H. P. Lovecraft: Tales (Library of America)

This is my first foray into the world of H. P. Lovecraft, and I really like what I'm reading. (I just wish he wouldn't describe every, god-damn thing as 'Cyclopean') ( )

I'd read only a few of Lovecraft's short stories before I checked this out from the library. I was hoping to read a few more of his stories before having to return it to the library. I was able to, but not as many as I'd like. I was unaware, when I started reading 'At The Mountains of Madness', that it was such a long story. Novella, is definitely a better description. I did enjoy the story; the antarctic setting, the exploration of the area, and so on. I just assumed it'd be about thirty pages in this book. It was actually closer to 100 pages. If I'd realized this sooner, I'd have read it at a much faster pace.

I'd already read 'The Music of Erich Zann' previously and really enjoyed it. With this book, I also read 'Herbert West—Reanimator' and was really into the story and progression through time with each chapter. I could've done without the brief summary or recap that started off each chapter. I'm guessing this was probably published in some sort of magazine or periodical of the time, in which the summary would've made sense, but I didn't need it when I was reading it straight through over a couple days.

I also read 'The Outsider', which I feel like I'd read before but it didn't quite end how I remembered. So I guess I either never finished it the previous time or I was combining it with another story I'd read, but can no longer remember the name. I hope if the latter is the case, I can eventually find that other story.

Even though I didn't have a chance to read the entire book, and not even all the ones I wanted to read. (I didn't get to 'The Call of Cthulhu' like I wanted too.) I do plan to try and read a few more of Lovecraft's short stories each year.

There's nothing really wrong with these stories, they just didn't do it for me. They are more "spooky" than anything. If you can handle Scooby Doo, then you can handle these stories. I was excited to start reading them, but after I got through three short stories it just felt like a chore. I might give it another chance one day, because they weren't terrible, but I have too many other books that I'm excited about right now to continue with this one. ( )

Brilliant build-up of tension, unexpected endings, creepy and mysterious. ( )

This was a good book (i.e., a 3 on a 5 point scale), which is what I expect when I buy a book.
It contains 22 of his short stories (from 7 to 129 pages in length).
He writes what is called 'weird fiction'.
He is a competent writer and his vocabulary is very good. His plots and characters are well developed.
Only a few stories had me deeply involved.

Positives:
This is a Library of America book.
In a few stories, there are some recurring themes ('The Necromicon' book, the 'old ones').

Negatives:
I'm not a fan of the weird fiction genre. ( )