Marion: I finished M. A. Carrick’s The Liar’s Knot, and enjoyed every minute of it. I sent off interview questions to the two writers who comprise that author, and look forward to providing that interview and a giveaway in the near future. I finished up Louise Erdrich’s The Sentence, a nice bit of metafiction about Tookie, who works in a bookstore owned by a writer named Louise. Tookie is haunted by a ghost of Flora, an annoying regular customer, who is now haunting it (she didn’t die there, just really likes the place). The book did not go to any of the places I would have expected a “ghost in a bookstore” book to go, and yet Flora is always there, waiting for what she needs from Tookie–and what Tookie needs from her. This week I finished Helene Wecker’s The Hidden Palace. I loved every word of it.

 

Bill: Since my last status I’ve read (review to come):

  • Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham/Ty Franck): Already missing the Rocinante crew!
  • Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi:  first entry on my running Best of 2022 list
  • Tales of the Greatcoats by Sebastien De Castell: a fun return to the world of the GREATCOATS QUARTET via nine short stories
  • Dionysus by George O’Connor: end of a great graphic novel series on Greek myths
  • Absynthe by Brendan Bellecourt (Bradley Beaulieu): a fun alternative Jazz-Age/psi-power story
  • The Amber Crown by Jacey Bedford: a solid enough story whose content gave me some difficulty
  • Rise of the Mages by Scott Drakeford, a debut fantasy with the usual debut issues
  • Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire: Another miss for me in this series, which I’ve been up and down on
  • Dark and Magical Places: The Neuroscience of Navigation by Christopher Kemp: a fascinating look at how we get around in our world

Sandy: Moi? I am currently in the middle of reading another collection of wonderful short stories and novellas from the always-dependable Algernon Blackwood. This collection is his classic Pan’s Garden, which was originally released in 1912. I am now reading the 1924 edition; a big, beautiful hardcover of well over 500 pages. I look forward to sharing some thoughts on this one with you all early in the New Year! And that reminds me…a Happy Healthy New Year to you all!

Terry: I read John Scalzi’s The Kaiju Preservation Society, which is prime snarky Scalzi. Lots of fun! I also finished The Hour Game by David Baldacci, one of his earlier novels, and it was very long and only okay. It’s interesting to follow how an author gets better book to book. Finally, after watching “The Witcher” on Netflix with much fascination, I read The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski, which was a lot sillier and actually less captivating than the show, to my considerable surprise. Still worth reading, though, and I’ve already started on the second book in the series, Sword of Destiny.

Tim: I finally had my encounter with Covid-19 during the holidays, which disrupted a lot of plans but gave me time to read. I revived a holiday tradition from my teens of reading Lord of the Rings around Christmas (LotR is a perpetual 5-star to me, though I recognize that I’m biased), and also read Matt Haig‘s The Midnight Library (very enjoyable, if a bit predictable at points). Finally, I’ve begun Robin McKinley‘s The Blue Sword, which seems lots of fun so far. Happy New Year!

Author

  • Tim Scheidler

    TIM SCHEIDLER, who's been with us since June 2011, holds a Master's Degree in Popular Literature from Trinity College Dublin. Tim enjoys many authors, but particularly loves J.R.R. Tolkien, Robin Hobb, George R.R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, and Susanna Clarke. When he’s not reading, Tim enjoys traveling, playing music, writing in any shape or form, and pretending he's an athlete.