Discussion thread: what are you reading?
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Morning folks,
It’s Friday again, so here’s the usual two questions:
What are you reading?
How is it?
You’ll need to hit ‘like and comment’ to leave a message - I don’t think you need to create an account to do so but if I’m wrong then please shout!
Until next time,
Tom
I'm reading Stephen King's BILLY SUMMERS, which is every bit as good as I'd heard. Lately King has been moving away from his "what if [x] was haunted?" formula into thriller territory, and it's given his recent writing a fresh energy. BILLY SUMMERS is great - it's the story of a conflicted hitman who wants to be a writer, which sounds cliche but he somehow manages to pull off. I've been enjoying it a lot.
I'm also still ploughing through Proust's SWANN'S WAY - I've listened to six hours in the past week - and it is addictive. The novel's psychological complexity is extraordinary, his skill at telling a coherent story over so many pages dazzling, and it's surprisingly funny to boot. I'd previously been put off by Proust's reputation, but I've found him a total joy to immerse myself in.
What a great idea! I'm feeling smug this week because it's just been half-term so I've actually managed to read something for once:
I finished Cassandra Clare's CITY OF BONES, which I read for research due to trying to write young adult fantasy. I did not enjoy it very much. The writing was beautiful (by genre fiction, not literary, standards) but I just didn't enjoy the subject matter. Turns out werewolves and vampires don't really do it for me.
Then I read Charlie Carrol's ON THE EDGE, the memoir of a chap who traveled around in a VW camper van for a year circa 2010 supply teaching in England's toughest schools. It was a mostly fantastic read, and it made me think that I really need to get a new job.
Now I've started Joe Abercrombie's THE BLADE ITSELF, another genre (fantasy) read that I have had recommended to me for a long time but never gotten around to actually reading. It is absolutely excellent, surpassing even the high expectations. He is like a slightly lighter (in book volume, at least, not tone), British GRRM. Highly recommended.
I am also still reading Nobody103's MOTHER OF LEARNING (google it), one chapter a week. I read it one chapter a week because it is 800,000 words long but also a free online webnovel (which I ripped, converted to .mobi and sent to my Kindle to read there). I would love to see you read this Tom. It is *very* niche, a left-brain 'progression fantasy' novel which is a cross between Harry Potter and Groundhog Day, but I dare you to read *just* the first three chapters of it and not behooked :)
I may have to steal this substack discussion thread idea sometime!