Tutorials, Random Fun, Recipes, Vegan Recipes, Daily Tips and Tricks

Wednesday 30 May 2012

How to change your favicon (little picture next to the URL)


It's really simple but silly me, I missed this the first time around. So anyone else that missed it, here's how to change your favicon in the new blogger dashboard:


Go to you blog, hit the design tab in the right corner

Click the Layout Tab on the left side, here you can edit your favicon

Your favicon needs to be saved as a .jpg .ico (maybe a .gif?)

That’s it!

Monday 28 May 2012

Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children



4.5/5 Stars
Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children
By Ransom Riggs
Quirk Books (June 7, 2011)
Genre: Supernatural, Suspense  









Is a mouth full that's what it is! No, no, it's an interesting and imaginative novel by Ransom Riggs. This was a story I just sort of stumbled upon, it was one of those 'if you like this book you may like this one also' type of dealeo's, and I'm glad I gave it a go!

The story follows a young boy named Jacob who grew up on his grand fathers unbelievable stories of children with special talents. His grandfather had fled from the Nazi's and taken refuge on a small island outside of England, where he attended a school filled with special children. He had left the magical school to fight in the second World War against the 'monsters' and later settled in America. Jacob's grandfather had shown him several pictures of these gifted children, which when Jacob was a child himself, had happily lapped up as real. Now a teenager his faith in these 'tales' begins to waver, and his father tells him that the people are most likely real but the stories are embellished and the photos manipulated. This is a far easier alternative than believing that gifted individuals exist. It's not until Jacob's grandfather calls him in a panic demanding the keys to his gun cabinet -which Jacobs father had confiscated afraid that the old man was showing signs of dementia- that he begins to question if in fact his grandfather's stories are indeed fallacious. Jacob eagerly flees his job at the family owned business to make sure his grandfather hasn't gotten himself into trouble, only to discover the house in complete disarray and his grandfather missing. Soon Jacob finds his grandfather mortally wounded in the wooded backyard, and his dying wish is for him to return to the school his grandfather had once attended and seek the answers his grandfather had foolishly never given him. If that isn't strange enough Jacob glimpses the ghoulish monsters his grandfather had described to him countless times lurking amongst the trees. Jacob ventures forth to the island with his father either to put to rest that he isn't crazy or rid himself of the nightmares plaguing him of the frightfully awful creature that he had witnessed.

It is very beautifully written, very creative and original with the story and characters and Riggs uses personification, similes, and analogies flawlessly. I actually have examples this time of some of the lovely descriptions he used. I read this book and it made me think 'this is what creative writing is all about'. Here are a few excepts:

'and I realised that leaving wouldn't be like I had imagined, like casting off a weight. Their memory was something tangible and heavy, and I would carry it with me.'

'"For a hundred generations he slept, curled like a fetus in the earth's mysterious womb, digested by roots, fermenting in the dark, summer fruits canned and forgotten in the larer until a farmer's spade bore him out, rough midwife to a strange harvest."'

'I strapped it{gas mask} over my face and followed her out onto the lawn, where the children stood scattered like chess pieces on an unmarked board, anonymous behind their upturned masks, watching billows of black smoke roll across the sky.'

'It{chest} hesitated for a moment, wobbling there on the edge of oblivion, and then pitched decisively forward and fell, tumbling end over end in beautiful balletic slow-motion.'

'It{path} ended abruptly at a forest of skeletal trees, branches spindling up like the tips of wet paintbrushes, and for a while the path became so lost beneath fallen trunks and carpets of ivy that navigating it was a matter of faith.'

'It was a crisp blustery day - the sun hiding behind giant cloundbanks only to burst out moments later and dapple hills with spectacular rays of light-'

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to. My only complaints are, that its was rather predictable, and that when it ended - while it was in a good place- I felt that there was so much more that I wanted to know (which I'm not sure is the worst thing, but it leaves you with a sense of incompleteness and yearning for a sequel). Which thankfully seems like there will be one, at a currently undisclosed date, so hopefully I don't forget! I would really like to see what adventures Jacob and the peculiar children undertake. I would definitely recommend especially if you're in the mood for something different, it's somewhat similar to x-men, but darker. And I think it goes without saying that I am anticipating the release of the second novel. Another interesting aspect of the book is that it contains pictures of the key characters including their bizarre abilities, and at the end of the book it tells that the majority of the photos are real with very little doctoring, which makes you wonder how this was all possible without photoshop and with these supposed 'dark-room effects'??

Friday 25 May 2012

Inhuman



3/5 Stars
Inhuman
By Danielle Q Lee
Self Published? (August 4th, 2010)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure 









A free novel on kobo written by Danielle Q. Lee - is anyone else wondering what the Q is??- about a young women's horrible journey of self discovery.

Cassia is a archaeologist student struggling to make the last few hundred for her tuition, so she does the only logical thing for college students to do; volunteers to be a paid guinea pig!  For $250 a pop, why not?  She get's blood drawn for the first time, an x-ray, and the poor girl even subjects herself to a mammogram all in the name of her tuition! Shortly after beginning her tests she is greeted by a handsome Hawaiian stranger, and spends a few days developing a romantic relationship with him.  With the date for the tuition looming, she can no longer put off not paying it.  Back to the lab she goes, except this time everyone is not so friendly, actually they're rather fearful and awkward, hmmmm. Undeterred by this Cassia continues to her designated room for her next torture/test session, but instead of being welcomed by lab students there are several dangerous looking men in black suits.  This is of course, you guessed it, is when sh** hits the fan.  They probe her with unrelenting questions of where she is from/born, until they determine she is not going to co-operate.  They then drug her and transport her to a military compound, and it is here that she learns the disturbing truth about herself. She is not human.

I am sort of on the fence about this book.  I didn't hate it, but I didn't exactly love it either.  While the writing was good, I was left with a feeling of 'meh' when I was finished.  There really is nothing special about Cassia aside from some screwed up looking DNA and a strange star shaped birthmark right smack in between her boobies.  This definitely is not a feel good book, there are a lot of horrible things Cassia is subjected to once she becomes detained.  There was also a lot of alluding of things to come at the end of the chapters "little did she know" type stuff, I felt that this happened several times and that it made the writing seem amateurish-to me anyway.

Daniella did however paint some very nice word pictures. I highlighted some of the writing that I thought was phrased beautifully, and then I removed the book from my Kobo before I copied it off! I know, I'm soooo smart.  So please forgive me in my lapse of good judgement.

Though, I suppose this really isn't my favourite genre, it may be possible I'm being biased, but the book didn't really do much for me. I say, it's OK, and it's up to your discretion whether or not this sounds good.  It's not a bad story, it just isn't for me.  I must admit the except at the end for another novel 'Nightmara', looked worth being looked into, so I might give the author another go.

Available on Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Inhuman/book-8_-7iZ-WPEy0W5ZOjJkT5Q/page1.html?s=1T40BNH6qEWhh_G3kAtS7Q&r=1

Not free for Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Inhuman-ebook/dp/B003UV8ONQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1337971637&sr=8-6

Wednesday 23 May 2012

How to Align Text to Pictures


You ever wonder how people get the cool effect of text next to pictures in their blog? And call you can do is that boring old text underneath.  Well you're in luck if you want to remedy this situation!

I’m sure there’s a bunch on junk code in here, but if you want to line up text next to your photo here is the code.  (it also lined up my other body text, so I’m sure this much code is NOT needed) Just copy and paste this to where you want a picture in your blog in the HTML editor. Play around with it, :).

Note: You can edit what your text says either in HTML or Compose editor


<img src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSve8fLjG95uZd31Rrdk13OxRZ7dfisXvSnxEv1GS3r2A217xa0" style="float: left;" />  This is of course the link to the image, the easiest way to get this is to just paste it in, find the image, right click and copy url NOT image
<br />
<div style="float: left; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left; width: 300px;"> This will determined how wide and such your text is
<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">
5/5 Stars</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">
Hollowland</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">
Amanda Hockings</div>
<div style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 20px;">
First in The Hollows series</div>
<span style="line-height: 20px;"><b>Genre: Horror/Apocalypse</b></span></div>
<br /> 
<br /> <=--- this essentially means 'enter' make a space beneath
<div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /> Not sure if you need this

Monday 21 May 2012

Hollowmen



4/5 Stars
Hollowmen
By Amanda Hockings
Second in Hollows Series
Self Published?
Genre: zombie apocalypse










**If you haven't read the first book this is a bit of a spoiler***  When we first crack open this zombie apocalypse book we're a thrust into Remy's nightmare life of being a guinea pig for the remaining scientist -and it's very graphically described.  But we're in luck! Remy makes a somewhat triumphant escape -while awake on a operating table- when the base has been compromised by invading zombies, yey! Of the few people remaining at the compound - they've been evacuated due to the zombies getting smarter- Tataum had stayed behind to help her escape. They race to where the rest of the final group of people fleeing the compound are situated and campout in an army truck till daybreak.  Remy convinces the survivors that it's a better idea to go south instead of north because she had encountered people with guns and food at a base - also helps her on her never ending quest to save her brother who is located at this base!  So the group embarks on south none the wiser that sh** has hardcore hit the fan down there.

This book is definitely more vivid when it comes to people having their guts ripped out, for me not really a selling point by for others who aren't as squimish as me I'm sure it won't faze them.  I unfortunately have a very good imagination so when she starts talking about intestines I can see ALL of it in my head.  I felt there was something missing in the writing, while I still liked the book I didn't love it like the first one.  It could be because Remy didn't have as many good zingers, or maybe the character dynamics weren't as good as the first group of travellers, maybe Remy becomes a little too cut off emotionally, but something was lacking to me. The writing seemed a little bit sloppy - I'm don't think this is the case for the first book, but I think reading Blindspot is partially to blame since the writing in it was so well done making Hockings look not as advanced.

Would I recommend a read?  If you really liked the first one and you're dying to see what happens to Remy, yes, I don't regret reading it, I still killed the book in a matter or 2 or 3 days. The chapters are short and suspenseful so it's easy to blow through it.  Heck, if she writes a third one, (which doesn't seem to be in the works yet - but Hollowmen was just released) I'd read it.  Though I must admit I'm intrigued about the graphic novel being released I think some time this year.

Friday 18 May 2012

Blindspot



4/5 Stars
Bindspot
By Nancy Bush
Zebra (July 1/2010)
Genre: suspense








A free suspense novel offered at Kobo by Nancy Bush. I must say I'm a sucker for 'best selling' author which was exactly what was plastered across the cover of this book. I hadn't heard of her, but then again I haven't heard of the vast maority of authors pumping out books these days. It looked good, she had to be doing something right to get the recognition, and so the "add to my library" button was promptly pushed by moi. 

The writing was well done, the character's were well developed even if most of them weren't likeable. I enjoyed the pace, but the book was a lot longer than I expected it to be (about 750 on my kobo) so be prepared to devote some time to this. I enjoyed reading it and it definitely had an interesting premise and a good twist at the end; but I did find it a bit predictable at times. She definitely did her research on mental disorders and though there was a pinch of fantasy, everything was pretty believable. Though at some parts I was getting annoid with Tasha's inability to make a good decision. You're left scratching your head wondering, why is she doing this? But by the end of the book you sort of get clued into her thought process; I still felt myself questioning even knowing more about her though...

The story follows around a series of characters: Dr Claire Norris (the heroine), Langdon Stone (a detective), Tasha (a catotonic pregnant girl), and the crazed person who tried to steal Tasha's baby. The book opens with Tasha and Rafe (the baby daddy) on the run. When they stop at a gas station to fill up and 'drain their tanks' the young couple is attacked, luckily a trucker interveins but it's too late for Rafe. The young girl lapses into a coma and is taken to the hospital. Dr Claire Norris (a psychologist) wants to take charge of the patient expecting her to have mental anguish due to the attack, she wants to be the doctor there when prego wakes up. Unfortuately Claire is superseeded by an arrogant staff member who cares more about the patients notoriety than her well being. Ex Detective Langdon Stone interested is piqued by the attack of the young couple and he agrees with his old partner's request to look into the case. It is the first case to interested him since 'the incident' with his sister. Stone is unaware that the girl has been tranfered into the care of Halo Valley Mental Hospital where Dr Norris works; their paths had previously becomed intertwined but far from in a good way. Now Claire is forced to deal an disgruntled detective, untrusting co-workers, an imenant confrontation with a patient she fears, and a catotonic prego -who can't tell who she is or who attacked her- all while the attacker circles closer and closer.

Would I recommend this book? Sure, it's a long read, but it's still good. If you like a thriller with mental disorders, pregnant teens, and a cult-like grouping of strange and mysterious women with a dash of romance this is a book for you! Would I read another one of her books? I probably would. If I was running low on material and spotted her name on a cover I'd most likely pick it up and give it a go.

Link to Kobo book: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Blind-Spot/book-rHnEKf3QhU6kNFptjXWx6w/page1.html?s=1LRGN8wy4E-gS0or7Zx3pg&r=6

Not free for Kindle.

Wednesday 16 May 2012

How to add blogs to multiple pages


Let me explain, this is a tab, that’s not really actually a tab, so why do I want this? Because it gives the illusion of blog categories, so it’s like you have multiple blog pages.  You will notice I have one called ‘Tutorials’ and it will link to all my tutorial blog posts. I find this handy!

How to set this up:
1.       Go to your design tab in the top right corner
2.       Click the ‘Layout’ tab in the left side column
3.       Click ‘Add a Gadget’ and select the Labels one
4.       Create a label (you can create multiple labels by separating them with comma’s IE Example1, Example 2, Example 3)
5.       Unclick the ‘Show number of posts’ (something like that) box to get rid of the little numbers
6.       Grab and drag your new gadget so that it’s under your ‘Page’ box
7.       You will notice the labels haven’t shown up yet, they will once you create a Label for you Post
8.       To create a label for your posts, make a new one or edit and old one, and you will notice on the right side there’s a bar that says ‘Labels’, click it
9.       It will open and write your label name in here
10.   Save and then test it out on your main blog page!

Monday 14 May 2012

Fifty Shades Of Grey



3/5 Stars
Fifty Shades of Grey
By E. L. James
First in 50 Shades Trilogy
Self Published? (April 03/2012)
Genre: romance/erotica?









Whilst browsing the Kobo website, this book popped out at me or rather the second book with the mask on it.  I think to myself 'hmmm... I wonder what this is about." (I'm a sucker for masquerades) and upon further investigation I find it's part of series, and that apparently is doing quiet well.  So I say to myself, "Let's do something mainstream right now! I'll probably be more applicable."  I get me a copy of this book, because well the kobo description isn't that telling and I just skimmed other user reviews.  Let me say, though I saw mentioned that it was erotic, I didn't know to this extend!  Holy cow!  I was completely unprepared for it.

Synopsis:

At first glance of this book, I thought it was a Twilight rip.  You start reading it and you're introduced to this 'plain' klutzy brunette named Anastasia, who has never been with a man before, but still has guys tripping over themselves for her attention -which she ignores- and has a low opinion of herself.  Through a series of events she ends up meeting (or rather interviewing) a very keep-to-himself millionaire and owner of Grey Enterprises, Christian Grey.  Immediately she is fluster by his crooked smile, copper hair, beyond beautiful looks, and his eyes seems to sparkle with a dark secrets. Hmmm... does this sound familiar?  To top that off she has a man-of-few-words 'father' and is ex-military (I think), and a loopy mother who lives in the scorching desert of Las Vegas. Christian immediately tells Anna that they're wrong for each other and they should stay away.  But can he? Of course not, a few days he shows up at the place she works, and so the ball starts rolling... They even describe Christian as 'dazzling' a few times. Did I mention he plays the piano and she talks in her sleep? Anna is of course immediately smitten by Christian, and he's hiding something from her, a dark secret that he cannot divulge, until some paper work is signed? Hmmm... okay...  But here's the twist, and when the book no longer resembles Twilight, his big reveal isn't that he's a vampire, which would probably be more acceptable, he's into BDSM. Saaaay what!? And not just a little bit. Hardcore.  He exposes Anna to his dark world of whips, chains, and every other BDSM  paraphernalia under the sun. I want my romantic sparkly vamp back, :(! But instead of running and screaming like you think most virgins would do, she agrees to try and indulge in his fantasy.

The books gets its title from a way Christian self-describes himself as fifty shades of f****d up. Christian is beyond controlling and stalkerish, and at some points impassive towards Anna, which just mounts onto the confusing feelings she has towards him.  He wants Anna to be his submissive and do exactly what he says without question, and Anna just simply wants to touch him and be loved by him.

So the real question is can they make this bizarre relationship work?

My Opinion:

I guess this is supposed to be fanfic of Twilight, thus the blatant similarities, basically a kinky ass porn version of it.  But for me, it doesn't really stack up to it.  Is Twilight a great book? No, the writing is just okay, but the story is what keeps me.  Yes Edward gets obsessed with Bella in a way that borders slightly on creepy and wants to protect her because she is liable to fall down a manhole and die, but at least there's beauty in their love. I find this book doesn't do much tugging on the heart strings as much as burning in the loins.

After finishing this book -which was like A THOUSAND pages on my kobo - I was sort of left sitting there going "ummmm...?"  I'm not sure what the climax of the books was, aside from the non-stop ones Anna was having, or really what was the point... Really I have no idea when the crapola hits the fan in this book. Was is just to show people that BDSM isn't as taboo and scary as they thought it should be?  That's is gloriously kinky?

I was left disappointed not knowing Christian's story, it's so vague as to what has made him the controlling, kinky man he is today.  Also, everything he did to Anna sent her reeling into earth shattering orgasms, even playing with her nipples!  I know some girls are easier to please than others BUT COMMON. Another thing that I didn't really like was Anna sort of had an angel and devil on her shoulder sort of going on.  Apparently an inner goddess who delights in Christians dark sexual exploits (basically saying a women's inner goddess is a kinky sex freak and that's her empowerment, err....), and her sub conscious who is always scrutinising her.

Though there was content lacking in the book and I'm pretty sure there were more sex scene's in it than a porno, the characters were still pretty well written. And clearly the sexual lifestyle was very researched or the author is into that themselves. I laughed a could times at the snarky remarks the exchanged or e-mail to each other.  The diction was also really rounded, there were a bunch of words I had never seen before, but the character's seemed to speak beyond their years with air of sophistication to them through out most of the book. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either.  Was it sexy? I have to admit to myself that some parts were very steamy.  Would I continue the series.  Honestly I haven't decided yet... it is a trilogy and I really do want to know why Christian is so 'ef'd up, but I just don't know...  If you want to ready this racy novel that has become hugely popular I won't stop you!

Friday 11 May 2012

Song of the day

I was just adding some Florence and the Machine, because they're pretty awesome, to my sharky (grooveshark) and found this song, and decided to give it a listen.  Beautiful song.


Florence and the Machine - Breath of life


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSXlkc9UFE4

Horray!

I've just added my ebook to my blog, .  For anyone interested in seeing it click the 'My Books' tab or if that's too much for you, this link.


http://webstersbooktionary.blogspot.ca/p/my-books.html

I Vouch for more Vouchers!

I found this awesome site available for Canadians.  For all of those who have heard of/use Wagjag, Swarm Jam or Groupon, and other couponing voucher sites, this website conveniently puts all of them in one spot, that way you're not visiting multiple web pages! Neat eh?

Just note that it doesn't post the WagJag excursions or Groupon Getaways (or really any of the other couponing sites travel options) on this page, so if you're looking to get cheap trips you'll have to go directly to their sites.

For all of those who have become increasingly annoyed with me for not tell you what the actual website is, I will give it to you now....

It's awesome because there's usually 50 + vouchers per area, so handy!

Ok, ok,

onespout.com

Enjoy, :)

Thursday 10 May 2012

Deadly Cool



4/5 Stars
Deadly Cool
By Gemma Halliday
First in Hartley Featherstone Series
Harper Teen (Oct 11/2011)
Genre: YA/Comedic/Sleuth










I picked up this book knowing absolutely nothing about it.  My mom had read a few of Gemma's books before and told me they were funny murder mysteries. I trusted mumsy wasn't stearing me down the wrong path so I grabbed the first book I saw by her (without even reading what it was about) and began to do my own detective work.  I'm not sure if all her books are geared to YA, since my mom suggested it, and teen fiction isn't really her thing, but this one is without a question.

Hartley Featherstone is put in a very awkward situation, there are texts circulating around the school, like a bad cold virus, that her 'long time' (6 months) boyfriend Josh has been caught fooling around with the chastity queen herself and leader of the Color Girl Squad, Courtney.  It doesn't help either that at this very moment she is holding a condom in her hand that she 'found' in Josh's locker.  Madder than a bag of cats Hartley stalks off to the football field at the end of her school day to confront Josh with her BFF Sam in tow.  Unfortunately Josh has decided to ditch out on practice (not making the rumors any less convincing) and Courtney is conviently nowhere to be seen either.  Undetered Hartly and Sam venture to Josh's house to get the truth - after convincing Sam's brother that they need to borrow is eco car that wreaks of french fries. You guessed it peeps, this is when sh** hits the fan.  Given the fact that Josh is clearly home and refusing to answer either of his doors, Hartley and Sam are left with no choice than to scale his house and crawl through his bedroom window.  Once they successfully completed a little B&E, they find that Josh and Courtney are no where to be found - well almost - the pair spy a purple uniform hiding in his closet. Triumphantly Hartley  throws the closet door open to confront the harlot, only to run away screaming when she realizes there's a dead girl in the closet, and it's Courtney, and worst of all she touched her. Now Josh is murder suspect numero uno, Hartly is unconvinced (even though he's a lying, cheating donkey butt) that he's a killer, and she's going to set the recorded straight. How hard can that be right? They do it on CSI all the time.

This book was a quick fun read, very funny and while it was suspenseful, it's not dark and spooky like most murder mysteries.  I very much enjoy quick wit and really loved that about this book.  The only draw back I saw was that it was pretty predictable, nothing really surprised and my hunches were quickly proven true.  I liked this book and would recommend to anyone in the mood for something funny and 'Nancy Drew' like.  I would read more books by the author and probably continue with the series, but it's not a priority to me.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

How to make a static tab with New blogger layout

This is helpful for pages you don't want to change often, ie an 'about' page.


1. First go to your design tab in the top right corner of your screen
2. Click the ‘Pages’ tab on the left side column
3. Click on ‘New Page’
4. Name new page and if you want add a short description
5. Return to ‘Pages ‘page click the ‘Show pages as’ pulled down and select ‘Top Tabs’
6. Style will vary by template, mine is pretty ugly
7. You can change the order of the tabs by returning to you main blog page and hitting the edit (wrench crossed with screw) button at the end of your new Tabs line. To edit, it’s on the right side of the screen, just drag the tabs up and down to change the order.


I am on the search right now on how to make multiple 'blogging' pages, so I can categorize them  better.

Monday 7 May 2012

Hollowland


5/5 Stars
Hollowland
Amanda Hockings
First in The Hollows series
Genre: Horror/Apocalypse








I read this novel by Amanda Hockings and loved it.  There are few genre's of horror movies I like, and good zombie movies are one of them, so I was pretty excited to read a zombie apocalypse book.  I believe this is first book of the genre I've ever read.

The book starts off in a quarantined compound that is being ransacked by a giant horde of zombies -so basically sh** has hit the fan- the main character, Remy, goes in search of her little brother who is in the medical ward.  She is followed by two other girls who also decided waiting in a sub par barred off room and hoping that the zombies don't get in is not a fate for them.  After ass kicking a few zombies she makes it to the medical ward to find from a friend of hers -Beck- her brother has been evacuated with the medical staff. After fleeing from the compound, it is set ablaze to contain the infection - and by infection I mean zombies - and by zombies I mean not the living dead variety more like the rabid one's from 28 days later. And so begins Remy's journey to find her little brother, the only family in the world she has left. Along the way she finds other survivor's to add to her small group, including a lioness she names Ripley, and former Rock Star.  Together they face zombies, marauder's, a religious cult, as they struggle to survive in the fragmented cities left behind in a Hollowland.

I love the heroin Remy, she is strong, determined, tactical, and very sarcastic.  At some points I was laughing out loud at the comments she made which gave the story a nice balance of drama, suspense and comedy. I have no complaints about this book, the characters were well developed, the story flowed very nicely, a fast paced quick read, it was 'believable', a few spelling mistakes but hey it happens, and it's free! The author self published this book, so we should all give her a pat on the back. I can't wait to read the next book Hollowmen, :D. I would definitely recommend to anyone who lives this genre. Happy reading!



Friday 4 May 2012

Dean Koontz

I have been reading Dean Koontz books since I was in grade school, I believe my dad handed me my first one (Lightning - I also re-read this for a second time several months ago) in Grade 7 or 8, and since then I've been hooked.  Although most of these books were beyond my readng level and not exactly age appropriate I enjoyed them very much none the less.  I think anyone from the ages 15-100 could read these books; while there are very mature themes contantly being presented in the book there is little swearing, 'provacative' scenes and even the gore isn't OVERLY described.  The stories are supurb, Dean Koontz is a man that knows how to write a good story and he delivers it!  While his books mainly horror/thriller he delivers them in many different ways.  Anywhere from a psychopathic killer to someone who has been mutated and thirsty for blood; aliens to haunting monsters; out of body experience to mind control.  Dean Koontz has a broad spectrum from which he pulls his creativety from. He will send chills down your spine as you fly through the pages of his books!  If you are looking for good scary books, look no further, well... -maybe go look on amazon to buy them - you get what I mean!


Not including novella's/graphic novels/short stories or books about his dog Trixie.  All red books are one's I've read, all fushia books are my favourites, all *monster, *alien, *human, and *other.  Some of the novels don't have stars next to them and this is because it's been so long since I read it, I'm not exactly sure what to lump it under.


77 Shadow Street   - reading soon
Frankenstein: The Dead Town -reading soon
What the Night Knows
Frankenstein: Lost Souls -reading soon
Breathless * this one is really more of a suspense novel than a horror
Frankenstein Book 3: Dead and Alive -reading soon
Relentless
Your Heart Belongs to Me ***
In Odd We Trust
Odd Hours
The Darkest Evening of the Year
The Good Guy   ***
Brother Odd
The Husband  ***
Forever Odd
Frankenstein Book 1: Prodigal Son -re-reading soon ***
Frankenstein Book 2: City of Night -re-reading soon ***
Velocity         ***
Life Expectancy
The Taking ***
Odd Thomas
The Face
By the Light of the Moon ***
One Door Away From Heaven ***
From the Corner of His Eye
Seize the Night     ***
False Memory     ***
Fear Nothing    ***
Sole Survivor
Demon Seed
The Eyes of Darkness ***
Tick Tock ***
Intensity ***
Strange Highways
Icebound
Dark Rivers of the Heart
Winter Moon
Mr. Murder
Dragon Tears
Hideaway    ***
Cold Fire
Shadowfires *** 
The Servants of Twilight ***
The Bad Place ***
Midnight ***
Lightning ***
Watchers ***
Strangers *** 
The Door to December ***
Twilight Eyes - I may have read this one
Darkfall           ***
Phantoms ***
The House of Thunder
The Mask
Whispers   ***
The Funhouse
The Voice of the Night
The Key to Midnight    ***
The Vision
Face of Fear
Night Chills


I have somewhat constructed a "top 10" Dean Koontz book which I will describe in future blogs what set's these books apart for me.