No. 49 - Darkness, Tell Us

by Richard Laymon

Started: October 30
Finished: November 7

Notes: Just in the nick of time for Halloween, I'm getting into a horror novel. This particular author comes highly praised from other horror writers, including Stephen King and Ty Schwamberger, so I'm excited to finally get an opportunity to check out this author.

Mini review: Reminded me a lot of Dean Koontz, especially the plotting. The overall writing was a bit more literary than Koontz, and the characters more personable. However, this is just the first Laymon book I've read, so I'll have to check out more to get a better feel for his style. Will I read more? Sure. This book was a lot of fun and tense, though the real action didn't kick in until the last 30 pages. Then things got quite grizzly.

Geocities is dead

It's a sad, sad week. After years of service, Yahoo has killed Geocities where I had my old Web page for the last 12 years, including my pages about beer.

But all is not lost. My beer rankings have been saved and I have something special planned for them.

Expect an announcement in coming weeks!

No. 48 - How to Win Friends and Influence People

by Dale Carnegie

Started: October 21
Finished: October 29

Notes: My dad has been a fan of public speaking guru Dale Carnegie for decades, specifically this book, so I thought I would give it a try, especially since this is a motivational book of sorts. This non-fiction book was originally published back in the 1930s, but still has some following even today. My guess is it will be a bit outdated, but hopefully it'll still be an interesting read.

Mini review: The basic gist of this book is, "follow the Golden Rule." That's oversimplifying to some extent, but not too far off the mark. The writing style was dated, but not to the point of annoyance. The main ideas focused mostly on business relations, but there were also some chapters on marital relations, friendships, etc. Not a bad little book. Too bad not many people today seem to follow the advice given.

Final trilogy novel published

Dark King of the North: Book III of the Kobalos trilogy is now available in ebook form online and for the Apple Kindle. Check it out at Amazon, Smashwords and Scribd.

Two literary stories published

Two of my more literary stories are now available over at Authspot.

The stories are Lesson of the Samurai and Kings of 772.

Hope you enjoy!

No. 47 - The Trial

by Franz Kafka

Started: October 8
Finished: October 20

Notes: This is another of those literary authors I've been meaning to try for years. The subject matter of this particular novel sounded of interest to me as it's about a man who is arrested and put on trial but no one will tell him what charges he faces.

Mini review: It's a shame the author died before this novel could be finished, because this could have been a major literary classic. As is, it's still a classic (as is the author), though it remains unfinished (though there is an ending ... it' just much of the middle is missing or only in part). I liked this book, though I don't believe I'd call it a favorite.

The Internet is for Porn!

Yes, this is actually from a Broadway musical. It's called "Avenue Q," sort of a Sesame Street for adults.