Lari's Bookshelf

Illustration from Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark Trilogy I asked my friends on Twitter, G+, and Facebook what books they considered to be their "scariest read." I got some answers and compiled them in a Prezi presentation. It was fun to see all of these displayed so nicely in a digital "book display" format. I liked playing with Prezi. Have any more suggestions? Leave a comment! Also, the presentation is best viewed in "full screen" mode (button at lower right hand corner after starting presentation) and by using the right and left arrows at the center bottom. Also, you can zoom in and out as needed. Have fun! "Scariest" Reads on Prezi

Click to view on Amazon My Friend Dahmer  by Derf Backderf This is a horrible story. It really is. But My Friend Dahmer is a graphic novel written and drawn extremely well. The author/artist recounts his interactions with Jeffrey Dahmer in high school. Dahmer typically goes unnoticed by his teachers and peers. Sure, he is weird. He has this knack for acting like he has cerebral palsy and yelling in the library just to get the librarian riled up. (Note: I did not particularly enjoy the author's portrayal of the librarian, but I digress.) Dahmer likes to collect dead animals he finds, and strip them to the bone, just to see what's inside. But he also enjoys the company of friends at school. The bizarre interactions between him and his friends further illustrates just how strange Dahmer is, even though he is beneath everyone's radar. The story follows his family problems, dark fantasies, and his alcoholism in high school. He tries to numb the darkness within...

This group read discussion is hosted over at Stainless Steel Droppings  and it is filled with spoilers, so please don't read this post if you are intending to read the book. If you would like a spoiler-free review, please check out Grace's review, on Books Without Any Pictures, here .  1. Now that it’s all said and done; what did you think of the book? Did you see the ending coming? I didn't see Rachel's dark side coming. I thought that was well done. The reader also was let on that Dom killed Rachel early on, and he actually did kill her (though not in a way the reader expected). I also didn't expect Benedicte's whole episode with aborting her baby. That was rather shocking, and must have been traumatic. 2. What do you think of the characters? Lawrenson took us on a twisty little ride there, I had trouble deciding who was good and who wasn’t for a while there! What do you think of Dom? Of Sabine? Rachel? Dom - I love this character. I fully underst...

Disclaimer: I haven't finished the reading for the first part, but I'm nearly finished.  This book discussion is hosted by Carl V. Over at Stainless Steel Droppings . 1. This may seem like an obvious opening question, but what do you think of The Lantern thus far? I like it, but so far it is just "meh" to me. My husband and I read the beginning together, and I think he put it best when he described it as thus: Description of scenery, doing things, French words. Repeat The book is frankly, a little monotonous and the pace is nearly too slow for me to stay interested. . . . . . except when they hinted at the buried treasure thing. The pirate in me always gets excited when she hears of buried treasure! Yarrr. 2. The book appears to be following the experiences of two different women, alternating back and forth between their stories. Are you more fond of our main protagonist’s story or of Benedicte’s or are you enjoying them both equally? I like both eq...

I love classic horror fiction, and enjoy tales that can create a mood, setting, and leave you thorougly creeped out within 40 minutes of reading. These are some awesome short stories/novelettes you can download for free! I'm also highlighting the fact that these are all from ManyBooks . This is a fabulous free ebook site that has all sorts of literature that is available for free download in all kinds of formats. Check it out! Here are some I'd recommend: The Yellow Wall Paper   by Charlotte Perkins Stetson " A journal of the descent into madness of a woman suffering from a ''temporary nervous depression — a slight hysterical tendency.'' Hints throughout the story suggest the woman's problem is the recent birth of her child, insinuating postpartum depression. Confined in an upstairs room to recuperate by her well-meaning but dictatorial and oblivious husband, the yellow wallpaper in the room becomes the focal point of her growing insanity." ...

Ward Against Death by Melanie Card Scheduled for Release in August 2011 by Entangled Publishing , LLC 292 pgs ISBNs: 978-1-937044-08-4 (epub); 978-1-937044-09-1 (print) Genres: Romance, Fantasy, YA/Adult Crossover Here's a young necromancer who can't catch a break. Coming from a long line of necromancers, Ward de'Ath is still young and trying to make a name for himself. The story begins with Ward performing a "wake." This means Ward has been hired by nobility to bring a young woman back from the dead for fifteen minutes to say a final "goodbye" before burial. What Ward doesn't expect is the dead Celia Carlyle to awaken and enlist Ward on a quest to find out who murdered her. The plot picks up early on. Ward risks everything, his life and career, to aid Ms. Carlyle and solve the mystery of her death. Ward quickly realizes he can't trust Celia, and it becomes obvious that Celia views him as a means to an end. The reader immediately gets...

I just finished my chronological outline for my novel. I've had a few false starts already, but lacked knowledge of "where it was going" and hit dead ends. I think this is the first time I really have a clear picture of an ENTIRE book in my head. When I was in college and writing chapters of different novels for different creative writing classes, I had a lot of ideas but not a lot of direction. I almost fell into that trap again. The man and his creation.* Recently, I read At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft. The man is a genius and I don't care if you don't like his paragraph sentences. I relish every word. So I had Lovecraft on the brain, and while researching what an Old One might have looked like, I came across this short little article written by Lovecraft himself called Notes on Writing Weird Fiction . It wasn't anything particularly brilliant. It was simple. Too simple . But in a way, that's what made it so decidedly useful to m...

I vant to suck your blood cowboy! American Vampire, Volume 1 by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Stephen King Published by Vertigo in 2010 American Vampire is not just another vampire rehash. Scott Snyder and Stephen King are co-authors in a one of a kind introduction to a compelling new addition to the modern vampire mythos. King’s narrative illustrates the creation of the first American Vampire, Skinner Sweet, an outlaw who makes enemies of an elite group of Euro-vamps. Snyder’s storyline takes place in 1925, a few decades later, in Los Angeles where would-be actress Pearl Jones’s life is turned upside down by an encounter with the undead. She is given a chance for bloody revenge, however, when she is made vampire by none other than Skinner Sweet. Conflicts between Euro and American Vamps ensue, and the work delightfully lays down some new vampire rules. Rafael Albuquerque’s crisp lines and colors pop in this graphic novel’s beautifully designed panels. Shocking viole...