My Favorite...

...Books Written in the First Person (because I know you were dying to know)

1. The Catcher in the Rye: J.D. Salinger
2. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: Dave Eggers
3. Master of Reality: John Darnielle
4. Persepolis: Marjane Satrapi
5. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal: Christopher Moore
6. Heavy Metal and You: Christopher Krovatin
7. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Reasons to Love Christopher Moore

From Coyote Blue:
"Never face heavily armed bikers without your wubby."

From Fool:
"Jeff? The bloody frog prince is called Jeff?...He took my princess and my monkey's name!"

From Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff: Christ's Childhood Pal:
"'I've got it. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.'
'...What are you going to give them?'
'A fruit basket.'
'You can't give the meek the whole earth and these guys a fruit basket.'"

And finally, from Christopher Moore's travels to France:

I don't understand H.P. Lovecraft.

And I tried. I really did. I read anthologies from the library and even purchased a few (or one) at this amazing used bookstore. But I just don't see the appeal. Every time I read a story, it's over, and I've missed the monster or the GREAT, BIG HORROR at the end. I go back, and I still miss the damn thing.

But even still, I really enjoyed "I Cthulhu" by Neil Gaiman. It's short, quirky, and entertaining. If you get a chance or if you like staying up late for no particular reason, even though you know you have work in less than six hours, you should check out this story.

Book Review: Stage Fright

Oh man, Stage Fright by Michael Paine is so bad, it doesn't even deserve a picture.

First off, I found this book at Giant Book Warehouse, a discount place for books that other stores couldn't sell. That should of said something right there. But, I liked the cover. How bad could it be?

Horrendous. I had no idea a book could be this bad.

This book is about ghosts. And throughout the book, every character will remind you about that. Almost every conversation starts out with, "Do you believe in ghosts?" "My thesis is about ghosts." "I like ghosts." "Ghosts touch me in a funny place." Okay, so maybe that's not verbatim, but the main character does enjoy getting raped and engaging in S&M play with ghosts.

And yes, it gets even worse.

Instead of focusing on a haunted theater in the middle of nowhere, which the back cover promised, the first half of the book is about college students trying to start a theater company. It takes the students over 100 pages (a third of the book) to find the theater, while chapters start out with monologues from the ghosts at the theater taking away any mystery or fear.

Paine created characters that were unrealistic. No character in this book warranted my sympathy. When the students first explore the ancient theater, one person dies viciously and another goes missing, but what the living characters are worried about are relationship problems and S&M sex. Why S&M is mentioned so much in a book supposedly about ghosts is beyond me.

Honestly, I just kept going because I couldn't wait for everyone to die, which most of them do in a quick, cheap bang! at the end. And of course, it leaves the door open for a sequel.

Now if that's published, that's truly scary.

0 out of 7

Book Review: Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere

If you're a Neil Gaiman fan, you know that the man can do no wrong.

And if you're not a Neil Gaiman fan, well, it's high time you've begun reading him.



This book is not written by Neil Gaiman.

Instead, this was written by Mike Carey and Glenn Fabry. This is the graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere.

If you've read the novel, you'll love this. And even if you haven't read the novel, you'll still love this anyway.

To summarize quickly, it's the story of London nobody who helps a mysterious young woman on the street, and then discovers another world beneath the city, called London Below. Nothing is ever the same. It's a story about becoming more than ever thought you could be and also about the city of London itself.

Fabry's artwork makes the action pop from the pages. The action and detail is beautiful. London Below is alive, dancing in front of your eyes as you read. You can hear the Beast roar and the soft, ominous footfalls of Croup and Vandemar following behind you.

Carey's adaptation is flawless. It loses none of Gaiman's storytelling, voice, or power. Sure, it's different from the original. As it should be. The graphic novel is a new experience and shouldn't be missed by anyone.

If you've been waiting for another big screen adaptation of Gaiman's work, check this book out. It's better than a movie, and you won't be disappointed.

7 out of 7.

Bookshop Day

England is so old; it's crazy. Hung out in a glorious, five story bookshop called Hatchard's that's been in business for almost as long as the United States has been in existence.

It's been awhile since I curled up in the corner of a shop and read books that I have no intention of buying. Well, no that's not true, I do want to buy, just not at that second.

I tried finding Katy Perry's album, but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. Since "I Kissed A Girl" is huge, one would think most stores would have it.

Yes, as you can judge from this post, today was really exciting.