Top Ten Books I’d Give To Readers Who Have Never Read Horror
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
This week on Top Ten Tuesday I get to gush about my favorite horror authors! I’ll let you know why I love them and why I think anyone who hasn’t experienced the horror genre would too. Let’s get into it!
1. Stephen King – Really this could be almost anything he wrote, but my personal favorite is Cell. Cell is apocalyptic horror, via a method that is incredibly believable because it is so obvious. Yet there are things from other genres present that new readers could latch on to. Love, fear, desperation, hope, Cell has it all. It’s one of my favorite books regardless of genre.
2. Attic Clowns by Jeremy C. Shipp – With a mix of horror, bizarro, and comedy, Shipp is at his finest (in my mind) when he writes his short stories, and Attic Clowns is the best of the bunch. New horror readers would enjoy the humor, the multitude of ways that Attic Clowns makes you consider reality, and the cast of wonderful characters that Jeremy C. Shipp created, especially Globcow.
3. Lessons (and Other Morbid Drabbles) by Michael Crane – A less philosophical and more straightforward, but equally hilarious version of Shipp’s work are Crane’s short story collections of Morbid Drabbles. For new horror readers I think that this would give them a quick and concise way of finding out if they’d be interested in the dark humor that pervades this style of horror.
4. Pressure by Jeff Strand – Pressure takes the reader on a journey of discovery. It shows how quickly the human mind can turn into a dark and haunting place, and how that can take its toll on someone’s life. The book is about friends becoming enemies, psychological horror, with a touch of physical violence thrown in for good measure. It’s a great book to start with.
5. The Infects by Sean Beaudoin – If you couldn’t tell already, I’m big into comedic horror, dark humor is right up my twisted alley. So, for me at least, The Infects was absolutely perfect. It’s got amazing banter, creepy zombies, and a hilarious backstory. The Infects is one of my favorite books in any genre, but for someone easing into horror this is perfect. I can’t recommend it enough!
6. Touched by Zoe E. Whitten – Touched is a short piece, 69 pages in length, and is a quick and enjoyable read for prospective horror readers. It’s got a lot of fantasy elements for those that are more inclined to read that genre, and enough humor for comedy fans to be satiated. However, for horror junkies it’s got the gore you want, the gripping action you crave, and the fear you need.
7. Here Be Monsters – This is another short story collection, an anthology this time by a bunch of different authors, including my favorite Jeremy C. Shipp. I read this during 2012’s Fraterfest (a Halloween/horror themed readathon) and really enjoyed it. There is a mixture of philosophical, physical, and comedic horror and it blends really well together. A quick and easy horror read.
8. Insomnia by J.R. Johansson – All about mental breakdowns, psychosis, and nightmares/dreams, Insomnia covers a lot of my favorite elements of horror. It’s creepy, not necessarily because of what the characters are going through, but because it makes you think about what it would be like if it happened to you. There is romance in this one, so that’s a draw for some new horror readers.
9. Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake – Some might classify this as paranormal, I’d say it is a mixture of that and horror, so I’m going to include it. The book is amazing, as is the second book Girl of Nightmares, and with its sweet romance, beautiful writing, and excellent characters it is a great read for anyone. For new horror readers Anna would be a nice way of easing into darker books.
10. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride – Another really funny book, often utilizing sarcasm to make light of the situation, as well as being like Anna, where paranormal meets horror. Necromancers aren’t written about nearly enough, and McBride does an amazing job with this book and its sequel Necromancing the Stone. Think Twilight but badass… and well written.
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There are so many great horror books out there, and I really need to read more of them myself. If you haven’t read much, or any horror before, I highly recommend you check out the ones on this list. They are excellent. Have you read any of them? What is your chosen “Never Read ___”? Let me know! Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Ten Authors I Own The Most Books From
Totally Random Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. They love to share their lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!
This week on Top Ten Tuesday I get to gush about my favorite authors since those are the ones I own the most books from. I’ll let you know why I love them and give a mix of physical and ebook collections. Let’s get into it!
1. Leigh Wilder – 31 – Wilder is a writer of naughty tales, a constant presence on my Frodo’s Frisky Friday feature, and one of my favorite authors. The collection I have from her is mostly in eBook form, since they are novella length and she doesn’t really do physical copies yet. I’ve read almost all of them, including ones from her alter egos, and the level of writing is always impressive.
2. Zoe E. Whitten – 34 – Whitten writes books with mature content, though not necessarily the naughty variety, and like Wilder has an exceptionally strong level of prose. My collection for her is completely made up of eBooks, many of which I have yet to get to, but she’s awesome and I know they’ll be great when I do get around to them. I recommend checking out her more mainstream title, Nobody Special, which I wrote about here.
3. Rick Riordan – 12 – You all know of Rick Riordan even if you haven’t read his books. I’ve only read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series so far, but I own the Kane Chronicles and the four released Heroes of Olympus books too. Oh, and all are physical copies. ^.^
4. Jeremy C. Shipp – 15 – Another frequent author for this blog, Shipp is a horror/bizarro author that I absolutely love. His work is insightful, creepy, hilarious, and thought provoking. I own his Attic Clowns volumes in physical and eBook form (only counted each volume once though), and the rest is split between the two versions. I can’t recommend his work enough!
5 and 6. – D.J. MacHale (10) and Eoin Colfer (8) – These two authors I put together because all of their books that I own are from one series each. I own both series in physical form, MacHale’s being the Pendragon series and Colfer being Artemis Fowl. I read both of the series when I was a kid and still love them to this day. They are great MG reads if you haven’t checked them out already!
7. Kelly Apple – 10 – Another “naughty” writer, Kelly Apple is not only one of my favorite authors, but also a fantastic person, and someone I love talking to on Twitter. Nine of the ten books are from her Monstrous Tales series, which has been a bunch of fun to read, and all of them are eBooks. Take a look at her work if you would like some sexy monsters in your life!
8. Larry Kollar – 8 – A MG and YA author, Kollar is a bit of a mixed bag. He’s written dystopian and fantasy for YA audiences, and is now four books into a MG fantasy series, but no matter what audience he’s writing for it has been enjoyable for me to read. I own all of his work in eBook format, and if you follow the blog you’ve seen me review most of them already. Give him a look!
9. Sean Beaudoin – 5 – Beaudoin is an oddball, writing stories that make you question whether it was the content within that was crazy, or if it is really your own mind that developed the delusions. His books are hilarious, they always blow my mind, and are excellent for readers of YA or Adult. I’ll definitely be buying all of his other books as they come out!
10. John Green – 5 – While many of the authors in this list are ones you probably haven’t heard of (unless you read this blog often) that doesn’t mean I don’t love mainstream authors too. I own every John Green book with the exception of Let It Snow, and that’s really just because I’m not big into holiday stories. The ones I do own and have read are all amazing, as you all probably know, though An Abundance of Katherines is actually my favorite, and is the one that speaks to me the most.
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There are other authors that I could have chosen, possibly even a few that might have more than 5, but those were the ones that immediately came to mind, and are my favorites. Do you have any of these authors in your list? What is your biggest number of owned books by an author? Let me know! Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Booktubeathon 2014
Booktubeathon 2014
Hello everyone, as per usual I have found myself unable to resist joining a readathon mostly because they are freaking awesome, so I’ll at least be attempting to participate in Booktubeathon for the next week (it goes from July 14-21st). However, I don’t do booktube stuff myself, so I’ll be sticking to just the reading challenges, but if you want both those and the video challenges watch the video about all of that here. Without further ado, my books for the challenges!
1. A book with pictures – Joinville and Villehardouin: Chronicles of the Crusades. Yes, this is a history textbook, but it is told with two eyewitness accounts of the crusades, and I’m trying to get ahead for next semester. There aren’t a lot of pictures in this one (a couple maps mostly), but I need an excuse to read this and take notes, so there it is. 😛
2. Start and finish a series – This is a tough one, especially since you can only double dip and no more than that, but I went with the Secrets of the Eternal Rose series written by Fiona Paul, mostly because I should have ages ago. o_o
3. A book with red on the cover – I’m double dipping here and using Belladonna (book 2 of SotER) as my book with red. 🙂
4. A book someone else picks out for you – No one has told me recently, but Epic Reads has recommended Another Little Piece often enough that I’m going to finally get to it if at all possible. ^.^
5. A book from the genre you’ve read the least this year – I haven’t read much horror this year, so I’ll go with Fear the Reaper, an anthology by a variety of authors including one of my favorites, Jeremy C. Shipp!
6. A book to movie adaptation – In this one I need to watch the movie too, so I’ll go with Hearts In Atlantis, one of the few Stephen King books I haven’t read, and one of many that has a movie adaptation. The movie probably won’t be great, but I’m sure the book will be! 🙂
7. Read seven books – I’ve already listed seven books, but I’ll throw another one on here just to be safe, and that’ll be Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, simply because I’ve been looking at it for quite some time and I’d like to give it a go.
So there you have it, my books for the 7 reading challenges for this year’s Booktubeathon! Let me know if you are participating, if you are if you’ll be joining me in the challenges and/or what books you’ll be reading whether for them or in general. Thanks as always for reading, and good luck!
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Currently Reading:
Books Finished: The Art of Lainey by Paula Stokes, Venom by Fiona Paul
Pages Read: 809
“If I Were a Book” Tag
If I Were a Book
This is a booktuber tag, booktubers for those who don’t know are youtubers that talk about bookish stuffs, created by Jenni Marie. Here is the original tag video if you’d like to check it out. I wasn’t tagged, but this looked pretty fun, so I thought I’d give it a go anyway. Also, the reason I’m doing this instead of Book of the Week is because that would have been The Unbound by Victoria Schwab, but I already reviewed that on its release day, check that out here. Now, let’s get into the tag! ^.^
The Questions
1. What would the title of your book be? – For this I chose Pressure by Jeff Strand because it seems like my whole life I have been pressured to meet certain expectations. Oh he reads a lot so he must be smart, since he’s smart he should do really well in school, once he’s done well through grade school he should go to college and succeed there, becoming a scientist or lawyer. I know that sounds depressing, but that’s how it was growing up, sometimes it still feels that way.
2. What author would write your story? – This one was easy, I’d go with my favorite indie author, and bizarro/horror writer, Jeremy C. Shipp. His books are funny in a dark way, never give up anything before just the right moment, and always look at the minds of people and what makes them the way they are, then twisting that reality a bit. I couldn’t ask for anyone better to write my story.
3. What book cover would you choose? – This was one of the toughest questions, as there are so many amazing covers in my collection. I wanted something that was somewhat dark, gloomy, but not overly so, it needed an edge to it, just like the one I have. I landed on In the After by Demitria Lunetta. It has a darker tone to it, and what made it perfect was that it looks like cracks in the pavement, just like the ones I have mentally when I’m under the aforementioned pressure.
4. Would your book be paperback or hardcover? – My book would definitely be hardcover. Despite pressure from family, friends, schoolmates, and perhaps more than all (because of wanting to meet the expectations of others) myself, I’m still alive and kicking. So the hardcover would signify my tougher outer shell, with the gooey insides being the pages, though I hope that they aren’t actually that texture. Ew.
5. How long would it be? – My favorite reading length is usually 300-350 pages, but some of my favorite reads ever are twice that length or more. Books like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and the Inheritance Cycle rank up there as some of the best I’ve ever read, so perhaps I’d be a longer book. It’s hard to say seeing as I haven’t lived that long yet, but I guess it would average out to around 400 pages or so.
6. What genre would it be and why? – Sticking with theme I have going so far, and with the knowledge of what Jeremy C. Shipp excels at, I’d say a bizarro/horror mix would be very appropriate. I think even the darkest parts would be able to be made humorous with Shipp’s abilities, and there are definitely bizarre parts that would have to be included. The Monstrosities book, the image that you see to the left, is a great example of this type.
7. Whose review would you want printed on the back of your book? – Out of the blogs that I visit most I feel like Kat at The Aussie Zombie would be the best suited to read this kind of book. While I don’t know that my book would be a zombie or post-apocalyptic one (though Shipp could certainly work with that), a bizarro/horror genre book definitely fits in Kat’s wheelhouse. Hopefully she would like me (the book)! ^.^
I hope you enjoyed this random book tag post! I highly recommend checking out the tag videos that are up already, my favorite being Raeleen Lemay’s over at padfootandprongs07. Her videos are wonderful. Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Mini Review Monday: Fungus of the Heart by Jeremy C. Shipp
Fungus of the Heart
Summary From Goodreads: 
Readers of Jeremy C. Shipp’s fiction will be familiar with his minimalist, breakneck pacing, his surreal forays into political satire, and his seamless blending of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Now, in his fourth book, the Bram Stoker Award finalist expands on what many critics and fans alike have long considered the most compelling aspect of his work-relationships.
This story collection explores how a person’s desire can infect their every action and interaction with others. The desire to protect. The desire to hurt. The desire to be desired. Fungus of the Heart explores what happens between people when society breaks down and the rules go out the window.
Haunting and heartbreaking, pithy and potent, the quirky inhabitants of Shipp’s bizarro world will carve an indelible line from your funnybone to your spleen to your emotional core.
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It’s time for another edition of Frodo’s Hobbit Sized Reviews on Mini Review Monday! Short and sweet just like 2nd breakfast!
Fungus of the Heart is a collection of wonderful stories by one of my favorite writers, Jeremy C. Shipp. It’s got a great mixture of mind-bending horror, humor of all varieties, and all while forcing the reader to stop and think about the people around them and why they do what they do. Perhaps even more importantly, Fungus of the Heart makes the reader examine themselves and think about what is most important to them and what lengths they would go to for those things and/or people.
The first story, The Sun Never Rises in the Big City is one Shipp fans will recognize since it is released by itself, and I read it back in October, 2012. There you get a bit of Noir, and it does stand out from the rest of the stories as a little less dark, and more of a sad story. There is plenty of gore to be had here from The Escapist to Agape Walrus (zombies!), more (dark) philosophical humor in Monkey Boy and the Monsters (what makes a monster?) and Boy in the Cabinet (self imposed prisons), and even just beautifully written twisted stories like The Haunted House and Fungus of the Heart.
For anyone who has followed my blog for a while it will come as no surprise that I loved this book. Jeremy C. Shipp is one of the most talented writers I have ever had the pleasure of coming across and I can’t recommend him enough. He is THE horror writer for me and his bizarro infusions make his work stand out like no other. Definitely check his work out, here, I’ll even give you a link! Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge #19/365; Mount TBR Challenge #16/200; 2014 TBR Pile #16/50
Sunday Post #14
Sunday Post
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It is a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
I love participating in Sunday Post because I can provide a recap of books I read, talk about what is coming up next week, and discuss any books I received in the past week!
Books I Bought
I went a bit crazy this week, but it was a needed pick-me-up because I’ve been sick for ~2wks and it’s getting to me. Here we go!
Pigments of My Imagination by Angela Kulig – I’ve read and reviewed this already (loved it), but I needed a physical copy.
Roomies by Sara Zarr & Tara Altebrando – Heard mixed things about this one but I’m a sucker for school settings.
Winger by Andrew Smith – School settings again, also a lot of people have been raving about it lately.
Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis – Too much hype from Epic Reads during Tea Time, had to.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker – This is all Kat from Katytastic, check her channel out!
Vitro by Jessica Khoury – Saw it highlighted in new releases somewhere.
The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe – Same as Vitro & awesome premise!
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Last Week on the Blog
Monday – Bout of Books 9.0 Recap
Tuesday – Top Ten 2014 Debuts I’m Excited For
Wednesday – Waiting on Wednesday #15
Thursday – Killing My Kindle: Jenny Pox by J.L. Bryan
Friday – Frodo’s Frisky Friday: The Wicked Woods by Kelly Apple
Saturday – Book of the Week: Pivot Point by Kasie West
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Books Read Last Week
The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney – 4/5 – MC was mildly frustrating at times but beautifully written.
The Wicked Wolf by Kelly Apple – 3/5 – Fun at times but during “happy time” it felt off, weird.
Fungus of the Heart by Jeremy C. Shipp – 5/5 – Review on Monday!
Article 5 by Kristen Simmons – 4/5 – MC whined/obsessed over love interest a bit much, but great story.
Pivot Point by Kasie West – 5/5 – (Review above)
Coffin Nails and Other Beasts by Angela Kulig – 4/5 – Enjoyed it quite a bit, definitely worth checking out.
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This Week on the Blog
Monday – Mini Review Monday – Fungus of the Heart by Jeremy C. Shipp!
Tuesday – Top Ten Tuesday – Reading Wishlist!
Wednesday – Waiting on Wednesday #16
Thursday – Killing My Kindle
Friday – Frodo’s Frisky Friday
Saturday – Book of the Week
Sunday – Sunday Post #15
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This was a tough week as it was my second battling sickness, but book-wise it was another excellent one. I am still a tiny bit ahead on my challenges, this was the first week of the spring semester for college (I got ahead and did my homework for the month), and I enjoyed all of the books I read. Pivot Point made the week by itself, so freaking good!
Stop by tomorrow for Mini Review Monday to read about one of the best anthologies you’ve probably never heard of! Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a link to your Sunday Post or whatever other bookish meme you partake in over the weekend and I will be sure to check it out! Enjoy your Sunday! ^.^
Sunday Post #10
Sunday Post
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by the amazing Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It is a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.
It has been almost a month since the last Sunday Post I participated in. The amount of books I’ve received is a tad on the crazy side so alas I won’t be including pictures this time, but hopefully you’ll enjoy anyway. On to the books!
New Releases
This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales
The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
The Brokenhearted by Amelia Kahaney
Fear the Reaper edited by Joe Mynhardt
The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff
Once We Were by Kat Zhang
Emerald Green by Kerstin Gier
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Vicious by Victoria Schwab
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Long Overdue to Read
The Program by Suzanne Young
Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Fallen by Lauren Kate
The “I Love This Series and I Need to Own All of it NOW” Section
Artemis Fowl Books 1-8 by Eoin Colfer
Random
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher
Book Haul Talk
So this haul is pretty crazy and that comes from a few areas. The Artemis Fowl series buy was because I mentioned it as part of a Top Ten Tuesday post and realized that I had stopped reading that series for no good reason, I’m now working on fixing that. The Screaming Staircase and a couple of the “long overdue” books, as well as Steelheart were bought at a book signing I went to. William Shakespeare’s Star Wars is one I saw at Target and had to grab. As for the rest, well, the “new releases” section is essentially all pre-orders with the exception of The Brokenhearted (awesome premise & cover buy) and Fear the Reaper (Has Jeremy C. Shipp in the anthology and I want a complete collection of his work). So ya, that’s why I got so many freaking amazing books in this haul. However, I may not do another one of these until sometime in early November because, besides pre-orders, I don’t plan on buying many books in the near future. So ya.
Thanks for stopping by, feel free to leave a link to your Sunday Post or whatever other bookish meme you partake in over the weekend and I will be sure to stop by! Enjoy your Sunday and I’ll see you in about a month for another Sunday Post! ^.^
Fraterfest Wrap Up
Fraterfest Wrap Up
Fraterfest Read-A-Thon is a fun way for bloggers to attack their TBR piles, specifically the books that contain “things that go bump in the night” (think vampires, zombies, werewolves, shapeshifters, ghosts, etc.) and is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
Hey everybody! I hope you enjoyed Fraterfest as much as I did and that all of your reading goals were met, surpassed, or destroyed by all of the reading you got done! ^.^ I had a lot of fun reading some twisted books, one with some naughty vampires, and even a MG! I managed to finish a total of six books despite having two days of not reading and they are:
Cursed by Jeremy C. Shipp
Outpost by Ann Aguirre
Asylum by Madeleine Roux
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Doll Bones by Holly Black
Club Midnight by Leigh Wilder
One of the best things about the readathon was that I enjoyed all of the books I read, which might be more luck than anything. My favorite read was Doll Bones by Holly Black, a middle grade read, and something that is normally not in my range of go-to books. Reviews for all of these will be posted in the coming weeks. I didn’t participate in any of the challenges and I missed the Twitter chat due to homework, but overall I had a lot of fun and a book/day is pretty good.
How did your Fraterfest go? Did you meet the goals you set? If you didn’t are you satisfied with how much you did manage to read? Let me know, and thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Monstrosities by Jeremy C. Shipp: Frodo’s Review
Monstrosities
Summary From Amazon: 
A man with clown heads for hands. A city full of shape-shifting worms. A Cinderella story that ends with slaughter. These are just some of the monstrosities you’ll encounter in this horror collection by Bram Stoker Award Nominee Jeremy C. Shipp.
Table of Contents:
Figs
The Tunnel
Almost Paradise
Worms
The Little Glass Soul
Clown Hands
Cold
Flesh and Blood
Buried
Googly
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Jeremy C. Shipp is one of my favorite authors and is on the short list for my auto-buy authors. As such it was no surprise that I really enjoyed this collection of short stories as I have all his others. There are 10 short stories in Monstrosities but I will focus on my five favorites, sound good? Let’s get into it!
The Tunnel: This piece is insane and intense. It’s thought provoking with an ending that sums everything up perfectly but is one I never saw coming. It’s frightening because it reveals how far we go to escape our reality no matter what we might lose. In the end our choices will make us who we are, defining us. A simple truth, yes, but an important one.
Worms: Shipp continues one of the darker collections I’ve read by him with Worms. Loss, reality crushing imagination, good intentions proven useless as grief overwhelms all else. While it may not be a long piece it packs plenty of emotion into the story and is extremely powerful.
The Little Glass Soul: With dark and sardonic humor on full display, The Little Glass Soul is a little bit of Cinderella mixed with some Snow White and twisted into a horrifying display of cruelty. The ending is very satisfying and I really liked Shipp’s take on the fairy tale, only he would alter it this way.
Clown Hands: This is the piece that shows off Shipp’s writing style the best. It’s reminiscent of his Attic Clowns stories, which I loved, and shows the darker/twisted inner thoughts of humans being forced to the outside. It reveals that human nature that we would prefer to keep hidden while keeping the humor flowing throughout the story. It’s a bit silly and that’s why it works so well. Loved this one. More clowns please!
Buried: Using smooth transitions and beautiful insight into the human mind, Buried shows how a different perspective can change everything. One person sees a murderer and thinks them unfit to live while that same person might commit crimes just as heinous and view themselves as the righteous one. Who is worthy to live? Is anyone? Or all we all excess? Fantastic story and a superb ending.
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Overall I really enjoyed Jeremy C. Shipp’s latest anthology. There were a couple familiar tales for fans of his other work (Googly from Attic Toys and Figs from Here Be Monsters) mixed in with plenty of brand new hilarious and horrific stories. Monstrosities is a darker and edgier collection than Shipp’s previous ones as well as being more thought provoking. Shipp delves into the human mind farther than ever before with great (if creepy) results. You may not want to accept the truth as Shipp sees it, but it is hard to deny its validity. A must read for horror and humor fans. Thanks as always for reading! ^.^
Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge #130/200
Bout of Books 8.0 Wrap Up
Bout of Books 8.0 Goals
I would say this was a pretty successful readathon for me with working 6/7 of the days. I finished three full length books and two novellas and managed to get reviews done for all of them before the readathon finished! Huzzah, progress! Wise Young Fools, Croak and Monstrosities were all fantastic reads and while The Nightmare Affair wasn’t a great read I didn’t dislike it so the reading I did was a lot of fun. Jennifer’s Journal was part of a GLA that occurred during the readathon on Twitter but it doesn’t really fit with the rest, it was funny though. How did you do? Did you read as much as you hoped? More? Less? Are you satisfied regardless? As long as I get more reading in than I otherwise would I feel like these are successes so I’m definitely happy since I stocked up on reviews. See you in January!
Wise Young Fools by Sean Beaudoin (finish – currently on page 186/412)
The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett (finish – currently on page 166/367)
Sheep and Wolves by Jeremy C. Shipp
Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier
The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge
Croak by Gina Damico
Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
False Memory by Dan Krokos
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Stats
Currently Reading: Pigments of My Imagination by Angela Kulig
Books Finished: Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin, The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett, Jennifer’s Journal #1: Snatched by the Greys, Monstrosities by Jeremy C. Shipp, Croak by Gina Damico
Pages Read: 905
Amount of Time Spent Reading: 8hrs 35min
Snacks Eaten: Ice cream & Supreme Pizza!
Participated/Participating In: Pairathon & GLA!
The Books, Brains ‘n Blood Read-a-Thon
Books, Brains ‘n Blood Read-a-Thon
The Books, Brains ‘n Blood Readathon is hosted by the lovely people over at My Shelf Confessions from August 2nd to August 6th. It doesn’t look like there are any “theme” requirements for books, but I saved some creepy reads just for the occasion. If you would like to sign up, and you know you would, just click on the lovely picture above and join in on the fun! As usual my list of possible reads and stats are below!
Brain Candy by Jaleta Clegg
Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
Sheep and Wolves by Jeremy C. Shipp
Fungus of the Heart by Jeremy C. Shipp
Zombie Punter by Zoe E. Whitten
Touched by Zoe E. Whitten
Blood Relations by Zoe E. Whitten
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Stats
Currently Reading: Sheep and Wolves by Jeremy C. Shipp & The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett & Wise Young Fool by Sean Beaudoin
Books Finished: A Bad Day For Voodoo by Jeff Strand, Touched by Zoe E. Whitten
Pages Read: 345
Amount of Time Spent Reading: 3hr 35min
Snacks: Ice cream and pizza!
Auto-buy Authors: Randomness by Frodo
Auto-buy Authors
I saw the always entertaining Gaby at Queen Ella Bee Reads do a Top Ten for authors on her auto-buy list and decided to talk about my own, why I consider them “auto-buys” and a bit about auto-buying authors in general, thanks Gaby!
First a bit about auto-buying books from authors. In a follow up post Gaby took a step back and after really looking at her list realized she didn’t have (at least as many) authors she really auto-bought. Whether this was because of genre changes or jumps from one target age range to another (MG/YA/Adult/etc.) it altered that immediate “Must Buy NOW!” mentality. That’s where I differ. I really do have a bunch of authors where it doesn’t make a difference what they are writing about, what age they target or really any qualifier out there, if they write it I will come.
A lot of that has to do with my reading tendencies. I don’t stick to genres or often even to YA, Adult or what have you, I bounce from one type of book to the next at random and that works for me because it keeps the reading experiences fresh and makes each book stand out more. So the following authors are ones that I either own their entire collection (in print or eBook format) or that when I have the monies to I will and that will continue as long as they write. Here we go!
- John Green – Most of you know who this is, best seller, Vlogbrother, leader of Nerdfighters, Crash Course teacher, master of the emotional sucker punch as well as all around funny guy, John Green is all of these things and much more. I’ve seen all his videos (and Hank’s too of course) so it is only fitting that I love his books. I’ve never given a book by Green less than 5 Smiling Frodos and that isn’t because of any bias, they are just that good. An Abundance of Katherines remains one of my favorite books that I’ve ever read. The only piece by him I don’t own is his collaboration with Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle, Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances (yes I even own one of the prizes he gave as a perk Double On Call and Other Stories) and that is one I’ll likely get when I get paid on Friday. Not sure why I put that off. So ya, I’d recommend his work to anyone.
- Sarah-Jane Lehoux – Sarah-Jane is pretty much the opposite of John in every way. He’s contemporary she’s fantasy with an edge to it. She’s an indie author. You (sadly) may not have heard of her unless you have been following my blog/Twitter for ages where as Green is like crazy huge in so many communities. Green writes brainy characters and complex relationships, Sarah-Jane creates incredibly detailed and amazing worlds and kick-ass heroines. You get the picture. Something else you may not realize about Sarah-Jane? She’s just as amazing a writer as Green is. I want EVERYONE to know that and to check out her work, but for now her collection will at least reside on my (virtual and real) shelves. I can’t wait for more of her work in the future!
- Ann Aguirre – Back to an author that needs no introduction. It all started with Enclave which I won in a giveaway and devoured and loved immediately upon arrival. Fast forward to about a month or two ago where Twitter is buzzing over a post Ann wrote, This week in SF, which received both incredible support and infuriating backlash. I made a few comments on Twitter and decided I would do one of the two things I believe are the best ways to support authors in any fashion, I bought her entire collective works. At once. I wish I could say I read them all already, but alas there are seemingly infinite books out there and only so much reading time for this hobbit. (In case you are wondering the other way I feel is best to support authors is to review.) She now has a section all to herself on my Wall O’ Books and I can’t wait to dive into each book as well as any she writes in the future. She happens to be one heck of a writer (I gave Enclave 5 Smiling Frodos and called it the benchmark for Dystopians). ^.^
- Leigh Wilder – Every now and then I like to get a bit naughty and that includes my reading. I discovered Wilder completely at random on Twitter and decided to check out her work. I now own every sexy piece she’s written that I could get my hands on, virtually at least since hers are all eBooks. She usually writes either short pieces or novellas and each leaves me craving more. I’d recommend her to any fan of Erotica. I’ve rated three of her works so far and they’ve always been a 4 or 5. That says a lot. Check her out!
- Rick Riordan – Here is another author you’ve all heard of. I don’t technically own all of his work (yet), but I do own box sets for Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles as well as books 1-3 of The Heroes of Olympus with book 4 on pre-order. Pretty good right? I’ve actually only read The Lightning Thief and The Sea of Monsters by him, but as with Aguirre he has his own section of my Wall O’ Books and I can’t wait to read more of them when I can. Not much more to say, he’s just really, really talented.
- Zoe E. Whitten – An author of some of the most controversial books I’ve ever read, Whitten is an author you may never have heard of but definitely should check out. She writes about taboo subjects and refuses to hold back, something I give her major credit for, and if you can handle that I urge you to give her a shot, she deserves it. Her writing level is incredible, some of the best prose I’ve ever seen and the emotions she elicits (at least from me) are the strongest I’ve ever felt while reading a book. Her characters are dynamic, their personalities unique yet relatable and I love them all for different reasons. I won’t gush further but seriously, just go read her stuff and thank me later. Oh, and I own every one of her ~35 pieces, ya she’s that good.
- Malcolm Gladwell – While the authors I have mentioned so far span a variety of genres this is the first where I am tearing you right out of fiction and thrusting some non fiction goodness onto you. Gladwell is brilliant and makes me use all of my brainpower which, to be honest, I don’t do often enough. Sure some books make me think about a variety of issues, but Gladwell’s books force me to view the entire world in ways I never would have considered. The inner workings of society, how people achieve success, chance and the people that benefit from it and why, so many aspects of life I never would question otherwise I have because of him. Give your brain a workout and check out one of his books. I own them all and have his newest, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants on pre-order. ^.^
- Angela Kulig – If you follow my blog you’ve seen me review her work, talk about her awesomeness and squee over how excited I am to read her upcoming work. Angela is incredibly talented, jumping from the creepy to the hilarious and back again, sometimes in the same piece, with an ease that few can match. I own and have read all her work and look forward to sharing more of it with all of you in the future. Much of her work has a darker side to it and I love that. It isn’t morbid by any means, but it isn’t happy-go-lucky either, and sometimes I think we need that dose of reality. Check her out!
- Jeremy C. Shipp – I feel like the Adam’s Family song should play here…oh well. Shipp’s books are definitely creepy and spooky, kooky, and yes sometimes downright ooky, and I love them all. His Attic Clowns pieces are the best Horror/Bizarro Fiction I’ve ever read and always leave me laughing and wishing there was more. I don’t own all of the anthologies he has been a part of (because of the sheer volume) but if it’s just him I’ve got it in one format or another. One of my favorite authors and Twitter follows, Shipp is just a great writer plain and simple. Can’t recommend his work enough.
- Sean Beaudoin – Similar to Shipp but with a lighter side, Beaudoin examines the human condition in every one of his pieces at a different angle. The Infects shows our inner animal, for some prey and for others predator, and brings them to light. Going Nowhere Faster is the vast majority of teenagers personified by Stan, the MC, and his attempt to get out of neutral and at least into first gear with hilarious results (and far less car puns). Fade to Blue is insane in every way and I loved it, examining the world around us and the potential worlds we can create (in our heads and in reality). Beaudoin is talented, creative and always packs his books with more laughs than I thought possible. I own all his books and have his newest, Wise Young Fool, on pre-order. Go take a look!
So those are my auto-buy authors. Somehow I ended up at a nice round ten auto-buys though I assure you the list wasn’t padded or cut down in any way, these are my favorites and I happen to have ten of them. ^.^ There are a bunch more that are borderline for me. I either own almost all of their work and just haven’t gotten to a few, love their work but some of their pieces don’t interest me or I’m just not quite as obsessed with them (yet). Some of those are: John Grisham, Stephen King, D.J. MacHale, Larry Kollar, Jill Archer, Christopher Paolini, Brigid Kemmerer, Maureen Johnson, David Levithan, Samantha Durante & Tina Folsom. There are plenty more but I don’t have all day and neither do you I’m sure. Thanks as always for reading and it would mean the world to me if you would at least click on those 10 author links and just check out their work when you have time. They are worth it and then some. ^.^
