Books

The other day, on top of my Caesar's The Gallic Wars, I found a book my teenage daughter had borrowed from her highschool classroom: Acceleration by Graham McNamee. I'm not a huge fan of young adult horror or mystery, especially since the popularity of Twilight (and my very long,drawn out opinion of that series, which I'd rather keep to myself) had drawn hundreds of young adult authors out of the woodwork, trying to jump on the "vampire gravytrain". With a sigh, and some extra "bathroom reading" time on my hands, I picked up the book, and quickly skimmed the first few pages. "Ok", I told myself. "So far so good, no vamps or wolf-boys running around trying to protect a skinny young teenage female from the forces of evil". As I delved further, the pages began to quickly turn, as Acceleration began to ever increasingly peak my interest.

Alright werewolf fans, here’s an oldie but a definite goody! A group of old high school friends are invited to a remote mountain cabin to reunite and, for kicks, to pan for gold. Leaving their vehicles behind they pack necessities, including an insane amount of guns, and travel by horse the rest of the way up the mountain.

Stephen King has published a fifth collection of short stories, Just After Sunset, the youngest sibling to Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and Everything’s Eventual. With the most recent collection, Just After Sunset, King has reignited his passion for the short story.  After sitting in as guest editor for The Best American Short Stories 2007, King stated that “I got excited all over again, and I started writing stories again in the old way. I had hoped for that, but had hardly dared believe it would happen.” ^[1] Each of the stories in Just After Sunset showcases King at his most potent storytelling ability to date.

Upon first receiving Simon Snootle and OTHER small stories I was immediately impressed by the craftsmanship. It is obvious that the author has put heart and soul into this work of art. This book is hand crafted, stitched and bound using faux leather, and illustrated by the author. There are 19 illustrations and 68 pages on acid free paper. It comes with a nice built in bookmark.