Book #18 Pariah by Bob Fingerman

Lets just say I don't even want to spend the time to think up a good synopsis for Pariah by Bob Fingerman, so here is a quote from Amazon.


"When a zombie pandemic sweeps the land, a group of survivors hide out in an Upper East Side apartment building. As food supplies dwindle tensions rise, and their only salvation appears in the form of Mona, a mysterious girl who repels the zombies."

Very realistic on the terrible side of humanity. This zombie novel touch too much on the real side of humanity and what would probably happen during the apocalypse. I felt really uncomfortable reading most parts of the book and just wanted to finish it. There was way to much sex and weird violence that just wasn't want I usually like in my zombie novels. Like I've said before, I like to read horror novels because I can escape reality and I just couldn't escape in this book.

If you like harsh reality and want a book that leaves you feeling a little queasy and sad....this is it.

Book #15 #16 #17 The Hunger Games Book Series by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games book series by Suzanne Collins was recommended by my friend Megan with the warning that once you start you will not be about to do anything else but finish the series. I was skeptical but she was 100% right and I knew this when I was ½ way into it and in love with Katniss the main character. I’m not a writer of reviews, so I will let you just take my word for it and if you don’t want to do that, you can the review on Amazon and decide for yourself. This series was well worth it and I truly hope Collins comes out with another series in the near future for me to devourer like a piece of cake after a month of dieting.

The Hunger Games series has a measurable success being in Amazon’s #1 spot for eBook purchases for what seems like forever. I know your wondering “Oh no, not another teen book series craze” or “Wow... is she really diving into the teen love stories now, she must be zombie’ed out?”.  Yes and No, this is another teen series book that has a crazy amount of fans and 1000’s of eBook reviews giving is a whopping 4.5 stars on Amazon and NO I still love zombie books. Its a huge sensation but I don’t see it making the giant cultural spash Twilight made. Its just too soon and maybe teens want another thing to latch onto but I don’t see this post-apocalyptic action-pact love drama making the cut because it wasn’t the super sappy love story Twilight was. The plot was way better than that!

I tried reading Twilight and just couldn’t stand the romance. It was like a romance novel that threw in a few supernatural creatures in to “spice” it up and most readers loved it. When I referred to “readers” I’m referring to women (mostly) and most women love romance and that’s what sells in books and in the box office. Katniss is not your typical teenage girl, she is defiant, head strong and determined to break the mold. She is by far a much different character than most popular teen reads. She is a great role model for young girls, she thinks outside the box and doesn’t give into the enormous amount of pressure forced on her. She is strong and doesn't really know it throughout the story so you can relate to her insecurities. I highly recommend this book series to any women of any age and especially young pre-teen girls.

Book #8 We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson was a wonderful book. A very quick read at 224 pages it makes it a great book for when your feeling like a quick light read. This book feels like a story story that has been expanded and very well written at that.

I love women who write horror and Shirley Jackson is a wonderful writer. Here is a tid bit about the early 20th century author from amazon:

"Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1919. She first received wide critical acclaim for her short story 'The Lottery', which was published in 1948. Her novels--which include The Sundial, The Bird's Nest, Hangsaman, The Road through the Wall, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House--are characterized by her use of realistic settings for tales that often involve elements of horror and the occult."

All and all I enjoyed this macabre tale, for its portrayal of fear, resentment, hostility and persecution of its disturbed and damaged characters. Also the cover art is awesome!

Book Chick City

  I'm very excited to add this challenge to my list. I'm not a huge fan of fantasy books but I will definitely be reading many horror novels. I will make a point to read 24 at least this year. 

Book #6 "John Dies at the End" by David Wong

 

So this book was just a random pick from the Borders near my train line. "John Dies at the End" by David Wong is the weirdest book I've ever read, and that is saying alot coming from someone that reads zombie novels and weird books in general. The book is 480 pages of poop, penis jokes, meat monsters, wig-wearing scorpion aberrations and much much more. So odd, but I liked it.

The author had an amazing story just getting the book published and that is why I choose it. He was working 70 hours a week doing data entry with no English degree or any such writing experience. Wong's story was just a blog and people just fell in love with it and from there he got a book deal. Soon after the book was released de Don Coscarelli, director, Phantasm I–V and Bubba Ho-Tep bought the film rights.

I'm really enjoying this experience and it has had a very positive impact on my life. I guess reading can make you happier!

Book #5 Autumn by David Moody

Autumn by David Moody was such a fun read and I really enjoyed it. An unconventional zombie like apocalypse book of awesomeness read in giant bites until my stomach was full. Like any giant meal it left me a bit sick at the end but still wanting dessert so I hope for a sequel. Moody got his start giving away books and this publicity was what made him popular. I love those unconventional ways authors and publishers get us to read their books.

Well I do have great news for all those iPad ebook readers. iFlow Reader has added support for Adobe library ebooks. It's taken way too long but we finally have some supported ebooks to check out from the library. I'm currently reading an ebook checked out and its working perfectly. As long as you have an internet connection you can check out any ebook you want at anytime of the day. There is only one downfall to this and that is waiting lists....yes you will have to wait for the most popular ebooks. I don't know if the new popularity of ebooks will get the library extra copies or not but all I know is that the waiting list can be long if you choose popular ebooks.

If you spend more than $200 on books a year you should invest in an ereader and this will save you in the long run. You will check out more books from the library without leaving your home. You will not have to spend as much on paper books because ebooks tend to be less expensive. As I've said before I do not do all my reading on the iPad only about 50% because I still love the feeling of having one of those beautiful soft paper books in my palms. I have still noticed a huge savings in just one year. Stay tuned for an article on the practices of reading ebooks.

Getting a new toy such as an iPad is just another way to get you interested in reading!

Book 4 Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard

Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard was a recommended book. Recommendations rarely happen to me since I read such dark books and I was surprised by how much I liked this one. It was a great read, very well written and not near as dark as what I'm used to, so a bit of a change. I thought it was a bit wordy and didn't hold my attention so I had to really try hard to make time. I did really like it but it was a little more difficult a read than I'm used to.  All and all I'm glad I challenged myself to read something I might not have read otherwise. It really gets you motivated to think outside the box and find new books in different genres.

It was a super busy week for me and I just got some time to get this posted and I'm almost done with my 5th book, Autumn by David Moody ! I can't believe I'm reading so fast. I'm a pretty slow reader so this has been amazing. I know it will slow down once it starts to get nice out in Chicago. Summers are always hard to keep up your reading but I find it fun to find a spot outside to travel to and lay on the fresh grass and read. I bike to Chicago's lovely lake front and set up a blanket and read.

Number Three Found Me

Sometimes books find you. I was browsing my wonderful popular library section Chicago's Harold Washington's Library two blocks from my apartment and came across this wonderful book. It was right in the first row I searched nestled between two other zombie books. Now I know I'm not alone since the popular library has Zombie books on display.

It was funny and entertaining and a very quick read. So I'm off to the next book Johannes Cabal the Necromancer.

Two Down and Gaining Steam

I usually judge a book by its cover, not in this case. I absolutely love this Gothic horror author Rhiannon Frater. She wrote the wonderful zombie trilogy As the World Dies and I ate them up in large chunks and couldn't believe how fast I read through them. Her use of women in lead and dominant roles it what really got me liking her but the plots and stories lines are solid and enticing.

The Tale of the Vampire Bride is not my usual read as it is a vampire love story. Through most of it I was a bit irritated because I was kinda liking it, ugh, its a love story, ewwwww. I won't get into it too much but it was all in all a good novel. A solid unique story line with a lead woman role that leaves you feeling empowered.

I must also touch on the fact that Rhiannon Frater has been a successful female independent author that self published all her books. She was recently signed to a publisher and I'm extremely happy for her. I want to urge all you readers out there to think outside the bestsellers list and giant publishers and look for those independent self published authors. You never know when you'll find a diamond in the haystack.

Looking Forward with One Down

 Reading wasn't always my passion. In fact I hated the idea has a child because it kept me away from my 42 acre backyard. As my reading scores fell my 3rd grade teacher put me in a special group called Chapter One Reading and it was there when I learned that there are no rules to reading that you can listen to or pick up a book of any kind. My teacher allowed me to pick any book I wanted so I chose "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark" by Alvin Schwartz. It opened my life up to reading and I soared above all my classmates within a year. Keeping with the horror genre I was reading Stephen King by 5th grade and never really stopped reading horror books.

It's not so much what you are reading or how but that you're absorbing the messages, learning about the characters and feeling the intensity of the plot in a good book. Though I mostly read horror I do get some good solid literature in but it's not like I'm reading for a grade its just for fun.

A lot of people that don't read I find have the same excuses such as "it's boring" or "I don't have time". We've all fallen into these same excuses at one time or another. I've developed a few methods to get past those excuses and into a book.


1. Choose books that interest you. I love zombie movies so I went in search for books with zombies. They don't have to be bestsellers or critic approved to be enjoyable they need to appeal to you. That alone got me started reading a book a week.

2. If you can't find time to sit and read a book listen to one. When I was too busy I would take 15 mins before bed to relax and listen to an audio book before bed. Rent one from the library and listen to it on your ride to work.

3. Make reading a part of your routine. Take a book for lunch breaks and read a bit everyday.


Looking forward to 2011 and reading more than 32 books this year I hope to engage you as a reader to get past that 32 book mark and find those odd macabre reads intriguing enough to pick up.