Sounds interesting. I've read a few self-help books over the years about dealing with emotions and what not and it's always struck me that they've taken inspiration from the stoics.
Books The BOOK thread
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Sounds interesting. I've read a few self-help books over the years about dealing with emotions and what not and it's always struck me that they've taken inspiration from the stoics.
From what I’ve looked at so far there’s a good chunk about leadership and his thoughts on that within.
What good ones do you recommend ?
Currently reading The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo. Anyone else read? I’m really enjoying it so far.
Coming back to this... I wasn't ignoring you, I just can't remember which ones are any good
Edit - The Chimp Paradox is alright but its message is kinda simple - your brain likes to dramatise things so understand that and don't give in to your stupid monkey brain.
I haven't but I know about that one and I intend to read it at some point. I'd also recommend Lady Joker by Kaoru Takamura. Fabulously epic novel.
Finished this. It's an interesting take on the 'locked room' murder mystery. Some of the Japanese items were a bit over my head, but at 170ish pages it's a light breezy read with a really good story within. We're introduced to the endearing Kosuke Kindaichi, Yokomizo's Sherlock, if you will. I'll be checking out some of Seishi Yokomizo's other work next as this was a good read.
Thanks for the heads up - will get my hands on this.
Gravity's Rainbow is a bit of a rollercoaster. I'm just over 150 pages or a sixth of the way in and it's been slow but steady progress so far.
The book is incredibly dense, with a very loose plot that constantly veers off into random tangents, some really entertaining, a few very dry and loads that are just rambling and baffling.
Will see how I get on- another 750 pages feels quite daunting. I'm on a beach holiday, so it's conducive to reading, but will be less so from tomorrow when sport resumes, even with the 8 hour time difference here.
The book is incredibly dense, with a very loose plot that constantly veers off into random tangents, some really entertaining, a few very dry and loads that are just rambling and baffling.
Will see how I get on- another 750 pages feels quite daunting. I'm on a beach holiday, so it's conducive to reading, but will be less so from tomorrow when sport resumes, even with the 8 hour time difference here.
Don't know if others have already posted about it but I recently finished the 5th book in the Red Rising series and I would recommend it to everyone. As a kid I was an avid reader but I hadn't touched a book (besides school) for like 15 years. A friend recommended it to me and I decided to give it a try and was hooked instantly. Although the first book starts out a little YA'ish, there's some absolutely brutal stuff happening throughout the books so don't be deceived. If you like science fiction you might really enjoy this series.
I just managed to complete my 52 books for the year 2022, the five consecutive year I've hit 52 or more.
Most of these were not published in 2022 but here are my top highlights.
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy - Fantastic and shows McCarthy still had another gear in him. I just started Stella Maris so that will be a 2023 completion but The Passenger is outstanding.
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris - This is Ferris at his best. The novel definitely shows a hint of his Pynchon and Delillo influence but has its own unique voice. This is the best of literary fiction.
Penny Dreadful by Will Christopher Baer - this is as noir as neo-noir can get. A truly original tale with some exquisite sentences. Baer's voice is one of the most original modern noir writers and it's a shame he hasn't published anything in a while.
Wraiths of the Broken Land by S Craig Zehler - this western just hums like a masterfully played guitar. Western film fans will know Zehler's Bone Tomahawk movie and this one has the same no holds barred brutal approach to the west.
The Fan Man by William Kotzwinkle - talking about writing with a distinct voice, this short 200-page novel published in 1974 has one of the most distinct and original narrators of any book I've read.
Underworld by Don Delillo - Have to mention this one as it's just an epic memorable work that any fan of literature should read at some point in their life.
Currently reading: Stella Maris and Lady Joker pt.2 and those are both looking like outstanding choices to begin 2023
Most of these were not published in 2022 but here are my top highlights.
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy - Fantastic and shows McCarthy still had another gear in him. I just started Stella Maris so that will be a 2023 completion but The Passenger is outstanding.
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris - This is Ferris at his best. The novel definitely shows a hint of his Pynchon and Delillo influence but has its own unique voice. This is the best of literary fiction.
Penny Dreadful by Will Christopher Baer - this is as noir as neo-noir can get. A truly original tale with some exquisite sentences. Baer's voice is one of the most original modern noir writers and it's a shame he hasn't published anything in a while.
Wraiths of the Broken Land by S Craig Zehler - this western just hums like a masterfully played guitar. Western film fans will know Zehler's Bone Tomahawk movie and this one has the same no holds barred brutal approach to the west.
The Fan Man by William Kotzwinkle - talking about writing with a distinct voice, this short 200-page novel published in 1974 has one of the most distinct and original narrators of any book I've read.
Underworld by Don Delillo - Have to mention this one as it's just an epic memorable work that any fan of literature should read at some point in their life.
Currently reading: Stella Maris and Lady Joker pt.2 and those are both looking like outstanding choices to begin 2023
To add to @oneniltothearsenal's post, but trying to limit it to books published in 2022, here are my personal favourites of the 52 I managed to read this year (apologies for the self-promoting links, but since I already wrote reviews on most of them, I didn't fancy summarising them again here):
1. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/05/31/book-review-when-we-were-birds-by-ayanna-lloyd-banwo/
2. Joan is Okay by Weike Wang - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/02/09/...is Okay could be,themes upon which it touches.
3. Checkout 19 by Claire Louise Bennett - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/04/12/review-checkout-19-by-claire-louise-bennett/
4. Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/11/15/...-what-happened-to-carlotta-by-james-hannaham/
5. Marigold and Rose by Louise Gluck - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/11/22/book-review-marigold-and-rose-by-louise-gluck/
6. Now is not the time to panic by Kevin Wilson - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/12/13/book-review-now-is-not-the-time-to-panic-by-kevin-wilson/
7. No-one left to come looking for you by Sam Lipsyte
1. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/05/31/book-review-when-we-were-birds-by-ayanna-lloyd-banwo/
2. Joan is Okay by Weike Wang - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/02/09/...is Okay could be,themes upon which it touches.
3. Checkout 19 by Claire Louise Bennett - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/04/12/review-checkout-19-by-claire-louise-bennett/
4. Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/11/15/...-what-happened-to-carlotta-by-james-hannaham/
5. Marigold and Rose by Louise Gluck - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/11/22/book-review-marigold-and-rose-by-louise-gluck/
6. Now is not the time to panic by Kevin Wilson - https://cyprus-mail.com/2022/12/13/book-review-now-is-not-the-time-to-panic-by-kevin-wilson/
7. No-one left to come looking for you by Sam Lipsyte
Just over halfway now and I'm enjoying it. Had to power through pages c100-200 and there's the odd overlong description on the mechanics of rocket propulsion or some lesser character's not so interesting backstory, but mostly it's really engaging, funny at times, brilliant writing, occasionally completely obscene. Some of the bizarre stuff Pynchon imagines continues to surprise you.You can do it Jippy. We believe in you
Unless I'm about to head into another really torrid 100 pages or so, like the early one, it's difficult to quite understand why it's ranked so difficult to read. You get used to it's rambling, unstructured style, which slips into flashbacks quite a lot, moving timeframes around, and it feels like the story becomes more linear and conventional the deeper you get into the book.
On the 52 in 52 front, I managed it for the third year running, but it felt more like a collection of solid 7s, too many 6s and the odd 8 out of 10 book, rather than loads of standouts. I think less than half a dozen were published this century, so these are more old gold you may have missed, forgotten about or never got round to reading, rather than anything new.
The Razor's Edge, Somerset Maugham- such a brilliant, fluid writer and a biting take on the vapidity of 1920s-30s high society (albeit written in the 40s), with memorably acidic descriptions of people. Also read Cakes and Ale by Maugham, who I hadn't read before, and he is a fantastic author.
Visiting Mrs Nabokov, Martin Amis- really intriguing collection of short articles and interviews with figures from bizarre worlds from chess to minor celebrity. When writing non-fiction, Amis is fantastically engaging, even on subjects you don't care about, and I really enjoyed this (didn't really like Money, which I also read).
Appointment in Samarra, John O'Hara- great tale of hubris from 1930s America, with a guy's stupid actions at a club one night spiralling out of control. Maybe OTT towards the end, but thoroughly readable and layered with social commentary.
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Marukami- I may be 20 years late to this party, but it was worth the wait. Fantastic book with Marukami's normal surreal, dream-like quality, featuring bizarre but engaging characters and I liked the way it left aspects open to interpretation. I wish I could speak to cats.
Honourable mentions to J.M. Coetzee: The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee, Mikhail Bulgakov: A Country Doctor's Notebook, Anton Chekhov: The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories and H.P. Lovecraft: At the Mountains of Madness.
The Razor's Edge, Somerset Maugham- such a brilliant, fluid writer and a biting take on the vapidity of 1920s-30s high society (albeit written in the 40s), with memorably acidic descriptions of people. Also read Cakes and Ale by Maugham, who I hadn't read before, and he is a fantastic author.
Visiting Mrs Nabokov, Martin Amis- really intriguing collection of short articles and interviews with figures from bizarre worlds from chess to minor celebrity. When writing non-fiction, Amis is fantastically engaging, even on subjects you don't care about, and I really enjoyed this (didn't really like Money, which I also read).
Appointment in Samarra, John O'Hara- great tale of hubris from 1930s America, with a guy's stupid actions at a club one night spiralling out of control. Maybe OTT towards the end, but thoroughly readable and layered with social commentary.
Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Marukami- I may be 20 years late to this party, but it was worth the wait. Fantastic book with Marukami's normal surreal, dream-like quality, featuring bizarre but engaging characters and I liked the way it left aspects open to interpretation. I wish I could speak to cats.
Honourable mentions to J.M. Coetzee: The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee, Mikhail Bulgakov: A Country Doctor's Notebook, Anton Chekhov: The Lady with the Little Dog and Other Stories and H.P. Lovecraft: At the Mountains of Madness.
Man I'd love to hit 52 books in a year but I'm not disciplined enough. Think the best I've ever done was 30.
I have been reading Kavalier & Clay recently and though I enjoy the story and the whole premise of the book, I must say there are parts I am struggling with due to language. I have read hundreds of English books over the years and bar the odd sentence here and there where I had to refer to Kindle built-in dictionary to pick up the meaning of one or two words, I never had any real difficulties following the text. There have been several instances in Kavalier & Clay where I had to read the whole paragraph multiple times as I couldn’t grasp what it was about. I read New York Trilogy just before this and it was so much easier to read.
Is it just me being a non-native speaker having gaps in my vocabulary or is Chabon’s selection of words so sophisticated and complex that it is fine to feel that way?
Is it just me being a non-native speaker having gaps in my vocabulary or is Chabon’s selection of words so sophisticated and complex that it is fine to feel that way?
The first of the three times I've managed it was during lockdown and my first year off booze, so not going out much, and the last one was after moving to a country where we knew no-one, which made it easier.
I feel that novel was way ahead of its time, both craft-wise and thematically. Always meant to read some more of him. Maybe I will in 2023 Z(although i still have to get to Parallel Stories that you recommend!)
Just finished Willeford‘s The Machine in Ward 11. As a huge Willeford „fan“ I was eyeing it for a long time and finally got my hands on a decent copy. Starts quite well but overall it‘s a bit disappointing. Rather early writings of his so probably about to be expected but still a bit of a letdown.
Now on to „We“ by Zamyatin. Not sure how I got to know about it (not much of a reader anymore, unfortunately) but let‘s see.
Now on to „We“ by Zamyatin. Not sure how I got to know about it (not much of a reader anymore, unfortunately) but let‘s see.
I haven't read that one but I'm also a huge Willeford fan (Cockfighter, Shark-Infested Custard, Burnt Orange Heresy, and Woman Chaser are all fantastic).
Yes, he's great. I don't read pulp but he's excellent at it (not that he only wrote pulp). I only have Chandler and him regarding that.
Machine on Ward 11 I think makes sense to read having his autobiography Something About A Soldier in mind. It's the second of his two autobiographys (I prefer and recommend the first "I was Looking for a Street") and you can see how some stories tie into his experiences as a soldier. Maybe I expected too much/differently from it given I like almost all his books by quite a margin.
I assume you've read the four Hoke Mosley books? If yes, I can recommend "Grimhaven" in case you don't know it yet. I think it was meant to be the successor to his huge hit Miami Blues and you can see that Willeford was quite avers to write follow ups. It was never published as it was deemed too grim and would have ended the series but you can download the script as PDF (or I send it to you, must have it somewhere). In case you haven't read the complete Mosley series I would totally suggest you do that before reading Grimhaven.
Other Willeford's I quite like, and you haven't mentioned, are Deliver Me From Dallas!, Made in Miami and the Black Mass of Brother Springer and at least his first autobio I was Looking for a Street. All very good imho.
Awesome, you've read more Willeford than I! When I find an author I love I try to only read 1-2 per year so I have some saved for the future. I've only read Miami Blues, not the rest of that series yet but Grimhaven sounds awesome. I also have Black Mass and I intend to read that one in 2023. Of those other three what is your favorite?
Deliver me From Dallas I guess. Made in Miami is a great Chandler-esque read, can't do wrong with any of the three. Black Mass I believe is quite different to many of his books the way the story turns out but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless.
But I honestly enjoy the Mosley books the most, read them about once a year I think, at least Miami and The Way We Die Now (was the first Willeford book for me, and insta-hooked me, and the last of the Mosley series but damn, hit hard but with the quirky black humour I love so much). Think about his first autobiography, it's awesome. Sounds like fiction at times but in a good way, very entertaining and easy to read. He was a gifted writer and lead quite the life.
Did you watch the Miami Blues movie? It's quite good, starring starring Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Not as great as the book though.
I think there was a Burnt Orange Heresy movie adaption recently made, haven't seen it though.
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I've decided that I need to read more than I currently do...which is zero. Read a few books over the last couple of months, my personal favourite being Project Hail Mary. Had it recommended to me by a friend. Starts off a bit slow but definitely picks up after the introduction of a certain character, who I absolutely adored. Genuinely felt sad to reach the end of the book and realise that there was nothing more to come. There's a ton of exposition that's given to the reader due to the science-heavy nature of it, but generally I think it's handled well and straddles that fine line between making the content accessible to others without being too heavy handed. I appreciated it, at least. The flashback nature might irritate some and there were some points where I was more interested in what was going on right there and then rather than the flashbacks, but that's down to opinion. All in all, I'd highly recommend.
I also read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Quite frantic in places and definitely a page-turner. It's got an interesting premise that is set up very quickly and it does pose a few interesting questions throughout. It's a little clumsily written in places and almost seems like the writer is desperate for you to get from point A to point B in the shortest time possible, which does add to the frantic pace, but maybe at the sacrifice of some character development or further world building. I did find the ending a little sudden, if I'm being quite honest. It almost feels like the sort of story that might have been better to tell over 2 books, although that might have slowed the pace down, in hindsight. I really enjoyed it and it's definitely worth a look at. The more I think of it, the more I found the ending an anti-climax, whereas I wanted something more definite, rather than the open-ended nature of what we have.
Finally, I read through Valis, which is my first ever Philip K. Dick novel. Admittedly, I didn't do an awful lot of checking over which book to read and just jumped in with the title because I knew very little about it and it sounded interesting. After finishing it, I can safely say that this is the worst book/least favourite that I have ever read.
It's absolute horseshit. There are pages and pages of...shit, where it feels like the author just rambles on about complete bollocks. It's inaccessible in places and very difficult to connect to anyone or even care about the 'plot', or what little plot there is in this tale. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that somebody submitted this as a piss take or maybe the editor was substituted for an intern, because it is dreadful. I read other impressions of the story afterwards and the general impression is that PKD was high as feck at the time, mentally all over the place, obsessed with mysticism, religion, suicidal thoughts and so forth. I probably chose the wrong book to start with, as from other impressions online, this is very much marmite and has varied opinions. Personally, I'm interested to hear what other people think about this, but I hated it. Not with a passion, but more of a shrug.
I also read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Quite frantic in places and definitely a page-turner. It's got an interesting premise that is set up very quickly and it does pose a few interesting questions throughout. It's a little clumsily written in places and almost seems like the writer is desperate for you to get from point A to point B in the shortest time possible, which does add to the frantic pace, but maybe at the sacrifice of some character development or further world building. I did find the ending a little sudden, if I'm being quite honest. It almost feels like the sort of story that might have been better to tell over 2 books, although that might have slowed the pace down, in hindsight. I really enjoyed it and it's definitely worth a look at. The more I think of it, the more I found the ending an anti-climax, whereas I wanted something more definite, rather than the open-ended nature of what we have.
Finally, I read through Valis, which is my first ever Philip K. Dick novel. Admittedly, I didn't do an awful lot of checking over which book to read and just jumped in with the title because I knew very little about it and it sounded interesting. After finishing it, I can safely say that this is the worst book/least favourite that I have ever read.
It's absolute horseshit. There are pages and pages of...shit, where it feels like the author just rambles on about complete bollocks. It's inaccessible in places and very difficult to connect to anyone or even care about the 'plot', or what little plot there is in this tale. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that somebody submitted this as a piss take or maybe the editor was substituted for an intern, because it is dreadful. I read other impressions of the story afterwards and the general impression is that PKD was high as feck at the time, mentally all over the place, obsessed with mysticism, religion, suicidal thoughts and so forth. I probably chose the wrong book to start with, as from other impressions online, this is very much marmite and has varied opinions. Personally, I'm interested to hear what other people think about this, but I hated it. Not with a passion, but more of a shrug.I haven't seen Miami Blues but I'll put that on my list. I did see the Burnt Orange Heresy (at a drive-in during the pandemic) and it's not as good as the book and a bit disappointing sadly. It's decent enough if you haven't read the book but if you have, it's disappointing. You have motivated me to finish the Mosley series in 2023 so I'll let you know how that goes in a few months.
@Superunknown yeah VALIS should not have been your first PKD novel!
Try Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep - not only is it his most famous book but it's also one of his most accessible.
If you like that, then Ubik, The Man in the High Castle, and A Scanner Darkly (my personal fave) are all very good.
Try Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep - not only is it his most famous book but it's also one of his most accessible.
If you like that, then Ubik, The Man in the High Castle, and A Scanner Darkly (my personal fave) are all very good.
Anybody read Sapiens: A brief history of mankind
I really loved the first parts of the book because of the prose, but the fact that the storyline never really goes anywhere made the rest of the book a huge drag.
Yeah, I fecked up. I went in blind and only went for it because the title sounded a bit unusual. Thought I would try and go into it with no hype or insight. Aw well, you live and learn.
I've had someone mention all of those exact choices. I'll go with either Electric Sheep or High Castle next. Currently reading my first H.P. Lovecraft novel At The Mountains Of Madness. Only really just started that.
I've been reading a few novels in Spanish on my holiday.
Volver la Vista Atras by Juan Gabriel Vasquez ('Retrospective' in English) - love this author. It's a real story about a Colombian film director called Sergio Cabrera. His father, a Spanish civil war exile, ends up making a life in Colombia as an actor and poet, but eventually becomes 'radicalized' and moves the family to Mao's China (when Sergio is a teen), before returning to Colombia so they can all join a guerrilla. I think it does a good job at putting you in the head of people who really believed they could totally change the world, without buying it nor being condescending about it.
Un Verdor Terrible by Benjamin Labatut ('When we cease to understand the world' in English) - interesting non-fiction short stories about science in the 20th century and the ways in which discoveries that end up confusing us more about the nature of reality end up affecting our minds. I preferred the first half, which is three nightmarish short stories about different scientists. The second half is a single story about Schrodinger and Heisenberg which is a little more down to earth after the first half and less interesting. Still an intriguing, short read.
Ursua by William Ospina. Historical fiction about the conquest of the Americas. Well-written but I always find this subject matter difficult.
Volver la Vista Atras by Juan Gabriel Vasquez ('Retrospective' in English) - love this author. It's a real story about a Colombian film director called Sergio Cabrera. His father, a Spanish civil war exile, ends up making a life in Colombia as an actor and poet, but eventually becomes 'radicalized' and moves the family to Mao's China (when Sergio is a teen), before returning to Colombia so they can all join a guerrilla. I think it does a good job at putting you in the head of people who really believed they could totally change the world, without buying it nor being condescending about it.
Un Verdor Terrible by Benjamin Labatut ('When we cease to understand the world' in English) - interesting non-fiction short stories about science in the 20th century and the ways in which discoveries that end up confusing us more about the nature of reality end up affecting our minds. I preferred the first half, which is three nightmarish short stories about different scientists. The second half is a single story about Schrodinger and Heisenberg which is a little more down to earth after the first half and less interesting. Still an intriguing, short read.
Ursua by William Ospina. Historical fiction about the conquest of the Americas. Well-written but I always find this subject matter difficult.
I got tempted myself now, New Hope For the Dead it is!
Just had a second look onto my bookshelf and found Wild Wives and Understudy for Death there as well. Both a good read, crime / noir as well and can fill in nicely as a quick Willeford fix. Think I'm missing only Women Chaser (how do you like it?), No experience necessary and High Priest of California of his mains.
Currently reading Man Eaters of Kumaon by the famed hunter of British India Jim Corbett, his account of years spent hunting man-eating Tigers and Leopards in the foothills of the Himalayas in northern India, early twentieth century.
It’s fecking brilliant, full of empathy and erudition along with a real sense of adventure. Corbett’s certainly one of the good guys of the Raj. It’s on archive.org for download.
It’s fecking brilliant, full of empathy and erudition along with a real sense of adventure. Corbett’s certainly one of the good guys of the Raj. It’s on archive.org for download.
Trying to read more female writers this year. Really enjoyed Fernanda Melchor and Olga Tokarczuk recently so will look at some of their more recent work.
Particuarly interested in more experimental/postmodernist literature if anyone has any recommendations. Heard good things about Ursula Le Guin - anyone read any of her work?
Particuarly interested in more experimental/postmodernist literature if anyone has any recommendations. Heard good things about Ursula Le Guin - anyone read any of her work?
Have you read:
The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. by Robert Coover
New York Trilogy by Paul Auster
If not I highly recommend those two.
Just finished 1999:Manchester United, the treble and all that by Matt Dickinson
Pretty much knew most of the stories from that time as they have been told so many times, there are a few anecdotes that I didn't know and the book gets some German perspectives also a good read for any United fan really
Pretty much knew most of the stories from that time as they have been told so many times, there are a few anecdotes that I didn't know and the book gets some German perspectives also a good read for any United fan really
Not sure if it's what you have in mind, but Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf is a great book, blending stream of consciousness and flashbacks. The Vegetarian by Han Kang is a bit different too.
I've found PKD very hit and miss. Would second those two and add in The World That Jones Built, Ubik and We Can Remember That For You Wholesale (Total Recall) as well. I hated Cosmic Puppets and Eye in the Sky.Yeah, I fecked up. I went in blind and only went for it because the title sounded a bit unusual. Thought I would try and go into it with no hype or insight. Aw well, you live and learn.
I've had someone mention all of those exact choices. I'll go with either Electric Sheep or High Castle next. Currently reading my first H.P. Lovecraft novel At The Mountains Of Madness. Only really just started that.
I like HP Lovecraft. His writing is superb and he is a master at building suspense and a claustrophobic sense of dread. I've got a couple of compilations of his short stories and novellas and found another one in a second hand book shop in NYC in summer that had zero overlap in stories with the others, which was a random bonus. Not all of his stories work, but Mountains and Herbert West: Re-animator are two of his best.
Agreed, Lovecraft is unique and unparalleled in what he did with his cosmic horror. I can recommend the complete audiobooks by the Lovecraft Historical Society (are something along that name). It's very well done - you can feel it's created by some very professional enthusiasts. Shadows over Innsmouth is probably my favourite HPL.
I don't think I've read Electric Sheep yet but I very much liked Man in the High Castle and was quite let down by the series (stopped after S1 more or less).
Think on of my fav Frank Herbert's is Hellstrom's Hive.
I need to try audiobooks out. I know many people swear by them and I think atmospheric short stories could potentially work well, thanks. Shadow over Innsmouth is decent, although it's slightly hard to picture the transformation into the creatures without envisioning it being somewhat comical, rather than terrifying.
I think it was you that recommended this to me too a way back. I read it and really enjoyed it. Much more accessible and satisfying than The Lighthouse.
I really liked it, but jesus The Waves was hard work. I've not read The Lighthouse, but it was quoted a few times in something I read recently.
I really liked The Waves but it is a bit of fever dream. Reads like a series of uncontained musings - some very beautiful passages.