Month of Halloween Part:3

 -As often happens, I have picked out too many books for the month.  Luckily many of the themes work for the November holidays too (death, history -that might have to do with murders, cooking, etc.) So there will likely be books on the next post that would fit here, but I just couldn't read fast enough.  

Also I may just decide to do NaNoWriMo, because why not it's 2020 and everything is cancelled anyway, so my reading time may be spent writing.

Young Frankenstein: The Story of the Making of the Film by: Mel Brooks

Non-fiction: Pop Culture, Humor, 200 pages

This is the story of how the film "Young Frankenstein" came about from the mouths of the people involved.  It also contains lots of pictures from on the set and behind the screens information.

The Frighteners: A Celebration of our Fascination with the Macabre by: Peter Laws

Non-Fiction: History, Pop Culture, Science, Psychology, E-book 288 pages

This book deals with the whys and hows people love the macabre.  The topics range from true crime to horror films, and furries to zombie games. It involves places and events that the author personally visited as well as info from experts and a wide range of specialties.  Also it is written by a minister that became Christian after watching "The Exorcist". 

The Butcher and Other Supernatural Tales Vol. 2 by: Brendon Faife 

Fiction: Horror, Paranormal, Short Story, E-book

A collection of 5 short stories involving the supernatural.

The Girl in the Woods (Off-Kilter Tales #1) by: Michael Robertson

Fiction: Horror, Paranormal, Short Story, E-book

When attempting to kill themselves by driving into a tree, a man sees a strange girl in the woods.  He decides to see if she needs help, even if he is sure she is a ghost or delusion, and wakes up in a basement missing part of his leg. 

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by: Scotto Moore

Fiction: Sci-fi, Paranormal, 127 pages

A music blogger finds a new band who's music they just can't stop listening to. They try and find out who the band is and end up on the front line of what might just be the end of this dimension. 

Ghosts, Monsters and Madmen by: D. Nathan Hilliard

Fiction: Horror, Paranormal, Short Story, E-book

This book is a collection of short stories that the author got the rights back from after a couple of small presses went under.  They were made for anthology collections with diverse criteria. 

The Poison Plot: A Tale of Adultery and Murder in Colonial Newport by: Elaine Forman Crane

Non-Fiction: History, 272 pages

Apparently, until the famous one ruined the name for everyone there were a large number of people named  Benedict Arnold in that family.  This is the story of the possible murder attempt of the possible grandfather of the famous  Benedict Arnold. (The book deals with the reasons why he may or may not have been poisoned in a murder attempt, it doesn't deal as much with how this Benedict might not be the grandfather of the famous one, besides the fact that there is a lot of adultery, pregnant brides where the new husband wasn't the father, and other questions about paternity in the family history.  The book does deal with the fact that Mary Arnold might have had children by Benedict Arnold AND his son {by a previous wife} also Benedict Arnold.) Basically everyone in this family has the same couple of names and one of them might have been poisoned by their wife.

Month of Halloween Part:2

 Strange Planet by: Nathan W. Pyle

Fiction: Pop Culture, Comics, Humor, 144 pages

If B or L is reading this, No, I didn't read all the books I got you before giving them to you, the other book was too long to read that quickly. ;)

If you know the comic strip/web comic you know what this book is, a collection of short stories (many 4 panel) about "aliens" seeing everyday life with unusual, but reasonable word choices.  The book is divided up by themes. 

mental floss presents Condensed Knowledge: A Deliciously Irreverent Guide to Feeling Smart Again

by Will Pearson, Elizabeth Hunt, Mangesh Hattikudur

Non-Fiction: Science, Art, Food, History, Religion, 352 pages

This book is set up in a bathroom reader like format.  It is divided up by subject and includes lists as well as short little blurbs.  Most of it is OK, but not anything great.  The religion section was so bad, I wanted to correct their statements about other religions, because it was soo bad, that anyone with a basic knowledge on the subject could see the issues.  Like: suggesting that the founder of Islam had only 1 wife, noting that different Christians have some differences in what books make up the Bible (while stating the opposite of what happened was what happened) and then talking about books not in the Bible (while half of the books are in 2 out of the 3 branches of Christianity's Bibles), and getting so many dates wrong (both in historic evidence, and in how the religion sees itself- like I'd be cool with either this is what X group believes or this is what the archeology shows. But they get both wrong at times.)

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by: Caitlin Doughty, Ill. by: Dianné Ruz

Non-Fiction: Science, Pop Culture, Children's, YA, 222 pages

This book answers a series of questions that children have asked about death, funerals, and ways to deal with dead bodies. Most questions deal with human death, as the author is a funeral director, but it does have questions about animal deaths as well.  Also, while I logically knew that a "Viking funeral" shouldn't work given the temps and length of  time it takes to cremate a person, having someone point out that you would end up with a slightly charred body floating around in the water and a sunk boat, is depressing.  

To Hell I Must Go: The True Story of Michigan's Lizzie Borden by: Rod Sadler

Non-fiction: History, 176 pages

This is a novelized version of the story of a murder that took place in a small Michigan town in 1897.  It was written by a retired police officer who was looking into the life of their great, great grandfather who was the sheriff when it happened.  While the murder did take place using an ax, and the murderer was a female, that is the only connections with Lizzie Borden that the event has.

 The Zen of Zombie: (Even) Better Living through the Undead by: Scott Kenemore

Non-fiction: self help, pop culture, 280 pages

This is a self help books based on being like a zombie.  Because nothing stops a zombie from getting what they want (brains.)  It has 2 parts: the 24 habits of highly effective zombies and a 90 day guide to zombification.  

   

Month of Halloween Part:1

 Some of these books were picked out before Halloween or are not topical. (The trivia books with will appear in this and the next posting are for a possible spot on a trivia podcast.) 

The Living Flame of Love by: Juan de la Cruz (St. John of the Cross)

Non-Fiction: Religion, Classic, Poetry, E-book

Part of this book is his poetry as well as an explanation of it's meaning.  And part of it is letters that he sent to various people.  

Brick Greek Myths: The Stories of Heracles, Athena, Pandora, Poseidon, and Other Ancient Heroes of Mount Olympus by: John D. McCann, Monica Sweeney, Becky Thomas

Fiction: Classic, Pop Culture, E-book

A retelling of the major Greek myths told in Lego.  

The Romanovs: A Captivating Guide to the Last Imperial Dynasty to Rule Russia and the Impact the Romanov Family Had on Russian History by: Captivating History

Non-fiction: History, E-book

A short history of the Romanov dynasty in Russia.  It highlights the major people and events including of course the end of the Tsars in Russia.

Opium and Absinthe by: Lydia Kang

Fiction: History, Mystery, E-book

This book takes place in NYC shortly after the book "Dracula" came out. Tillie is the younger daughter in one of the wealthy, society families.  She has a riding accident and is given opium for the pain.  Soon after the accident her older sister is murdered.  From the way she was killed it looks like it was a vampire.  Besides the bite marks the major possible clue to what happened was an absinthe bottle found next to her.  Tillie is determined to solve her sister's murder, and gets help from unexpected places while also dealing with her growing use of the opium.

The Best Bar Trivia Book Ever: All You Need for Pub Quiz Domination by: Michael O'Neill

Non-Fiction: History, Science, Art, Sports 265 pages

Mostly a good collection of the trivia likely to show up in things like bar trivia games.

The Professor & the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity & the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by: Simon Winchester

Non-fiction: History, Biography, E-book

The story of the main creator of the Oxford English Dictionary and the American, who was found criminally insane, who was the biggest outside contributor to it. 

The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by: Colin Woodard

Non-fiction: History, 405 pages

This book tells the story of the heyday of Pirates in the Caribbean and who and what ended much of it.

 Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails, with More than 500 Recipes by: David Kaplan, Nick Fauchald, Alex Day

Non-fiction: Food, 320 pages

A collection of cocktail recipes as well as information on how to bartend/make good drinks, the bar and people connected to the bar.