12-26-07 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling - Fiction

5 - I always turn back to my favorite books when I get tired of reading. This series is always a joy and I notice something new each time I read it. This time I saw so many references to the future events of the story, I couldn't believe I missed them the first, second, third, etc. time I read the book. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is a fantastic first book. It follows the story of and eleven-year-old boy in the fairly wonderous and simple view of a boy that age. The reader is introduced to the wonders of the wizarding world through unjaded eyes, making each new discovery as exciting for the reader as it is for Harry. A great beginning to a fantastic series.

12-24-07 Lord Foul's Bane by Stephen R. Donaldson - Fiction

3 - Thomas Covenant is, by far, the most unlikable character I have ever some across. Mind you, he's not badly written, he's written as unlikable. He's a self-absorbed, bitter, and angry man. But....this story couldn't work if he were written any other way. He is a leper (really, not figuratively) who is sucked into another world where is white gold wedding band is a thing of power. He is seen by the people of the Land as wither their savior or their doom. Throughout his long journey, he denies the reality of his situation and demonstrates his ignorance of the Land repeatedly and with disastrous results. The book was good, though I didn't enjoy it as much as others who recommended it, but I'm not rushing to read the next in the series.

12-11-07 The Night Climbers by Ivo Stourton - Fiction

2 - From the description on the jacket, I expected a bit of an action/thriller with building climbing escapades providing the backdrop for the story. WRONG! There are only, maybe, 12 pages describing the group's night climbing. The rest of the story is about a group of spoiled college kids, with the narrator being the odd man out being from a family with an average financial income, whose money supply is cut off. Amid increasing gambling and shopping debts, Francis, the cash cow of the group, hatches a plan involving a forged Picasso to get their extravagant lifestyle back on track. The narrator, James, is a whiny, wishy-washy boy/man without any truly redeeming qualities; Francis is a stereotypical moneyed bad boy who actively tries and succeeds in being disowned by his wealthy father; Jessica is a shallow, thin character with only beauty on her side; Michael is the epitomy of a pompus ass. the only character who is remotely interesting is Lisa, and the reader learns next to nothing about her. For me, this was an extremely disappointing book focused primarily on the limitlessness of excess.

12-4-07 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill - Fiction

5 - Joe Hill is the next great horror author. I was impressed by 'Heart-Shaped Box' and this book proves it wasn't a fluke. A collection of short stories, '20th Century Ghosts' places Hill on the level of Richard Matheson and Stephen King. Not all the stories are strict horror, but they are all slightly or very disturbing and definitely gripping. From the first story, "Best New Horror" about an editor who finds a gem of a horror story, to the bonus story, "Scheherazade's Typewriter" (make sure to read the acknowledgements), Hill immediately pulls the reader into the story, forcing the reader to turn the pages faster and faster to see where he will go next. A fantastic book. I look forward to reading whatever he writes next.