Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson

Before I Go To Sleep is an exceptional debut novel by S. J. Watson. It is an international bestseller and the movie rights has been bought by producer, director Ridley Scott, recognized for producing Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, and Body of Lies. Substantiating, it is a book that will captivate readers.

Nevertheless, before investing invaluable time into a novel, I invariably read a sample of a book, at least the first chapter. Most novels recently publish novels, provide a chapter or two for prospective customers. Barnes & Noble and Amazon both have a feature that provides a peek inside the book called See Inside and Look Inside.

Before I Go To Sleep is an epistolary psychological suspense novel. Christine an amnesiac who is unable to retain her memories narrates it in the first person perspective. As the day ends, Christine must sleep, which is when her memories are effaced leaving her dependent on Ben. Her journal entries reveals and associates her past igniting flashbacks causing her to question what she has been told by Ben and question her own beliefs.

Through Watson descriptive sentences conveying a women's bewilderment, it is easy to empathize with Christine. Although she is a dynamic character, at times the story seems to be repetitious and slow paced, but possibly this approach is used to illustrates and coincide with her amnesia.

If this premise brings to thought the movie 50 First Dates, it does share the similarity of a protagonist with amnesia, but Before I Go To Sleep is suspenseful and eerie. It is a page turner with tension building slowly and a concluding revelation.

Nocturne by Syrie James

Nocturne

By Syrie James

I have never read any of Syrie James books before Nocturne, which is her fourth novel. Los Angeles Magazine calls her “the queen of nineteenth century re-imaginings.” Her previous novel Dracula, My Love refashioned the beloved characters Dracula and Mina Harker, and her first two novels weave a fictional story of the eminent authors Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë. Unlike her other novels Nocturne is based on original characters.

At Borders bookstore, I noticed Nocturne on the shelves of the horror section. Reading the front flap of the book, it appeared to be a romance, but since it has a supernatural element, to my dissatisfaction, it is designated to the horror genre. There is nothing frightening about Nocturne.

In a romance only two people are necessary, and there is only two characters in this short story told by the female character. Love flourishes after Nicole car spins out of control trying to get home in a blizzard on a desolate Colorado mountain. She is saved by an attractive, mysterious man, who is discontent to have a houseguest. In time, Nicole and Michael hearts thaw as they uncover similar interests. Sexual tension burgeons, but is that enough when Michael’s identity is revealed?

I would recommend Nocturne as a fulfilling sentimental, short love story on a cold night. Cuddle up to a warm fire or a soft blanket, and know, that love heals.

It by Stephen King (25 Anniversary Special Edition)

Lazily reading in bed on an overcast Monday morning, my phone chimes. The distinct chime is a notification that I have received an email. Grabbing my phone and swiping, I become excited when I glimpse on the subject from Cemetery Dance Publication, "It by Stephen King Limited Edition". Cemetery Dance Publication makes beautiful limited edition books for the horror genre. I knew that this was an opportunity to add a signed book by Stephen King to my book collection, and it is not just any book; it is It!

I rush to my Macbook. Go to my email account and I click on the link provided. To my alarm, Cemetery Dance Publication website is taking long to load. I get an error message page. Uneasily, I utter, "What is going on?" After numerous refreshing, about twenty-five minutes, I was able to preorder a copy, the deluxe oversized hardcover signed limited edition. Only 750 will be printed, and it cost $475. The deluxe oversized hardcover signed letter edition is sold out; only 52 will be printed, and it cost a steep price of $2000. The slipcase oversize hardcover gift edition is unsigned costing $125, and only 2750 will be printed. The books should be shipped this fall. 

This is a great opportunity to own a signed Stephen King novel.

The House Next Door

The House Next Door
By Anne Rivers Siddons

Anne River Siddons is a contemporary writer better known for her fictional novels set in the south. However, her second novel The House Next Door is an exceptional story for the horror genre. It is said to be one of Stephen King’s top ten favorite horror novels. Any book Stephen King mentions as noteworthy I heed and read.

There are so many haunted house novels on the shelves of bookstores waiting to be plucked, but with limited time, it is necessary to distinguish the remarkable from the trite. Indeed, The House Next Door is an original story with a shocking revelation. Envision a haunted house; labyrinth of dark passage ways, stain glass windows, dusty ornate Victorian furniture, creaky floors that moan in pain is the conventional image of a ghastly house that bring dread to its occupants. Fear creeps into the hearts of neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy cause by a beautifully modern constructed home on a lush greenwood plot. The house is alluring, bright, illustrating the promise of a foundation to start a family, to sustain a family, but the house preys on weaknesses to achieve its ultimate goal, bleeding the happiness out of people; soon that will not suffice its desires.

It is obvious that the story is dated circa 1970s. For instance, there are no mobile phones. Social norms are apparently different giving a snapshot of the life in an affluent society of do-gooders. Siddons draws the reader into the world of the Kennedys. Mrs. Kennedy, Col narrates, informing the couple’s status quo and their psychological lucidity that dwindles in the peering eyes of their coequals.

Throughout the story, I ponder what is the cause for the house to have a baleful presence. It is this constant inquiry and the unfolding of dreadfully sexually charged events in each part of the book that kept me reading. The end is surprising and alarming that ultimately answers my question.

In 2006, The House Next Door was adapted to a television movie for the Lifetime network. It has received mix reviews. I have not seen it, but as many novels adapted to film, there has been significant changes to the plot. It will be airing on June 29th, at 6 p.m. on Lifetime. 

The Art of Tim Burton

Director Tim Burton is known for his dark and eccentric films such as Beetle Juice, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attack, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, and Sweeney Todd to only name a few. His most recent directorial work Alice In Wonderland is in theaters. Although his films are more prominent, Tim Burton is an illustrator, painter, and photographer. In 1997, he published a book of illustrated poetry titled, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories.

The Museum of Modern Art (Moma), in New York City, is temporarily exhibiting many of Burton’s private artworks. The collection spans over 40 years, before the inception of his career to demonstrating the conceptualization of his distinguished characters in the apexes of his career through doodles on notebooks and napkins, sketches on drawing pads to canvas paintings. The exhibit includes movie costumes, figurines, movie posters, and video clips. For more detail information on Tim Burton’s temporary exhibit visit Moma, and online exhibit is available for viewing.

Concurrent to the exhibit inception, a book was created through garnering Burton’s artworks, making it a comprehensive presentation of the innovative mind of Burton with narratives from personal friends. Many of the illustrations are displayed in Moma. However, this book is not sold in Moma or popular websites. The book can be purchased at Steeles Publishing. There are two editions standard and deluxe, differing by deluxe edition including a cloth slipcase, hand signed inside cover, and a limited edition (of 1000) signed lithograph. Currently, the deluxe edition is sold out, but I was fortunate to receive it as a Christmas gift. Recently on ABE, I saw one copy selling for over $1000; it originally sold for $299. It is an exquisite book to own for a Tim Burton fan.

"Bibliomania" A Doodle Inspired By Me

This digital drawing was done by my dear friend who also created my blog banner. I am delighted by her creativity, capturing my love of books and ballet flats. To view more of her work visit her blog "Life Inspired Art".

The Washington Antiquarian Book Fair

Being such an avid reader and book collector, I am astonished to say I have never attended a book fair. On the contrary, it is not surprising; I have never scavenged through garage sales and thrift shops for a great find, and I rarely go visit a bookstore to acquire a first edition or that hard to find novel. Majority of capitalistic book chain stores only stock their stores with popular fiction and nonfiction, so there is no point wasting time strutting down to your local Barnes & Noble or Borders unless you are buying that newly release novel. Many of my acquisitions have been purchase via the Internet. With just a click of a button and a plastic card, my book collection has expanded.

Doing it the old fashion way, next week I will be attending my first book fair, precisely the Washington Antiquarian Book Fair.

What exactly is at this book fair? There will be 75 book dealers exhibiting rare books, prints, maps, and autographs. Lectures relating to antiquarian books, book appraisals, and a special exhibit of Aesop’s Fables will be the highlights.

The book fair will be held on March 5th & 6th, 2010. For more information visit the Washington Antiquarian Book Fair.

Zombie

Zombie 
by Joyce Carol Oates

“Zombie” is just one of Joyce Carol Oates numerous enthralling novels. In 1995, it received the prestigious Bram Stoker Award for a horror novel.

Ever wonder what is the impetus for a serial killer? What makes the fiend tick? Oates takes the reader into the mind of a cold, calculated serial killer where a conscience does not exist but just a carnal desire to subjugate. Will Q_ P_ ever get his zombie?

Oates portrays a terrifying mind of a serial killer through creating a unique writing style, which aids to establish a multidimensional character. Quentin P. narrates in the first person voice recollecting his past savage crimes. He sometimes refers to himself in third person, evoking an eerie image of a man with a public persona. The language is colloquial and distinctive for the innumerable ampersands in place of the traditional “and”.  Readers should be warned there are graphic descriptions that will have you cringing.

It succeeds to petrify and haunt the mind, for its uncanny consonance with infamous sociopaths. There is a conspicuous similarity between the main character, Quentin P. and Jeffery Dahmer. They are both homosexuals from a well-to-do family, on probation, registered sex offender, and have a substance abuse problem. Most importantly they share the desire to create their own zombie through morbid techniques.

Memories of My Melancholy Whores

Memories of My Melancholy Whores
by Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez is well known for his novel “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and “Love in the Time of Cholera” which was adapted to motion picture in 2007. His most recent novella, “Memories of My Melancholy Whores” received mix reviews. It is believe to be his last written work stated by Carmen Balcells, his literary agent.

Captivating from the first sentence, “The year I turned ninety, I wanted to give myself the gift of a night of wild love with an adolescent virgin.” Many thoughts may ruminate though a person’s mind. Is this a story about a perverted old man or worse a pedophiliac? To the contrary, it is a story about a man with a troubled conscious for the ninety years of life he has lived. By the age of fifty, he has had sex with over five hundred women, all whom he has paid.

The unnamed narrator recollects his past dual life, which is the journey of a man whose life should be ending but has just commenced living at the mature age of ninety. The catalyst, a female prepubescent child laborer supporting her family by sewing buttons on garments and subsequently selling her virginity.

The short story (115 pages) is enjoyable for its contemplation aspects, projection of ideation, rationalizing decisions, and role of sex and love. “Memories of My Melancholy Whores” is perfect for a book club discussion group.

Lastly, what does “The tiger does not eat far away” mean? I have a few theories, but will refrain discoursing my opinion, for it would give too much information about the plot, spoiling it for others.

White Is For Witching

White Is For Witching
by Helen Oyeyemi

Dissimilar to other haunted house novels, it does not commence with a paranormal investigation, rather a disappearance of Miranda Silver (Miri). The story recounts the path of Miri’s life leading to her disappearance, which intertwines with an ancestral home that does not want to relinquish its grasp on the Silver women, clinching even to their demise and anyone who is not welcomed. There are creaks and whispers, a flicker of light then darkness; it will open to consume. Does it sate the desires and the needs?

Oyeyemi, composes a poetic story laced with similes and allegories, narrated from four perspectives, Miri, her lover Ore, her twin brother Eliot, and the omniscient house. Each character contributes to a lucid story, maintaining an individualistic perspective, creating distinctive and empathic characters especially Miri, who suffers from an unusual disorder, pica. The house casts a forbidding umbra with its omniscient capability. Back dropped in frigid Dover, England, fused with Caribbean folk tales of voodoo and a soucouyant, a creature portrayed as a decrepit woman by day, and by night, abandons its skin to roam the dark sky as a fireball in search of exuberant youths to drain their life essences, blood, initiates an eerie supernatural realm concurrent to the mundane qualities of the political back dropping of foreign affairs.

I would highly recommend “White Is For Witching”, for its darkly elegant prose and its gothic horror qualities of varied love, desire, and labyrinthine house. Lastly, read it for the grapple of life, Miri’s life.

Elsewhere by William Peter Blatty

Elsewhere

by William Peter Blatty

Blatty lionized for his blood-curling novel “The Exorcist” and its eventual motion picture, has a novella “Elsewhere” recently republished by Cemetery Dance Publication. It was initially published in Al Sarrantonio’s anthology “999”. A few days ago, I received my limited edition copy of “Elsewhere”, which is signed. Significant, for it is my only signed book by the wordsmith.

After reading a sundry of haunted house novels, there is obviously an underlining trite theme; a group of individuals investigate the authenticity of a house egregious reputation. Some novels surpass this cliché like Richard Matheson’s “Hell House”. Blatty’s “Elsewhere” is a haunted house novella, which commence with an investigation but transcends to an original haunted house story. Blatty similar to Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House” utilizes psychological horror to supplement the plot. What is really happening? There are foreshadows throughout the story.

Short Synopsis:

Joan Freeboard, a realtor is implored to sell an upstate New York mansion that is proclaimed to be haunted by the original owners who had an unkindly death. In order to make a sale, Freeboard devises a plan to prove that the house is not haunted through having an investigation with a renowned psychic Anna Trawley, literary writer Terrance Dare, and parapsychologist Gabriel Case. However, strange behavior and a case of déjà vu lead to the inconceivable.

16 Free Books For Download

I have noticed many readers are looking for free ebooks. Majority of the free ebooks are public domain, which means those books are wonderful classic literature. However, as the eminent Mark Twain said, “A classic is a book which people praise and don’t read.”

Harlequin is having a 60 anniversary. To celebrate, 16 books are available for download, and it is free. Genres available are suspense and paranormal, passion, home and family, romance, and historical. However, I think all can be pigeonholed to the genre of romance. I do not read romance, but I will try one of the suspense and paranormal novels. In addition, majority of the book covers are the typical amorous representation of the ideal male specimen, in particular “Once A Cowboy” by Linda Warren is enticing.

The books are available in four formats: .pdf, ePub, eReader, and MS Reader. Download the ebooks at Harlequin Celebrates.

Robert Frost

I remember writing an analytical paper in high school (a very long time ago) about the eminent bard Robert Frost. My paper analyzed one of his most acclaimed poems, The Road Not Taken. Many would assert it is an unequivocal poem, but even Robert Frost remarked that it was a tricky poem, which I read repeatedly and always seem to discover a new angle to interpret. My devotion to the great American poet has not changed; I still admire and read Robert Frost's poems.

Friday, I was fortunate to come across while window-shopping, a signed copy of "You Come Too", displayed in a frame. A surge of excitement disseminated, it became the paramount of my day. I was no longer window-shopping; a bargain was struck, and I came home with a frame display of Robert Frost and a signed copy of his book mounted within the frame. (photograph of the upper left corner)

I am currently enthralled with Frost’s poem, Flower-Gathering.

Flower-Gathering

I left you in the morning,

And in the morning glow,

You walked a way beside me

To make me sad to go.

Do you know me in the gloaming,

Gaunt and dusty gray with roaming?

Are you dumb because you know me not,

Or dumb because you know?

All for me And not a question

For the faded flowers gay 

That could take me from beside you

For the ages of a day?

They are yours, and be the measure

Of their worth for you to treasure,

The measure of the little while

That I've been long away. 

Another Book About Books: 501 Must-Read Books

Yet again another book that compiles noteworthy books of different genres into a handy reference guide for avid readers that want to find an engrossing read without doing a lot of research.  Do not have many bookish friends to recommend a book, do not have time to join a book club, do not have patience to go through a plethora of reviews, well books about books in particular 501 Must-Read Books maybe the perfect solution to the book finding blues. 
Two reasons to buy this book. One, it is a good source to discover worthy books to read. Two, it is in the bargain section.

The substance, 501 Must-Read Books is categorized by the following genres: Children's Fiction, Classical Fiction, History, Memoirs, Modern Fiction, Science Fiction, Thrillers, and Travel. Each enumerated book is accompanied with background of the book, brief synopsis, detail information about the author, and list of other published material by the author.

Must-Read Science Fiction Section

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Noel Adams
Hothouse by Brian Aldiss
Brainwave by Poul Anderson
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Crystal World by J.G. Ballard
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
Who Goes There by John W. Campbell
The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Erewhon by Samuel Butler
Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
A Strange Manuscript Found in Cooper Cylinder by James De Mille
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
To Your Scattered Bodies Go  by Philip Jose Farmer
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Dune by Frank Herbert
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Two Planets by Kurd Lasswitz
Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Shikasta by Doris Lessing
Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Dwellers in the Mirage by Abraham Merritt
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Time Traders by Andre Norton
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe
The Inverted World by Christopher Priest
The Green Child by Herbert Read
The Laxian Key by Robert Sheckley
City bye Clifford D. Simak
Donovan's Brain by Curt Siodmak
Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague De Camp
Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon
More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
Slan by A.E. Van Vogt
A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
Slaughterhouse-Five or The Children's Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut 
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells
Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Regional Ghost Story Books

Ghosts of St. Augustine
by Dave Lapham

Florida's Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore Volume 2
by Greg Jenkins

During a vacation, people proceed to gift shops often to buy gifts for those friends and family that were not able to make the trip and to take home a remembrance of a time of relaxation and exploration. When I go to the gift shops, I look for books, which will extract me from my mundane life into blissful memories. I was fortunate to discover some regional ghost story books in St. Augustine, FL. These books will be a great addition to my other regional ghost story book collection.

Last night in Key Largo there was a thunderstorm, and I just could not sleep, so I decided to read a few stories from both books. "Florida’s Ghostly Legends and Haunted Folklore" Volume 2, has a more detail description of the ghostly historical locations than "Ghost of St. Augustine" although the latter is entirely dedicated to St. Augustine.

Dexter, an inmate of the Old Jail in St. Augustine haunts the prison looking forlorn for all his nefarious activities. Legends say that tour visitors sometimes sense cold spots or a pungent smell of anonymous insanitary prisoners of bygone days. When I took the animated tour of the Old Jail, I sensed nothing. I have yet to experience anything paranormal; however, it does not discourage me from enjoying eerie tales. A tale from "Ghosts of St. Augustine", Flagler College the former Hotel Ponce de Leon is haunted by the philanthropist that founded most of St. Augustine, Henry Flagler. A student once had the luck to meet his acquaintance after being called upon through rubbing a tile delineating Flagler’s countenance. Viewing Flagler College from a trolley tour bus, I saw college students gamboling on the front lawn caked in shaving cream. Oh, how I wish my undergraduate days were like that.

Take care my small audience, from under a coconut tree.

Historical St. Augustine Desktop Wallpaper

Currently, I am on vacation. I enjoy traveling to historical destinations; yesterday, I visited the oldest European settlement in North America, St. Augustine, FL. It is a fallacy that Jamestown, VA is the oldest European settlement as well as the glorious fight of Col. George A. Custer also known as Custer's Last Stand or the latter (I prefer) The Battle of Little Bighorn.


Photograph of part of Castillo da San Marcos National Monument (Fort)

Photograph of three palm trees on the grounds of Castillo da San Marcos.

Click on image obtain larger image 2560 X 1600.

The Suicide Collectors

The Suicide Collectors
by David Oppegaard

In 1995, Stephen King’s television two-part movie The Langoliers (published in Four Past Midnight) aired on ABC. Since viewing The Langoliers, I became captivated by apocalyptic novels. I would assume most people would feel a sense of bereft being the only or among the few people left in the world. However, when I was a teenager, I daydreamed about what I would do if the Earth population dwindled. I would read and enjoy the downtempo silence, but of course sooner or later the silence would be a monotonous surging of frustration.

The Suicide Collector by David Appeared is an apocalyptic novel. The world’s diminishing population is due to multitude of suicide. Narrated through Norman the main character, travels to Seattle after hearing that there is a new flourishing community with a cure for the despair. Along his journey with neighbor Pops, they encounter a variety of people demonstrating an array of coping strategies such as a gangs, feral children, and a cult. Throughout the story Oppegaard keeps the reader interested through giving titbits of information about the mysterious dark cloaked suicide collector, who peculiarly knows when someone has given in to the despair. The million-dollar question, what has caused the despair also coaxes the reader on to the next page. Even though I enjoyed reading majority of Oppegaard’s first novel, the conclusion felt short and cheated. In fiction, sometimes there should be more.

So, I will be looking for another apocalyptic novel that can quench my thirst for a catastrophe with a few good characters. It should be stated Oppegaard’s characters were likeable and believable through his use of riveting flashbacks.

My Haiku

I have not written a haiku since my days of undergraduate studies, but after reading "Breathers, A Zombie Lament", I had a sudden urge to write one, of course inspired by life.

"Dilation Of Wan"

lonely dark abyss

shroud in constricting shadows

endless nothingness

Breathers, A Zombie's Lament

Breathers, A Zombie's Lament
by S. G. Browne

“Breather’s, A Zombie Lament” should not be pigeonholed into a category of zombie novels. It is a dark comedy, but also has the solemn of a classic zombie novel; there is gore, but more importantly there is gore with fierce humor. However, it does not minimize the carnage. I in particularly liked the breather’s recipes and haiku. Just one of the humorous haiku in "Breather's A Zombie Lament":

maggots feast on fat
subcutaneous buffet
sounds like Rice Krispies

(Browne. p.289)

In a philosophical note, Browne has the ability to write about zombies and cannibalism while encapsulating humanity’s salient problem, discrimination. Throughout the book, there is implicit correlation between zombies’ societal treatment and marginalized members of society such as racial discrimination against African Americans. For instance, what are zombies to do if they are not allowed to do everyday recreational activities? How can a zombie get a decent job without a social security number? Later in the book, Browne becomes explicit with an association with Rosa Parks among a few other exemplar figures and situations.

Unlike many novels, “Breather’s, A Zombie Lament” packs a punch ending that rivals classic dramatic endings with the ever so uplifting badinages.

Short Synopsis:

Andy Warner, once a husband and father, has a tragic accident. He wakes up an undead zombie. Andy must acclimatize to a societal position regarded as below human. He is forced to live in the cellar of his parents’ home. His only comfort is group meetings with other fellow zombies; there he finds love, a special elixir, and a new zest for life.

The first chapter for reading is available at S.G. Browne's blog.

A New Banner

For my small audience, I hope you like my new banner. Through the years, I have tried about three different banners none demonstrating my personal style. This banner reflects my eclectic taste. For instance, there is Vincienzo, the shark in a jar of formaldehyde on the right; he is my dead pet shark purchased as a birthday gift last year. To the left, my canopic jar and Buddha head are displayed. Lastly, a marvelous caricature of me adds a personal touch. However, to complete the banner there must be many books, which it indeed contains.

I commissioned an extremely talented artist, A. R. Khan to create this personalized banner, who just happens to be a very close friend. Her work is diverse; she paints exceptional abstract, surrealism, and realism (portraits). She has the ability works with many mediums to create a distinctive piece. Besides traditional painting, she is a seasoned book illustrator. She is an artist for hire with the keen talent for personalizing. You can view more of her work here Arkart.

Above photograph of the real Vincienzo.