story more complex than it really should be (looking at you Westworld). But this one pulled it off pretty well.

brainee

Finished:



I've heard this favorably compared to The Night Circus (which I loved), so I thought I'd give this popular YA book a shot. Maybe I just needed to be a teenage girl to love this as well (which I am quite far away from being). It was fast fluffy reading, to be sure. And there are some good story ideas and plot twists. I just found the author's purple prose to be eye-roll inducing (instead of the "magical" aura that I'm sure she was aiming for). Maybe this is where not being a teenage girl hurts me ... there are just so many flowery descriptions of the attractiveness all the main male characters that I can handle (including multiple accounts of how fabulous Julian's, the male lead, muscles are).

It looks like this is optioned to be a movie, and might be a rare example of material better suited for a visual medium. Even the writing places a huge emphasis on color descriptions. I can see how boiling this down to the main plot and characters, with solid direction and acting, could make for a better movie than book

PAG

Just finished:

Norm de Plume

I recently read Stoner by John Williams, which is considered by some one of the greatest books in the English canon. While I wouldn't place it quite that high, it is fabulously written and tremendously entertaining despite its lack of narrative incident, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it highly to any serious reader.

brainee

Finished:



I had never read anything by this author, but having every book of a fantasy trilogy either win (or be nominated for) the Hugo and Nebula awards got my attention. And it was really really good. Literary but very readable. With a non-standard fantasy world that I hadn't seen before. I'll certainly be moving on to the other two books of the trilogy.

Pointyskull

After finishing Jeff Long's 'The Descent' (which was an action-packed blast - and a recommendation I picked up in this thread) I decided to jump into the sequel.

Just started:


I skimmed a couple of reviews that were less than favorable, but I'm on board for more subterranean horror/action.
It's set about 10 years after the events of 'The Descent' fwiw....

And yes: Jeff Long's Deeper does sound like a porn title.

PAG

Just finished:

mndtrp

Greg Bear - Anvil of Stars