Reading Report: March/April 2024 from Jeff Baker
Okay, I didn’t read Poe this time around! Didn’t read a lot of any fiction this month. Except for the usual; the Kaje Harper stories and the Flash Fiction Draw Challenge stories (not by me!) one by Kenny Blasco and another by E. H. Timms: “The Adventures of a Little Peppermill.” Excellent.
Got a copy of the wonderful “Graphic” collection of Flash comic book stories from the Library (“The Flash: A Celebration Of 75 Years.” Re-read the Golden Age Flash stories I’d already read (didn’t remember reading them all!) including “Origin Of the Flash,” by Gardner Fox, “The Rival Flash” by John Broome (actually the last new Jay Garrick Flash story published for a while!) as well as two others that were from the same issue in the 40s. “The Planet Of Sport” I had not read. Great fun!
From the Barry Allen Flash’s Silver age I re-read the origin story “Mystery Of the Human Thunderbolt” by Robert Kanigher (a classic comics origin without tragedy!) Gardner Fox’s classic “Flash Of Two Worlds,” and Jim Shooter’s “Superman’s Battle With the Flash.”
The story I picked up the collection to read was “Death Of An Immortal” by Len Wein. I’d heard about it before (most recently in 13th Dimension) and it didn’t disappoint! Loads of cosmic fun with the Earths One and Two Flashes.
Also read “Stupendous Triumph Of the Six Super Villains” by John Broome.
Two later stories were basically character pieces featuring the Wally West incarnation of the Flash: “Happy Birthday, Wally” by Mike Baron, and “The Unforgiving Minute” by William Messner-Loebs. The latter actually deals with “Impostor Syndrome.”
As for prose fiction, I read Fritz Leiber’s “Kreativity For Kats,” (I have a kitty who spills the water bowl!) and started in on a couple of novels: Terrie Farley Moran and Jessica Fletcher’s fun new “Murder She Wrote” book “Murder Backstage.” It has Emma McGill, need I say more? Also ‘Nathan Burgoine’s “Triad Magic,” which prompted me to try a recipe for the classic Canadian dish Poutine!
I read through some of J. Scott Coatsworth’s book on writing “Suck A Little Happy Juice,” which I had read when he was putting it together and had read the columns they are culled from before.
Read Veronica Henry’s story “Guilt Can Wilt the Sweetest Flower” in the new issue (Winter 2024) of Magazine Of Fantasy And Science Fiction. (Which is still publishing!!! Hooray!!!!!)
Re-Read H.P. Lovecraft’s “Music Of Erich Zahn.” (Friend of mine mentioned it and I hadn’t read it since the early 90s.) I could see where some of it was going but it was a nice little chiller!
And I read a bit of David Dosa M.D.’s “book “Making Rounds With Oscar.”
authorjeffbaker 