Hey folks. Just a quick survey of what I’ve been reading lately and what’s on deck in my ever-growing TBR.
Currently Reading:
Gloria Patri by Austin Ross (Malarkey Books, available now).
I’ve just started this one, but damn does it start with a bang. I won’t give too much away here, but this novel seems to have its finger on the pulse of the moment. Expect a better review when I finish it soon.
Dune by Frank Herbert
The weird thing about re-reading a book you read years ago is that it often turns out to be a much different book than you remembered. Sometimes my regard for these books diminish, something I call the Wrinkle in Time effect. This one is the opposite. I read it long ago, when I was maybe thirteen or so, and I liked it in an offhand way, but I think much of it went over my head.
On the TBR/Upcoming Radar:
Here in the Dark by Meagan Lucas (Shotgun Honey, available now)
I’ve loved Meagan’s writing since I encountered her debut novel Songbirds and Stray Dogs a few years back, so I was happy to have a small part in bringing her story “The Monster Beneath” to the world when I included it in It Came From the Swamp. That story, which is also in her new collection Here in the Dark, was recently named on the Distinguished list for this year’s Best American Mystery and Suspense anthology.
St. Grit by Kayli Scholz (Ghoulish Books, available for pre-order)
That cover tho
I read an early draft of this swampy Gothic horror novel, so I can say with certainty that it’s a good one, and Kayli is an exciting new horror voice.
A Good Rush of Blood by Matt Phillips (Run Amok Crime, coming soon)
This one looks to be a sweaty, noir-ish crime thriller from Run Amok books’ new crime imprint. I’ll be digging into this ARC soon.
Short story shout-out:
The Levar Burton Reads podcast has become one of my favorites for finding new short stories. Here’s a trio of them, all originally published in other places, that I recently discovered through the magic of having Geordi LaForge read them to me on the way to work:
Tananarive Due’s “The Wishing Pool”
I guess I should just go ahead and put her whole collection on the TBR after reading this little slice of magical realism.
Ken Liu’s “The Paper Menagerie”
I’d been meaning to read Liu’s work for quite some time. This one made me weep.
Stephen Graham Jones’ “To Jump is to Fall”
I loved Only Good Indians and Night of the Mannequin, but I’d never encountered Jones’ short stories until now. This one is great.