Saturday, January 13, 2018

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | January 13

The first half of the week was great for reading and blogging. The second half... not so much. My oldest turned 11 this week. We had family over to celebrate Thursday night. He, then, had a slumber party last night so I have extra kids at the moment!

I'm in the middle of a couple of amazing books, but I haven't picked them up in days! Hopefully I can gush all about them next week.

Posted Last Week


Last week I posted about my 2018 TBR Jar and the book titles I will be reading this year.

I also reviewed Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer.

Read Last Week



I loved having the contrast between the "old weird" and the "new weird" this week. (Thanks for the "new weird" term, Mogsy! It's definitely fitting.) My "old weird" read was another short story from Algernon Blackwood called The Listener. I could really see the influence he had on Lovecraft reading this one. I love Blackwood's writing, and all of his stories seem to be about hauntings. I'm loving making my way through his stories. I listened to a LibriVox recording of this one. If you aren't familiar with LibriVox, they are audiobooks of public domain works made by volunteer narrators. This recording was part of a collection called Short Ghost and Horror Collection 027. All of the stories were performed by different narrators, and the narrator for The Listener was Mike Pelton. He's really fantastic! He also narrated the H.G. Wells short stories in that collection so I will definitely be listening to those, too!

My "new weird" book was Jeff VanderMeer's Annihiliation. I know I'm a fan of old weird, but the verdict is out on the new. I did enjoy Annihilation - especially the beginning. You can read my full review here.

Review Copies



The Hematophages by Stephen Kozeniewski - I was offered a copy of The Hematophages by the author, and I immediately accepted. I have been hearing so many great things about this book, and it made several "best of" lists last year including reviewers I trust. I don't know much about the story itself beyond there being alien parasites. I'm looking forward to giving it a read.

Current Distractions


I finally finished watching The Punisher. I'm so happy! There were some twists and turns that did entertain me at the very end. The Punisher is definitely not one of my favorite shows, though. I do hear Jessica Jones will be back in March.

So what about you? Let me know what you're reading (or watching) this week or leave me some links!


This post is being shared as part of Book Date's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?, Tynga's Reviews' Stacking the Shelves, and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

33 comments:

  1. Seems like you had a quite good week in terms of reading :) I hope you enjoy your new book too! Have a nice weekend!

    My STS: http://flippingthruthepages.com/2018/01/stacking-shelves-15/

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  2. I'm excited to hear about the books you're reading! I'm reading a fantastic one too, and hope to finish it over the weekend.

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    1. I hope you are able to finish what you are reading this weekend. I'm struggling for the time, but hoping this next week will be better.

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  3. I must be the only horror fan never to read Lovecraft or want to read his work!

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    1. He's not a must read! I have a strong appreciation for his work, but his writing style is tough to get through at times. I do love his ideas and - strangely enough - his storytelling. I love exploring the history of horror so he's kind of a must read in that regard, but he's not someone I would recommend to a reader simply wanting to enjoy horror.

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  4. I haven't read any of these books, but I do hope you love them! :-)

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  5. I love the old weird vs new weird concept. I'm sure your son had a wonderful birthday. That new review book looks all kinds of creepy and I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

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    1. I like that concept, too. I'm little surprised at how much I love the old weird, but I'm thinking a lot of things that are now normal in the supernatural/horror genres were considered to be "weird" back then. My son had a great birthday, yes. :)

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  6. The Hematophages sounds really interesting. I hope you enjoy your new reads. Have a wonderful day.

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  7. Jessica Jones is coming back?! Wahoo! Finally?!

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  8. Ooh slumber parties- lots of kids. Fun! *rolls eyes* ha ha

    Glad to hear Jessica Jones is coming back soon. Will definitely be binging that! :)

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    1. Haha. It wasn't too bad! Thankfully it was a great group of kids.

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  9. No problem, and thanks for pointing me to "old weird"! :D

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  10. Wow, that's quite a collection of the creepy :) yeah, I've heard about Librivox, it's a great movement. I think I must have listened to something of HG Wells from theirs too.

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    1. Any week that looks creepy was a great week. Haha. :) I've listened to several Librivox things over the years. Some narrators are definitely better than others, but I love the whole concept. I definitely want to check out some of the H.G. Wells stories since I love his novels/novellas.

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  11. Happy birthday to your son! I hope you have a great week!

    Here’s my Sunday Post!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays!

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  12. Happy birthday to your oldest! Enjoy your new book, and have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  13. I am reading A Lady's Deception - I won it over at Ramblings from this Chick and the author sent me an email directly so...I am gonna review it. I love historical romances.

    Mary @Stacking My Book Shelves!

    https://stackingmybookshelves.blogspot.com/2018/01/sunday-roundup-of-ebooks-for-amazon.html#links

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  14. I bought The Hematophages by Stephen Kozeniewski last night after reading it was Keene's #1 pick of the year. I loved Braineater Jones so my hopes are high.

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    1. I hope to read The Hematophages soon. I saw it made Keene's list. I haven't read Braineater Jones. I guess I need to then!

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  15. These books are new to me. I'll be eager to see what you think about The Hematophages. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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    1. Hopefully I will be able to read The Hematophages soon.

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  16. A household of boys I think excuses anyone from not finding time to read! Hope your coming week goes well.

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  17. Annihilation is on my wishlist. Has been for a long while. Come see what I'm reading.

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    1. I hope you are able to pick up Annihilation. It's an interesting read.

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