Summer Reading

As June draws to a close, and the full-on heat of July is upon us, I enter into a few key summer reads that I wanted to share here.

First off is the newest from Stephen King and Hard Case Crime, the pulpy-good murder mystery, JOYLAND. Taking place in an amusement park in 1973 (a very good year), this book is building up the excitement as I begin to learn about this elusive killer who struck years ago, and some workers at the park feel is still adding a haunting element to the park that lingers in all the dark corners.

I haven't even gotten that far into the book and I am hooked. Oddly, I am attempting to procrastinate as I don't want the book to end, and I keep reading other books to prolong the joy (pun intended) of this read, perhaps even making it last all summer long. I like to torture myself like that. And this book is sure to thrill. 

One additional note is that this books is ONLY available as a trade paperback at $12.95, with NO digital version available (at this time anyway). A bold move by Hard Case, and King supports the pulp-inspired roots of this imprint and agreed to a print only deal, which I was all too happy to support.

I also just received today, from the good folks at St. Martin's Griffin imprint, THE YEAR'S BEST SCIENCE FICTION, Thirtieth Annual Edition, edited by the legendary Gardner Dozois. And that's right, THIRTIETH edition, this is the science fiction anthology still going strong.

Admittedly, I just received this copy (today) but already on the subway ride home, I dove into the first story "Weep for Day" by Indrapramit Das, a writer and artist from India, and I'll be floating my way through this massive hardcover for some time. His intriguing story has already pulled me in and I've only just begun.

I also must confess, I lingered in Dozois' detailed "2012 Summation" of all things science fictional, publishing, anthology, tv/movie related, it was comprehensive and for this publishing professional who thinks he has his finger on the pulse, also quite enlightening. There is a reason why he's received the Hugo Award fifteen times while the editor of Asimov's Science Fiction. Clearly I'll also have more to say about this one later in the summer as I've cleaved my way through the stories.

The third book that made it's way to my review table is WHITE FOREST by Adam McOmber. This book was just released in paperback by Touchstone (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) after having been released in hardcover in September 2012. I had missed it in hardcover and something about the title and the stark paperback cover drew me to ask for a review copy. This will be traveling with me throughout the summer. Keep an eye out for a full review when I'm done.

I've clearly a lot of reading ahead of me, and many long, hot summer weeks to get through these books as well as the assortment of other reads on my to be completed table. If you've found a great read for summer, throw it in the comments section, maybe I'll add it to my list and hopefully some of you may try one of these. Now, let me get back to my reading.