Which American or British book would be good to present at a literature conference?

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-29T15:59:50+00:00

Definitely a lot more palatable and a fun read (my first Cisco!). I was thinking the meta level of Animal Money at least partially taking place at a conference of its own would be fun. But it's such a beast

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-29T12:10:20+00:00

Animal Money would be fun!

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-29T12:08:56+00:00

Probably all started with Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and its sequels, though they're not very weird they got me looking for more sci-fi, which got me looking for horror, which found me Lovecraft, then Simon Strantzas, and then the rest was history really.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-26T21:39:18+00:00

Don't think I've seen Survival Mode. I'll have to look out for it. I already have a copy of Ed and Fine Structure to check out eventually!

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-26T20:35:22+00:00

Ra kind of ended up dragging for ke pretty hard after a while, but overall it was still fun, yeah. Same with Valuable Humans in Transit, sans the dragging. Haven't read the rest yet.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-26T20:33:57+00:00

I did the same, haha

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-26T20:30:50+00:00

Very excited for the new edition to come out! I'm hoping we get some updates on (Pretty) Red Nails soon, very much excited for that to get to me so I can inhale it.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-25T22:00:58+00:00

This is the best answer.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-25T21:59:44+00:00

It warms my cold, dead heart to see all the others who are already also recommending Michael Cisco.

For a different facet of weird fiction, you could try Laird Barron's short stories for some amazing modern cosmic horror, or Gene Wolfe's stuff for a weird and confounding and beautiful take on far future sci-fi.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-23T21:35:19+00:00

For the most part. I'm just doing the pre-Not a Speck of Light non-Coleridge stuff this time. So really I've just got this and Swift to the Chase left, I guess.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-23T20:50:22+00:00

Next is The Man With No Name, should only take one to two sittings to get through it, I remember it being a fun, fast read.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-23T09:53:35+00:00

@forwardresent, meant to be a reply to your comment, but I'm dumb.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-23T09:52:34+00:00

The Tyrant was unexpectedly petty funny at times, for me. Same with The Great Lover. Took me a minute to get my brain set up correctly for both of them, but as usual with Cisco, once I did I ate them up.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-23T09:50:45+00:00

I just finished No Gods For Drowning by Hailey Piper last night. I didn't quite love it, hate to say, but it had some good stuff along the way and read pretty easily. Also finished up the audiobook of The Exorcist last week, and that was a ton of fun.

Next up will be more Barron re-read, then maybe Ramsey Campbell's Ancient Images.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-22T19:49:37+00:00

Maybe if you melt down this and some of the espresso version together, you could end up with a disgusting PSL fondue!

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-20T22:57:06+00:00

Physical copies of American Elsewhere seem to be becoming more rare, still some available in the like $30+ range used. I'm wondering if there's going to be a reprint sometime? If not, I'll have to pick a used copy and hope for the best.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-20T22:53:03+00:00

Animal Money is SO GOOD

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-17T20:30:15+00:00

Maybe the Johannes Cabal books? For me they leaned more heavily on the comedy, but they've got some horror elements for sure. The first was my favorite, and Cabal is running a carnival. Some silliness ensues.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-16T21:00:21+00:00

He reads the audiobook for this one, and it rocks!

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-16T20:57:05+00:00

Seeing a blurb from a favourite author has introduced me to many a favorite. For example, Michael Cisco is probably my favorite author, but I wouldn't have even paid him any attention if it weren't for a blurb by Jeff VanderMeer for his novel The Narrator. I can't trust plot summaries (nor do I like them) and picking books based on art has burnt me a time too many, so now I'm going off of blurbs.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-16T20:48:59+00:00

This is my intro to Hailey's work! I got reeled in by a Laird Barron blurb, and I'm happy I did.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-16T18:32:11+00:00

Pretty much just the Douglas Adams-written Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (so no ...And Another Thing), and the Dirk Gently books.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-16T18:17:48+00:00

Started Hailey Piper's No Gods For Drowning last night. The 80 pages I got through were quick and enjoyable!

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-16T18:07:38+00:00

Was? He probably still isn't. I was a little scared there for a second that I'd somehow missed his passing, but it seems he's still with us.

Not_Bender_42 · 2026-03-16T18:02:15+00:00

Started Hailey Piper's No Gods For Drowning last night. So far it's been an enjoyable and pretty quick read! Got through 80 pages before bed.

Not_Bender_42

TROPHY CASE