What am I reading now?

...and suddenly it's been two and a half months and although I've spent most of it in my house, I'm not spending in on my blog.

Which I'm trying to fix now - so thanks to those of you who reached out to ask what I've been up to lately.

Right now, like most people, I'm spending a lot of time indoors, watching, reading, and playing things I've been holding onto for a while or I can access for free online.  I'm still currently working and although it's 80% from home, I'm trying not to make a lot of purchases these days as I'm saving in case my situation changes.

As a habitual used bookstore patron however, I've got a lot to get through before I run out, and even then I've still got e-books and the like ready and waiting.

Although I'm still sticking with my classic; Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Book Club, Book Club, reading cycle, I've taken a break from my monthly book by Farley Mowat (I was mostly getting these from the library) as well as my Ancient Rome reading list (again, libraries), but that just means I have two slots a month to fill with books I've been collecting, but not reading for years.

I'm currently reading Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Deus, his follow up to Sapiens (2011), and am really digging it.  The book takes a deep look at what we understand and believe about ourselves, and how this may effect us in our future.  It's very readable, interesting, and quite timely.  Well worth a look if you've got access and would like to dip into some non-fiction.

Ninth House, by Leigh Bardugo

One of my favourite things about my wife is her ability to find out about stories that are exactly my thing and send them my way before I've even heard of them. Case in point, Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House, an excellent Horror/Fantasy novel set in the Secret Societies in Yale University.

The novel follows Alex Stern, a university freshman on scholarship, recently moved from California and now working for an organization which monitors the activities of the schools eight secret societies. In Bardugo's world, the societies are each able to perform different styles of magic and Stern has just joined the Lethe, who work to ensure that none of groups step out of line and upset the balance at the New Haven, Connecticut Institution.

I found the book an excellent read and think that those who grew up on Harry Potter and want to find something darker and really engaging may have found a new home in Bardugo's world. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel.

Book Review: Taaqtumi: An Anthology of Arctic Horror Stories

Having been a long time fan of Horror and recent discover of Inhabit media, an Inuit-owned publishing company in Nunavut, Canada, I was thrilled to find this collection pop up on my FaceBook feed and then delighted to see my wife had already put an order in for it when I suggested we might want to buy it.

The stories included in Taaqtumi range from Thriller to Supernatural Horror and to Science Fiction/Horror. Standouts for me included Iqsinaqtutalik Piqtuq: The Haunted Blizzard, by Aviaq Johnston (who wrote a delightful children's story called What's My Superpower that I absolutely loved in 2017), and The Door, by Ann R. Loverock, although the book has stories that would work well for both Horror fans like me and those just peeking into the genre.

An excellent collection and from a company I hope does more like it in the future.

Book Review: The First Man in Rome, by Colleen McCullough

Colleen McCullough's The First Man in Rome is the first of her Master of Rome series; and this series of seven books (published from 1990 to 2007) cover near 90 years of history, will be my guide through the end of the Roman Republic over the next seven moths.

Following Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla through the events of Marius' rise from new man to soldier and eventually consul, the novel was a sweeping story of politics, war, economics, surprising romance and some really eye-opening examples of what kind of leadership qualities were needed to help the Republic evolve and grow.

A long but fascinating read, and one that has me really looking forward to the rest of this series.

Happy New Years!

Happy 2020 everyone!

Thanks to everyone who still stops by and don't worry, my New Years resolution for 2020 is to get a lot more consistent with these, although I'm likely to go to once a week.

Wishing you the best and hoping you all have a wonderful holiday season.

Your pal, Bookmonkey

Movie Review: Ready or Not

One of my favourite things about seeing movies in the fall is that once we've left blockbuster season behind us, movies have to focus on character, concept, and story, rather than simply air conditioning, to get us back into our seats.

Probably my favourite horror movie this year, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's Ready or Not, was a delightful thriller, with a neat little twist, and just about the best theme song for a game of hide and seek you could possibly imagine.

The film follows a young woman named Grace (Samara Weaving) on her wedding day to Alex Le Domas (Mark O'Brien), a member of an extremely wealthy family which owns a board game empire. As part of family tradition, newly married in members are invited to play a game at midnight on the wedding day, and Grace draws the childhood classic, Hide and Seek. Unfortunately for Grace, when Hide & Seek is chosen, the game becomes much deadlier than expected.

Overall there were two things I loved about this movie. First off, the portrayal of the Le Domas family, a group that had inherited their status in life, was a really fun look at what can happen when your only succession plan is based on birth, rather than merit, and the fact that Grace is portrayed as a foster child who grew up to be a smart, resourceful and decent person. So often in stories foster-care seems to be used as code for damaged, and I thought the fact that Grace had basically the opposite of every member of the wealthy family in upbringing was a nice touch.

The story moves quite nicely, has a lot great twists and turns and will definitely be getting a place on my DVD/Blu-ray shelves in the future.

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

The first David Grann book I read was The Lost City of Z a few years ago for a book club. The story, focusing on the disappearance of explorer Percy Fawcett in the Amazon in 1925, was pretty great, and really got me interested in both what drives people to explore and to see the costs that come with it.

Last year I found a copy of his 2014 book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI at a used book store and added it to my "to be read" pile.

The book begins with a single murder in Oklahoma in the 1920s, and then begins to spin a story including incredible wealth, Texas Rangers, the FBI, Oil Tycoons, and the systemic failure of a country to protect people it has declared its responsibility. The book was fascinating, eye-opening, and I could not put it down.

In the end I found this book incredibly compelling, what started out as an apparent random killing spreads out over time as part of something so horrific I could not believe this was the first time I had ever heard this story. Definitely recommended.