RJ - Slayer of Trolls’s Comments

RJ - Slayer of Trolls’s comments from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.

Note: RJ - Slayer of Trolls is not currently a member of this group.

***52nd BOOK OF THE YEAR FINISHED***


Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading the Pulitzer-Prize winner:


The Way West by A.B. Guthrie Jr.

I finished already but I'll save my final comments until later. I really did enjoy the Depression-era train circus setting though. Apparently many of the things that happened in the plot are based on things that happened in real life.

Karin wrote: "I will second Zodiac---its on TBR list , already seen the movie"

Just a quick FYI, the Zodiac movie is based on the book written by Robert Graysmith, not the book that was nominated that was written by Romina Russell. Graysmith's book is a non-fiction account of the hunt for San Francisco's notorious Zodiac killer, whereas Russell's book is a young adult science fiction romance novel that begins a 4-book series.

I think I'll nominate


Zodiac by Neal Stephenson

The name of the book, of course, is the connection to this month's theme although in this case the title refers to a Zodiac inflatable boat, not constellations or fortune-telling. The book itself is one of Stephenson's earliest novels and has been described as an "eco-thriller."

I'm almost done with the book and should finish by the weekend. I think what I like most about it is the Depression-era circus setting which feels authentic and really breathes pathos into the story.

I finished the terrific and fun Detroit crime novel:


Swag by Elmore Leonard
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Prizzi's Honor by Richard Condon

I finished my 51st book of the year, only one away from my goal:


Swag by Elmore Leonard
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Prizzi's Honor by Richard Condon

I finished the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award winning:


Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Blackout by Connie Willis

I finished my 50th book of the year so far:


Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Blackout by Connie Willis

I'm in for this one. I started reading the book back in 2008 when it was fairly new, but I was going through a divorce and other drama at the time so I set the book aside and never picked it back up. It's been glaring at me from my bookshelf for the last 12+ years so I'm glad to have the opportunity to pick it up again. I started reading a few days ago and I'm already about 20% done.

I finished:


The Bad Seed by William March
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


A Touch of the Creature by Charles Beaumont
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading


A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

I finished two more, which brings me to 49 for the year so far:


The Bad Seed by William March
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


A Touch of the Creature by Charles Beaumont
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading


A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor

Mitzi wrote: "Ok, question? How do you stop yourself from piling in more books on your already long list of books to read in the future?"

Let me know if you ever figure out how to do this. ;-)

I finished:


East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen


Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

I finished two more books which brings me to 47 so far in 2020:


East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Rating: 5 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen


Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis

I finished:


The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Swag by Elmore Leonard

Also, as part of a group read, I started (and am already about halfway through):


The Bad Seed by William March

I finished my 45th book of 2020:


The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

and I started reading:


Swag by Elmore Leonard

Also, as part of a group read, I started (and am already about halfway through):


The Bad Seed by William March

John Rey wrote: "East of Eden by John Steinbeck -- some people say it's a page turner but I am having difficult time continuously reading through it. Story is good but it has not yet piqued my interest for me to lo..."

I hope it picks up for you John Rey. I'm reading it also and I'm almost done. I should finish it next week. It's probably going to get a five-star rating from me. (I do remember the first couple chapters being fairly slow while all the characters are introduced and their back story is being set up - also a lot of long, loving descriptions of the Salinas Valley in the early going.)

Try


Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories by Algernon Blackwood

The story "The Willows" will definitely make you feel uneasy, and so will most of the other stories.

Alison wrote: "I would like to nominate Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik...this has been on my TBR forever! A Fairytale retelling with a bit of magic thrown in..."

I'd probably be in for this one. I read the short story the book was based on and really liked it. Her prior stand-alone fantasy novel Uprooted was also terrific.

The Night Circus and Howl's Moving Castle are also intriguing to me.