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Happy summer! I am FINALLY off of school for the year and plan on relaxing with a book for a good portion of my summer vacation. Let's hear what you're reading right now - any genre welcome!

Recently started Exhalation by Ted Chiang for our group discussion. Since I generally don’t care for short stories, we’ll see how this goes.

I am two thirds done with A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher, and I can't wait to finish it. Horror isn't normally my thing, but the narrator has a WONDERFUL voice, and I just can't put this down. Count me in for a substantial, somewhat snarky research entomologist moving back home temporarily with her mother, with lots of unexpected asides on vultures and rose varieties.

I just finished Daughter of the Moon Goddess - it was a quick read for me, and it helps to be on summer vacation! I'll go post my thoughts there in a moment.

I'm out of genre next with Malibu Rising, and then I've just downloaded Heart of the Sun Warrior, the sequel to moon goddess, from the library.

I'm currently reading Roadside Picnic, which is great so far!

And I hope to make progress on the other sci fi books I received yesterday:

This Is How You Lose the Time War
Ice
We Who Are About To...
The Palace of Eternity
A Case of Conscience
The Dying Earth
Downward to the Earth
and the better known Hyperion and The Simulacra

Chris wrote: "I am two thirds done with A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher, and I can't wait to finish it. Horror isn't normally my thing, but the narrator has a WONDERFUL ..."

I highly recommend two of her other books if you enjoy the tone of House with Good Bones.
The Hollow Places
and
The Twisted Ones

Nicely spooky with added snark and humor tossed in. :)

Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts by Matt Bell

Alexander wrote: "I'm currently reading Roadside Picnic, which is great so far!

And I hope to make progress on the other sci fi books I received yesterday:

This Is How You Lose the Time War..."

This Is How You Lose the Time War is lovely. We read it as a group some time back, so when you finish it, feel free to re-open our archived threads!

Hyperion is a favorite. I may or may not know it by heart.

I finished The Night War, which is another impressive story about WWII-- this time, set in France during the German occupation in 1942. Before that, I finished Scherbentod: Kommissarin Morgenthal ermittelt (Historischer-Berlin-Krimi 2). Then I'm reading Die Bücher, der Junge und die Nacht, I picked up Dracula again (as a buddy read), and I started with VIEWS. That should keep me busy for a few days. :D

I went off the rails. Part way through Exhalation I got distracted by Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

Finished Exhalation by Ted Chiang, 7/10, comments in our BotM discussion topic thread for this book.
I’m listening to The Broken Doll collection of stories by Jeffery Deaver and have finished the first one, The Pain Hunter, 8/10.
I also read Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell, 7.5/10. Another ŷ������ group I moderate is currently reading & discussing this series. This was his debut novel & the first in his Greatcoats Quartet, often described as the Fantasy Three Musketeers. It has witty (sometimes bitter) banter, numerous fights involving swords, bows, and other weapons, a quest, a touch of magic, a touch of romance. We get the history of the Greatcoats and of narrator Falcio in flashbacks amidst the current plotting, maneuvering, and power grabs of various factions. I figured out some key plot points before several of the characters did; I don’t know if that was what the author meant to happen. I would have liked more immersive world-building, and having a single, first-person POV narrative means the other characters don’t get fleshed out as fully. Overall, a quick read, a strong debut, and certainly enticing enough to continue the series.
And I continued my reading of the Charlotte & Thomas Pitt historical fiction mysteries with Bedford Square by Anne Perry, 8/10. A slow burn mystery that starts with a murder but mostly involves a rash of odd blackmails.

Teaching the Empire: Education and State Loyalty in Late Habsburg Austria by Scott O. Moore

Last week I decided it was time to re-read an old favorite, the Rings of the Master series by Jack L. Chalker (first book is Lords of the Middle Dark). Late 80s pulp sci-fi at its finest. Definitely dated, but a ton of fun and a nostalgic favorite of mine.

Then I read Heart of the Sun Warrior, sequel to our July fantasy Daughter of the Moon Goddess. I didn't like it quite as much as the first book, but it did tie up some loose ends, and is worth reading if you liked the first one. Speaking of our monthly reads - there are a good 30-40 of you who vote on the polls regularly so I'm assuming there are more people reading the books who don't comment...we'd love to hear what you have to say about our monthly books, even if it's brief!

I just finished The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan, which blurs the lines between urban fantasy and horror. This is not the cuddly werewolf character you find in your typical paranormal romance novels. It's intense and a bit gory, but if you can stomach it it's an excellent book. It's the first in a trilogy, and I do plan on reading the rest at some point, but I want a break first.

Migrations and Cultures: A World View by Thomas Sowell

Not on purpose, but because of when library loans came in, I just read two spooky house books in a row. Love a good spooky house book! (oooh...gotta go make note of a future qotw idea)

Cliffhaven: A Novel Of Romantic Suspense by A. M. Grimm: full disclosure, the author is my cousin. I put off reading this for a while, because gothic romance isn't usually my thing and I was worried I wouldn't like the book and would have to make up a pleasant white lie about how much I liked it next time I talked to her. I should have given her more credit! Still not my preferred genre, but the book is well-written and I really enjoyed it! It's been nominated for a Daphne du Maurier award, so objective reviewers liked it too, it's not just me!

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow - I LOVED this. If you haven't read any of Harrow's work, this is a good place to start to get a sense of what she's all about.

Salute the Dark is next up to get back to the group series read!

Alien Earths: The New Science of Planet Hunting in the Cosmos would be more interesting if it were about the title, but really it's about the subtitle, and somewhat about the author herself. Nonetheless I'm enjoying it.

Not sure so far about Just One Damned Thing After Another. The foolhardiness of the MC and the quirky humor are not my usual thing, but it's for the Time Travel group read so I'll keep trying for a bit.

Finished Exhalation and will be posting in the thread later today.

Started Blood of the Mantis
We'll see how it goes.

Oh I forgot to mention, I also finished Nettle & Bone
It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.

I finished reading Solaris by Stanisław Lem. It’s a book that makes you think. The question posed is what you do when you encounter an alien lifeform that is impossible to communicate with. I also watched the movies based on the novel from 1972 and 2002. It was an interesting experience. I am reading read Thinner by Stephen King next. I plan to read Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin next. It is the book that the MAX show House of the Dragon is based on.

Picked up The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. I've kind of been on a Grady Hendrix kick recently and I have this one in audio, which will give me something to listen to on my commutes.

I just can't keep my interest in the Shadows of the Apt series. I start a book and then I seem to find excuses to read anything other than those.

The Property of Hate Volume 3 by Sarah Jolley

After finishing Salute the Dark (my comments on the thread), I picked up Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, which has been on my radar screen for a while and my library loan finally came in. It was a quick, fun read, and I definitely plan on moving on to the sequel.

Now I'm on The Last Days of Jack Sparks, which I think someone here was talking about? It's one of those that I requested from the library but I can't remember who recommended it to me. I'm just a few chapters in but already quite enjoying the character. I love a good unreliable narrator.

Shel wrote: "Now I'm on The Last Days of Jack Sparks, which I think someone here was talking about? It's one of those that I requested from the library but I can't remember who recommended it to me. I'm just a few chapters in but already quite enjoying the character. I love a good unreliable narrator.."

That was likely me. I struggled a little at the very beginning because the MC is such an ass. But it didn't take long to get completely pulled in.

And yeah, he is a great unreliable narrator.

I've been on a bit of a mystery kick following Jack Sparks, which I loved - just recently finished The Hunter by Tana French, who is my favorite mystery author, and now I'm on Once There Were Wolves which I've just started.

My library loan for Exhalation finally just came in, so that will be next.

I've been on a bit of a horror kick. I'll blame it on Chris who reminded me of T. Kingfisher. :)

Finished The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires: A Novel

I like this author's style. Some of his books, this one included, take place in location you just would not think of for a horror setting. In this case, a southern affluent neighborhood where the main protagonists are southern lady house wives. Technically this takes place in the early 90s, though attitudes make me want to place it about 5-10 years earlier. There's a later scene that truly gives new weight to the phrase Steel Magnolias.

Going to knuckle down and finish How to Sell a Haunted House

After that, we'll see where my mood takes me.

Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen Vol. 4 by Hiromi Satō

I'm currently reading Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide and it is fun.
Plus, I just received an ARC of Edgar: Where Poe's Nightmares Began which I hope to read shortly.

With the Olympics keeping me from my books, I doubt I’ll finish anything else in July. But here’s what I read since my last post:

The Celtic Heart by Kathryn Marie Cocquyt, 4/10. I love stories of the ancient Celts & had high hopes for this one, but I was disappointed. The descriptions of village life, clothing, customs, hierarchy, & battle were well done & rang true. I can appreciate characters who are conflicted, portrayed in shades of gray, but these characters were just a mess. Highly principled one moment, lying & conniving the next, then back again, often with no apparent reason for the sudden changes of heart. None of them were very likable. And I don’t mind sex scenes if they make sense within the story, but the ones in this book got to be too much & actually detracted from the story.

Dodge and Execution Day by Jeffery Deaver, 8/10 & 7/10 respectively. Both had plot twists. Hoping part 4 of these connected novellas wraps up the series in a satisfying manner. I am listening to the Audible versions while I walk, so I might finish the last story this week.

Salute the Dark by Adrian Tchaikovsky, 10/10, comments in our discussion topic thread for the Shadows of the Apt series.

The Maker of Universes by Philip José Farmer, 4/10. I expected this book to feel dated (published 1965), & it did, but it also felt more like fantasy than sci fi for huge chunks of the story. I never felt connected to any of the characters. There were too many plot developments that just seemed convenient (or contrived) rather than developing naturally out of the narrative. I guess the author laid some groundwork for the big reveal in the final chapter, but it still felt like it came out of left field. I am trying to read some “classics�� in the genre, so I am going to keep going with this series & see if my opinion changes with later books.

I've been on and off on How to Sell a Haunted House since late last year and hadn't gotten very far. So last weekend I restarted from the beginning and finished it today.

I had a lot of fun so continuing my Grady Hendrix marathon with We Sold Our Souls tonight.

Surprise!—I did manage to finish an audiobook on my walk today. Sixty-One Seconds by Jeffery Deaver, 7.5/10, Not a fan of ambiguous endings. And, IMO, the doctor was the real hero of the Broken Doll series. But still, a tight, well-written story.