JFF: What are the last three books you read?

Finished Gateway by Frederik Pohl. Really connected with the lead character spending a great deal  in therapy.  One of the best and most original works of science fiction ever.

A third the way through The Scarlet Gospels by Clive Barker.  My first Clive Barker as well as Hellraiser novel.  A Lovecraftian noir!

Thoroughly enjoying the lastest Flavia de Luce novel:
The Grave's a Fine and Private Place (Flavia de Luce, #9) by Alan Bradley

Currently reading the very enjoyable The Atrocity Archives (Laundry Files, #1) by Charles Stross.

Prior to that:
A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss, Marlon Bundo (Inspiration), E.G. Keller (Illustrator) [The children't book featured by John Oliver in which parodies the VP Mike Pence family bunny book that was also released this week].

Beyond the Blue Event Horizon (Heechee Saga, #2) by Frederik Pohl.

Finished:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel: Neil Gaiman.
Really simple and dark contemporary fairy tale.

Will start Paper Girls Volume 4 this week. Graphic novel that will be a breeze to fly through. Also have Ring, the classic Japanese horror novel by Koji Suzuki, best known for its movie adapations (both Japanese and Hollywood). This one will likely take me months to swim through (if I don't abandon it like a neglectful parent that I can be with many much longer books I tackle).

Just started Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film by Patton Oswalt
Before that read The Art of the Swap by Kristine Carlson Asselin and Jen Malone
Before that read The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible by A.J. Jacobs

Rereadng The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven as I got the sequel on sale from Audible.  Pretty frustrating read (taking from present day morales.  It's pretty damn sexist.  The scientist-civilians are using absolutes and human centric generalizations in trying to figure out a completely alien society.
The sequel was written 19 years later.  I hope the two authors address some of these timely issues.

Prior to that:
The Dead Mountaineer's Inn by Strugatsky, Arkady Not a particularly funny or effective satire of the crime noir/sci-fi hybrid novel??

14 by Clines, Peter. Modern day twist on a Lovecraftian plot of real estate.  I plan on reading more from this scifi author.

The Jennifer Morgue(Laundry Files, #2) by Stross, Charles.  Not a fan of his hyperbizarro hard science fiction.  Tried a couple of his books.  BUT I superadore his Lovecraftian take on the Bond spy genre.  Though it's a parody where agent Bob Howard... is a nerdy IT dept bureaucrat with all its uncouth sensibilities.


And a scattering of graphic novels (with varying degrees of quality and enjoy-ability).
Harrow County, Vol. 3: Snake Doctor
and Harrow County, Vol. 2: Twice by Bunn, Cullen 
Saucer State by Cornell, Paul 
Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha Christie by Martinetti, Anne

Fabian, the Story of a Moralist by Erich Kästner, who is most famous for writing childrens' classics (Emil and the Detectives as well as the original Parent Trap). But this 1931 book is decidedly adult, full of acerbic humor and stuff that was considered too "liberal" or "degenerate" by censors. It is remarkable that the characters clearly recognize they are living in an interim period, and they are positive about the imminence of another, even more horrible war and the doom of Europe.

The Castle by Franz Kafka. I have a feeling that Kafka wasn't concerned with boundless bureaucracy, but his own innermost fears. In The Castle, you never get what you want. Whatever you hope for you, you will be disappointed, but you will get something else that lets you hope just a little bit longer. You will never actually reach the castle, but maybe get just a little closer to it. (Spoiler) It makes perfect sense that the novel stops midsentence, even if Kafka had intended for the story to continue. In the world he describes, there is no dreadful ending, only dread without ending.

The Earthquake in Chile by Heinrich von Kleist. (Spoilers for a 1807 novella that nobody here is likely going to read) A terrible earthquake destroys a city but also saves a star-crossed couple that was meant to be executed. This makes way for a new start, tabula rasa, paradisiac conditions! Or so it seems... Kleist's language is so pithy and dry (in a good sense). He inspires hope for the redemption of all mankind, and completely destroys it also, all within just a few words. Kleist is the great precursor and role model of Kafka.

Jacques Mesrine: Killer Instinct, more entertaining and insightful than the movie adaptation, which is saying a lot since I loved the films.

Don Miguel Ruiz: The Four Toltec Agreements: I avoided these sorts of books for a long time but this one was short enough to encourage me to give it a try, the four agreements are spot-on, all spirituality put aside, but old habits die hard and I'm not sure I can fully reach these agreements in a short span of time, at least I agreed with them, which is a first step.

Dan Harris: 10% Happier, How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, that 'voice' metaphor was reflecting my own experience and I liked how the author always insisted on how skeptical and how much he resisted meditation before trying... I never meditated in my life, but the book allowed me to contemplate my life and realize that the perceptions of our own achievements affect our lives more than the achievements themselves, can be positive, can be dangerous too, can be devastating!

Just started I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara - about the serial killer/rapist that lived down the street
Before that read Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star by Tab Hunter and Eddie Muller
Before that read Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Tales of Extraordinary Women by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo

The Secret. Rhonda Byrne.
That's it, next year, I'll be a millionnaire! In fact, I already am!

Now I read: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller.
Before that I read:The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment  by  Eckhart Tolle.
Before that I read: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.     

New and Selected Poems, Vol. 2 by Mary Oliver.  Easily one of my favorite poets of all time.

Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel I  by RH. Sin.  Don't bother with this particularly meh and pointless short book of poetry.  Wasted money no thanks to the Amazon bookstore.

The Fuller Memorandum (Laundry Files, #3) by Charles Stross.  This book series could make for a great SyFy tv series.

Currently reading:
Peter Cline's The Fold (which I was unaware that it may be a sequel or spinoff to his novel, 14).
Also carrying around a small paperback of short stories... Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory.

I haven't updated this thread for too long.

Spooky New York: Tales of Hauntings, Strange Happenings, and Other Local Lore by Schlosser, S.E.: Easy bedtime reading. Not really spooky.

Heart-Shaped Box by Hill, Joe. Recommend this one. Will try and read more of his work. He definitely has his own voice (completely separate from his iconic horror father, Stephen King).

GRAPHIC NOVEL:

Harrow County, Vol. 3: Snake Doctor by Bunn, Cullen: Definitely not scary. Will not go out of my way to read the first two volumes or any new ones that come out. Not bad. Just shrugworthy. Love the art style. 

Lifeformed: Cleo Makes Contact by Lowery, Matt Mair . I really liked it. Most likely, further volumes read via the NYPL.

Spill Zone (Spill Zone, #1) by Westerfeld, Scott: Really mesmerizing and utterly mindsshattering read. DEFINITE RECOMMENDATION