What 📔book are you reading right now?

[m4r35n357]

Going over my Cthulhu collection for the second time. Just finished one of my favourites, The Mound. Conjures up beautifully grotesque images that I can only describe as Caligula meets Hellraiser.

At the Mountains of Madness is next!

Lovecraft is often infuriatingly difficult to read (unlike Tolkien!) owing to his consistent use of very long sentences containing very long words, with little dialogue to break things up. The constant denial and deferral of information takes some getting used to, but the slower second read is paying off nicely!

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

I'm working through the Lovecraft collection from Barnes & Noble slowly and agree he can be difficult to read. The last story I read was Herbert West-Reanimator and I really liked it.

 

[m4r35n357]

I'm working through the Lovecraft collection from Barnes & Noble slowly and agree he can be difficult to read. The last story I read was Herbert West-Reanimator and I really liked it.

I wasn't aware of that one, looks like it is more complete than mine, but couldn't see a contents list.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

I can take a picture of the table of contents when I'm off work of you'd like. I'm no Lovecraft expert so not sure if it includes everything but it's a huge book

 

[m4r35n357]

I can take a picture of the table of contents when I'm off work of you'd like. I'm no Lovecraft expert so not sure if it includes everything but it's a huge book

If you get the chance, that would be great. I might well buy it if there is enough extra stuff as it isn't that expensive (I paid £17.50 for mine at the time).

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

If you get the chance, that would be great. I might well buy it if there is enough extra stuff as it isn't that expensive (I paid £17.50 for mine at the time).

I found a spreadsheet someone on Reddit made with a list of editions and what they contain. It includes everything that was just him writing, the stuff in the lower rows seems to be things that he collaborated with other authors, and those aren't included.

HPL

docs.google.com

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Is yours the Joshi-edited one, EA?

looks like it is more complete than mine

There are a lot more stories than those dealing with the Cthulhu cycle; many of his early ones were heavily influenced by Lord Dunsany.

his consistent use of very long sentences containing very long words, with little dialogue to break things up.

Well, he was getting paid by the word. 😄

Someone counted up his dialog total -- only about 5,000 words, out of all that verbiage. Probably a good thing, as he was, to put it mildly, pretty bad at it. No doubt from having no one to talk to.

 

[m4r35n357]

I found a spreadsheet someone on Reddit made with a list of editions and what they contain. It includes everything that was just him writing, the stuff in the lower rows seems to be things that he collaborated with other authors, and those aren't included.

Big differences, so bought, £20.47 + free delivery, from that awful TV production company

 

[m4r35n357]

Big differences, so bought, £20.47 + free delivery, from that awful TV production company

Couldn't get any sense out of that B&N site for the UK . . .

 

[m4r35n357]

There are a lot more stories than those dealing with the Cthulu cycle; many of his early ones were heavily influenced by Lord Dunsany.

Apparently a "missing link" between Tolkien and Lovecraft! His first name is a bit off-putting though

I might investigate online at some point . . . plenty on the plate for now!

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

His first name was Edward, not "Lord". 🤣

 

[m4r35n357]

His first name was Edward, not "Lord". 🤣

Spoilsport!

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

I've never read anything by him but ol'Eddy has some good quotes. I'll have to check him out.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, to give his full name, led a similarly full life: beyond publishing nearly 200 books, among other things, he was the pistol-shooting champion of Ireland, and invented an asymmetrical variant of chess. I'd recommend his best-known novel, to start with:

I had, at one time, a book of illustrations by his favorite collaborator, Sidney Sime. A couple of examples:

To bring another TTF favorite into the discussion, in 1977, two members of the British folk/rock fusion group Steeleye Span created an album based on the novel, and featuring no less than Christopher Lee as both the narrator and the king. Here's a cut:

 

[Olorgando]

Re-read John Garth's 2003 Tolkien and the Great War.

 

[Halasían]

Giving The Willing Flesh by Willie Heinrich a re-read since the paperback fell off the bookshelf.

 

[Olorgando]

Re-reading Tom Shippey's 2003 third edition of "The Road to Middle-earth".

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Not exactly "on thread", but since we were talking about Lovecraft:

Guillermo Del Toro Has Been Fighting To Adapt This Book For 15 Years - SlashFilm

"I know the ending we have is one the most intriguing, weird, unsettling endings, for me."

www.slashfilm.com

 

[Olorgando]

Not exactly "on thread", but since we were talking about Lovecraft:

Guillermo Del Toro Has Been Fighting To Adapt This Book For 15 Years - SlashFilm

"I know the ending we have is one the most intriguing, weird, unsettling endings, for me."

www.slashfilm.com

I have now been reading on this site for almost an hour-and-a-half. 🥴
No, I didn't need that long to read the article on Del Toro. But the next article was titled "War Of The Gargantuas: The Entire Godzilla Series Ranked From Worst To Best" - starting with rank 33!!! That made me go "What???" and continue reading. Now, three (very) long articles after the (very, very) long Godzilla films ranking, I need a break! 🥵

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

Hey, nobody forced you. 🤣