Books I Read August 23, 2021

Since getting back to LA it's been a lot of work on a lot of projects and I haven't been reading like I oughta. Which, frankly, I feel bad enough about already so maybe don't yell at me. I read these few books the last few weeks.

Barn 8 by Deb Olin Unferth – A team of environmentalists try and heist some chickens.

Ghost Story by Peter Straub – Still for my money one of the best works of modern horror, and obviously an inspiration for like 2/3 of King's ouvre.

Skylark by Dezső Kosztolányi – When a middle aged spinster takes a vacation from the provincial Dual Monarchy city in which she lives her reactionary parents re-discover their zest for life.

The Ten Thousand Things by Maria Dermout – A profoundly beautiful elegiac to a lost world and the inevitable if eternally horrifying nature of time and death. I read and loved this book years and years ago when I was leaving New York and am pleased to find it held up.

The Queens of Kungahalla by Selma Lagerlof – The first female Nobel prize winner for literature tries to make sense of the Christianization of Scandinavian. Lyrical and odd if occasionally a bit preachy.

The Gravedigger's Bread by Frederick Dark – A guy falls in love with a girl, kills her husband, pays for it, in this well-executed if unremarkable French noir.

Muhammad by Maxime Rodinson – A biography of the prophet. My knowledge of early Islamic history is spotty so this was a good primer.

The Longshot by Katie Kitamura – A mixed martial artist gears up for his last fight.

Little, Big by John Crowley – One of the top 5 all time works of fantasy.

Berlingeles by Stefan Kiesbye — Tales from a post-apocalyptic LA. I dug it, Kiesbye has some nastiness to him and some feel for LA as a place.