I’m still reading The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, and also reading some short stories and a Shadow novel, The Living Shadow. Light summer fare.
Barbara finished Stephen King’s Finders Keepers. She says it was creepy, and she enjoyed it. Now she’s reading The Stranger by Harlan Coben. She hasn’t read any of his books before, but saw a brief review of this one and thought she’d try it.
How about you? Have you read these books or authors? What are you reading?
Tip the Wink 
I prefer Coben’s series books, and I quit the King.
Read this week: THE DEVIL’S SHARE (library), the latest in Wallace Stroby’s excellent series about thief Crissa Stone. If you like Richard Stark and Parker (and who doesn’t?) you need to read these. A couple of people (I know Bill Crider was one) wrote about Evan Hunter’s first (?) published book, which would be considered YA these days but was a “juvenile” when it was released in 1952, FIND THE FEATHERED SERPENT. This was in the Winston Science Fiction series. Gregg Press reprinted this some years ago and I got a library copy and read it. It’s silly, perhaps, but I still enjoyed reading this time travel tale of the early Mayans.
Ed Gorman is definitely one of the best short story writers around, in mystery or any other genre he chooses to write, and his recent ebook SCREAM QUEEN AND OTHER TALES OF MENACE is no exception. I’d read 2-3 of these before (Famous Blue Raincoat, the chilling Cages) but all are worth your time and money. Lastly, I read John Tiger (Walter Wager)’s I SPY #4: WIPEOUT, the sixth of the seven books he wrote that I’ve read based on the 1965 television series. Yes, it is dated now but still a fun, fast read. And it is only 128 pages long – granted, with tiny print, but still. Needless to say, Kelly Robinson and Alexander Scott save the world once again, this time from a botanist willing to wipe out all life on the planet.
Currently halfway through Joe Lansdale’s wonderful PARADISE SKY. I’ve also got half a dozen science fiction library books waiting to be read.
Very little read this week. Too many other things on my plate. I did finish the Sunday crossword, though.
I’ve got a Coben book but haven’t read it. I know some folks who like him quite a lot.
I have to interview the author of The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes on Wednesday, so I need to finish the book. He — Zach Dundas — is a Missoula guy now living in PDX and is one of the editors of Portland Monthly.
Last week I saw the trailer for The Revenant, the mountain man movie coming out this Christmas, so I ran out and got the book it’s based on (of the same name) by Michael Punke. I loved it. Currently listening to Peter Stark’s Astoria, which is also fantastic.
Sounds like it will be an interesting interview, Chris. I’m not familiar with The Revenant, but the title made me think of zombies for no reason I know. Hope that’s not what it is, since you say mountain man novel.
It’s about a man – true story – attacked by a grizzly bear and left for dead by two others who also abscond with his rifle/knife/gear. So he begins to crawl back to a fort to get healthy and go looking for revenge. It’s fictionalized, but Hugh Glass the man did exist, was attacked, and did crawl back to civilization.
I’m done with Mexican drug cartels for a while. A stack of much smaller books is calling my name. I’m in the mood for some good short stories and essays. But August is looming and before long I’ll be back to work. That really cuts into my reading time!
Did Joe Lansdale ever write a bad or even mediocre book? I am reading THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH (Richard Flanagan) for my new book club. And THE PAINTED VEIL (Somerset Maugham) for my old one. They are doing CONCRETE ANGEL for August and I am feeling very queasy about discussing my own book. Usually after I come here on Monday I went to Randy’s blog to see what he was reading. Boy, I miss him.
I read THE LIVING SHADOW when Bantam reprinted it in the late Sixties with a rather poor cover, especially when compared with the terrific ones Jim Steranko did for the Jove Shadow reprints a few years later. It’s a pretty entertaining book, not without its flaws, but some of those epic shootouts The Shadow has with various gangs of crooks and yeggs are great. And of course it’s important in that it lays the groundwork for the rest of the series.
I don’t remember the last thing I read by Stephen King, it’s been that long, but I’ve read several of Harlan Coben’s stand-alones and really enjoyed them. Haven’t tried his series books yet.
James, I think it was a review/article/post you did that moved me to order the book, which I’m just now getting around to. The narrator, Sheldon, makes some stupid mistakes, causing him to need frequent rescue by The Shadow, who is always in just the right place, but I’m enjoying the book and will likely finish it today. I have a couple dozen of the reproduction Shadow volumes, but I’ve yet to read one. Now I think I’ll do that.
Anyone who was alive and remembers November 22, 1963 should at least consider reading King’s 11/22/63. It’s long, yes, but I found it very worth the time.