Thank you for tagging me in your note so that I saw this! What an absolutely lovely thing to read about my stories. There is a novel underway, I promise, although whether anyone will actually want to publish is another thing entirely. But thank you, and enjoy the books in the meantime.
No prob! And hey, thanks for subscribing. Now I'll be too scared to write anything because I know it'll end up in my fave author's inbox, lol. (Seriously, super glad to have you aboard. ☺️)
We hosted the extended family a while ago. For some stupid reason I decided to make a dish with turkey instead of a roast turkey. So I ended up spending most of my time on this fussy, labor-intensive entree, which was not any better than a roast bird. Don't do this! Stick bird in oven (brining is nice), done.
Ha! Yes. Thanksgiving dinner is ridiculously labor-intensive, but the one easy part of it is the just-put-the-dead-bird-in-the-oven-and-leave-it-there-for-hours part. Why would you take that away from yourself?
Now I'm really curious about what this fancy recipe was. It must have sounded amazing.
Several intriguing books in the list, which I read last year and have now read again. I've downloaded a few, the one about the monk in the cave sounds right up my street, and Andrew Doyle (I have the Titania McGrath books and they are very funny).
Most of the others that I recognised I had read one or more times in the past, most particularly Slaughterhouse-5 which is my absolute favourite book. The only one I'd seriously differ on was Dr Sleep which was really disappointing. I mean I read the whole thing, the only Stephen King book I couldn't finish was called Rose Madder, but it was a bit color-by-numbers to me.
I don't know if this will be to your taste but the inclusion of the Slenderman book prompts me to recommend a 2023 novel called Penance, by Eliza Clark. I thought it was really good but it is very English which might be a disincentive. I think the paperback will be published in 2024.
Judging by some of the other books you listed or have blogged about or both I think you could find the books of Andrew Michael Hurley interesting. Again, they are quite English, but any references that pass you by can be safely ignored. I don't think he's all that of a writer but the stories are good.
I'll shut up now because this could turn lengthy otherwise.
Hey, thanks for the recommends! Clark's and Hurley's books look interesting—I'll add both to my to-read list. :)
Point taken on Doctor Sleep—I guess what I liked about it was how well it set up an irresistible-force-meets-immovable-object scenario; unfortunately the climax never really delivered on that, but it was a fun ride for a while, lol. Probably also didn't hurt that I hadn't read Stephen King in a while, and I genuinely like him a lot...in small doses. :)
I don't know if this makes a difference, but Tenzin Palmo is a nun, not a monk. Either way, she's super cool.
Oh I didn't read the summary very closely lol, thanks for correcting that.
I read a couple of SK's this year. One was called something like The Institute and the other I don't recall. Both okay. How does the guy churn out so much stuff!
Ah, that sounds exactly like me. I make a point to only read one novel/biography at a time because I lose track of who is who. But non-fiction... yeah, the piles with bookmarks part-way through are embarassing. But the cat finds them handy for getting to the window sill.
Thank you for tagging me in your note so that I saw this! What an absolutely lovely thing to read about my stories. There is a novel underway, I promise, although whether anyone will actually want to publish is another thing entirely. But thank you, and enjoy the books in the meantime.
No prob! And hey, thanks for subscribing. Now I'll be too scared to write anything because I know it'll end up in my fave author's inbox, lol. (Seriously, super glad to have you aboard. ☺️)
We hosted the extended family a while ago. For some stupid reason I decided to make a dish with turkey instead of a roast turkey. So I ended up spending most of my time on this fussy, labor-intensive entree, which was not any better than a roast bird. Don't do this! Stick bird in oven (brining is nice), done.
Ha! Yes. Thanksgiving dinner is ridiculously labor-intensive, but the one easy part of it is the just-put-the-dead-bird-in-the-oven-and-leave-it-there-for-hours part. Why would you take that away from yourself?
Now I'm really curious about what this fancy recipe was. It must have sounded amazing.
Ina Garten's Turkey Rollatini. I don't know what I was thinking.
Looked that up, and...wow. I admire your ambition? lol
Yeah. On the other hand, these were fun. https://youtu.be/n57XYbtJNYc?si=Lc6bNlfN7mdOZv9y
Several intriguing books in the list, which I read last year and have now read again. I've downloaded a few, the one about the monk in the cave sounds right up my street, and Andrew Doyle (I have the Titania McGrath books and they are very funny).
Most of the others that I recognised I had read one or more times in the past, most particularly Slaughterhouse-5 which is my absolute favourite book. The only one I'd seriously differ on was Dr Sleep which was really disappointing. I mean I read the whole thing, the only Stephen King book I couldn't finish was called Rose Madder, but it was a bit color-by-numbers to me.
I don't know if this will be to your taste but the inclusion of the Slenderman book prompts me to recommend a 2023 novel called Penance, by Eliza Clark. I thought it was really good but it is very English which might be a disincentive. I think the paperback will be published in 2024.
Judging by some of the other books you listed or have blogged about or both I think you could find the books of Andrew Michael Hurley interesting. Again, they are quite English, but any references that pass you by can be safely ignored. I don't think he's all that of a writer but the stories are good.
I'll shut up now because this could turn lengthy otherwise.
Here's to a less crappy 2024
Hey, thanks for the recommends! Clark's and Hurley's books look interesting—I'll add both to my to-read list. :)
Point taken on Doctor Sleep—I guess what I liked about it was how well it set up an irresistible-force-meets-immovable-object scenario; unfortunately the climax never really delivered on that, but it was a fun ride for a while, lol. Probably also didn't hurt that I hadn't read Stephen King in a while, and I genuinely like him a lot...in small doses. :)
I don't know if this makes a difference, but Tenzin Palmo is a nun, not a monk. Either way, she's super cool.
Oh I didn't read the summary very closely lol, thanks for correcting that.
I read a couple of SK's this year. One was called something like The Institute and the other I don't recall. Both okay. How does the guy churn out so much stuff!
I mean, part of it is by refusing to edit himself. Haha
Your poll needs an option for "Yeah, and I haven't finished the reading yet because I'm a really slow reader." 😊
Come on now. You do nothing but read. I’ve read your Substack :)
That's why I'm slow. I've always got, like, fifteen books going at once. 😂
Ah, that sounds exactly like me. I make a point to only read one novel/biography at a time because I lose track of who is who. But non-fiction... yeah, the piles with bookmarks part-way through are embarassing. But the cat finds them handy for getting to the window sill.