HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

ONE DAY until HALLOWEEN!

The Serpent of Venice:

The Serpent of Venice by: Christopher Moore
Fiction: Humor, Classics, Paranormal 326 pages
Book Count: 55

This book is the follow up to the book Fool. (Review here.)  This one being some what based on The Merchant of Venice, Othello and The Cask of Amontillado, which enough King Lear to tie them together. In this book Pocket (the fool)  is in Venice with his sidekick Drool and monkey, Jeff. There is a number of characters from the source stories such as: Othello, Portia, Iago, Shylock, Jessica, Salanio and Salarino.  As well as some that weren't like the Chorus (who people are constantly breaking the fourth wall with), Marco  Polo, a dragon, and a ghost because "there's always a bloody ghost." And like all books by this author crazy things happen, but as it is based on Shakespeare it also includes tons of death and of course both writers agree on the large amount of codpiece jokes in the book.

Ghosts of the Deep:

Ghosts of the Deep By Daniel Cohen
Non-fiction: Paranormal, Children's 103 pages
Book Count: 54

This book is a collection of ghost stories relating to shipping and the sea.  It includes the common story of Ocean Born Mary,  and many stories of sailors who see loved ones at the time that they died.

Nosferatu -

Fun Facts:

-The company that made this film couldn't get the rights to Dracula and that's why there are slight changes in the plot and names.

-All but one copy of this film was destroyed due to its copyright infringements.

-Dracula was never copyright protected in the USA.

-This film is the reason why vampires are killed by sun light: in old legends they sometimes didn't come out during the day, but daylight wasn't necessarily going to burn them up, and in the book Dracula is only weaker in the daytime.

Bites:

Bites: Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into Edited By: Lois Metzger
Fiction: Short Story, Paranormal, YA 103 pages
Book Count: 53

This collection of short stories has a good mix of things that go bump in the night; ghosts, werewolves, vampires and Coyote.  Some are rather typical and some have some good twists.  Also one story does take place in Flint, so bonus.

John Dies at the End:

John Dies at the End by: David Wong
Fiction: Paranormal, Sci-fi/ Fantasy 375 pages
Book Count: 52

This book is by one of the people from the Cracked website.  On one hand it is nothing like what I would expect from someone that writes for the site.  Although, it is funny in spots, it is not mainly a humor book.  It is not a big list of thing where only half of them truly fit the title.  It is fiction.
But on the other hand this book is exactly what I would expect from a Cracked writer.  If a fever dream had a fever dream it's fever dream would almost be as odd as this book.  This book is like a dozen somewhat connected stories that all can't fit in the same time line, but some how do, strung together with penis jokes in between.  It is a story about mind altering drugs, inter-dimensional travel, alternate time lines, shadow people, love, ghosts, and many other things.  Also, John may or may not die at some point(s) in the book.

American Chillers #37: The Underground Undead of Utah:

American Chillers #37: The Underground Undead of Utah by: Johnathan Rand

Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 174 pages

Book Count: 51

                     ZOMBIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         BRAINSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Happy Mole Day!!

American Chillers #12: Dangerous Dolls of Delaware:

American Chillers #12: Dangerous Dolls of Delaware Johnathan Rand

Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 163 pages

Book Count: 50

Evil dolls come back to life, (because what other types of dolls do you think would be alive in a series like this?)

Also,

" Or, imagine being magically whisked away to... Delaware.

[pauses]

 Hi. I'm in... Delaware." - Wayne's World

Michigan Chillers #1: Mayhem on Mackinac Island:

Michigan Chillers #1: Mayhem on Mackinac Island by: Johnathan Rand

Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 170 pages

Book Count: 49

I had forgotten how addictive these stories are: a quick, easy to read book, that you know the main formula used to make it, but still enjoyable, a guilty pleasure type of book.  They are like the potato crisps of books. . . you can't stop at one.  (Although, I'm sure when some one reads this they will remind me that this is the same things I complain about in the reading choices of certain family members, but unlike some people, I don't think that this is a classic or high literature.  I don't have a problem with reading about sparkly vampires or Amish women in love, I have a problem with thinking sparkly vampires is great literature. In short, I would like to admit that I like the modern children's version of penny dreadfuls and pulp fiction but I'm not going to be surprised that it isn't nominated for the Noble prize for literature. [And yes I know some great stories came out of penny dreadful and pulp fiction writers, but most are long forgotten now, often for good reasons.])

Now on to the plot.  A brother and sister summer each year on Mackinac Island, but one year they get sucked into the Island of Mayhem, which is Mackinac in some sort of parallel dimension.  Now they must find a stone key in Skull Mountain to get back home.

Michigan Chillers #15: Calumet Copper Creatures:

Michigan Chillers #15: Calumet Copper Creatures by: Johnathan Rand

Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 177 pages

Book Count: 48

First, long time readers of this blog might remember that the town of Calumet already has a chilling history.
Second, in this book the author even writes himself into the story, as well as writing in a bit to connect it to another book that he wrote, to hook people into reading it too. (Which they have done in every book, as well as having a couple of chapters of that book in the back.)
Third, as the title gives away this book takes place in Calumet and deals with it's history as a copper mining town.

Michigan Chillers #11: Great Lakes Ghost Ship:

Michigan Chillers #11: Great Lakes Ghost Ship by: Johnathan Rand

Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 180 pages

Book Count: 47

I am fairly sure that this book could have been a NYR book, except I have no idea where the books I bought for an author signing at the school went to. . . as it's not like they're being read by anyone.  

Anyway this book takes place in Cheboygan, but the kids in it are mostly from Grand Blanc (because what type of scary story would happen in Grand Blanc? The traffic ticket of doom?) This story is about a legendary ghost ship on the Great Lakes. (I didn't bother to look up the see if it might be a real legend or made up like the mummy one, as it's complexly believable in either case.)  Anyway the two kids from Grand Blanc and there friend that lives in Cheboygan go to see the US  Coast Guard Cutter, the Mackinaw.  When they are looking at it the uncle of the local kid who works on the ship invite them on for a tour.  When in the middle of the ship he gets called away and tell them to stay there until he gets back.  They wait until they see a zombie sailor coming to where they are and they know that the legend of the ghost ship must be true and they need to escape. 

Michigan Chillers #10: Mackinaw City Mummies:

Michigan Chillers #10: Mackinaw City Mummies By: Johnathan Rand
Fiction: Children's, Paranormal 169 pages
Book Count: 46

As you can tell from the title this book series is a collection of scary stories that take place around Michigan. In this book a boy finds an ankh when digging for nightcrawlers in Mackinaw City and he and his friend end up on an adventure dealing with ancient Egyptian mummies because Egypt and Mackinaw City are connected by a legendary cave.

Rotten School - Night of the Creepy Things:

Rotten School - Night of the Creepy Things By: R. L. Stine
Fiction: Children's, humor 106 pages
Book Count: 45

This book is book 14 in the series, but as it isn't written anywhere on the book I didn't put it in the title information.  This series seams to be written at a 2nd or 3rd grade reading level, and is the type of story where unusual things are seen as normal, but there isn't any blatant supernatural/paranormal activities in the book.  In this book a graduate of Rotten School who makes horror films starts a contest where the kid with the best homemade horror film will be an extra in his next film.   The main characters try to make many different films with funny results.

Goosebumps Most Wanted: Planet of the Lawn Gnomes Vol:1:

Goosebumps Most Wanted: Planet of the Lawn Gnomes Vol:1
Fiction: Children's, Paranormal, 125 pages
Book Count: 44

Jay has just moved to a new town after an incident in his old town.  His new neighbor is a cranky old man and the town is full of creepy lawn gnomes that always are being moved around when he isn't looking.  So it starts much like the original Goosebumps series.  And it also ends with an ending much like the one that you would expect. But the middle is more layered then I remember Goosebumps being.  The reading level is about the same level as before.

Update:

We  at WNBNI have noticed many new horror/scary stories series in the children's section of the library while certain unnamed peoples play on the computer or pick out books where normal kids write in journals or diaries.  So, having failed in convincing them to read said books, we are reading them our self (not that we wouldn't read them if they checked them out, just that then we would sneak them and not count them as books we read, like how bedtime stories aren't on the list.)

Zombie-Loan Vol. 1:

Zombie-Loan Vol. 1 By: Peach-Pit
 Non-Fiction: Manga, Paranormal,  191 pages
Book Count: 43

Two high school boys survived an accident where everyone died.  Now an orphan girl who can see  the black ring around the neck of people that are going to die finds out the secret of how they "lived" and gets sucked into their world of zombie loans.

Monster on the Hill:

Monster on the Hill By: Rob Harrell
Non-fiction: Manga/ Graphic novel, humor, Sci-fi
Book Count: 42

In this tale of Victorian England every town has their own monster on the hill.  The monster scares the town folk from time to time, helping with tourism and protects the town from Murk.  But the monster for Stoker-on-Avon just mopes around refusing to scare anyone.  So Dr. Charles Wilkie, a disgraced doctor and scientist who has damaged the town more then the monster with his inventions and experiments and Timothy the town's town crier and stereotypical plucky, orphan, street urchin work to help the monster be more monster like.

Famous Last Words #3

(Which might contain quotes from earlier Famous Last Words)

- Either that wallpaper goes, or I do. - Oscar Wilde

- I die hard but am not afraid to go. - George Washington

- I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have. - Leonardo da Vinci

- I feel here that this time they have succeeded. - Leon Trotsky

- I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record . . . - Dylan Thomas

- I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room - and God damn it - died in a hotel room. - Eugene O'Neill

- Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers. -  Walter De La Mare, writer

- A King should die standing. -  Louis XVIII

- I see black light. - Victor Hugo

- I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark. - Thomas Hobbes

- Turn up the lights, I don't want to go home in the dark. -  O. Henry

- I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring. -  Richard Feynman, physicist

- I've never felt better.-  Douglas Fairbanks, Sr

- All my possessions for a moment of time. -  Elizabeth I

- No, I shall not give in. I shall go on. I shall work to the end.-  Edward VII

- The earth is suffocating . . . Swear to make them cut me open, so that I won't be buried alive. -  Frederic Chopin

- I am dying. I haven't drunk champagne for a long time. -  Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

- I am still alive! -  Gaius Caligula

- I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is correct. - Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian

- I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis. -  Humphrey Bogart