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You Should Read This: The Complete Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale

Cover of The Complete Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale, accompanies blog post reviewing the book by speculative fiction writer Cat Rambo.
I find the book's free-wheeling nature inspirational, although it's a gloomy message at the heart of it all.
Joe R. Lansdale is a favorite writer; this was my entrance into his work and it hooked me thoroughly.

What: The Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale has two sequels, The Drive-In 2: Not Just One of Them Sequels and The Drive-In 3: The Bus Tour. Underland Press did a collected edition a few years back that is terrific, but it looks as though it’s out of print now. The story begins when a few friends go to the All Night Horror Show at a drive-in theater and find themselves transported to an alternate dimension, forcing the theatergoers to live on popcorn, fountain drinks, and eventually each other. Then it gets weird.

Who: Those willing to abandon themselves to the book, to strap themselves into the funhouse ride Lansdale has prepared will have the time of their life.

Why: Read this for dialogue that flows over you. For a gradual creep into weirdness that disorients and amazes all at once.

When: Read this when you want to be reminded that a good writer can take us wherever he or she likes. WHen you need to be shown that you can be as weird and surreal and downright odd in your writing as you like, as long as you do it with panache.

Where and how: Lansdale is a terrific reader – if you get a chance to hear him in person, do it! If not, try an audio book, in order to appreciate the way it flows. And don’t read it in scraps. Sit down and stay a spell.

#sfwapro

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Favorite Reads in 2024

Books that I read to blurb or edit are not included in this list. I read over 200 books in 2024, counting books read for editing and feedback as well as for pleasure.

My Top Reads of the Year

Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjel-Brenyah is near future SF focused on the prison system, and is a gripping, savage indictment of the way we treat criminals.

The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso is modern day fantasy with gorgeous worldbuilding and a great queer protagonist.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (and all the subsequent books) are amazing examples of LitRPG, and if you like to play games, you will love these books. This was originally an indie book, but it’s been picked up by a major publisher and is very available.

Menewood by Nicola Griffith is the sequel to her amazing book Hild, and is just as beautifully written.

The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings is fantasy set in a post-Katrina New Orleans and it is gorgeous. I interviewed Alex for If This Goes On; Don’t Panic. You can find the episode here.

The Last Shield by Cameron Johnston is Diehard in a castle with a strong female protagonist and I ate this up.

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim is a horror thriller that is transfixing.

Liberty’s Daughter by Naomi Kritzer is near-ish future SF that shows you what a libertarian state really would look like.

Metallic Love by Tanith Lee is the sequel to The Silver Metal Lover so if you loved that book the way I did, you’re welcome.

Alien Clay by Adrian Tchaikovsky is wonderful SF that feels very timely.

How to Be the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler is funny as hell and well worth picking up. I’m really looking forward to the sequel.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell is cozy horror and an utterly delightful love story.

Letters against blue skies read: The more that you read, the more that you'll know. The more that you know, the more places you'll go. Dr. Seuss

                     

Other 2024 Reads I Really Enjoyed and Highly Recommend

The Poisons We Drink – Bethany Baptiste
Ancestral Night – Elizabeth Bear
Necessary Poisons – Andrea Blythe
The Savage Detectives – Roberto Bolano
Fortune’s Fool – Angela Boord
The Outcast Mage – Annabel Campbell
The Fall is All There Is – C.M. Caplan
Ring Shout – P. Djeli Clark
The Mercy of Gods – James S.A. Corey
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario – Matt Dinniman
The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook – Matt Dinniman
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride – Matt Dinniman
The Gate of the Feral Gods – Matt Dinniman
The Reformatory – Tananarive Due
The Spell Shop – Sarah Beth Durst
Dr. No – Perceval Everett
God’s Country – Perceval Everett
Under the Skin – Michael Faber
Victorian Psycho – Virginia Feito
Shades of Grey – Jasper Fforde
Dragonslave – Dominque Glass
The Unstrung Harp – Edward Gorey
Hild – Nicola Griffith (reread)
This Princess Kills Monsters – Ry Herman
Still the Sun – Charlie N. Holmberg
Dead Set – Richard Kadrey
Fateless – Julie Kagawa
When the Tides Held the Moon – Venessa Vida Kelley
A Sorceress Comes to Call – T. Kingfisher
The Bones Beneath my Skin – TJ Klune
The Poppy War – R.F. Kuang (reread)
Station Eternity – Mur Lafferty
Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor 1) – Mark Lawrence
Grey Sister (Book of the Ancestor 2) – Mark Lawrence
Holy Sister (Book of the Ancestor 3) – Mark Lawrence
The Scarlet Throne – Amy Leow
Six Crimson Cranes – Elizabeth Lim
Black Mouth – Ronald Malfi
Legacy of the Brightwash – Krystle Matar
Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear – Seanan Mcguire
The Fifth Veil of Salome – Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Tusks of Extinction – Ray Nayler
The Witchstone – Henry H. Neff
Hum – Helen Phillips
Haunt Sweet Home – Sarah Pinsker
The Book of Doors – Gareth Powell
Hells Acre – Lilith Saintcrow
The Incandescent – Emily Tesh
Camp Damascus – Chuck Tingle
Womb City – Tlotlo Tsamaase
State of Paradise – Laura Van den Berg
The SafeKeep – Yael Van der Wouden
Saga, Vols 2, 3, 4, 5 – Brian Vaughn
Horse of a Different Color – Howard Waldrop
Wheel of the Infinite – Martha Wells
The Witch King – Martha Wells
The Staircase in the Woods – Chuck Wendig
The Nickel Boys – Colson Whitehead
Firewatch – Connie Willis

...

Recent Reading From September

Linoleum print I did in 2008 (?). Meant to use it on Christmas cards, then never got around to it.
Linoleum print I did in 2008 (?). Meant to use it on Christmas cards, then never got around to it.
I went through the usual slew of books in September, but I thought I’d mention some of the more notable ones. Links go to the Kindle edition when available, because I do most of my reading on that.

Erin Morgenstern’s THE NIGHT CIRCUS was a terrific read and one that will delight fans of THE PRESTIGE and CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL. Lots of gorgeous and beautiful description of a highly evocative setting and the love story that plays out against it.

While on a visit to Baltimore recently, I was introduced to Joe Hill’s graphic horror novel, LOCKE AND KEY. I read the first one, and am looking forward to the rest.

THE PALACE JOB by Patrick Weekes was a terrific romp of a fantasy read, and is an Ocean’s Eleven type adventure played out against a fantasy setting.

Jonathan Wood’s NO HERO and YESTERDAY’S HERO reminded me of a less frenetic Charlie Stross. Another fun and frothy urban fantasy was Jennifer Willis’ VALHALLA.

Love Joe Lansdale, but I’m reading him slowly in order to spread out the cost of getting all the Hap and Leonard novels. September held THE TWO-BEAR MAMBO as well as a collection of short fiction, BUMPER CROP.

I go back every few years to read E.F. Benson’s Mapp and Lucia novels. Why doesn’t someone do a fantasy version of these? That would be so awesome.

THE WEIRD: A COMPENDIUM and THE APEX BOOK OF WORLD SCIENCE FICTION are both books that I am dipping into periodically, spacing them out so I can think about the stories, rather than absorb them all in one long read.

THE BANDIT KING by Lilith Saintcrow is a fantasy romance, the sequel to THE HEDGEWITCH QUEEN. I’ve yet to find a Saintcrow book that I haven’t enjoyed.

In nonfiction, I’ve been reading these:

  • RATIO by Michael Rudman, which talks about the ratios needed for certain things like biscuits vs. pie dough and explores a lot of the science. It’s fascinating, and I’m thinking about taking a year just to work through each of the 33 ratios (he goes through doughs, stock, sausage, sauces and custards) he explores.
  • Gretchen Rubin’s THE HAPPINESS PROJECT and STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS by Daniel Gilbert.
  • FROM AN ANONYMOUS SOURCE purports to be written by a senior White House official. It’s entertaining if you’re interested in politics.

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