I saw some of his art online and thought it looked like “Invisible Hands” from Liquid Television, which I LOVED. Same artist! This didn’t have quite the same level of twisted, creepiness as that animated series, but I was so happy to find his work in comic form. There’s more too.
Always loved Parrish's art: painted panels, odd proportions and perspective. This was kind of a bummer for me, but their art makes me want to break more "rules" with mine.
While I have your attention, my first newsletter will come out after Watermyth is published.
Why should you join? Well, if you want to read Watermyth, I'll do a giveaway ON VIDEO (for accountability) to give away free ebook copies of Watermyth. https://tinyletter.com/afterimages
I read Iron Curtain by #VesnaGoldsworthy. A page-turner set in the 1980s. A young privileged 'red princess' from a poor unnamed central European country elopes to London in the name of love. The sense of displacement has echoes of the Patricia Engel book I read just before this. There's also enjoyable farce here even if the clichés about the UK are laid on a little thick at times. #bookToot#bookstodon#keefsreads
Enjoyed French Braid by #AnneTyler. Yes, it's the same book exploring the ordinary lives of America middle-class families she always writes. But the characters as ever are completely believable. Nothing much happens, but I really want to know about it. #bookToot#bookstodon#keefsreads
Just finished Reward System by #JemCalder. Short stories about young adults navigating their lives in the smartphone era. Not much happens. But the writing is plenty good enough to maintain interest. #BookToot#bookstodon#keefsreads
Read #Bournville by #JonathanCoe. Redeemed a bit by a strong finish, when the writing and subject matter clearly gets personal, but a really disappointing clunky book. Too reliant on lazy nostalgia; I expected spangles and Choppers to appear at one stage. Some odd writing. Rather than develop characters naturally he just bungs in their internal monologue on one occasion. #bookstodon#BookToot#keefsreads
Part of the SF Masterworks Collection. Despite being nearly 60 years old the narrative around the manipulation of the truth feels incredibly prescient. Wondering whether David Whitaker had read it before he came up with #DoctorWho story The Enemy of the World. #Books#Bookstodon#SciFi#PhilipKDick
Terry Jones’ Barbarians An Alternative Roman History
Terry Jones & Alan Ereira
Part of my ongoing effort to better educate myself around ancient history, a period I never really got to grips with. Thought initially the bite size sections were helpful in not getting overwhelmed by it all, but progressively felt they may actually have stopped me ever getting into a rhythm with it. Still pretty readable though and I think at least some of it will stick. #Books#Bookstodon#History
The Wonderful World of Ladybird Books for Grown-Ups
Jason Hazeley & Joel Morris
A great idea to finish off a great idea. There aren’t that many books that consistently make you laugh out loud, but Hazeley and Morris have written a lot of them. A book to keep going back and dipping into. Great fun.
Often described as the first mystery novel it’s the first work by Collins I’ve read. The structure works well and Sergeant Cuff is an excellent creation albeit not one who actually takes up huge amounts of the story. The periods he does take centre stage feel remarkably modern, which gives a good idea of the influence the story had on what came later. A few dated aspects as you might expect, but a good read.
A story of how giving up your morals may bring you success, but not happiness. Steinbeck’s final novel and one that showcases his ability to preach his view of the world while building a tight tense story around characters who feel incredibly real. Enjoyed it if that is the right word.
The fourth in Pryce’s Louie Knight series. Set at Christmas this is the darkest of the first four novels while still being very funny in places. There’s an awful lot of threads thrown at this one and I’m not sure they all stick quite as well as earlier entries, but it’s still very enjoyable and the noir Aberystwyth, Louie and his assistant Calamity are all terrific creations.
Despite seeing various different TV and film adaptations I’d never read the novel. As good as some of those are the novel outflanks them all. I can see why it’s regarded as one of the great sci-fi novels. Where Wyndham is so good is in creating a very real sense of a global disaster and building that world, but at the same time keeping it personal and making you care about the individuals. 5⭐️
#7Books to get to know me (in no particular order, and not a stagnant list):
The Talisman by Stephen King & Peter Straub
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Incomplete Book of Running by Peter Sagal
1776 by David McCullough