harry potter and the deathly hallows by jk rowling. my god, what an amazing and satisfying finale. while i would read any harry potter direct sequel in a heartbeat, i applaud ms. rowlings resolve in knowing when to end it, and letting it stay done. the final chapter in the harry saga does not disappoint, and it is appropriately hilarious, heartbreaking, and surprising.
i am super-siked to watch the rest of the movies now.
Desolation - Tim Lebbon. A man is release from a mental institution to live in an apartment building after years of therapy following a life-time of experimentation by father. Or something like that. The plot started out interesting but made less and less sense and became less interesting as the book went along. The weakest book I've read by Lebbon.
The Unifying Force - James Luceno. Finally completed the awful 19-book New Jedi Order/Yuuzhan Vong series of Star Wars books. Now on to new series' that can't possibly be as horrible.
Hunted Past Reason - Richard Matheson. A man-vs.nature/man-vs.-man novel that felt too much like it tried to be Deliverance and The Most Dangerous Game all at once.
The Bloodwind - Charles L. Grant. A big disappointment from Grant. I honestly had no idea what was supposed to be going on horror-wise through most of the book.
The Witch Elm - Tana French. French is not an untalented writer, but my god she overloads her books with way too much conversation and unnecessary details. I'm done reading her over-bloated doorstops.
Subhuman - Michael McBride. A group of scientists are gathered by a wealthy old man to inspect his newly found pyramid under the Antarctic ice which houses possible alien entities. Not a bad adventure book, but a bit too derivative of Jurassic Park.
@Mayday i have into the woods all cued up and ready to read...hope i like her more than you do!
so, i decided that i was going to only read books by woman in 2018, to saturate my reading mind with female voices, perspectives, and writing styles. it was a lot of fun, and it's gonna be difficult reading men again, but i think i've ensured that i'll read with more balance, balance that won't have to be so pre-meditated. i discovered a lot of good, dark female writers, both on my own, and thanks to mayday, who's recs were really great (karin slaughter, mira grant, sara waters, etc).
appropriately, i wrapped it all up with naomi alderman's awesome exploration of the patriarchy upturned, the power, about an electrical power that emerges in women, changing all society's rules. it's really spectacular, entertaining, and well-reasoned; things get pretty fucked-up, suggesting perhaps that there's no way to hold power and be decent. i loved it, loved the characters, loved the situations.
.@nance I read Into the Woods before this one and liked it better, but I still found it way too wordy and full of unnecessary details about the characters' lives.
The Winter People - Jennifer McMahon. "West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she discovers that she's not the only person who's desperately looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself."
This book hits the ground running and doesn't let up, keeping you guessing until the final chapter. My first great read of the new year. If her other books are halfway as good as this one, I've discovered a new favorite author.
Several years ago, in anticipation of the film (that bombed) based on the first novel in the series, Disney republished omnibus collections of Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom aka John Carter Of Mars series, and after having been boxed up and thought lost, I found the collection, and have been plowing my way through them. The initial trilogy ( A Princess Of Mars , The Gods Of Mars, and The Warlord Of Mars are swashbuckling sword and violence fantasies that I cannot recommend highly enough. They are all a grand, good time, a ripping set of yarns that hold up rather well for having been created over 100 years ago.
Haven - Tom Deady. This book starts out in the vein of classic COA books like IT and Summer of Night. But after being compelling and enjoyable for about 2/3 of the novel, the story suddenly hits a brick wall of b-movie absurdity that just ruined the rest of the book for me.
The Mansion - Ezekiel Boone. An interesting story about a billionaire bringing his former partner back to fix and perfect the advanced AI controlling his renovated mansion. The ghost in the machine interferes, the HAL9000 syndrome occurs, shit ensues. The book was OK, but bogged down by way too many instances of characters' thoughts and histories, and has an exciting story that falls apart in the latter pages.
Just finished up reading all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work including his Sherlock Holme's work as well as The Lost World. Switching gears a bit and started on a series called 'The Girl in the Box'.
just finished true indie: life and death in filmmaking by the great don coscarelli. i was fortunate enough to meet him at a screening of phantasm remastered back in october, and he couldn't have been nicer, pleasant, engaging, and sincere. it is with these thoughts that i began reading, and i wasn't at all disappointed. we get a taste of don's early life, some childhood anecdotes, and some of the formative experiences that led to his becoming a filmmaker, as well as the type of filmmaker he would become.
i was delighted, of course, to learn that don is the proud son of a second-wave feminist, is a vegetarian, and has a daughter who runs a vegan restaurant. don speaks often of his parents, his wife, his children, and the ways that they not only supported him, but how also of their own pursuits. It fits, and is especially illuminating, as don seeks to recreate an atmosphere of friendliness, loyalty, and fun, while on a shoot.
this has always been one of my favorite aspects of don coscarelli films: the thread of loyalty among friends and family always stands out as a hallmark of his work. he works with friends, he sees the good in most folks, and he tries to do right by the people he crosses paths with. he seems to have something good to say say about (most) everyone he works with, and it's easy to feel the frustration and disappointment he feels when his loyalty and trust are taken advantage of or ignored.
of course true indie is filled with wonderful stories about filming his hallmark films, the phantasm movies, bubba ho-tep, beastmaster, and john dies at the end. one of the reasons i love a good horror director memoir, is that the ingenuity and creativity of passionate people who don't know what they can't do, and who don't have any money, is always on display. don also speaks at great length about the people he's worked with, especially, of course, reggie bannister, a. michael baldwin (one can still feel his regret about being forced to cast james legros as mike in phantasm 2) and, of course, angus scrimm. i knew they were friends, but i don't think i appreciated how close they were. don and angus were together from the beginning of don's career to the end of mr. scrimm's life.
true indie is an absolute delight, funny and warm, and filled with moments that all horror fans will appreciate. from the first masters of horror dinner organized by mick garris, to some fun with sam raimi, to buddy ebsen playing his guitar late at night on the universal lot, to the struggles with financing and getting a film distributed, to the grass-roots ingenuity don employs to get the word out, this book is like an old friend, sturdy and entertaining. i didn't want it to end. I kept turning to the first page, where don wrote "have phantastic dreams." I certainly will, don; thank you.
ant farm by simon rich. the quote by jon stewart on the cover is pretty accurate, this book is hilarious. a collection of short essays that range from perceptions of adults by children to an someone's karma ledger, these stories are consistently funny.
claire dewitt returns for a third go around in sara gran's the case of the infinite blacktop. claire dewitt continues to be one of the finest detectives in literature, and one of the most unique, combining the best elements of phillip marlowed and dirk gently, while channeling it all through a filter of self-destruction and self-loathing. while dewitt manages to find some lows that are impressive even in the murky world of private detectives, she is also without a doubt pne of the freest thinkers unlocking cases. we jump around time all throughout her life and it brilliantly comes together just right. there's also a resonant and disturbing sequence about an in-book fictional detective who is clearly modeled on nancy drew; i'd like to read that book, too. i love sara gran and desperately wish she would write more
Comments
i am super-siked to watch the rest of the movies now.
Desolation - Tim Lebbon. A man is release from a mental institution to live in an apartment building after years of therapy following a life-time of experimentation by father. Or something like that. The plot started out interesting but made less and less sense and became less interesting as the book went along. The weakest book I've read by Lebbon.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The Unifying Force - James Luceno. Finally completed the awful 19-book New Jedi Order/Yuuzhan Vong series of Star Wars books. Now on to new series' that can't possibly be as horrible.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Hunted Past Reason - Richard Matheson. A man-vs.nature/man-vs.-man novel that felt too much like it tried to be Deliverance and The Most Dangerous Game all at once.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwingdG-3r7fAhUPSa0KHcmnCrgQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outsider_(King_novel)&psig=AOvVaw3JhiPVhuZ-Lx9Tg6QY4DKq&ust=1545956376535735
The Bloodwind - Charles L. Grant. A big disappointment from Grant. I honestly had no idea what was supposed to be going on horror-wise through most of the book.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The Witch Elm - Tana French. French is not an untalented writer, but my god she overloads her books with way too much conversation and unnecessary details. I'm done reading her over-bloated doorstops.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Subhuman - Michael McBride. A group of scientists are gathered by a wealthy old man to inspect his newly found pyramid under the Antarctic ice which houses possible alien entities. Not a bad adventure book, but a bit too derivative of Jurassic Park.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
so, i decided that i was going to only read books by woman in 2018, to saturate my reading mind with female voices, perspectives, and writing styles. it was a lot of fun, and it's gonna be difficult reading men again, but i think i've ensured that i'll read with more balance, balance that won't have to be so pre-meditated. i discovered a lot of good, dark female writers, both on my own, and thanks to mayday, who's recs were really great (karin slaughter, mira grant, sara waters, etc).
appropriately, i wrapped it all up with naomi alderman's awesome exploration of the patriarchy upturned, the power, about an electrical power that emerges in women, changing all society's rules. it's really spectacular, entertaining, and well-reasoned; things get pretty fucked-up, suggesting perhaps that there's no way to hold power and be decent. i loved it, loved the characters, loved the situations.
The Winter People - Jennifer McMahon. "West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter, Gertie. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister, Fawn. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that suddenly proves perilous when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished without a trace. Searching for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked deeper into the mystery of Sara's fate, she discovers that she's not the only person who's desperately looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself."
This book hits the ground running and doesn't let up, keeping you guessing until the final chapter. My first great read of the new year. If her other books are halfway as good as this one, I've discovered a new favorite author.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Several years ago, in anticipation of the film (that bombed) based on the first novel in the series, Disney republished omnibus collections of Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom aka John Carter Of Mars series, and after having been boxed up and thought lost, I found the collection, and have been plowing my way through them. The initial trilogy ( A Princess Of Mars , The Gods Of Mars, and The Warlord Of Mars are swashbuckling sword and violence fantasies that I cannot recommend highly enough. They are all a grand, good time, a ripping set of yarns that hold up rather well for having been created over 100 years ago.
Haven - Tom Deady. This book starts out in the vein of classic COA books like IT and Summer of Night. But after being compelling and enjoyable for about 2/3 of the novel, the story suddenly hits a brick wall of b-movie absurdity that just ruined the rest of the book for me.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The Mansion - Ezekiel Boone. An interesting story about a billionaire bringing his former partner back to fix and perfect the advanced AI controlling his renovated mansion. The ghost in the machine interferes, the HAL9000 syndrome occurs, shit ensues. The book was OK, but bogged down by way too many instances of characters' thoughts and histories, and has an exciting story that falls apart in the latter pages.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
i was delighted, of course, to learn that don is the proud son of a second-wave feminist, is a vegetarian, and has a daughter who runs a vegan restaurant. don speaks often of his parents, his wife, his children, and the ways that they not only supported him, but how also of their own pursuits. It fits, and is especially illuminating, as don seeks to recreate an atmosphere of friendliness, loyalty, and fun, while on a shoot.
this has always been one of my favorite aspects of don coscarelli films: the thread of loyalty among friends and family always stands out as a hallmark of his work. he works with friends, he sees the good in most folks, and he tries to do right by the people he crosses paths with. he seems to have something good to say say about (most) everyone he works with, and it's easy to feel the frustration and disappointment he feels when his loyalty and trust are taken advantage of or ignored.
of course true indie is filled with wonderful stories about filming his hallmark films, the phantasm movies, bubba ho-tep, beastmaster, and john dies at the end. one of the reasons i love a good horror director memoir, is that the ingenuity and creativity of passionate people who don't know what they can't do, and who don't have any money, is always on display. don also speaks at great length about the people he's worked with, especially, of course, reggie bannister, a. michael baldwin (one can still feel his regret about being forced to cast james legros as mike in phantasm 2) and, of course, angus scrimm. i knew they were friends, but i don't think i appreciated how close they were. don and angus were together from the beginning of don's career to the end of mr. scrimm's life.
true indie is an absolute delight, funny and warm, and filled with moments that all horror fans will appreciate. from the first masters of horror dinner organized by mick garris, to some fun with sam raimi, to buddy ebsen playing his guitar late at night on the universal lot, to the struggles with financing and getting a film distributed, to the grass-roots ingenuity don employs to get the word out, this book is like an old friend, sturdy and entertaining. i didn't want it to end. I kept turning to the first page, where don wrote "have phantastic dreams." I certainly will, don; thank you.
The Other - Thomas Tryon. It was good, but kinda outdated.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
First time read. Took a bit to get going, but when it did it was fantastic.
Rock This Town
ant farm by simon rich. the quote by jon stewart on the cover is pretty accurate, this book is hilarious. a collection of short essays that range from perceptions of adults by children to an someone's karma ledger, these stories are consistently funny.
claire dewitt returns for a third go around in sara gran's the case of the infinite blacktop. claire dewitt continues to be one of the finest detectives in literature, and one of the most unique, combining the best elements of phillip marlowed and dirk gently, while channeling it all through a filter of self-destruction and self-loathing. while dewitt manages to find some lows that are impressive even in the murky world of private detectives, she is also without a doubt pne of the freest thinkers unlocking cases. we jump around time all throughout her life and it brilliantly comes together just right. there's also a resonant and disturbing sequence about an in-book fictional detective who is clearly modeled on nancy drew; i'd like to read that book, too. i love sara gran and desperately wish she would write more