Murderous Mermaids? Sure, because I trust Mira Grant aka Seanan McGuire

 

 

 

I don’t care for mermaids. Nor have I ever been interested in zombies. I have never wanted to read about diseases and outbreaks. And yet, I’m obsessed with Mira Grant. I am slowly working my way through everything she’s written. And she’s quite prolific. I never ever would have picked up her books if a friend hadn’t recommended her to me. The reason being I don’t really read scary books—I don’t like having nightmares. But her books are not horror at all. They probe what could happen if. . . . And sometimes what happens are dangerous situations that the average person is not prepared to handle. I know I most certainly am not. But after reading her books, maybe I would make it along a little farther in the story than the first person to die.

Mira Grant is thoughtful, even when she’s killing her best characters in Feedback, a Newflesh novel

Mira Grant is a thoughtful writer. Correction, well-established, respected Seanan McGuire is a thoughtful, caring writer. So thoughtful that she created a pseudonym when she started writing a new book series—because it was drastically different from what she had already written—she didn’t want to alienate her fans, confusing fairy-loving (magical creatures) readers who picked up her gory, bloody, virus-laden zombie books.

Some Book Nerds go on a Short Quest to see Ernest Cline Speak about Ready Player One and Armada

Ernest Cline spoke at Kepler’s Books through Peninsula Arts & Lectures. Kepler’s Books is in Menlo Park, which is a trek, a 40 minute Caltrain ride from San Francisco. My friend Gib, came with me, as well as my friend, author Doug Henderson. So that’s three book nerds riding the train 40 minutes to see an author speak. However, there was a delay of some sort so our ride was more like 80 minutes.

Books I’ve Read in 2014

Every year I promise myself I’ll read more books than I buy. Every year I promise myself that I’ll read more of the unread books on my shelves. And every year I promise myself that I’ll reread my favorite books. This year I did not reread any books. And this year I certainly bought more books than I read. But I did read some books that had been on my to read list for a while.

John Dies at the End by David Wong: Contemporary Surrealism?

I had seen David Wong‘s John Dies at the End twice in the bookstore and considered buying it but opted not to. A friend recently recommended I read it so I bought it. I wasn’t sure if it was science-fiction or horror but soon found out it was more horror than sci-fi. I’m a much bigger fan of science fiction than horror so I was disappointed. The title is the main reason I wanted to read it. He tells you from the outset who is going to die and when. But then you wonder if it’s just a ploy to get you to pick up the book. Will John really die? And because this is horror with strange otherworldly things happening, does that mean he can come back from the dead?