Mike > Recent Status Updates

Feeling inclined to revisit work from some of my favorite authors (Jeffrey Ford, China Mieville) - "comfort reads"?

Reads like the recollection of a surreal dream - I find the writing requires undivided attention/presence while reading (not a "casual" read) - plot is slow to advance, heavier on reflection/introspection of the narrator as they navigate a foreboding setting - unease juxtaposed with curiosity of the unknown

This is a reread for me - I saw there is now a fourth book in the series, so I thought I'd read through the trilogy again in anticipation of opening the new one.

This was my second read-through of this book - I think I might consider it a favourite, due in large part it's setting.

The prose mostly reads a little basic for my taste, but I'm enjoying the story nonetheless.

Has given me cause to examine my own life upon starting this read, unfortunately resulting in some feelings of depression/anxiety beginning to surface at the fringes of my thoughts lately (perhaps the result of realizing some hard truths?) - I've been reading chapters from the physical copy, then listening to the audible version while at work in order to better absorb/retain the information.

Read this some years ago and recently listened to a short podcast interview with the author, causing me to want to visit it again - I remember previously enjoying the theme of "isolation" and I've forgotten most of the plot since last reading it, so it should feel like a new read I think.

Picked this one from the shelf after I saw a black and white image posted online of an old locomotive in Chicago circa. 1936 that featured a stylish Art Deco design, which in turn brought to my mind the sub-genre "dieselpunk" - it has been some time since I read this novel, but I think I remember it's setting featuring a kind of "dieselpunk noir" aesthetic - in the mood for that.

This one arrived in the mail a day or two ago - I hadn't realized I'd started reading a short story collection by the same author earlier this year (I had to put story collection down to read later instead for fear of having too many books on the go).

This book feels like it might be a cosmic psychedelic trip only thirty pages in - might be a quick read for me if I can't put it down.

I've had this book on my shelf for years, perhaps the better part of a decade - I have a few books like that...

Enjoying it so far, and I've managed to track down a copy of the next in the series.

Thought I'd open something that isn't science fiction/weird fiction - I'm thoroughly enjoying this story and the author's writing style - I've already ordered the next in the series.