Joe
Reamde by Neal Stephenson
“I woke up the other day not even realizing there was a new Neal Stephenson book coming out. Two days later, I’m only just about half way through the new book and I’m caught up in conversations about the structure of the post-Forsythe thriller and the Tolkien concept of eucatastrophe. I’m scared of what the second half of the novel brings me.”
(Hold your horses, Stephenson fans, Reamde doesn’t go on sale until September.)
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Abby
Atonement by Ian McEwan
“I think it’s interesting that a book that’s so borderline dull and slow is so suspenseful. You read these long, descriptive chapters that go on and on and then he just drops you off a cliff and you have to know what happens next. It’s pretty good.”
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Doug
Sensation by Nick Mamatas
“This book has one of the best first chapters of any book I’ve ever read. It has a unique perspective – it’s told from the viewpoint of a hive mind of spiders that use humans to get around and that basically compete with wasps. Both species use humans as pawns in their war. It’s really well written. The guy has a really black sense of humor. He’s basically criticizing modern society and New York culture, you know, hipsters and so forth.”
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Clint
Collected Stories of William Faulkner
“Throughout these short stories, William Faulkner manages to inscribe humor, terror and humanity on his little personal postage stamp of Mississippi.”
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Peter
I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive by Steve Earle
“This is surprisingly great. I shouldn’t say surprisingly. Honestly, I’m not the biggest fan of Steve Earle’s music, but this book is wonderful. He turns a really good phrase. He’s taken the ghost of Hank Williams, which could be something really cheesy, and turned it into a great literary device.”
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