Realizing a new Cork O’Conner novel by William Kent Krueger is coming next month, I thought I’d better see where I was in that series. I’m much further behind that I realized, so I’ve started Vermillion Drift, which is the 10th in the series, leaving me with – once I finish it – five still to go! How could I have let myself get so far behind on a series that I love by one of my very favorite authors?
I’m also reading Mind Changer, an SF novel by James White and a mystery anthology, plus (gasp!) something new just came in. In addition to the Krueger there’s the new Louise Penny coming, and for me she’s a drop-everything-and-read-it author.
Barbara finished Henning Mankill’s The Fifth Woman and is reading The Yard by Alex Grecian. From the description, it sounds like one I’d like to read too.
Though last week I said “I’m getting tired of a steady diet of graphic novels, and after this week will be slowing down some” I’ve kept at it anyway. I really want to get through the table full of the graphic novels and get them out of the way, whether that means in a box or into the recycle bin. (click to see them larger)
Planetary – All Over the World by Warren Ellis, one of my favorite collections. This is a clever, insightful, original comic that I just loved back in 2000 when this was published. I still do.
Nightwing – Huntress written by Devin Grayson, art by Greg Land. This collects the Cosa Nostra storyline. Nightwing – Big Guns written by Chuck Dixon, art by Greg Land. Nightwing was a favorite for a while during this time (2003). Nightwing – The Hunt For Oracle also written by Chuck Dixon, art by Greg Land. Really strong storyline on this one, it’s another very good one. Robin – Unmasked written by Bill Willingham, art by Rick Mays. In the chronology of Batman and his several sidekicks, this is the third Robin, Tim Drake, who lives with his father and stepmother. His father discovers Tim’s secret and goes ballistic forbidding his son to continue.
You’ll notice a tendency toward DC over Marvel here. I wasn’t a big Marvel fan.
How about you?
What are you reading?
Tip the Wink 
As far as graphic novels go, Richard, I read four from Marvel and one from DC this week. The Marvels: ALL-NEW X-MEN: THE ULTIMATE ADVENTURE, ALL-NEW X-MEN: THE UTOPIANS; GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY/ALL-NEW X-MEN: THE TRIAL OF JEAN GRAY, AND CAPTAIN AMERICA: MAN OUT OF TIME. THE DC: GREEN LANTERN: NEW GUARDIANS, VOLUME 3: LOVE & DEATH. Several of the X-Men compilations were a jumbled mess, but I liked the Guardians/X-Men hookup. The Green Lantern seemed to put paid to the GL universe.
I read two other GNs this week: an adaptation of Lovecraft’s THE CASE OF CHARLES DEXTER WARD (meh) and WILL EISNER’S NEW YORK: LIFE IN THE BIG CITY. The Eisner was a collection of four of his books, each a tragi-comic look at the city and its people. Eisner’s spot-on observations and his fantastic art make this one highly recommended.
The only novel I finished this week was the Kuttners’ MURDER IN BRASS (THE BRASSS RING). which was my FFB this week. Just too busy with other things.
On deck, I have a lot of anthologies, another Kuttner/”Padgett” mystery, and a John Connolly YA SF book. I’m also working through the Neil Gaiman essay collection and Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s HEX.
Saturday, I walked outside to clear blue skies except one dark gray cloud pourng rain over my street. A metaphjor for my life? I hope not.
I might get to meet WKK. I am on a panel with him in Ann Arbor. Don’t know if I will make it. Reading A MAN CALLED OVE but so far am not won over. Too twee for me. Bought VERA (Stacy Schiff) from Book Bub-which is the work of the devil because I buy more books from it than I will ever read.
I hope you do meet him, Patti, he’s a truly nice man, I think you’ll like him. Haven’t we all bought more books than we’ll ever read? Later, the process of winnowing can be painful. Have fun at B’con.
I’m back to work at the College today during Registration. I finished my last Big Fat Book over the weekend. It’ will be months before I can read anything but short novels and short story anthologies. I do have some short non-fiction books to vary the mix. No graphic novels, though.
This will be the last time you have to go back to the Fall prep grind, I guess. So savor it as much as possible. These will be your last acolytes. um, students. I look forward to your reviews on short story and shorter novels, especially mysteries and SF.
I’m several Sector General books away from MIND CHANGER, but will get to it eventually. I just read a piece (here) on the new Louise Penny that said it was one of the best in the series. I think she is as big a fan as you are. I, of course, still have her first one unread on the shelf.
I spent most of the week alternating three short story collections, by Michael Swanwick, Charles Beaumont, and Arthur C. Clarke (the one I finished, his first collection – Expedition to Earth).
I’m reading Colin Cotterill’s latest Dr. Siri book, I Shot the Buddha, set in 1979 Laos and with his usual entourage. I should finish it today. The beginning was a bit slow but it is good now.
What else did I read? Jack Pendarvis’s uneven first collection, The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure (meh), and Bill Crider’s excellent new Sheriff Dan Rhodes book, Survivors Will Be Shot Again. For those who enjoyed the great scene in the last book of the Sheriff riding a bull in the Walmart parking lot, there is another Sheriff-wild animal encounter in this one.
The library books are now in two piles on the shelf, with the addition of the new Peter Robinson book as well as Joe Hill’s 700+ page The Fireman.
I just posted a huge long post and…where the heck is it?
for reasons unknown it went to spam, though none of your other posts have done so.
Liked Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 but found The Fireman sorely in need of an edit. The middle section is way too long. I’ve read all of Swanwick’s short fiction and am a big fan. Especially like his novels The Iron Dragons Daughter and Stations of the Tide. Have at one time or another read all of Arthur Clarke and Charles Beaumont.
Have just read The Lost Ones by Ace Atkins, the second of his Rangers series and while catch up on the rest. Have just started 1222 by Anne Holt which came highly recommended to me and am also reading A Wizard’s Henchman by Matthew Hughes.
Have only read Cotterills first novel which I liked. Need to read more.
Rarely read Graphic Novels and don’t care if I ever read or see anything with a superhero. Just burned out on them.
Steve, I hear you on burning out on super heroes, but I was into the DC players when these came out, and enjoyed them. I have less patience with the ongoing battles now, find myself skimming. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to toss these out without reading through them another time.
I do want to try the Atkins.
Never read Krueger but I like that title
One of my favorites. Try IRON LAKE and see what you think.
Thanks, Rick! I was afraid I’d have to redo the whole post.
And now to my answer to that long post.
The White omnibus let me go from one to the other with little pause (just for a few of those graphic novels) so that made it easy for me to read three of them almost in a row. I really like White’s style. I’ll be getting (or maybe I have it and just have to dig it out) the last book.
As for Louise Penny, you apparently aren’t interested, so there’s nothing to say. I have hundreds, perhaps thousands, of short stories here unread, but this summer I’ve had little interest. I am getting though, very slowly, a smallish anthology of hard-boiled stories, classics, for the September special FFB. I should have finished it weeks ago, but something always seems to come up. Maybe I’ll read some more of it today, as I’ll be sequestered in the bedroom while the quilt group is here today. I try to stay out of the way.
I’m sure I’ve read the Clarke stories you’re reading, as I’m pretty sure I’ve read them all in that huge collection of his stories I did an FFB on a few weeks ago. I read the first two Cotterill Dr. Siri books, liked them, but haven’t gone on, for no reason other than more books than time.
Then after all that you add “What else did I read?” I read part of a book, you read a half dozen or more. You dog. I keep falling behind on Crider, I’m three (at least) behind.
At least I can say my library borrows are nil. Also, I’m waiting for that Louise Penny, which I expect to be delivered on it’s release date of 9/30.
It isn’t a matter of “not interested” as much as always having something else pressing for my time. I need to remember that I have the book on the shelf for when I get the library pile whittled down (which does happen ).
I agree with you about Kent Krueger.
Very nice guy, and he runs a good panel.
I got the Clarke because that big anthology you reviewed wasn’t available, and because it was his first collection. All the stories werepublished in 1945-50. Not his best work, IMHO.
The very earliest Clarke wasn’t his best, though he had some clever ideas, just not his best writing
Also, speaking of the library, I saw two books that interested me on blogs this morning and both were available as ebooks. But I am not downloading any more until I read what I have here first.
I have a lot of ebooks on the iPad, but haven’t gotten to them.
Richard, I wasn’t a Marvel fan either though I read both. I found DC superheroes more believable than their Marvel counterparts. I’m currently reading Ed BcBain’s FIDDLERS. I hadn’t read an 87th Precinct mystery in a long time.
Hope you’re enjoying the McBain. I’ve tried a few and rated them so-so, but I still have a few on the shelf to try. I’m about done – I think – with the graphic novels for a while. Glad to see you stop by.