Firstly, Salinger is about 200 pages too long, not counting the bibliography and indexes in the back.

A rather detailed look at Salinger and the people around him with literally hundreds of people chiming in, sometimes for reasons that aren’t obvious (Ed Norton… the Fight Club actor…. really?) The book is more quotes arranged by time period than anything else.

I’ve always been one of the Philistines who doesn’t think that Salinger was all that. Some of his works were insufferably preachy, and really not my style. But I love biographies, and this one seemed like it would fit my interests quite well.

The loose timeline is interspersed with interviews and letters, and is almost entirely written in the same “ensemble” style of the MTV book I read recently, but with dozens more interviewees.

We kind of learn why Salinger was so damaged as a person (World War II) but are left to wonder why he had an inability to form proper relationships with women. It’s kind of sad.

The book itself it pretty well written (as much as it can be without a defined narrative), although it tends to repeat itself a bit towards the end. It builds up the reader for the “lost works” that Salinger wrote in the last 40 years or so of his exile, though time will tell if they are truly masterpieces or not.

At least we’ll always have Watterson as a lovable recluse.

Years ago I was given a book of Lovecraft from a friend, but never read it. When The Classic Horror Stories became available I grabbed an ARC of it figuring it’d be a nice quick read. That was not the case.

If you’re unfamiliar with Lovercraft, he wrote in a very immersive style that tends to loosely connect all his stories to a common universe (ancient ones visiting earth long ago, and references to the Necronomicon) with still having all the stories independent of each other… in fact, the characters have no knowledge of each other whatsoever.

Lovecraft is often compared to Poe, mostly for the dark nature of his stories. But while Poe seems more focused on internal struggles with evil, Lovecraft is more about external sources. To me, the comparison seems a little forced.

The stories in this volume fall more into the “novella” length rather than short stories, which was more of what I was expecting. While some of the stories are really engaging, others failed to ignite much excitement in me. There is also a good biography of Lovecraft at the beginning of the book.

I’d recommend this book more for a true Lovecraft fan, although they probably already have the stories in various editions already. If you’re just looking for a gift for someone it might work, or just be placed on a shelf for years since a thick book is intimidating.

3/5 stars.

“Mrs. Poe” by Lynn Cullen is a compelling historical fiction about the relationship between Francis Osgood and Edgar Allan Poe, as she tries to make a name for herself as a writer and Poe struggles to be known for something other than “The Raven”.

Osgood meets the Poes, and soon becomes very close with Edgar. Virginia wishes to become closer with Osgood, but at the same time appears to have a jealous streak. This becomes more apparent as Virginia’s illness continues to run it’s course.

The book shows what a tight-knit group writers were back in the day of Poe, and some of the battles they had. It has some very interesting “what if” scenarios that could actually have happened, although this is disputed by historians. Still, for the “historical fiction” genre, it is an interesting read, especially for fans of Poe.

4/5 stars.

This review is based on an ARC of the book.

This book shows how you can prepare for Halloween with costumes, parties, trick-or-treating and more! Of course, being an overly nervous squirrel will help you appreciate this book the most.

This humorous guide is aimed (sort of) at kids, but contains little to no content that would actually be of that much help. It’s just supposed to be funny. And within the book are hints like using a plastic knife to carve a jack o’lantern. I think I’d actually pay to watch a kid try that one.

The art style is modern and cute, and compliments the book well. I can see the kids who read this aging gracefully into other series like “Diary Of A Winpy Kid.”

I hadn’t heard of Scaredy Squirrel before I picked up this book, but could see myself reading the other books in the series for a chuckle.

4/5 stars.

I reviewed a free copy of this book, and you can get a free copy too! Go here.

On his way to work one day, a self-obsessed lawyer is accidentally given a mysterious package. He opens it and finds mysterious scribblings… then the Men In Black start trying to get the package back. He tries to decode what the package means, and the adventure begins.

The story is set as a confession/diary as the narrator peels back the layers of the puzzle, and how the powers that be will stop at nothing stop him from doing so. It’s got a good psychological bent, and you don’t know if the narrator is actually being pursued or is just plain crazy.

The answers start to fall into place, which lead to wondering who is having the narrator ask the questions in the first place? And why?

Comparisons are drawn in other reviews to The Matrix, but I think this is a pretty strong story and any similarity is superficial at best.

This was one of the better stories I’ve found in independent distribution. CoP holds the attention well, and for the most part moves an exciting story along at a good pace.

It would have gotten five stars probably, but it kind of meandered a little in the middle, and it had one word that was used two or three times that actually needed the homonym used instead (but that’s just a little quibble that probably only bothers me.)

I would recommend reading this. There’s a chance I may even reread someday, which is high praise.

This review is based on an electronic advanced release of the book.

Work Standing Up is a biography/coffee table book that shows the work of painter Paul Fontaine throughout the different periods of his life. Like many painters of his time he started with fairly realistic paintings and then at some point due to his influences ventured into more abstract territory.

While I had never “heard” of Fontaine before I read this book, I admire a lot of the skill and control he had.

The book is essentially three or four essays on different aspects of his life and art. The first and most intimate essay was written by one of his daughters, while the others were written by people who are more “art scene.”

There are many photos of his work inside. Some are black and white due to them being photos of work that was later destroyed, lost or otherwise mislaid. The book goes into depth to describe the different paints and styles he used throughout his life.

While I don’t have any coffee table books that I display due to my dog having a voracious book appetite, this is one book that I would love to have. The electronic edition, while nice and getting the point across, would surely pale to a larger format for the photographs.

If the publishing price I saw is legit, this is only a must-buy if you’re a diehard Fontaine fan. Otherwise, see if your library is getting a copy. If the price was a typo, it’s quite possibly worth the money.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars