whit's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 07 Feb 2025 17:54:21 -0800 60 whit's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[How to See Ghosts & Other Figments]]> 63214643
Orrin Grey returns with eighteen haunting stories of the strange and supernatural.]]> 246 Orrin Grey 1939905745 whit 0 whit-owned, currently-reading 5.00 How to See Ghosts & Other Figments
author: Orrin Grey
name: whit
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/02/07
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]]> <![CDATA[Monsters from the Vault: Classic Horror Films Revisited]]> 30267505 186 Orrin Grey whit 4 whit-owned 3.62 Monsters from the Vault: Classic Horror Films Revisited
author: Orrin Grey
name: whit
average rating: 3.62
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/25
date added: 2025/01/25
shelves: whit-owned
review:
A nice book of quick reviews of select 1930s through 1970s Horror movies. I enjoy these sorts of reference books and have earmarked a number of movies that he describes. I've also read other works of fiction by Orrin Grey and enjoy his work a lot.
]]> <![CDATA[The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3)]]> 29430671
Several months have passed since The Drawing of the Three , and in The Waste Lands , Roland’s two new tet -mates have become trained gunslingers. Eddie Dean has given up heroin, and Odetta’s two selves have joined, becoming the stronger and more balanced personality of Susannah Dean. But Roland altered ka by saving the life of Jake Chambers, a boy who—in Roland’s world—has already died. Now Roland and Jake exist in different worlds, but they are joined by the same the paradox of double memories. Roland, Susannah, and Eddie must draw Jake into Mid-World and then follow the Path of the Beam all the way to the Dark Tower. There are new evils…new dangers to threaten Roland’s little band in the devastated city of Lud and the surrounding wastelands, as well as horrific confrontations with Blaine the Mono, the piratical Gasher, and the frightening Tick-Tock Man.

The Dark Tower Series continues to show Stephen King as a master of his craft. What lands, what peoples has he visited that are so unreachable to us except in the pages of his incredible books? Now Roland’s strange odyssey continues. The Waste Lands follows The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three as the third volume in what may be the most extraordinary and imaginative cycle of tales in the English language.]]> 609 Stephen King 1501143549 whit 0 currently-reading, whit-owned 4.37 1991 The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, #3)
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/23
shelves: currently-reading, whit-owned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Twilight Zone: A Fifth-Dimension Guide to Life]]> 34426353 Can you live your life by what The Twilight Zone has to teach you? Yes, and maybe you should. The proof is in this lighthearted collection of life lessons, ground rules, inspirational thoughts, and stirring reminders found in Rod Serling’s timeless fantasy series. Written by veteran TV critic, Mark Dawidziak, this unauthorized tribute is a celebration of the classic anthology show, but also, on another level, a kind of fifth-dimension self-help book, with each lesson supported by the morality tales told by Serling and his writers.

The notion that “it’s never too late to reinvent yourself� soars through “The Last Flight,’� in which a World War I flier who goes forward in time and gets the chance to trade cowardice for heroism. A visit from an angel blares out the wisdom of “follow your passion� in “A Passage for Trumpet.� The meaning of “divided we fall� is driven home with dramatic results when neighbors suspect neighbors of being invading aliens in “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.� The old maxim about never judging a book by its cover is given a tasty twist when an alien tome is translated in “To Serve Man.�

]]> 370 Mark Dawidziak 1250082382 whit 2 whit-owned 3.78 2017 Everything I Need to Know I Learned in the Twilight Zone: A Fifth-Dimension Guide to Life
author: Mark Dawidziak
name: whit
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2017
rating: 2
read at: 2024/11/21
date added: 2024/11/21
shelves: whit-owned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar]]> 60386703 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “A rollicking good time.� —Golfweek * “Thoroughly engaging.� —The Washington Post Now with a new a juicy and freewheeling biography of legendary golf champion Phil Mickelson—who has led a big, controversial life—as reported by longtime Sports Illustrated writer and bestselling author Alan Shipnuck.Phil Mickelson is one of the most compelling figures in sports. For more than three decades he has been among the best golfers in the world, and his unmatched longevity was exemplified at the 2021 PGA Championship, when Mickelson, on the cusp of turning fifty-one, became the oldest player in history to win a major championship. In this raw, uncensored, and unauthorized biography, Alan Shipnuck captures a singular life defined by thrilling victories, crushing defeats, and countless controversies. Mickelson is a multifaceted character, and all his warring impulses are on display in these He is a smart-ass who built an empire on being the consummate professional; a loving husband dogged by salacious rumors; a high-stakes gambler who knows the house always wins but can’t tear himself away. Mickelson’s career and public image have been defined by the contrast with his lifelong rival, Tiger Woods. Where Woods is robotic and reticent, Mickelson is affable and extroverted, an incorrigible showman whom many fans love and some abhor because of the overwhelming size of his personality. In their early years together on Tour, Mickelson lacked Tiger’s laser focus and discipline, leading Tida Woods to call her son’s rival “the fat boy,� among other put-downs. Yet as Tiger’s career has been curtailed by scandal, addiction, and a broken body, Phil sails on, still relevant on the golf course and in the marketplace. Phil is the perfect marriage of subject and author. Shipnuck has long been known as the most fearless writer on the golf beat, and he delivers numerous revelations, from the true scale of Mickelson’s massive gambling losses; to the inside story of the acrimonious breakup between Phil and his longtime caddie, Jim “Bones� Mackay; to the secretive backstory of the Saudi golf league that Mickelson championed to wield as leverage against the PGA Tour. But Phil also celebrates Mickelson’s random acts of kindness and generosity of spirit, to which friends and strangers alike can attest. Shipnuck has covered Mickelson for his entire career and has been on the ground at Mickelson’s most memorable triumphs and crack-ups, allowing him to take you inside the ropes with a thrilling immediacy and intimacy. The result is the juiciest and liveliest golf book in years—full of heart, humor, and unexpected turns.]]> 251 Alan Shipnuck 1476797110 whit 0 to-read, whit-owned 4.06 2022 Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar
author: Alan Shipnuck
name: whit
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/15
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]]> The Night Cyclist 31702703
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 29 Stephen Graham Jones 0765391880 whit 3 whit-owned 3.80 2016 The Night Cyclist
author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: whit
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/08
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: whit-owned
review:
Not a fan of vampire stories going in, but I didn't know that was the concern of the subject matter, so this short novella ended up with a strike against it right from the start. However, as vampire stories go, this was a good one. Really well written with a good ending.
]]> Brave New World 5485 Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine� (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.

"Aldous Huxley is the greatest 20th century writer in English." —Chicago Tribune]]> 288 Aldous Huxley 0060850523 whit 3 whit-owned 3.86 1932 Brave New World
author: Aldous Huxley
name: whit
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1932
rating: 3
read at: 2024/11/14
date added: 2024/11/14
shelves: whit-owned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All]]> 50173134
But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die,� contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction.

Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas.

Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions.

What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.]]> 272 Michael Shellenberger 0063001705 whit 0 to-read 4.09 2020 Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All
author: Michael Shellenberger
name: whit
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/04
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]]> <![CDATA[The Structure of Scientific Revolutions]]> 61539 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that kind of book. When it was first published in 1962, it was a landmark event in the history and philosophy of science. Fifty years later, it still has many lessons to teach.

With The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Kuhn challenged long-standing linear notions of scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don’t arise from the day-to-day, gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation but that the revolutions in science, those breakthrough moments that disrupt accepted thinking and offer unanticipated ideas, occur outside of “normal science,� as he called it. Though Kuhn was writing when physics ruled the sciences, his ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in our biotech age.

This new edition of Kuhn’s essential work in the history of science includes an insightful introduction by Ian Hacking, which clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including paradigm and incommensurability, and applies Kuhn’s ideas to the science of today. Usefully keyed to the separate sections of the book, Hacking’s introduction provides important background information as well as a contemporary context. Newly designed, with an expanded index, this edition will be eagerly welcomed by the next generation of readers seeking to understand the history of our perspectives on science.]]> 226 Thomas S. Kuhn 0226458083 whit 0 to-read 4.03 1962 The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
author: Thomas S. Kuhn
name: whit
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1962
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Summary: The Lessons of History By Will and Ariel Durant]]> 42531485 76 SummaryGuru Publishing 1728932483 whit 0 to-read 3.96 Summary: The Lessons of History By Will and Ariel Durant
author: SummaryGuru Publishing
name: whit
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/04
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man]]> 126274 Terms and phrases such as "the global village" and "the medium is the message" are now part of the lexicon, and McLuhan's theories continue to challenge our sensibilities and our assumptions about how and what we communicate.

This reissue of Understanding Media marks the thirtieth anniversary (1964-1994) of Marshall McLuhan's classic expose on the state of the then emerging phenomenon of mass media. Terms and phrases such as "the global village" and "the medium is the message" are now part of the lexicon, and McLuhan's theories continue to challenge our sensibilities and our assumptions about how and what we communicate.

There has been a notable resurgence of interest in McLuhan's work in the last few years, fueled by the recent and continuing conjunctions between the cable companies and the regional phone companies, the appearance of magazines such as WiRed, and the development of new media models and information ecologies, many of which were spawned from MIT's Media Lab. In effect, media now begs to be redefined. In a new introduction to this edition of Understanding Media, Harper's editor Lewis Lapham reevaluates McLuhan's work in the light of the technological as well as the political and social changes that have occurred in the last part of this century.]]> 389 Marshall McLuhan 0262631598 whit 0 to-read 4.12 1964 Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man
author: Marshall McLuhan
name: whit
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1964
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/04
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]]> <![CDATA[Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government (Princeton Studies in Political Behavior)]]> 27311899 Democracy for Realists assails the romantic folk-theory at the heart of contemporary thinking about democratic politics and government, and offers a provocative alternative view grounded in the actual human nature of democratic citizens.

Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels deploy a wealth of social-scientific evidence, including ingenious original analyses of topics ranging from abortion politics and budget deficits to the Great Depression and shark attacks, to show that the familiar ideal of thoughtful citizens steering the ship of state from the voting booth is fundamentally misguided. They demonstrate that voters even those who are well informed and politically engaged mostly choose parties and candidates on the basis of social identities and partisan loyalties, not political issues. They also show that voters adjust their policy views and even their perceptions of basic matters of fact to match those loyalties. When parties are roughly evenly matched, elections often turn on irrelevant or misleading considerations such as economic spurts or downturns beyond the incumbents' control; the outcomes are essentially random. Thus, voters do not control the course of public policy, even indirectly.

Achen and Bartels argue that democratic theory needs to be founded on identity groups and political parties, not on the preferences of individual voters. "Democracy for Realists" provides a powerful challenge to conventional thinking, pointing the way toward a fundamentally different understanding of the realities and potential of democratic government."]]> 408 Christopher H. Achen 0691169446 whit 0 to-read 3.98 2016 Democracy for Realists: Why Elections Do Not Produce Responsive Government (Princeton Studies in Political Behavior)
author: Christopher H. Achen
name: whit
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> Science Fictions 52199285 A major exposé that reveals the absurd and shocking problems that pervade and undermine contemporary science.

So much relies on science. But what if science itself can’t be relied on?

Medicine, education, psychology, health, parenting � wherever it really matters, we look to science for advice. Science Fictions reveals the disturbing flaws that undermine our understanding of all of these fields and more.

While the scientific method will always be our best and only way of knowing about the world, in reality the current system of funding and publishing science not only fails to safeguard against scientists� inescapable biases and foibles, it actively encourages them. From widely accepted theories about ‘priming� and ‘growth mindset� to claims about genetics, sleep, microbiotics, as well as a host of drugs, allergies and therapies, we can trace the effects of unreliable, overhyped and even fraudulent papers in austerity economics, the anti-vaccination movement and dozens of bestselling books � and occasionally count the cost in human lives.

Stuart Ritchie was among the first people to help expose these problems. In this vital investigation, he gathers together the evidence of their full and shocking extent � and how a new reform movement within science is fighting back. Often witty yet deadly serious, Science Fictions is at the vanguard of the insurgency, proposing a host of remedies to save and protect this most valuable of human endeavours from itself.]]> 368 Stuart Ritchie 1847925669 whit 0 to-read 4.36 2020 Science Fictions
author: Stuart Ritchie
name: whit
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/04
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator]]> 42983957 The instant New York Times bestseller
An international bestseller
Finalist for the Lane Anderson Award
Finalist for the RBC Taylor Award

A pioneering and groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that offers a dramatic new perspective on the history of humankind, showing how through millennia, the mosquito has been the single most powerful force in determining humanity's fate

Why was gin and tonic the cocktail of choice for British colonists in India and Africa? What does Starbucks have to thank for its global domination? What has protected the lives of popes for millennia? Why did Scotland surrender its sovereignty to England? What was George Washington's secret weapon during the American Revolution?

The answer to all these questions, and many more, is the mosquito.

Across our planet since the dawn of humankind, this nefarious pest, roughly the size and weight of a grape seed, has been at the frontlines of history as the grim reaper, the harvester of human populations, and the ultimate agent of historical change. As the mosquito transformed the landscapes of civilization, humans were unwittingly required to respond to its piercing impact and universal projection of power.

The mosquito has determined the fates of empires and nations, razed and crippled economies, and decided the outcome of pivotal wars, killing nearly half of humanity along the way. She (only females bite) has dispatched an estimated 52 billion people from a total of 108 billion throughout our relatively brief existence. As the greatest purveyor of extermination we have ever known, she has played a greater role in shaping our human story than any other living thing with which we share our global village.

Imagine for a moment a world without deadly mosquitoes, or any mosquitoes, for that matter? Our history and the world we know, or think we know, would be completely unrecognizable.

Driven by surprising insights and fast-paced storytelling, The Mosquito is the extraordinary untold story of the mosquito's reign through human history and her indelible impact on our modern world order.]]> 496 Timothy C. Winegard 0735235791 whit 0 to-read 3.63 2019 The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator
author: Timothy C. Winegard
name: whit
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/04
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Trust No One (The Official Guide to The X-Files, #2)]]> 337149 288 Brian Lowry whit 2 whit-owned 3.91 1996 Trust No One (The Official Guide to The X-Files, #2)
author: Brian Lowry
name: whit
average rating: 3.91
book published: 1996
rating: 2
read at: 2008/12/31
date added: 2024/10/25
shelves: whit-owned
review:
Silliness. Not a good reference, it's more of a "fanboy" book formatted for people who don't like to read.
]]> Animal Farm and 1984 9304969
PRAISE FOR ANIMAL FARM

"A wise, compassionate, and illuminating fable." -- The New York Times

"Absolutely first-rate . . . comparable to Voltaire and Swift." -- The New Yorker

"There are no replacements for a George Orwell, just as there are no replacements for a Bernard Shaw or a Mark Twain. . . . he pricked, provoked and badgered lazy minds, delighted those who enjoyed watching an orginal intelligence at work." -- Time

PRAISE FOR 1984

"1984 is a profound, terrifying, and wholly fascinating book. It is a fantasy of the political future, and like any such fantasy, serves its author as a magnifying device for an examination of the present." -- Lionel Trilling 1949

"The most solid, the most brilliant, thing George Orwell has done." -- V.S. Pritchett]]> 389 George Orwell 0547504187 whit 0 whit-owned, to-read 4.43 1949 Animal Farm and 1984
author: George Orwell
name: whit
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1949
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/26
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century]]> 6469021 A collection of the best science fiction short stories of the 20th century as selected and evaluated by critically-acclaimed author Orson Scott Card.

Featuring stories from the genre's greatest Isaac Asimov� Arthur C. Clarke•�Robert A. Heinlein•�Ursula K. Le Guin•�Ray Bradbury•�Frederik Pohl•�Harlan Ellison•�George Alec Effinger•�Brian W. Aldiss•�William Gibson & Michael Swanwick•�Theodore Sturgeon•�Larry Niven•�Robert Silverberg•�Harry Turtledove•�James Blish•�George R. R. Martin•�James Patrick Kelly•�Karen Joy Fowler•�Lloyd Biggle, Jr.•�Terry Bisson•�Poul Anderson•�John Kessel•�R.A. Lafferty•�C.J. Cherryh•�Lisa Goldstein•�Edmond Hamilton

In much of the science fiction of the past, the twenty-first century existed only in the writers� imaginations. Now that it’s here, it’s time to take a look back at the last one hundred years in science fiction through the works of the most celebrated and acclaimed authors of the century—to see where we’ve been and just how far we’ve come.

Along with a critical essay by Orson Scott Card reassessing science fiction in the twentieth century, Masterpieces includes short fiction by writers who have forged a permanent place for science fiction in the popular culture of today...and tomorrow. It offers a glimpse of the greatest works that mixed science with fiction in trying to figure out humanity’s place in the universe. Featuring bold, brave, and breathtaking stories, this definitive collection will stand the test of time in both this century and those to come.
]]> 439 Orson Scott Card 110120818X whit 0 to-read 4.10 2001 Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the 20th Century
author: Orson Scott Card
name: whit
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2001
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Tommyknockers 8144107 Late Last Night and the Night Before�

…Tommyknockers, tommyknockers, knocking at the door.

Something was happening in Bobbi Anderson’s idyllic small town of Haven, Maine. Something that gave every man, woman, and child in town powers far beyond ordinary mortals. Something that turned the town into a death trap for all outsiders. Something that came from a metal object, buried for millennia, that Bobbi stumbled across.

It wasn’t that Bobbi and the other good folks of Haven had sold their souls to reap the rewards of the most deadly evil this side of hell. It was more like a diabolical takeover…and invasion of body and soul—and mind.]]> 749 Stephen King 1101138041 whit 4
I'm rating this higher than I really need to, mostly because it was entertaining and I liked the effort and thought the ending was decent.]]> 3.80 1987 The Tommyknockers
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 3.80
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2017/12/03
date added: 2024/09/21
shelves:
review:
This book is definitely not considered one of King's finest. In fact, I believe it's mostly disregarded or just ignored. For me, I liked "Sci-Fi Stephen", or at least enjoyed the premise he laid out. The alien craft found buried in Haven, Maine, the metamorphosis of the townspeople and even the main characters into something...different, was appealing. The problem for me was that this story feels very drawn out and padded. There are way too many characters to track and far too much background given. This book could have been 300 pages instead of 700+.

I'm rating this higher than I really need to, mostly because it was entertaining and I liked the effort and thought the ending was decent.
]]> You Like It Darker 201242757 From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER.

“You like it darker? Fine, so do I,� writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life—both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel “the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind,� and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

“Two Talented Bastids� explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,� a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny’s most catastrophically. In “Rattlesnakes,� a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance—with major strings attached. In “The Dreamers,� a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. “The Answer Man� asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King’s ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.]]> 512 Stephen King 1668037718 whit 0 to-read 4.16 2024 You Like It Darker
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/20
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Drive-In (A 'B' Movie with Blood and Popcorn, Made in Texas)]]> 3055359 The Texas Chain-Saw Massacre, The Toolbox Murders, and I Dismember Mama. But for Willard, Randy, Bob and Jack, when the Comet hits the Orbit it makes it a very special night for all concerned. The spectators are turned into actors in a weird alien spectacular. A horror film that begins where good taste leaves off...

At last! Joe Lansdale's All-American Horror Novel. The acclaimed author of Cold in July and Act of Love takes typical clean-cut American teenagers catapulted from the secure certainties of small-town America into a maelstrom of terror where everyone has a starring role, where ordinary Americans are turned into ravaging, insensate savages... and it's Reel 3 before anyone notices...]]> 158 Joe R. Lansdale 1870532155 whit 2
But at about the halfway point, it turned into total drudgery and ended up morphing into senseless, violent weirdness, including some cannibalism and tired, unoriginal degrading of the Christian faith. It was disappointing.]]> 3.64 The Drive-In (A 'B' Movie with Blood and Popcorn, Made in Texas)
author: Joe R. Lansdale
name: whit
average rating: 3.64
book published:
rating: 2
read at: 2020/07/13
date added: 2024/06/02
shelves:
review:
This book got off to a quick start. It was outrageous in a good way and had me laughing out loud. I thought I was in for a darkly funny Horror story. The idea of the smiling comet was strange and made me curious as to what it was that actually possessed the Drive-In.

But at about the halfway point, it turned into total drudgery and ended up morphing into senseless, violent weirdness, including some cannibalism and tired, unoriginal degrading of the Christian faith. It was disappointing.
]]> The Art of War 10534 170 Sun Tzu whit 3 3.98 -400 The Art of War
author: Sun Tzu
name: whit
average rating: 3.98
book published: -400
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/01
date added: 2023/11/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Children's Blizzard 240373
The gripping story of an epic prairie snowstorm that killed hundreds of newly arrived settlers and cast a shadow on the promise of the American frontier.

January 12, 1888, began as an unseasonably warm morning across Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Minnesota, the weather so mild that children walked to school without coats and gloves. But that afternoon, without warning, the atmosphere suddenly, violently changed. One moment the air was calm; the next the sky exploded in a raging chaos of horizontal snow and hurricane-force winds. Temperatures plunged as an unprecedented cold front ripped through the center of the continent.

By Friday morning, January 13, some five hundred people lay dead on the drifted prairie, many of them children who had perished on their way home from country schools. In a few terrifying hours, the hopes of the pioneers had been blasted by the bitter realities of their harsh environment. Recent immigrants from Germany, Norway, Denmark, and the Ukraine learned that their free homestead was not a paradise but a hard, unforgiving place governed by natural forces they neither understood nor controlled.

With the storm as its dramatic, heartbreaking focal point, The Children's Blizzard captures this pivotal moment in American history by tracing the stories of five families who were forever changed that day. Drawing on family interviews and memoirs, as well as hundreds of contemporary accounts, David Laskin creates an intimate picture of the men, women, and children who made choices they would regret as long as they lived. Here too is a meticulous account of the evolution of the storm and the vain struggle of government forecasters to track its progress.

The blizzard of January 12, 1888, is still remembered on the prairie. Children fled that day while their teachers screamed into the relentless roar. Husbands staggered into the blinding wind in search of wives. Fathers collapsed while trying to drag their children to safety. In telling the story of this meteorological catastrophe, the deadliest blizzard ever to hit the prairie states, David Laskin has produced a masterful portrait of a tragic crucible in the settlement of the American heartland.]]> 307 David Laskin 0060520760 whit 0 whit-owned, to-read 3.89 2004 The Children's Blizzard
author: David Laskin
name: whit
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/28
shelves: whit-owned, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Greed Is Good: The Capitalist Pig Guide to Investing]]> 23766 272 Jonathan Hoenig 0887309844 whit 3 whit-owned 3.60 1999 Greed Is Good: The Capitalist Pig Guide to Investing
author: Jonathan Hoenig
name: whit
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1999
rating: 3
read at: 2023/10/14
date added: 2023/10/14
shelves: whit-owned
review:

]]> The Outer Limits at 60 179410200
David J. Schow is the World Fantasy Award-winning author of numerous novels, collections, TV shows, movies, comics and nonfiction � including The Outer Limits Companion and The Outer Limits at 50 .


Praise for David J. Schow’s Outer Limits Companion David J. Schow’s scrupulous research into this particular series (is) a step-by-step, individual-by-individual report on how a TV series was born, lived, and died. Rather than being compared to other books detailing the histories of individual TV shows, ( The Outer Limits Companion ) deserves favorable comparison instead to Gregory Dunne’s The Studio or Alexander Walker’s The Shattered Silents . It is deserving of a place on the very small shelf of outstanding behind-
the-scenes books on Hollywood.
� Bill Warren, author of Keep Watching the Skies The Outer Limits Companion is written from a very intelligent, very informed perspective... crammed to overflowing with useful and fascinating information. The author reportedly spent years researching this book, and it certainly shows ... the creators of The Outer Limits actually accomplished something that was special, and would last for many years to come. The same may be said of (this) indispensable volume.
� Fangoria Magazine An essential volume to add to any film fan’s library, (and) the final word on this pivotal science fiction television series.
� Midnight Marquee Magazine Indispensable... contains both insights and vintage photos; it’s just the thing to take you beyond imagination � to The Outer Limits .
� Starlog Magazine The best book written about a TV series and the television business environment it was born in ... fascinating reading even for people who weren’t wild about the show ... truly a labor of love, with the accent on labor ... a definitive book built on solid, exhaustive reporting.
� Electronic Media Magazine The definitive work on my other favorite TV series. From “The Zanti Misfits� to the man with “The Sixth Finger,� from houses whose occupants never age to amusement park rides that blast off to the stars, it’s all here � unforgettable, breathtaking, full of wonders.
� Marc Scott Zicree, author of The Twilight Zone Companion A loving, scrupulously researched and winningly written valentine to one of the hallmarks of TV science fiction. This sourcebook stands alongside other seminal volumes of television and television series criticism.
� Joe Blades, author of The Consumer Guide to Movies on Videocassette The definitive book about the eponymous TV series... David Schow is both witty and incisive in his estimations of the programs. This belongs on the reference shelf of everyone with an interest in science fiction video.
� Twilight Zone Magazine Enthusiastic but genuinely critical ... with extensive quotes from show’s participants ... highly recommended for all media
collections.
� Fantasy Review Magazine]]> 130 David J. Schow whit 5 whit-owned The Outer Limits Companion, and the "picture" perfect Outer Limits at 50, this latest book by David J. Schow offers a fast-paced and fun look at the ground-breaking series. After a brief but blistering run through the episodes of the Outer Limits, Schow covers the relationships, memories, and media he's assembled as defacto historian of the show.

This is another must-have book for those of us obsessed with one of Television's finest moments.]]> 4.60 The Outer Limits at 60
author: David J. Schow
name: whit
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/14
date added: 2023/10/14
shelves: whit-owned
review:
A supplemental to his amazing tome, The Outer Limits Companion, and the "picture" perfect Outer Limits at 50, this latest book by David J. Schow offers a fast-paced and fun look at the ground-breaking series. After a brief but blistering run through the episodes of the Outer Limits, Schow covers the relationships, memories, and media he's assembled as defacto historian of the show.

This is another must-have book for those of us obsessed with one of Television's finest moments.
]]> <![CDATA[The Black Sky (Perseverantia Book 1)]]> 55189206 253 Timothy D. Minneci whit 0 whit-owned, currently-reading 4.43 2020 The Black Sky (Perseverantia Book 1)
author: Timothy D. Minneci
name: whit
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/07/04
shelves: whit-owned, currently-reading
review:

]]> Slaughterhouse-Five 168646
Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time

Slaughterhouse-Five , an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an American prisoner of war. It combines historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee turned optometrist turned alien abductee. As Vonnegut had, Billy experiences the destruction of Dresden as a POW. Unlike Vonnegut, he experiences time travel, or coming “unstuck in time.�

An instant bestseller, Slaughterhouse-Five made Kurt Vonnegut a cult hero in American literature, a reputation that only strengthened over time, despite his being banned and censored by some libraries and schools for content and language. But it was precisely those elements of Vonnegut’s writing—the political edginess, the genre-bending inventiveness, the frank violence, the transgressive wit—that have inspired generations of readers not just to look differently at the world around them but to find the confidence to say something about it. Authors as wide-ranging as Norman Mailer, John Irving, Michael Crichton, Tim O’Brien, Margaret Atwood, Elizabeth Strout, David Sedaris, Jennifer Egan, and J. K. Rowling have all found inspiration in Vonnegut’s words. Jonathan Safran Foer has described Vonnegut as “the kind of writer who made people—young people especially—want to write.� George Saunders has declared Vonnegut to be “the great, urgent, passionate American writer of our century, who offers us . . . a model of the kind of compassionate thinking that might yet save us from ourselves.�

More than fifty years after its initial publication at the height of the Vietnam War, Vonnegut’s portrayal of political disillusionment, PTSD, and postwar anxiety feels as relevant, darkly humorous, and profoundly affecting as ever, an enduring beacon through our own era’s uncertainties.]]> 215 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 0440180295 whit 4 4.08 1969 Slaughterhouse-Five
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: whit
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1969
rating: 4
read at: 2018/02/12
date added: 2023/06/04
shelves:
review:
A story about time travel, World War Two, marriage, optometry, and alien abduction. So overall, nothing out of the ordinary. I suppose this has been one of the strangest books I will ever read. It was funny and depressing simultaneously. Constantly entertaining.
]]> The Dark Descent 23793
Contents:

Pt. 1 - The Color of Evil

The Reach / Stephen King
Evening Primrose / John Collier
The Ash-Tree / M. R. James
The New Mother / Lucy Clifford
There's a Long, Long Trail A-winding / Russell Kirk
The Call of Cthulhu / H. P. Lovecraft
The Summer People / Shirley Jackson
The Whimper of Whipped Dogs / Harlan Ellison
Young Goodman Brown / Nathaniel Hawthorne
Mr. Justice Harbottle / J. Sheridan Le Fanu
The Crowd / Ray Bradbury
The Autopsy / Michael Shea
John Charrington's Wedding / E. Nesbit
Sticks / Karl Edward Wagner
Larger Than Oneself / Robert Aickman
Belsen Express / Fritz Leiber
Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper / Robert Bloch
If Damon Comes / Charles L. Grant
Vandy, Vandy / Manly Wade Wellman

Pt. 2 - The Medusa in the Shield

The Swords / Robert Aickman
The Roaches / Thomas M. Disch
Bright Segment / Theodore Sturgeon
Dread / Clive Barker
The Fall of the House of Usher / Edgar Allan Poe
The Monkey / Stephen King
Within the Walls of Tyre / Michael Bishop
The Rats in the Walls / H. P. Lovecraft
Schalken the Painter / J. Sheridan Le Fanu
The Yellow Wallpaper / Charlotte Perkins Gilman
A Rose for Emily / William Faulkner
How Love Came to Professor Guildea / Robert Hichens
Born of Man and Woman / Richard Matheson
My Dear Emily / Joanna Russ
You Can Go Now / Dennis Etchison
The Rocking-Horse Winner / D. H. Lawrence
Three Days / Tanith Lee
Good Country People / Flannery O'Connor
Mackintosh Willy / Ramsey Campbell
The Jolly Corner / Henry James

Pt. 3 - A Fabulous Formless Darkness

Smoke Ghost / Fritz Leiber
Seven American Nights / Gene Wolfe
The Signal-Man / Charles Dickens
Crouch End / Stephen King
Night-Side / Joyce Carol Oates
Seaton's Aunt / Walter de la Mare
Clara Militch / Ivan Turgenev
The Repairer of Reputations / Robert W. Chambers
The Beckoning Fair One / Oliver Onions
What Was It? / Fitz-James O'Brien
The Beautiful Stranger / Shirley Jackson
The Damned Thing / Ambrose Bierce
Afterward / Edith Wharton
The Willows / Algernon Blackwood
The Asian Shore / Thomas M. Disch
The Hospice / Robert Aickman
A Little Something for Us Tempunauts / Philip K. Dick]]> 1011 David G. Hartwell 0312862172 whit 0 whit-owned, currently-reading 4.26 1987 The Dark Descent
author: David G. Hartwell
name: whit
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/02/12
shelves: whit-owned, currently-reading
review:

]]> The Wehrwolf 62157138 Alma Katsu, the visionary author of The Fervor, The Hunger, and The Deep, brings readers a terrifying short story about monsters among men—and the thin lines that divide them.

Germany, 1945. In the waning days of World War II, the Nazis have been all but defeated. Uwe Fuchs, never a fighter, feels fortunate to have avoided the front lines as he cared for his widowed mother.

But Uwe’s fortune changes when Hans Sauer, the village bully, recruits him to join a guerilla resistance unit preparing for the arrival of Allied soldiers. At first, Uwe is wary. The war is lost, and rumor has it that Hans is a deserter. But Hans entices him with talk of power, brutality, and their village’s ancestral lore: werewolves.

With some reluctance, Uwe joins up with the pack and soon witnesses their startling transformation. But when the men’s violent rampage against enemy soldiers takes a devastatingly personal turn, Uwe must grapple not only with his role in their evil acts but with his own humanity. Can he reclaim what this group of predatory men has stolen from him?

Or has he been a monster all along?]]> 79 Alma Katsu 1662507658 whit 3 3.88 The Wehrwolf
author: Alma Katsu
name: whit
average rating: 3.88
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/10
date added: 2023/02/10
shelves:
review:
This werewolf-meets-the-military story is heavy on the werewolf and light on the military. It went pretty much where I expected it to, but surprised me with its ending. The author doesn't have a lot of time to build out characters or provide history about the little German town, but there's enough meat on the bone to give the tale some impact.
]]> Childhood's End 17412459
But at what cost? With the advent of peace, man ceases to strive for creative greatness, and a malaise settles over the human race. To those who resist, it becomes evident that the Overlords have an agenda of their own. As civilization approaches the crossroads, will the Overlords spell the end for humankind . . . or the beginning?]]> 218 Arthur C. Clarke whit 5
As the story was in its final chapters, I was having problems converting the eloquent words of Clarke into my own mental interpretations. The book concludes in such massive fashion that I struggled to imagine the metamorphosis witnessed by castaway, Jan.

I'm fighting a desire to spoil this. I can't explain how unexpected this story ended for me. The true insignificance of man was portrayed so skillfully. I was amazed at the sheer scale of the events portrayed by Clarke in such a thin book.]]> 4.12 1953 Childhood's End
author: Arthur C. Clarke
name: whit
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1953
rating: 5
read at: 2018/06/21
date added: 2023/02/06
shelves:
review:
From the mystery of the Overlords and why they came to Earth to the only human that visited the home planet of our new masters, I was intrigued from start to finish. This book kept me constantly guessing.

As the story was in its final chapters, I was having problems converting the eloquent words of Clarke into my own mental interpretations. The book concludes in such massive fashion that I struggled to imagine the metamorphosis witnessed by castaway, Jan.

I'm fighting a desire to spoil this. I can't explain how unexpected this story ended for me. The true insignificance of man was portrayed so skillfully. I was amazed at the sheer scale of the events portrayed by Clarke in such a thin book.
]]> <![CDATA[Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story]]> 36136212 514 Thad Komorowski whit 5 whit-owned
This book also has sketches and illustrations from many of the artists and an indispensable episode guide (loaded with Thad Komorowski's opinions and ratings). One wish would be for Komorowski and Bob Jacques to revive their "Cartoon Logic" podcast. They were terrific together and are absolute animation experts.]]> 4.17 2013 Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story
author: Thad Komorowski
name: whit
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/05
date added: 2023/02/06
shelves: whit-owned
review:
This book is an excellent account of the battles between Nickelodeon business people and the artists at Spumco and Games animation studios. Oh sure, that might sounds dull on the surface, but author Thad Komorowski does a great job of relaying the challenges of producing cartoons, making deadlines, and dealing with egos. His portrayal of the controversial John Kricfalusi is as fair and balanced as it can be. John K. is a remarkable talent and I'm nearly obsessed with his Ren & Stimpy cartoons. I also own "Ren & Stimpy Adult Cartoon Party" and "The Ripping Friends" on DVD, so despite all of his...baggage, I still can appreciate his work.

This book also has sketches and illustrations from many of the artists and an indispensable episode guide (loaded with Thad Komorowski's opinions and ratings). One wish would be for Komorowski and Bob Jacques to revive their "Cartoon Logic" podcast. They were terrific together and are absolute animation experts.
]]> <![CDATA[Revenge of Monsters from the Vault]]> 49751942 150 Orrin Grey whit 0 whit-owned, to-read 3.82 Revenge of Monsters from the Vault
author: Orrin Grey
name: whit
average rating: 3.82
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/01
shelves: whit-owned, to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts]]> 27809462
If you love monsters—the macabre, the murderous, the misunderstood; the strange, the sinister, the sympathetic; the cinematic and the literary—you will find plenty to love in Orrin Grey’s Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts.]]> 218 Orrin Grey 1939905168 whit 4 whit-owned I hope I haven't misunderstood too many of the fine short stories listed below.

1. The Worm That Gnaws - 7/10 - A couple of graverobbers are overwhelmed by worms. This generated some horrific imagery in my head.
2. The White Prince - 7/10 - Short tale about vampire hunters pursuing a Stoker-era blood sucking creature
3. Night's Foul Bird - 5/10 - A child tells of people dying after a strange man moves into her hotel. It seems influenced by Nosferatu's arrival, spreading a plague.
4. The Murders on Morgue Street - 7/10 - A hypnotist brings out the animal in the people he puts in a trance. Literally. Brings them out...of their skin.
5. Ripperology - 6/10 - A Jack the Ripper influenced tale about a collector of mass murderer memorabilia. This has a pretty haunting ending.
6. Walpurgisnacht - 5/10 - An ecentric collector and party-thrower has one final bash, with a lost film from a strange director as the main attraction. This read smoothly but was tough to visualize.
7. The Red Church - 5/10 - A reporter interviews a reclusive sculptor who's creation are very realistic. Confused by the ending, which I didn't care for.
8. Remains -8/10 - A doctor was discovered as a mass murderer but dies after arrest. Two people investigate his old house and are attacked by a black, one-toothed monster.
9. The Labyrinth of Sleep - 6/10 - Everyone sleeps and dreams about the Labryinth. Now two men know what it is.
10. Lovecrafting - 8/10 - It seems Lovecraft was always trying to explain something so horrifying it defied description. That aligns with this story of two people digging up the grave of another because he was a writer who wrote that people were not what they seemed. And it scared them.
11. Persistence of Vision - 9/10 - I read this story twice. It has a character describing the post-apocalypse occurring around him by comparing it to movies he had seen before it happened. The opening page about a 911 call was truly scary.
12. Strange Beast - 7/10 - A woman writes a book about a documentary crew that has gone missing while investigating a film crew that was kidnapped and forced to make a kaiju film.
13. Painted Monsters - 6/10 - A little too reference heavy for me. Not at a "Ready Player One" level or anything, but still not as much of a story as a reminiscing.]]> 3.95 2015 Painted Monsters & Other Strange Beasts
author: Orrin Grey
name: whit
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2020/04/30
date added: 2023/01/01
shelves: whit-owned
review:
** spoiler alert ** These comments are for my own tracking, so possible spoilers below.
I hope I haven't misunderstood too many of the fine short stories listed below.

1. The Worm That Gnaws - 7/10 - A couple of graverobbers are overwhelmed by worms. This generated some horrific imagery in my head.
2. The White Prince - 7/10 - Short tale about vampire hunters pursuing a Stoker-era blood sucking creature
3. Night's Foul Bird - 5/10 - A child tells of people dying after a strange man moves into her hotel. It seems influenced by Nosferatu's arrival, spreading a plague.
4. The Murders on Morgue Street - 7/10 - A hypnotist brings out the animal in the people he puts in a trance. Literally. Brings them out...of their skin.
5. Ripperology - 6/10 - A Jack the Ripper influenced tale about a collector of mass murderer memorabilia. This has a pretty haunting ending.
6. Walpurgisnacht - 5/10 - An ecentric collector and party-thrower has one final bash, with a lost film from a strange director as the main attraction. This read smoothly but was tough to visualize.
7. The Red Church - 5/10 - A reporter interviews a reclusive sculptor who's creation are very realistic. Confused by the ending, which I didn't care for.
8. Remains -8/10 - A doctor was discovered as a mass murderer but dies after arrest. Two people investigate his old house and are attacked by a black, one-toothed monster.
9. The Labyrinth of Sleep - 6/10 - Everyone sleeps and dreams about the Labryinth. Now two men know what it is.
10. Lovecrafting - 8/10 - It seems Lovecraft was always trying to explain something so horrifying it defied description. That aligns with this story of two people digging up the grave of another because he was a writer who wrote that people were not what they seemed. And it scared them.
11. Persistence of Vision - 9/10 - I read this story twice. It has a character describing the post-apocalypse occurring around him by comparing it to movies he had seen before it happened. The opening page about a 911 call was truly scary.
12. Strange Beast - 7/10 - A woman writes a book about a documentary crew that has gone missing while investigating a film crew that was kidnapped and forced to make a kaiju film.
13. Painted Monsters - 6/10 - A little too reference heavy for me. Not at a "Ready Player One" level or anything, but still not as much of a story as a reminiscing.
]]> <![CDATA[The Red Sky (Perseverantia Book 2)]]> 62854255 262 Timothy D. Minneci 1734521341 whit 0 to-read, whit-owned 4.25 The Red Sky (Perseverantia Book 2)
author: Timothy D. Minneci
name: whit
average rating: 4.25
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/01
shelves: to-read, whit-owned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Backend Developer in 30 Days: Acquire Skills on API Designing, Data Management, Application Testing, Deployment, Security and Performance Optimization (English Edition)]]> 61636218 Build stronger support system to power your enterprise applications

Key Features
� Figure out the most important elements of backend and application development.
� Know how to construct large-scale, distributed applications using industry best practices and software architecture principles.
� Provides a career map for becoming a successful backend developer, including advice on skills and tools.

Description
In today's world, becoming an experienced backend developer is a difficult job that requires a lot of work. There are an excessive number of stacks and technologies to master, and new ones often gain popularity. Nonetheless, they share the same fundamental data storage, security, performance, testing, etc.
This book aims to teach and train you to become a successful backend developer with a solid skill set in developing and implementing the real engine of a successful enterprise application. Implementation topics like setting up a web server, designing and developing APIs, creating and running automated tests, and working with various types of databases are all addressed in detail. The book prepares developers to maintain the safety and security of their applications through the use of procedures that avoid application and data breaches. While you learn about every part of backend development, the book teaches you how to deal with errors and find and fix problems.
By the end of the book, you will have a firm grasp on the fundamental principles that underpin backend programming, including application architectures, design patterns, essential development activities, and help for debugging.
What you will learn
� Gain knowledge to build the momentum of a solid backend developer and choose areas to investigate in depth.
� Learn to integrate backend development as the top tech businesses do.
� Comprehend the distinction between SQL and NoSQL, containers, APIs, and web servers.
� Design large-scale systems step-by-step.
� Grow from junior backend developer to senior developer, including the required skills and responsibilities.

Who this book is for
This book would greatly benefit readers who are new to backend operations for web and mobile apps, such as junior software developers, web developers, application developers, and frontend and backend coders. Basic programming skills will help you practice this book's learnings.

Table of Contents
1. Building Multi-User Apps
2. The Client-Server Architecture
3. Designing APIs
4. End-to-end Data Management
5. Automating Application Testing
6. Securing Applications
7. Handling Errors
8. Adopting Frameworks
9. Deploying Applications
10. Creating High-performance Apps
11. Designing a System
12. Bootstrap Your Career Path]]> 678 Pedro Marquez-Soto whit 0 currently-reading, whit-owned 3.80 Backend Developer in 30 Days: Acquire Skills on API Designing, Data Management, Application Testing, Deployment, Security and Performance Optimization (English Edition)
author: Pedro Marquez-Soto
name: whit
average rating: 3.80
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/01/01
shelves: currently-reading, whit-owned
review:

]]> <![CDATA[What Your Financial Advisor Isn't Telling You: The 10 Essential Truths You Need to Know About Your Money]]> 28453042 261 Liz Davidson whit 3 whit-owned 3.89 2016 What Your Financial Advisor Isn't Telling You: The 10 Essential Truths You Need to Know About Your Money
author: Liz Davidson
name: whit
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2016
rating: 3
read at: 2016/10/16
date added: 2022/10/17
shelves: whit-owned
review:
This is a good reference to get anyone started on managing their personal finances. There are a number of practical tips about paying down debt and taking advantage of your employee benefits, stuff that you've probably read in many other places. But it's good advice, nevertheless. There are also a couple of chapters about choosing the right financial advisor or more accurately about avoiding bad advice. The book offers useful examples of people that have done smart and stupid things along the way.
]]> <![CDATA[This Band Has No Past: How Cheap Trick Became Cheap Trick]]> 59802166 408 Brian J. Kramp 1911036874 whit 0 whit-owned, to-read 4.12 This Band Has No Past: How Cheap Trick Became Cheap Trick
author: Brian J. Kramp
name: whit
average rating: 4.12
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/06
shelves: whit-owned, to-read
review:

]]> Pushing Ice 89186 Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. But when Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, inexplicably leaves its natural orbit and heads out of the solar system at high speed, Bella is ordered to shadow it for the few vital days before it falls forever out of reach.

In accepting this mission she sets her ship and her crew on a collision course with destiny—for Janus has many surprises in store, and not all of them are welcome...]]> 458 Alastair Reynolds 0441014011 whit 1 whit-owned 4.06 2005 Pushing Ice
author: Alastair Reynolds
name: whit
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2005
rating: 1
read at: 2022/09/01
date added: 2022/09/01
shelves: whit-owned
review:
I tried and I tried and I could not get into this story. I'm disappointed because Reynolds is so often recommended. The problem is clearly my own as so many love the author. I'm sure I'll give it another try later as I so badly want to enjoy more Science Fiction. I think "Childhood's End" spoiled me.
]]> Relic (Pendergast, #1) 67035
But the museum's directors plan to go ahead with a big bash to celebrate the new exhibition, in spite of the murders.

Museum researcher Margo Green must find out who—or what—is doing the killing. But can she do it in time to stop the massacre?]]> 480 Douglas Preston 0765354942 whit 0 to-read 4.05 1995 Relic (Pendergast, #1)
author: Douglas Preston
name: whit
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/09/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Power Pop Prime: A Pop Geek's Guide to Awesome: The Not Lame Years Volume 1 (1995-1997)]]> 23634116 Bruce Brodeen 0979771439 whit 4 whit-owned
A highlight of this book are the interviews with recording artists who are asked about the impact that a fledgling, or maybe better stated, commercialized Internet had on the world of music. An interesting read for fans of the genre.]]> 4.00 2012 Power Pop Prime: A Pop Geek's Guide to Awesome: The Not Lame Years Volume 1 (1995-1997)
author: Bruce Brodeen
name: whit
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2022/07/01
date added: 2022/07/01
shelves: whit-owned
review:
This is a great book that includes Power Pop album reviews and artists interviews. The focus is obviously on the years of 1995 - 1997, which was a burgeoning period for the Power Pop genre. This volume includes details surrounding the creation of Not Lame Recordings, a small but pioneering company focused on music distribution and recording.

A highlight of this book are the interviews with recording artists who are asked about the impact that a fledgling, or maybe better stated, commercialized Internet had on the world of music. An interesting read for fans of the genre.
]]> The Gone World 33413556 Inception meets True Detective in this science fiction thriller of spellbinding tension and staggering scope that follows a special agent into a savage murder case with grave implications for the fate of mankind...

Shannon Moss is part of a clandestine division within the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. In western Pennsylvania, 1997, she is assigned to solve the murder of a Navy SEAL's family--and to locate his vanished teenage daughter. Though she can't share the information with conventional law enforcement, Moss discovers that the missing SEAL was an astronaut aboard the spaceship U.S.S. Libra—a ship assumed lost to the currents of Deep Time. Moss knows first-hand the mental trauma of time-travel and believes the SEAL's experience with the future has triggered this violence.

Determined to find the missing girl and driven by a troubling connection from her own past, Moss travels ahead in time to explore possible versions of the future, seeking evidence to crack the present-day case. To her horror, the future reveals that it's not only the fate of a family that hinges on her work, for what she witnesses rising over time's horizon and hurtling toward the present is the Terminus: the terrifying and cataclysmic end of humanity itself.

Luminous and unsettling, The Gone World bristles with world-shattering ideas yet remains at its heart an intensely human story.]]> 400 Tom Sweterlitsch 0399167501 whit 0 to-read 3.90 2018 The Gone World
author: Tom Sweterlitsch
name: whit
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/06/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Animal Farm 170448 Librarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.

A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned –a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.
When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was seen as its target. Today it is devastatingly clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of George Orwell’s masterpiece have a meaning and message still ferociously fresh.]]> 141 George Orwell 0451526341 whit 3 4.07 1945 Animal Farm
author: George Orwell
name: whit
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1945
rating: 3
read at: 2021/02/15
date added: 2022/06/15
shelves:
review:
Everything that can be said about this story has been. All I can offer is that I enjoyed it, but it wasn't the eye-opener that I thought it would be.
]]> <![CDATA[Rod Serling's Night Gallery: The Art of Darkness]]> 57220473 316 Scott Skelton whit 4 whit-owned
Even though the paintings are the focus here, there is plenty to read. This is a nice companion to have if you are a fan or are seriously digging into the show.]]> 4.88 Rod Serling's Night Gallery: The Art of Darkness
author: Scott Skelton
name: whit
average rating: 4.88
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/15
date added: 2022/06/15
shelves: whit-owned
review:
The title is a relatively subtle tip-off but this beautiful coffee table book dedicates two pages to every painting that accompanied each story of the Night Gallery series. Tom Wright's strange and eerie artwork is the centerpiece of the book but Jaroslav Gebr, who did the artwork of the pilot episode of the series is also featured. There's also a section of the book dedicated to the sculptures of Phil Vanderlei, a nice introduction about the series, and information about the publisher and the authors search for where the paintings went after the show was over.

Even though the paintings are the focus here, there is plenty to read. This is a nice companion to have if you are a fan or are seriously digging into the show.
]]> <![CDATA[What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions]]> 21413662 xkcd comic ask Munroe a lot of strange questions: What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there was a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last? What if everyone only had one soulmate? What would happen if the moon went away?

In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by his signature xkcd comics. (They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.)

In celebration of 10 years of unusual insight, Randall Munroe has revised his classic blockbuster to ask what if? x 10. The result is 10x the adventure of scientific inquiry. Featuring brand-new 2-color annotations and illustrations, this special anniversary edition is far more than a book for geeks, What If? explains the laws of science in operation in a way that every intelligent reader will enjoy and feel much smarter for having read.]]> 303 Randall Munroe 0544272994 whit 4 whit-owned 4.13 2014 What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
author: Randall Munroe
name: whit
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2022/06/08
date added: 2022/06/08
shelves: whit-owned
review:
A really enjoyable book filled with answers (and speculations) to all kinds of crazy scientific questions. It isn't as easy of a read as you may think, as it's filled with statistics and calculations. In other words, there's some "maths" here. Don't let the cute little stickmen drawings fool you, there is some heady content within.
]]> FLEETING CHILLS 58898223
A jealous teenager lures his rival into a tomb.

A five-year old child speaks in a voice beyond his years.

A therapist tells his patient to jump at every opportunity.

Trapped in an isolated funeral home, a man must get through the long night.

A spirit desperately wants to wed a living woman and refuses to take no for an answer.

Three boys on a road trip get lost...forever.

Some musicians really put their heart and soul into their work.

Amanda introduces her boyfriend to the person living inside her.

Selling a human skull shouldn't be difficult. Until a psychic gets involved.

Two sons see an apparition of their father...from thirty years in the future.

Near death experiences aren't all beautiful...

An eccentric inventor seeks patents on some novel and disturbing devices.

Christmas should be a time of joy, but when a man goes missing, his family tries to celebrate without him.

Buying a mysterious box on the DarkWeb leads a man down a rabbit hole of murder.

Confessing his sins to a priest, a man describes having a dark power.

A woman plans elaborate revenge on her cheating lover, only to find the tables turned.]]> 170 Joseph C. Gioconda whit 3 whit-owned 4.00 FLEETING CHILLS
author: Joseph C. Gioconda
name: whit
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2022/02/23
date added: 2022/03/07
shelves: whit-owned
review:
A pretty enjoyable book of some very short stories. A few of this are creepy, but nothing too amazing. This was a little strange because some of the stories end very suddenly and really don't have any sort of wrap up or payoff. If you need a story with an ending, this is not the book for you. The stories go by so quickly that there's no character building of any sort. If you need a story with character building, look elsewhere also.
]]> <![CDATA[Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game]]> 140183
By combining classic insights and stories from Zen tradition, Zen Golf helps eliminate the mental distractions that routinely cause poor shots and loss of concentration, allowing golfers to feel in “the zone� that professionals have learned to master.

The best players know that golf is a game of confidence, and most important, concentration–the ability to focus and block out distraction. The goal of achieving clear thought is also at the heart of Buddhist teachings. PGA coach and Buddhist instructor Dr. Joseph Parent draws on this natural connection and teaches golfers how to clear their minds, achieve ultimate focus, and play in the moment for each shot.

Zen Golf presents a simple system for building “mental game mastery.� Dr Parent’s unique PAR Approach (focusing on Preparation, Action, and Response to Results) guides golfers with specific techniques for each aspect of their games. In chapters such as “How to Get From the Practice Tee to the First Tee�, “You Produce What You Fear�, and “How to Enjoy a Bad Round of Golf�, the author shares a personal teaching regimen that has helped improve the games of professionals and amateurs alike.

Clear, concise, and enlightening, Zen Golf shows golfers how to prepare for, execute, and equally important, respond the results of any golf shot. A different approach to golf instruction, this book shapes ancient philosophies into new teachings.]]> 224 Joseph Parent 0385504462 whit 0 to-read 4.20 2002 Zen Golf: Mastering the Mental Game
author: Joseph Parent
name: whit
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/02/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop (The Mixtape Series)]]> 50884278 Go All The Way, today's best and brightest writers go deep on what certain Power Pop bands and songs mean and have meant to them. Whether they love or hate it, Go All The Way is a dive into the Beatles-inspired pop rock of the last five decades.
]]> 213 Paul Myers 1644281023 whit 5 whit-owned 4.16 2019 Go All The Way: A Literary Appreciation of Power Pop (The Mixtape Series)
author: Paul Myers
name: whit
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2021/08/17
date added: 2022/02/13
shelves: whit-owned
review:
As a huge fan of the Power Pop genre, the essays that make up this book are pure gold to me. Cheap Trick, The Knack, Weezer, Big Star, ELO and many other bands are either written about or referenced in this. Excellent book if you love the music!
]]> Dark Matter 34002973 A mindbending, relentlessly surprising thriller from the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy.

"Are you happy with your life?"

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason's never met smiles down at him and says, "Welcome back, my friend."

In this world he's woken up to, Jason's life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that's the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could've imagined--one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human--a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we'll go to claim the lives we dream of.]]> 359 Blake Crouch 1101904240 whit 2 whit-owned 4.21 2016 Dark Matter
author: Blake Crouch
name: whit
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2016
rating: 2
read at: 2021/12/31
date added: 2022/01/22
shelves: whit-owned
review:
I'm surprised by how little I liked this. The author's prose was not something I cared for. There was so much of the main character's internal dialogue written into the story that it became distracting for me. The story itself was fine, it just wasn't of much interest to me.
]]> <![CDATA[World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War]]> 10366637 World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead�?�

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.


Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war

“I found ‘Patient Zero� behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds. . . . He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was ‘cursed.� I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.� —Dr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China

“‘Shock and Awe�? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!� —Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers

“Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? . . . For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth.� —General Travis D’Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 420 Max Brooks 0307888681 whit 4 whit-owned
If you're someone who wants to follow familiar characters through a story, this will not be a book you want to read.

The conclusion is also not going to help endear the book to everyone, but it was another aspect of the novel that I appreciated.]]> 3.90 2006 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
author: Max Brooks
name: whit
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at: 2021/11/18
date added: 2021/11/18
shelves: whit-owned
review:
The "journal" format of this book made it a unique read. I thought it was a good way to tell the history of the zombie war. I don't recall the original source of the reanimating of the Dead, perhaps it was mentioned? It doesn't matter as I'm okay with not needing everything spelled out.

If you're someone who wants to follow familiar characters through a story, this will not be a book you want to read.

The conclusion is also not going to help endear the book to everyone, but it was another aspect of the novel that I appreciated.
]]> <![CDATA[Education of a Wandering Man (Bantam/Doubleday/delacorte Press Large Print Collection)]]> 1212469

From the Paperback edition.]]> 0 Louis L'Amour 0385416474 whit 4 4.32 1989 Education of a Wandering Man (Bantam/Doubleday/delacorte Press Large Print Collection)
author: Louis L'Amour
name: whit
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2021/11/03
date added: 2021/11/03
shelves:
review:
A charming little book about this author's personal travels, life and work experiences, and his voracious love of reading. This is unlike most things I've read but I really enjoyed the details of his life that he shared.
]]> Christine 28042893 Christine: the frightening story of a nerdy teenager who falls in love with his vintage Plymouth Fury. It was love at first sight, but this car is no lady.

Evil is alive in Libertyville. It inhabits a custom-painted red and white 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine and young Arnold Cunningham, who buys it.

Along with Arnold’s girlfriend, Leigh Cabot, Dennis Guilder attempts to find out the real truth behind Christine and finds more than he bargained for: from murder to suicide, there’s a peculiar feeling that surrounds Christine—she gets revenge on anyone standing in her path.

Can Dennis save Arnold from the wrath of Christine? This #1 national bestseller is “Vintage Stephen King…breathtaking…awesome. Carries such momentum the reader must force himself to slow down� (The New York Times Book Review).]]> 529 Stephen King whit 0 to-read 4.24 1983 Christine
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1983
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Stephen King Films FAQ 20451504 Author Scott Von Doviak provides background information, analysis, and trivia regarding the various films and television productions, including “Bloodlines� sections on related works and “Deep Cuts� sections collecting additional odd facts and ephemera. All you ever wanted to know about the king of horror onscreen can be found here.]]> 400 Scott Von Doviak 1480355518 whit 0 whit-owned, to-read 4.09 2014 Stephen King Films FAQ
author: Scott Von Doviak
name: whit
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/11
shelves: whit-owned, to-read
review:

]]> Project Hail Mary 54493401
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?]]> 476 Andy Weir 0593135202 whit 0 to-read 4.49 2021 Project Hail Mary
author: Andy Weir
name: whit
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/09/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Different Seasons: Four Novellas]]> 28094689 Includes the stories “The Body� and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”—set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine A “hypnotic� (The New York Times Book Review) collection of four novellas—including the inspirations behind the films Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption—from Stephen King, bound together by the changing of seasons, each taking on the theme of a journey with strikingly different tones and characters.This gripping collection begins with “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,� in which an unjustly imprisoned convict seeks a strange and startling revenge—the basis for the Best Picture Academy Award-nominee The Shawshank Redemption. Next is “Apt Pupil,� the inspiration for the film of the same name about top high school student Todd Bowden and his obsession with the dark and deadly past of an older man in town. In “The Body,� four rambunctious young boys plunge through the façade of a small town and come face-to-face with life, death, and intimations of their own mortality. This novella became the movie Stand By Me. Finally, a disgraced woman is determined to triumph over death in “The Breathing Method.� “The wondrous readability of his work, as well as the instant sense of communication with his characters, are what make Stephen King the consummate storyteller that he is,� hailed the Houston Chronicle about Different Seasons.]]> 687 Stephen King whit 4 Apt Pupil, and to a lesser extent, The Breathing Method. For as much slack as King gets for writing supposedly poor endings, Apt Pupil concluded perfectly and The Breathing Method finished in a shockingly gory and unexpected fashion. The other two stories here have become staples of our entertainment culture. There's nothing I can add to the discussion of them.]]> 4.37 1982 Different Seasons: Four Novellas
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 4.37
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2021/09/05
date added: 2021/09/05
shelves:
review:
I was surprised at how much I liked both Apt Pupil, and to a lesser extent, The Breathing Method. For as much slack as King gets for writing supposedly poor endings, Apt Pupil concluded perfectly and The Breathing Method finished in a shockingly gory and unexpected fashion. The other two stories here have become staples of our entertainment culture. There's nothing I can add to the discussion of them.
]]> <![CDATA[The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2)]]> 29430675 The Drawing of the Three is an “epic in the making� (Kirkus Reviews) about a savage struggle against underworld evil and otherworldly enemies.

“Stephen King is a master at creating living, breathing, believable characters,� hails The Baltimore Sun. Beginning just less than seven hours after The Gunslinger ends, in the second installment to the thrilling Dark Tower Series, Roland encounters three mysterious doorways on a deserted beach along the Western Sea. Each one enters into a different person’s life in New York—here, he joins forces with the defiant young Eddie Dean, and with the beautiful, brilliant, and brave Odetta Holmes, to save the Dark Tower.

“This quest is one of King’s best…it communicates on a genuine, human level…but is rich in symbolism and allegory� (Columbus Sunday Dispatch). It is a science fiction odyssey that is unlike any tale that Stephen King has ever written.]]> 461 Stephen King 1501143530 whit 4 whit-owned 4.29 1987 The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, #2)
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2021/08/14
date added: 2021/08/14
shelves: whit-owned
review:
Enjoyed this a lot. The characterizations were great and there was a lot of suspense and action. The only real drawback is that I am not a big fan of multi-part stories and I think my choice to read "The Dark Tower" series is going to continue to be challenging in that way. However, Stephen King is an amazing writer and I look forward to reading more of his work.
]]> <![CDATA[Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning]]> 18770267 Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners.

Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems never before encountered and drawing inferences from facts already known. New insights into how memory is encoded, consolidated, and later retrieved have led to a better understanding of how we learn. Grappling with the impediments that make learning challenging leads both to more complex mastery and better retention of what was learned.

Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make It Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.]]> 313 Peter C. Brown 0674729013 whit 2 4.14 2014 Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning
author: Peter C. Brown
name: whit
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2021/07/17
date added: 2021/07/17
shelves:
review:
If you're looking for ways to make learning less time consuming and improving your memory easier, you've come to the wrong book.
]]> <![CDATA[The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires]]> 55687716
Now in paperback, Steel Magnolias meets Dracula in this New York Times best-selling horror novel about a women's book club that must do battle with a mysterious newcomer to their small Southern town.

Bonus features:
•Reading group guide for book clubs
•Hand-drawn map of Mt. Pleasant
•Annotated true-crime reading list by Grady Hendrix
•And more!

Patricia Campbell’s life has never felt smaller. Her husband is a workaholic, her teenage kids have their own lives, her senile mother-in-law needs constant care, and she’s always a step behind on her endless to-do list. The only thing keeping her sane is her book club, a close-knit group of Charleston women united by their love of true crime. At these meetings they’re as likely to talk about the Manson family as they are about their own families.

One evening after book club, Patricia isviciouslyattacked by an elderly neighbor, bringing theneighbor's handsome nephew, James Harris, into her life. James is well traveled and well read, and he makes Patricia feel things she hasn’t felt in years. Butwhen children on the other side of town gomissing, their deaths written off by local police, Patricia has reason to believe James Harris is more of a Bundy than a Brad Pitt. The real problem? James is a monster of a different kind—and Patricia has already invited him in.

Little by little, James will insinuate himself into Patricia’s life and try to take everything she took for granted—including the book club—but she won’t surrender without a fight in this blood-soaked tale of neighborly kindness gone wrong.]]> 424 Grady Hendrix 1683692519 whit 0 to-read 3.88 2020 The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires
author: Grady Hendrix
name: whit
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Just After Sunset 6150413 'Did you maybe leave the oven on? Or forget to turn off the gas under your patio barbeque? What about the lock on your back door? Did you remember to give it a twist? Things like that are so easy to forget, and someone could be slipping in right now...'

Now: just after sunset, as darkness grips the imagination, that's when reality grows thin. When you can feel the everyday become the unexpected int his captivating collection of twist-in-the-tail stories of suspense, terror and dark comedy from the No. 1 bestselling writer.

A blind girl visits a dying man and saves his life...with a kiss. A crime writer is faced with a real crime - and he has to draw upon his alter-ego for courage. And a young couple seek the bright lights of a nearby town - and end up playing the jukebox, for eternity.

This tantalising, thrilling volume explores the human experience as ordinary objects assume extraordinary powers and familiar journeys take a different turn. From the surreal to the horribly real, King plays a riveting riff which will keep you spoellbound from the first page to the last.

What would you do if your everyday world were turned upside down in an instant?]]> 539 Stephen King 1416586652 whit 3
Other stories I liked in the collection were "Graduation Afternoon" (a very short story with a shock) and "Mute" about how a man handles his unfaithful wife and the crimes she commits.

Good or bad, I love short stories and Stephen King can write some great ones.]]> 3.77 2008 Just After Sunset
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2018/01/09
date added: 2021/05/14
shelves:
review:
In this short story collection, "N." is one of my favorites. It's so well written that it almost makes you wonder if the OCD that the story's main characters succumb to is contagious to the reader.

Other stories I liked in the collection were "Graduation Afternoon" (a very short story with a shock) and "Mute" about how a man handles his unfaithful wife and the crimes she commits.

Good or bad, I love short stories and Stephen King can write some great ones.
]]> The Light Brigade 40523931
Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don’t sync up with the platoon’s. And Dietz’s bad drops tell a story of the war that’s not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on.

Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero—or maybe a villain; in war it’s hard to tell the difference.]]> 356 Kameron Hurley 1481447963 whit 0 to-read 3.87 2019 The Light Brigade
author: Kameron Hurley
name: whit
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Seveneves 22816087
A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.

But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . .

Five thousand years later, their progeny—seven distinct races now three billion strong—embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth.

A writer of dazzling genius and imaginative vision, Neal Stephenson combines science, philosophy, technology, psychology, and literature in a magnificent work of speculative fiction that offers a portrait of a future that is both extraordinary and eerily recognizable. As he did in Anathem, Cryptonomicon, the Baroque Cycle, and Reamde, Stephenson explores some of our biggest ideas and perplexing challenges in a breathtaking saga that is daring, engrossing, and altogether brilliant.]]> 872 Neal Stephenson whit 0 to-read 4.01 2015 Seveneves
author: Neal Stephenson
name: whit
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Man in the High Castle 36687102 Alternate Cover Edition can be found here and here.

It’s America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war—and is now occupied by Nazi Germany and Japan.

This harrowing, Hugo Award–winning novel is the work that established Philip K. Dick as an innovator in science fiction while breaking the barrier between science fiction and the serious novel of ideas. In it Dick offers a haunting vision of history as a nightmare from which it may just be possible to wake.]]> 290 Philip K. Dick whit 2 3.43 1962 The Man in the High Castle
author: Philip K. Dick
name: whit
average rating: 3.43
book published: 1962
rating: 2
read at: 2021/04/13
date added: 2021/04/13
shelves:
review:
I'm bummed because this was very dull. I had high expectations for the potential of Dick's take on alternate history. But the characters spent a lot of time buying and selling jewelry and reading a book about alternate history. Nothing much happens.
]]> Leviathan 18686480 103 Tim Curran whit 0 to-read 3.60 2013 Leviathan
author: Tim Curran
name: whit
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/02/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[More Stories from the Twilight Zone]]> 7972307
With More Stories from the Twilight Zone , some of today's finest writers have written all-new stories celebrating the unique vision and power of Rod Serling's landmark series. The collection includes stories from such notable authors as Loren D. Estleman, Jane Lindskold, Peter Crowther and John Farris.

So as Rod Serling said, "…prepare to enter that fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. And it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call� The Twilight Zone ."]]> 480 Carol Serling 0765325829 whit 1 whit-owned 3.55 2010 More Stories from the Twilight Zone
author: Carol Serling
name: whit
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2010
rating: 1
read at: 2021/01/25
date added: 2021/01/25
shelves: whit-owned
review:
It makes me sad to say this because I love the Twilight Zone but this is TZ in name only. The first collection was a lukewarm affair but this one is the least enjoyable book of short stories I have read. Bland and predictable.
]]> I Am Legend 14064
By day he is the hunter, stalking the undead through the ruins of civilisation. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for the dawn.

How long can one man survive like this?

]]> 160 Richard Matheson 1857988094 whit 5 4.06 1954 I Am Legend
author: Richard Matheson
name: whit
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at: 2011/06/30
date added: 2021/01/24
shelves:
review:
One of my favorite stories, "I Am Legend" convincingly creates an atmosphere of loneliness and isolation. It's so wonderfully written that I swore that I could hear the beasts beckoning Neville to come out of his home, now a fortress of solitude. And the ending...Wow! It stunned me like no other book had at that time.
]]> Top 100 Horror Movies 8216449 192 Gary Gerani 1600107079 whit 4 whit-owned 3.67 2010 Top 100 Horror Movies
author: Gary Gerani
name: whit
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/11/30
date added: 2021/01/24
shelves: whit-owned
review:
This book, along with Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies, are great genre references. This one follows the same format with stunning photos, reproductions of each movie's theater poster, run times, aspect ratios and other info that is certain to send genre buffs into orbit. Gerani supports his ratings with some great opinions and informs with actor/director info and plot summaries. The design and quality of the glossy pages are top notch, too. This is worth every penny!
]]> Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies 11530938 192 Gary Gerani 1600108792 whit 4 whit-owned 3.89 2011 Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies
author: Gary Gerani
name: whit
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2012/12/31
date added: 2021/01/24
shelves: whit-owned
review:
This is a fantastic book! The author counts down his Top 100 SciFi movies from 100 to 1. Each movie is listed with its release year, running time, aspect ratio and audio spec (stereo or mono). Each movie also shows a reproduction of the original movie poster and most have multiple screen captures from the movie. Gary Gerani also lists who made it, what it's about and why he thinks it is an important film. The whole book is beautifully laid out with slick, glossy pages.
]]> <![CDATA[The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic]]> 4848923 800 Martin Grams Jr. 0970331096 whit 4 whit-owned 4.22 2008 The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic
author: Martin Grams Jr.
name: whit
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2013/06/30
date added: 2021/01/24
shelves: whit-owned
review:
Voluminous and thorough. For the hardest of hardcore Twilight Zone fans. More a reference than a read. A better companion to the series than Zicree's more popular "Twilight Zone Companion".
]]> The Outer Limits at 50 24151984 151 David J. Schow 0983917523 whit 4 whit-owned 4.10 2014 The Outer Limits at 50
author: David J. Schow
name: whit
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2014/12/31
date added: 2021/01/24
shelves: whit-owned
review:
This book presents over 150 new pages of rare photographs of cast, crew, collectibles and beloved monsters! The book received the 2015 Rondo Award for Book of the Year. A great book for collectors and lovers of this wonderful series.
]]> <![CDATA[The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin]]> 35666660
AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from iconic authors. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or revisit an old favorite, these new editions open the door to the stories and ideas that have shaped our world.

Revised Previously published as The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, this edition of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.]]> 192 Benjamin Franklin 1542099196 whit 0 to-read 4.03 1791 The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
author: Benjamin Franklin
name: whit
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1791
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Monsters We Forgot: Volume 1]]> 49215859 Or why certain children must never play in the rain?
What about the witch who lives in the projects?
Do you know the real reason we no longer recognize the ancient constellation Noctua?
Or the secret history of Canada’s most tragic monster?
Did you hear about that creepy tape that cures loneliness forever?
Or the weird pet with the big eyes, gorgeous fur, long stinger, and otherworldly powers?
A demonic wolf that hunts its quarry to the ends of the earth�
An inhuman abomination hidden deep in the Mexican countryside�
A bloodthirsty spirit perpetuating the brutal horrors he committed in life�
A beautiful god with a single, horrific command�

These are just a few of the monsters we forgot.


Within these pages, you’ll find a treasure trove of myths, legends, folktales, urban legends, historical accounts, and stories about horrors, both ancient and modern, that have been hidden, ignored, or forgotten entirely.
“The Monsters We Forgot� is a massive anthology of horror stories by an international team of authors ranging from award-winners and bestsellers to visionary newcomers. These stories draw inspiration from the folklore traditions of countries including Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Ireland, Wales, England, Norway, Nigeria, Greece, Poland, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Canada, and the United States, the tales in this three-volume collection range from original folktales and chilling myths to information-age monsters and modern urban legends, and everything in between.
Turn on the lights, check the locks, and settle in. You’re about to remember The Monsters We Forgot.
]]> 344 R.C. Bowman whit 0 to-read 3.89 2019 The Monsters We Forgot: Volume 1
author: R.C. Bowman
name: whit
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/01/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Still Competition: The Listener's Guide to Cheap Trick]]> 38089805 283 Robert Lawson 1525512277 whit 4 whit-owned 4.29 2017 Still Competition: The Listener's Guide to Cheap Trick
author: Robert Lawson
name: whit
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/15
date added: 2021/01/22
shelves: whit-owned
review:
This reviews all of Cheap Trick's albums, discusses chart positions, reissues, bonus tracks, bootlegs, video info, tour info...basically, if you are looking for an extensive collection of all Cheap Trick recorded material, this would be good. If you want stories of life on the road, in fighting, record company mismanagement, etc., this book probably isn't going to be interesting. Although, the author doesn't pull any punches about some of CT's failings in the mid thru late '80s.
]]> Something Came Through 53132009
Wall Street Journal bestselling author Joe Hart returns to the horror arena with his second collection of twisted and unsettling tales featuring monstrosities of both the occult and human nature. In “Down In The Valley� a young fire service member discovers the horrifying truth regarding the missing persons in the lonely state park his fire tower watches over. A man whose entire life has been haunted by a hideous childhood event gets a second chance to make things right in “You Can Never Go Back�. And a young woman’s tragic mistake while driving and texting literally comes back to haunt her in “More�. Written in Hart’s hypnotic and unnerving style, Something Came Through features ten new terrifying stories that peel back the surface of everyday life to expose the darkness waiting beneath.]]> 266 Joe Hart whit 4 1. Trestle - 8/10 - A boy's dead father comes back as a monstrous evil and terrorizes some kids near a train bridge
2. The Red, Red Light That Comes Through the Trees - 8/10 - The apocalypse begins during a family's cabin vacation
3. More - 9/10 - A girl tries to deal with her guilt of killing someone while texting & driving
4. Borneo - 5/10 - Kind of hard to follow. Has elements of "Trestle" and "More" but not as good
5. Down in the Valley - 9/10 - A forest ranger and his dog search for missing persons but find something else. Really liked the potential apocalypse that's hinted at
6. Carved Eternal - 1/10 - Very short poem. I have no idea what's it's about
7. Something Came Through - 8/10 - A hole in bathroom drywall is a portal for a doppleganger
8. Faceless - 6/10 - Man meets death
9. Untethered - 7/10 - Female astronaut has a problem with spaceship computer, among other things
10. Everything Was Going To Be Okay - 8/10 - An irredeemable teen tries to save his ass and then gets it kicked
11. You Can Never Go Back - 5/10 - A man is inexplicably dropped into his past to revisit his abducted little sister]]> 4.03 Something Came Through
author: Joe Hart
name: whit
average rating: 4.03
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2020/02/29
date added: 2021/01/22
shelves:
review:
These comments are for my own tracking, so plot spoilers below.
1. Trestle - 8/10 - A boy's dead father comes back as a monstrous evil and terrorizes some kids near a train bridge
2. The Red, Red Light That Comes Through the Trees - 8/10 - The apocalypse begins during a family's cabin vacation
3. More - 9/10 - A girl tries to deal with her guilt of killing someone while texting & driving
4. Borneo - 5/10 - Kind of hard to follow. Has elements of "Trestle" and "More" but not as good
5. Down in the Valley - 9/10 - A forest ranger and his dog search for missing persons but find something else. Really liked the potential apocalypse that's hinted at
6. Carved Eternal - 1/10 - Very short poem. I have no idea what's it's about
7. Something Came Through - 8/10 - A hole in bathroom drywall is a portal for a doppleganger
8. Faceless - 6/10 - Man meets death
9. Untethered - 7/10 - Female astronaut has a problem with spaceship computer, among other things
10. Everything Was Going To Be Okay - 8/10 - An irredeemable teen tries to save his ass and then gets it kicked
11. You Can Never Go Back - 5/10 - A man is inexplicably dropped into his past to revisit his abducted little sister
]]> <![CDATA[The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)]]> 29430673 The Gunslinger is the first volume in the epic Dark Tower Series.

A #1 national bestseller, The Gunslinger introduces readers to one of Stephen King’s most powerful creations, Roland of Gilead: The Last Gunslinger. He is a haunting figure, a loner on a spellbinding journey into good and evil. In his desolate world, which mirrors our own in frightening ways, Roland tracks The Man in Black, encounters an enticing woman named Alice, and begins a friendship with the boy from New York named Jake.]]> 251 Stephen King whit 4 whit-owned
The final moment in Tull was a well constructed action scene and the exchanges between The Gunslinger and The Man In Black later in the book were thought-provoking. The Man In Black's descriptions of universes was great and Roland's dream reminded me, in an abbreviated sense, of William Hope Hodgson's meanderings of the passage of time in "The House on the Borderland".

While I am not breathlessly anticipating reading the next book in "The Dark Tower" series, "The Gunslinger" has certainly got me rearranging my To-Be-Read list.]]> 3.69 1982 The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1982
rating: 4
read at: 2020/08/08
date added: 2021/01/22
shelves: whit-owned
review:
Really enjoyed "The Gunslinger", which was more of a collection of scenes or events than a single story. The character of Roland is a wonderful creation. The Western meets Science Fiction vibe is very agreeable to me as opposed to if it were a straight-up Fantasy novel. The relationship between Roland and Jake was satisfying.

The final moment in Tull was a well constructed action scene and the exchanges between The Gunslinger and The Man In Black later in the book were thought-provoking. The Man In Black's descriptions of universes was great and Roland's dream reminded me, in an abbreviated sense, of William Hope Hodgson's meanderings of the passage of time in "The House on the Borderland".

While I am not breathlessly anticipating reading the next book in "The Dark Tower" series, "The Gunslinger" has certainly got me rearranging my To-Be-Read list.
]]> <![CDATA[Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre]]> 52777597 The #1 bestselling author of World War Z takes on the Bigfoot legend with a tale that blurs the lines between human and beast—and asks what we are capable of in the face of the unimaginable.

As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing—and too earth-shattering in its implications—to be forgotten.

In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it.

Kate’s is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity’s defiance in the face of a terrible predator’s gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.

Yet it is also far more than that.

Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us—and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it—and like none you’ve ever read before.]]> 288 Max Brooks 1984826794 whit 3
The bigfoot creatures were ominous. The way the author describes how things rumble and shake when they attack or even roar relays how dangerous they are. There wasn't much written about the actual eruption of Mt. Rainier or the effect it had on anyplace other than the Greenloop settlement. This is where the book drops a star for me. It isn't necessary for this to be yet another book about a widespread disaster, but the residents need to be self-reliant would have been more convincing if it had been explored more. ]]> 4.09 2020 Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre
author: Max Brooks
name: whit
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/01/22
date added: 2021/01/22
shelves:
review:
This was a fun and easy read. The evolution of the main character, Kate, and the redemption of closet do-it-yourselfer, Dan, was the best part of the story. Mostar was a mysterious person with some unique skills. Her origin story is never really told. The author has some interesting things to say about how taking nature and its creatures lightly is a big mistake, demonstrated mostly by Tony and Yvette. It was satisfying to see how that high and mighty "green" couple devolved.

The bigfoot creatures were ominous. The way the author describes how things rumble and shake when they attack or even roar relays how dangerous they are. There wasn't much written about the actual eruption of Mt. Rainier or the effect it had on anyplace other than the Greenloop settlement. This is where the book drops a star for me. It isn't necessary for this to be yet another book about a widespread disaster, but the residents need to be self-reliant would have been more convincing if it had been explored more.
]]> The Black Sky 50514658 Timothy D. Minneci whit 0 to-read 3.98 2020 The Black Sky
author: Timothy D. Minneci
name: whit
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/10/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Obscura 36440711 She's felt it before � the fear of losing control. And it's happening again.

In the near future, an aggressive and terrifying new form of dementia is affecting victims of all ages. The cause is unknown, and the symptoms are disturbing. Dr. Gillian Ryan is on the cutting edge of research and desperately determined to find a cure. She's already lost her husband to the disease, and now her young daughter is slowly succumbing as well. After losing her funding, she is given the unique opportunity to expand her research. She will travel with a NASA team to a space station where the crew has been stricken with symptoms of a similar inexplicable psychosis—memory loss, trances, and violent, uncontrollable impulses.

Crippled by a secret addiction and suffering from creeping paranoia, Gillian finds her journey becoming a nightmare as unexplainable and violent events plague the mission. With her grip weakening on reality, she starts to doubt her own innocence. And she's beginning to question so much more—like the true nature of the mission, the motivations of the crew, and every deadly new secret space has to offer.

Merging thrilling science-fiction adventure with mind-bending psychological suspense, Wall Street Journal bestselling author Joe Hart explores both the vast mysteries of outer space and the even darker unknown that lies within ourselves.]]> 348 Joe Hart 1503934446 whit 0 to-read 4.07 2018 Obscura
author: Joe Hart
name: whit
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell]]> 43315536
In his first collection, North American Lake Monsters, Nathan Ballingrud carved out a distinctly singular place in American fiction with his “piercing and merciless� (Toronto Globe and Mail) portrayals of the monsters that haunt our lives—both real and imagined: “What Nathan Ballingrud does in North American Lake Monsters is to reinvigorate the horror tradition� (Los Angeles Review of Books).

Now, in Wounds, Ballingrud follows up with an even more confounding, strange, and utterly entrancing collection of six stories, including one new novella. From the eerie dread descending upon a New Orleans dive bartender after a cell phone is left behind in a rollicking bar fight in “The Visible Filth� to the search for the map of hell in “The Butcher’s Table,� Ballingrud’s beautifully crafted stories are riveting in their quietly terrifying depictions of the murky line between the known and the unknown.]]> 289 Nathan Ballingrud 1534449949 whit 2
I thought the featured novella, "The Visible Filth", was a good story, the best of the collection. The first half of "The Butcher's Table" really painted a vivid picture of a strange journey at sea with some real mystery and the ominous carrion angels. The second half of the story wallowed in blood, guts, and cannibalism with satanism thrown in for good measure. All of the characters in the story meet horrific ends. Dark endings are fine but this got ridiculous. Then again, what should be expected when the title of the book claims to be from the border of Hell?

There's no doubt that Ballingrud is a talented writer and this contains some very well written stories, but they just weren't for me. I'm sure many will appreciate it more than I did.]]> 4.22 2019 Wounds: Six Stories from the Border of Hell
author: Nathan Ballingrud
name: whit
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2020/07/02
date added: 2020/07/02
shelves:
review:
I was looking forward to reading "Wounds" after liking his first collection, "North American Lake Monsters". NALM really had an edge. It was odd and very dark at times, but it was always interesting and addictive. Unfortunately, "Wounds" was too disjointed and grotesque for me to settle into.

I thought the featured novella, "The Visible Filth", was a good story, the best of the collection. The first half of "The Butcher's Table" really painted a vivid picture of a strange journey at sea with some real mystery and the ominous carrion angels. The second half of the story wallowed in blood, guts, and cannibalism with satanism thrown in for good measure. All of the characters in the story meet horrific ends. Dark endings are fine but this got ridiculous. Then again, what should be expected when the title of the book claims to be from the border of Hell?

There's no doubt that Ballingrud is a talented writer and this contains some very well written stories, but they just weren't for me. I'm sure many will appreciate it more than I did.
]]> Fahrenheit 451 17470674
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.

The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity.

Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

--back cover]]> 227 Ray Bradbury 0007491565 whit 0 to-read 4.01 1953 Fahrenheit 451
author: Ray Bradbury
name: whit
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Underdwelling 13160419
Digging a new drift down in Level #8, the lowest level of the mine, an immense shaft opens up. Boyd and a few others volunteer to explore it. Some 400 feet down, they find a passage that leads to an immense cavern from prehistory.

A petrified world.

A prehistoric graveyard.

Then a cave-in traps them down there. In the darkness and dank shadows of a fossilized world, they realize they are not alone.

Something has woken in the stone.

Something ancient and terrible and coldly intelligent.

And it is lonely.]]> 85 Tim Curran whit 0 to-read 3.86 2011 The Underdwelling
author: Tim Curran
name: whit
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Fear Me 11960993
Then they begin to die horribly.

In locked cells.

When the lights go out at Shaddock Valley, the nightmare begins. When Danny Palmquist goes to sleep, something else wakes up.

Something primeval.

Something bloodthirsty.

And if you mess with Danny Palmquist, it will find you. And in the darkness, nothing can save you.]]> 203 Tim Curran whit 0 to-read 3.61 2011 Fear Me
author: Tim Curran
name: whit
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/07/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Running Man 9975277 417 Richard Bachman whit 3 4.18 1982 The Running Man
author: Richard Bachman
name: whit
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1982
rating: 3
read at: 2020/06/28
date added: 2020/06/28
shelves:
review:
This was nothing like the movie and that's both good and bad. Ben Richards is certainly not a likeable character but I did pull for him as he was the lesser of two evils when compared with the Network. This story's ending could never be done again today, a reason that will become obvious to you once you've read it. This isn't one of King's best but does compare to his other Bachman output.
]]> Putting Out of Your Mind 293993 Bob Rotella 1416501991 whit 4 whit-owned 4.29 1996 Putting Out of Your Mind
author: Bob Rotella
name: whit
average rating: 4.29
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/22
date added: 2020/06/22
shelves: whit-owned
review:
Time will tell if this book was valuable to my golf game. However, this was a fun, easy read with lots of golf-related tales about the way great golfers think about their putting struggles and successes. This isn't a book that's going to tell you anything about the physical way to putt. The author is convinced that putting is a mental challenge.
]]> Roadwork 39352135 ]]> 298 Richard Bachman whit 4 4.00 1981 Roadwork
author: Richard Bachman
name: whit
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1981
rating: 4
read at: 2020/06/01
date added: 2020/06/01
shelves:
review:
Barton Dawes is a very sympathetic character. He suffered a loss he could not recover from and then life piled on. There are some other dysfunctional but likeable characters that interact with Dawes. Bachman doesn't drive the characterization into the ground like he often does when writing as King and that keeps this story tight and tense.
]]> The Grip of It 31574739 A chilling literary horror novel about a young couple who purchase and live in a haunted house. Jac Jemc’s The Grip of It tells the eerie story of a young couple haunted by their new home.

Julie and James settle into a house in a small town outside the city where they met. The move—prompted by James’s penchant for gambling, his inability to keep his impulses in check—is quick and seamless; both Julie and James are happy to leave behind their usual haunts and start afresh. But this house, which sits between ocean and forest, has plans for the unsuspecting couple. As Julie and James try to settle into their home and their relationship, the house and its surrounding terrain become the locus of increasingly strange happenings. The architecture—claustrophobic, riddled with hidden rooms within rooms—becomes unrecognizable, decaying before their eyes. Stains are animated on the wall—contracting, expanding—and map themselves onto Julie’s body in the form of bruises; mold spores taint the water that James pours from the sink. Together the couple embark on a panicked search for the source of their mutual torment, a journey that mires them in the history of their peculiar neighbors and the mysterious residents who lived in the house before Julia and James.

Written in creepy, potent prose, The Grip of It is an enthralling, psychologically intense novel that deals in questions of home: how we make it and how it in turn makes us, mapping itself onto bodies and the relationships we cherish.]]> 276 Jac Jemc 0374536910 whit 0 to-read 3.17 2017 The Grip of It
author: Jac Jemc
name: whit
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Night Film 18770398
For McGrath, another death connected to this seemingly cursed family dynasty seems more than just a coincidence. Though much has been written about Cordova's dark and unsettling films, very little is known about the man himself.

Driven by revenge, curiosity, and a need for the truth, McGrath, with the aid of two strangers, is drawn deeper and deeper into Cordova's eerie, hypnotic world. The last time he got close to exposing the director, McGrath lost his marriage and his career. This time he might lose even more.]]> 640 Marisha Pessl 0812979788 whit 0 to-read 3.78 2013 Night Film
author: Marisha Pessl
name: whit
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/05/24
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cujo 13617166
And Cujo falls sick. Very sick.

What happens to Cujo, how he becomes a horrifying vortex inexorably drawing in all the people around him, makes for one of the most heatt-stopping novels Stephen King has written.]]> 320 Stephen King 110113786X whit 4 3.25 1981 Cujo
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 3.25
book published: 1981
rating: 4
read at: 2020/05/23
date added: 2020/05/23
shelves:
review:
This is another King story that's so much a part of our culture that I though it might be too familiar to enjoy. But after a slow start and a moderate build through its middle section, the last third of this book turns gripping and very exciting. I really felt awful for Cujo and his victims. The ending will be very difficult for most people to like. I've never seen the movie based on the book. It will be interesting to see if the story and particularly the conclusion was changed much for the masses.
]]> Firestarter 16137064 361 Stephen King whit 3 4.11 1980 Firestarter
author: Stephen King
name: whit
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1980
rating: 3
read at: 2020/04/06
date added: 2020/04/06
shelves:
review:
I didn't think I was going to enjoy this story, but it's on my list as I read through King's works in order. Turns out, it was entertaining and pretty much a page-turner once we were introduced to bad guy John Rainbird. I did like the way King described Andy's ability to "push" (influence) people. It was actually a more interesting power than Charlie's ability to make fire.
]]> <![CDATA[Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)]]> 375802
But Ender is not the only result of the experiment. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway almost as long. Ender's two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. While Peter was too uncontrollably violent, Valentine very nearly lacks the capability for violence altogether. Neither was found suitable for the military's purpose. But they are driven by their jealousy of Ender, and by their inbred drive for power. Peter seeks to control the political process, to become a ruler. Valentine's abilities turn more toward the subtle control of the beliefs of commoner and elite alike, through powerfully convincing essays. Hiding their youth and identities behind the anonymity of the computer networks, these two begin working together to shape the destiny of Earth-an Earth that has no future at all if their brother Ender fails.]]> 324 Orson Scott Card 0812550706 whit 0 to-read 4.31 1985 Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)
author: Orson Scott Card
name: whit
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Earth Abides 93269 345 George R. Stewart 0345487133 whit 0 to-read 3.94 1949 Earth Abides
author: George R. Stewart
name: whit
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1949
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Spin (Spin, #1) 910863 Spin is Robert Charles Wilson's Hugo Award-winning masterpiece―a stunning combination of a galactic "what if" and a small-scale, very human story.

One night in October when he was ten years old, Tyler Dupree stood in his backyard and watched the stars go out. They all flared into brilliance at once, then disappeared, replaced by a flat, empty black barrier. He and his best friends, Jason and Diane Lawton, had seen what became known as the Big Blackout. It would shape their lives.

The effect is worldwide. The sun is now a featureless disk―a heat source, rather than an astronomical object. The moon is gone, but tides remain. Not only have the world's artificial satellites fallen out of orbit, their recovered remains are pitted and aged, as though they'd been in space far longer than their known lifespans. As Tyler, Jason, and Diane grow up, a space probe reveals a bizarre truth: The barrier is artificial, generated by huge alien artifacts. Time is passing faster outside the barrier than inside―more than a hundred million years per year on Earth. At this rate, the death throes of the sun are only about forty years in our future.

Jason, now a promising young scientist, devotes his life to working against this slow-moving apocalypse. Diane throws herself into hedonism, marrying a sinister cult leader who's forged a new religion out of the fears of the masses.

Earth sends terraforming machines to Mars to let the onrush of time do its work, turning the planet green. Next they send humans� and immediately get back an emissary with thousands of years of stories to tell about the settling of Mars. Then Earth's probes reveal that an identical barrier has appeared around Mars. Jason, desperate, seeds near space with self-replicating machines that will scatter copies of themselves outward from the sun―and report back on what they find.

Life on Earth is about to get much, much stranger.]]> 458 Robert Charles Wilson 076534825X whit 0 to-read 4.02 2005 Spin (Spin, #1)
author: Robert Charles Wilson
name: whit
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought, #1)]]> 77711 Alternate Cover Edition can be found here.

A Fire upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale.

Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence.

Fleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.]]> 613 Vernor Vinge 0812515285 whit 0 to-read 4.14 1992 A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought, #1)
author: Vernor Vinge
name: whit
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/02/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Collected Pulp Horror: Volume One]]> 43593384 Pulp Horror, the fanzine dedicated to vintage horror fiction from pulps, magazines and paperbacks, featuring interviews, articles and reviews on 50 years of classic horror fiction.]]> 130 Justin Marriott 1793987548 whit 3 whit-owned 4.10 The Collected Pulp Horror: Volume One
author: Justin Marriott
name: whit
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2020/01/21
date added: 2020/01/21
shelves: whit-owned
review:
I liked the chapter on Sci-Fi/Horror the most. There are a lot of books covered here that I've never read and likely never will. But the author does a fine job of making material I am unfamiliar with entertaining to read about.
]]> The Best of Richard Matheson 34342010 The first career retrospective of terrifying stories by "one of the greatest writers of the 20th century" (Ray Bradbury), edited by award-winning author Victor LaValle.

Among the greats of 20th-century horror and fantasy, few names stand above Richard Matheson. Though known by many for novels like I Am Legend and his sixteen Twilight Zone episodes, Matheson truly shines in his chilling, masterful short stories. Since his first story appeared in 1950, virtually every major writer of science fiction, horror, and fantasy has fallen under his influence, including Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Peter Straub, and Joe Hill, as well as filmmakers like Stephen Spielberg and J.J. Abrams. Matheson revolutionized horror by taking it out of Gothic castles and strange cosmos and setting it in the darkened streets and suburbs we recognize as our own. He infused tales of the fantastic and supernormal with dark explorations of human nature, delving deep into the universal dread of feeling alone and threatened in a dangerous world.

The Best of Richard Matheson brings together his greatest hits as chosen by Victor LaValle, an expert on horror fiction and one of its brightest talents, marking the first major overview of Matheson's legendary career.]]> 407 Richard Matheson 014313017X whit 0 to-read 4.12 2017 The Best of Richard Matheson
author: Richard Matheson
name: whit
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2017
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Harvest 1077085 Do you want to live forever? the Travellers asked humanity, and only one in ten thousand said no. Their ship had been in orbit around the earth for a year, but their only communication came one night via an enigmatic dream of immortality. And the next day everything was changed. Most of the world prepared to put away their earthly lives as children put away their toys. And the few who remained fully human began to know fear.

In coastal Buchanan, Oregon, physician Matt Wheeler is one of only ten who said no to eternity. As he watches his friends, his colleagues, even his beloved daughter transform into something more—or less—than human, he finds that his concepts of life and death, good and evil, god and mortal must undergo a similar change if he is to retain his bittersweet hold on life.

Others, however, find such introspection to be self-defeating—perhaps even treasonous. If we’ve been invaded by aliens, reasons Col. John Tyler, we’ve got to fight back. Even if they are in human form. And sifting through the remnants of the United States, he finds those who agree with him.

And so, at the end of the world, it is like it was at the beginning. There are those who choose heaven, those who choose earth, and those who choose hell. And as these three groups move toward their fates, humanity finds itself on the bring of a destiny that may forever change the face of the universe itself.]]> 394 Robert Charles Wilson 0553091239 whit 3 whit-owned
"The Harvest" doesn't fall far from the tree of Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End". I like "Childhood's End" more because it doesn't get as detailed about the characters. In "The Harvest", the characters converse...a LOT. It reminded me of the way Stephen King sometimes over-explains his cast. Come to think of it, this is a bit like "The Stand" in that there is a small group of people trying to survive an invading force. Granted, it's not a virus like Captain Trips, but it alters everything about humanity.]]> 3.79 1992 The Harvest
author: Robert Charles Wilson
name: whit
average rating: 3.79
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at: 2019/11/06
date added: 2019/11/06
shelves: whit-owned
review:
A subdued story about an Earth-changing event and those that chose not to accept the gift of eternal life offered by a benevolent alien force. It was enjoyable to read a novel by a talented writer who isn't well known but produced an intriguing story with a premise that I'm fond of.

"The Harvest" doesn't fall far from the tree of Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End". I like "Childhood's End" more because it doesn't get as detailed about the characters. In "The Harvest", the characters converse...a LOT. It reminded me of the way Stephen King sometimes over-explains his cast. Come to think of it, this is a bit like "The Stand" in that there is a small group of people trying to survive an invading force. Granted, it's not a virus like Captain Trips, but it alters everything about humanity.
]]> <![CDATA[The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses]]> 48620413 Length: 7 hrs and 55 mins

In his first book, the creator of the award-winning podcast Hardcore History looks to some of humanity’s most apocalyptic moments to understand the challenges of our future.

Do tough times create tougher people? Can humanity handle the power of its weapons without destroying itself? Will human technology or capabilities ever peak or regress? Why, since the dawn of time, has it always seemed as though death and destruction are waiting just around the corner?

In The End Is Always Near, Dan Carlin connects the past and future in fascinating and colourful ways, exploring a question that has hung over humanity like the sword of Damocles from the collapse of the Bronze Age to the nuclear era - that of human survival.

Combining his trademark mix of storytelling, history and thought experiments, Carlin forces us to consider what sounds like fantasy: that we might suffer the same fate as all previous civilisations. Will our world ever become a ruin for future archaeologists to dig up and explore?

This thrillingly expansive and entertaining book will make you look at the past - and future - in a completely different way.]]> 8 Dan Carlin whit 4 whit-owned
Dan Carlin's narration is excellent, but I'm already familiar with his podcast work. This was my first ever audiobook, so listening to Carlin is a bit of a cheat. I'll try another with a narrator that I'm not familiar with. I found it more difficult staying focused on the narration compared to reading myself.]]> 3.81 2019 The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses
author: Dan Carlin
name: whit
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/11/03
date added: 2019/11/03
shelves: whit-owned
review:
Those familiar with Dan Carlin's terrific "Hardcore History" podcast series will find much to enjoy here and anyone who has not been exposed to his thought-provoking dissection of Man's insanity or the ruthlessness of Nature, well, be ready to be wowed, disturbed and maybe even disgusted by the topics covered here.

Dan Carlin's narration is excellent, but I'm already familiar with his podcast work. This was my first ever audiobook, so listening to Carlin is a bit of a cheat. I'll try another with a narrator that I'm not familiar with. I found it more difficult staying focused on the narration compared to reading myself.
]]> <![CDATA[Curtain Call: and Other Dark Entertainments]]> 32672335 73 Mark Allan Gunnells whit 0 to-read 4.80 Curtain Call: and Other Dark Entertainments
author: Mark Allan Gunnells
name: whit
average rating: 4.80
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Turtle Boy (Timmy Quinn #1)]]> 1414451 96 Kealan Patrick Burke 0975363506 whit 0 to-read 3.64 2004 The Turtle Boy (Timmy Quinn #1)
author: Kealan Patrick Burke
name: whit
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Secret of Ventriloquism 32451736 The Secret of Ventriloquism, named the Best Fiction Book of 2016 by Rue Morgue Magazine, heralds the arrival of a significant new literary talent. With themes reminiscent of Shirley Jackson, Thomas Ligotti, and Bruno Schulz, but with a strikingly unique vision, Padgett's work explores the mystery of human suffering, the agony of personal existence, and the ghastly means by which someone might achieve salvation from both. A bullied child seeks vengeance within a bed's hollow box spring. A lucid dreamer is haunted by an impossible house. A dummy reveals its own anatomy in 20 simple steps. A stuttering librarian holds the key to a mill town's unspeakable secrets. A commuter's worldview is shattered by two words printed on a cardboard sign. An aspiring ventriloquist spends a little too much time looking at himself in a mirror. And a presence speaks through them all.


Contents:

Introduction by Matt Cardin
The Mindfulness of Horror Practice
Murmurs of a Voice Foreknown
The Indoor Swamp
Origami Dreams
20 Simple Steps to Ventriloquism
Infusorium
Organ Void
The Secret of Ventriloquism
Escape to Thin Mountain]]> 201 Jon Padgett whit 0 to-read 3.93 2016 The Secret of Ventriloquism
author: Jon Padgett
name: whit
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/10/26
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Song for the Unraveling of the World: Stories]]> 43881039 224 Brian Evenson 1566895561 whit 4
At first I had difficulty following many of these stories, but I slowed my reading speed and the deliberate pace really helped me to follow the stories better.

Brian Evenson is a terrific writer. There are a few stories here that I just didn't understand, even after reading them a second time. I just couldn't get them to click. Obviously this is my problem, but it's the only reason I'm withholding a 5-star rating.

My favorite stories collected here are "No Matter Which Way We Turned", about a girl with no face, only her back, on both sides. "Room Tone" in which a director uses someone else's home to shoot a movie, but once completed, obsesses that the sound isn't quite right. He needs to re-shoot a scene or two, but the homeowner won't cooperate. "The Hole", one of the more straight forward stories about a crew of space travelers searching for their captain who has wandered off. One of the crew finds the captain...or something. The ending of this is really good. And "Wanderlust", about a man who keeps sensing someone is behind him and goes to great lengths to elude the feeling. Loved the ending of this, too.]]> 3.95 2019 Song for the Unraveling of the World: Stories
author: Brian Evenson
name: whit
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at: 2019/10/25
date added: 2019/10/25
shelves:
review:
Tales of Horror, Science Fiction, and Crime are the vehicles used to deliver an exploration of paranoia, anxiety and self-doubt.

At first I had difficulty following many of these stories, but I slowed my reading speed and the deliberate pace really helped me to follow the stories better.

Brian Evenson is a terrific writer. There are a few stories here that I just didn't understand, even after reading them a second time. I just couldn't get them to click. Obviously this is my problem, but it's the only reason I'm withholding a 5-star rating.

My favorite stories collected here are "No Matter Which Way We Turned", about a girl with no face, only her back, on both sides. "Room Tone" in which a director uses someone else's home to shoot a movie, but once completed, obsesses that the sound isn't quite right. He needs to re-shoot a scene or two, but the homeowner won't cooperate. "The Hole", one of the more straight forward stories about a crew of space travelers searching for their captain who has wandered off. One of the crew finds the captain...or something. The ending of this is really good. And "Wanderlust", about a man who keeps sensing someone is behind him and goes to great lengths to elude the feeling. Loved the ending of this, too.
]]> The House on the Borderland 18338834
In a mysterious, brooding ruin clinging to the edge of an abyss in the timeless Irish hinterland, the journal of the last tenant is discovered. In it he has recorded his mind-wrenching involuntary adventures. Descents into the Pit, desperate battles against the subhuman Swinefolk, voyages across the dimensions and through aeons of time to the centre of the Universe and the death of the Solar System—these are just some of the elements in this unique classic of fantasy fiction.]]> 109 William Hope Hodgson whit 3 whit-owned
]]> 3.58 1908 The House on the Borderland
author: William Hope Hodgson
name: whit
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1908
rating: 3
read at: 2019/08/30
date added: 2019/08/30
shelves: whit-owned
review:
The first half of the book shines with its tale of isolated Horror featuring vicious swine beasts and the "pit". The last half sends the main character traveling through time and space. It was difficult to conjure up my own mental images of the cosmic journey that the author took me on. It's also a little tough to read as it was originally published in 1908. I certainly enjoyed its concept and ideas, though.


]]> Who Goes There? 34848685
This Wildside Press edition is the only ebook version of this classic story authorized by the Campbell estate.]]> 82 John W. Campbell Jr. 147942613X whit 4 whit-owned
This is very short so if you're looking for a quick story to satisfy a Sci-Fi/Horror itch, this will probably do the trick. It isn't really scary but it manages some tense moments. It was written a long time ago by one of the masters of the genre.

One thing that was very different from the movie versions was this book's ending. It was not as dire or open-ended as John Carpenter's 1982 film, "The Thing". I liked the way that film ended but this original story was very thought-provoking and made me ponder what might have been, in a different way.]]> 4.03 1938 Who Goes There?
author: John W. Campbell Jr.
name: whit
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1938
rating: 4
read at: 2019/02/09
date added: 2019/08/11
shelves: whit-owned
review:
I've seen the movie versions of this book many times, but never bothered to check out their source material. As is always the case when I read the book after the movie, it was difficult for me to ignore the mental pictures in my head of the film versions of the characters. The story is a little different though, so this was a fun read.

This is very short so if you're looking for a quick story to satisfy a Sci-Fi/Horror itch, this will probably do the trick. It isn't really scary but it manages some tense moments. It was written a long time ago by one of the masters of the genre.

One thing that was very different from the movie versions was this book's ending. It was not as dire or open-ended as John Carpenter's 1982 film, "The Thing". I liked the way that film ended but this original story was very thought-provoking and made me ponder what might have been, in a different way.
]]>