heathn's 1st Challenge - A to Z 2012

The idea of the Alphabet Challenge is very interesting to me. I am the type of reader who doesn't venture out of my comfort zones in terms of authors very often. Once I find one I like, I tend to stick with them. I hope that by doing this challenge I will broaden my reading horizons and help build up a diverse library to pass on one day.

I will be attempting to complete this challenge by using the author's last name, and writing a short review on each book. I will be open to any suggestions that fellow LTer's have. (I have learned by reading all the forums here that this something LTer's do very well!) I already have a small amount of books in my TBR stack that I will be starting with.

A: Anonymous Beowulf: A New Verse Translation
B: Beagle, Peter S. The Last Unicorn
C: Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games
D: Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan - The Complete Sherlock Holmes
E:
F:
G: Goldman, William - The Princess Bride
H: Hogan, Chuck - The Night Eternal
I:
J:
K: King, Stephen - The Wind Through the Keyhole
King, Stephen - Full Dark, No Stars
L: H.P. Lovecraft The Complete Fiction
Lewis, C.S. The Screwtape Letters
M: Miller, Donald A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
N:
O:
P: Poe, Edgar Allan - The Complete Tales and Poems
Q:
R: Ramsey, Dave Entreleadership
S: Steinbeck, John The Grapes of Wrath
T: Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit
U:
V:
W: White, T.H. - The Once and Future King
X:
Y:
Z:

Titles will be touchstoned after completed

Welcome on board and good luck. :)

Hmmm a couple of suggestions:

C: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

H: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman or
Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was by Barry Hughart

I: Eight Plays by Henrik Ibsen

M: The Gendarme by Mark Mustian or
The Road by Cormac McCarthy or
The Restraint of Beasts by Magnus Mills

N: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

T: Gibbon's Decline and Fall by Sheri S. Tepper

V: A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge

These might be well outside your comfort zone but it never hurts to look:)

A: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

B: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

C: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

F: Shades of Gray by Jasper Fforde (there seems to be many books by this title, so look through the author for it)

J: Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones

R: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

S: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Z: Something by Timothy Zahn?

An author I have come to know and love this year, Storm Front by Jim Butcher.

You don't say if you are open to murder mysteries? The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King, but if you prefer suspense/thriller, she has some of those, too.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Not sure whether this belongs to "D" or "M" but it's one of my favorites for suspense, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. Quite an undertaking, but a great story.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales by Washington Irving

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

The Graveyard Book or Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

Around the World in 80 Days or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Faeries by Brian Froud

ETA these, after a quick look through my 5 star books.

I want to really thank you for all the suggestions for different authors!

It appears that I will be having an exciting year of reading ahead of me.

I am finishing the year by reading Frankenstein for the first time, and in sticking with the horror theme, I will begin 2012 and this challenge by reading something out of H.P. Lovecraft Complete Fiction.

Again, thank you for the suggestions.

A: Richard Adams, Piers Anthony, Jane Austen
B: Peter S. Beagle
C: CJ Cherryh, John Le Carre
D: Gordon Dickson, Charles Dickens
E: George Eliot
F: CS Forester
G: Jean C. George, Noah Gordon
H: Robert Heinlein, Ernest Hemingway
I: Henrik Ibsen (not read, just heard he's good)
J: Norton Juster The Phantom Tollbooth
K: Stuart Kaminsky, Laurie R. King, Jim Kjelgaard
L: Louis L'Amour, Mercedes Lackey, CS Lewis, Jack London
M: RA MacAvoy, Robert McCloskey, Anne McCaffrey
N: Andre Norton, Sterling North
O: Mary O'Hara, Jack O'Brien
P: Sharon K Penman, Frank Peretti, Ellis Peters, Wendy Pini
Q: Spencer Quinn
R: Conrad Richter, Michael Robertson
S: Dorothy Sayers, Paul Scott, John Steinbeck
T: Albert Payson Terhune, JRR Tolkien, Harry Turtledove
U:
V: Jules Verne
W: Tad Williams
X:
Y: Jane Yolen
Z: Roger Zelazny

With the exception of Henrik Ibsen, I've read something by all
these authors.

Sorry I don't have something for "U" or "X".

Steven Utley for example. I like his style.
X is more problematic I think. Tianna Xander comes to mind but I am not sure how much you would like her style - she is more on the romance side than on the paranormal side.

For the rest - there seem to be a lot of examples already. :)

PS: I am going to use Ruiyan Xu for my Author list. Her novel sounds interesting.

L:

H.P. Lovecraft The Complete Fiction

I decided to start my challenge with H.P. Lovecraft. I have heard and seen many movies that were either taken from one of his stories, or described as 'Lovecraftian". I thought this would be a great time to see if the all hype was worth it.

I picked up the Leatherbound Classic version at Barnes and Noble. (I think these books look amazing.) I was unaware and surprised to find out that most of his writing were short stories. Many being under 10 pages in length.

I decided upon looking through the list of stories to start with some I was familiar with through movies. I started with The Call of Cthulhu, The Haunter of the Dark, and At the Mountains of Madness. I then followed these by reading some of his short stories from early in his life that were new to me.

I'm used to reading large tomes of a book, with a 1000 pages not being uncommon. I was amazed that I could get so much out of a short story. Since I was reading a selection of different stories that spanned most of his life, I was expecting the writing to differ a lot between the early and later ones. One constant was the personalized telling of the story from the character's past, or from a found diary. I liked how this gave a feeling of telling a ghost story around the campfire, making me enjoy it more.

Of the stories I read, I enjoyed At the Mountains of Madness the most. The visuals created were amazing, and the sense of terror at what the character found at those mountains felt sincere. It reminded me of the movie The Thing at times. I would love to see what Guillermo del Toro could put on a screen with this story.

This is my first real attempt to journal my bookreading. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. (Too long?, more about the story, author, etc?)

(Edited to add picture.)

Barely over two weeks in, and another letter finished.

G:

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Until just a few months ago, I was unaware that the movie was based on a novel. Learning this, I knew it was something I had to fix.

The Princess Bride (being written as an abridged version of a classical tale from Florin) begins with Buttercup, our Bride in the story, as a teenager and well on her way to becoming the most beautiful women in the world. How she falls in love with the farm boy, and how 'true love' wins in the end.

Throughout the story, Goldman, will cut away from the novel and intersperce his own thoughts into how and why certain parts were cut out for his 'abridgement'. I enjoyed this method and it allowed for very few slow parts in the novel.

I feel it is impossible to not mention the movie version with Cary Elwes and Robin Wright. It is one of my favorites, and I was unable to read through the story without reseeing the scenes from the movie in the book. I was surprised to see how similar the movie stayed to the original novel, which I am sure this is mainly due to the Goldman writing the screenplay, yet usually movies still differ greatly. Most of the scenes and dialogue I love from the movie, were taken directly from the novel.

If you like the movie, and have never read the book, I highly recommend you seek it out. I think you will be glad you did.

>10 heathn:

Your thread, your rules :) Whatever you want to log about a book, this is what you do.

Short stories (if done properly) can pack as much information as a very long novel. :)

W:

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

I seem to have always been intrigued by medieval times, and thus interested in the Arthurian Legend.

I had The Once and Future King in my wishlist for awhile, and was happily surprised when I found this copy at Borders during their close out sales, at a greatly reduced cost.

I'm not sure exactly what it was, but I just could not fully get into this book. I think it was in part to do with having so recently reading George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice Fire books. These book gave me a more mature, detailed, and darker view of medieval times, where I felt White was going for a lighter and happier vibe.

I also believe that I would be more inclined to liking it if I had read it a younger age, as I found all the parts about being turned into animals somewhat tedious. I did enjoy it more and more as it progressed. Once we start to learn about Lancelot and all of different knights' exploits, and the search for the grail. I feel that the finale of the book, The Candle in the Wind, was the best part. The story progressed much faster, and seemed to lose some of the filler from earlier in the book.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone interested in the Arthurian Legends, as I did end up enjoying it as it went on.

I do plan at some point to get a copy of Le Morte d'Arthur to read, and see where the legend began.

Just updated my excel sheets and realized that I've gotten three authors read this year. Going to have to really pick it up if I want to complete this challenge.

Well - some time in 2020 will be just fine :)

2020? I think I could make it by then.

H:

The Night Eternal by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

(I chose to use Hogan for H, as I have The Count of Monte Cristo to use for the letter D.)

This is the conclusion to The Strain vampire trilogy created by these two men. It picks up two years into the future after The Fall and continues the fight against the Master.

I have really enjoyed this trilogy. I like how not everyone is making vampires fit into sappy love triangles. The vampires here are the evil kind, with little resemblence to their human selfs. I read somewhere that these were the vampires that Guillermo had in mind for with Blade 2, yet these feel like the next evolution of those vampires.

With del Toro being one of the partners in this team, these books have a made for movie feel. The action happens quickly, and the pacing is fairly quick throughout all three books. That being said, I would enjoy seeing these books as movies, given that not much was changed in the transfer.

In conclusion, I would recommend this series to anyone who wants to read about vampires that would actually scare you if they were real. Not the kind you would want to jump into bed with.

C

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

With the movie opening this weekend, I was pressured to read the book by many teenagers in the youth group at church so that I would take them to see it. Since I hate not reading the book first, I tackled it over the weekend.

I was able to start and complete the the book in one day, due to being on a road trip for roughly 8 hours on Sunday. So that is something very rare for me, as I don't usually read for such long stretches.

Starting out I was fairly familiar to the story. I knew it mainly revolved around a battle royale fight with teenagers. What surprised me most, even being formalaic, was that I enjoyed the story a lot. So much that I bought the sequels during the drive home at one of our stops.

I feel that Collins did a really good job at building a future world that I do not want to be a part of, and at creating an excellent role model for girls to look up to. Katniss is a great character who can take care of things on her own, and is very resourceful in a tough world.

My favorite part would have to be Katniss' interview session with the gamemakers. I thought that scene did an awesome job of me getting to relate to the character. I also really enjoyed the mockingjays, and how they can mimic songs that you sing. This would be awesome to witness in real life.

My biggest problem, and this is probably due to me not being the intended target group, was the foreshadowing to the love triangle in the next book. I knew it was coming, and still didn't like how it felt. I was talking over different parts with one of the teenagers in the van on the ride home, and found that she liked these parts much more than I did.

I will finish out the trilogy, but will wait for a bit. Wanting something different, and Sherlock has been taunting me ever since he joined the TBR.

D:

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Finished my D author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I'd been wanting to read the Sherlock novels for awhile now, and my interest was specifically sparked again after the new film and tv series that came out last year. When I saw the whole collection was part of Barnes and Noble's leatherbound series, I knew it was time to finally scratch that itch.

I did not read the whole collection, only about half of it. I started with the original short A Study in Scarlett, skipped around a bit, and finished with The Hound of the Baskervilles. I'm happy to say that I have more unknown adventures left with Mr. Holmes and Mr. Watson, to read in the future. It always amazes me how some authors can pack so much into a short story.

Of the stories that I read, The Hound of the Baskervilles, was by far my favorite. I loved the horror vibe that came with the story. The old family mansion, an ancient curse, last heir to the fortune, etc. Plus the ending was not what I was expecting. I also enjoyed getting to see Watson take a more central role in the story.

One attribute that I love about Holmes, is that he enjoys when the criminal/adversary is as clever as himself. I sense of respect and admiration that is not often given up by the hero in a story.

Next, are a few books that need finishing, The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, and Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey. Then I am going to try my letter B author. I have either The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle, or The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold.

Go with The Last Unicorn. :)

Was able to finish two books this week that I've been reading for a litte while.

L: (Part 2)

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Unfortunately, I had to double up on the letter L. The youth minister at my church started a series on C.S. Lewis' writings in our middle/high school class. Since I help him to teach the class, I figured I should know a little bit about the topic of discussion. My previous readings by Lewis were limited to The Chronicles of Narnia and Till We Have Faces.

I found this to be a very interesting and thought provoking read. It is written as 31 letters from a higher level demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood. Wormwood, has been assigned to a tempt a young man into sin. Each letter from Screwtape gives advice to Wormwood on how he can better tempt this young man.

Once I was used to the backwardsness of the writing, I really enjoyed it. Being written from the demon's point of view, the word 'Enemy' is used to describe God. A neat concept that I haven't been exposed to very much. With the 31 letters, I think that this would make a great monthly devotion book to ponder on daily.

A big plus for me, has been the discussions that we have been having in the class. Delving deeper into the theological ideas behind the letters has led to some great back and forths. Looking forward to the kids' reactions as we progress farther along.

R:

Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey

Finally sat down to finish this one off. Not that this wasn't a good read, just never seemed in the mood to read this.

I took the Financial Peace class at my church a couple of years ago, and have thought highly of Dave Ramsey's insight ever since. When my father told me that he had written a leadership book for small business owners, I felt that it would be useful to me.

Entreleadership is basically how the Dave Ramsey business is run now. It goes through how he started out as a one person business, and many of the steps to where they are now. A lot of it is about how you treat people, and expect of them. A lot of common sense things that if you put all them together add up to more than their parts. Probably the chapter I will come back to most in the future is the one on hiring the right people. I'm not in that position now, but at some point I expect to making these decisions.

It reads a lot like a handguide for how to get a small business to the next step. I would recommend this to those who like Dave Ramsey, and in some sort of a leadership position.

Next up is going to be The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. Mainly to relive some memories of the movie I loved growing up. Just a bonus that it'll knock off my letter B.

B:

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

It's really nice when a book lives up to the expectations that you have put on it. Having grown up watching the movie version of The Last Unicorn, I had many memories of the story. I'm happy to say that the book was every bit as good as I remember the movie being. I could easily see scenes of the movie as I read through the book, even though I haven't seen it in over 20 years. Now it's time to see it again.

The Last Unicorn starts as a unicorn overhears a conversation between hunters, and turns into an epic journey as she tries to find her fellow unicorns. Along the way she meets the wizard Schmendrick, and a camp cook name Molly Grue who follow her along her journey.

My favorite part in the book, is when Prince Lir gives a speech about what it means to be a hero. It is moving, uplifting, and sad all at the same time. After reading it, I thought 'that's it, that's why I love the fantasy genre so much'.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the fantasy genre. The world is not as in depth or overrun with magic, but the simplicity of the fantasy genre works very well. When magic is used, it means a little bit more.

M

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

I got this book as a precursor to a camp that I am a counselor at this summer. It is written by the same author as Blue Like Jazz and is about how his life changed as he wrote the screenplay for the movie version of that book.

When he started the screenplay with two other men, he was told that even though it was a good book, it would not a make a good movie. It wasn't a good enough story. What proceeds is Miller learning to write a better story by going to seminars and working on the screenplay. He decides that the life he is living is not a good story either, and that no one would want to watch a movie about his life.

This leads him to start taking risks, and do things with his life that would have meaning. He meets his father who he hadn't seen in over 30 years, climbs a mountain in Peru, and bikes across the country. All the while he is writing the screenplay for Blue Like Jazz.

What it all boils down to is, would someone want to watch a movie about your life. After reading it the book, it makes me want to do more with my life. Try to make my life story, that of a Best Picture winner.

K:

The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King

Finished my 'K' book by jumping back into Roland's ka-tet in Midworld.

I originally read the Dark Tower series a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed the wester/fantasy/sci-fi mashup that King created.

The Wind Through the Keyhole is the new book that takes place, timelined, between Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla. Making it Dark Tower 4.5, and I feel that it belongs with the earlier books in the series versus the latter ones.

The story takes place as Roland and his ka-tet are holed up in a building waiting out a storm. Roland proceeds to tell the story of his first 'mission' after becoming a gunslinger. While in the middle of this story, it breaks off into a bedtime story that Roland tells from his youth to a young child. This bedtime story makes up the bulk of the book, and leans more to the fantasy side of things.

In all I really enjoyed reading this. Learning more about Roland's history, and how he became the gunslinger that we know about, was always my favorite part of the series. In 'Wind' we get to learn more about how how he became this gunslinger. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who liked the Dark Tower books, especially the earlier ones.

Next up I am reading Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney.

Since June is pretty much over, and I doubt that I will be finishing any more books by the end of the month. I thought I would take a look at where I am now after six months of my challenge. Be warned - a lot of numbers incoming.

In total I have read 11 books, and finished 10 letters. Thus completing 38.5% of the alphabet goal. Obviously I am going to have to speed things up.

I am on pace to read more books than I read last year. In 2011 I finished 19 books, and am on pace this year for 22. Since I wanted to diversify my reading habits this year, it is looking good. Of the 19 books I finished last year, they were only by 12 different authors (only 2 more than I've read already this year). This being a result of reading all of the Song of Ice and Fire books, and the Millenium Trilogy. Also, for those books last year, I read a total of 9924 pages, or an average of 552 pages per book. This year, I have read 3912 pages, or 39.5% of last years total, with an average of 335 pages per book.

To summarize, I have diversified my reading amongst different authors more this year than last, I am finishing more books than last year, and the books I read last year were longer than the books I am reading this year.

I believe that it is past time I got caught up on reporting on my alphabet challenge.

A:

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Anonymous - Translated by Seamus Heaney.

So I cheated a little for my 'A' letter, sorry.

I've been interested in rereading Beowulf for a long time now. I previously read it as a senior in high school, and have seen a couple different movie versions over the past couple of years. The version that I got, was from reviews I'd read, one of the better translations of the story. It was also the first book I have ever had that was bilingual, which was just neat to look at.

The story was pretty much exactly how I had remembered it. I enjoyed all three of the major fights that Beowulf took part in. What I hadn't taken away beforehand though, was the change in tone between each fight. From a young warrior looking for more fame, to that of a king feeling predestined to end his life/legacy against an overwhelming foe. Going so far as to say only one will come out alive, and being ok with either result.

I'm really glad that I took the time to reread it. I enjoyed it much more reading it on my own just for the enjoyment of reading a good story, rather than being required to read it so a teacher can check it off.

S:

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

I picked up The Grapes of Wrath at the same Borders closeout sale that I got Frankenstein and The Once and Future King. I picked it up pretty much on a whim. It was the penguin classic, and by an author that I'd never read but always heard others talk about. I think my high school must have been the only one that didn't have to read Of Mice and Men in school.

I waited awhile to start this one, as I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from it. Without trying to complete the alphabet challenge, I doubt that I would have even considered picking it up.

I have to say this is probably my least favorite book that I have read in awhile. I can appreciate it for what it was, which I feel is a news story to the rest of the country not involved in the dust bowl. There were sections that I felt were very melodic and poetic at times, just flowed beautifully to me, but I just didn't like the story very much. The way the family reacts to each other, especially after SPOILER ALERT - the one brother just walks off down the river. The famiy was basically ho hum about it. Just really rubbed me the wrong way. I also didn't need to read about a turtle crossing the road for four pages - really? It's a turtle that had no bearing on the story at all. END SPOILER ALERT/RANT.

Maybe I just didn't 'get it', and that's fine. The writing was well done, and enjoyable in parts, just not my cup of tea.

T:

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Ever since Peter Jackson announced that The Hobbit was going to get made into a film the same way that The Lord of the Rings was done, I had been itching to reread the story. The Hobbit is by far one of my favorite books of all time, and I've had the pictured collection above since I was in middle school. It has gotten much use over the past 16/17 years.

I believe that this was my fourth time reading it, and the first since the the movies first came out. I had planned on waiting closer to the release date of the movie, but after The Grapes of Wrath, I really wanted a fun read.

I think that the story only gets better each time I read it. I had remembered pretty much every big plot point, but some of the smaller ones were only remembered after the fact. I took much more enjoyment in Bilbo's character arc this time around. When he returns to Bag End after the Battle of Five Armies and the end, he is a much different hobbit than the one that left late and without a cap after oversleeping.

Reading this again, only made me want December to get here quicker. I am so hyped for the first movie, and will be seeing it in IMAX on its midnight release . Then the long wait for the extended editions will begin...

Anonymous works for me as an "A" author - how else would you list it? ;-)

Hi. I am just catching up with this challenge after a bit of an absence. What a diverse list of books you have read so far. I am listening to the Dark Tower books at the moment and enjoying them more than I expected to. Interesting to see that you place the latest one in the middle. Unfortunately, I am already reading beyond that part, so will have to listen to it at the end.

In the forward, that is where King places it. Publication order it is last or eighth, but chronologically it is 4.5.

Didn't realize that I hadn't posted in here for awhile now. Part of that is that I have been duplicating up on some of the letters. I finished the Hunger Games series, read some more Lovecraft and King for Halloween reading, and read the newest James Bond after seeing Skyfall. So I have been reading, just not any authors that I could place here. I did read a lot in my Poe collection, and have now started reading from my Jules Verne collection. I plan on getting this fully updated sometime this week.

:) Noone says you cannot start a second one. Semi-kidding of course.

Looks like your challenge is shaping very well.

I apologize for not keeping my threads up to date with my actual reading. One of my goals for the new year. I will now catch this thread up to the end of 2012. Hopefully, going forward, I will keep this thread more up to date.

I will be putting the timeframe that I read them in each post.

C: (#2 & #3)

Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

(Read during August 2012)

I thought that these deserved a single post, as they are a straight continuation of the story from the first to the third.

As much as I wanted to wait and finish this series after I had completed my challenge here, I started to hear and read about people being cast for the Catching Fire movie. Thus my curiosity was started again and I decided to finish the series.

I liken these books a lot to Dan Brown's Robert Langdon trilogy. Quick plot points, short chapters, twists, and a fun read that's hard to put down. I don't want to put much in here and spoil the books, but I did like them a lot. I like how we are always getting the story from Katniss' point of view. It puts us in her shoes, and helps us to relate to the girl on fire. My major complaint was how they made her seem, to me, to be more naive to everything happening around her. I liked the more independent girl from Hunger Games.

I am looking forward to see how they do some of the special effects in the movies.

P:

The Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe

(Read during September 2012)

This was one of the first of B&N's Leatherbound collection that I picked up last November (along with the H.P. Lovecraft one). I can remember reading different selections from Poe in high school, and to have both his poems and stories in one collection was a major selling point.

My main reason for selecting this one next, was to have read the original stories of some movies I wanted to watch on Netflix.

Poetry:
I am not much of a poetry reader. I've only read Shel Silverstein on my own outside of required school reading. I had read The Raven in school, and I did enjoy reading it again. Although this time, I think it was all a dream.

Of the other poems, my favorites was Annabel Lee, followed by For Annie, and this stanza from A Dream is my favorite piece:

Ah! what is not a dream by day
To him whose eyes are cast
On things around him with a ray
Turned back upon the past?

I read that, and I thought how eloquently he said to not dwell on the past. I find it just amazing and am in awe of how authors can paint a picture or a feeling by their combination of words. Which Poe did many times when reading through this collection of poems.

Short Stories:

I read about a third of the collected short stories. I was suprised at the amount of different genres that Poe used. I had always thought of him as a strictly horror/noir author, and to read sci-fi, mystery, detective, and others along with the more horror-centric stories was unexpected. I was impressed with the story The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall. That he could write a believable story about personally travelling to the moon by oneself was very interesting. It got somewhat overdone with the scientific jargon, but was interesting.

Of the stories that I read, I enjoyed The Masque of the Red Death the most. I could easily see the story based upon the descriptions of the different color rooms. Afterwards, I watched the movie version with Vincent Price, which was fantastic.

Next up was my Halloween reads for October.

K: (#2)

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

(Read during October for Halloween)

Again a double up on a letter.

I thought that an unread Stephen King would make for a good Halloween read during October. This was not what I expected going in, and I believe that was what lead to my not being able to get into it for long lengths of time. I was expecting a collection of horror short stories, what I got was a collection of what I considered more thrilleresque stories. With that being said, I did enjoy it.

Each of the stories, looks at what a normal person would do when after experiencing a truely horrific event in their lives. The first story delves more into what happens to the mind after the event, while the last three stories look more at actions one takes after the experience. I enjoyed the last two stories more than I did the first two, with the last story - A Good Marriage - being my favorite.

In the afterward, King says that he wanted to write stories that look at ordinary people in extraordinary situations instead of extraordinary people in ordinary situations. I think that he succeeded in his task.

Also for Halloween, I read another story from my Lovecraft collection, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

I read this story for a couple of different reasons. First, I chose Lovecraft for part of my Halloween reading (just not sure of which story), and secondly, there is a movie on Netflix that interested me that is taken from this story.

Being that I have not read a lot of Lovecraft's work, I can't say where this should fit overall. I did really enjoy the story, and would put it just behind At the Moutains of Madness as my favorites. The story takes place over a period of roughly 10 years in the 1920's, and involves a young man's experiments with the occult. At one point, the story flashbacks to the late 1600's, to a point that very closely mirrors the events of the present day.

Like in other stories I've read by Lovecraft, there is a sense of foreboding throughout the story. The familiar vibe of not messing with things you don't understand, is also found here. I would highly recommend this to people who enjoy their horror with more of a slow build and not full of jump scares. Much of the story builds on what is not told or explained, which I enjoyed.

D: (#2)

Carte Blanche by Jeffery Deaver

(Read from 11/9/2012 - 11/20/2012)

I have never really been into the spy genre when reading books, even though it is one of my favorite type of movie to watch. Carte Blanche was my first time reading a Bond novel, and my first spy book since I read The Spy Who Came In From the Cold back in college.

I decided to read this one next after my dad and I went to see Skyfall during it's midnight opening. My dad has always been a huge James Bond fan, and I grew up watching all of the old ones with him. So when he suggested we go see it at midnight, I figured he was joking, but took him up on it immediately. After seeing the movie, and loving it, I decided to stay in Bond's world.

Having never read any of Fleming's Bond novels, I can not compare how Deaver's Bond stacks up to Fleming's Bond. What I can say is that the Bond that I liked from the movies, is easily seen in Deaver's Bond. There were many instances where a saying that I remembered from one of the movies showed up and put a grin on my face.

As for the story, it was typical of what I expect from Bond having seen all of the movies. Whether or not this is typical from the other novels, I don't know. The story sees Bond starting off on a small mission, to stop a train derailment, which ends up being the first breadcrumb in a larger terriost plot that says the deathtoll will be in the thousands.

I will say that the villian was very interesting. The villians have always been a major point in the movies, with the better ones always having the better villians. Severan Hydt is a man fascinated with death and decay. Giving the reasoning for his actions a different spin.

I'm glad that I read this, and was able to stay in Bond's world awhile longer after the movie. Even though it caused me to double on yet another letter.