Working through Bill O'Reilly's Killing series. Read Killing Lincoln and now am halfway through Killing Kennedy. I don't think O'Reilly wrote them, but they're pretty good if you like history. The fact that they're available on Kindle Unlimited doesn't hurt, either.
Dracula remains the tour de force of horror. Nothing else I've ever read (and I've read a lot of books) comes close to the combination of terror and sensuality that Stoker created though many have tried.
I'm reading a translation, so maybe those things come through better in the original? Or it could be that I'm just not far enough into it.
Could be either or both. Could be the Victorian lilt of the writing, which isn't for everyone. Could be it simply doesn't strike you the way it struck me. Tastes differ. When my daughter was seven or eight, she read a Great Illustrated Classics version of Dracula, heavily abridged, of course. She called me in the middle of the night and I found her sitting in bed with the lights on, looking solemn. I asked what was wrong. She answered, "Well, I've been reading Dracula, and I think maybe he's real." My reaction to the book exactly. By the way, I didn't know whether to be proud of her for reading Dracula at eight or being ticked off because she was reading under the covers on a school night. (Full disclosure: it was I who gave her the flashlight and told her about my own childhood late reading nights. More than one way to encourage a kid to read.)
Just finished Shoe Dog. It was very a very interesting a personal history by Nike’s founder. Not so much a how-to as a how-did-we-make-here story. Very similar to Delivering Happiness. Up next: The Sicilian
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Unconventionally told, and in some instances feels a little like a forced history lesson… but this novel is really, really fucking good. Been a while since I’ve read such powerful gut-punch moments.
Eden Royce, Root Magic. Reading it with my kid. I'm not usually into YA, but honestly this book is pretty great. Lots of spooky ghost stuff, haints, boo-hags, etc. so timed it pretty well considering it's close to Halloween.
Currently reading Breaking Dawn on audiobook. I suppose it’s not a book that’s considered “horrifying” for a vampire story, since the vampires concerned are “vegetarian vampires” and this book is more a love story than anything else. But, in the spirit of Halloween, this IS the one where Bella is converted into a vampire, and how she handles it and her supernatural “vampire” powers and also giving up all her life as a human being - and how she’s going to explain that to her father - keeps me tuning into those chapters.
I don't know who first came up with this idea- maybe it was Joss Whedon and co with their good vampires subsisting on pig's blood- but it's just the worst. Completely ruins the vampire concept IMO. The attraction of a "good vampire" is the inherent contradiction- this could be someone with noble ideals, a conscience, etc. but at the end of the day must survive on fresh human blood, must commit murder to continue. The whole poetic-tragic essence of the vampire just collapses when people try to sidestep the problem with "Oh he's fine, he just gets pig's blood at the local butcher".
there are different kinds of vampire stories. sometimes you don’t want your character to have a poetic-tragic essence.
This particular story is YA. So it’s built with a younger audience in mind. And anyway, it’s a love story between a vampire boy and a human girl. Horror is not the intended genre. Yeah, the trope has been adapted in many different ways. The best thing about Twilight is that each vampire has enhanced powers that are unique to them. Some can read minds, some can see the future, some can control the emotions of the people. In some way, it’s also like Interview With The Vampire because there are different cultures of vampires involved eg. The Volturi who are situated in Italy and have a vampire order, like a government, in a way. It’s just a little more kid-friendly than other vampire stories. More like a PG?
I'm re-reading Ghost Story by Peter Straub and listening to The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas on CD. I'd forgotten how funny the latter is.
Since it’s the spooky season, I’ve been reading some pulp horror. First, a collection of Robert E. Howard’s horror stories. “Pigeons from Hell” is so creepy. Especially that first chapter. After I finished that collection, I decided to reread The Whisperer in Darkness. One of Lovecraft’s more effective stories, I think. My favorite is still “The Colour Out of Space”, though.
That's a good one. Probably my favorite after The Shadow out of Time. ETA: In my sleepiness and haste, I forgot what I was actually doing in here. Beside Dracula, I'm re-reading Josiah Bancroft's Books of Babel series, in anticipation of the fourth and final volume releasing early next month. Currently on book two. I just can't praise this series enough, especially Senlin Ascends. Super imaginative, exceedingly well-written, just brimming with character and wonder. Strikes exactly the right balance of grimness and charm. I really hope this series I love so much gets a worthy conclusion.
My brother gave me a series to read, so I'm on the first book of that. The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson. I'm almost done with the fourth book of the Wheel of Time series, and I also read The Little Prince between chapters of that for something a little nostalgic.
Just picked up an old copy (practically falling apart) of JD Salinger's Nine Stories. On the last story right now.
I felt Carmilla achieved those things better, and with a lot more brevity. And on the topic of Irish gothic novels, I think more folks should read Charles Maturin's Melmoth the Wanderer nowadays.
Even though it isn't quite my kind of Fantasy, I really liked that one! It and its follow-up were great, but I haven't read any further than that. The long wait between books two and three kind of put me off it, but I aim to finish it someday. Never heard of them, but I do like me some Gothic stuff. I'll check it out, thanks.
I just finished reading American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. It is fast-paced and written present tense which adds to the reader's immersion of the traumatic situation. I was surprised by the ending. I won't give spoilers but it was an odd sort of twist, the least of which you'd expect. A worthwhile read of a relevant story.
Just read "Address Unknown" by Katherine Kressmann Taylor. Its a 79 page epistolary novella (including introduction and afterword). I must say, the ending was a dark twist that i found myself laughing at (because of the irony), and feeling bad because i laughed (because of the implication of the end) Quick read. I recommend.
Lovecraft, At the Mountains of Madness. For some reason my local library only has the manga version, so that's what I'm reading. Honestly I'm starting to get into it--the fact that it's illustrated might make it a lot better than just the text. It's been a while since I read any Lovecraft but I remember his prose being pretty flat, and for the level of horror in a story like this you really need something more, uh, visceral.
At the Mountains of Madness might be my favorite out of the Lovecraft cannon. I agree that his work is best enjoyed in small doses, but I feel the same way about Sir Conan Doyle at times.