Reading The 1000 Books to Read Before I Die

“You know the character, of course, You’ve Seen him throughout your life—in cartoons, on cereal boxes, in countless movies and TV shows, and later teaming up with other creature-feature stars like Frankenstein and the Wolf Man, squaring off against the good guys from Sherlock Holmes to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” James Mustich Hi 1000 Bookies!!! Our next visit in the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die  begins at the turn of the last century in the woods of Transylvania, and then the estates of Victorian England.  For this Halloween season, I chose to read the classic novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker.  Because of this great story, a little known minor historical figure gained immortality…at least culturally.  Count Dracula has attained the highest level of recognition in  the literary hall of fame with the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Ebenezer Scrooge, and Tom Sawyer. However,  according to literary critic, Brooke Allen, “Upon its publication in 18...

“And a last thought from Tom: O Mr. Moundshroud, will we EVER stop being afraid of nights and death? And the thought returned: When you reach the stars, boy, yes, and live there forever, all the fears will go, and Death himself will die.” The Halloween Tree is is a great story about Halloween and one of those books that should be on the list of Books to Read before you Die.  Written by Ray Bradbury of Fahernheit 451 fame and published in1972, The Halloween Tree is an example of a "Buddy" story.  Geared to teenage boys and those of us who remember our younger selves--the book tells the story of preteen boys enjoying a Halloween evening.  I cannot recommend this story enough to all the preteens, teens and those of us that are young at heart who nostalgically reflect on their own Halloween nights.  In a time with slasher movies and monsters like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddie Kreuger, the Halloween Tree is spooky without becoming terrorfying or gory....

The Game of Kings By Dorothy Dunnett Hello 1000 Bookies!!!   The next stop on the tour of the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die takes us to 1550s Scotland in a historical fiction novel.   The Game of Kings , written by Dorothy Dunnett, is the first novel in an eventual 6 novel series, the Lymond Chronicles.   This was Ms. Dunnett’s first novel and she decided to write it with the encouragement of her husband when she said she ran out of literature she liked.   The novel came out in 1961 and a reader can tell that.   Today the popularity of the Outlander book Series and television show owes much to The Game of Kings.   Before there was Jamie Fraser, there was Francis Crawford, the Master of Cutler.   The novel takes place in Stuart Scotland in the 1550s.   When King Henry VIII died, England and Scotland were not one nation as they are today. Henry was succeeded by his son, Edward VI. Henry wanted a son and broke the Catholic Church to ...

Salem’s Lot By Stephen King The book Salem’s Lot is one of my favorite novels ever written.   I read the novel every October.   The characters are old friends to me.   The spookiness fits the season.   Halloween is a major holiday at my house, so I wanted to share some spooky books on my blog this October.   I personally believe that Stephen King, the author of Salem’s Lot , is one of the best authors the United States has ever produced. One day, Stephen King will be mentioned in the same breath as Twain, Hawthorne, Dickenson and Fitzgerald.   It was not always this way. I labored under the mistaken impression that Stephen King was a “horror” writer.   I would see the stack of Stephen King hard back novels on a bookshelf at my grandmother’s home.   She always purchased the latest King book.   I would wrinkle my nose, and silently or not so silently pass judgement on my grandmother’s lousy taste in reading.   I would even avo...