Sunday, October 25, 2009

Current favorite author


After having a grand time reading The Woman in White, I've gotten my hands on all the Wilkie Collins I've seen at bookstores. I wasn't really planning on reading Armadale next, since it's even longer than The Woman in White -- it's over 800 pages long!

Today I was holding Pride and Prejudice with the aim of going past page 42 when I kept glancing at my copy of Armadale. I put P&P down and read the first chapter of Armadale just to check how it would compare to TWIW. Before I knew it, I was already on Chapter 4!

So, I guess I can assume that Collins is my favorite author of the moment. I love all the melodrama and the over-the-top narratives. His writing is very atmospheric and he came up with the most effective cliffhangers.



Of course, with Halloween being just around the corner, I have to read something scary. And my chosen book is this anthology of horror stories edited by one of my favorites, Peter Straub. If you're looking for a truly scary ghost story, dear reader, then you should check out Straub's Ghost Story. His Shadowland and If You Could See Me Now are also creepy reads.

19 comments:

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

Just ordered a few of her books for my Kindle. They were pretty cheap too. Enjoy.

Peter S. said...

Hello, Diane! I hope you blog about Collins's novels as soon as you finish them.

Mel u said...

Glad to see you are getting into the classics!-

Peter S. said...

Hi, Mel! I'm really really glad to be reading the classics again!

Anonymous said...

Has a production of Woman in
White the musical ever come to Manila? I was wondering if it's worth seeing.

Alexia561 said...

I'm not familiar with Wilkie Collins, but do agree with you that Peter Straub is a great choice for a scary Halloween read!

Unknown said...

@StephanieD: I don't think so. Did it even do well in Broadway or the West End?

@Alexia: Peter Straub is one of my all-time favorite horror novelist!

Stepford Mum said...

Love Wilkie Collins too - just goes to show that there are classic novels for everyone! Not all of them are like P&P ;-p

Unknown said...

Hi, Stepford Mum! Thanks for dropping by again! Soon, I'll finish P&P and then blog about it like there's no tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

I must get around to reading my copy of The Moonstone soon!

Charlie said...

If I couldn't get past page 42 in P&P, Peter, I wouldn't force me to read it. There's too much other stuff out there to waste my time on something "I think" I should read. Stick with Collins.

Portobello's coffee said...

don't buy the Haunted Hotel! I know something who will give it to you. hehehe.

Peter S. said...

Ngeh! Argh!

LJTradcat said...

If P+P is too heavy-going, why not try one of JA's lighter novels? Northanger Abbey is more 'fun' in a way, and maybe a bit easier to get into - and it's a great read if you're into horror stories! ;-) It's not a horror story, but it's about reading horror stories... it was the first JA I genuinely enjoyed, and then I was able to get into the others after.
Just a thought! :-)

Peter S. said...

Hi, Cynewyn! Thanks for the tip! I'll just get a copy of that.

Inge said...

I love Armadale (and I've a bit of a crush on Ozias too). Enjoy!

Peter S. said...

Hi, Inge! I'm loving Armadale too! Ozias is really a very interesting character.

Anonymous said...

Armadale is just wonderful am so glad that you are loving it, its not a book that is recognised enough as the masterpiece it is. I feel the same way about Collins book No Name though.

Unknown said...

Hi, savidgereads! I'm really enjoying Armadale! I can't wait to start No Name.