2024 Reading Challenge

Books 29-31
#29 Micajah Henley - Sandinista! (33.3) - I think the sign of a good music book is that it makes you want to listen to the songs being discussed. This book met the brief
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#30 TR Napper - Ghost of the Neon God. I didn't realize this was a novella. Nice quick read. Old school Cyberpunk. My 3rd Napper book of the year.
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#31 Jeff Gomez - Math Rock. See #29. Reading this did not make me want to listen to a bunch of math rock bands.

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Mr Moore said:
October 2024

Book 60: Stephen King - The Dead Zone
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King really can tell a great story but, disappointingly following The Stand, I found the quality of writing in this one really piss-poor. His descriptive writing felt like it was straight from a high-schooler's English exercise, the dialogue was frequently cringe-worthy as if from an episode of Happy Days and any references to sex felt like they came from someone whose only prior experience involved issues of Playboy. Top notch story though, albeit one that I was already familiar with because of the movie adaptation, and it entertained from start to finish.

Book 61: Susan Hill - The Woman in Black
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Masterful use of suspense to create the horror here. Very enjoyable but, even at only ~150pp I thought this might have fared better as a bona fide short story as the build up started to feel a bit repetitive with the village locals continually showing themselves to be all knowing but, remaining reluctant to speak up to the big city stranger. Good October read nontheless.

Book 62: John Berendt - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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I’ve been adding true crime books to my October reads - nothing seems more horrifying than the things humans seem to be prepared to do to one another. I can totally see why this has remained such a popular book since publication. It’s incredibly well written and immensely entertaining throughout. I’m a bit more surprised that it consistently crops up on best true crime book lists however, given that out of the ~400pp, only maybe 30 or so relate directly to a crime and the consequent efforts at punishment. The rest is a love letter to Savannah and the wonderfully quirky people that live there. Berendt’s journalistic background shines through and he delivers more of a detailed travelogue to me than a true crime piece. So, while this may not have been what I was expecting for an October read, I thoroughly enjoyed every sentence and would gladly recommend to anyone interested in unique people and places.

Book 63: Catherine Pelonero - Kitty Genovese
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I knew the basics of the Kitty Genovese murder but this book did a fabulous job of laying out the events of that tragic night, the history of the main players and the subsequent trial. It also looked further into the developments in criminology and psychology due to the behaviour of the witnesses during the murder. Good true crime book.

Book 64: Thomas Preskett Prest - The String of Pearls
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This 'penny dreadful' was alright. The Sweeney Todd story is one I've been aware of for as long as I can remember but, only told as a person to person folk tale, almost as if he were a real person and his misdeeds were a cautionary tale about the darker side of the our capital. While I knew he was actually fiction, I didn't know until recently that this was the original source material. Like many originally serialised books of the period, (even the greats likes Dickens' which I'm no expert in but have read a few), this seemed to me to be unnecessarily prolonged and frequently repetitive as it subtly reminded the reader from the previous month what is important. It is a gruesome tale though so kudos to whoever thought it up, (I've read that Prest who Penguin credits is frequently questioned as the true anonymous author).

Book 65: Gaston Leroux - The Phantom of the Opera
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I found this a bit boring to be honest. Another one that perhaps I knew just enough of before reading for the actual material to be just a bit underwhelming. I finished my month off with 4 days in Paris so this tale set inside the Paris Opera House seemed like the perfect accompaniment but, it just failed to grasp me and any terror was sadly foiled by the moments of farce between arguing theatre managers and Clouseauesque detective! Not terrible, just nothing special.
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Oh fantastic, I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil recently and really enjoyed it, way more than I expected to. I agree with you, the elements focusing on Savannah were just as interesting, if not more, than the plot and crime itself!
 
ayayrawn said:
Sad book September has come to a close.

31. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - Appreciated this on its radical form, and what it was going for (creating an emotional throughline in history), but found it more fascinating than affecting. The toilet humor didn't really mesh with the otherwise profound ruminations on death and grieving. Still interested in checking out other Saunders though.

32. Stoner by John Williams - Just finished this tonight and thought it was absolutely incredible. Probably a new all-timer for me. Stirring and haunting look at a normal guy's life that kind of sucks, but still full of meaning. Gorgeous, sparse prose. Teared up several times. Feel like I have to reevaluate my life after this one. Anybody here read it?

Had a couple horror novels planned next for the season, but idk, we'll see. I feel like I need to read something happy soon. lol
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My horror Halloween month reading was kind of a dud.

33. The Fisherman by John Langan - an audiobook I DNFed. Liked the cosmic horror idea that it was going for, but never once vibed with the pacing or writing style of it.

34. Poems by Emily Bronte - Y'all already know. Despairing stuff perfect for the season.

35. Berserk vols 1-5 by Kentaro Miura - A classic manga I've never really dived into and holy shit does it slap. Kind of oppressively bleak tho, so going to take a decent break before I continue on but will be doing so.

36. The Cipher by Kathe Koja - Incredibly bleak and gross early 90s body/psych horror. Drags on and on and makes you miserable by design, and was relieved when I finally finished it. Didn't hate it, vibes are unique but did not love and will not read again.

37. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - A blind spot for me. Read for a buddy's book club. Yep, it's depressing.

The last couple weeks I've been reading Say Nothing, a book by Patrick Radden Keefe on The Troubles, which is incredible (and apparently has a miniseries coming out soon, which i had no idea until 10 min ago). I'm thinking of having a nonfiction November, but I'm getting to the point where I really think I need to read something happy lol
 
Book 30: The Jazz Scene by Francis Newton (Penguin, 1961)

This is a book that I've been meaning to read for a while and it often gets references as being an important book. I kind of get it, there's plenty of interesting aspects to it, especially for the time period. Its also quite dated at points too. Still, a decent read that cost me less than a quid at my local carboot sale.

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Book 31: The Dinner Guest by B.P. Walter (One More Chapter, 2021)
I picked this up on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. Its a classic "who done it" with a twist and it opens with the actual murder, but these more to it than appears. Really fun read.

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Book 32: The Game by Scott Kershaw (HQ, 2022)

A similar thriller to the previous book, but this has several seemingly unrelated characters that slowly tie together. Decent stuff!

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ayayrawn said:
33. The Fisherman by John Langan - an audiobook I DNFed. Liked the cosmic horror idea that it was going for, but never once vibed with the pacing or writing style of it.
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I really liked this one, although I didn't listen to it... but I can see how someone might not like it as much.
 
ayayrawn said:
36. The Cipher by Kathe Koja - Incredibly bleak and gross early 90s body/psych horror. Drags on and on and makes you miserable by design, and was relieved when I finally finished it. Didn't hate it, vibes are unique but did not love and will not read again.
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Yep, this was chock-full of unpleasant people and unpleasant fluids.
 
ayayrawn said:
The last couple weeks I've been reading Say Nothing, a book by Patrick Radden Keefe on The Troubles, which is incredible (and apparently has a miniseries coming out soon, which i had no idea until 10 min ago).
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I picked this up on a Kindle 99p daily deal a few days back. Looking forward to it, it's had great reviews. If you get a taste for the place and period and you haven't read it already, I can't recommend Milkman enough. It's a fiction but with The Troubles as the backdrop and Burns captures the madness and the paranoia of the period amazingly.
 
Mr Moore said:
I picked this up on a Kindle 99p daily deal a few days back. Looking forward to it, it's had great reviews. If you get a taste for the place and period and you haven't read it already, I can't recommend Milkman enough. It's a fiction but with The Troubles as the backdrop and Burns captures the madness and the paranoia of the period amazingly.
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Will definitely check that out! It's such a fascinating period. I think when all is said and done this will be in my top 5 books I've read this year. Incredible work.
 
ayayrawn said:
Will definitely check that out! It's such a fascinating period. I think when all is said and done this will be in my top 5 books I've read this year. Incredible work.
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I'm intrigued now. I just ordered a couple books that I want to read when I finish Stoner, but after reading just a little bit about Say Nothing, it might take cuts.
 
Book 21 - Stoner - John Williams

It really took until the final chapter for me to understand why it was written, if that makes sense at all. It was so linear and, almost clinical.
But his death; the way it was written was so gripping and beautiful, and fucking sad

So I just read a few heavy classics in a row, usually I break things up with some non-fiction. and now I'm definitely ready.
Next up is Hitchcock/Truffaut.
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Book 15: How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur

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The Good Place is probably my favorite tv show of all time and this is basically just that show but as a book. Schur manages to make big moral philosophy topics manageable and interesting. Not for moral philosophy experts but definitely a solid starting point to someone new to the topic

4/5
 
My reading challenge is probably dead for the year because I just cracked open Stormlight 3 (Oathbringer) which will take me for fucking ever to finish.
 
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