What are you reading right now?

[Jonah Hill poster]

Albert Einstein’s “Ideas And Opinions”

I’m reading this because for the life of me, I could never understand why this book was never given us to read in high school.

Spoiler

Plus (allegedly) this was also Donald Trump’s favorite book. He used to quote him all the time when used Twitter many years ago.

 

[sheepworldvizor]

Just finished Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It was OK, not as gripping as the spider book and the octopus book.

Now starting the new book from the Coddling of the American Mind guy, and the Keanu Reeves/China Mieville collab - Book of Elsewhere.

 

[ScurvyRat]

Reading Red Country by Joe Abercrombie and I can't stop thinking this:

 

[YHWH's Strongest Soldier]

Finished Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu overnight and what a fun novel! I can definitely see why Gothic fiction was often derided as trashy pulp, but it's too fun to dislike in my opinion. It reminds me a bit of contemporary dark fantasy as it's similarly engrossing and easy to read like the Witcher or the First Law series. What I really liked about Carmilla is that it subverted the expectation of the villainous vampire as some simple, hidden-away, monstrous weirdo. Instead, it's a charming and poetic young lady that is actually an age-old predator who specifically targets young women and develops complex relationships with her victims. Dracula had that in the initial few chapters, but it quickly pivoted away from the titular villain and made him much less interesting as a character. On the other hand, Carmilla keeps an equal focus on both its villain and protagonist throughout most of the story.

If anyone could recommend similar books, I'd really appreciate it. Also, I might finally try reading George Meredith, although I haven't had much luck with finding prints in the past. If not, I might try reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon next to Agua Viva since some consider it to be a modern Gothic novel.

 

[glass_houses]

Dracula had that in the initial few chapters, but it quickly pivoted away from the titular villain and made him much less interesting as a character.

Yeah, Camilla does not get nearly as much respect as it deserves. I think that it has to do with Dracula being a more 'adventure' oriented story, while Camilla is heavily focused on the psychological/relationship aspect. This means that it's not so appealing to those who are just after a good yarn, but at the same time, the whole blood sucking revenant thing puts off the people who would ordinarily be drawn to a story that delves into the heavy psych shit.

Camilla is a better work than Dracula IMHO, but I can see why Dracula is much more well known. Shame though.

 

[Skyline]

I'm now reading The Master and Margarita, I regret having postponed it for so long because it's easily one of the funniest books I've read. I have a fever and it enhances the experience.

If anyone could recommend similar books, I'd really appreciate it.

I don't know how similar I'd call them but I recommend either The Monk or The Romance of the Forest (or just about any Ann Radcliffe novel), but the former especially if you're interested in the supernatural. As far as Gothic fiction goes you'll struggle to find anything better.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

Finished Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu overnight and what a fun novel! I can definitely see why Gothic fiction was often derided as trashy pulp, but it's too fun to dislike in my opinion. It reminds me a bit of contemporary dark fantasy as it's similarly engrossing and easy to read like the Witcher or the First Law series. What I really liked about Carmilla is that it subverted the expectation of the villainous vampire as some simple, hidden-away, monstrous weirdo. Instead, it's a charming and poetic young lady that is actually an age-old predator who specifically targets young women and develops complex relationships with her victims. Dracula had that in the initial few chapters, but it quickly pivoted away from the titular villain and made him much less interesting as a character. On the other hand, Carmilla keeps an equal focus on both its villain and protagonist throughout most of the story.

If anyone could recommend similar books, I'd really appreciate it. Also, I might finally try reading George Meredith, although I haven't had much luck with finding prints in the past. If not, I might try reading The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon next to Agua Viva since some consider it to be a modern Gothic novel.

Try the late 19th-early 20th century horror writers that inspired Lovecraft.

• algernon blackwood
• arthur machen
• william hope hodgson
• robert chambers
• e e benson
• there's probably a ton more

These guys wrote all sorts of horror. Villain centric novels were a thing back then with the French originated villain protagonists like. . . Roucamboule? I think it was called? There's a site that goes over a lot of oddball 19th-early 20th century pop fiction that's very proto-pulp with a good splash of horror. https://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/wnu1.htm

If you want famous villain protagonists, with good focal points on the heroes, there' s the Fu Manchu series.

 

[Dragged Into Sunlight]

Tried to start reading A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.

Had to give it up because it's way too fantastical for my tastes. It might as well be a fantasy book and I like my scifi a bit more grounded.

So I started reading an actual fantasy novel, The Black Company. I like it because similar to Moorcock you can see how all the modern dark fantasy authors were inspired by them.

 

[AnOminous]

Camilla is a better work than Dracula IMHO, but I can see why Dracula is much more well known. Shame though.

It's probably overrated specifically for being one of the rare epistolary novels worth actually reading. That general format is tiresome. I suppose there's also Les Liaisons dangereuses, but other than those two, how many epistolary novels are actually good in any way, shape, or form?

 

[YHWH's Strongest Soldier]

@Skyline @Alexander Thaut Thank you! I will probably try Radcliffe's The Monk and whatever I can find from Hodgson in print.

It's probably overrated specifically for being one of the rare epistolary novels worth actually reading. That general format is tiresome. I suppose there's also Les Liaisons dangereuses, but other than those two, how many epistolary novels are actually good in any way, shape, or form?

Now that you mention it, good epistolary novels are indeed rare. If I had to recommend one besides Dracula, it would probably be Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. It's about two devils, Screwtape and Wormwood, who discuss their attempts at corrupting a man. Shelley's Frankenstein uses letters only in the first few chapters, I think. Would Keyes' Flowers for Algernon count as epistolary?

 

[AnOminous]

@Skyline @Alexander Thaut Thank you! I will probably try Radcliffe's The Monk and whatever I can find from Hodgson in print.

Now that you mention it, good epistolary novels are indeed rare. If I had to recommend one besides Dracula, it would probably be Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. It's about two devils, Screwtape and Wormwood, who discuss their attempts at corrupting a man. Shelley's Frankenstein uses letters only in the first few chapters, I think. Would Keyes' Flowers for Algernon count as epistolary?

I can't believe I forgot Screwtape. An absolute masterpiece, and one of the finest pieces of apologetics ever.

 

[sarna]

It's probably overrated specifically for being one of the rare epistolary novels worth actually reading. That general format is tiresome. I suppose there's also Les Liaisons dangereuses, but other than those two, how many epistolary novels are actually good in any way, shape, or form?

The wiretap transcripts in James Ellroy's Underworld USA books are pretty good, but luckily he didn't lean on the gimmick to tell the entire story.

 

[Cherry Eyed Hamster]

@Skyline @Alexander Thaut Thank you! I will probably try Radcliffe's The Monk and whatever I can find from Hodgson in print.

Now that you mention it, good epistolary novels are indeed rare. If I had to recommend one besides Dracula, it would probably be Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. It's about two devils, Screwtape and Wormwood, who discuss their attempts at corrupting a man. Shelley's Frankenstein uses letters only in the first few chapters, I think. Would Keyes' Flowers for Algernon count as epistolary?

C.S Lewis is one of the only Christian apologetic writers I have found worthwhile (aside from Theophilus of Antioch). If there are others in the same calibre, I would be up for some recommendations.

 

[Suel Forrester]

book 4 of The Dark Tower

i loved the first book and was ready for this awesome psychedelic flavored epoch...and then book 2 starts and....well, its not the story i wanted to hear, but nevertheless i am sucked in and invested.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

I'm sad because I wish Jack Vance's work was easier to find. I don't want to spend 25-50 bucks on individual volumes.

 

[Flaming Carrot]

I'm sad because I wish Jack Vance's work was easier to find. I don't want to spend 25-50 bucks on individual volumes.

Spatterlight press has almost all his books in print. They're not super cheap, but they're all priced the same as an average trade paperback. You can get them at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Also Tor did some reprints of his work, and those are still relatively inexpensive. But If you're looking for original paintings, those are all kind of pricy.

 

[Hazel Motes]

Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther is a good epistolary novel, if you enjoy the romantics. Wilke Collins' The Moonstone has a great story for those who enjoy Dickens or Trollope.

I recently read Shakespeare's Sonnets. I can't say much, as I will re-read them again with his entire works, and great poetry take years to appreciate. What is striking is how funny they are. They, at least in my opinion, are mocking sonnets. Spenser's sonnets, which I prefer, has a mean-spiritedness towards his desires. You can sense there is a real personal investment in the poem. Milton's sonnets are a man venting his doubts, and decidedly asexual because of it. But Shakespeare is a man who feels all emotions and is burdened by none. It is all quite beneath him, yet he understands why we feel the way we do. Each sonnet feels like an entire story. For 14 lines, that's impressive. Even in his poems, Shakespeare refused to be seen. It is why I must re-read them all again. There's no one better. I missed so much.

 

[Susanna]

It's probably overrated specifically for being one of the rare epistolary novels worth actually reading. That general format is tiresome. I suppose there's also Les Liaisons dangereuses, but other than those two, how many epistolary novels are actually good in any way, shape, or form?

I enjoyed This Is How You Lose the Time War, but maybe I just like weird novellas.

 

[Alexander Thaut]

Spatterlight press has almost all his books in print. They're not super cheap, but they're all priced the same as an average trade paperback. You can get them at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. Also Tor did some reprints of his work, and those are still relatively inexpensive. But If you're looking for original paintings, those are all kind of pricy.

Spatterlight's like 18-20 for TPB and apparently 25 for HC.

From what I know, ibooks also did some reprints of his work but they're rare-ish.

Tor did Dying Earth and Planet of Adventure. The latter also had a HC edition that goes for stupid prices. SFBC did a Demon Princes omnibus that's pretty easy to find in HC or TPB. I know Gollancz/Orion did a bunch of reprints of Vance's works but I've been told that I shouldn't pay scalper prices for the SF/Fantasy Masterworks books because the quality isn't worth paying 50+ bucks for their editions of the Lyonesse Trilogy. Might grab the Gollancz Vance Omnibus if it's below 20 bucks someday. Lyonesse Trilogy seems affordable someday too, in HC.

The original printings in anything HC aside from SFBC editions of Caldwell Trilogy and his later works are kinda insane. But I have seen the Lyonesse hardcovers for alright prices.

 

[Jewthulhu]

Can anyone recommend some good scifi stories? My dad is looking for something to read and is really big into scifi. He's read a lot of the "classic" authors that I know about at least so I figured I'd ask here.