I believe he is respected for the mythos and all that noise rather than for the consistent excellence of individual stories. Also, literature has changed quite a bit since Lovecraft last picked up a pen and I understand that it can be difficult to appreciate some texts even if you understand the context in which it was published; I, for instance, read some 1950's sci-fi a few years back and it was pretty awful even though I acknowledge that back then the world was very keen on technology solving all the challenges of the future and unravelling the mystery of the very universe in a couple of decades.

EDIT: I should probably mention that I have read a couple of Lovecraft stories and was left feeling terribly underwhelmed.

The current Dan Brown book Inferno, not bad, same old same old DB thrmes.

Lovecraft is an interesting guy with an interesting universe and interesting themes, that have since become quite common in horror fictions. He is not a tremendous writer. His style is hilariously bloated and his stories pacing re facepalm-worthy (ending with huge big shocking reveals that you just took for granted after the first two lines of the story). He's charming and adorable in his own way, but the poetry of his underlying ideas and concepts is worth more than their implementation. His work as a whole stick with you much more than his individual stories.

I like Lovecraft a lot, I'm very much in a Lovecraft re-reading mood, but it's more about immersion in a given atmosphere and universe than for a specific plot or technical talent. His talent and charm reside at another level.

I enjoyed her books as well. Especially the Farseer Books. Didn't have the same love of the Soldier Son books, but I read that whole series anyway.

Alright, thanks for clearing that up. Granted, I've only read two of his short stories, "The Beast in the Cave" and "The Alchemist" so far, but both left me quite confused due to their incredibly obvious ending, in spite of Lovecraft's attempts to keep the identity of both of the two antagonists secret. His heroes just come off as incredibly clueless to the point where it's more embarrassing than anything else really.
Anyway, I think I'll stop reading his stories in the order they appear on my book and move on to his better work before I lose any interest in him whatesoever...

Reading his "better" work is what led to my losing interest in him. Unless you're a xenophobic racist, I expect you're in for more disappointment. There's a reason most allusions to his work occur in a humorous context.

Quick, look behind you, it's a Chinese person!

Halfway through the Sam Gunn Omnibus by Ben Bova. Really enjoyin it so far

"The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene. It's like a modern-day Machiavelli. And also "Tricks of the 3D Game Programming Gurus" by Andre Lamothe. I'm most of the way through (~1350 of 1600 pages of advanced 3D rendering) but I've been reading it forever!

Lovecraft's my favorite author, but even I'd admit the ones you've read are early works before he hit his stride and not very good compared to his later works.

A few Lovecraft stories I'd recommend are :
- The Dunwich Horror
- The Haunter in the Dark
- The Shadow Over Innsmouth
- The Shunned House

I always suspected this. I've tried reading his Cleric Quintet but the bar was raised pretty high having read Elric of Melnibone and the Dragonlance series. One of these days I'm going to get back to reading fantasy and give him a try. Though I may just end up reading the Conan stories instead.

I rarely read much fiction anymore. Especially with fantasy it's all the fucking same. Heroes win, bad guys lose. Yawn! At least "Villains By Necessity" turned that on it's ear and proposed what would happen after all the good guys won and the world was primarily good. The bad guys become the anti-heroes and revert the balance.

The best, or at least the most fun to read, fiction I've read over the past decade was the "Meg: series by Steve Alten.

One of my favorite movies. How does the book elaborate on the movie?

Have you looked at her (Connie Willis)? That's probably the best loving she's received in quite a while...

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It has been a priority on my giant "to-read list" since forever...

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations by Kathy Acker
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy
EDIT: Forgot to mention Napoleon Symphony by Anthony Burgess on my lunch breaks.

Right now I'm juggling "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss (figured I'd read his stuff now that he's on board for Torment), "Stonewielder" by Ian C Esslemont and "The Founding" by Dan Abnett. They're all doorstoppers, and I have no idea which one I should focus on.