2014 Reading List Monthly Update: November

Books Completed in November of 2014:

"Slime Dynamics" (Ben Woodard) 11-4-14
"Hey, Let's Make a Band! The Official 5SOS Book" (5 Seconds of Summer) 11-4-14
"On the Heights of Despair" (E.M. Cioran) 11-5-14
"The Peripheral" (William Gibson) 11-10-14
"The Plays of Oscar Wilde" (Oscar Wilde) 11-17-14
"300,000,000" (Blake Butler) 11-23-14
"Written in Darkness" (Mark Samuels) 11-28-14
"Umbrella" (Will Self) 11-29-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14
17. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
18. "Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
19. "A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
20. "The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
21. "Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
22. "Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
23. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
24. "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
25. "Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14
26. "The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe" (Edgar Allan Poe) 5-2-14
27. "The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies" (Clark Ashton Smith) 5-17-14
28. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling) 5-20-14
29. "Tweaky Village" (Kevin Killian) 5-25-14
30. "Mighty in Sorrow: A Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93" (Various) 5-26-14
31. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (J.K. Rowling) 5-30-14
32. "Our Man in Havana" (Graham Greene) 6-9-14
33. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (J.K. Rowling) 6-12-14
34. "Gone: Scrapbook 1980-1982" (Dennis Cooper) 6-17-14
35. "Wonder Boys" (Michael Chabon) 6-23-14
36. "'Remember You're a One-Ball!'" (Quentin S. Crisp) 6-26-14
37. "The Spectral Link" (Thomas Ligotti) 7-7-14
38. "Moby-Dick or The Whale" (Herman Melville) 7-8-14
39. "Born to Fear: Interviews With Thomas Ligotti" (Matt Cardin: Editor) 7-12-14
40. "The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories" (Bruno Schulz) 7-18-14
41. "The Pastel City" (M. John Harrison) 7-22-14
42. "The Secret of the Red Truck" (Kyler James) 7-24-14
43. "A Storm of Wings" (M. John Harrison) 7-28-14
44. "In Viriconium" (M. John Harrison) 7-30-14
45. "The City & The City" (China Mieville) 7-30-14
46. "Young God" (Katherine Faw Morris) 8-1-14
47. "Patriot Games" (Tom Clancy) 8-6-14 *
48. "Skeleton Costumes" (Thomas Moore) 8-11-14
49. "Kraken" (China Mieville) 8-17-14
50. "Viriconium Nights" (M. John Harrison) 8-18-14
51. "The Nameless" (Ramsey Campbell) 8-20-14
52. "The Face of Twilight" (Mark Samuels) 8-24-14
53. "Tom Daley: My Story" (Tom Daley) 8-24-14
54. "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" (Italo Calvino) 8-30-14
55. "The Hunt for Red October" (Tom Clancy) 9-6-14
56. "Two Serious Ladies" (Jane Bowles) 9-14-14
57. "Jesus' Son" (Denis Johnson) 9-16-14
58. "Kindred" (Octavia Butler) 9-20-14
59. "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" (Tom Clancy) 9-21-14
60. "Good Morning, Midnight" (Jean Rhys) 9-25-14
61. "Sesqua Valley & Other Haunts" (W.H. Pugmire) 9-28-14
62. "The Height of the Scream" (Ramsey Campbell) 9-30-14
63. "The White Hands and Other Weird Tales" (Mark Samuels) 10-3-14
64. "Skin Deep Magic" (Craig Laurance Gidney) 10-7-14
65. "Streisand: in the Camera Eye" (James Spada) 10-16-14
66. "No Other" (Mark Gluth) 10-24-14
67. "Orion's Candle" (Tom Champagne) 10-25-14
68. "The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft" (H.P. Lovecraft) 10-30-14
69. "Trouble on Triton" (Samuel R. Delany) 10-31-14
70. "Slime Dynamics" (Ben Woodard) 11-4-14
71. "Hey, Let's Make a Band! The Official 5SOS Book" (5 Seconds of Summer) 11-4-14
72. "On the Heights of Despair" (E.M. Cioran) 11-5-14
73. "The Peripheral" (William Gibson) 11-10-14
74. "The Plays of Oscar Wilde" (Oscar Wilde) 11-17-14
75. "300,000,000" (Blake Butler) 11-23-14
76. "Written in Darkness" (Mark Samuels) 11-28-14
77. "Umbrella" (Will Self) 11-29-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

Currently Reading:

"A Short History of Decay" (E.M. Cioran)
"Les Miserables" (Victor Hugo)

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: October

Books Completed in October of 2014:

"The White Hands and Other Weird Tales" (Mark Samuels) 10-3-14
"Skin Deep Magic" (Craig Laurance Gidney) 10-7-14
"Streisand: in the Camera Eye" (James Spada) 10-16-14
"No Other" (Mark Gluth) 10-24-14
"Orion's Candle" (Tom Champagne) 10-25-14
"The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft" (H.P. Lovecraft) 10-30-14
"Trouble on Triton" (Samuel R. Delany) 10-31-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14
17. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
18. "Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
19. "A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
20. "The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
21. "Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
22. "Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
23. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
24. "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
25. "Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14
26. "The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe" (Edgar Allan Poe) 5-2-14
27. "The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies" (Clark Ashton Smith) 5-17-14
28. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling) 5-20-14
29. "Tweaky Village" (Kevin Killian) 5-25-14
30. "Mighty in Sorrow: A Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93" (Various) 5-26-14
31. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (J.K. Rowling) 5-30-14
32. "Our Man in Havana" (Graham Greene) 6-9-14
33. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (J.K. Rowling) 6-12-14
34. "Gone: Scrapbook 1980-1982" (Dennis Cooper) 6-17-14
35. "Wonder Boys" (Michael Chabon) 6-23-14
36. "'Remember You're a One-Ball!'" (Quentin S. Crisp) 6-26-14
37. "The Spectral Link" (Thomas Ligotti) 7-7-14
38. "Moby-Dick or The Whale" (Herman Melville) 7-8-14
39. "Born to Fear: Interviews With Thomas Ligotti" (Matt Cardin: Editor) 7-12-14
40. "The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories" (Bruno Schulz) 7-18-14
41. "The Pastel City" (M. John Harrison) 7-22-14
42. "The Secret of the Red Truck" (Kyler James) 7-24-14
43. "A Storm of Wings" (M. John Harrison) 7-28-14
44. "In Viriconium" (M. John Harrison) 7-30-14
45. "The City & The City" (China Mieville) 7-30-14
46. "Young God" (Katherine Faw Morris) 8-1-14
47. "Patriot Games" (Tom Clancy) 8-6-14 *
48. "Skeleton Costumes" (Thomas Moore) 8-11-14
49. "Kraken" (China Mieville) 8-17-14
50. "Viriconium Nights" (M. John Harrison) 8-18-14
51. "The Nameless" (Ramsey Campbell) 8-20-14
52. "The Face of Twilight" (Mark Samuels) 8-24-14
53. "Tom Daley: My Story" (Tom Daley) 8-24-14
54. "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" (Italo Calvino) 8-30-14
55. "The Hunt for Red October" (Tom Clancy) 9-6-14
56. "Two Serious Ladies" (Jane Bowles) 9-14-14
57. "Jesus' Son" (Denis Johnson) 9-16-14
58. "Kindred" (Octavia Butler) 9-20-14
59. "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" (Tom Clancy) 9-21-14
60. "Good Morning, Midnight" (Jean Rhys) 9-25-14
61. "Sesqua Valley & Other Haunts" (W.H. Pugmire) 9-28-14
62. "The Height of the Scream" (Ramsey Campbell) 9-30-14
63. "The White Hands and Other Weird Tales" (Mark Samuels) 10-3-14
64. "Skin Deep Magic" (Craig Laurance Gidney) 10-7-14
65. "Streisand: in the Camera Eye" (James Spada) 10-16-14
66. "No Other" (Mark Gluth) 10-24-14
67. "Orion's Candle" (Tom Champagne) 10-25-14
68. "The New Annotated H.P. Lovecraft" (H.P. Lovecraft) 10-30-14
69. "Trouble on Triton" (Samuel R. Delany) 10-31-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

Currently Reading: "The Peripheral" (William Gibson)

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: September

Books Completed in September of 2014:

"The Hunt for Red October" (Tom Clancy) 9-6-14
"Two Serious Ladies" (Jane Bowles) 9-14-14
"Jesus' Son" (Denis Johnson) 9-16-14
"Kindred" (Octavia Butler) 9-20-14
"The Cardinal of the Kremlin" (Tom Clancy) 9-21-14
"Good Morning, Midnight" (Jean Rhys) 9-25-14
"Sesqua Valley & Other Haunts" (W.H. Pugmire) 9-28-14
"The Height of the Scream" (Ramsey Campbell) 9-30-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14
17. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
18. "Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
19. "A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
20. "The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
21. "Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
22. "Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
23. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
24. "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
25. "Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14
26. "The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe" (Edgar Allan Poe) 5-2-14
27. "The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies" (Clark Ashton Smith) 5-17-14
28. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling) 5-20-14
29. "Tweaky Village" (Kevin Killian) 5-25-14
30. "Mighty in Sorrow: A Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93" (Various) 5-26-14
31. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (J.K. Rowling) 5-30-14
32. "Our Man in Havana" (Graham Greene) 6-9-14
33. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (J.K. Rowling) 6-12-14
34. "Gone: Scrapbook 1980-1982" (Dennis Cooper) 6-17-14
35. "Wonder Boys" (Michael Chabon) 6-23-14
36. "'Remember You're a One-Ball!'" (Quentin S. Crisp) 6-26-14
37. "The Spectral Link" (Thomas Ligotti) 7-7-14
38. "Moby-Dick or The Whale" (Herman Melville) 7-8-14
39. "Born to Fear: Interviews With Thomas Ligotti" (Matt Cardin: Editor) 7-12-14
40. "The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories" (Bruno Schulz) 7-18-14
41. "The Pastel City" (M. John Harrison) 7-22-14
42. "The Secret of the Red Truck" (Kyler James) 7-24-14
43. "A Storm of Wings" (M. John Harrison) 7-28-14
44. "In Viriconium" (M. John Harrison) 7-30-14
45. "The City & The City" (China Mieville) 7-30-14
46. "Young God" (Katherine Faw Morris) 8-1-14
47. "Patriot Games" (Tom Clancy) 8-6-14 *
48. "Skeleton Costumes" (Thomas Moore) 8-11-14
49. "Kraken" (China Mieville) 8-17-14
50. "Viriconium Nights" (M. John Harrison) 8-18-14
51. "The Nameless" (Ramsey Campbell) 8-20-14
52. "The Face of Twilight" (Mark Samuels) 8-24-14
53. "Tom Daley: My Story" (Tom Daley) 8-24-14
54. "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" (Italo Calvino) 8-30-14
55. "The Hunt for Red October" (Tom Clancy) 9-6-14
56. "Two Serious Ladies" (Jane Bowles) 9-14-14
57. "Jesus' Son" (Denis Johnson) 9-16-14
58. "Kindred" (Octavia Butler) 9-20-14
59. "The Cardinal of the Kremlin" (Tom Clancy) 9-21-14
60. "Good Morning, Midnight" (Jean Rhys) 9-25-14
61. "Sesqua Valley & Other Haunts" (W.H. Pugmire) 9-28-14
62. "The Height of the Scream" (Ramsey Campbell) 9-30-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: August

Books Completed in August of 2014:

"Young God" (Katherine Faw Morris) 8-1-14
"Patriot Games" (Tom Clancy) 8-6-14 *
"Skeleton Costumes" (Thomas Moore) 8-11-14
"Kraken" (China Mieville) 8-17-14
"Viriconium Nights" (M. John Harrison) 8-18-14
"The Nameless" (Ramsey Campbell) 8-20-14
"The Face of Twilight" (Mark Samuels) 8-24-14
"Tom Daley: My Story" (Tom Daley) 8-24-14
"If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" (Italo Calvino) 8-30-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14
17. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
18. "Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
19. "A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
20. "The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
21. "Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
22. "Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
23. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
24. "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
25. "Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14
26. "The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe" (Edgar Allan Poe) 5-2-14
27. "The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies" (Clark Ashton Smith) 5-17-14
28. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling) 5-20-14
29. "Tweaky Village" (Kevin Killian) 5-25-14
30. "Mighty in Sorrow: A Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93" (Various) 5-26-14
31. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (J.K. Rowling) 5-30-14
32. "Our Man in Havana" (Graham Greene) 6-9-14
33. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (J.K. Rowling) 6-12-14
34. "Gone: Scrapbook 1980-1982" (Dennis Cooper) 6-17-14
35. "Wonder Boys" (Michael Chabon) 6-23-14
36. "'Remember You're a One-Ball!'" (Quentin S. Crisp) 6-26-14
37. "The Spectral Link" (Thomas Ligotti) 7-7-14
38. "Moby-Dick or The Whale" (Herman Melville) 7-8-14
39. "Born to Fear: Interviews With Thomas Ligotti" (Matt Cardin: Editor) 7-12-14
40. "The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories" (Bruno Schulz) 7-18-14
41. "The Pastel City" (M. John Harrison) 7-22-14
42. "The Secret of the Red Truck" (Kyler James) 7-24-14
43. "A Storm of Wings" (M. John Harrison) 7-28-14
44. "In Viriconium" (M. John Harrison) 7-30-14
45. "The City & The City" (China Mieville) 7-30-14
46. "Young God" (Katherine Faw Morris) 8-1-14
47. "Patriot Games" (Tom Clancy) 8-6-14 *
48. "Skeleton Costumes" (Thomas Moore) 8-11-14
49. "Kraken" (China Mieville) 8-17-14
50. "Viriconium Nights" (M. John Harrison) 8-18-14
51. "The Nameless" (Ramsey Campbell) 8-20-14
52. "The Face of Twilight" (Mark Samuels) 8-24-14
53. "Tom Daley: My Story" (Tom Daley) 8-24-14
54. "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler" (Italo Calvino) 8-30-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

Currently Reading:

"Incarnate" (Ramsey Campbell)

A few thoughts on H.P. Lovecraft and the race issue

I've seen the issue of Lovecraft's racism come up a few times today (today being Lovecraft's 124th birthday). I really don't think I have a heck of a lot to say on the topic that hasn't been said more eloquently than others, but... of course, I would argue that I think by this point in time it's an issue that most people are more than aware of (indeed, I was aware from it even before I read one of his stories, as Robert Bloch mentioned it in the introduction to the very first Lovecraft book I ever purchased), though I'm sure there are some people who either choose to remain blissfully unaware of the fact or who try to minimize it, usually by claiming, "Well, he was a product of his time and they all thought that way back then" (when noted Lovecraftian scholar S.T. Joshi was asked about the race issue at the NecronomiCon event in Providence, Rhode Island in 2013, he dismissed that argument, pointing out that many of the leading intellectual figures of Lovecraft's day, such as Joyce, had rejected the racist worldview that Lovecraft stubbornly clung to all his life, even after science had shown that it was an erroneous view).

I feel conflicted as Lovecraft's one of my favorite authors, and in many ways I think he and I are very much alike, the racism issue aside. I do sometimes wonder if I would hold him in such high regard if I were black. To black writers working in the fantasy/horror/science fiction milieu (and it's a common misconception that such genre writing is only a white person thing), I imagine it must be frustrating to constantly see Lovecraft's name held up as the gold standard for that type of genre writing, in much the same way that many black NBA players in the 1980's hated always being compared to Larry Bird. Then again, I am gay, and Lovecraft was homophobic to some degree, and that aspect of his character doesn't really bother me (though to be fair, his homophobia is much less overt than his racism, and is mainly confined to his private correspondence, unlike his racist views, which managed to creep up into some of his fiction). Perhaps it would suffice to say that the man was fucked up and had some serious issues, though I would say that you could say that about any interesting artist. If I limited myself to only reading writers who conformed to my hippy moderate liberal worldview, my bookshelves would certainly be much thinner (hell, one of my favorite novels is The Fountainhead, which was written by an author whose political views are almost at the opposite end of the spectrum from mine). Indeed, some of my favorite writers were bigots in some way or another. William S. Burroughs was a misogynist. Clark Ashton Smith supposedly held private anti-Semitic views. Thomas Ligotti detests procreation and life itself. J.K. Huysmans hated women, the Jews, and, uh, Freemasons.

But I think what it all boils down to is the art, and all else is superfluous. I'm sure you could show me a writer who is a shining example of ultra-politically correct thought, but if their writing style doesn't appeal to me, I won't give them the time of day, no matter how closely their personal views align with mine. Granted, this is a slippery slope: it's harder to apply that rational to someone such as, say, Orson Scott Card, who's actively and financially involved with groups trying to set back gay marriage (luckily, I've never thought much of his writing style, so I find him easier to ignore). Would I have preferred it if Lovecraft wouldn't have been such a racist? Well, obviously: as it is, the man is already hard enough to defend from his detractors, what with all the people who attack his purple prose style. In my perfect world, the words "Lovecraft" and "racism" would never appear in the same sentence: but as Lovecraft was fond of pointing out, we live in a far from perfect world.

Autopsy of an Eldritch City Update #1

Some news to report on the writing front: my 2nd weird fiction collection, "Autopsy of an Eldritch City: Ten Tales of Strange & Unproductive Thinking," will most likely be coming out later this year. It's being published by Rebel Satori Press, who also published my first collection, "Grimoire," back in 2012. As the subtitle indicates, it has ten stories, each of which is illustrated by Benedetta De Alessi (plus cover and interior design by Michael Salerno). I'll continue to give further updates in the future as events unfold.

Contents:

The Cursed Quilts
Tir-Na-Nog
Iridophobia
The Snow Globes of Patient O.T.
The Yellow Notebook
The Fire Sermon
Dyad
The Aphotic Zone
The Demons in the Fresco
Ritual Quest

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: July

Books Completed in July of 2014:

"The Spectral Link" (Thomas Ligotti) 7-7-14
"Moby-Dick or The Whale" (Herman Melville) 7-8-14
"Born to Fear: Interviews With THomas Ligotti" (Matt Cardin: Editor) 7-12-14
"The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories" (Bruno Schulz) 7-18-14
"The Pastel City" (M. John Harrison) 7-22-14
"The Secret of the Red Truck" (Kyler James) 7-24-14
"A Storm of Wings" (M. John Harrison) 7-28-14
"In Viriconium" (M. John Harrison) 7-30-14
"The City & The City" (China Mieville) 7-30-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14
17. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
18. "Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
19. "A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
20. "The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
21. "Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
22. "Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
23. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
24. "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
25. "Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14
26. "The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe" (Edgar Allan Poe) 5-2-14
27. "The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies" (Clark Ashton Smith) 5-17-14
28. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling) 5-20-14
29. "Tweaky Village" (Kevin Killian) 5-25-14
30. "Mighty in Sorrow: A Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93" (Various) 5-26-14
31. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (J.K. Rowling) 5-30-14
32. "Our Man in Havana" (Graham Greene) 6-9-14
33. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (J.K. Rowling) 6-12-14
34. "Gone: Scrapbook 1980-1982" (Dennis Cooper) 6-17-14
35. "Wonder Boys" (Michael Chabon) 6-23-14
36. "'Remember You're a One-Ball!'" (Quentin S. Crisp) 6-26-14
37. "The Spectral Link" (Thomas Ligotti) 7-7-14
38. "Moby-Dick or The Whale" (Herman Melville) 7-8-14
39. "Born to Fear: Interviews With THomas Ligotti" (Matt Cardin: Editor) 7-12-14
40. "The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories" (Bruno Schulz) 7-18-14
41. "The Pastel City" (M. John Harrison) 7-22-14
42. "The Secret of the Red Truck" (Kyler James) 7-24-14
43. "A Storm of Wings" (M. John Harrison) 7-28-14
44. "In Viriconium" (M. John Harrison) 7-30-14
45. "The City & The City" (China Mieville) 7-30-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: June

Books Completed in June of 2014:

"Our Man in Havana" (Graham Greene) 6-9-14
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (J.K. Rowling) 6-12-14
"Gone: Scrapbook 1980-1982" (Dennis Cooper) 6-17-14
"Wonder Boys" (Michael Chabon) 6-23-14
"'Remember You're a One-Ball!'" (Quentin S. Crisp) 6-26-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14
17. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
18. "Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
19. "A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
20. "The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
21. "Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
22. "Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
23. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
24. "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
25. "Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14
26. "The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe" (Edgar Allan Poe) 5-2-14
27. "The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies" (Clark Ashton Smith) 5-17-14
28. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling) 5-20-14
29. "Tweaky Village" (Kevin Killian) 5-25-14
30. "Mighty in Sorrow: A Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93" (Various) 5-26-14
31. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (J.K. Rowling) 5-30-14
32. "Our Man in Havana" (Graham Greene) 6-9-14
33. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (J.K. Rowling) 6-12-14
34. "Gone: Scrapbook 1980-1982" (Dennis Cooper) 6-17-14
35. "Wonder Boys" (Michael Chabon) 6-23-14
36. "'Remember You're a One-Ball!'" (Quentin S. Crisp) 6-26-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: May

Books Completed in April of 2014:

"The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe" (Edgar Allan Poe) 5-2-14
"The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies" (Clark Ashton Smith) 5-17-14
"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling) 5-20-14
"Tweaky Village" (Kevin Killian) 5-25-14
"Mighty in Sorrow: A Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93" (Various) 5-26-14
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (J.K. Rowling) 5-30-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14
17. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
18. "Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
19. "A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
20. "The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
21. "Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
22. "Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
23. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
24. "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
25. "Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14
26. "The Complete Poetry of Edgar Allan Poe" (Edgar Allan Poe) 5-2-14
27. "The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies" (Clark Ashton Smith) 5-17-14
28. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling) 5-20-14
29. "Tweaky Village" (Kevin Killian) 5-25-14
30. "Mighty in Sorrow: A Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93" (Various) 5-26-14
31. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (J.K. Rowling) 5-30-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

Currently Reading:

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (J.K. Rowling)

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: April

Books Completed in April of 2014:

"The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
"Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
"A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
"The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
"Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
"Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
"In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
"Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14
17. "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: From A to B and Back Again" (Andy Warhol) 4-4-14
18. "Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers) 4-5-14
19. "A Sentimental Novel" (Alain Robbe-Grillet) 4-9-14
20. "The King in Yellow" (Robert W. Chambers) 4-20-14
21. "Left Hand" (Paul Curran) 4-21-14
22. "Dialogues With Silence: Prayers & Drawings" (Thomas Merton) 4-23-14
23. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (J.K. Rowling) 4-25-14
24. "In the Land of Time and Other Fantasy Tales" (Lord Dunsany) 4-28-14
25. "Paris Spleen" (Charles Baudelaire) 4-29-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

Currently Reading:

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" (J.K. Rowling)

Top 100 albums (not including musicals, soundtracks, greatest hit collections, etc.) alphebetical by act

Adam Lambert: For Your Entertainment (2009)
Add N to (X): Avant Hard (1999)
Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works 85–92 (1992)
Aphex Twin: Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 (1994)
Atari Teenage Riot: 60 Second Wipe Out (1999)
Battery: Aftermath (1998)
Bauhaus: In The Flat Field (1980)
The Beatles: The White Album (1968)
Big Black: Atomizer (1986)
Cher: Closer to the Truth (2013)
Chris & Cosey: Heartbeat (1981)
Chrome: Half Machine Lip Moves (1979)
Clock DVA: Thirst (1981)
Cocteau Twins: Treasure (1984)
Coil: Horse Rotorvator (1986)
Coil: Love’s Secret Domain (1991)
Consumer Electronics: Crowd Pleaser (2009)
Crass: The Feeding of the 5000 (1978)
The Cure: Faith (1981)
Current 93: Dogs Blood Rising (1984)
Current 93: Imperium (1987)
Current 93: Of Ruine or Some Blazing Starre (1994)
Current 93: Black Ships Ate The Sky (2006)
Cut Hands: Black Mamba (2012)
David Bowie: The Next Day (2013)
Dead Can Dance: Dead Can Dance (1984)
Dead Can Dance: Spleen and Ideal (1985)
Dead Can Dance: Aion (1990)
Dead Kennedys: Frankenchrist (1985)
Depeche Mode: Black Celebration (1986)
Einstürzende Neubauten: Halber Mensch (1985)
Emerson, Lake & Palmer: Brain Salad Surgery (1973)
Jake Bugg: Shangri La (2013)
Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures (1979)
Joy Division: Closer (1980)
Kanye West: Yeezus (2013)
Ke$ha: Warrior (2012)
Keane: Perfect Symmetry (2008)
Lady Gaga: The Fame (2008)
Lady Gaga: Born This Way (2011)
Lady Gaga: Artpop (2013)
Liars: They Were Wrong, So We Drowned (2004)
Madonna: Like a Virgin (1984)
Madonna: Like a Prayer (1989)
Madonna: Hard Candy (2008)
Manic Street Preachers: The Holy Bible (1994)
Maurizio Bianchi: Technology/Technology 2 (1981)
Ministry: Twitch (1986)
Ministry: The Land of Rape & Honey (1988)
Ministry: Animositisomina (2003)
Nico: The Marble Index (1968)
Nine Inch Nails: Pretty Hate Machine (1989)
Nine Inch Nails: The Downward Spiral (1994)
Nine Inch Nails: The Fragile (1999)
Nine Inch Nails: Hesitation Marks (2013)
Nurse With Wound: Merzbild Schwet (1980)
One Direction: Up All Night (2011)
Ornette Coleman: Science Fiction (1971)
Pan Sonic: Aaitopiiri (2001)
Paris Hilton: Paris (2006)
Patti Smith: Horses (1975)
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1979)
The Police: Synchronicity (1983)
Primal Scream: XTRMNTR (2000)
Psychic TV: Dreams Less Sweet (1982)
Public Enemy: Fear of a Black Planet (1990)
Public Image Limited: Second Edition (1980)
The Residents: Third Reich & Roll (1976)
Rilo Kiley: Under the Blacklight (2007)
Scott Walker: The Drift (2006)
Siouxsie: Mantaray (2007)
Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Scream (1978)
Siouxsie & the Banshees: Join Hands (1979)
Siouxsie & the Banshees: A Kiss in the Dreamhouse (1982)
Skinny Puppy: Cleanse Fold and Manipulate (1987)
Slayer: Reign in Blood (1986)
Slayer: South of Heaven (1988)
Soft Cell: This Last Night in Sodom (1984)
Sonic Youth: Daydream Nation (1988)
Sonic Youth: Murray Street (2002)
SPK: Leichenschrei (1982)
Suicide: Suicide (1977)
Suzanne Vega: Suzanne Vega (1985)
Suzanne Vega: Days of the Open Hand (1990)
Suzanne Vega: Nine Objects of Desire (1996)
Swans: Children of God (1987)
Switchblade Symphony: Serpentine Galley (1995)
Talking Heads: Remain in Light (1980)
Tangerine Dream: Exit (1981)
Throbbing Gristle: Second Annual Report (1977)
Throbbing Gristle: Heathen Earth (1980)
Velvet Underground: Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
Velvet Underground: White Light/White Heat (1968)
Whitehouse: Erector (1981)
Whitehouse: Bird Seed (2003)
Whitehouse: Asceticists 2006 (2006)
Wire: A Bell is a Cup (Until it is Struck) (1988)
Yes: Fragile (1972)
Yes: Close to the Edge (1972)

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: March

Books Completed in March of 2014:

"The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
"The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
"The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
"Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
"The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
"Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13
10. "The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy) 3-2-14
11. "The Unrest-Cure and Other Stories" (Saki) 3-7-14
12. "The Complete Symphonies of Adolf Hitler & Other Strange Stories" (Reggie Oliver) 3-13-14
13. "Sing Omega" (David Tibet) 3-17-14
14. "The Third Policeman" (Flann O'Brien) 3-26-14
15. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (J.K. Rowling) 3-27-14
16. "Blue Nights" (Joan Didion) 3-30-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

Currently Reading:

"The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again)" (Andy Warhol)
"Clock Without Hands" (Carson McCullers)

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: February

Books Completed in February of 2014:

"Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
"Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
"Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. Delany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14
6. "Sparks-Tastic: Twenty-One Nights With Sparks in London" (Tosh Berman) 2-11-14
7. "Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) 2-15-14
8. "Giovanni's Room" (James Baldwin) 2-16-14
9. "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (J.K. Rowling) 2-28-13

*= book I have read at least once in the past

Currently Reading:

"Dune" (Frank Herbert)
"The Kreutzer Sonata" (Leo Tolstoy)

Long-delayed writing projects update

Hard to believe that it's been so long since my last update in terms of my writing projects. Maybe because I've just been too busy writing. Anyway, here goes.

 



A few days ago I finished writing my fantasy novel Metatron's Arch: A Ternion Emanation (also known as the Trinity book). It came out to a little over 1000 pages long. My plan is, over the next few months, to see if I can get any literary agents to look it over. It's written in a more mainstream style than my short stories, so hopefully it'll be more marketable. Certainly epic high fantasy is more "in" these days than Lovecraftian weird fiction (though I haven't abandoned the latter). I was careful to write this book in such a way so that, while I left a few loose threads in it in case I ever feel the itch to write a sequel, at the same time it works as a stand-alone novel. I'm trying to avoid finding myself in the same situation that George R.R. Martin is currently in, toiling away at a seemingly never-ending fantasy series with thousands of fan boys on his back, clamoring for him to hurry up and finish it. In other words, were my book to ever be published, I'd be sure that there would be no mention of a "Book One" anywhere on the cover.

Speaking of short stories, I also need to find a publisher for Autopsy of an Eldritch City: Ten Tales of Strange & Unproductive Thinking, my second collection. As of now, this book will be illustrated by my friend O.B. De Alessi: http://www.obdealessi.com/ This is the collection I finished last fall, which for some reason I forgot to mention on this blog. Its table of contents will include "The Cursed Quilts," "Tir-Na-Nog," "Iridophobia," "The Snow Globes of Patient O.T.," "The Yellow Notebook," "The Fire Sermon," "Dyad," "The Aphotic Zone," "The Demons in the Fresco," and "Planet Earth is Going to be Recycled."

My short story "The Withering Echo"  (the bonus story at the end of my 1st collection Grimoire) will be included in the upcoming anthology Mighty in Sorrow: a Tribute to David Tibet & Current 93, edited by Jordan Krall. This book is due to be published sometime this year. Here's the table of contents: http://griffinwords.com/2014/02/03/mighty-in-sorrow-table-of-contents/

and the cover:

 

 

In my last update (July of 2013), I mentioned how a remixed, rewritten version of my self-published 2006 novel Confusion was in the works. That project is now most likely abandoned.

 

So, for the future I'll be trying to get my fantasy novel and my second short story collection published. I have ideas for a few new stories that might be useable for a 3rd collection at some point in the future, and I might write those over the spring. For now I'm taking a break from novel writing, though this summer I hope to maybe start a new novel: perhaps the gay Tom Clancy book I'm always talking about.

 

I've also been writing some gay porn (erm, "erotica") as of recent, just for fun, and because it's nice to write non-horrific short stories. I might start up a separate blog for those, for the curious...

2014 Reading List Monthly Update: January

Books Completed in January of 2014:

"Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
"The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. DElany) 1-21-14
"The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
"Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
"Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14

2014 Reading List Total:

1. "Ulysses" (James Joyce) 1-17-14
2. "The Fall of the Towers" (Samuel R. DElany) 1-21-14
3. "The Weaklings (XL)" (Dennis Cooper) 1-22-14
4. "Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion" (William Blake) 1-26-14
5. "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" (J.K. Rowling) 1-29-14

*= book I have read at least once in the past

Currently Reading:

"Crime and Punishment" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
"Wuthering Heights" (Emily Bronte)