Michael's bookshelf: all

Michael's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 12 Mar 2025 17:12:15 -0700 60 Michael's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)]]> 6294 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl—and herself—than first meets the eye.]]> 329 Diana Wynne Jones 006441034X Michael 0 to-read 4.30 1986 Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)

Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)

author: Diana Wynne Jones
name: Michael
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1986
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)]]> 17934530 Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.

The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain, record all observations of their surroundings and of one another, and, above all, avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another that change everything.]]> 195 Jeff VanderMeer 0374104093 Michael 4 3.79 2014 Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)

author: Jeff VanderMeer
name: Michael
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark]]> 55809879 The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells, told by the bombshell herself.

On Good Friday in 1953, at only 18 months old, 25 miles from the nearest hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, Cassandra Peterson reached for a pot on the stove and doused herself in boiling water. Third-degree burns covered 35% of her body, and the prognosis wasn't good. But she survived. Burned and scarred, the impact stayed with her and became an obstacle she was determined to overcome. Feeling like a misfit led to her love of horror. While her sisters played with Barbie dolls, Cassandra built model kits of Frankenstein and Dracula, and idolized Vincent Price.

Due to a complicated relationship with her mother, Cassandra left home at 14, and by age 17 she was performing at the famed Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. Run-ins with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones helped her grow up fast. Then a chance encounter with her idol Elvis Presley, changed the course of her life forever, and led her to Europe where she worked in film and traveled Italy as lead singer of an Italian pop band. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she joined the famed comedy improv group, The Groundlings, and worked alongside Phil Hartman and Paul "Pee-wee" Reubens, honing her comedic skills.

Nearing age 30, a struggling actress considered past her prime, she auditioned at local LA channel KHJ as hostess for the late night vintage horror movies. Cassandra improvised, made the role her own, and got the job on the spot. Yours Cruelly, Elvira is an unforgettably wild memoir. Cassandra doesn't shy away from revealing exactly who she is and how she overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. Always original and sometimes outrageous, her story is loaded with twists, travails, revelry, and downright shocking experiences. It is the candid, often funny, and sometimes heart-breaking tale of a Midwest farm girl's long strange trip to become the world's sexiest, sassiest Halloween icon.]]> 284 Cassandra Peterson 0306874350 Michael 4 4.36 2021 Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark

Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark

author: Cassandra Peterson
name: Michael
average rating: 4.36
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/03/12
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]]> The Only Good Indians 52180399 The creeping horror of Paul Tremblay meets Tommy Orange’s There There in a dark novel of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.]]> 305 Stephen Graham Jones 1982136456 Michael 4 3.69 2020 The Only Good Indians

author: Stephen Graham Jones
name: Michael
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
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review:
Very engaging and scary stuff. There are some moments that are entirely shocking, in a good way.
]]> A Head Full of Ghosts 23019294
To her parents' despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie's descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts' plight. With John, Marjorie's father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed, and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later, a bestselling writer interviews Marjorie's younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface--and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.]]> 287 Paul Tremblay 0062363239 Michael 4 3.78 2015 A Head Full of Ghosts

author: Paul Tremblay
name: Michael
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
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review:
Really scary at times but I felt a little let down by the ending.
]]> <![CDATA[The Metamorphosis and Other Stories]]> 7723 The Metamorphosis,�� a story that is both harrowing and amusing, and a landmark of modern literature.

Bringing together some of Kafka’s finest work, this collection demonstrates the richness and variety of the author’s artistry. ��The Judgment,�� which Kafka considered to be his decisive breakthrough, and ��The Stoker,�� which became the first chapter of his novel Amerika, are here included. These two, along with ��The Metamorphosis,�� form a suite of stories Kafka referred to as “The Sons,�� and they collectively present a devastating portrait of the modern family.

Also included are ��In the Penal Colony,�� a story of a torture machine and its operators and victims, and ��A Hunger Artist,�� about the absurdity of an artist trying to communicate with a misunderstanding public. Kafka’s lucid, succinct writing chronicles the labyrinthine complexities, the futility-laden horror, and the stifling oppressiveness that permeate his vision of modern life.]]> 224 Franz Kafka 1593080298 Michael 5
Kafka is the MAN for all of us depressive, self-hating slugs!

Who hasn't felt like the stuff beneath your shoe?

Not to say that Kafka is depressing or meant to be depressing, but this works SINGS to the slugs!

My favorite Kafka story is A Hunger Artist.

I'm not feeling so hungry now.]]> 4.08 1915 The Metamorphosis and Other Stories

author: Franz Kafka
name: Michael
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1915
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
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review:
Yay for self-deprecation!!

Kafka is the MAN for all of us depressive, self-hating slugs!

Who hasn't felt like the stuff beneath your shoe?

Not to say that Kafka is depressing or meant to be depressing, but this works SINGS to the slugs!

My favorite Kafka story is A Hunger Artist.

I'm not feeling so hungry now.
]]> <![CDATA[Gotham Central, Vol. 1: In the Line of Duty]]> 106042
Living in the shadows of the Dark Knight makes the detectives of Gotham's police force determined to prove that have what it takes to enforce the law in a city rife with criminals... with or without Batman's help.

Meet Commissioner Akins and his Major Crimes Unit commander Maggie Sawter (fresh from Metropolis). Keeping the streets safe are detectives Renee Montoya, Crispis Allen and others newly introduced to readers. The race is on to stop Mister Freeze while solving a crime before the Caped Crusader intervenes.

Collects issues #1-5.]]> 128 Greg Rucka 1401201997 Michael 5 graphic-novels, noir-crime 4.19 2004 Gotham Central, Vol. 1: In the Line of Duty

Gotham Central, Vol. 1: In the Line of Duty

author: Greg Rucka
name: Michael
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: graphic-novels, noir-crime
review:
Amazing!! I really didn't have high expectations for this, but I'm definitely impressed. Rucka and Brubaker smartly make Batman a shadow, as he appears to most Gotham citizens, anyway. This makes the characters of Gotham Central more identifiable, and their story more intelligent. The shadowing even makes Batman more interesting, as seen through the GCPD's eyes.
]]> <![CDATA[A Deepness in the Sky (Zones of Thought, #2)]]> 226004 A Fire Upon The Deep, this is the story of Pham Nuwen, a small cog in the interstellar trading fleet of the Queng Ho. The Queng Ho and the Emergents are orbiting the dormant planet Arachna, which is about to wake up to technology, but the Emergents' plans are sinister.]]> 775 Vernor Vinge 0812536355 Michael 0 to-read 4.31 1999 A Deepness in the Sky (Zones of Thought, #2)

A Deepness in the Sky (Zones of Thought, #2)

author: Vernor Vinge
name: Michael
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Astonishing Thor, Vol. 1, No. 5]]> 11596998 186 Robert Rodi 0785148760 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.21

author: Robert Rodi
name: Michael
average rating: 3.21
book published:
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/08/02
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)]]> 55401
Set in a brilliantly realized world ravaged by dark, uncontrollable magic, Deadhouse Gates is a novel of war, intrigue and betrayal confirms Steven Eirkson as a storyteller of breathtaking skill, imagination and originality--a new master of epic fantasy.]]> 604 Steven Erikson 0765310023 Michael 5 novels 4.27 2000 Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)

Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)

author: Steven Erikson
name: Michael
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/22
shelves: novels
review:
Well, this was amazing and very difficult to read. Erikson's character's are much more interesting in this volume and I can't wait for the next.
]]> The Terror 3974 Terror have every expectation of triumph. As part of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, the first steam-powered vessels ever to search for the legendary Northwest Passage, they are as scientifically supported an enterprise as has ever set forth. As they enter a second summer in the Arctic Circle without a thaw, though, they are stranded in a nightmarish landscape of encroaching ice and darkness. Endlessly cold, with diminishing rations, 126 men fight to survive with poisonous food, a dwindling supply of coal, and ships buckling in the grip of crushing ice. But their real enemy is far more terrifying. There is something out there in the frigid darkness: an unseen predator stalking their ship, a monstrous terror constantly clawing to get in.

When the expedition's leader, Sir John Franklin, meets a terrible death, Captain Francis Crozier takes command and leads his surviving crewmen on a last, desperate attempt to flee south across the ice. With them travels an Inuit woman who cannot speak and who may be the key to survival, or the harbinger of their deaths. But as another winter approaches, as scurvy and starvation grow more terrible, and as the terror on the ice stalks them southward, Crozier and his men begin to fear that there is no escape.]]> 769 Dan Simmons 0316017442 Michael 0 to-read 4.06 2007

author: Dan Simmons
name: Michael
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2007
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch]]> 14185
Cover illustration: Chris Moore]]> 231 Philip K. Dick 1407247425 Michael 0 to-read 4.02 1965

author: Philip K. Dick
name: Michael
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1965
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/30
shelves: to-read
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]]> Shout Kill Revel Repeat 49389282
In Shout Kill Revel Repeat, the debut collection of short fiction from Scott R. Jones, you’ll be introduced to nihilistic shapeshifters, deranged billionaire magicians, surf champions, survivalists, sadists, and soldiers, all of whom learn that to live is to enter into a never-ending cycle of fury and fear, dark revelation and deepest regret.

Shout. Kill. Revel. Repeat.]]> 222 Scott R. Jones 1950305090 Michael 0 to-read 4.13 2019 Shout Kill Revel Repeat

author: Scott R. Jones
name: Michael
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/30
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> News of the World 25817493 Enemy Women that explores the boundaries of family, responsibility, honor, and trust.

In the wake of the Civil War, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd travels through northern Texas, giving live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. An elderly widower who has lived through three wars and fought in two of them, the captain enjoys his rootless, solitary existence.

In Wichita Falls, he is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan to her relatives in San Antonio. Four years earlier, a band of Kiowa raiders killed Johanna’s parents and sister; sparing the little girl, they raised her as one of their own. Recently rescued by the U.S. army, the ten-year-old has once again been torn away from the only home she knows.

Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Johanna has forgotten the English language, tries to escape at every opportunity, throws away her shoes, and refuses to act “civilized.�� Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.

Arriving in San Antonio, the reunion is neither happy nor welcome. The captain must hand Johanna over to an aunt and uncle she does not remember—strangers who regard her as an unwanted burden. A respectable man, Captain Kidd is faced with a terrible choice: abandon the girl to her fate or become—in the eyes of the law—a kidnapper himself.

]]> 209 Paulette Jiles 0062409204 Michael 3 4.02 2016 News of the World

author: Paulette Jiles
name: Michael
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2016
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/07/13
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review:
I really enjoyed reading this book but was let down by the settler narrative in the representation of the Kiowa people.
]]> Human-Shaped Fiends 58466407
LOS ANGELES, 2021. Self-obsessed, pretentious, womanizing novelist Chandler Morrison has been contracted to write a Western. He knows what kind of book his fans want, but he's torn between his commitment to the craft and the "brand" to which he believes he's expected to adhere. As he sinks deeper into deluded self-importance while juggling a number of surface-level relationships, the line separating fiction from reality becomes increasingly blurred.]]> 145 Chandler Morrison 1950259463 Michael 2 3.82 2021 Human-Shaped Fiends

author: Chandler Morrison
name: Michael
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2021/07/13
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review:
My first splatter-western, a little simplistic and unnecessary at times as the author even indicates. The meta-narrative seemed an excuse to stretch out the thin length.
]]> Dune Messiah (Dune #2) 44492285
Dune Messiah continues the story of Paul Atreides, better known--and feared--as the man christened Muad'Dib. As Emperor of the Known Universe, he possesses more power than a single man was ever meant to wield. Worshipped as a religious icon by the fanatical Fremens, Paul faces the enmity of the political houses he displaced when he assumed the throne--and a conspiracy conducted within his own sphere of influence.

And even as House Atreides begins to crumble around him from the machinations of his enemies, the true threat to Paul comes to his lover, Chani, and the unborn heir to his family's dynasty...

Includes an introduction by Brian Herbert]]> 336 Frank Herbert 0593098234 Michael 4 3.89 1969 Dune Messiah (Dune #2)

author: Frank Herbert
name: Michael
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1969
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/07/13
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review:
Still super imaginative if not bogged down by the protagonist’s constant “discussion within discussion��. Still, super excited to continue the saga.
]]> <![CDATA[My Soul to Keep (African Immortals, #1)]]> 41536 My Soul to Keep traps Jessica between the desperation of immortals who want to rob her of her life and a husband who wants to rob her of her soul. With deft plotting and an unforgettable climax, this tour de force reminiscent of early Anne Rice will win Due a new legion of fans.]]> 346 Tananarive Due 006105366X Michael 0 to-read 4.16 1997 My Soul to Keep (African Immortals, #1)

author: Tananarive Due
name: Michael
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1)]]> 23398606 A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll...

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood��

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice.]]> 291 Christina Henry 0425266796 Michael 0 to-read 3.84 2015 Alice (The Chronicles of Alice, #1)

author: Christina Henry
name: Michael
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Haunted 22288
The stories are told by people who have all answered an ad headlined 'Artists Retreat: Abandon your life for three months'. They are led to believe that here they will leave behind all the distractions of 'real life' that are keeping them from creating the masterpiece that is in them.

But 'here' turns out to be a cavernous and ornate old theater where they are utterly isolated from the outside world - and where heat and power and, most importantly, food are in increasingly short supply. And the more desperate the circumstances become, the more desperate the stories they tell - and the more devious their machinations to make themselves the hero of the inevitable play/movie/non-fiction blockbuster that will certainly be made from their plight.]]> 419 Chuck Palahniuk 1400032822 Michael 0 to-read 3.60 2005 Haunted

author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: Michael
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2005
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/06/25
shelves: to-read
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]]> Come Closer 220772
The new voice in Amanda's head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. Is she possessed by a demon, or is she simply insane?]]> 194 Sara Gran 0425210316 Michael 0 to-read 3.63 2003 Come Closer

author: Sara Gran
name: Michael
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2003
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/06/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Night Warriors (Night Warriors, #1)]]> 2238121
Then each is visited by a mysteriously androgynous figure who reveals that the girl had been used as innocent host to the most hideous malevolence known to man, a horrific presence that, through grotesque acts of impregnation, is madly insinuating itself into the bodies and minds of thousands of unsuspecting people.

The only hope is to destroy the original seed, and together Henry, Gil and Susan become Night Warriors, an ancient Order of men and women charged with the power to enter and search for the abomination in a fantastic dream world of soaring exhilaration and searing terror, driven by the inescapable reality that if they fail to find the beast, then the beast will certainly find them...]]> 410 Graham Masterton 0722161204 Michael 0 to-read 3.75 1986 Night Warriors (Night Warriors, #1)

author: Graham Masterton
name: Michael
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1986
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Rats (Rats, #1) 397867 208 James Herbert 0333761189 Michael 0 to-read 3.93 1974

author: James Herbert
name: Michael
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1974
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/06/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Aftershock 2370028
THE MONSTER - Then the earthquake hit, its epicenter: downtown L.A., a city now filled with twisted steel and mangled flesh - and terror. Because from its sterile laboratory, something unspeakable had been freed...

THE PLAGUE - Drs. Mike McCain and lovely Casey Sterns worked feverishly to save the quake survivors mysteriously dying from a new, alien disease. But no disease could account for some of the corpses - mutilated, headless, horrible. And no medicine could stop the thing hiding in the rubble, watching, reaching out with bloodstained claws for the unsuspecting, the injured...or for you.]]> 248 Robert W. Walker 0312909063 Michael 0 to-read 3.29 1987 Aftershock

author: Robert W. Walker
name: Michael
average rating: 3.29
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/06/25
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Header 16082997
Header is a tale of consummate grotesquerie from the master of graphic horror -- the author of such books as: Succubi, Incubi and Creekers. It is a chapbook of the most extreme fiction you'll ever read! A horrific splatter mystery in the Joe R. Lansdale tradition... bathed in blood!

An old man with no feet, a bumpkin rapist fresh out of prison, a federal cop who will do anything for money... They all have one thing in common...

The ultimate revenge, the ultimate perversion. What kind of a mind could devise such a thing? What kind of evil?

Deep in the hills, something hideous is going on. From the squalid shack you can hear it: the demented revel, the shrill, nerve-racking whine, and screams sailing away into an endless night. But don't look in the window unless you really want to know!

Made Preliminary Stoker Award Ballot for Best Long Fiction of 1996. The classic Lee hardcore horror novella involves a most demented sex act as backwoods vengeance. Originally written for an aborted short story collection called TERRA DEMENTATA, Lee sold this outrageous piece to Necro Publications. He didn’t expect it to sell well. Instead it SOLD OUT and remains a highly sought-after collector’s item to this day. HEADER’s success, in fact, polarized Lee’s hardcore fan-base and is also credited by many of igniting the marketability of small-press novellas as single-project releases. “Necro had balls publishing this,�� Lee says. “And I’m damn glad they did ‘cos it made me much more actively aware of the size of the small-press horror market.�� This is also the first project to stamp Lee as the master of “redneck�� horror, even after the large mass-market release of “Mr. Torso,�� in Pocket’s HOT BLOOD: DEADLY AFTER DARK. HEADER has also been optioned for film (see ). Lee’s novella collection, SEX, DRUGS, & POWER TOOLS contains a reprint of HEADER and THE PIG, plus the never-before-published but just as outrageous THE HORN-CRANKER.]]> 100 Edward Lee Michael 0 to-read 3.77 1995 Header

author: Edward Lee
name: Michael
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1995
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> Off Season (Dead River, #1) 179734
And before too many hours pass, five civilized, sophisticated people and one tired old country sheriff will learn just how primitive we all are beneath the surface...and that there are no limits at all to the will to survive.]]> 320 Jack Ketchum 0843956968 Michael 0 to-read 3.75 1980 Off Season (Dead River, #1)

author: Jack Ketchum
name: Michael
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Kill For Satan! 42304587 144 Bryan Smith 1941918352 Michael 0 to-read 3.67 2018

author: Bryan Smith
name: Michael
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Lakehouse Infernal 45448518
With an introduction by and officially endorsed by splatterpunk legend Edward Lee, Lakehouse Infernal is an official entree in Lee's infamous Infernal series. Christine Morgan (Spermjackers From Hell) expands on this universe with her own twist of hardcore horror tourism.]]> 308 Christine Morgan 1621053008 Michael 0 to-read 4.05 2019 Lakehouse Infernal

author: Christine Morgan
name: Michael
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Bighead 905659 354 Edward Lee 1892950138 Michael 0 to-read 3.68 1997

author: Edward Lee
name: Michael
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1997
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sanatorium (Detective Elin Warner, #1)]]> 56935099 You won't want to leave...until you can't.

Half hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a five-star minimalist hotel.

An imposing, isolated getaway spot high up in the Swiss Alps is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But Elin's taken time off from her job as a detective, so when her estranged brother, Isaac, and his fiancée, Laure, invite her to celebrate their engagement at the hotel, Elin really has no reason not to accept.

Arriving in the midst of a threatening storm, Elin immediately feels on edge--there's something about the hotel that makes her nervous. And when they wake the following morning to discover Laure is missing, Elin must trust her instincts if they hope to find her. With the storm closing off all access to the hotel, the longer Laure stays missing, the more the remaining guests start to panic.

Elin is under pressure to find Laure, but no one has realized yet that another woman has gone missing. And she's the only one who could have warned them just how much danger they are all in...]]> 390 Sarah Pearse 0593296672 Michael 0 to-read 3.33 2020 The Sanatorium (Detective Elin Warner, #1)

The Sanatorium (Detective Elin Warner, #1)

author: Sarah Pearse
name: Michael
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hex (Robert Grim #1) 25533076
Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters your homes at will. She stands next to your bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened.

The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting, but in so doing send the town spiraling into the dark, medieval practices of the past.]]> 384 Thomas Olde Heuvelt 0765378809 Michael 0 to-read 3.69 2013 Hex (Robert Grim #1)

author: Thomas Olde Heuvelt
name: Michael
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Cabin at the End of the World]]> 36381091
One afternoon, as Wen catches grasshoppers in the front yard, a stranger unexpectedly appears in the driveway. Leonard is the largest man Wen has ever seen but he is young, friendly, and he wins her over almost instantly. Leonard and Wen talk and play until Leonard abruptly apologizes and tells Wen, "None of what’s going to happen is your fault". Three more strangers then arrive at the cabin carrying unidentifiable, menacing objects. As Wen sprints inside to warn her parents, Leonard calls out: "Your dads won’t want to let us in, Wen. But they have to. We need your help to save the world."]]> 272 Paul Tremblay 0062679104 Michael 0 to-read 3.31 2018 The Cabin at the End of the World

author: Paul Tremblay
name: Michael
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)]]> 365
Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza �� not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge).

To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) �� or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. ‘A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy epic.�� The author]]> 306 Douglas Adams Michael 0 to-read 3.98 1987 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)

author: Douglas Adams
name: Michael
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Troop 17571466 358 Nick Cutter 1476717710 Michael 0 to-read 3.83 2014

author: Nick Cutter
name: Michael
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Last Days 15793201 531 Adam L.G. Nevill 1250018188 Michael 0 to-read 3.71 2012

author: Adam L.G. Nevill
name: Michael
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Dune (Dune, #1) 234225 Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, heir to a noble family tasked with ruling an inhospitable world where the only thing of value is the "spice" melange, a drug capable of extending life and enhancing consciousness. Coveted across the known universe, melange is a prize worth killing for...

When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul's family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.]]> 604 Frank Herbert 0340839937 Michael 4 4.21 1965 Dune (Dune, #1)

author: Frank Herbert
name: Michael
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1965
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2021/05/15
shelves:
review:

]]> Between Two Fires 13543121
Is it delirium or is it faith? She believes she has seen the angels of God. She believes the righteous dead speak to her in dreams. And now she has convinced the faithless Thomas to shepherd her across a depraved landscape to Avignon. There, she tells Thomas, she will fulfill her mission to confront the evil that has devastated the earth, and to restore to this betrayed, murderous knight the nobility and hope of salvation he long abandoned.

As hell unleashes its wrath, and as the true nature of the girl is revealed, Thomas will find himself on a macabre battleground of angels and demons, saints, and the risen dead, and in the midst of a desperate struggle for nothing less than the soul of man.]]> 432 Christopher Buehlman 1937007863 Michael 0 to-read 4.20 2012 Between Two Fires

author: Christopher Buehlman
name: Michael
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/05/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Ham on Rye 38501 288 Charles Bukowski 006117758X Michael 3 4.17 1982

author: Charles Bukowski
name: Michael
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1982
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/04/30
shelves:
review:
This is super depressing and super misogynistic, and yes, I knew what I was getting into. I’m glad I read it to get an understanding of Bukowski but I’m not going to be reading any more... :)
]]> Dune (Dune, #1) 44767458
When House Atreides is betrayed, the destruction of Paul’s family will set the boy on a journey toward a destiny greater than he could ever have imagined. And as he evolves into the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib, he will bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.]]> 658 Frank Herbert 059309932X Michael 0 4.33 1965 Dune (Dune, #1)

author: Frank Herbert
name: Michael
average rating: 4.33
book published: 1965
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2021/04/30
shelves:
review:
Amazing in scope and plotting but loses points for using the white savior trope and relegating female characters to serve as the supporting cast for the male characters and a vague allusion to the primary antagonist being gay (to add to his bad-ness).
]]> <![CDATA[John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1)]]> 1857440 STOP. You should not have touched this flyer with your bare hands. NO, don't put it down. It's too late. They're watching you. My name is David Wong. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours. You may not want to know about the things you'll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it's too late. You touched the book. You're in the game. You're under the eye. The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.

The important thing is this: The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. John and I never had the chance to say no. You still do. I'm sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind: None of this was my fault. ]]> 362 David Wong 0978970764 Michael 3 3.89 2007 John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1)

John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1)

author: David Wong
name: Michael
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/04/30
shelves:
review:
While I enjoyed the stream of consciousness approach to monsters and settings deployed in this novel I was somewhat let down by the juvenile writing style and terms. Female characters (just one, really) are present to give the male protagonist direction and aren’t able to have motivations of their own.
]]> <![CDATA[The Complete Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Nineteen Other Tales (Modern Library Classics)]]> 20408 Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as "The Beach of Fales��" and Stevenson's previously uncollected stories. Arthur Conan Doyle has written that "[Stevenson's] short stories are certain to retain their position in English literature. His serious rivals are few indeed."

This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition includes explanatory notes, a Scots' Glossary, and a unique appendix dedicated to Stevenson's influence on the Oxford English Dictionary.]]> 818 Robert Louis Stevenson 0375761357 Michael 0 to-read 4.12 The Complete Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Nineteen Other Tales (Modern Library Classics)

The Complete Stories of Robert Louis Stevenson: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Nineteen Other Tales (Modern Library Classics)

author: Robert Louis Stevenson
name: Michael
average rating: 4.12
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/12/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Weird Trails: The Magazine of Supernatural Cowboy Stories]]> 2888086 Weird Trails is the "mockumentary" of pulp magazines -- a hilarious sendup of both H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, Weird Tales and westerns! Purporting to be a facsimile of the April 1933 issue of Weird Trails magazine, it is a modern classic! Features M.M. Moamrath's "Riders of the Purple Ooze" and many more Lovecraft-inspired stories.

A facsimile reprint of the April 1933 issue of 'Weird Trails' magazine, featuring M.M. Moamrath's 'Riders of the Purple Ooze,' and many more.]]> 124 Abner Gibber 0809501546 Michael 0 to-read 5.00 2004 Weird Trails: The Magazine of Supernatural Cowboy Stories

Weird Trails: The Magazine of Supernatural Cowboy Stories

author: Abner Gibber
name: Michael
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell 76852
But at Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England's magical past and regained some of the powers of England's magicians. He goes to London and raises a beautiful young woman from the dead. Soon he is lending his help to the government in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, creating ghostly fleets of rain-ships to confuse and alarm the French.

All goes well until a rival magician appears. Jonathan Strange is handsome, charming, and talkative -- the very opposite of Mr Norrell. Strange thinks nothing of enduring the rigors of campaigning with Wellington's army and doing magic on battlefields. Astonished to find another practicing magician, Mr Norrell accepts Strange as a pupil. But it soon becomes clear that their ideas of what English magic ought to be are very different. For Mr Norrell, their power is something to be cautiously controlled, while Jonathan Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic. He becomes fascinated by the ancient, shadowy figure of the Raven King, a child taken by fairies who became king of both England and Faerie, and the most legendary magician of all. Eventually Strange's heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens to destroy not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.

Sophisticated, witty, and ingeniously convincing, Susanna Clarke's magisterial novel weaves magic into a flawlessly detailed vision of historical England. She has created a world so thoroughly enchanting that eight hundred pages leave readers longing for more.

Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition with ISBN 1582344167 ahref="/book/show/3...]]> 782 Susanna Clarke 1582344167 Michael 0 to-read 3.98 2004 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

author: Susanna Clarke
name: Michael
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/06/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Tao Te Ching 101825 106 Lao Tzu 0872202321 Michael 0 to-read 4.26 -350

author: Lao Tzu
name: Michael
average rating: 4.26
book published: -350
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/07/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Contract With God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue (The Contract With God Trilogy, #1-3)]]> 33472 alternate cover for ISBN 9780393061055

Will Eisner (1917��2005) saw himself as "a graphic witness reporting on life, death, heartbreak, and the never-ending struggle to prevail." The publication of A Contract With God when Eisner was sixty-one proved to be a watershed moment both for him and for comic literature. It marked the birth of the modern graphic novel and the beginning of an era when serious cartoonists could be liberated from their stultifying comic-book format.

More than a quarter-century after the initial publication of A Contract With God, and in the last few months of his life, Eisner chose to combine the three fictional works he had set on Dropsie Avenue, the mythical street of his youth in Depression-era New York City.

As the dramas unfold in A Contract With God, the first book in this new trilogy, it is at 55 Dropsie Avenue where Frimme Hersh, the pious Jew, first loses his beloved daughter, then breaks his contract with his maker, and ends up as a slumlord; it is on Dropsie Avenue where a street singer, befriended by an aging diva, is so beholden to the bottle that he fails to grasp his chance for stardom; and it is there that a scheming little girl named Rosie poisons a depraved super’s dog before doing in the super as well.

In the second book, A Life Force, declared by R. Crumb to be "a masterpiece," Eisner re-creates himself in his protagonist, Jacob Shtarkah, whose existential search reflected Eisner’s own lifelong struggle. Chronicling not only the Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression but also the rise of Nazism and the spread of left-wing politics, Eisner combined the miniaturist sensibility of Henry Roth with the grand social themes of novelists such as Dos Passos and Steinbeck.

Finally, in Dropsie Avenue: The Neighborhood, Eisner graphically traces the social trajectory of this mythic avenue over four centuries, creating a sweeping panorama of the city and its waves of new residents—the Dutch, English, Irish, Jews, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans—whose faces changed yet whose lives presented an unending "story of life, death, and resurrection."

The Contract With God Trilogy is a mesmerizing, fictional chronicle of a universal American experience and Eisner��' most poignant and enduring literary legacy.

]]> 498 Will Eisner Michael 0 to-read, graphic-novels 4.25 2005 The Contract With God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue (The Contract With God Trilogy, #1-3)

The Contract With God Trilogy: Life on Dropsie Avenue (The Contract With God Trilogy, #1-3)

author: Will Eisner
name: Michael
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/07/18
shelves: to-read, graphic-novels
review:

]]> A Raisin in the Sun 505483 A Raisin in the Sun opened on Broadway in 1959.

Indeed Lorraine Hansberry's award-winning drama about the hopes and aspirations of a struggling, working-class family living on the South Side of Chicago connected profoundly with the psyche of black America--and changed American theater forever. The play's title comes from a line in Langston Hughes's poem "Harlem," which warns that a dream deferred might "dry up/like a raisin in the sun."

"The events of every passing year add resonance to A Raisin in the Sun," said The New York Times. "It is as if history is conspiring to make the play a classic." This Modern Library edition presents the fully restored, uncut version of Hansberry's landmark work with an introduction by Robert Nemiroff.]]> 151 Lorraine Hansberry 0679755330 Michael 5 novels
I only wish there were producing authors today!!]]> 3.89 1959 A Raisin in the Sun

author: Lorraine Hansberry
name: Michael
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1959
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/03/11
shelves: novels
review:
A great screenplay!!

I only wish there were producing authors today!!
]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)]]> 1 652 J.K. Rowling Michael 5 novels
Ms. Rowling understands that all great storytelling need not be filled with action.

She more than gets the job done here!

Incredibly enjoyable.]]> 4.57 2005 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter, #6)

author: J.K. Rowling
name: Michael
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: novels
review:
A great addition.

Ms. Rowling understands that all great storytelling need not be filled with action.

She more than gets the job done here!

Incredibly enjoyable.
]]> <![CDATA[The Sandman, Vol. 7: Brief Lives]]> 25105 256 Neil Gaiman 1563891379 Michael 5 graphic-novels
This is amazing stuff, really.

Dream and Delirium search for Destruction, who happens to be the antithesis of Dream.

Amazing.

Morpheus makes a choice that will alter his Destiny, following that event.

Amazing.]]> 4.55 1993 The Sandman, Vol. 7: Brief Lives

author: Neil Gaiman
name: Michael
average rating: 4.55
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/03/06
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
The story of Dream comes to a head, here, still three volumes from the end.

This is amazing stuff, really.

Dream and Delirium search for Destruction, who happens to be the antithesis of Dream.

Amazing.

Morpheus makes a choice that will alter his Destiny, following that event.

Amazing.
]]> American Skin 110237 301 Ken Bruen 1932112472 Michael 0 to-read 3.76 2006

author: Ken Bruen
name: Michael
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/18
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life]]> 54220
In his distinctively elegant style, Gould offers a lucid, contemporary principle that allows science and religion to coexist peacefully in a position of respectful noninterference. Science defines the natural world; religion our moral world in recognition of their separate spheres of influence. In exploring this thought-provoking concept, Gould delves into the history of science, sketching affecting portraits of scientists and moral leaders wrestling with matters of faith and reason. Stories of seminal figures such as Galileo, Darwin, and Thomas Henry Huxley make vivid his argument that individuals and cultures must cultivate both a life of the spirit and a life of rational inquiry in order to experience the fullness of being human.

In Rocks of Ages, Gould's passionate humanism, ethical discernment, and erudition are fused to create a dazzling gem of contemporary cultural philosophy.]]> 256 Stephen Jay Gould 034545040X Michael 1
This book will reassure those who want to feel warm and cuddly by giving science and religion equal respect.

It's a shame that a field based on empirical evidence and the testing of theories is considered an equally valid way of knowing as a field based on 2,000 year old assumptions and hearsay.

Science and religion overlap.

Sorry.

It's obvious that the field of science and its new findings are replacing the previously interpreted roles of our former gods.

"Non-overlapping"

Yeah, right.]]> 3.53 1999 Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life

Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life

author: Stephen Jay Gould
name: Michael
average rating: 3.53
book published: 1999
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/01/05
shelves:
review:
SJG is clearly delusional to believe that science and religion occupy seperate areas of knowledge, or NOMA.

This book will reassure those who want to feel warm and cuddly by giving science and religion equal respect.

It's a shame that a field based on empirical evidence and the testing of theories is considered an equally valid way of knowing as a field based on 2,000 year old assumptions and hearsay.

Science and religion overlap.

Sorry.

It's obvious that the field of science and its new findings are replacing the previously interpreted roles of our former gods.

"Non-overlapping"

Yeah, right.
]]> <![CDATA[Holy Bible: King James Version]]> 539385 1671 Anonymous 1598560204 Michael 1 novels
It's boring, self-contradictory, petty, and mean.

I only read it out of some kind of weird obligation to understand how the other 98% lives.

I did learn a lot, however.

If guests come by and want to rape my angel, I will let them rape my daughter.

So say we all!]]> 4.32 1611 Holy Bible: King James Version

author: Anonymous
name: Michael
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1611
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/01/05
shelves: novels
review:
I guess it's pretty cheeky to give the Bible a bad review, but why not?

It's boring, self-contradictory, petty, and mean.

I only read it out of some kind of weird obligation to understand how the other 98% lives.

I did learn a lot, however.

If guests come by and want to rape my angel, I will let them rape my daughter.

So say we all!
]]> <![CDATA[Batman: Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat]]> 51078 268 Doug Moench 1563891425 Michael 5 graphic-novels 4.11 1993

Batman: Knightfall, Part One: Broken Bat

author: Doug Moench
name: Michael
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1993
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/01/03
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
This is surprisingly one of the better Batman narratives. Moench and Dixon put the Bats in a state of despair, and makes this extremely compelling. This is what I want for the next Batman. Great stuff.
]]> Go Tell It on the Mountain 470378
"The most important novel written about the American Negro," says Commentary . "It is written with poetic intensity and great narrative skill," writes Harper's . Saturday Review praises it as "masterful," and the San Francisco Chronicle declares that this important American novel is "brutal, objective and compassionate."]]> 263 James Baldwin 0440330076 Michael 0 to-read 3.90 1953 Go Tell It on the Mountain

author: James Baldwin
name: Michael
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/09/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Man With The Screaming Brain 92186 104 Bruce Campbell 1593073976 Michael 2 graphic-novels 3.27

author: Bruce Campbell
name: Michael
average rating: 3.27
book published:
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2013/09/13
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
While I didn't expect much from this, it was still a bit of a letdown. The Bruce Campbell sarcasm and dumbwit is missing, and without this, there's no real need to check this out, besides the campiness, which is a little compelling, but not much.
]]> The Catcher in the Rye 7178 The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins,

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.

]]> 234 J.D. Salinger 0316769487 Michael 5 novels
From what I remember.]]> 3.76 1951 The Catcher in the Rye

author: J.D. Salinger
name: Michael
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1951
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/08/13
shelves: novels
review:
From what I remember, this was an amazing book.

From what I remember.
]]> <![CDATA[The Greatest Superman Stories Ever Told]]> 707618 343 Dick Giordano 0930289390 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.90 1987

author: Dick Giordano
name: Michael
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1987
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/06/22
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 1: Legacy]]> 6047620
Collects Guardians of the Galaxy #1-6.]]> 152 Dan Abnett 0785133267 Michael 3 graphic-novels 4.00 2008

author: Dan Abnett
name: Michael
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
This was pretty decent and quippy, but I don't feel the urgency, at all.
]]> The Infinity Gauntlet 398916 256 Jim Starlin 0785123490 Michael 4 graphic-novels 4.09 1991

author: Jim Starlin
name: Michael
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1991
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
Pretty awesome and holds up pretty well. Hoping this forms the base of the story for Avengers N...
]]> Eldritch! Volume 1 17741977 Eldritch! is a comedic horror story with Lovecraftian trappings that pits science against belief.]]> 168 Aaron Alexovich 159362249X Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.85 2012 Eldritch! Volume 1

author: Aaron Alexovich
name: Michael
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
This was a cute sibling story with Lovecraftian horror in the mix.
]]> <![CDATA[Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis]]> 9352347 Spider-Man: Reign) take X-Men into the Heroic Age!
Something's happening in the tiny East African city of Mbangwi. Something that requires immediate investigation. A newborn sprouts metal electrodes and explodes, taking out an entire hospital. Is this the first wave of mutant rebirth that the X-Men have been praying for...or something very, very different? Something sinister?

Collecting: Astonishing X-Men: Xenogenesis 1-5]]> 160 Warren Ellis 0785144919 Michael 2 graphic-novels 3.25 2011

author: Warren Ellis
name: Michael
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
I love Warren Ellis, but I could not get into this, at all.
]]> <![CDATA[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 3: Shadows of the Past]]> 14540181
Collects: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #9-12.]]> 104 Kevin Eastman 1613774052 Michael 4 graphic-novels 4.23 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 3: Shadows of the Past

author: Kevin Eastman
name: Michael
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
The introduction of Shredder is mysterious and foreboding as it should be. More good.
]]> <![CDATA[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 2: Enemies Old, Enemies New]]> 14540094
Collects: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #5-8.]]> 104 Kevin Eastman 1613772882 Michael 4 graphic-novels 4.14 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 2: Enemies Old, Enemies New

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 2: Enemies Old, Enemies New

author: Kevin Eastman
name: Michael
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
More of the same. Great art and great storytelling.
]]> <![CDATA[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 1: Change is Constant]]> 12859402 104 Kevin Eastman 1613771398 Michael 4 graphic-novels 4.09 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Volume 1: Change is Constant

author: Kevin Eastman
name: Michael
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
It's like I'm 10 again. This is a great reboot of my childhood heroes. This has a great pace in retelling the origin story, which gives the impression that Eastman has reflected on the original narrative to expedite the process.
]]> <![CDATA[The Invincible Iron Man, Volume 1: The Five Nightmares]]> 4645370 Immortal Iron Fist) and superstar artist Salvador Larroca (Uncanny X-Men) join forces to repulsor-ray your comic books to a cinder!

Collecting: Invincible Iron Man 1-7]]> 144 Matt Fraction 0785134603 Michael 4 graphic-novels 4.13 2008 The Invincible Iron Man, Volume 1: The Five Nightmares

The Invincible Iron Man, Volume 1: The Five Nightmares

author: Matt Fraction
name: Michael
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
Matt Fraction's run on Iron Man is my favorite version of Iron Man, although it goes so far and may leave the next set of writers with nowhere to go...
]]> Secret War 105935 256 Brian Michael Bendis 0785113312 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.82 2004

author: Brian Michael Bendis
name: Michael
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
Really great concept, but poor execution leaves me wanting.
]]> <![CDATA[Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?]]> 161275 47 Alan Moore 1563893150 Michael 4 graphic-novels 4.14 1985

Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

author: Alan Moore
name: Michael
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
From what I remember, this was a great concept with good execution.
]]> <![CDATA[Stumptown, Vol. 1: The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo (But Left her Mini)]]> 8195692 144 Greg Rucka 1934964379 Michael 4 graphic-novels 3.91 2011

Stumptown, Vol. 1: The Case of the Girl Who Took Her Shampoo (But Left her Mini)

author: Greg Rucka
name: Michael
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
I love Greg Rucka, and this was another great item.
]]> <![CDATA[A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)]]> 13642
Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.]]> 183 Ursula K. Le Guin Michael 4 novels 4.02 1968 A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)

A Wizard of Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle, #1)

author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Michael
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1968
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: novels
review:
This was fantastic. A coming of age story and a wonderful world. I can't wait to read more.
]]> <![CDATA[Trouble Is My Business (Philip Marlowe, #8)]]> 11318
Trouble is my business --
Finger man --
Goldfish --
Red wind]]> 224 Raymond Chandler Michael 4 noir-crime, novels 4.06 1950

Trouble Is My Business (Philip Marlowe, #8)

author: Raymond Chandler
name: Michael
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1950
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/16
shelves: noir-crime, novels
review:
It has been a while since I have read noir, and this was pretty fantastic. As this is a collection of short stories, each narrative is quick and wastes no time introducing our cast of characters and kicking off the plot. This is a great introduction to the world of noir for those who are not ready for the commitment of a novel.
]]> The Will to Power 31785 The Will to Power, compiled from the notebooks, is one of the most famous books of the past hundred years, but few have studied it. Here is the first critical edition in any language.

Down through the Nazi period The Will to Power, was often mistakenly considered to be Nietzche’s crowning systematic labor; since World War II it has frequently been denigrated. In fact, it represents a stunning selection from Nietzsche’s notebooks, in a topical arrangement that enables the reader to find what Nietzsche wrote on nihilism, art, morality, religion, the theory of knowledge, and whatever else interested him. But no previous edition—even in the original German—shows which notes Nietzsche utilized subsequently in his works, and which sections are not paralleled in the finished books. Nor has any previous edition furnished a commentary or index.

Walter Kaufmann, in collaboration with R. J. Holilngdale, brings to this volume his unsurpassed skills as a Nietzsche translator and scholar. Professor Kaufmann has included an approximate date of each note. His running footnote commentary offers information needed to follow Nietzsche’s train of thought, and indicates, among other things, which notes were eventually superseded by later formulations. The comprehensive index serves to guide the reader to the extraordinary riches of this book.]]> 575 Friedrich Nietzsche 0394704371 Michael 3 could-not-finish 4.06 1901 The Will to Power

author: Friedrich Nietzsche
name: Michael
average rating: 4.06
book published: 1901
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/05/22
shelves: could-not-finish
review:
Nietzsche poses some great philisophical questions, but rambles like a madman. Sure, the argumentative process has improved greatly since then, but this is a very hard read.
]]> <![CDATA[Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire]]> 194486 for reasons that remain a mystery, refused to finish. That someone was Michael Cray.
]]> 160 Brian Azzarello 1401200346 Michael 3 graphic-novels, noir-crime 2.97 2002 Batman/Deathblow: After the Fire

author: Brian Azzarello
name: Michael
average rating: 2.97
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/03/28
shelves: graphic-novels, noir-crime
review:
A good Batman narrative, but it's not great, in all honesty. The narrative is jumbled and a little disappointing.
]]> The Ultimates 3 3233916 120 Jeph Loeb 0785130373 Michael 2 graphic-novels 2.61 2007

author: Jeph Loeb
name: Michael
average rating: 2.61
book published: 2007
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/11/06
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead 7467842
Enter Alice Hotwire, Detective Exorcist. She's the best there is at keeping the peace on the Blue Light beat, and her fellow officers hate her for it. It's a job she doesn't want, in a world she doesn't understand - but when a break-in at the Maximum Security Necropolis sets off a surge of violent, brutal hauntings, Alice Hotwire knows she's the only one that can pull the city from the brink of chaos.]]> 128 Steve Pugh 0980233534 Michael 5 graphic-novels, noir-crime 3.77 2009 Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead

author: Steve Pugh
name: Michael
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/09/23
shelves: graphic-novels, noir-crime
review:
Warren Ellis always surprises me. Which should not be possible because I am always surprised by him. You would think that, after a time, I would stop being surprised. This comic surprised me. I sincerely hope he decides to continue this series as this is refreshing and one of his more important works (IMO).
]]> <![CDATA[Fatale, Vol. 1: Death Chases Me]]> 13580807 Fatale, Book One: Death Chases Me.

In present day, a man meets a woman who he becomes instantly obsessed with, and in the 1950s, this same woman destroys the lives of all those who cross her path, on a quest for... what?

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips' best-selling series will leave you craving more!

Collecting: Fatale 1-5]]> 144 Ed Brubaker 1607065630 Michael 5 graphic-novels, noir-crime 3.89 2012 Fatale, Vol. 1: Death Chases Me

author: Ed Brubaker
name: Michael
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/09/23
shelves: graphic-novels, noir-crime
review:
Brubaker and Phillips is already a winning combination. This is different than their usual noir fare, though, in that the occult is a included in this narrative. I can't wait for more.
]]> Black Metal: Volume 2 2210704 136 Rick Spears 1932664998 Michael 4 graphic-novels 3.74 2011

author: Rick Spears
name: Michael
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/09/23
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> Spider-Man: One More Day 1791288 The most-talked about - and controversial - comic event of the year - brought to you by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada!
Collects Amazing Spider-Man #544-545, Sensational Spider-Man #41, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24.]]> 196 J. Michael Straczynski 0785126333 Michael 2 graphic-novels 3.27 2008 Spider-Man: One More Day

author: J. Michael Straczynski
name: Michael
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/09/23
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Books of the South (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3.5-5)]]> 2365730 The Book of the South is the second omnibus of novels from one of the greatest fantasy epics of our age, Glen Cook’s Black Company series—collecting Shadow Games, Dreams of Steel, and The Silver Spike.]]> 671 Glen Cook 0765320665 Michael 4 novels 4.27 2002 The Books of the South (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3.5-5)

The Books of the South (The Chronicles of the Black Company, #3.5-5)

author: Glen Cook
name: Michael
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/09/23
shelves: novels
review:
I'm completely addicted to Cook's characters and despite the love I have for his plotting I feel this series has lost just a little of the shimmer it had in the first couple of entries. I'm going to keeo reading because I'm hopelessly in love with the Lady and Croaker. Oh, and the Silver Spike is my favorite Black Company novel.
]]> <![CDATA[House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #4)]]> 55398 An alternate cover edition can be found here.

In Northern Genabackis, a raiding party of savage tribal warriors descends from the mountains into the southern flatlands. Their intention is to wreak havoc amongst the despised lowlanders, but for the one named Karsa Orlong it marks the beginning of what will prove to be an extraordinary destiny.
Some years later, it is the aftermath of the Chain of Dogs. Tavore, the Adjunct to the Empress, has arrived in the last remaining Malazan stronghold of Seven Cities. New to command, she must hone twelve thousand soldiers, mostly raw recruits but for a handful of veterans of Coltaine's legendary march, into a force capable of challenging the massed hordes of Sha'ik's Whirlwind who lie in wait in the heart of the Holy Desert.
But waiting is never easy. The seer's warlords are locked into a power struggle that threatens the very soul of the rebellion, while Sha'ik herself suffers, haunted by the knowledge of her nemesis: her own sister, Tavore.
And so begins this awesome new chapter in Steven Erikson's acclaimed Malazan Book of the Fallen.]]> 1015 Steven Erikson 0765348810 Michael 4 novels 4.33 2002 House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #4)

House of Chains (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #4)

author: Steven Erikson
name: Michael
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/09/23
shelves: novels
review:
I keep following Erikson and his quest to depress me. It's working wonderfully. So much so that I decided I needed to read some light candy after this. Still, this novel is good and I'm probably going to read the next in the series as soon as my mood lightens...
]]> FreakAngels, Volume 1 4893643
Twenty-three years ago, twelve strange children were born in England at exactly the same moment. Six years ago, the world ended. Today, eleven strange 23-year-olds live in and defend Whitechapel, maybe the last real settlement in flooded London. When a dazed, gun-toting girl appears on the outskirts with a deadly grudge against the self-proclaimed Freakangels, the kids realize that an old enemy is still alive beyond the safety of their borders... a twelfth psychic child, evil and exiled, who can program human minds to hate, and send his private, pirate armies into Whitechapel for revenge. The first chapter in award-winning author Warren Ellis' post-apocalyptic web comic series!]]> 144 Warren Ellis 1592910564 Michael 5 graphic-novels 4.00 2008 FreakAngels, Volume 1

author: Warren Ellis
name: Michael
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/07/31
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
I was genuinely surprised by this. Ellis writes these characters with compassion, anger, and faults. This brings his transhuman interests into a realistic environment. This could be Ellis' next great series (since Transmet.)
]]> <![CDATA[Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne (Atomic Robo, #1)]]> 3474928 Atomic Robo #1-6, complete with cover gallery, pin-ups, concept sketches, and bonus stories.]]> 180 Brian Clevinger 0980930200 Michael 3 graphic-novels 4.14 2008 Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne (Atomic Robo, #1)

Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne (Atomic Robo, #1)

author: Brian Clevinger
name: Michael
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/23
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> Hulk, Vol. 1: Red Hulk 5626060
Collecting: Hulk 1-6]]> 168 Jeph Loeb 0785128816 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.38 2008

author: Jeph Loeb
name: Michael
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/23
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> Criminal, Vol. 5: The Sinners 7295169 144 Ed Brubaker 0785132295 Michael 4 noir-crime, graphic-novels 4.33 2010

author: Ed Brubaker
name: Michael
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/05/23
shelves: noir-crime, graphic-novels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Marvel's Captain America - First Vengeance]]> 11459255 168 Fred Van Lente 0785157255 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.40 2011

Marvel's Captain America - First Vengeance

author: Fred Van Lente
name: Michael
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/23
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Marvel's The Avengers Prelude - Fury's Big Week]]> 13528790 Prelude to Avengers 1-4]]> 122 Christopher Yost 0785163417 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.80 2011

Marvel's The Avengers Prelude - Fury's Big Week

author: Christopher Yost
name: Michael
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/05/23
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> New X-Men, Vol. 3: New Worlds 546965 For years, Professor X was widely regarded as an authority on genetic mutation, and an advocate of peaceful relations between man and mutant. The general public was unaware he possessed superhuman powers until the psionically empowered Cassandra Nova �� his twin sister �� addresses the global media while in possession of her brother's body and broke the decades-long silence. But in attempting to expose Xavier to his enemies, she unwittingly freed him from his self-imposed exile.

From the teeming city streets of New York's Mutant Town to the irradiated ruins of the island nation of Genosha, once a haven for mutants, the X-Men set off to heal the rift between humanity and Homo Superior �� only to discover a terrifying new threat from a new species!

Collecting: New X-Men (2001) 127-133

]]> 168 Grant Morrison 0785109765 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.83 2002 New X-Men, Vol. 3: New Worlds

author: Grant Morrison
name: Michael
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/04/16
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
Awwww. This is disappointing. After Grant Morrison's great run with the first two volumes, he really slows it down here. Oh, well.
]]> <![CDATA[Ultimate Hulk vs. Iron Man: Ultimate Human]]> 3309428 Ultimate Galactus) begins his next Ultimate epic - and is joined by amazing artist Cary Nord (Conan)!

Collecting: Ultimate Human 1-4]]> 96 Warren Ellis 0785120157 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.31 2008 Ultimate Hulk vs. Iron Man: Ultimate Human

Ultimate Hulk vs. Iron Man: Ultimate Human

author: Warren Ellis
name: Michael
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/03/18
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk 6503656 144 Damon Lindelof 0785140131 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.81 2009

author: Damon Lindelof
name: Michael
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/03/18
shelves: graphic-novels
review:

]]> The Guild (The Guild, #1) 8693600 95 Felicia Day 1595825495 Michael 5 graphic-novels 4.21 2010

author: Felicia Day
name: Michael
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/02/20
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
I'm pretty impressed with this; I was expecting a short, fun one-off, but this actually an origin story of sorts, and a very good one at that!
]]> Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice 6839093
Collects CHEW issues #1-5.]]> 128 John Layman 1607061597 Michael 4 graphic-novels 3.95 2009

author: John Layman
name: Michael
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/02/13
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
I totally understand why this is so popular. Chew is funny and gross (splutch). I'm sold.
]]> The Avengers: The Heroic Age 12532331
COLLECTING: Avengers 1-6, Avengers Prime 1-5, New Avengers 1-6]]> 440 Brian Michael Bendis 0785161988 Michael 3 graphic-novels 3.73 2012

author: Brian Michael Bendis
name: Michael
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2012/02/11
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
While this isn't the best Avengers story and definitely not the best Bendis writing, it's still damn enjoyable.
]]> <![CDATA[Sky Doll: Die Gelbe Stadt (Sky Doll, #1)]]> 1601342 1 48 Alessandro Barbucci 3551767416 Michael 0 to-read 4.00 2000

Sky Doll: Die Gelbe Stadt (Sky Doll, #1)

author: Alessandro Barbucci
name: Michael
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/01/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nerd Do Well 9046489
Zombies in North London, death cults in the West Country, the engineering deck of the Enterprise: Simon Pegg has been ploughing some bizarre furrows in recent times. Having blasted onto the small screens with his now legendary sitcom Spaced , his rise to the UK's favourite son status has been mercurial, meteoric, megatronnic, but mostly just plain great.

From his childhood (and subsequently adult) obsession with Star Wars , his often passionate friendship with Nick Frost, and his forays into stand-up which began with his regular Monday morning slot in front of his 12-year-old classmates, this is a joyous tale of a homegrown superstar and a loval boy made good.]]> 359 Simon Pegg 1846058112 Michael 4 3.61 2009 Nerd Do Well

author: Simon Pegg
name: Michael
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/01/16
shelves:
review:
I love Simon Pegg. This is a good auto-bio and read like Pegg was in the room with me, which is lovely and a slight drawback (overly wordy).
]]> <![CDATA[A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)]]> 10664113 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B004XISI4A

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.

Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.]]> 1125 George R.R. Martin Michael 4 novels
I'm ready for the next in the series, but I'm hoping Martin decides to push his story forward as he's been treading water for the last two books.]]> 4.33 2011 A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)

author: George R.R. Martin
name: Michael
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/01/16
shelves: novels
review:
It's funny. I realize the narrative of this series has expanded in scope, and has slowed to a crawl in terms of the "main" plot. Still, I couldn't stop reading once I started. Martin's characters are interesting (for the most part) and I'm very invested.

I'm ready for the next in the series, but I'm hoping Martin decides to push his story forward as he's been treading water for the last two books.
]]> Lord of Light 13821 296 Roger Zelazny 0060567236 Michael 5 novels 4.08 1967

author: Roger Zelazny
name: Michael
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1967
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/12/28
shelves: novels
review:
Amazing. Why can't more sci-fi novels be as interesting and culturally important as this? It's as though all other writers are lazy to not develop such beautiful worlds as this. This review is vague but this book is superb.
]]> All-Star Superman, Vol. 2 2249196 154 Grant Morrison 1401218377 Michael 5 graphic-novels 4.33 2009

author: Grant Morrison
name: Michael
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/12/15
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
This volume is even more compelling than the first, hard as that seems to be. This caps Morrison's mini-run on the boy in blue with an intensity that's missing from most comics. Here, he gives Superman wit and volume without sacrificing his humanity, which is saying a lot for a superpowered alien.
]]> Fury: Peacemaker 95389 144 Garth Ennis 0785117695 Michael 2 graphic-novels 3.07 2006

author: Garth Ennis
name: Michael
average rating: 3.07
book published: 2006
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2011/12/03
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
This could have been a lot better. It's basically just a war story.
]]> Snow Crash 830 Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous�� you'll recognize it immediately.]]> 438 Neal Stephenson 0553380958 Michael 3 novels 4.02 1992

author: Neal Stephenson
name: Michael
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1992
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/11/06
shelves: novels
review:
While I did love this book and the first section of this represents the kind of world I wouldn't mind living in, I feel this was hampered by long explanatory section in the middle and some odd notes of religiosity. All told, I am very happy to have been able to read this. Stephenson's writing is mostly sharp, quick, and entertaining, above all.
]]> <![CDATA[Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3)]]> 175983 925 Steven Erikson 0765348802 Michael 5 novels 4.46 2001

Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3)

author: Steven Erikson
name: Michael
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2011/11/06
shelves: novels
review:
I didn't really know what the main draw of this series was after having read the first two books of the series, but now I do and I'm hooked. While I think this is going to be a very trying series if every book includes a harrowing siege/battle/massacre, this is some of the best contemporary fantasy (if you believe me; I haven't read that much, honestly :)).
]]> X-Men: Magneto Testament 6282082 152 Greg Pak 0785138234 Michael 4 graphic-novels 4.19 2009

author: Greg Pak
name: Michael
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2011/09/08
shelves: graphic-novels
review:
Pretty good stuff. I appreciate the resistance to not get into action with this.
]]> Different Seasons 39662
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.]]> 560 Stephen King 0751514624 Michael 0 to-read 4.42 1982

author: Stephen King
name: Michael
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1982
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/08/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]>