I finished You, by Caroline Kepnes. I posted on this thread a few weeks ago when I was halfway through saying I wasn't enjoying it. The second half was a bit better but overall I didn't rate the book much. It had a good idea at it's premise but I found the behavior of the stalker and the victims to be very unrealistic.

I started and finished Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown and found it really interesting. I don't normally read non-fiction but I am interested in the history of the American West.

I haven't started it yet but I bought a copy of Recursion, by Blake Crouch. I have read a few Blake Crouch books in the past but I'm really not a fan of his as I think he uses a lot of cliffhangers to keep you interested (Dan Brown style) but the overall endings of his books are weak. However I was walking past a bookshop in London about a month ago and there was a sign saying Blake Crouch was doing book signings and the queue wasn't too long so thought I would pick up a copy! Might as well read it now :-)

Still going through my graphic novel phase at the moment and read the following:

• Smashed, by Junji Ito This is a selection of short stories in the horror anime genre. I thought it was okay.
• Trashed, by Derf Backderf I read My Friend Dahmer by the same author so thought I would pick it up as it was in the library. It was quite good.
• And I am saving the best until last as I read and thoroughly enjoyed My Favourite Thing is Monsters Vol 1, by Emil Ferris. This book appeared on many "Best Graphic Novel" lists so I picked up a copy of the library. I was absolutely lost in this story it was so good I was gutted when it ended. It is a big book the size of a telephone directory but I smashed through it in one sitting. I recommend this one to all.

Recursion, by Blake Crouch. Finished this in a day, it's an amazing mind-bendy sci-fi thriller. It just came out last week, I highly recommend it, it would make a great beach book. Here's a theory I have for the ending. spoiler

Finished:

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, by Haruki Murakami
My first Murakami book and I loved it. Such a fun idea and so well executed in terms of prose and narrative structure. As to the story, it’s gonna me take at least one re-read before I figure out what any of it really means.

Recursion, by Blake Crouch
I strongly disliked this; my first and likely last Crouch novel. An interesting concept that I felt was ultimately wasted on shoddy writing via drab prose and trite characters. I’m probably just snobby. Other people seem to dig this one but man, I wish I was in a timeline where this book had never crossed my radar.

Reading:

The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco
Only a bit into the second day but having a blast so far getting steeped in medieval monk life and reading the theological jousting. I’m looking forward to the meta-fiction aspects I’ve heard about (assuming I haven’t missed anything major already).

The Conspiracy Against the Human Race, by Thomas Ligotti
Wish me luck not losing my will to live after I finish this.

In the last few weeks:

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

This was not what I thought it was! I thought it was Hidden Figures but fiction. No! It’s about a natural disaster that happens in the 50s that requires humans to do more space exploration, and this one scientist wants to be an astronaut... but she’s a woman. I’ll pick up the sequels soon.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Meh. I liked it enough to finish it, but didn’t feel emotionally invested or anything. Plus the science bit sort of stopped midway.

Recursion by Blake Crouch

Way better than Dark Matter. The science (fiction) kept coming and I actually cared about the outcome. I also couldn’t see how it would end.

Nine Pints by Rose George

Great nonfiction book about blood.

There Are Little Kingdoms by Kevin Barry

Book of short stories by an Irish guy. They were very well-written, and a couple of them are new favorites.

The Best American Short Stories 2018 by Roxane Gay

Diverse set of excellent short stories, I love this series a lot.

Heft by Liz Moore

Liz Moore wrote one of my favorite books, The Unseen World. This wasn’t quite as good, but I liked the main character, a 6-700 pound agoraphobic man, and the young woman he befriends. It wasn’t all Oprah and not everyone got a happy ending. Not sure how fat-phobic it actually was; the protagonist hates himself and his weight, but the book seemed really gentle with him. Wish the author had spent less time on the other main character.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

On par with Little Fires Everywhere. Meandering story about a mixed-race family before and after the death of one of the daughters in the 1970s (not a spoiler, she dies in the first sentence). I can’t wait for the author to write another book.

Working on:

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (for /r/bookclub)
• Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (for /r/infinitesummer)
• The Migration by Helen Marshall
• A Train in Winter by Caroline Moorehead

Finished:

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann

-One of the best books I've ever read and I usually prefer fiction!

Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

-I always like to read something new and then something classic I've never read before. Gave this a go and enjoyed it for the most part. Must have been quite the game-changer when it was released in '69.

Started:

Recursion, by Blake Crouch

-Excited for this one after taking a chance with Dark Matter a few years ago. It's already being developed by Netflix and may spawn into other series on the platform.

Lie with Me: A Novel, by Phillipe Besson and Molly Ringwald

-Call Me by Your Name gutted me deeply a few years ago. Not sure if I'm emotionally ready for this one!

On Thursday I read Recursion, by Blake Crouch. It was enjoyable- just a fast, light technothriller which I definitely needed after finishing a huge, difficult book right before!

Then I've started two books from the pile of books I've been meaning to reread: The Shining, by Stephen King and The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger.

I am halfway through Recursion, by Blake Crouch and I am enjoying it so far. I have read the Wayward Pines trilogy and Dark Matter by the same author and I wasn't a fan. In those books I felt Blake Crouch dropped loads of cliffhangers in those books to keep you entertained but the endings of the books were a bit weak and unsatisfactory. Recursion seems like a much stronger book so far and has much less cheesy dialogue.

The only reason I am reading another of his books is that I passed a book shop where he was doing a signing and I thought it would be good to have a signed book so I picked it up. If this book turns out to have a poor ending I am banning myself from reading any his books ever.

Finished Cribsheet, by Emily Oster and Recursion, by Blake Crouch. I highly recommend Cribsheet to any new parents (and her other book, Expecting Better, to anyone expecting). I enjoyed Recursion- I feel like opinions on Crouch are pretty divided on this sub, but I thought this and Dark Matter were fun reads.

Started Shogun, by James Clavell after seeing it hyped forever around here. It hasn’t really grabbed me yet but I’m enjoying it.

The Mother In Law by Sally Hepworth

The writing itself was very good. The characters were built well so they were distinct people. However this was being sold as a thriller and it was a very lukewarm mystery. So I was left confused and disappointed

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Recursion by Blake Crouch

So mind blowing, and honestly what I was hoping Dark Matter to be. I had to keep putting the book down after every chapter or so to recoup my thoughts and figure out what the hell was going on. Intense and I couldn't stop reading.

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The Power by Naomi Alderman

This one made me...uncomfortable. It made me think a lot about power and reversal and feminism, but put into the world of, say, X-Men. It was a lot heavier than I was expecting it to be, but it was a good read.

Finished Washing Black, by Esi Edugyan

First half sets up a literary buddy comedy a la The Good Lord Bird or Huckleberry Finn, but without the humor that was the stock and trade of those books. Plot fizzles out halfway through and never goes anywhere.

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Started Recursion, by Blake Crouch

Intriguing premise. Writing is pretty pedestrian so far though.