All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

 I think I'm done with reading books from lists for a while now that I've finally finished the horror list. Maybe someday I'll pick up on the mystery list again, I don't know, maybe I'll just spend time working through my backlog of books. So it is time to probably wrap up this blog. But after cataloging the books I've read for 14 years it is kind of hard just to stop - I'm not sure why. Probably one day I'll read a really horrible book that I don't feel like making an entry for and that'll be it for the blog. I should just stop now but All the Birds in the Sky was a really good book. Something I'd recommend to friends. And making it the first book that I don't include just seemed wrong. A

Horror Book # 35 - Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King

 It only took 14 years, but I finally finished the top 50 horror novels according to this website: https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-horror-books-of-all-time

Was it worth it? Maybe. I'm glad to have read Clive Barker. Dean Koontz, not so much. 

Anyway - Nightmares and Dreamscapes was okay. It certainly took me forever to get through. Was a 70 page story about Stephen King's son's little league team necessary? No. Scary? Not at all. 

I enjoyed most of the stories but none of them would be considered his best work. B

Strange Houses by Uketsu

I don't have much to say about Strange Houses except that it is a very fast read, and I had chosen this book to read on a long airplane flight. I ended up finishing it before my transfer and was stuck sitting in my seat with nothing to do for hours. B-

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

 I picked this up at Powell's in Portland, and having now read it, I can say that it is the perfect book to purchase while in Portland. Also, I really enjoyed it. A

Horror Book # 47 - Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

 I'm nearing the end of the horror list. I left this one to read near the end because I knew I'd want to make another attempt at reading the whole series after rereading Interview with the Vampire. And yeah, I can't wait to get started on the next one sometime soon. This book is so good - easily an A.

Horror Book # 50 - Phantoms by Dean Koontz

 Some day I'll reach the end of this horror book list... Phantoms was okay, entertaining but nothing special. Dean Koontz is no Stephen King.  B

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

 I enjoyed it. A-

Horror Book # 23 - Needful Things by Stephen King

 

Has it really been almost three months since I've finished a book? I took my time with Needful Things and it is a fairly long book. It was an enjoyable read but not at all scary, it works best as a social commentary on people deluding themselves and falsely blaming others for their problems. B

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Planet X by Michael Jan Friedman

I read so many Star Trek books back in the 90's that I really don't know if I had read this one before or not. Maybe? This time the Enterprise has an adventure with the X-Men somehow. Of course there is the obligatory reference to the resemblance between Picard and Professor X - and this was written even before the X-Men movies. Wolverine and Worf also become buddies. B-

Horror Book # 36 - Ghost Story by Peter Straub

 

Why am I still posting these? Anyway, I enjoyed Ghost Story. A-

Horror Book # 25 Skeleton Crew by Stephen King

 I didn't expect Skeleton Crew to be one of the best Stephen King books I've read. Most every story here is a winner and there are quite a few of them. Easily an A.

Book # 103 & Horror Book # 45 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

 

This was my second reading of The Picture of Dorian Gray - and yeah - I liked it. That Oscar Wilde guy has some witty things to say. A.

Horror Book # 39- Christine by Stephen King

 

Another Stephen King book crossed off my list. Christine is a bit above average for a King novel. B+

World Within a Song: Music That Changed My Life and Life That Changed My Music by Jeff Tweedy

 

A nice chill book of Jeff Tweedy's commentary on some of his favorite songs. B+

Horror Book # 9 - Stories and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe/ Horror Book # 15 - The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe/ Book # 194 - The Complete Stories of Edgar Allan Poe/ Horror Book # 18 - The Tell Tale Heart and Other Writings/ Mystery Book # 3 - Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe

 When I first started this blog I spent a good deal of time browsing used book stores. One of the best items I ever found was a nice hardback copy of the complete and unabridged writings of Edgar Allan Poe for only $2.00. It was probably at the used book store within the Santa Monica Library. That was maybe 13 years ago. And I have slowly been getting through it. And now I'm all done - all the short stories, a bunch of poems and his novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordan Pym. Some of the stories are great - true classics. Some made absolute no sense to me. A

Horror Book # 12/ Book # 122/ Mystery Book # 70 - Dracula by Bram Stoker

 For some reason I quit halfway through reading Dracula back in high school. And now 30+ years later I've finally picked it back up. I enjoyed going back to reading a "classic" book. Maybe it was a bit longer than necessary but it still gets an A.

Star Wars: The High Republic - Trials of the Jedi by Charles Soule

 

Finally! An end to The High Republic series! Now to catch up on all my other reading. The ending was about as good as you could hope for such a long series. It felt like a true ending and was pretty satisfying. B+

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

 

I enjoyed this one, maybe it was a bit longer than it should have been, but it delivered on being an interesting take on "slasher" films. B+

Star Wars: The High Republic - A Valiant Vow by Justina Ireland

 

Yet another High Republic book... only one left to go right? This one was okay. B-

Star Wars: The High Republic - Tempest Breaker by Cavan Scott

 Someday soon these High Republic books will end. I think this is the 26th one I've read? Only two more to go... This one was just okay, maybe I just don't care much for another bad guy redemption story in Star Wars. B-