A seekers dream of a book (and potentially his worst nightmare)
934234
What spiritual seeker doesn't like a good awakening story? This one spans twenty-seven years and is filled with pitfalls, twists and turns, but ultimately demonstrates the characteristic that is most necessary in any search - perseverance. His personal journal entries mirror that of any desperate seeker and leave the reader hopeful that if this guy made the journey, so can I. Interspersed with his personal story, however, are little time-bombs of wisdom in the guise of innocent questions posed by seekers looking for his help. I found myself in many of these questions and his answers are provocative, sometimes maddeningly so, but only for the ego! This book is gem for those on a path of self-inquiry or involved in group work. It's also a map of sorts - away from the unreal - that ultimately leads to Love.
2569889
Those of us who love books are, I think, always excited when we run across an accomplished author who shares our bibliomania and writes about it in a loving and erudite way.  Larry McMurtry of Lonesome Dove and "Brokeback Mountain" (the screenplay) fame has done precisely this in his wonderful memoir Books.

Books is a memoir that traces McMurtry's life stages through his relationship with books--thousands and thousands of them, those in the library of the university he attended, those in his personal library (upwards of 30,000 volumes), those in his used and antiquarian bookstore Booked Up (300,000 and counting).  Books have enriched his inner life and helped him hone his skills as an author.  But they've also enriched his economic existence too, since he's been in the used book trade for nearly half a century now (something I didn't know until reading this memoir). His first book sale in 1962, for example, paid for his first son's birth.

One of the reasons I so like McMurtry's book is that it reminds me of my own life trajectory.  McMurtry tells us that he was raised in an utterly bookless Texas ranch house.  He never owned a book until 1942, when a guy headed off to war gave him a box of adventure stories.  McMurtry was eight years old, and the minute he got the taste of the printed word in his mouth, he never looked back.  I spent much of my childhood in a similarly bookless wasteland (in the south, not the southwest), and as I read McMurtry's description of his growing excitement, absorption, and sense of liberation in the magic of books once he discovered them, it was as if I was reading about myself.  And, like all good books about books, this one makes me want to read books it mentions.  It also makes me want read the novels of McMurtry's I haven't gotten around to yet and get myself to Texas to browse in Booked Up.

McMurtry's Books uses stories about book-collecting, book-selling, and book-enjoying as milestones for his autobiography.  His memoir not only tells us something about his own life, but also shares a lot of delightful stories about fellow booksellers and bibliophiles.  (My favorite is about the California-based bookseller who kept binoculars in his shop so that customers could read the titles on the top shelves.)  There's a certain nostalgic melancholy in the memoir too, because one senses--and so does McMurtry--that the used bookshop is becoming quaint and endangered in our age of huge chain retailers of books.

McMurtry started out bookless, but he's gone a long way since then.  He brought a huge bookstore to a town (New Archer, Texas) that he says was as utterly bookless as his childhood home, and he's brought several excellent books of his own to the rest of us.  (With typical modesty, he tells us in Books that although a few of his own novels have been "really good," none are great.)  Books:  A Memoir is his latest gift to us all.

Five stars.
4931991
Simply a Bad Dream or was it a Nightmare based in Reality?

Nick is stuck in a very dark place after suffering a TBI in a traffic accident. He has to confront The Angel of Death, Abaddon, and his minion Jeremiah. Then there is the Nymph that helps Hesamuel, Nick, with some advice and direction.
A key lesson learned is to "Trust Nothing but your Heart". Or was it ____?
Despair coats the Darkness as Nick seeks his way back to Life, The trip will grip your attention in this rollercoaster of Emotion.

Book One was released in 2011 and I'm eagerly waiting for Book Two to find out the answer to "A Very Important Reason For Staying Alive" in the first volume.

This was an interesting story for me with the setting being related to the effects after a Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI, and what may simply be Dreams or Nightmares as a result. Only the following books(,s) will answer that question.

The reason for my interest is my own recovery filled with Psycho-Ceramic, Crack-Pot, Nightmares, Dreams and Complex Seizures after loosing part of my left Temporal Lobe in a traffic accident. What I found from that 7+ year experience that followed a short Coma and even Death for a short while due to rolling Grand Maul Seizures was that the Temporal Lobe is the Input-Output Processor to Deep Long-Term Memories and problems there, as relates to this story and mine, can trigger some rather complex and unexpected horrific Nightmares or Visions. The Visions can seem more than Real and have you questioning your own sanity as well as Reality it's self.

While my personal Coma and Resuscitation after Death aren't quite like Nicks there is an uncanny similarity in concept.

Did Matthew Barnes gather background from TBI Patients or similar input? I don't know, but wherever he got his background for The Maelstrom it sure got my interest and kept me going on the Kindle seeking more.

Over all a Very Well Done story that will leave you seeking your own answers.
2662228
One of those books with passages that keep popping up in my head, long after I finished the book.
4416897
Pitching Ice Cubes at the Sun is is brilliant, dark, funny, strangely awe-inspiring and certianly thought -provoking. I found myself looking forward each night to the next short story as I took the book along on a vacation. From a hammer that pounds its master to shreds becoming hero to his brethren, to a hilarious story of a demon God suddenly thrust into 20th century New York City, to two tear-jerking very short stories that evidence the depth and inner gentleness of soul that the complex author can feel, the book was overwhelming. I'm not certian if Mr. Sherman planned it this way, but the stories get better as the book progresses. The collection of 17 utterly imaginitive short-stories reveals the mind of an author with vast knowledge of art, religion, literature and the occult. Its the mind of an author I want to see pour his knowledge and pain into future books. When I first dug into the book, I found I had to readjust my focus to move into Sherman's bizarre, certianly-not-linear way of thinking. By the end, I wanted to meet him, and tell him to rewrite the too-humble, silly description of himself on the back cover. He is an author of note, nothing like the poor soul in one of his stories, who frittered his life away wanting to touch souls, but unable. For a freshman effort, this book is remarkable. I expect great things from Todd Sherman. I expect to read them in the future. Also of note is the brilliant cover art.
963196
This was my introduction to the Night Warriors series.  I realized this morning -- halfway through the book -- that I was continuing to struggle through it for two reasons:  (i) it was written by Graham Masterton, and (ii) even though not yet identified by name, it was clear that Brown Jenkin, the rat-man from&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Prey/dp/0843946334/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Prey</a>, was making cameo appearances.  I decided that these were not good enough reasons to continue reading a book I was not enjoying and I stopped.

This novel features characters entering into a dream/nightmare dimension, a scenario I've seen addressed before.  (A few that come to mind:&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Dreamscape/dp/6305869103/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Dreamscape</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Cell/dp/B000YMDHOK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Cell</a>, and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/A-Nightmare-on-Elm-Street-1984/dp/B002R1UTAQ/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)</a>.)  Springer, a recruiter for the Night Warriors, reveals to people with special dream-entering powers that they have an identity in the dream dimension and are needed to fight an evil clown (yes, I know you're thinking of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/It/dp/0451169514/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">It</a>) and an ancient monk with a freak show.  The alternative identities of these Night Warriors have weird names with lots of letters that don't seem to go together, like multiple X's and Y's -- I guess that's supposed to make them seem ancient.  The recruits are persuaded of their special powers way too easily, even though they make sarcastic comments that are supposed to be, but are not, funny.

THE NINTH NIGHTMARE is written like the first novel of a high school student who wants to be a writer.  It's not worthy of Graham Masterton's decades of mastering horror, and it was not worth finishing.
4793395
Suspense and reincarnation to book gets you thinking about the afterlife in ways that you may not have done before
245388
The details drew me in, images in my head far into the night! Anxious for second book
408933
It never entered my mind that anyone could be so obsessed with the idea of ownership of a particular book that he would steal it to satisfy the craving.  By the time I finished reading the book I was exhausted by the amount of energy and effort spent planning and executing the methods of acquiring the specific volumes he desired. The idea of punishment or shame didn't deter him, he was possessed by his own demons to acquire what he deemed rightfully his.
3607132
How do I rate such a thought, feeling, and nightmare provoking book?  It truly did haunt my dreams and every time I reached for my Kindle, I was afraid and skittish - dreadfully anticipating the next words I would read and knowing the inferno that would be delivered would scald my imagination.

Does that make this an outstanding book since my emotions were right at the surface of the pages?  Or does it mean that I didn't like it, since the deeper into the journey I traveled the more I had to force myself to read the nightmare that the poor "Once upon a time" girl lived?

That is the tightrope that I find myself walking, trying to make my way to an actual decision...  So, with that, I will call a 3 out of 5 star rating my safety net.

Living Dead Girl is, thankfully, a shorter book than most others I've read.  As the pages turned and "Alice's" story was painfully stripped naked and bared to the reading audience, the harder it became for me to continue; though as the book neared the end, the pages were nearly turning themselves, looking for the release and the peace they (and I) so desperately needed.

Thank you, Elizabeth Scott, for such a soul ripping read.  Thank you for putting perspective on any "bad day" that I might have had and will probably have in the future.  Thank you for bringing "Alice's" tale to light.  Thank you for the Living Dead Girl's ending.  I hope the conclusion provided as much closure for you as it did for me - I can't imagine the hell you went through while writing and perfecting this tale for us.  It absolutely makes me want to open my eyes and soak every detail of every person I see in public - if I EVER see anyone that is even remotely close to resembling an Alice, I will scream for her...
3914301
The author is playing with the idea of a writer who imagines his muse so strongly that she may come into being. He may have to choose between his jealous wife and the imagined, but oh so real, muse.
1386311
This book is a sterling reminder of just how much I love books.  Bartlett's writing was so evocative that I could picture in my mind's eye the bookshops and libraries she described, and it made me want to wander around them for hours.  Her descriptions of rare books and their charms are so vivid that I can't see how any book lover could possibly fail to respond to them.  As I read, I repeatedly found myself telling my husband just how amazing I thought this book was.  He agreed with me.  He read it first and told me how much he thought I'd like it.

What is easy to understand about this story is how a book lover could respond to the lure of a beautiful, old book.  When I was in college, I had the good fortunate to take a Renaissance literature class taught by a professor who took us to see the rare books at the university library during one of our first classes.  I'll never forget wearing white gloves and paging carefully through those gorgeously painted illuminated pages.  It was truly an awe-inspiring experience for a bibliophile like me, and I could easily understand the charm of owning such a volume myself.  Bartlett coveys how books are more than just paper and ink, they're a viable, physical link to the past.  They are objects of memory, symbols of the things that we love and of the people with whom we've enjoyed them.  Given this, it's easy to see how a thief could be tempted.

Equally interesting was the story of Gilkey.  I agreed with Bartlett in that it was difficult to decide if the man was amoral or suffering from some sort of mental disorder.  His obvious disconnection from reality is startling.  Were I in Bartlett's shoes while interviewing him for this book, I think I would have been too shocked by him for any sort of coherent speech.  It was unfathomable that he could view his crimes as being victimless, that he could fail to understand how his books thefts impacted those who, like him, have a high regard for books but, unlike him, obtain them in legal and ethical ways.  Gilkey is an interesting criminal and also an alarming one.  While his crimes may not be violent, I found it disturbing to think that a criminal with so little conscience could exist.  He's the antihero who fancies himself the hero.

It was also disturbing to me to realize just how little publicity book thefts get.  Why is it that when art goes missing, it's a top story, but when invaluable books like this are lost, there's hardly a peep?  That books have power is obvious, as made plain by Bartlett's comments about past and current attempts at banning and burning "subversive" literature.  I was baffled by how law enforcement can treat the theft of a $5,000 book so casually, when the theft of a TV of the same value would clearly not be something treated with so little concern.  What an odd contradiction.

This is a book that I will be sure to recommend to my fellow book lovers.  I was utterly fascinated by it from the first page until the very last.
121557
Walter Moers, though famous in Germany, is just beginning to gain a following in the U.S. The recent publication of his books "The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear," "A Wild Ride Through the Night" and "Rumo" have introduced the English-speaking world to his imagination. His latest book, "The City of Dreaming Books," again shows us the whimsical world of Zamonia.

The story begins in Lindworm Castle (which was featured in Rumo), where Optimus Yarnspinner sits at the deathbed of his authorial godfather, Dancelot Wordwright. Wordwright gives him a manuscript, which he claims to be the greatest piece of writing ever. (It's about writer's block) Wordwright's dying wish for Yarnspinner is for him to become a writer. After reading the manuscript, however, he is so overtaken with ecstacy that he feels he has to go to the City of Dreaming Books to find the author of the manuscript. To make a long story short, Yarnspinner meets the shark grub Pfistomel Smyke (possibly a relation to Volzotan Smyke from "Bluebear" and "Rumo"), who claims to know the author and be able to track him down. Unfortunately, Smyke is not as benevolent as he seems; he poisons Yarnspinner with a book (yes, a book), and treacherously maroons him in the city's labyrinthine catacombs. Yarnspinner's only hope of getting out is to find the elusive Copohnius Regenshein, the famous bookhunter. Along the way, he must watch out for bookhunters, harpies, the fearsome booklings, and the legendary Shadow King.

In Moers' Zamonian world, anything can happen. For example, there are the animatomes (living books), hazardous books (with poison or booby traps in them), and bookhunters (unscrupulous bounty hunters who go searching for the most rare books, and will do anything to get them). Moers' tale is whimsical, imaginative, and eminently readable. Fans of his previous works will enjoy it, as will fantasy fans in general.

No characters from the other two Zamonian novels show up, though many of the locations do (Lindworm, for instance), as do some of the species. For example, Professor Nightingale is referenced once but does not make an appearence.  A Nocturnomath (Nightingale's species) does play a key role at the beginning, however.

There were only a couple of things I didn't like about it. First, there are not nearly enough of Moers' delightful illustrations. (There's only one of the main character, Optimus Yarnspinner). There are more illustrations than there were in "Rumo," but not as many as there were in "Bluebear." The illustrations are what really bring the book to life. Second, I thought that the middle sections, when Yarnspinner is wandering around in the Bookholm catacombs, drag on a bit much and are very wordy. With that said, I would recommend this to any fan of lighthearted fantasy/science fiction.
209082
Years ago, at a high school reunion, I had a nice visit with Ron Terborg. During our conversation, Ron discussed his idea for a book about a Native American dream catcher. I remember thinking, "What a novel idea." And indeed it was, and is, a "novel" idea.

Whether you believe in dream catchers like Daniel Gray Wolf or not, trust me, this book is interesting and fun to read. Many of the characters are people I would like to meet.

Daniel is like us. He does not have the advantages of Batman, Billy Jack or John Rambo. He makes mistakes, sometimes he doesn't think things through, sometimes he has the wrong impression, and he can be frightened out of his wits. But Daniel has a special gift. Some people have the special gift of a beautiful voice, some paint, some play the piano, some are athletic and some have charisma. Daniel's gift is an unusual paranormal ability. There are times when Daniel is not sure if his "ability" is a gift or a curse.

The author teaches us a number of things in his book. In one instance, he teaches us not to judge or condemn people too quickly. In another, he teaches us to trust our instincts. The author also teaches us about the dignity and validity of Native American spirituality.

I have already given Ron this message verbally, but I will repeat it. "Ron, please give us more. This book, this story and these characters have interesting places to go. Please allow us to continue the journey with them."

One more thing - - - this book is work of fiction, but I believe it is just on the "edge." Daniel Gray Wolf is out there.
209501
A hard hitting fantasy book in the grand style! Now Limbaugh can join the ranks of other greats in Fantasy Literature. Like Tolkien and Lovecraft, Rush has dreamed up a dark little frightening world, excect in Rush's land, the Lefties are evil and the Righties can do no wrong, and the Middlies must convert to Rightism or face the wrath of God! Spooky stuff!
I had ordered this book, but had to cancel my order once I found out that he was a drug addict (an OxyCotin fiend) and should be imprisoned. Instead I had no choice but to read a library edition, since I did not want to support his illegal habit.
2624622
In a haunting vision of the near future, inexorable draught and desert sands have laid waste to the mystical southwestern desert and the once shining beacon of California that at one time held a promise of gold, fame and citrus. Those who are still alive there survive on cola rations and black market fruit.

Ensconced in this dismal setting are two rays of light: Luz (the Spanish translation of light. Luz was light, she was light-headed, light within light) and Ray (think: sun ray). As a deserter and a quitter, his life has been an archipelago of ambiguity and abstraction and impossibility; as the former poster child for the Bureau of Conservation, she is defined by her thirsty needs. And then one day, they discover a strange fragile young toddler named Ig. They abduct her to save her and so the real story begins.

Claire Vaye Watkins astounded me with her short story collection Battleborn, surely one of the best contemporary collections of the past five years. So even though I am not a fan of dystopian literature (the only two Ive liked have been Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and Dog Stars by Peter Heller), I just had to see how far her talent had taken her.

The book is a wonder and testimony to a fertile imagination. Its about how we lay waste to our greatest gifts: our land, our dreams, our abilities to love and nurture.  Its about how weve become parched for the anything authentic, seeking false saviors and believing in fake visions as we strive to satiate ourselves. Its about the mystical lure of cults and drugs and visions and liesanything that leads us away from ourselves. And its about an unknowable child, a child who may just be the catalyst to help those to whom shes entrusted know themselves.

In ways, its also about how barren and bereft and lifeless our lives become  both interior and exterior  when we lose sight of what we truly thirst for. Claire Vaye Watkins touches on many issues: apocalyptic weather phenomenon, government conspiracies, cult idoltry, forced evacuations, crowd acquiescence, and loss and forgiveness. Yet Ms. Watkins never ignores her characters; Luz, Ray and Ig come across as all too real.  I cant even imagine where this talented young writer is headed next.
3359474
Be prepared for a book that spends a significant amount of time advocating alternative life styles.