Eric LaRocca;s latest is a collection of 4 stories. Honestly only half of these stories worked for me & I really wouldn't recommend this book, unless you have a black morbid heart like me. People have said that LaRocca is the modern heir to Clive Barker & although I disagree with this assessment, I can see why they would say that. In “All The Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn“ (undeniably LaRocca is great at titles) a man goes into a (CONT)

Gone To The Wolves follows three friends who bond over music, specifically underground heavy metal music. Leslie, Kira & Kip first meet as teens in Venice, FL, in the mid 80s towards the end of high school. However the story follows them to LA & then to Scandinavia (specifically Norway). I heard an interview with Wray talking about the book where he said that he built the narrative so that the journey of the characters mirrors that of (CONT)

I have two contenders for worst song in the world (no offense if you're a fan):
*Chumbawamba's Tubthumping
https://open.spotify.com/track/22HYEJveCvykVDHDiEEmjZ?si=1066dda4696044e1
*Jamiroquai's Virtual Insanity
https://open.spotify.com/track/24SUWisv2lYQiB3bVpE1sn?si=280c625efc91480c
As far as songs that I'm digging at the moment & to end on a positive note, here are two that I love:
*Beirut's Postcards From Italy
(CONT)

This review is for “Gifts.“ Gifts is the first book in a trilogy completed by Le Guin towards the end of her career. It tells of bordering domains in the Uplands, ruled by brantors, some benevolent & some cruel. The brantors have hereditary powers (the Gifts of the title) which they use in practical ways & to also protect their lands, I really liked this initial entry; as with other LeGuin the world is immersive & convincing without pages (CONT)

This review is for Highsmith's The Tremor of Forgery. Set in Tunisia in '67 during the 6 day war, this is the most political of the Highsmith books that I have read, It has a great premise: American novelist Howard Ingham is hired by a cameraman to travel to Tunisia to begin preparation on a script for an amateur film that will be filmed there. While waiting for the cameraman to show, he continues work on his novel about a conman w/ strong (CONT)

A bit of this..a bit of that:
*Eric LaRocca's new story collection “This Skin Was Once Mine“
*“Rikers: An Oral History“ This one has been hibernating for a bit, but will def be finishing this weekend
*Ursula Le Guin's “Gifts“ Book 1 in a trilogy she wrote towards the end of her life.
*Potentially Patricia Highsmith's “The Tremor of Forgery“ Considered one of her greatest & the last one I have to read in LOA's Four Classic Thrillers '64-69

I have not yet read Rouge, so I am not going to watch the linked interview until I do; however I thought some might find the hour long conversation between Awad & Catriona Ward interesting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Vu9dYW238

*I picked up carry out at one of my fave BBQ restaurants after an appt this afternoon.
*Prior to my appt I stopped by the library where I checked out several books, all of them ones that I am really looking forward to.
*Found out that a couple of months ago Everyman;s Library released a volume containing 4 Chester Himes Harlem Detective novels w/ an introduction by SA Cosby. (I also discovered that Himes is a MO native!)
(CONT)

“What does mesomorphic mean?“ she asked him.
It seemed like a word Kip should have known-the version of himself that Kira liked, at least, which was the version he was constantly trying to be,,...
“Cool name for a band,“ he got out finally.
#weirdwords @cbee

Four new songs by four bands I love & actually posted while it's still Tuesday! First up is the new single “Starburster from Fontaines D.C. Their last album Skinty Fia was a favorite when it was released in '22:
https://open.spotify.com/track/1cg4xD453Wuol9fNsRDbsV?si=03a28256b8cc40f9
Next is “Tastes Like Metal“ by the outrageous, fun & outrageously fun band Man Man. Their album Life Fantastic is one of my favorites of (CONT)

This review is for Chester Himes' Run Man Run. Regarded as a pioneer for being one of the first African American crime writers, Himes is most well-known for his Harlem Detective series featuring Coffin Ed Johnson & Gravedigger Jones. Himes has been on my TBR for years now & this did not disappoint. Opening a few days after Xmas, a very drunk detective accosts a porter outside of a diner & accuses him of stealing his car simply because of his CONT.

This review is for Ed McBain's The Doll, an entry in his long-running 87th Precinct Series. This was not only my first 87th Precinct book, but my first time reading McBain. It was both what I expected & somehow better than I thought it would be. The Doll opens up with a grisly murder of a model while her daughter is in the next room. I figured out pretty early on one of the hows on the mystery solution but there were some clever twists. CONT.

In the 90s a group of teens inadvertently download a video of congressman Benjamin Hardy committing suicide during a press conference several years previously. Hardy is based on the true events of Budd Dwyer. Shortly after watching the video the friends start seeing Hardy's face, superimposed over the faces of others at random times. They also start having disturbing dreams, along with a compulsion to rewatch the video despite being (CONT)

I am usually a little behind on new releases, but having just finished “Late Night With The Devil“ I have now watched the 5 movies released this year that I have anticipated the most. Below is my ranking of the 5, all of which I enjoyed:
*Dune 2 (This was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. It lived up to my expectations in every way possible & occasionally I think that I might even like it more than the original.)
*Immaculate (CONT)

Seventeen year old Sasha has had it. Her music idol Freddie Mercury has just passed & her bff is on a personal crusade to save her soul from the evils of the world. After said friend Hayley shows a Christian propaganda video about how rock is devil's music, Sasha along with her other friends decide to summon the devil to prove to her friend that he's not real. But this is a horror novel. So, of course things don't go as they plan. My teen (CONT)

Look at what I found at HPB yesterday @reggie There was quite the collection of Rewind or Die there. Even a copy of Who Will Save Your Soul? I ended up grabbing a few.

I scored 48%, a bit lower than I expected but not too shabby either. Out of the movies on the list that I haven't seen that are at the top of my list are the ones by Miyazaki. Thanks for putting this together @dabbe #tlt

Needing a mental rinse after the Cavanagh book (I was stuck somewhere yesterday for over an hour & had no other book to read lol), I saw @hooked_on_books positive review of the latest St. James & decided to give it a go. It does not disappoint. This is the third St. James that I have read & is my second favorite. Set in '95 (as a Gen X-er, this is catnip) newlyweds Alice & Eddie are on their way to their honeymoon when they pick up a (CONT)

Really liking the latest by St. James. Read the first half tonight. I guess I haven't given up on American thrillers. Just not too pleased by the latest Steve Cavanagh.

My slowest reading month of the year unfortunately, largely due to work issues. I still managed to read some real gems. I wanted to read at least 1 book of poetry this month & met that goal w/ the excellent “Diaspora Sonnets“ by Oliver De La Paz. Best reads of the month: Bora Chung's “Cursed Bunny,“ Witch Hat Atelier Vol 2 & 3, Kelly Link's “Magic For Beginners,“ Margaret Millar's “The Fiend“. Onwards to May!
#monthinbooks

A great month of selections for #botm I have been curious about the tagged book since I first heard about it, so was pleased to see it as a main pick. Two of the add-ons have been books that I have been tempted by, so they were no brainers: Bardugo's The Familiar & the new Towles.

Because I can never seem to post my selections for #tuesdaytunes on Tuesday, I am posting them now. Here are 4 songs by 4 different artists. All 4 I have loved for years (w/ one exception: a recent discovery):
MF Doom: Old School Rules (I have been listening to MF Doom more than usual lately. Great stuff):
https://open.spotify.com/track/0cq0D853bAxP47bhFU9RKV?si=b08899cf77e84d1e
Dark Dark Dark: Flood (CONT)

This little known novel by Swiss author Boye was published between Brave New World & 1984, Kallocain takes its title after the drug which is developed & is named after the creator/narrator. Kallocain will not only compel people to tell the truth, but will reveal their thoughts/feelings. Although I have read other explorations of individuality vs community in dystopians, Boye's poetic & mesmerizing monologues (CONT)

Posting #tuesdaytunes late but had to share my love for the new Pearl Jam (possibly my fave album of the yr so far):
*Wreckage
https://open.spotify.com/track/083LM23MmqS8HTTYZQrYxG?si=2512b6257e164824
*Waiting For Stevie
https://open.spotify.com/track/7LMXRhf27EwcBQo2oLkcBa?si=eb6347e9b9d9412b
*Got To Give
https://open.spotify.com/track/0pbo6zLqhafAy4r1T4F4jD?si=22e6bd1d6a424921
@tiedyedude

This review is for Margaret Millar's “The Fiend“ in the tagged collection. This is an existential mystery filled with damaged characters in unhappy & volatile relationships. Dark content matter that both unsettled & surprised me. A fantastic suspense novel.

Zsuzsi Gartner, author of the story collection with the excellent title “Better Living Through Plastic Explosives“, has published a debut novel with a narrator that we see too little of. Lucy, a professional & a mother who does not feel guilt about the feelings she has towards her daughter who now lives with her ex-husband. Since the death of her cousin, & best friend, Zoltan the narrator has become a magnet for the off-beat & occasionally (CONT)

This was a find while browsing at the library. What intrigued me were the number of blurbs by writers I respect (esp Catherine Lacey & Laird Hunt) but I was sold on the comp to Pedro Paramo. As to the latter, there are def elements in it that I think earn the comparison, despite the fact that Rulfo's novel is so sui generis that it's pretty difficult to get a direct comparison. This is a dark, compelling, hallucinatory novel. (CONT)

I have previously read certain stories from this door stopper of an anthology, however 2 weeks ago I decided to start it. From the end & read it towards the beginning. I'm reading it on my computer, which has made a massive difference as the double column print in the book is distracting. So far I have read 13 stories. The standouts have been:
*Micaela Morrissette's “The Familiars“: a boy & his mother together during the summer. The boy (CONT)

I read a decent portion of this thriller inspired by Highsmith & Hitchcock's Strangers On the Train yesterday but I am finding myself with zero motivation to return to it. I had a few issues with the novel itself, but I think this confirms what I have suspected for awhile. I am tired of American domestic thrillers. My jam now are suspense novels by international authors (Pushkin Vertigo is great resource; Jónasson; Higashino etc).

In no order:
*Laura Dern (What a filmography! Here are just a few of my favorites: Wild At Heart, Blue Velvet, Jurassic Park, The Master)
*Amy Adams (Some favorites: Arrival, Sharp Objects, Vice)
*For relatively new talent, no doubt my favorite is Lily Gladstone based off of her incredible performance in Killers of The Flower Moon (the first Native American to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama & the first to ever (CONT)

Description from publisher:
In 1972, after Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, Oliver de la Paz‘s father, in a last fit of desperation to leave the Philippines, threw his papers at an immigration clerk, hoping to get them stamped. He was prepared to leave, having already quit his job and having exchanged pesos for dollars; but he couldn‘t anticipate the challenges of the migratory lifestyle he and his family would soon adopt in America. (CONT)

I have read, & loved, a few of Simenon's romans durs but this is my first experience with Maigret outside of a couple stories. It opens with Maigret shadowing a suspicious traveler who ends up committing suicide after having their suitcase switched, by Maigret himself no less. I really liked this propulsive suspense story that went to some really dark places. I will not be reading all of the Maigret books, but I will def be returning to them!

1) A toss-up between Jason Pargin's “Zoey Punches The Future In The Dick“ & “I'd Rather Be Reading“ by Anne Bogel
2) Tagged!
@thespineview #two4tuesday

For this week's #tuesdaytunes I would like to highlight a musical passion that I've had since high school: classical music. Despite the flannel, baggy jeans,, chain wallet, smashing pumpkins zero t-shirt & backpack with favorite punk/alternative/indie bands written on them; there was a good chance that although side A of the tape in my walkman would be a mixed tape with Madness, Nirvana, Fiona Apple & Alice in Chains...when you turned it (CONT)

T. Kingfisher's riff on Poe's iconic story begins with Alex Easton receiving a letter from Madeline Usher that she is sick. Easton travels to the dilapidated sprawling house, surrounded by a strange lake & animals who are acting unusual, that she shares with her brother Roderick. There were parts of this that I really loved, but I found Kingfisher's character work a bit off putting at times. It felt like a mashup between YA & adult, still a (CONT)

I was just looking at books for a reading challenge when I came across the tagged book & I think the cover is the most disturbing one I have seen for a release this year, I can't wait to read it when it release this summer. I will share my trauma with you when it happens lol

Empire Star is the novella of this collection, written the same time as Babel-17. When I read this collection I did not know of the links between them, so when I was roughly halfway through “Babel-17“ & two characters started to excitedly discuss an adventure novel that they had read in their youth called “Empire Star“ I was glad to have read it in the order that I did. Calling it an adventure story is a bit of a stretch, as we encounter (CONT)

Tomorrow I plan on reading the novella that is included with Delany's “Babel-17.“ The edition that I am reading is a tête-bêche (or head-to-toe) edition. Although, it is published by Vintage I wanted to link to the Wikipedia page for the incredible run by Ace Doubles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Ace_double_titles

Overall, babel-17 ended up as a bit of a mixed bag. I loved the first half of the novel with the contemplations on linguistics, the ideas & the dark world. However, I found the second half to be a bit uneven. There were some truly great passages in the second half, including a few pages where Delany experiments with formatting over a few pages that I found to be useful for one particular scene.

Having started babel-17 this morning & now halfway through, I need to post a few thoughts. This is my first time reading Delany. Rhydra a poet & linguist with wide renown is approached at the beginning by a general to help solve what he thinks is a code. There have been a recent series of sabotage attacks at various important sites & during the attacks there was a radio frequency with what they assumed was a code. Rhydra informs them that it(CON)

An additional book to Vandermeer's Southern Reach trilogy feels entirely unnecessary, but I'm sure I'll read it. I do like the cover designs for the new editions.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/4/24120983/jeff-vandermeer-absolution-southern-r...

The New Directions Storybook editions are a great way to sample authors that you have been meaning to try. This was the case for me with Ginzburg's Road to the City ( a 90 page novella in this edition). I was a bit sceptical at first as Ginzburg tends to move from character to character frequently. One aspect I was sold on immediately was the atmosphere, perfect for the warm evening in which I enjoyed it. Despite the grim atmosphere of the (CONT)

Having loved Mrs.Caliban & now In The Act, I can safely say that Rachel Ingalls is one of my favorite authors I've discovered this year. This lovely ND Storybook edition begins with Helen whose adult continuing education classes have ended. Her husband, Edgar, insists that she continues to leave the house two nights a week as she has been doing so he can continue his mysterious work in the attic. What's in the attic?! A hilarious story (Cont)

*Anything John Carpenter & David Cronenberg directed in the 80s (most directors would sell their soul to make as many incredible movies in their entire lives as they did in a decade)
*The Shining
*Beetlejuice
*Brazil (dir T. Gilliam)
*Blood Simple (Coen Bros)
*Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
*Ninth Configuration (W. P. Blatty. Yes, the author of The Exorcist!)
*Qatsi Trilogy (well, at least the first two were released in the 80s)
*This Is Spinal (CON)

Having seen Rushdie in person for the release of his memoir “Joseph Anton“ , about the fallout surrounding the publication of Satanic Verses, several years ago it feels a bit strange to have just purchased tickets for a virtual event to hear him talk about the same issue once more but under different circumstances. Luckily there were quick thinking audience members who intervened, helping to save his life, & make the writing of this possible.

It's National Library Week! I saw on social media that certain participating libraries were encouraging patrons to write down their favorite memories involving libraries. I read this after going to a library & checking out a pile of books, as one does, As I have mentioned before, libraries have been an integral part of my life, but I would like to share a few special memories: (ripping off Joe Brainard's I Remember):
(CONT)

I read Chung's collection “Cursed Bunny“ over the weekend. I have read a lot of short story collections this year & this easily ranks among the best. Body horror, dark fantasy, stories of modern tech run amok. As several reviewers have commented, “no two stories are alike,“ Chung's stories are shocking & weird as the best Asian lit & cinerma can be. I'm thinking of Bong Joon-ho's “Okja“ or the traumatizing “The Wailing“ by Na Hong-jin. Despite..

I had an excellent themed playlist lined up last week for #tuesdaytunes centered around April Fool's & then work interfered. Determined to not let a big event slip away, I have created one in celebration of the wonderful eclipse. 80% covered this afternoon:
Bonnie Tyler-Total Eclipse of the Heart (I will never admit, even under torture, to the percentage that I appreciate this ironically & which part unironically.)
Soundgarden: Black Hole Sun

My list is going to be comprised solely of those elusive specimens: adaptations that exceed the source material.
*1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers featuring Donald Sutherland. I liked, didn't love, the original novel but the performances in this elevate it into something truly special.
*Jaws. This was above & beyond the source material in just about every way imaginable.
*Killing Eve. The source material Codename Villanelle is so generic (CONT)