Book Poll!

[rachelmanija]

Poll #28697 Book Poll

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 95

View Respondents

Which of these novels that I have with me in LA should I read and review?

View Answers

Stranger on a Cliff, by Josephine Bell. 1952 Bouchercon pulp gothic. Original title: To Let: Furnished.
15 (15.8%)

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, by David Petersen. Graphic novel about guard mice.
32 (33.7%)

The Loosening Skin, by Aliya Whiteley. SF about a world in which people naturally molt and change personalities.
22 (23.2%)

Snow, by Mike Bond. Modern noir about three guys who find a lot of cocaine, recced by sholio.
11 (11.6%)

Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree. Cozy fantasy about an orc who opens a cafe.
49 (51.6%)

Death of an Airman, by C. St. John Sprigg. Golden Age mystery about pilots, recced by sholio.
21 (22.1%)

The Cabin at the End of the World, by Paul Trembley. Two dads, their young daughter, and psycho apocalypse cultists. Probably very depressing.
8 (8.4%)

More of Me, by Kathryn Evans. YA SF in which a girl buds a duplicate of herself at each birthday, which never gets any older.
26 (27.4%)

A Scent of New-Mown Hay, by John Blackburn. Classic horror, recced by sovay.
17 (17.9%)

The Hunting Party, by Lucy Foley. Modern mystery, classic style,
20 (21.1%)

How High We Go in the Dark, by Sequioa Nagamatsu. I think dark yet quirky literary post-apocalyptic
21 (22.1%)

Night Over Water, by Ken Follett. Adventure in the air, recced by sholio,
16 (16.8%)

Have you read or heard of any of these? What are your thoughts?

Comments

[kathmandu]

I read Legends and Lattes, and it is a pleasant, peaceful cozy read. I recommend it as relief from stress.

[sholio]

Obviously I voted for the ones I recced, and also for Mouse Guard, which is gorgeous. I haven't read any of the others, although I'm curious about Legends and Lattes.

(As a sort of content warning, I was rereading some of Night over Water the other day - I plan to post about it - and while I still really love it, the entire plot is pretty much WWII run-up, more so than I remembered, so that might or might not be something you're in the mood for right now.)

[musesfool]

I've read and liked a couple of Tremblay's books, but yeah, I don't think that's going to be a light read.

[cyphomandra]

I’ve read the Baldree (fine but too sweet for me), the Foley (didn’t like) and most of the Trembley (library ebook got whisked back so I had to skim, liked it but not blown away). I have therefore voted for some unread by me ones that sound interesting!

(I have also just borrowed Deayh of an Airman from the library)

[starlady]

My parents were huge Ken Follett fans in the 80s and 90s. I'd be interested to hear how he holds up now.

[lannamichaels]

I enjoyed Legends & Lattes!

[naomikritzer]

I voted for body horror (More of Me and Loosening Skin) because I would like to read your reviews, but I have read Lagends and Lattes and really enjoyed it. It's mostly low conflict, like "what if my D&D campaign had a coffeeshop AU?" setup and just ... chill.)

[rmc28]

I enjoyed Legends and Lattes and it honestly reads exactly like a D&D coffeeshop AU, it's very cozy and pleasant. I recently read someone's review complaining about the flaws in the worldbuilding, and thought they weren't wrong, but also that consistent worldbuilding wasn't the point of the book.

[ratcreature]

I've only heard of Mouse Guard and of Legends and Lattes. Of the former because it won a lot of comic awards a while back, and the latter because there was a lot of positive buzz recently.

[yhlee]

I'd forgotten that Mouse Guard was based on comics/graphic novels (which I haven't read)! My previous encounter was with the roleplaying game. XD

[rheanna]

I voted for How High We Go, which I bought last week. I really want to read it, but I also know it’s got a lot of child death baked into the premise, and that’s something I find hard to read, even if it’s written in a sensitive, non-graphic way, so currently I’m sort of dancing around the idea of reading the book. Essentially, I’d like to hear what someone else thinks of it before I try it.

[el_staplador]

I've only read The Hunting Party. It's ok if you like unlikeable people in a confined space, but I think The Wedding Planner was better.

[wateroverstone]

The only one I've read is Death of an Airman, which I thought was overall a very good read, with one or two reservations.

Edited to add: I've read Port of London murders by Josephine Bell, and enjoyed that - more for her descriptions than plot - and intend reading more by her.

[rattfan]

I've read Cabin at the End of the World and can't say I enjoyed it, though it did keep me reading to the end. Very dark and not fun. I decided it couldn't stand a reread and got rid of it.

I voted for More of Me as that sounded intriguingly weird. Just so long as it's not an angsty 17 year old with two boys fighting over her.

[sartorias]

Want to come down and work on our book while you're in LA, or are things too frenetic?

[rachelmanija]

I would and I also thought of that. Things have been so crazy I haven't yet seen anyone in LA who I'm not actually living with. Maybe in a week or so?

[sartorias]

I've got my license to renew on the 18th, and who knows how many hours I'll be waiting in line, and some of the Saturday afternoons I participate in play reading, otherwise totally free. Fit me in around your schedule as you can!