What Are You Currently Reading?

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Prince_Vajda

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward is simply brilliant. It's one of H.P.Lovecraft's masterpieces, and one of the very best stories ever put on paper.

Not got to that one yet prince, what are your thoughts on Mountains of Madness?

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Make Them Die Slowly

Lovecraft trying to smile is far more frightening than anything he ever wrote.

EEEEEK!!! How true.


Picked up a biog of Thomas Ligott,i "Grimscribe" in local library!!

[profondo rosso]

Talking of Herbert and Lovecraft, reading both of these but not at the same time. Trying to get into Lovecraft's stories better by understanding the man.

There is a quote inside from Jacques Bergier stating "Perhaps one needs to have suffered a great deal in order to appreciate Lovecraft..."

True?
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On the Clive Barker front I think The Great and Secret Show is fantastic but for a lighter tome, with some dark parts and easy to put down and pick back up I liked The Thief of Always.

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[J Harker]

I think one needs patience to appreciate Lovecraft, don't get me wrong by and large i love his work but even for a writer of his era i find him a touch long winded. Compare him to his contemparies, Robert E.Howard in particular and he becomes even more wordy. He's an author who I've always felt had an incredible imagination that unfortunately surpassed his ability to put his ideas to paper.
As for James Herbert I've only read two books, Others and The Dark, both brilliant. I've got The Jonah to read next.
I've yet to read Barker, i picked up a hardback copy of The Great and Secret Show for 20p in a charity shop ages ago but haven't touched it yet.

[Make Them Die Slowly]

Originally Posted by profondo rosso

Talking of Herbert and Lovecraft, reading both of these but not at the same time. Trying to get into Lovecraft's stories better by understanding the man.

There is a quote inside from Jacques Bergier stating "Perhaps one needs to have suffered a great deal in order to appreciate Lovecraft..."

True?
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On the Clive Barker front I think The Great and Secret Show is fantastic but for a lighter tome, with some dark parts and easy to put down and pick back up I liked The Thief of Always.

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These two books are good for exploring Lovecraft and his world.

S.T. Joshi is the leading expert on him and Tyson a well respected occultist who comes to Lovecraft from that school of thought.

If you really want to go out on a limb, check out occultist Kenneth Grant's work and his views on the reality of the Mythos being real.

As to having to have suffered in some way to understand Lovecraft, try reading HP's collected poems! Be warned some are violently racist and beyond redemption even within the social context they were written in.

[SShaw]

finished Bill Gibsons latest Peripheral, which while not his best is still a great read. Started reading Kim Gordon's autobiography Girl in a Band which 100 pages in has been a fascinating account of her life up to the point that sonic Youth began. I have been alternating it with a collection of Kim Newmans where the bodies are buried collection which is great.

[Linbro]

Recently finished David Schow's 'The Shaft' - a superb combination of street crime/supernatural horror, from the late 80's. Highly recommended.

Currently reading 'Dark Matter', by Michelle Paver - story, told journal style, of a three man expedition to the Arctic, and what they encounter there. Very atmospheric, creepy, and entertaining. About 3/4 of the way through, and it's an excellent read.

[Hawkmonger]

Though not the most 'bizarre' of the saga, Phantom Blood iphas a huge charm for anyone wanting to read a Castlevania comic with characters that look like they where vomited out by an 80's action movie dressed in Gucci.

[J Harker]

Finished The Shadow Over Innsmouth last night. The best Lovecraft story i have yet read. And one of the first I've found hard to put down. The sequence in the hotel was genuinely creepy. The Shadow Out of Time next.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Finished The Shadow Over Innsmouth last night. The best Lovecraft story i have yet read. And one of the first I've found hard to put down. The sequence in the hotel was genuinely creepy. The Shadow Out of Time next.

Aye. Always love the chap in the convenience store in this one. Most filmed HPL story btw!!