Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
I was originally thinking about discussing library books this week, but December is such a busy month for me that I needed to finish this post well in advance and therefore would probably have already read (or DNF) any library books I had on my radar when I wrote it by the time this goes live.
Therefore, I’m going to be discussing books I’ve bought or downloaded for free but have not read yet (with two exceptions) instead.
Every Thursday, I share a list of free speculative fiction books on Mastodon. Everything but the first book on this list came from those toots, but they may or may not still be free by the time this post goes live.
Here are my answers and why I’m excited about them.
1. The Long Arms by Michael Kanaly
Why I’m Interested: As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’m fascinated by Neanderthals and read everything I can find – both fiction and nonfiction – about them. This looks like it could be a great story.
2. Magic, Mistletoe, & Murder by Ruby Blaylock
Why I’m Interested: It’s a cozy mystery set at Christmas. I love reading gentle stories like this sometimes.
3. Neuro Noir by Al Hess
Why I’m Interested: I actually have a review of this book scheduled for January 11, so stay tuned. Artificial intelligence always makes for such interesting protagonists.
4. Devil’s Night – A Halloween Short Story by Richard Chizmar
Why I’m Interested: Halloween is my favourite holiday, so I read a lot books set then so long as they’re not gory.
(No cover photo)
5. Hologram Kebab by Phillip Kebar
Why I’m Interested: The title was what first grabbed my attention. Isn’t it creative? My review of this book is scheduled for January 4.
6. Don’t Look Back – Short Halloween Stories by Jason Thomas
Why I’m Interested: See #4. There are never enough non-gory Halloween stories for my tastes.
7. The Ballad of Mary-Anne by Kody Boye
Why I’m Interested: One word – aliens. I think they’re such fascinating things to read about.
8. Free Will by Lisa Shea
Why I’m Interested: Here’s a fun, quick little story for you. My spouse is adamant that free will doesn’t exist. This is not a topic I honestly think about very much, but sometimes I like to tease my spouse a little by picking rabbits or other random creatures and saying those animals have free will but no one else in the universe does. (Yes, we are a little geeky sometimes. Hehe). So I want to read this book mostly because it reminds me of this silly memory.
9. Life on the Other Side by Daniel Powell
Why I’m Interested: The cover looks rather peaceful, while the blurb promises a lot of conflict. I think it’s cool when there’s a little conflict between a blurb and a cover. Which one will win, I wonder?
10. The Fall Of Denver – A Tribute Story to the Original War Of The Worlds By H.G. Wells’ by Richard Paolinelli
Why I’m Interested: I adored War of the Worlds and am so curious to see what a contemporary author does with those ideas.
Theres something about cozy mysteries that just really works set at Christmas.
Absolutely!
I hope you enjoy all of the books on this list that you haven’t read yet, Lydia!
Thank you, Dini. 🙂
I love that you’ve made me interested in each of these books just by sharing what made you interested in them. Looking forward to reading your reviews in Jan!
Aww, thanks!
Ooo! A cozy Christmas mystery? Those can be fun. I always enjoy the Christmas specials from favorite British TV shows, so anytime I see a Christmas mystery, I often think of that type of storytelling. 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting my website today!
I have not seen many British Christmas specials. Which one(s) would you recommend?
It looks like you’ve added some fun reads!
Thanks. 🙂
Hope you’ll love all the ones you haven’t read yet!
Thank you!
Definitely going to keep an eye on Neuro Noir. AI both fascinates and repulses me.
Cool. 🙂
Nice list. Christmas cozies are fun. Hope you enjoy reading these.
Thanks!
I love Neanderthals too! I need to find more books about them.
Very cool. I hope you find a lot of great books about them. Feel free to tell me if you do, and I’ll return the favour if you like.
So many looks-good on this list!
Neuro Noir by Al Hess and The Ballad of Mary-Anne by Kody Boye will be added to my TBR.
Thank you. Happy reading!
A War of the Worlds tribute sounds AWESOME. And Neanderthals- and everything related to them- is so interesting. I like a cozy murder mystery set at holiday times too.
Nice. We have a lot of overlap in our interests. 🙂
What an unusual collection! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Thank you.
I hope you enjoy each one of them when you get an opportunity to read them. Have a great week!
Thank you. You, too!
Free Will sounds interesting. I know there are a lot of people, including your spouse, who don’t think Free Will exists. I think it does, but I am interested in why others feel the way they do. Free Will seems like it might explore some of that. I hope you enjoy it and the rest of these.
I hear you there! And thanks. 🙂
Hope you love all of these!
Thank you!
These all sound interesting. I can see why you picked these books up. I hope you enjoy them.
Thanks. 🙂
How awesome that there are so many free books to read out there. I hope you enjoy all these!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
My thoughts exactly. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
This is an interesting collection of books! Happy 2024 reading!
Thank you.
Lydia, you always have the most intriguing collections – I love visiting your page and seeing your Tuesday lists! The variety of genres always ensures that there’s something to add to my TBR, and I love that you included a cozy mystery. Sometimes we all need a light, fluffy read between our heavier and more thought-provoking books. I hope you enjoy all of them!
Aww, thank you. What a lovely compliment.
I’d be interested in hearing about the Richard Chizmar book. I’ve read the trilogy he collaborated on with Stephen King, and I’d eventually like to read more of his work!
Oh, cool!
Enjoy reading them and you certainly have the motivation to do so.
Thank you. 🙂
Neuro Noir looks good, I really enjoyed the last book I read by Al Hess😁
Nice!
Ooooh Neuro Noir looks cool!
My TTT 🙂
It was super interesting.
So interesting to read about what interests you about each book.
Thank you. 🙂
A great mix of books!
Thanks. 🙂
Interesting list. I am going to check some of these out, especially the one that pays tribute to HG Wells. I also like War of the Worlds.
I hope you enjoy it!
Have you read The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter? It‘s his take on War of the Worlds. I was hugely interested in what he would do with it, but it sadly didn‘t work for me.
I have not, but I’m looking it up now. Thanks for the recommendation.
These look great! I really need to read more Christmas-themed cozy mysteries.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)! (here’s my post)
Thank you. Yes, those are so much fun.
All of those look interesting, hope you can read a few more this season
Thanks. 🙂
These are all new to me authors! I hope you enjoy them when you get to read them.
Thank you.
It’s fun to find books that are available free!
Absolutely. 🙂
What a good twist on the post. I love the cover of Devil’s Night — if I were still on Livejournal or if I changed my avatar on a regular basis, I would 100% be cropping the image of those Jack O’Lanterns into one for October. Still might…
Thank you!
That would be so cool. Go for it if you wish to!