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A Disturbing Talent

9/13/2020

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NYC Midnight Short Story Contest
Assignment: 2,000 Words
Genre: Horror
Location: A bus stop
Object: A pencil

​As she locked the door to her car and approached the bus stop, Meg recognized the faded black steel frame wrapping the space on three sides, and she knew what she’d find plastered to the scratched and filth-smeared plexiglass bolted in behind the squat metal bench: a Led Zeppelin poster, circa 1975, bleached from the sun and peeling away in strips, so that what looked like an angel—naked, male, enormous white wings extending from a grotesquely muscled body—appeared to be reaching his arms to a torn and hellish heaven.

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From the Found Notebook of Dr. Charles E. Watts

9/13/2020

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NYC Midnight Short Story Contest
Assignment: 1,000 Words
Genre: Horror
Location: A clearing in a forest
Object: A footstool

​This story isn’t long, and you won’t learn any lessons from it. It’s simply what happened to me. Take it or not, believe it or don’t; either way, I’m never getting out of here, and the only thing left to me are my words. I sincerely hope that you, whoever you are, burn these pages once you’ve read them, because the only way to end it is to destroy any trace of it.

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One Word Kill, by Mark Lawrence

6/30/2019

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Genre: Science Fiction
Themes: Late 80's, D&D, Friendship, Time Travel
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
½
I liked enough about ​One Word Kill that it gets a high 3. I didn’t hate it at all—there is a lot of cool stuff going on, and the story has promise. But I didn't love it, and with a description like "Ready Player One meets Stranger Things," I really wanted to love it. The writing is good, the characters interesting and believable.

​But it lacked energy, for some reason. It never went beneath the surface, really, so we don’t have much reason to actually CARE about Nick and his friends or what happens to them. So, while we might be interested in the story, we’re not necessarily invested in it. And it’s annoying, because I really liked what the author was setting up.

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The Haunted, by Danielle Vega

6/18/2019

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Genre: YA, Horror
Themes: High school, haunted houses, ghosts, bullying, domestic abuse
Rating: 
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Okay, so I sort of have a rule about not posting negative book reports, because—really—who am I to judge? Just because I didn't like a book doesn't mean I'm suddenly qualified to rant about my problems with it, and anyway, someone else may love the book for the same reasons I disliked it. 

BUT....but. This book is complicated, because I loved The Haunted​ for a bit and then I didn't like it all. So it deserves a book report either way, and I think I can explain my feelings minus the usual slander and trash-talking one finds in popular reviews these days (ahem—I'm looking at you, Goodreads).

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Mythology, by Edith Hamilton

2/23/2019

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Genre: Mythology
Themes: Major and minor elements of Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology
It feels good to finally finish a book that has been on my "To Read" list for more than two years! 

What did I learn? The origin of words like "arachnophobia," "cornucopia," "hilarious," "hypnotize," and so many more. That the Greeks were beautiful, cultured, and imagintive (if a little obsessed with murder and suicide), the Norse were both heroic and wise, and that many of us can trace our culture and race (and certainly our language) directly back to these ancient people.

Oh—and that now I'm ready to read Rick Riordan and Neil Gaiman!
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How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy, by Orson Scott Card

7/27/2018

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Genre: Guidebook, Writing
Themes: Defining Science Fiction vs Fantasy, World Building, Structure, etc. 
Highly recommended for anyone who wants to write, and especially for those of us who want to write speculative fiction.

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The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain

7/27/2018

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Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes: 1920's Paris, American Expat, Art Scene, Literature, Love & Marriage
When planning a trip to Paris for the first time, most people would struggle with what to wear. Being the book nerd that I am, however, I struggled with which book to bring along. The Nightingale and Turtles All the Way Down were strong contenders as books I’ve been wanting to read for awhile, but I ultimately chose The Paris Wife, which turned out to be the perfect book to read.

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Annihilation, by Jeff Vandermeer

2/7/2018

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Genre: Science Fiction | Horror
Themes: Biological Contamination, Government Conspiracy,
​Psychological Fortitude, Supernatural Lifeforms
​
All I can say is—Wow. I LOVED this book. It dug its tentacles into me from the very first page, and I’m not sure it’ll ever let go. Certainly not until after I’ve devoured the other two books in the Southern Reach trilogy.
​
Annihilation is smart. It’s creepy. It’s challenging. It makes you think, and it doesn’t give you all the answers. I only wish I’d picked it up sooner, instead of letting it sit and gather dust on my “To Read” shelf for the past four years because I’d heard it wasn’t very good.

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Arctic Dreams, by Barry Lopez

11/2/2017

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Book Report by Kelly Greenwood
Genre: Non-fiction
Themes: Far North, Wildlife, Native Eskimos, Natural History
​
I know I’m late to the game on this one, but that is the wonderful thing about books—they are reborn every time a new mind opens their cover. And my mind is blown away by Arctic Dreams. Lopez is well known for invoking a deep sense of place in his work, and since I began reading this book my mind has not strayed far from the wild white world of the north..

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The Kick-Ass Writer, by Chuck Wendig

7/10/2017

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Genre: Non-fiction | Writing
Themes: Writing Fiction, Publishing, Social Media, Monkeys & Bees
*Explicit* (In other words, he swears a lot)

Wow, what to say about Chuck Wendig? He’s the blogger at www.terribleminds.com, he’s very funny, and he’s a kick-ass writer. All three of these characteristics of Chuck are wrapped neatly into his book, The Kick-Ass Writer.

This book bears a somewhat lengthier report, simply because my reasons for reading it were more personal than for many of the other books I read.

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