E.S. Raye

I’ve been so busy with editing Gas Giant Gambit lately (plus the whole “adopting a new dog and then creating a new routine to accommodate their needs,” as well as more beer league hockey than I can shake a stick at) that I’ve fallen a little behind on my reading goals for the year.

So, in an effort to remotivate myself, here are the next 5 books I plan on reading–not necessarily in order–once I finish reading the contributions of my fellow authors in Rare.

Program 38: Sparks

By Amanda Madison

To be honest, Program 38: Sparks wasn’t on my radar until very recently. I first heard about it on Glen Weatherhead’s very first Creative Writing Wizard podcast, in which he interviewed Amanda about this book and her writing experience.

Later, I signed up for Glen’s newsletter and won a copy of Program 38: Sparks from Amanda for doing so!

So, I can’t say this was on my TBR pile until recently, but I love me a good superhero story (an I’ve got one of my own planned), so I’m looking forward to it, and hoping I can learn something!

The Rats Beneath the Walls

By Robert S. Campbell

This book has been staring at me from my TBR list for nearly a year now, and it’s time I got to it! I learned of this novel and picked it up at the same time and place: San Diego Comic Con 2024.

Robert had a booth set up on the vendor floor, and as a fan of all things cosmic horror I was drawn to the “Weird Tales” branding on the cover. We chatted over a shared interest in cosmic horror, writing, and creating our own mythoses.

It turns out this is sort of an adaptation/continuation of the Lovecraft story “The Rats in the Wall.

I’m really looking forward to this one.

Hounds of Gaia

By Sean M. Tirman

Another book I learned about from Glen’s podcast, Hounds if Gaia feels right up my alley. A mysterious sci-fi with dark horror elements?

Count me in.

Song of Susannah

By Stephen King

I started this latest re-read of my favorite book series last year, and I have been slowly making my way through it ever since. In the read throughs of The Dark Tower series I’ve done in the past I always powered through all seven (and later, eight) books in a row. But this time I’m allowing myself breaks in between–the books get pretty long in the latter half of the series.

But, the last three are my favorites, and this is the second of those, so I am looking forward to this revisit.

I’m keeping it off this list for brevity’s sake, but The Dark Tower, the final book in the series, won’t be far behind once I finish Song of Susannah.

Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi

I am a massive, life-long Star Wars fan, so I was pretty excited when my mother-in-law gave me all three From a Certain Point of View books to read.

So far, the stories have run the emotional gamit, from hilarious to deeply sorrowful. Some provide new and interesting context, others go of on wild tangents. But there are all fantastically written and the series as a whole has been a lot of fun.

While it may not be the most popular opinion, Return of the Jedi has always been my favorite of the original trilogy, so I am especially excited to get into these stories.

What’s next on your TBR list?