For once, I actually read more books than I bought...but just barely. The first three books bought were either ex-library copies or thrift store purchases, so I didn't spend much for them. The rest of the books were purchased on my recent Texas trip.
I hadn't realized that April was such a month for mysteries - I read three of them. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe mysteries. I've read them all, but it's been two years since I read one. I'm taking my time, reading them in the order they were published. If you haven't read any of the Nero Wolfe novels, I'd recommend trying one of the collections of novellas. (You can see the complete list here.)
As always, highly recommended books from "Books Read" are linked.
BOOKS BOUGHT
The Ragamuffin Gospel (NF 1990) - Brennan Manning
Duel: Terror Stories (collection 2003) - Richard Matheson
H.P. Lovecraft Tales (Library of America 2005)
Altmann's Tongue: Stories and a Novella (1994) - Brian Evenson
The Bride of Hell & Other Stories (1949/2006)- Marjorie Bowen
The Girl in the Flammable Skirt: Stories (1998) - Aimee Bender
The Haunted Hotel & Other Stories (1941/2006)- Wilkie Collins
Microcosmic God: Volume 2 of the Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon (1995)
The Green Glass Sea (YA 2006) - Ellen Klages
Invitation to a Beheading (1959)- Vladimir Nabokov
The World of Nabokov's Stories (NF 1999) - Maxim D. Shrayer
BOOKS READ
Seven Money Mantras for a Richer Life (NF 2004) – Michelle Singletary
The Door Within (Juv. 2005) – Wayne Thomas Batson
Engaging the Soul of Youth Culture (NF 2006) – Walt Mueller
Fledgling (2005) – Octavia E. Butler
Art & Fear (NF 1993) – David Bayles and Ted Orland
Heart-Shaped Box (2007) – Joe Hill
Marley & Me (NF 2005) – John Grogan
Saffron and Brimstone: Strange Stories (2007) – Elizabeth Hand
School Days (2005) – Robert B. Parker
The Ragamuffin Gospel (NF 1990) – Brennan Manning
The Silent Speaker (1946) – Rex Stout
Baltimore Blues (1997) – Laura Lippman
And there you have it.
6 comments:
Thanks for the chronological Nero Wolfe link. Growing up it seemed like my dad had a thousand slender Rex Stout paperbacks, and I'd like to be able to make sense of them (and maybe abscond with a few). Lots of Ngaio Marsh in there, too, I think.
It takes a few books for Stout and his characters to hit their stride, but a chronological journey is a lot of fun.
After reading them chronologically, it's interesting to go back through them in alphabetic order by title. This has the effect of "jumbling" them up, and you read early stories intermingled with later ones. This allows you to contrast the differences in writing style and characters' personalities as they changed over the decades.
Welcome aboard, gs --
Yeah, the first time I read them as I found them in used bookstores, so chronologically I was all over the place. But you're right - some interesting contrasts in character and style.
What do you think of the A&E Nero Wolfe episodes? I just ordered Season One Disc 1 from Netflix yesterday, so I'm eager to see if they are - dare I say it? - satisfactory.
Can you say a little about Heart-Shaped Box and why it's not highly recommended? Everyone I've talked to drools over Joe Hill and the couple stories of his I've read are damn fine, but I'm wondering what didn't get Joe the coveted italics.
Trent, I'm no doubt swimming upstream on Heart-Shaped Box, but the problem for me was I had no interest in rooting for the main character. Just didn't do it for me. I think Hill is a very good writer with some great ideas (I've only read a few of his short stories, but I think those are outstanding.), but I was a bit disappointed with the novel. Too much hype, maybe? But it wouldn't keep me from reading his next one.
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