Chris Schick > Recent Status Updates

Good characters, they talk & act like real people.

One of the first books "Suggested" to me by Goodreads. Came up as available at the library just as I started Ghost Road Blues. This looks to be a quicker read with a shorter loan time.

Picked up Ghost Road Blues from the Library today. I'd like to get a couple of more reviews written before I start it, though.

You have no idea how relieved I was when I found that this book ended at 98%, thanks to the preview of "Doomed." I'm never reading another book by Palahniuk again.

I've started skimming and skipping over chunks of the stupid main framework, just to get to the individual stories, which are actually good.

Halfway trough this thing and I remember why I only average 1.33 Palahniuk books every six years or so. Some great ideas and gems wrapped up in a skewed reality with a lyrical tempo that almost screams "I'm smarter than you, dammit!"

The story 'Swan Song.' Holy crap. Great story. Darker than dark, though. Wesley Snipes at Midnight dark. Wow.

Narration, poem about character, story by character. Repeat for next character. Interesting framework, but the narration portions are hyper-realistic, and the poems are bleh. The stories are interesting.

The style of this book didn't take long to grate on my nerves. The author is so enamored with his cutesy names for everyone and he repeats them ad nauseum.

I'm far from being a "big fan" of Palahniuk. I've read Choke, which I enjoyed. But I found Fight Club to be far too Postmodern and 'out there' for me. I'm reading "Haunted" because I like the premise, not the author.

Ha, things have taken a turn for the dark. The main character has been exposed as kind of a creep, but I feel the pain because he was likable when we spent so much time with him during his wonder years.

Really enjoying this book. Knowing the premise, I'm pleasantly surprised that we spend so much time with the protagonist as he grows up.

This book is on deck. I'm a huge fan of Littles short fiction, time to give a novel a shot.

Next up, a Ray Garton story. Always a treat, an author whose short fiction I love.

So far, so good on this anthology. "Blood for the American People" is a terrific story by Lisa Morton that has a few unexpected things up its sleeve.

"Give Me Somethng Good To Eat" by Shane McKenzie is why I read anthologies: A terrific little story with a great horror concept, written by an author I don't think I know.

Damned good story, by the way. Took a turn for the surprising and paid off.

3 pages into "The Pubic Hair Tumbleweed." Not a city I'd want to live in.

Surprised to see that a woman (Monica J O'Rourke) wrote the story "Road Kill." It's the sickest thing I've read in a long time. Not fun, I made That Face the whole time.

First two stories, a mixed bag. The 3rd story, "Scream and I'll Come to You," is the best so far. It manages to tell a better story, be more inventive, and packs a better punch than the entire miserable novel "Hater," which I just finished.

At $3.99 for the Kindle version, it's hard to pass up, especially since I've got the first DOA collection.

I'll finish this book because it can be funny, but I think the only thing I have in common with the author is that I like to laugh.

It's hard to humblebrag when the only eggs in your house are Fabergé.

<spoiler> Yeah, unhappy that the revelation is no revelation at all. Seems like a cheap trick by an author who doesn't usually cop out like that.</spoiler>

Should finish today. It's your usual Jack Reacher story. One possible VERY interesting revelation to this point--teased so blatantly, it's hard to back away from now.

It's a Jack Reacher page turner.

After dividing the Reacher books into Read & Not Read, I realized it's been close to a year since I hung out with Jack. This one had the best blurb.

This book pisses me off with its longwindedness. I zoned out while reading a page of the climax, flipped to the next page and realized I didn't miss a thing.

Blah blah blah...Good lord, GET ON WITH IT. The author thinks he's setting mood or atmosphere here, but this DRAGGING.

A strangely subversive twist has happened. I'm not sure if this is author intention, but there's a weird new tone & attitude towards the main character. Anyway, there are also possible flaws to the logic of what's happening. More after I finish.