May’s Embarrassment of Riches – A Books & Reading Open Thread

Tod Kelly

Tod is a writer from the Pacific Northwest. He is also serves as Executive Producer and host of both the 7 Deadly Sins Show at Portland's historic Mission Theatre and 7DS: Pants On Fire! at the White Eagle Hotel & Saloon. He is  a regular inactive for Marie Claire International and the Daily Beast, and is currently writing a book on the sudden rise of exorcisms in the United States. Follow him on Twitter.

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12 Responses

  1. Burt Likko says:

    Agh! Why couldn’t you have posted this three hours earlier, BEFORE I bought two new books on Amazon? Now I’ll have to get at least Mirage.

    Then again, based on another endorsement read here at the League, one of the books I did get was Metropolitan by Walter Jon Williams, and already I’m not regretting the purchase.Report

  2. Rose says:

    I’m reading Wolf Hall for the third time in anticipation of Bring Up the Bodies. I feel like those people who waited for the latest Dickens to arrive by boat.Report

  3. Ryan Noonan says:

    Wolf Hall is on my list – it may even be next if the library comes through for me. I read absolutely everything by China Mieville, and I’m pretty interested in Railsea just because I thought the Scar was his weakest effort so far and I’m interested to see the endless train idea recycled for something better. I still have to finish Dark Tower (I think I’ve finished five of them).

    This is a pretty great list. I’m almost done with White Noise, and then I’ll need something new.Report

  4. Shelley says:

    As a Texas writer, reading Robert Caro is like eating a plate of nachos.

    More is better.Report

  5. Jason Kuznicki says:

    I respect your judgment, but your description of The Mirage makes it sound like an unfortunate blog post, circa 2003.

    That said, I’m going to read it anyway, and soon.Report

  6. Kyle Cupp says:

    Have fun!  The Mantel books sound pretty darn cool.  I’m reading Papal Sin by Garry Wills. He doesn’t paint a pretty picture. But then…  I’m also slowly working through The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad.  Also rather gloomy.Report

  7. Alan Scott says:

    I actually skipped the second half of Fool, it was so bad.  I enjoyed Moore’s earlier works, though.  Let me know how Sacre Bleu is.Report

  8. Maribou says:

    I’m over the moon about reading this month too, as I am on temporary furlough from my grad school studies.  FREE TO READ THINGS. WHATEVER THINGS I WANT. HUZZAH!!!!!

    Arcadia was brilliant, far better IMO than the Monsters of Templeton, and I LOVED the Monsters of Templeton! Excited to see I’m not the only Groff fan around here.

    I am also very excited about Mantel’s sequel, and have been staving off the pangs by reading the only Jo Waltons I hadn’t read yet. Turns out they’re Arthurian fantasy. But they’re JO WALTON Arthurian fantasy so they somehow manage to stay fresh and interesting.

    For book club, we’re reading about sulfa drugs. I have a biology degree, and have been reading about the history of medicine for years, so I find myself weirdly more interested by the bits about the military-industrial complex between the world wars. (Though it was pretty cool to learn that Paul Koch was originally so strapped for money that he ended up sterilizing wood splinters to use as tools…)Report