JonHutchings 2014 Category Challenge

I'm giving this challenge a try for the second year in a row. I was unhappy with my totals from last year, but plan on getting closer to my goal in 2014.

I've kind of stolen the idea for my categories from PolymathicMonkey by having categories that correspond to my favourite television shows.

1. The Walking Dead: Post-Apocalyptic Visions (2 of 5)
2. The Big Bang Theory: Scientific and/or theoretical texts (0 of 5)
3. American Horror Story: Horror/ghost novels/stories (5 of 5)
4. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Books from The Essential Man's Library: 100 Must-Read Books, published by the Artofmanliness.com (3 of 5)
5. The Simpsons: Books and stories that have been referenced or alluded to in an episode of the Simpsons (5 of 5)
6. Tour of Duty: Fictional and non-fictional works about war (5 of 5)
7. Game of Thrones: Fantasy/ magical realism (3 of 5)
8. Mad Men: Books written or set in the 1960s (3 of 5)
9. Hell on Wheels: Westerns and/or books set in the 1860s (3 of 5)
10. C.S.I.: True Crime/Murder and crime thrillers (4 of 5)
11. How I Met Your Mother: Autobiography/Memoir (4 of 5)
12. Smallville: Superheroes and/or graphic novels (2 of 5)
13. The Twilight Zone: Science Fiction/Mystery (3 of 5)
14. The Littlest Hobo: A category for books that can't seem to find a home elsewhere * (6 of 6)

I just started watching American Horror Story this year. I still have to go back and watch the previous seasons. I hope you have better luck with your challenge this year. You have some fun categories set up.

Looking forward to seeing what you fill your categories with!

Your Hell on Wheels category looks interesting, I'm curious to see what your pick will be.

Thanks! I will have some of my potential reads for each category added soon. I'm fairly pleased with the categories I've picked out and have been going through my TBR stacks, trying to see what fits where.

2 The first season of AHS is the best. Each season is a completely different story with different characters (though they reuse some of the same actors in new roles). Season one was about a family who moves into a haunted/cursed house and the fates that have befallen all of those unlucky enough to have lived in the house. The second season wasn't bad, but involved aliens and an insane asylum run by the Catholic church... to me, it seemed a little out there. But still, check them both out for sure.

Great categories--I'll look forward to seeing what you end up reading :)

The Walking Dead: Post-Apocalyptic Visions

Already Read

1. Red Hill by Jamie McGuire
2. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
3.
4.
5.

Possible Reads:
The Passage by Justin Cronin
The Twelve by Justin Cronin
Y: The Last Man by Brian Vaughan
A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter Miller
The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
The Postman by David Brin
World War Z by Max Brooks
Blindness by Jose Saramago
The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
The Last Man by Mary Shelley
Children of Men by P.D. James

The Big Bang Theory: Scientific and/or theoretical texts

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Possible Reads:

The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene
A Brief History of Timeby Stephen Hawking
Religion and the Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas

American Horror Story: Horror/ghost novels/stories

1. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
2. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
3. The Ghost Stories of Ambrose Bierce by Ambrose Bierce
4. The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton
5. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James

Possible Reads:

It by Stephen King
Hell House by Richard Matheson
House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: Books from The Essential Man's Library: 100 Must-Read Books and/or The Essential Man's Library: 50 Fictional Adventure Books, published by the Artofmanliness.com

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (100 Must Read Books)
2. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (100 Must Read Books)
3. The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells (100 Must Read Books)
4.
5.

Planned Reads:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
White Noise by Don DeLillo
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Boys of Summer by Roger Kahn

The Simpsons: Books and stories that have been referenced or alluded to in an episode of the Simpsons

1. The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet (Parodied in "The Devil and Homer Simpson" from Treehouse of Horror IV)
2. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson (Parodied in "Bad Dream House" from Treehouse of Horror I)
3. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories by Richard Matheson (Parodied in "Terror at 5 1/2 Feet" from Treehouse of Horror IV)
4. It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz (Parodied in "It's the Grand Pumpkin Millhouse" from Treehouse of Horror XIX)
5. King Kong by Delos W. Lovelace (Parodied in "King Homer" in Treehouse of Horror III)

Planned Reads:

The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe

Tour of Duty: Fictional and non-fictional works about war

1. The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico
2. Born on the fourth of July by Ron Kovic
3. Civil War Stories by Ambrose Bierce
4. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
5. A Midnight Clear by William Wharton

Planned Reads:

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
The Thin Red Line by James Jones
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Game of Thrones: Fantasy/ magical realism

1. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
4.
5.

Planned Reads:

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Mad Men: Books written in or set in the 1960s

1. The Graduate by Charles Webb (Published in 1963)
2. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (Published in 1967)
3. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin (Published in 1967)
4.
5.

Planned Reads:

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
11/22/63 by Stephen King
Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy
Mute Witness by Robert L. Pike

Hell on Wheels: Westerns and/or books set in the 1860s

1. Shane by Jack Schaefer
2. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
3. Dead Man's Walk by Larry McMurtry
4.
5.

Planned Reads:

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
True Grit by Charles Portis
Hondo by Louis L'Amour
Deadwood by Pete Dexter
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by Ron Hansen
The Old Gringo by Carlos Fuentes
Desperadoes by Ron Hanson

C.S.I.: True Crime/ murder and crime thrillers

1. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi
2. In the Heat of the Night by John Ball
3. The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer
4. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
5.

Planned Reads:
All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry

How I Met Your Mother: Autobiography/Memoir

1. Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
2. Waging Heavy Peace by Neil Young
3. I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie by Pamela Des Barres
4. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin
5.

Planned Reads:
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
After Visiting Friends by Michael Hainey
The Last Jew of Treblinka by Chil Rajchman

Smallville: Superheroes and/or graphic novels

1. Cyanide and Happiness by Kris Wilson
2. Ice Cream and Sadness by Kris Wilson
3.
4.
5.

Planned Reads:

Daredevil: Man Without Fear by Frank Miller
New Avengers: Volume 1: Breakout by Brian Michael Bendis
Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb
Punisher MAX: Volume 1: In the Beginning by Joseph DeWees
Kingdom Come by Mark Waid
Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore

The Twilight Zone: Science Fiction/Mystery

1. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
2. The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White
3. The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson
4.
5.

Planned Reads:
Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary by Carol Serling

The Littlest Hobo: A category for books that can't seem to find a home elsewhere

1. Special Edward by Eric Walters
2. Execution Poems by George Elliott Clarke
3. 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose
4. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
5. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Extras:

6. New Canadian Kid by Dennis Foon

Planned Reads:

1. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

First I should start off by saying that I love Neil Gaiman's writing. His ability to create an environment rife with such a sense of magical realism is a rare talent. This is his newest novel and I read it in just two days. Great story which deals with the idea of the reliability of memory (particularly childhood memories). This is a fairly short, but great novel which I would recommend to anyone.

2. The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico

While barely even classifying as a novella at just over 60 pages, the Snow Goose contains more symbolism than many books ten times it's size. A great little story about the cruelty of mankind, who shun a physically deformed man who moves to a desolate lighthouse to be alone. The man has such a kind soul, however, that he cannot resist when a call for help goes out to anyone owning a boat to travel to Dunkirk in order to rescue the British army who were trapped on the beaches.

3. Red Hill by Jamie McGuire

A story of the zombie apocalypse. It comes quickly and wipes out much of the human race. This is the story of 3 survivors and their friends and loved ones as they do whatever it takes to survive this horrible new world. If you are into post-apocalyptic literature, then you should definitely check out this book.

That's three interesting books you have listed, I love Neil Gaiman as well and have The Ocean at the End of the Lane on my TBR, I read The Snow Goose years ago and remember loving it, and I love zombies so I am adding Red Hill to my wishlist.

25 Thanks! I highly recommend moving The Ocean at the End of the Lane further up the list as it's a quick read, but highly enjoyable. Red Hill was quite enjoyable as a zombie novel and you should definitely look it up.

Actually Gaiman has since sneaked another little one on his list called Fortunately the Milk which is positively adorable.

27 Oh Really? I had no idea that he had published anything since The Ocean at the End of the Lane! I'll have to be on the lookout for it. Thanks!

4. I just finished reading this little YA novel as I'm teaching it for the first time this year. Cute little book with a positive message. It teaches people that absolutely anyone could possess a learning exceptionality and that it isn't at all an indicator of your level of intelligence.

We have a lot of the Orca books in our library for our "reluctant readers." It gives them an opportunity to complete a short book and feel a little accomplishment and maybe someday be able to tackle more.

@30 We have a fairly large collection of the Orca books in our school's library as well. You're right, they are great for the 'reluctant reader!' The kids in my class mostly seem to be enjoying this book as well.

I think "which I would recommend to anyone." sums up Gaiman quite well. He seems so accessible.

@32 He really is! There is something about his prose that just makes you unable to put his books down.

4 I have several books listed under the Hell on Wheels category if you want to take a look... I can't wait to start reading some of these. One of my favourite westerns was also The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

@34 Thanks for the update! Looks like an interesting selection, I've got Blood Meridian on my TBR. Will be back to see what you think of it!

Welcome back! I saw a lot of great books listed in your planned reads. Looking forward to following your reading again this year!

Lots of interesting books in your categories! Will be most interested in your Westerns category. I also have A Brief History of Time earmarked for sometime this year. Have fun with your challenge!

5. The Graduate by Charles Webb

I decided to give Scribd.com a try as you get a free months subscription when you sign up. The selection of books is somewhat limited, but I did find The Graduate on there. I really enjoyed the film starring Dustin Hoffman and decided to check it out.

Now, first I have to say that I did actually enjoy this book... However, this is one of the veeeery few instances when I would say that the film version is better than the novel. In my opinion, if you have seen the film, you don't need to read the novel.

Ben comes home after graduating from an Ivy League school, disillusioned and bored with life. He spends his days drinking and lazing around the house. His father's business partner's wife tries to seduce him and he eventually lets her. This kicks off an affair that lasts months, until he meets her daughter. He falls for her, but is forbidden from seeing her by Mrs. Robinson. If you've seen the film then you know how it ends. Also, I could not read this novel without a soundtrack of Simon and Garfunkel playing through my head.

Also, I found the protagonist, Ben, to be very Caulfield-esque. He is whiny, immature and generally a pain to everyone around him.

PS: Thanks everyone! Glad to be back and I am super-excited to get to some of the things on my planned reads list.

6. Execution Poems by George Elliott Clarke

A book of poetry about George and Rufus Hamilton, two black men who were hanged for the murder of a Fredericton cab driver in 1949 written by their cousin. The poetry is dark, bleak and reminds us what tragic motivators racism and poverty are. While a little disturbing to read at times, this is a great book of poetry which won the Governor General's Literary Award in 2001.

>38 JonHutchings: I found the protagonist, Ben, to be very Caulfield-esque. He is whiny, immature and generally a pain to everyone around him.
Oh no! Maybe if I read the book with Dustin Hoffman in my mind as Ben it will help.

7. Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

Another book I found on Scribd. Sh*t My Dad Says recalls Justin Halpern's childhood and 20's when he was living with his father. His dad, a doctor of nuclear medicine, has one of the foulest, and funniest, mouths around. His advice is hilarious, but also makes sense in it's own sort of way. It's a fun, quick read and worth checking out for a few laughs. It is way better than the sitcom that was created from it which starred William Shatner.

>41 aliciamay: Maybe, but I doubt it.

->42 JonHutchings:
I used to follow him on Twitter - his dad is quite a character!

8. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Great piece of Gothic fiction. Gray is a handsome but vain young man who sells his soul to stay youthful and vibrant forever while a portrait of him ages and suffers the effects of his sinful life. As Gray realizes that his wish has been granted, he carries out increasingly lurid acts of depravity knowing that he will still retain his youthful vigor. Interesting story that is well realized by Wilde in this, his only, novel.

Oh Lord that is a terrifying cover! Good book, though. I myself just read it recently.

Cool! Did you read it for One Book, One LibraryThing? I had it on my TBR for a while now and when I saw that there was a site wide group-read I figured this was as good a time as any!

Actually, I read it for the January RandomCAT challenge, as an example of a "two-faced" character, but that was a neat coincidence that it ended up being the One Book, One LibraryThing selection around the same time.

@ 45 -- That cover made me jump! Great book, though -- glad you liked it! :)

That is some cover for Dorian Gray! Had me thinking at first that someone had written one of those zombie books - like Pride Prejudice and Zombies. ;-)

>50 lkernagh: I was thinking the same RB !

ETA: I mean Lori, of course ...

9. Shane by Jack Schaefer

Considered by many to be a seminal work of the western genre and I can certainly see why. In Shane we see many of the elements that have gone on to become staples of our depictions of the Old West. We have a stranger dressed in black who comes through a small settlement and stays long enough to help the locals deal with the evil big-time rancher who's trying to push them around. We see a young boy who develops a kind of hero worship for the mysterious gunslinger. There are also themes of love, loyalty, respect and keeping your word. Oh, and don't forget the knock-'em-down, drag-'em-out fight scenes that are described quite nicely and the, of course, obligatory climatic gun duel. I have to say that I enjoyed this book and think that this was a good intro into my western challenge.

10. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

I saw the super-creepy movie years ago and recently saw that the 40th anniversary edition of the novel was available on Scribd, so I decided to give it a read as part of my horror challenge. I'm really glad I did. The novel is just as good as the movie and you get a little more insight into some of the characters, particularly Father Karras, who finds himself lacking in faith and unsure of what to think of the phenomenon that had taken possession of Regan. The only character that I didn't really like was the homicide detective, Kinderman, who talked too much but said too little, if that makes sense. All in all though, if you are a fan of the horror genre of fiction, this book does hold up pretty well, even over forty years later.

Great! Thanks for that cover! Now I can go to bed and try to go to sleep with that image. You cruel, cruel person!

Yikes! Going back to look at the Dorian Gray cover to make me feel better ;) That's good that the book still holds up after all these years.

>53 JonHutchings: I can't read or watch anything on this theme, I'm literally petrified, no kidding :( Glad that you liked it though.

>56 electrice: The theme of demonic possession? Or the horror genre in general? This book had a certainly had a different kind of creepiness to it than most scary stories that I've read.

11. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

I was familiar with the premise of this book as I saw the 2004 film version, and the term 'Stepford Wive' has entered into our own lexicon in the years since the book's release. I found Levin's writing to be quite enjoyable. It's fast paced and suspensful, and I enjoyed the main character's (Joanna Eberhart's) gradual realization of what is going on in Stepford. The novel holds up fairly well, though a few ideas and references have become a little antiquated since 1972. I think the story may have even more impact if you are unfamiliar with it before reading the novel. Overall, if you like a good thriller and mystery novel which is a short read, check this one out.

->54 mamzel:
Haha - ditto that!

>57 JonHutchings: The theme of demonic possession, I can't for the life of me watch it, read it or talk about it. Give me any day, horror like Saw or Silence of the Lamb, I'll be afraid but not to the point of no rational thinking ...

>58 JonHutchings: The Stepford Wife, I've seen the movie with Nicole Kidman, crazy but fun in a kind of way ;)

>60 electrice: Yeah, there's something scary about the thought of a being of pure evil taking over your body with nothing that you can do to stop it.

That was a pretty good movie, though I hear that the original from the 70's is better. The book is a quick read and worth checking out. It's in a 3rd person limited point of view and it's fun to watch Joanna piece together the horrifying truth behind Stepford.

12. Waging Heavy Peace by Neil Young

I have been a big Neil Young fan for almost as long as I can remember. "Old Man" is actually the first song that I have a distinct memory of hearing while sitting in the backseat of my parents' car, though I remember thinking at the time that the singer of the song must be an old woman!

Anyway, I did enjoy this book, though I found Young's writing to be all over the place. It is a sprawling book with no clear focus, essentially Neil just writes about whatever tickles his fancy that day. I did enjoy a lot of the stories of his adventures in LA throughout the 60s and 70s and enjoyed learning about the processes that went behind the making of his albums. He did seem to try too hard when pushing his projects, LincVolt and Pono. I can appreciate what he's trying to do with these creations, but it seemed in parts that he was just using his book as his soapbox to tell us what he's trying to sell. All in all though, if you are a fan of Young's work than you will take away some interesting facts and anecdotes about an artist that has historically been very reclusive when it comes to his private life.

13. The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer

So I cheated a little in my challenge in that it is not the main character of this book who is Asian, but the antagonist. But whatever, his name is in the title so that's good enough for me.

I enjoyed this book despite the fact that it has numerous problems. Firstly, Sir Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie are very obviously rip-offs of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, right down to the narrative technique of having the story told from the doctor's point of view rather than the protagonist's.

Secondly, when looked at from a modern perspective, this book comes across as super-racist. One must bear in mind the historical context of the book and realize that it was written a little over a hundred years ago. The Yellow Peril was a real fear in England and other parts of Europe and, as such, we have the stereotypical depictions of the Asian races whenever Dr. Fu Manchu or his cronies are described.

The last problem of the book is that it is not a true novel. It was a compiling of a long running serial that appeared in one of the papers of the time. As such, each "chapter" is its own adventure consisting of its own action and climax, which makes for a very exciting read, but not one which has the depth of a true novel. There is no real character development, etc.

What I did like about this book was Dr. Fu Manchu, who could be considered one of the first ever evil super-villain scientists ever, and the template to so many characters who came after him in both novels and in comic books. He was an interesting enough character that there are 14 volumes in this series and in the 70s Marvel even bought the rights to Fu Manchu to use him in their comic books! (He was the supposed father of Shang-Chi: The Master of Kung-Fu). If you want a rollicking good ride of an action/adventure story and you can forgive the blatant racism as a feature of its time, than this may be worth checking out.

14. 12 Angry Men by Reginald Rose

Great play about the American justice system. I saw the Henry Fonda version of the film some time ago and it sort of stuck with me. I recently had the opportunity to read the play with the screenplay was based off of and it didn't disappoint. None of the jurors are given names, but that doesn't take away from their effectiveness as characters. Juror number 8 is the focus of the play as he is the only juror who votes 'not guilty' in the trial of a young man accused of killing his abusive father. He doesn't necessarily believe in the boy's innocence, but he is the most objective of the jurors and does believe that anyone on trial does deserve a jury to give them a fair shake.

>64 JonHutchings: "Twelve Angry Men" is SUCH a good movie! Didn't realize it was based on a play...I'll have to look out for it now!

>65 christina_reads: I didn't either, until recently. Apparently it was even nominated for an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay back in the 50s. If you like the movie, definitely look for the play!

15. Cyanide and Happiness by Kris Wilson

Bizarre internet cartoons that have been printed in book form. I found roughly 50-60% of these cartoons humorous, and I have a pretty out there sense of humour. The rest just seemed too depressing for me.

16. Ice Cream and Sadness by Kris Wilson

From the creators of Cyanide and Happiness. More of the same really, though I found this collection to be funnier than the first.

17. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

I saw the movie starring Daniel Radcliffe when it came out a couple of years ago and found it really frightening in that creepy, edge of your seat, ghost pops out of nowhere kind of way and have wanted to read the novel it was based on ever since.

I found that they had changed some things from the novel for the film, most notably the ending. I also found the movie version more frightening than I did the novel, though I must admit that I gave up reading it one night when Kipps entered the nursery of Eel Marsh House for the first time. I found that Hill did a fantastic job of building a foreboding atmosphere in her novel. The marsh and Eel Marsh House were described in such minute detail that it becomes almost stifling for the reader to continue. A dirt path, surrounded by quicksand-like marsh which disappears under the sea during high tide, rendering the place inaccessible for hours at a time, and is also prone to sudden intrusions of impenetrable fog is the only route to take to get to Eel Marsh House. So once you are at the house, you are trapped there with its ghostly inhabitants for hours before you can get out again. If that doesn't make you at least a little claustrophobic, I don't know what will!

All-in-all, this is one of those rare occasions that I think I liked the film version better, however, that being said, I still think that this is one of the best novels that I have read so far this year... I just really loved that movie!

I have a love-hate relationship with books turned into movies. I have The Woman in Black on my future reading list but now that I know the movie has a different ending - and that you found the movie more frightening - I might just jump in with watching the movie and for-go reading the book. That will probably save me from being a frustrated movie viewer.

They are both very good in their own ways. The important thing is to go in to each recognizing that there are differences. While the film creates suspense in that jumpy sort of way that ghost movies do, the novel uses the use of imagery and the building of atmosphere to do so. I would recommend both, but if I had to pick one it would be the movie.

Loved the 12 Angry Men movie - fairly sure that I've read the play too. If I ever need a jury, I hope they are all like juror #8.

When I volunteered at my children's elementary school, I was struck by how the principal always listened very carefully to both sides of an altercation before rendering a decision. When she was called for jury duty, one of the teachers complained that she should get out of it because of her position. One of the other teachers (and I really agreed with her) said that if she was ever put on trial she hoped that a person as educated and impartial as her was on the jury!

I agree, in order for the justice system to work the way that it's supposed to it needs to have impartial jurors who are able to look at all of the facts presented objectively to come to a conclusion as to a person's guilt or innocence.

18. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

The timeless tale of love and loss.

19. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

Classic coming-of-age story. Greasers vs. Socs.

20. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I always loved the Walt Disney version of this book as a child. The book is OK... I can see why it's a classic, but sadly I think that I have just outgrown Wonderland.

>77 JonHutchings: The children's literature professor and I were weeding the children's lit collection and came across a book of essays that had an allusion to that book in its title the other day. I don't remember for certain if we kept the book or not, but we probably did since most of the essay books were kept.

21. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

I went from never having read an Ira Levin book to reading two in the past few months. I really enjoyed The Stepford Wives and now I have to say that I enjoyed Rosemary's baby even more! If you've ever seen the 1968 film version starring Mia Farrow, it is very similar to the novel. The thing I liked most about the novel was that you get to see Rosemary piece together the entire plot against her, becoming increasingly paranoid and afraid as the novel went on. Very interesting book that was the highest selling horror novel of the decade and helped to kick off the popularity of mysticism and occultism in America in the 1960s and 70s.

Did you see that NBC will have a 4-part mini series based on the book?

Cool! I had heard that one was planned but never really looked into it. I just read the synopsis and it sounds good. It seems that they have incorporated at least one major change from the novel, it will take place in Paris as opposed to New York City. I am intrigued now though, so I will definitely be checking it out. Thanks!

22. I'm With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie by Pamela Des Barres

I just have to say that I loved this book. I have always been a big fan of classic rock and have always had a keen interest in the 1960s. Pamela Des Barres was in the midst of the L.A. scene during the height of the swinging 60s and has become probably the best known groupie of all time. She tells the story of her zany and sensuous life. Pamela has been with many of the biggest stars that rock has ever known, with Mick Jagger and Jimmy Page chief among them. She even lived in Frank Zappa's house and helped to raise his kids! Through Pamela you get an inside view into the rock n roll lifestyle before it became dominated by large record companies and commercialism, a simpler time which saw people indulge in free love and obscene amounts of drugs with no thought of tomorrow. Unfortunately, this lifestyle saw a lot of the cast members of Pamela's story check out long before their time, but it is part of the mystique of this incredible era. Apparently Des Barres followed this book with several others memoirs, which I may have to check out before too long.

Try A Kiss Before Dying if you like Ira Levin -- it's a perfect noir tale. I loved it.

>77 JonHutchings: I read Alice in Wonderland too in March and I must say that I came to the same conclusion as you. I never read it being a child and I fear that it's one of those that must be read at the appropriate age for the first time. All the same, I'm happy to have read it.

>79 JonHutchings: Rosemary's Baby will be a miss for the same reasons as The Exorcist :)

>84 electrice: Yeah, I figured as much... Though there isn't much of any actual possession in the novel, it's more about Rosemary's slow discovery that her husband and neighbours and trying to trick her into giving birth to the Anti-Christ. It is an interesting book, but not really one that is too horrifying by any means.

23. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

Cute coming of age novel about a boy and a girl who have been neighbours since they were seven. The most interesting thing about the book is its point of view, with each chapter alternating from Bryce's and Juli's perspectives. This really does a nice job of demonstrating the unreliability of first person narration, as we see things from one character's point of view and then realize that they had things all wrong in the next chapter from the other's point of view.

Bruce thinks Juli's a pain while she's had a crush on him from the first time she laid eyes on him. As the two kids get older, however, they become more mature and begin to see people for who they are on the inside. A story with a really positive message for readers of any age.

24. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

The story of the Manson Family murders told from the perspective of the lead prosecutor of one of the most bizarre trials in American history. Bugliosi does a great job of explaining each aspect of the crime and the subsequent trial, as well as giving in-depth descriptions of the members of 'The family'. The fact that Charles Manson was able to mentally dominate the young men and women to the point where they were willing to kill for him without any second thought is chilling. The ensuing trial most unlike anything that had been seen before, the defendants were cast out of the courtroom several times for their behaviour. The judge of the case even starting wearing a gun under his robe for his own personal safety. Very interesting book about a very unfortunate incident in American history.

25. Born On the Fourth of July by Ron Kovic

The memoir of a young man who was paralyzed while serving his country in Vietnam. It details his disillusionment with his country and government upon returning to the United States and witnessing the conditions which war veterans were forced to live with in the V.A. Hospitals and in society at large. Good read about a sad chapter in American history.

The Pamela Des Barres book sounds like it should be paired with the Cameron Crowe movie, Almost Famous. A film which I absolutely adore so should think about adding the book to my wishlist.

Actually, Des Barres was the inspiration for Kate Hudson`s character In Almost Famous. If I remember correctly, Des Barres actually went to the film premiere and Hudson asked her ``how did I do.`` PS: Almost famous is actually one of my favourite movies as well.

26. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

I have read a fair bit of post-apocalyptic literature in my time, but I think that this may be one of the best I've ever read. I have seen both film versions, The Omega Man and Will Smith's I Am Legend, which are both good movies, but prepare yourself for a novella that differs in many significant ways from either of those versions. The novella really centres around the idea of what it would be like to be the last person left alive. What that would do to you psychologically and emotionally. Robert Neville appears to be on the brink of madness several times in this short book, and other times he drowns himself in alcohol in order to keep himself from thinking about it at all. One of the major themes that comes about in the book is the idea of what constitutes normalcy, and several times Neville comments on how you can get used to pretty much any horrible thing if you see it enough. The ending is very different from the film versions, and while I liked it, I felt that it was a bit too rushed. A lot of things end up happening very quickly towards the end of the novel, but this is the only thing that prevented me from giving it five stars.

>91 JonHutchings: Good review, I love the movie version with Will Smith, the nerve-racking atmosphere and the horrid loneliness that he's fighting against. Different ending ? It's a go :)

27. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Another classic piece of children's fantasy that I can't believe that I haven't read until now. Again, I have been familiar with the story from the film version my entire life, but I'm glad that I finally got around to reading the original story. I liked this story better than Alice in Wonderland but I can't quite put my finger on what it is exactly that I liked about one but disliked in the the other.

>92 electrice: Thanks! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

28. Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

I've never seen the movie, but decided to read the novella when I realized that it was written by Annie Proulx. Interesting story of forbidden love in a time and place when homosexuality wasn't really understood or tolerated.

>95 JonHutchings:
I'd definitely recommend the rest of the stories in the collection, Close Range, as well - they do work very well together.

29. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

Steve Martin's memoirs of his rise to fame. Interesting depiction of comedy in the 1960s and 1970s, a time before comedy clubs and it was difficult for stand up comedians to find a place to practise their craft.

30. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

The epic tale of Woodrow Call and Augustus McCrae, two retired Texas Rangers who decide to go on one last adventure before they get too old. They decide to start a cattle drive from the Rio Grande all the way to Montana, a land still pretty much uninhabited by white people at this point in history. Their reasoning? If they get there first, they'll get first choice of the prime land.

The thing that really makes McMurtry's writing stand out is his characterization and dialogue. There are many interesting characters in the novel, all with their own desires, motivations and fears, and McMurtry masterfully gets those thoughts across to the reader. Don't get too attached to the characters, however, as the west was a truly dangerous place where people died very frequently. You clearly get the sense that death is just par for the course in this time and place in the matter-of-fact kind of way that McMurtry describes it. It happens and the story just moves on, there is no time for sentimentalizing. McMurtry also makes you realize that the west is nothing like it was traditionally depicted in the T.V. shows, movies and novels of the 50s and 60s. Life was dirty, gritty, hard and dangerous. It took a special type of men and women to live in such a harsh environment, and there was certainly nothing romantic or glamorous about their lives.

I haven't really read many Westerns, but as the picture above says, if you want to read one, start with this. At nearly 900 pages you may think that the story may be drawn out, but I can honestly say that once you get through the fairly slow opening, you won't want the story to ever end. In fact the story is part of a tetralogy (this was the first one written, but the 3rd in the series) and I have already started another book in the series entitled Dead Man's Walk which recounts the early days when Gus and Call first joined the Rangers as teenagers.

I haven't really read many Westerns, but as the picture above says, if you want to read one, start with this.

I wholeheartedly agree! Lonesome Dove is the western that convinced me to not shun westerns without at least reading the first couple of pages. Excellent review!

>99 lkernagh: Thanks! I remember when I was younger I'd visit my grandfather and he would have western novels kicking around all over the place and I remember just assuming that they were all rubbish. In the years since then I have acquired a taste for western films and now for novels too it seems. Funny how your tastes sometimes change as you get older... I think Pop would be pleasantly surprised if he could see the McMurtry kick that I've been on this summer, lol... Which leads me to my next review.

Another big fan of Lonesome Dove, in fact I am rereading it right now. This is also the book that made me give westerns a second look. My parents were both big fans of the book and the minseries, and of course my dad also watched and read every western he could find. If he were here to see me with a whole reading category devoted to westerns, he would laugh and say "see I told you".

I am rereading Lonesome Dove because I read Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon this year, and I just felt like it deserved a reread. Nice review!

31. Dead Man's Walk by Larry McMurtry

Though this is the first book chronologically in the Lonesome Dove series, it was actually the third to be written, a full ten years after Lonesome Dove had been published. I think McMurtry decided to go back and write this prequel because of the immense popularity of Lonesome Dove around this time... The novel was a bestseller, had won the Pulitzer Prize and had been turned into an award-winning and highly lauded TV mini-series in 1989 and spawned not one, but two television series in the mid-90s. People wanted to see more adventures from Call and Gus, and McMurtry delivered.

Now it should be mentioned that while I enjoyed this book, it is not as good as Lonesome Dove. And to be honest, I'm not sure that I would have enjoyed it as much as I did had I not read Lonesome Dove first as I was already emotionally committed to the characters of Woodrow Call and Gus McCrae. If I had to have picked this book up first, I wouldn't have had that same emotional commitment, I may not have even read any of the other books of the series and would have missed out on the pleasure of reading Lonesome Dove altogether! I guess what I'm saying is if you haven't read any of these books yet, read them in the order that they were published, rather than the chronological order, you'll really be doing yourself a favour in the long run.

Now, to the novel. This book is set shortly after Gus and Call had first met each other as teenagers and had decided to join the Texas Rangers. The Rangers go on missions trying to find new routes and passages to various destinations in Mexico and New Mexico and the plains and desert are much more wild and dangerous than they even were in Lonesome Dove. Parts of Texas are still just barely becoming settled by whites and the Commanches and Apaches are both very real threats. The Rangers themselves are barely able to escape from raiding parties a fraction of their size. Gus and Call learn very quickly that Rangering is very dangerous business as they watch friends and comrades die all around them throughout the book. The chiefs Buffalo Hump and Gomez are, in particular, very deadly and cunning opponents, both of whom want the boys dead. The main part of the story concentrates on an expedition that Gus and Call join who aim to go and conquer Santa Fe in New Mexico... I don't want to give any spoilers so suffice it to say that the expedition does not go well. In this novel we see that Gus already has his gift for gab, gambling and lustful ambitions, and Call is quite stoic, though not yet as awkward around women as he is later in life. We also get to see the first meeting between Gus and Clara when they meet at her father's general store in Austin. If you have already read Lonesome Dove than it's nice to see the beginnings of what is to come later.

I think I will continue with the other two books of the series, but after I take a break from westerns for a little bit to read some other things.

32. In the Heat of the Night by John Ball

Great detective novel written about a black homicide detective from California who finds himself in the middle of a murder investigation in the heart of the South. Written in 1965, this book did a great job at dispelling the ridiculous old myths of the south of the inferiority of African-Americans compared to whites. Virgil Tibbs goes from being a possible suspect, simply because he was black and within a certain radius of the crime scene, to being the detective who goes about solving the case, despite the overt racism and the bungling efforts of the local police chief that he has to endure. By the end of the novel, Tibbs solves the case in exemplary fashion and gains the respect and admiration of the local police force despite the colour of his skin.

33. The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White

Later renamed The Lady Vanishes due to the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name, this is a good example of a 1930s train mystery. I enjoyed the overall story of this book, though some of the social conventions regarding social class and gender are now very much outdated. I have heard that this is one of those rare times when the film was better than the movie, if that's the case than I'll have to check it out as the book is pretty good!

The main character, Iris Carr, is a young wealthy English socialite who has gone vacationing in a tiny corner of some European nation. She is travelling alone upon her return journey when she meets Miss Froy, a middle-aged English governess. Despite Iris' best efforts, she ends up being befriended by Miss Froy, but when Iris takes a nap, she wakes up to find Miss Froy missing. After a lengthy absence, Iris tries to locate her companion only to discover, much to her horror, that no one on board the train will admit to having met such a woman as Miss Froy. This leads Iris to wonder if she is losing her mind, or is she in the midst of some sort of conspiracy? The story is fairly compelling and enjoyable.

>104 JonHutchings: I've seen the movie but didn't realize it was also a book! The film is very charming (and directed by Hitchcock!), so I'd definitely recommend it!

Thanks, I'll have to check it out. I just noticed that the entire film is on YouTube, so I may watch it this evening.

"They call me Mr. Tibbs."

>107 mamzel: Great line! Yet another book I've read where I've yet to see the film.

>105 christina_reads: I watched the film after and have to say that they are both enjoyable in their own ways. The movie actually has many differences from the book, so it'd actually be worth your while to track down a copy if you can.

Sidney Poitier had so much dignity and was so young and handsome in that movie. I always loved his characters.
Does the character use that line in the book?

He does. I thought it was one of the best lines of the whole book!

I liked the movie of in the Heat of the Night better than the book...

I'll have to watch it soon so I can compare.

34. The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson

An interesting novel about a man who comes into contact with a strange mixture of chemicals and radiation that causes him to proportionately shrink exactly 1/7th of an inch each day. The novel takes place when Scott Carey is less than an inch tall and is waiting out the last days before he ceases to exist altogether. I didn't really find this part of the book so interesting, it kind of read like an action/adventure novel of his exploits to survive life in the cellar of his home while trying to avoid the perils of dehydration, starvation and the black widow spider that's stalking him.

What I did find more interesting were the flashbacks Scott has which detail his descent to his current size. It deals a lot with the thought processes such a man would have. How he feels he loses his masculinity as his physical size diminishes. His wife can no longer love him, after a time he is physically smaller than his daughter and feels he can no longer be effective as an authority figure. Not to give too much away, but there comes a time when he wants nothing more than to be in the arms of a little person working in a carnival sideshow simply to have someone who understands what he's going through. I found these flashbacks to be much more cerebral than Scott's quest for daily survival, which I found a little monotonous at times. As a result of what I feel to be the unevenness of the novel, I would probably give it 3 stars.

That book sounds positively bizarre!

It is a bit odd, as is a lot of the stuff that was written during the so - called Golden Age of science fiction... Apparently there was also a film version made in the 50s entitled The Incredible Shrinking Man which is supposed to be quite good despite the ridiculous name.

35. The Ghost Stories of Ambrose Bierce by Ambrose Bierce

With Halloween just over a month away, I really wanted to start setting the mood with my reading. I have always had a love of ghost stories, particularly old ones, and figured the writing of Ambrose Bierce was as good a place as any to start.

This collection of stories mostly takes place in Civil War era America, with some dating a little later into the 1880s. I noticed that the first 3/4 of the book lacks that typical literary flare which Bierce is known for, but there is a reason for that. Most of the stories in this book were not constructed by Bierce, but rather are supposedly true ghost stories which he acquired from someone else. In the preface he states that he didn't want to change this person's stories too much by adding his own flowery language, so he pretty well just gives a straightforward retelling of the stories he was given. Despite the straightforward matter-of-fact style that these stories are written with, some are actually kind of spine-chilling, especially when you stay up late at night reading them when everyone else is asleep, as I did.

The last two stories "The Middle Toe of the Right Foot" and "The Damned Thing" are the best, which is no surprise as they are also the ones that Bierce created himself. Both create a tense, foreboding atmosphere leading up to very interesting climaxes. Overall I'd say I would give this collection 3 1/2 stars.

>114 JonHutchings:
Loving that cover!!

I'm a big fan of Bierce, but I haven't come across that book. I do have an anthology of his stories that has a section of his ghost stories, so I'll look for the ones you mention. He wrote some really great stories with black humor that blurred the line between horror and comedy, like "The Bottomless Grave".

>114 JonHutchings: That cover is pretty darn scary. I've also started my Halloween reading. I'll see if I have that one on the shelf.

>119 mstrust: Yeah, it doesn't seem to be a common one to say the least. I was actually the first one to add it to LibraryThing, but there are certainly a few gems in there. I would imagine that most of the stories have been reprinted in many of his anthologies. I'll have to keep an eye out for "The Bottomless Grave."

The cover is creepy, but the book is far from a horror novel. It's more part action/adventure survival story, part psychological profile of a man who feels his end is near.

36. The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton

Continuing on with my Halloween season reading, I decided to go with another volume of collected ghost stories by a well known late 19th/early 20th century American author. Wharton's stories all build atmosphere and suspense very well and she does a superb job with her imagery, as you can picture these old mansions in Connecticut, New York, England and Normandy down to their creepiest details. Large old mansions set out in the middle of nowhere, miles from the nearest town tend to provide a creepy backdrop to any story, and in a lot of these stories in particular, the homes are of utmost importance as many of them are haunted. The mansions almost act like another character unto themselves in many instances.

I really enjoyed this collection for the reasons listed above. The only thing that disappointed me were the abrupt endings to some of the stories which never really brought any sense of resolution or closure, but I believe that that was a common stylistic element of the time. My favourites would have to be "Afterward," which I had read a few years ago as part of some other anthology, "Miss Mary Pask," "The Triumph of Night," "Mr. Jones," and "Pomegranate Seed."

All in all, I feel that this is a stronger collection of ghost stories than the one by Ambrose Bierce. I enjoyed Wharton's building of atmosphere and suspense more than Bierce's matter-of-fact delivery. If you're looking for some vintage ghost stories this Halloween season, definitely consider this collection.

37. New Canadian Kid by Dennis Foon

Cute play that helps to show what it is like for immigrants entering a new country without any knowledge of the language or culture. It does this in an interesting way. Whenever any of the characters speak in English, it is written in the play in gibberish. Only characters speaking in "Homelander" are written in English. This helps to detail the difficulty that these people must face by showing how hard it is to understand people when you don't speak the language.

38. The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells

Continuing with the trend of creepy reads for October, I've read The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells and was not disappointed. It had many of the elements to create a truly creepy read; a lone survivor of a shipwreck, a desert island, a mad scientist, and a race of half-man half-animal creatures. Wells does a great job of constructing a plot which keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. 4 stars.

>122 JonHutchings: We studied New Canadian Kid in one of my high school drama classes. It was an interesting exercise. Thanks for the memory jolt!

>124 rabbitprincess: No problem! :)

39. Ghost Stories of an Antiquary by M.R. James

You've guessed it, yet another collection of old-timey ghost stories! I know, I have a problem, but I can't help it as they just seem to set the mood for the season so well. Also, of the three collections that I've read this October I can definitely say that this one was the best. I have to admit that I hadn't even heard of M.R. James until I started looking up some lists of essential Halloween reading and his name was constantly there. I assumed this meant that I must have been missing out on something great and was I ever right!

There are eight stories in this collection and I have to say that they were all good. The protagonists in the stories tend to be bookish gentlemanly antiquaries, much like James himself. Most of the stories have to do with these characters uncovering some ancient mystery, artifact or treasure which is cursed or otherwise haunted. The stories are all very spooky and creepy, but it isn't because of the descriptions of the ghouls that haunt the pages of these stories. James often does very little to describe what these creatures actually look like, rather it's the building of suspense and tension, as well as the gloomy atmosphere that James uses to expertly craft these stories that causes them to stick with you after reading.

My favourites were "Number 13" about a hotel in Viborg, Denmark which may or may not have a room numbered 13 in it, "Oh Whistle and I'll Come to You My Lad" which teaches you not to blow strange whistles that you may find in ancient Templar ruins, "Count Magnus" where a gentleman writing a travel book learns not to delve too deeply into the history of the former Count and finally Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book, where an antiquary gets a deal on a rare book that's too good to be true.

I wasn't really happy with one of my categories, so I just changed it to books that have been referenced or alluded to on The Simpsons. This should give me lots of potential reads to work with!

40. The Devil and Daniel Webster by Stephen Vincent Benet

Interesting American folktale that I've used as the 1st read from my new Simpsons challenge. Jabez Stone is a New Hampshire farmer who falls on hard times and makes a deal with the devil in exchange for ten years of prosperity. When the deadline draws near, Stone approaches Daniel Webster, a well known lawyer, for help. Webster takes on the case and gets the devil to agree to a trial provided that he can choose the jury. He summons forth many of America's worst scoundrels from hell and has the trial presided over by Judge Hawthorne of the Salem witch trials! Despite the odds stacked against him, Webster makes an impassioned speech which actually gets the jury to go against the devil and set Jabez Stone free.

This was parodied by The Simpsons in "The Devil and Homer Simpson" in the fourth Treehouse of Horror Halloween special. Basically Homer sells his soul to the devil (which turns out to be Ned Flanders!) for a doughnut and Lisa acts as his lawyer in the ensuing trial. The jury includes the likes of Lizzie Borden, Benedict Arnold, Blackbeard, John Wilkes Booth and even Richard Nixon, who was still alive when this episode aired!

>126 JonHutchings: I want! I think I've only read "The Monkey's Paw" from him, but those stories sound like I would like them. Thanks for the review.

>128 JonHutchings: That's my favorite short story. And The Simpson's version was pretty great too.

>129 mstrust: It really is a book worth checking out, apparently he also wrote 3 other volumes of ghost stories over the years which are all put together in the Collected Ghost Stories of M.R. James, which I'm currently trying to track down.

"The Monkey's Paw" is my favourite short story! It's actually written by W.W. Jacobs who had a very similar style and was a contemporary of James, I kind of forgot about him. I may have to see if he has any other supernaturally themed stories for me to check out this month.

Richard Nixon, who was still alive when this episode aired!
It's hard to imagine that this show has been around that long! It shows there has been no lack of subject matter for the writers.

Loving the Simpsons category! :)

>130 JonHutchings: Yes, W.W. Jacobs! How could I have gotten so mixed-up? I guess I want to lump people who go by initials into the same pile. But The Simpsons did a good parody of "The Monkey's Paw" too.

Haha, That really was a good parody as well! My favorite line was after Kang and Kudos are chased off of Earth by Moe wielding a board with a nail in it. "Someday they'll build a board with a nail in it so big that they'll destroy themselves!"

The Simpsons are (or at least were) pretty literary in what they chose to spoof for Halloween.

41. The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson

The second of my Simpsons category reads, the Amityville Horror, along with other haunted house/possession stories and films such as The Exorcist, Poltergeist and The Fall of the House of Usher, were parodied for the "Bad Dream House" segment of the first Treehouse of Horror.

The book was classified as non-fiction when it was published in 1977 and supposedly gives the 1st hand accounts of the horror-filled 28 days that the Lutzes' spent at their new home before fleeing in terror. Also, their new home was the site of the horrifying Defeo murders, in which Ronald Defeo went around the house and shot his entire family with a high-powered rifle less than two years before the Lutzes bought the place. In the years following its publishing there has been much debate as to the veracity of the accounts given in this book, with some claiming that the Lutzes and Anson made up the whole thing. I haven't really done much research into it, so I have no opinion either way, other than wondering why they would have stayed there as long as they did if all of these terrifying events were occurring in their home.

In terms of the book itself, I find Anson's writing to be a bit clunky and he seems to have a big fondness of overusing the exclamation point, which can get a little annoying, but story is still fascinating and scary. It's written from a journalistic perspective and you get the memories of each of the Lutzes and well as that of Father Mancuso, who came to bless the home only to be attacked by the entity within the home for quite some time afterwards. The events that happened at 112 Ocean Ave. will give you goosebumps, particularly if you believe in such things as the supernatural.

Now, is The Amityville Horror a finely crafted piece of literature? Heck no. But is it a suitably scary read for the Halloween season? Absolutely! Overall I'd give it between 3 and 3 and a half stars.



In Bad Dream House, the Simpsons move into a new house that they get at a bargain, though Lisa and Marge feel that their may be an evil presence in the home. Homer says there's nothing to worry about, even after he sees a swirling vortex in the kitchen wall. Soon after, objects begin moving around, the family tries to kill one another and the walls bleed. The Simpsons then discover that the house was built on a native burial ground. The house then tells the Simpsons to get out or they will die horrible deaths. Marge tells it that they aren't going anywhere and that they'd all better learn to get along. The house then weighs out its options and decides to implode rather than live with the Simpsons.

I saw the Amityville movie when I was a kid and it was scary as heck, despite me not believing in the supernatural - I'm staying away from that book! :) I would like to see that Simpsons episode, though!

I read The Amityville Horror when I was fourteen, late at night, and scared myself to the point of having to lay perfectly still for the remainder of the night.

Haha, yeah, it's definitely not the type of book to be read late at night, particularly not if you're alone... Your imagination could quickly get the better of you.

42. Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories by Richard Matheson

The Simpsons parodied The Twilight Zone episode that was based on the title story of this collection in their Treehouse of Horror segment entitled Terror at 5 1/2 Feet. I figured that although they parodied a TV show, and not the short story directly, that it was still close enough to read something that was the original basis for a segment on the show.

Nightmare at 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories is a collection of 20 early horror stories written by Richard Matheson, a legend in the Horror and Science Fiction genres and a frequent writer for The Twilight Zone in the late 50s and early 60s. Overall I really enjoyed the collection, though there were a few stories which have not aged as well as others. While these stories all certainly qualify as horror, they differ greatly from the traditional ghost stories that I've been reading this month. The exception being "Slaughter House" which I think was intentionally written as a good old fashioned haunted house story by Matheson just to show that he could do it. The rest of the stories seem to take everyday people, situations and neighbourhoods and turn them into something sinister, giving us all reason to be paranoid of everything and everyone around us. I will just give a very brief summary of a few of my favourites from this collection:

Nightmare at 20,000 feet: Probably Matheson's most well known short story thanks to the two times that it has been used on The Twilight Zone. The first, from the original series, saw William Shatner star as the main character and then during the 80s it was used again in The Twilight Zone movie with John Lithgow starring. Great story about a man who is the only person who sees a gremlin on the wing of the plane that he's on and tries to warn people before it can destroy the engine. The people on board believe that he's crazy, leaving him alone to try and save the plane.

Disappearing Act: Another story that was loosely used as the inspiration for a Twilight Zone Episode. A journal is discovered just sitting out on the counter of a candy shop. When the journal is read, it tells the story of a man who slowly sees everything that he cares about in his life disappear. His friends, his wife, his apartment building, and once they're gone, no one seems to remember that they ever existed in the first place.

"Long Distance Call:" An old lady begins getting obscene phone calls in the night and tries to get to the bottom of where they've been coming from. She harasses the local operator until a serviceman discovers that the line where the calls have been supposedly coming from blew down in a recent storm and is lying on the ground in a graveyard.

"Slaughter House": Two brothers with a romantic love of the Victorian era buy an old abandoned mansion, dismissing the stories of its being haunted. Bad move.

"Wet Straw": A wife once promised her husband that they would always be together, even if one of them died. She died, he forgot about the promise.

"Children of Noah:" A tourist from New Jersey gets nailed for speeding in the middle of the night in a quaint little Maine fishing hamlet that was settled by a sea captain who had sailed all over the South Pacific. They have a different way of dealing with lawbreakers in their town, which the tourist soon discovers.

"Prey": A woman buys her new boyfriend who's into anthropology a Zuni hunter doll which supposedly contains the soul of a hunter. The chain that binds the doll falls off and terror ensues.



In The Simpsons episode that I've used for this challenge, Bart sees a gremlin trying to pry off one of the wheels of the school bus. He tries to warn everyone, but they all believe that this is just another one of his pranks. At one point he tells principal Skinner that there's a gremlin outside the bus, and when he looks he sees Flanders driving an old hatchback of the same name. This segment has always been one of my favourite Treehouse of Horror moments.

43. It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown by Charles M. Schulz

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown has always been one of my favourite Halloween television specials, but I had never read the picture book that Schulz did until now. It also just so happens that it fits perfectly into my Simpsons challenge as they parodied the perennially classic cartoon a few years ago in "It's the Grand Pumpkin Millhouse".

I'm sure that everyone knows the story of this one. Charlie Brown's best friend, Linus, has this belief that a giant pumpkin travels around the world on Halloween and gives presents to all of the good girls and boys. So every year he waits in the local pumpkin patch and waits for the Great Pumpkin to appear, while all of his friends go trick or treating. Charlie Brown's sister offers to wait in the pumpkin patch with Linus, but as the night wears on she gets increasingly annoyed at Linus' unwavering belief and the fact that she's missing the Halloween dance. My favourite part of the story is that while all of the other children get delicious candy treats, Charlie invariably comes away with a rock from each house. Poor Charlie Brown.



"It's the Grand Pumpkin Millhouse" follows much of the same storyline as the original, and even has a Peanuts style feel to the animation. Millhouse plays Linus and spends Halloween waiting for the Grand Pumpkin. His tears actually causes the pumpkin to appear, but he goes berserk after witnessing all of the "atrocities" carried out on pumpkins during Halloween. He eats several characters whole, including Homer and Principal Skinner, before Lisa comes up with a plan. She realizes that Millhouse's tears can make things come to life by believing in them. So she tells him about Tom Turkey. They make a turkey come to life who then kills the Grand Pumpkin, setting those he ate free. Tom, however, goes on a rampage of his own once he discovers what people do to turkeys on Thanksgiving.

>139 JonHutchings: That sounds great. I read Matheson's short "A Dress of White Silk" last week.
I watch the Peanuts Halloween special every year. What would Halloween be without it?

>141 mstrust: "A Dress of White Silk" is actually included in this collection. I didn't realize that I enjoyed his writing as much as I do. Reading three books of his this year has really given me an admiration for his writing style.

I also watch it every year, along with some of The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episodes obviously, lol.

44. King Kong by Delos W. Lovelace

A novelization of the famous film of the same name released in 1933, this book was published as a means to promote the film prior to its release in 1932. This was one of the first examples of a talking film being novelized, with Lovelace essentially taking the screenplay and elongating it into book form.

While I thought that this was an OK read, I am not really a fan of novelizations. I find that books can usually be more easily translated into film than vice versa. I think everyone is at least nominally aware of the premise of this one. Group travels to remote island to make a film, girl is stolen by giant ape, group captures giant ape, ape escapes and runs amok in New York City, ape is shot down from the top of the Empire State Building. I apologize if this contains any spoilers, but I think that at least the idea of King Kong was been a ubiquitous part of pop culture for so long that I'm not really giving anything away here. The novel is a decent "action/adventure into a lost world" kind of read, but really this is an instance where you can skip the book and watch the film.



King Kong is parodied in "King Homer" from The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror III. The story is essentially the same with Marge playing the woman in distress, Homer is King Kong and Mr. Burns is the film director who captures him. The big difference is that Homer never makes it to the top of the building because, as Marge points out, "You eat too many people and not enough vegetables". Homer therefore survives the short fall to the ground and he and Marge get married.

45. Civil War Stories by Ambrose Bierce

Considering that Remembrance Day was yesterday, I have decided to try and read some books for my Tour of Duty challenge this month. I have begun with Civil War Stories by Ambrose Bierce, who was himself a soldier in the Union Army during the Civil War.

This is the second collection of Bierce's short stories that I have read in about as many months, but there was only one story that overlapped, "Three and One Are One," which works as both a war story and a ghost story. I think that I enjoyed this collection of Bierce's more than the other. His war stories are incredibly dark, no doubt mirroring some of what he saw on the battlefields of a war-torn country, and usually have some sort of a twist ending, which you can usually see coming, but are satisfying anyway. Bierce typically puts you in the middle of the action as his protagonists tend to be low to middle ranking officers who find themselves in the thick of the battlefront, or of other people who had had the misfortune to stray onto the battlefields and they typically have some misfortune befall them.

I will just list some of my favourites from the collection of 16 stories, but I won't say much about them as the main plot points are usually only revealed at the end, and I don't want to spoil anything for anyone.

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" - probably Bierce's most well known story, I studied this one back in my university days.

"A Horseman in the Sky" - One of those stories with a twist that you see coming, but it's still good.

"Chickamauga" - I really enjoyed the dark imagery of the retreating soldiers in this one.

"One of the Missing" - Interesting story of a soldier who gets stuck with his own rifle pointing at him and cannot move.

"The Affair at Coulter's Notch" - Probably my favourite in this collection.

"The Story of a Conscience" - You can't escape your past.

"The Mocking-Bird" - Again, a twist ending you see coming.

"A Tough Tussle" - It can be pretty scary out in the dark alone.

I think that as a result of this book I am next going to read The Red Badge of Courage, as it's seemed to have kindled an interest in the Civil War for me, a topic that I have a general understanding of, but not one that I've really studied to any great degree.

46. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

Henry Fleming joins the Union Army, against the wishes of his mother. He joins for rather romantic notions of what war is all about and what it means to become a man. Henry quickly begins to wonder if he has done the right thing when his regiment takes its place on the battlefield. He wonders if he's courageous enough to be a soldier, and does actually bolt early on from his first battle. He subsequently finds himself all over the war front, taking it all in, but eventually feels too much guilt and shame to run away and he returns to his regiment after the battle. At this point he has a head wound, suffered from the butt of a musket, and he tries to pass this off as a wound sustained during the battle. The regiment, who thought him dead, all treat him as a hero, which makes Henry feel worse. He then spends the subsequent battles trying to earn that "Red Badge of Courage" for real, and by the end of the novel feels that he has now become a man.

The thing I found most interesting about the novel was the fact that Crane wasn't born until six years after the end of the war, yet writes a very realistic account of life on the battlefield.

47. A Midnight Clear by William Wharton

I really enjoyed this book! It was unlike any other war novel that I have read, in a good way. A platoon of inexperienced, teenage, intellectual overachievers find themselves establishing an observation post in an abandoned chateau in the Ardennes Forest during Christmas 1944. The story is told through Will Knot, the platoon's recently promoted sergeant. Knot finds the entire situation that the squad is placed in as completely surreal, particularly after a small group of German soldiers begin to reveal their locations and leaves small gifts for the G.I.s. This culminates in the Germans bringing the Americans a Christmas tree and both groups sing Christmas carols together in their respective languages. From here the story takes a drastic turn which I won't relate here for fear of spoiling it for anyone. The only hint I will share is that you must bear in mind that this is a war novel and, as such, the climax is both shocking and grim. I highly recommend this book, and as it's set during the holidays we're coming upon the perfect time of year to read it!

48. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

It's hard to believe that this is the first book by Agatha Christie that I have ever read, but there you have it. I'll definitely be reading more soon as I did enjoy the eccentric little Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The novel takes place on the Orient Express, a train that Poirot finds himself on during a return journey to England from Istanbul. The train is supposedly never full at this time of year, but Poirot finds that every compartment on the train is occupied. The train gets snowed in somewhere around Yugoslavia and at the same time a gruesome murder is discovered. Everyone on the train proves to be a viable suspect, so it falls to Poirot to try and solve the crime before the train can be freed.

I know that there is still two weeks left to the year, but I think that Murder on the Orient Express will be the last novel I read for the 2014 challenge. I hate to give up on it, but I'm satisfied with the 48 book total that I read for the year and I am really looking forward to beginning the 2015 challenge.

At least you end your challenge year on a high note. Here's to finding lots of enjoyable reads in 2015!

I'm glad your last was a good one, and that you picked one her best to try out Christie. Congratulations on your challenge!

Thanks ladies! I hope you both find a ton of great books in the coming year to read too.

Ooh, so exciting that Murder on the Orient Express was your first Christie! You've got a lot more fun ahead of you!

You really are ending on a wonderful note with that book! Hopefully 2015 starts out just as well for you.

Congratulations on a successful challenge!

Re Orient Express, did you know the ending before reading it? My BF hasn't read it or seen any of the adaptations, but it's so famous that he's already heard how it ends. I wonder how that knowledge would affect the reading experience.

Congratulations on finishing your challenge. Good one to end on! :)

Yeah, I really enjoyed it and I'm actually kicking off my 2015 challenge by reading Hercule Poirot's Christmas next.

>154 rabbitprincess: Actually no, somehow I've managed to remain completely ignorant of any of the details of the story. I would think that that knowledge would make the story a much more dull reading experience.

>156 JonHutchings: - Actually, you'd be surprised at how interesting it can be to read again. I've reread it a couple of times and still enjoy it even though I know the ending. It's fun to see how it all comes together and the little clues that lead Poirot to the truth.

Congratulations on finishing! Orient Express is a great way to finish the year.

Congrats on finishing your challenge!

Congratulations on completing your challenge and with one of my favorite Poirot's!

Congratulations!

A good book to finish on!