[July] What are you reading?

[Mark]

Wild Child by T. C. Boyle

 

[Shade]

H.P. Lovecraft: The Fiction, from Barnes & Noble's Library of Essential Writers collection.

 

[Mallus]

Wild Child by T. C. Boyle

Is it good? I like his short stories, particularly the ones in The Descent of Man. Never cracked open one of his novels, though.

I'm still reading A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. It's still one of the best books I've read in years, probably the best book I've read since the Best Book of the Aughts ie. David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.

After Goon Squad, I should probably get back to John Banville's The Infinities. Not sure why I put that one down, I quite liked the beginning chapters. Then, more John Carter -- I'm up to The Warlord of Mars.

 

[Krug]

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. Very readable.

 

[Mark]

Is it good? I like his short stories, particularly the ones in The Descent of Man. Never cracked open one of his novels, though.

I'll have to let you know. One of his short stories was included in the selected shorts series on Baseball that I mention and I read Chicxulub alongside a video I watched on writing featuring Boyle and that story on IMDb so I decided to catch some more of his short stories. I only know him otherwise by reputation and having been an Iowa workshop contemporary of Raymond Carver.

 

[ggroy]

"Algebra" by Thomas Hungerford.

 

[Starman]

Still slowly working through The Terror by Dan Simmons.

 

[coyote6]

Wastelands, an anthology of post-apocalypse short stories by a variety of authors.

 

[Zaukrie]

Bright Weavings: The Worlds of Guy Gavriel Kay - Under Heaven

Under Heaven by Guy Kay. Really, as long as you don't want lots of fantasy in your fantasy, he's my favorite fantasy author by far. Though, there is more fantasy in this one than in some.

 

[EricNoah]

Still working on The Passage by Justin Cronin. Imagine a blend of Salem's Lot, The Stand, and maybe a sprinkle of the X-Files, just not as good. It's only moderately entertaining and I might set this one down soon.

Audiobooks: alternating between Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay (fantasy set in an Asian-based setting; slow moving, ponderous, lots of thinking and looking, not much talking and doing, but read by one of my favorite narrators, Simon Vance) and Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth (supernatural thriller about a vampire who has served every president since the Civil War - somewhat cliche-ridden, but pretty entertaining, and admirably performed by Bronson Pinchot - yes, Balki from "Perfect Strangers.").

And for some reason, re-listening for a third time to Master & Commander (Patrick O'Brian) - I managed to score a free copy of the Simon Vance version and this is my first listen of that version.