Books in Waiting

Okay, I like to read. And I read eclectic stuff, whatever interests me at the moment. Usually fiction, as I love delving into new worlds, or continuing stories of other worlds and beloved characters.

I asked my daughter to take a picture of the shelf I have with books waiting to be read. I have all these, plus about five or six more upstairs.

~ click to enlarge, if you're bored ~

So, as you can see, some interesting stories waiting to be read. A Clive Barker book I have had for years that is just so long, and his writing can be daunting. But I will give it a go one day.

Also have some Final Destination books, Supernatural books, Robert Frost's book of Poems, book about classic game shows, Great Expectations from Dickens, a Murder, She Wrote novel. I could go on, but you get the gist. Lots to read.

Not a problem, mind you. Just sharing. Paperbackswap.com has been a great place for someone like me. I am able to unload old reads I don't mind parting with, books that others are looking to delve into. And in their place, I use the credit to get yet another book I am dying to read. Or, at least for now, add to my shelf.

Currently, I am reading The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I have loved the movie for years and the book is great. Eleanor is a fascinating character.

Oh, and in the picture, on the left, are pics of my daughter and youngest son from several years ago, as well as a statue of one of the Wild Things.

Hope I didn't bore you with this little glimpse into my life.

Day 11: Favorite Christmas Book

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (aka A Visit from St. Nicholas)

by Clement C. Moore



Right now, I am reading The Christmas TV Companion by Joanna Wilson.
Good book, with lots of quirky and interesting movies and specials mentioned!



I plan to read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens,
since I have never actually read the story itself.
Hopefully I will enjoy it!

Halloween Month: Creepy Classics - FREE

Classic literature is always great, and at Halloweentime it is fun to read some of the spookier works of fiction.

Presented here are the beginnings to some classics. At the end of this blog, I will tell you how to get any of these works for free!

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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

by Robert Louis Stevenson



Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was
never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in
discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and
yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was
to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye;
something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but
which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner
face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was
austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a
taste for vintages; and though he enjoyed the theater, had not
crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved
tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at
the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in
any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. "I incline
to Cain's heresy," he used to say quaintly: "I let my brother go
to the devil in his own way." In this character, it was
frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and
the last good influence in the lives of downgoing men. And to
such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never
marked a shade of change in his demeanour.

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Dracula

by Bram Stoker



Jonathan Harker's Journal

3 May. Bistritz.--Left Munich at 8:35 P.M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late. Buda-Pesth seems a wonderful place, from the glimpse which I got of it from the train and the little I could walk through the streets. I feared to go very far from the station, as we had arrived late and would start as near the correct time as possible.

The impression I had was that we were leaving the West and entering the East; the most western of splendid bridges over the Danube, which is here of noble width and depth, took us among the traditions of Turkish rule.

We left in pretty good time, and came after nightfall to Klausenburgh. Here I stopped for the night at the Hotel Royale. I had for dinner, or rather supper, a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty. (Mem. get recipe for Mina.) I asked the waiter, and he said it was called "paprika hendl," and that, as it was a national dish, I should be able to get it anywhere along the Carpathians.

I found my smattering of German very useful here, indeed, I don't know how I should be able to get on without it.

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Frankenstein

by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley



LETTER 1

To Mrs. Saville, England St. Petersburgh, Dec. 11th, 17--

You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings. I arrived here yesterday; and my first task is to assure my dear sister of my welfare, and increasing confidence in the success of my undertaking.

I am already far north of London; and as I walk in the streets of Petersburgh, I feel a cold northern breeze play upon my cheeks, which braces my nerves, and fills me with delight. Do you understand this feeling? This breeze, which has travelled from the regions towards which I am advancing, gives me a foretaste of those icy climes. Inspirited by this wind of promise, my day dreams become more fervent and vivid. I try in vain to be persuaded that the pole is the seat of frost and desolation; it ever presents itself to my imagination as the region of beauty and delight. There, Margaret, the sun is for ever visible, its broad disk just skirting the horizon, and diffusing a perpetual splendour. There--for with your leave, my sister, I will put some trust in preceding navigators--there snow and frost are banished; and, sailing over a calm sea, we may be wafted to a land surpassing in wonders and in beauty every region hitherto discovered on the habitable globe. Its productions and features may be without example, as the phenomena of the heavenly bodies undoubtedly are in those undiscovered solitudes. What may not be expected in a country of eternal light? I may there discover the wondrous power which attracts the needle; and may regulate a thousand celestial observations, that require only this voyage to render their seeming eccentricities consistent for ever. I shall satiate my ardent curiosity with the sight of a part of the world never before visited, and may tread a land never before imprinted by the foot of man. These are my enticements, and they are sufficient to conquer all fear of danger or death, and to induce me to commence this laborious voyage with the joy a child feels when he embarks in a little boat, with his holiday mates, on an expedition of discovery up his native river. But, supposing all these conjectures to be false, you cannot contest the inestimable benefit which I shall confer on all mankind to the last generation, by discovering a passage near the pole to those countries, to reach which at present so many months are requisite; or by ascertaining the secret of the magnet, which, if at all possible, can only be effected by an undertaking such as mine.

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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

by Washington Irving



FOUND AMONG THE PAPERS OF THE LATE DIEDRICH KNICKERBOCKER.

A pleasing land of drowsy head it was, Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye; And of gay castles in the clouds that pass, Forever flushing round a summer sky.--CASTLE OF INDOLENCE.

In the bosom of one of those spacious coves which indent the eastern shore of the Hudson, at that broad expansion of the river denominated by the ancient Dutch navigators the Tappan Zee, and where they always prudently shortened sail and implored the protection of St. Nicholas when they crossed, there lies a small market town or rural port, which by some is called Greensburgh, but which is more generally and properly known by the name of Tarry Town. This name was given, we are told, in former days, by the good housewives of the adjacent country, from the inveterate propensity of their husbands to linger about the village tavern on market days. Be that as it may, I do not vouch for the fact, but merely advert to it, for the sake of being precise and authentic. Not far from this village, perhaps about two miles, there is a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquillity.

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The Black Cat

by Edgar Allan Poe



For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not -- and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul.FOR the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not - and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul. My immediate purpose is to place before the world, plainly, succinctly, and without comment, a series of mere household events. In their consequences, these events have terrified - have tortured - have destroyed me. Yet I will not attempt to expound them. To me, they have presented little but Horror - to many they will seem less terrible than barroques. Hereafter, perhaps, some intellect may be found which will reduce my phantasm to the common-place - some intellect more calm, more logical, and far less excitable than my own, which will perceive, in the circumstances I detail with awe, nothing more than an ordinary succession of very natural causes and effects.

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Real, paper books to hold and flip through are irreplaceable. But, with busy lives and limited time, it is often hard to find time to spend with a good book, much less a classic novel. Here is a way around that problem!

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meme of the day: 6 Random Things

Okay, so Darius at Adventures in Nerdliness tagged me yesterday, but I was all busy busy with Theme Thursday. Here is the meme:

The Rules
1) Link to the person who tagged you.
2) Post the rules on your blog.
3) Write six random things about yourself.
4) Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5) Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

So, here's my randomness...

1) While not yet 40, I have three artificial joints, due to extreme deterioration stemming from orthopedic issues at birth.

2) I had Scarlet fever when I was really little. Don't remember anything about it.

3) I really like coffee. A lot. I would choose it over food ... if, you know, for some reason I was put in that bizarre situation.

4) That said, I don't like beer. I have tried to like it, believe me. Just don't.

5) I'll watch any movie once, read any book once. You really never know what you are going to like, perhaps even love, until you give it a go. The whole "don't judge a book by it's cover" cliche, but so true. And I have to finish it once I start it, even if I don't end up liking it.

6) I have trouble writing sometimes, due to a little 'demon' that lives in my brain. Said demon is an amalgamation of family and people from my past, telling me it is pointless, a waste of time, why bother. I think am winning the battle, however.


Now, for my tag-ees...

1) Cal (Calvin's Canadian Cave of Cool)

2) Gilligan (Retrospace)

3) wiec? (When is Evil Cool?)

4) Curious George (TVANDCELLULOID)

5) Jason Soto (Invasion of the B Movies)

6) subtorp77 (basstuna)


As Darius pointed out: 6 rules, 6 things, 6 tags - 666 - Horrorific Serendipity!

25 Things About Me (You Probably Didn't Care to Know) hahaha

25 Things

Not tagging anyone - if you haven't already done this meme, that is your choice.


1) I debated not doing this, as I don't get very personal with many people, much less dozens of people on Facebook. But so many others did their own, so I said "What the hell..."

2) I have no middle name. My two brothers don't either.

3) I was born with a condition called Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita and spent the first two years of my life in a hip/leg cast. Surgery at about age 2 corrected as much as they could at the time and then I learned to walk.

4)By the time I hit my 30s, my hips and a knee were really deteriorated. Over five years, I have had one knee and both hips replaced. The knee was BY FAR the worst to recover from.

5) I fear I will have more issues related to all of this down the road.

6) Regardless of all this, or maybe in spite of it, I love taking walks.

7) Even with all the hospital stays and such, I still HATE needles.

8) 1995 was an amazing year of change for me. I started the year off getting engaged and by the end of December I had moved (4 times - really!), transferred to a full-time position in a new store, was married, had an 11-year-old stepson and a newborn daughter.

9) 1998/1999 was the toughest year of my life. If you have ever dealt with an inconsolable, colicky newborn, you may understand.

10) I have been an atheist all my life, but didn't realize my belief (or lack thereof) had a "name" until I was in high school.

11) I don't believe in an afterlife, either, or in reincarnation. But I do believe the energy inside us, our "electricity", isn't destroyed any more than our bodies are after death. Whereas our physical bodies slowly revert back to other matter over time, I think this energy inside us is released as well, back into the world. Not into any specific form, just out there, part of everything once more.

12) One of my grandmothers was in a nursing home at the end of her life and was quite depressed. I visited, but not often. Sometime after she died, I found a card she had sent me and reread it. I only then "got it" that she was very lonely and looking for company, and will always regret that the 16/17-year-old me wasn't able to "get it" when she was still alive.

13) My other grandmother taught me and my brother plastic canvas (sort of like an easier needlepoint craft) and I still do it to this day.

14) I wear glasses, without them I think I am bordering on legally blind.

15) I love horror movies and stories. Love being scared.

16) I have written two novel-length stories.

17) I am continually amazed at how lucky I was to have met my wife. It was a fluke of timing that we met and there were leaps on both our parts to be together. But it was the best thing that ever happened to me. She is a beautiful person, inside and out.

18) I am also very lucky to have become stepfather to one of the greatest people I know. He is a great man with a love of life and big heart and I am beyond proud to be able to call him my son.

19) I am constantly amazed by how much faster time goes as I get older. My kids are growing up so quickly. Too quickly. But it is thrilling to watch them become themselves.

20) I really like coffee. And I know I am addicted to it, but I am okay with that.

21) I have been running a small, daily trivia game since 2000. Sort of a hobby, but I have met some really great people through the game.

22) My favorite TV show of all time is "Friday the 13th: The Series". It may not have the best effects and acting and all that, but I still love it.

23) I don't believe being family gives someone the right to treat you worse than they would a stranger.

24) I have a hard time with "forgive and forget". I have a hard time forgetting and that, as much as I would like to change it, gets in the way of truly forgiving.

25) I haven't read as much classical literature as I want, and I am going to change that. I already have a copy of "Great Expectations" waiting for me. Can't wait!