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Book Lust and More Book Lust by Nancy Pearl

I picked these two reference books up last week at the library.  I am a sucker for lists of books that I should be reading.  These two did not disappoint.  The author picked specific authors or gave some examples of good reads based on topics. I love making lists.  My mother thinks I am weird.  I've always loved making lists.  Lists for school projects, lists of movies I've read, lists of good restaurants, lists of great reads, lists of bad reads, etc.  These books really allowed for some good reading lists.

Examples of some great categories:

  • Famous Alices
  • Armchair Travel
  • Books About Books
  • Dinosaur Hunting
  • King Arthur
  • People You Ought to Meet

At this point I probably have a "To Read" list of over 2000 books.  I'll never get to all of them, but that's kind of the beauty of the lsits.  I tend to pick books based on my mood.  I have a list of books to look for every time I go to the library.  I find a book, review the summary or check out the cover.  If it strikes my fancy, I check it out.  Once I get it home, I start in to the book.  If the book doesn't catch me within about 40 pages, I close it for good.  I don't feel the need to finish every book I start.  If I don't like it, I move on to the next one.  So every time I go to the library I usually get 10+ books.  Out of those books, on average, I finihs about 6 of them.  My ridiculously long list offers lots of selections.

I've gotten at least 400 book selections out of these reference books.  But next week, I will probably get another reading list book and add to the "To Read" list.  And that's all part of the fun of reading!

tags: lists, Nancy Pearl, reading behavior
categories: Book Reviews
Thursday 11.18.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

I'll admit it... I am very resistant to the Jane Austenesque books.  I love Jane Austen and cannot imagine some other author destroying her original works.  I love her descriptions, the character word play, the predictable but still so enjoyable plot twists.  I love everything about Jane Austen.  Along with my addiction to Jane Austen, I love zombies.  Anything about zombies really.  Even those Z-grade horror movies.  I love zombies. And so, a few months ago I finally picked up and read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Steve Hockensmith.  Fine, fine, I actually enjoyed it.  I found Hockensmith's blend of zombie inspired text with Austen's own words entertaining.  It didn't destroy Jane Austen... not at all.  In fact, it actually added to my Austen universe.

Last week, while browsing at the library, I ran across the sequel, er.... prequel.  Dawn of the Dreadfuls opens four years before Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  The book details the Bennet sisters' rise to warrior status.  The dialogue and writing style perfectly mirrors Austen.  She could have written this book.  I'm actually kind of disappointed that she didn't.  But that's okay.  I loved it anyway.

Plus both books have fun illustrations of zombies and dismemberment.  Always a bonus.

Now I'm wondering if I should try the other revisions of classics.  Maybe I should tackle Sense and Sensability and Sea Monsters.... Check back with me in a few weeks.

tags: Jane Austen, Steven Hockensmith, zombies
categories: Book Reviews
Tuesday 11.09.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
Comments: 1
 
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