Stephen King’s going to go down in history as THE novelist of the late twentieth century. More than Dean Koontz or John Green or Danielle Steele. They even made a horror movie about him. I’m not talking about a documentary or his directorial debut (and finale) Maximum Overdrive or a thinly veiled pastiche like in “In the Mouth of Madness“. I mean he was the subject matter. He’s ceased to be a person, but a brand. That’s what I call being part of the public consciousness. Not even J.K. Rowling has that (yet). But art changes over time. Simply because people change over time. Steven Spielberg doesn’t make the same…
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The Books I Read: July – August 2017
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman I expected this to be like Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. And I got what I wanted. It’s a tightly paced retelling of the old Norse creation myths. Problem is, there aren’t many of them. I suspect that’s more to do with lack of surviving source material, given what Neil Gaiman says in the foreword. Maybe a long time ago there were scrolls and scrolls of Loki and Thor stories. Now all we’ve got are comic books. And if you’re any fan of Marvel’s interpretations, this is required reading. The nice thing is that the re-tellings are up to date. I expected something Shakespearean or textbook-dry, like…
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The Books I Read: March – April 2017
I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga(unfinished) I love Barry Lyga, but I had to stop after twenty-five percent. There was too much telling and not enough showing. The story’s about a teenager who knows all the serial killer tricks because his father was one. So there’s analysis, backstory, and thinking, but not much action. Too much of the text is setup for the ongoing series, not the current story. I wanted to know what’s happening with the murder now, not ten years ago. It would have been better if the text was presented in flashbacks so there was more immediacy, instead of recall. The narrator is just not interesting enough…
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My New Reading Policy
So after looking over my past logs for books (two years really), I realize there’s a reason my yearly rate is on the decline. And it’s not just because of new comics. It’s because I’m reading too many bad books. For 2016 my scoring average was 2.93. That means I read more books that I scored below average than above. This scoring should be at four. It’s not like I grade on a curve. There’s no reason I couldn’t have an entire year of five-star books. So to that end, I’m going to be a bit more picky about my selections. Too many times I’ve been fooled by classics that…
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The Worst Books I Read in 2016
The Beast Within by Serena Valentino (original review) A sloppy, emotionless, and most of all, non-canon telling of the Beast’s life. I don’t know who looked at this and said “print it!” They don’t get key elements from the movie right, and all the new things, like the three witches, make no sense in the context of the original movie. Most harsh is that this will make you hate the beast more than sympathize with him. You don’t need this in your life. Friend by Diana Henstell (original review) Yeesh. Eighties robots and school crushes and child geniuses and bringing the dead back to life. Sounds like a fascinating story…
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The Best Books I Read in 2016
The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Stirling & Brooke S. Passey (original review) It’s funny. It’s light-hearted. It’s not too long. It’s poignant. It’s like Felicia Day’s book. And it’s full of her voice both tragic and comic. Grim at times, cheery at most. This is not the Kim Kardashian, Tina Fey, or even the Mindy Kaling. This isn’t the girl who made it (not yet, at least). This is the girl still hacking at that creativity mountain with a pick-axe. Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner (original review) A fascinating slice of nostalgia for anyone who played…
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Quick Overview of My Reads for the Year
I hope whoever was in charge of 2016 got fired. For 2017, either you’ve got expectations set really low or are hoping high, thinking nothing can be as bad as that dumpster fire. But one always measures the future by calculating the past. And I calculate mine in books. So remember last year when I resolved not to read so many bad books? Yeah, that didn’t so much happen. Even the book I’m reading now — “Geek Love” — it’s a good book, but it’s just so long. I’m skipping it to read comic books or play games, just because I’m bored of the world. The writing is fantastic, glorious,…
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The Books I Read: July – August 2016
Far Far Away by Tom McNeal Fans of Neil Gaiman will love this book. The closest I can call it is a modern fairy tale, but that word gets thrown around so much it’s become meaningless. I’ve never used it until now (I think). It felt like a combination of Stardust and Holes. Jacob Grimm has become a ghost and, after traveling the ethereal plane, attaches to the only boy who can hear him. A lonely boy struggling with a single Dad with a failing business. The thing keeping this good book from being a great book is that nothing happens until about 66% through. The first fifteen percent, the…
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The Books I Read: March – April 2016
Firefight by Brandon Sanderson For some reason, my library sent me Calamity, the third book in the series, before Firefight. This made me have to buy Firefight and quickly read it. Last year, Steelheart was one of the very very few five-star books I read, so I figured I had to pick up the sequel. It does a good job of expanding on the world established in the first book, while not deviating too much from the formula (going to a city to kill a powerful superhero). This time, it’s a water-manipulator in a flooded Manhattan, who’s got an exploder and miscellaneous other villains. Like most second parts of a…
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The Best Books I Read In 2015
Original Review It takes a lot for me to seriously consider reading a book a second time, and this is one of them. This book is written for people like me. The girl knows how to write comedy. It’s hard to express that in a book form, without the benefits of timing, but she does it. Everytime I remember the book, I get warm fuzzies. It’s like a hero’s journey — humble origins, a call to adventure, rejection of that call, supernatural aid (the internet), transformation, an abyss, atonement, and return. And like Wil Wheaton, she’s not afraid to open a vein, because she knows talking about it helps others.…
