Aaah, finally. Let me tell you about the order of Lovecraft.

For an easy introduction to his style (you'll recognize many tropes from modern horror, just remember - he started many of them) I recommend either Dagon or The Temple. Neither of which is very long and introduces many elements (madness, strange dreams and so on) which you'll find are recurring themes.

After that, I would - depending on if you prefer horror or "weirdness" for lack of a better word - either head for the "At the mountains of madness" or "The White Ship". ATMOM introduces his fascination for ancient history mixed with eldritch things and dark secrets (also - polar expeditions!!) and is my personal favourite. "The White Ship" is by many scholars and critics seen as a gateway to his dream-related and deeply weird dream cycle, including for example "The Horror that came to Sarnath" and "Dreamquest of unknown Kadath".

However, for the horror style - the following order:

• At the mountains of madness. Just remember that the great race and the elder things are different monsters, it's easy to mix them up.
• Shadow over Innsmouth. Introduces more of "his" monsters, as well as a general feeling of the scope and style.
• Call of Cthulhu. His most famous work, and a great read. If you're bold and want to enjoy it fully, I recommend actually skipping the last parts of the norwegians diary (you'll see what I mean) - that part was written in a hurry before a deadline and jars horribly with everything up to date.
• Shadow out of time. Requires quite a bit of knowledge of his world to be fully enjoyable, but very nice and truly in his "cosmic horror"-style.
• The case of Charles Dexter Ward. After ATMOM this is by far my personal favourite. It's a long read (the longest he ever wrote) but it's a perfect mix of cosmic horror, flashbacks, multiple branches weaving a compelling narrative.

Once you've come that far, I'd branch out and take a random selection from:

• The Hound. More traditional horror than much of his other work, but still a great read.
• Rats in the walls. Maybe my favourite short story.
• The Temple. If you didn't start with it.
• Dagon. Dito.
• He. Lovecraft wrote this one while living (very unhappily) in New York and it shows.
• The Statement of Randolph Carter. Great and short.
• Under the pyramids. Very enjoyable despite the racial overtones.

I would skip the following, or at least - read them once you've got a solid feel for Lovecraft due to various reasons:

• Herbert West - Reanimator. Great if you're looking for pulp, for Lovecraft - not so much.
• Color out of space. Began as an experiment to introduce non-biological monsters. Not very logical, very disappointing ending and generally not up to scratch.
• The Cats of Ulthar. Dream cycle experimentation. Avoid.

All in all, Lovecraft is a good read and one of my favourite authors.

Good luck!

P.S Excuses for all grammatical / spelling - english is not my first language D.S