For the last few months or so, I’ve been trying to stay diligent posting about the books I’ve read in the month previous. It’s not to act as a book reviewer, which I state here that I am absolutely not, but more to inspire and incite discussion.
These posts are necessarily brief. Since I am not posting with the intent to rate any of them, I only provide a very brief, one or two sentence long synopsis, if it can even be called that. But I like talking about books way too much to just leave it at that.
I’ll keep posting those monthly snapshots but I’d also like to go a bit more in depth, which I will do here. Again, I want to be clear, these are not reviews. These are simply my opinions of the books I’ve been reading.
Opening statements over. Commence book discussion.
Big Magic - Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
This was an inspiring and uplifting read by the author of Eat Pray Love. My sister-in-law recommended I read this one, knowing how important “creative living” is to me. I’m glad she did, as this is not a book I would have picked up on my own. Big Magic is full of encouraging wisdom from the author, complimented by interesting, often charming anecdotes. I wouldn’t say I learned anything new reading this book, but it did affirm much of what I live by and value. It’s the kind of book that I’ll highlight several passages in and will return to frequently, if only to re-read a quote or anecdote.
Sleeping in the Fire - A Collection of 9 Horrifying Tales by John Durgin
The title says it all. Most of these stories are pretty entertaining, if a little campy. There are some great concepts within, from a Flatliners-esque drug, to a carnivorous parasite from outer space, to a Gremlins-esque monster. All but a few of the stories kept me glued to the page. Durgin bravely includes one of his earliest short stories as the last entry in the book, which he states in the introduction is far from his best work. All told, solid anthology and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author!
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Blake Crouch is one of my favourite cross-genre writers. Author of the Wayward Pines trilogy, Crouch is comfortable blending science fiction with horror, often leaning more into the former. The last book I read by him, Dark Matter, was fantastic. Upgrade had a great, if not entirely original, concept that didn’t really catch fire for me the way the story in Dark Matter did. In a nutshell, the son of a once-renowned and now-disgraced geneticist has his body genetically enhanced, turning him into a sort of superhuman. The near-future America that Crouch paints is disturbingly believable. For me, it was also the most interesting part of the novel. Most of the story was predictable, especially based off of similar entries in the genre. Having read several of Crouch’s other books, it was plain to see what would befall the protagonist, how he would deal with it, what the consequences would be, and what the eventual resolution would be. Don’t get me wrong, this was still a very entertaining, fast-paced sci-fi novel. It just wasn’t my favourite from this particular author.
The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
It’s going to be hard for me not to rant here. We all know what this book is about, that it is one of the most acclaimed pieces of literature in history, that it inspired millions of people like me to run through the woods with a stick, pretending to slay orcs and fend off balrogs.
I’d never read any of Tolkien’s work before this year. Of course I’ve seen the Lord of the Rings movies a dozen times each and The Hobbit films once (which is enough), so I knew roughly what to expect from the books. I decided that this year I would at least start the Lord of the Rings literary journey. I promised myself I’d take it slow and not force my way through the books. I made that commitment to myself because I’ve been warned for much of my reading life about how “dry” and “boring” and “rambling” the books can be. How The Hobbit is a silly kids book and how the subsequent books are 90% self-indulgent historical blathering. It seems like the popular thing to do these days is to hate on Tolkien’s written work. I can count on half of one hand how many people have actually recommended I read the LotR books. I’ll forever be grateful to those two.
In January I read The Hobbit and loved it. I had to temper my enthusiasm for Fellowship after that.
“Sure The Hobbit is okay,” people would say. “But you won’t make it halfway through Fellowship before you get bored. Too many songs. Too much history. Too many…words.”
Am I ever glad I didn’t listen. Of course there’s very good reason why these books are so highly acclaimed. Fellowship of the Ring was fantastic! I’m sort of glad I saw the movies first—the books are like an expansion on a world I already know and love. If I’d read the books earlier in life, I’m sure I would have been miffed at all that had to be cut out and changed to make them into movies (changes that I know were necessary to make these screen-worthy).
To me, the songs and the history were never too much—they added flavour to the magical world Tolkien created. As a lover of poetry, I found the songs to be nice interludes in the prose. And they’re not even that long!
If you’re on the fence about Lord of the Rings in any way, I say take the chance. Embrace them. Try to enjoy them. I think that, too often, we try to find the fault in things, try to look for the cracks. It might be more fun to find beauty in the cracks, take pleasure in the journey, hear the magic in the songs. I dunno. Maybe I’m just a nerd.
Gwendy’s Magic Feather by Richard Chizmar
This is a sequel to the novella co-written by Chizmar and Stephen King, Gwendy’s Button Box. While I loved the initial entry in this trilogy, this book was a little tougher to enjoy. The story is a slow burn, which I normally enjoy. However, it sort of fizzles out instead of ending, especially when compared to Button Box. Whereas the first book was all magic blended with horror, this was a lot of following a congresswoman around in her day-to-day life with a teardrop of that old magic just to make it a tie-in. Very little would have to be lifted from this story to make it an underwhelming mystery. Here’s hoping the final entry, Gwendy’s Final Task, is a little more exciting.
My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
Stephen Graham Jones is one of my favourite authors these days. The guy wields prose like a bullwhip. His writing is at times manic, and always keenly observant and razor sharp. My Heart is a Chainsaw is his homage to slashers and is delivered with the self-awareness of Scream without being derivative about it. I won’t say anything more about the story to avoid spoiling anything. Suffice it to say this was definitely the best horror I read all month. Apparently it’s the first book of a blossoming trilogy—I’m looking forward to the follow ups!
That’s it for my April reads. My May reading is already off to a fun start and I’m looking forward to discussing it with you.
Have you read any of the books I listed here? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments or shoot me a message through the contact page. Or hit me up on social media. I always love talking books!
Til next time.