July Reviews

 

by Mary Saums

 

I hope you all are having a good summer and finding great books to read! Here's what I've been reading:

 

HELP, THANKS, WOW by Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott is that special kind of writer who delivers great content and touches your heart no matter what she's writing about. In HELP, THANKS, WOW, she takes on prayer. Not in a normal how-to book way, but through her life stories and thoughts on God and the Great Beyond. 

As always, her ability to speak honestly and convey feelings is a wonder to me. It's like listening to an old friend, someone who is trying hard to figure things out, insecure, but also wise and deeply good. And pretty funny at times too.

 

HAUNTED LIVERPOOL by Tom Slemen

 

This collection of ghost stories set in and around Liverpool was, as you might guess, pretty darned Fab. I thoroughly enjoyed it. What I liked best was that most of the ghosts here are on a loop. That is, they tend to reappear over years, sometimes even decades. Like a WWI soldier, in uniform and carrying his rifle, who is seen on a certain train. He sits for some time, then gets up and walks out and into a brick wall. I love it when that happens. :) Will definitely be on the lookout for more from Mr. Slemen who has other ghost titles set in different areas.

 

 

THOSE WHO HUNT THE NIGHT by Barbara Hambly 

 

Oh my, this is the first of a series I've just discovered. I knew Barbara Hambly was an awesome writer from her Benjamin January historical mysteries. THOSE WHO HUNT THE NIGHT is the first of a vampire historical mystery series. I really like the set up. James Asher is a middle-aged professor at Oxford, known for his inscrutable research powers, and formerly of the turn-of-the-century's version of Her Majesty's Secret Service. 

To his surprise, he's approached by a strange-looking man who claims to be a vampire. This man, Don Ysidro, the oldest vampire in London, believes he and his blood-sucking friends are in danger, since several co-horts were recently murdered. He wants to hire Asher to find the killer.

This is a much darker book than I usually read. But Hambly is so excellent, I'll be reading more.

 

 

A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V.E. Schwab

 

And now, for something totally different .....

Kell is a magician who is able to travel between the parallel worlds of London. There's Red London, his home, where he's an adopted member of the royal family. His job is to periodically go to Grey London, where George III is king, and less often to White London which is very dangerous. Nothing much is left of Black London, so nobody ever goes there.

 

He meets a cheeky cutpurse, a young lady who loves what she does. When she grows up, or saves enough money, she wants to be a pirate with her own ship.

 

The two make a great odd couple. Schwab's writing style is imaginative and fun. I'll be looking for more of her books.

 

What have you been reading? Feel free to share in the comments section. I always love to get ideas for what to pick up next!

 

 

Comments

[Mario R.]

I've been reading the King in Yellow, by Robert W. Chambers. This classic collection of short stories (some of them rather long) was published back in 1895 and is chiefly remembered for the set of stories connected by a fictional play called The King in Yellow, which drives those who read it mad. Most people think of Chambers only for his influence on H.P. Lovecraft, but I'm finding the collection as a whole remarkably good, and some of them far advanced for their time, especially a group of stories so short they'd qualify as "flash fiction" today and tell their tale mostly by implication. Only some of the stories have fantasy elements in them; many of the others have a "La Bohème" feel to them, set as they are in the milieu of the poor artist / art student in Paris. Chambers studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian, so he knows that world well. One story is set during the siege and fall of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), less than two decades before Chambers lived there -- he obviously heard stories from eye-witnesses, he describes the scene so well.

One does have to adjust a little for the writing style of the late 19th century, but I grew up on books of that period, so that's no big deal. You might find it an interesting change of pace.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

LOVe your reading selections!

I am reading MISSOULA by Jon Krakauer. Chilling.

[Mary S.]

Wow, this sounds fantastic. I've never heard of King In Yellow or the author. Art, Paris, strains of La Bohème in the background - OOOH LA LA. :) I am on it.

Thanks so much for sharing, Mario!

[Mary S.]

Oh my, Hank. Krakauer is serious. Brrrrrrr...... :)

[Elaine Viets]

Thanks for more ways to feed my reading addiction, Mary. I just finished Charlaine's DAY SHIFT, set in the strange little town of Midnight Texas. Quinn, the weretiger from the Sookie books makes an appearance.

[Mary S.]

Elaine, I love these Midnight books. What gets me is how weird the town is overall but those people are so real to me. They each have their own little strangeness going on though, which is so much fun to read.