What's on My Bookshelf?
A glimpse inside one author's private book collection. Find new books you haven't read before as well as books to help you write. This lens is here to answer the question: What's on your bookshelf?
Three reasons why you should read the lens!
- You love to read and are looking for suggestions on what to read next. (many fiction books are included on this list)
- You are a writer looking for books on writing better. (several how-to write books can be found here)
- You are feed up with the "adult comics" of today and what a kid friendly alternative. (Dell comics are good comics!... so are Gladstone comics and Gemstone comics... all of which can be found on this lens.)
What's On My Bookshelf and Why You Should Care:
...and my challenge to other authors on Squidoo.
On this lens you will find over 150 books, brought to you straight from my own bookshelf, as the most often recommended books. (Books I recommend to others the most often, that is.)The books on this lens can all be found in my private collection. I have chosen only books from my own library of books for a simple reason: So that you can get a glimpse inside the private bookshelf of a writer. And also because it would be rather pointless for me to be recommending books that I don't even own myself!
Since this lens is a showcase for my favorite books, which I own, and I own more than 10,000 books and more than 7,000 comic books, for a grand total of more than 17,000 books, that means that over time, this lens could get quite a bit long! And if you have a hard time wrapping your mind around just how many books there are in a private library collection of 17,000 books, think of it this way: The average public library has a collection of books in the 10,000 to 12,000 range. Yep, that's right. I have more books than your average public library does, and my collection gets bigger and bigger every single week as I am in the constant search for more and more books.
BOOKS = My biggest and most rabid addiction, the one thing I spend more money and time on than anything else. My passion. My hobby. The vital essence of my very existence.
People often wonder and ask of writers such questions as: "I read all of your books, what other books can you recommend I read?"
What these people are asking, isn't "What should I read next?" but rather "What do YOU read?", however they word it.
So, my challenge to all other authors and writers here on Squidoo, is to start a lens, like this one, to show your readers what it is that you read.
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What's On My Bookshelf:
And here they are . . . my favorite books.
Retief
series by Keith Laumer
By far the greatest sci-fi series ever written. Follow James Retief and Ben Magnun on their action packed, tongue-in-cheek adventures across the galaxy.
The Retief series started out as a series of short stories published the various science fiction pulps during the 1950's through to the 1960's. These are good old-time classic sci-fi as it was written before the days of the moon landing. All together there were more than 60 stories about Retief's space adventures.
In the 1970's, Keith Laumer began to compile collections of these classic pulp fiction stories into a book series. Each book in this collection contains 3 to 5 or more stories.
I own nearly the entire set. Of these books, Retief and the Warlords is my fave, closely followed by Retief Emissary to the Stars. Some of the books in this series are out-of-print and quite hard to find.
If you like Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy than you're sure to love Retief.
Retief and the Warlords (Jaime Retief Series #4)
Amazon Price: (as of 09/05/2008)
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Release Date: 12/31/1969
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My Extended Review
I needed more room to yap about Keith Laumer and his books, and ended up with not one, but two more lenses about him!-
Keith Laumer
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A lens about my favorite author and quiet possibly the greatest science fiction writer of all time.
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James Retief
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James Bond in outer space. By far the greatest sci-fi series ever written. Follow James Retief and Ben Magnun on their action packed, tongue-in-cheek adventures across the galaxy. The Retief series started out as a series of short stories published t...
The World's Greatest Author!
Books by Don Rosa.
Ask me who the world's greatest author of all time is, and you'll always get the same answer: Don Rosa. This always brings about one of two responses:
1.) Either you know who Don Rosa is and you too think he is the greatest author this world has ever seen.
or
2.) You ask: Who is Don Rosa? Because you have never heard of him.
Don Rosa is a niche writer with a close knit following of fans for his cult classic stories. For his fans he's the greatest thing since Carl Barks, but for the rest of the world he is practically unknown.
If you are a fellow fan, than you know what he wrote and you know why he's the best, but for the rest of you, go out and get one of his books and find out who he is. This recommendation is usually followed by this response:
You go out, you look up Don Rosa, you get ready to buy his books, and than you say: "Huh? But this is a comic book! How can the world's greatest author be a comic book writer?". You than scourer the bookshelves in search of some non-comic book books by Don Rosa thinking you must have made a mistake when you picked up the comic book. Nope, sorry, no mistake. Yep, Don Rosa writes comic books and yep he is the world's greatest author.
But how can that be? Well, have you ever read one of Don Rosa's comic books? These are not your average dinky little 12 page dime store comics that have no rhyme nor reason to them. His most famous book, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, is a whopping 219 page long! It'll take you a few days to read it. There are no blood spattered pages, no aliens, no super heroes, no super villains. What you find is an action packed, adventure filled book that reads like a book, but also has a lot of pictures in it as well...and as the word comic means, it's down right funny.
I dare you to read a book by Don Rosa and not get hooked. Don Rosa's books are like chips: no one can read just one!
1.) Either you know who Don Rosa is and you too think he is the greatest author this world has ever seen.
or
2.) You ask: Who is Don Rosa? Because you have never heard of him.
Walt Disney Treasures
Uncle Scrooge:
A Little Something Special
Don Rosa is a niche writer with a close knit following of fans for his cult classic stories. For his fans he's the greatest thing since Carl Barks, but for the rest of the world he is practically unknown.
If you are a fellow fan, than you know what he wrote and you know why he's the best, but for the rest of you, go out and get one of his books and find out who he is. This recommendation is usually followed by this response:
You go out, you look up Don Rosa, you get ready to buy his books, and than you say: "Huh? But this is a comic book! How can the world's greatest author be a comic book writer?". You than scourer the bookshelves in search of some non-comic book books by Don Rosa thinking you must have made a mistake when you picked up the comic book. Nope, sorry, no mistake. Yep, Don Rosa writes comic books and yep he is the world's greatest author.
But how can that be? Well, have you ever read one of Don Rosa's comic books? These are not your average dinky little 12 page dime store comics that have no rhyme nor reason to them. His most famous book, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, is a whopping 219 page long! It'll take you a few days to read it. There are no blood spattered pages, no aliens, no super heroes, no super villains. What you find is an action packed, adventure filled book that reads like a book, but also has a lot of pictures in it as well...and as the word comic means, it's down right funny.
I dare you to read a book by Don Rosa and not get hooked. Don Rosa's books are like chips: no one can read just one!
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
Amazon Price: $16.19 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $17.99
Used Price: $8.38
Release Date: 12/31/1969
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In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion
Amazon Price: $11.55 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $16.99
Used Price: $8.57
Release Date: 12/31/1969
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My Disney Mania Continues
My Disney-Scrooge-Don Rosa-Carl Barks fandom has resulted in many, many other lenses! Here are a few of them . . .-
NegaDuck
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Disney's evilest villain ever, the money-hungry, power-crazed, chainsaw-toting psychopath: NegaDuck!
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Flintheart Glomgold
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A Disney villain. Fictional character created by Carl Barks as Scrooge McDuck's evil double. Nearly as rich as Scrooge, they are constantly competeing for the title of World's Richest Duck, but Scrooge always wins, usually by only a few pennies, just...
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Don Rosa
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Disney artist and author. Creator of the wildly popular cult classic: The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck.
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Carl Barks
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Disney artist and writer, best known as the creator of Uncle Scrooge McDuck.
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Uncle Scrooge McDuck
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Fictional character created by Carl Barks in 1947 Uncle Scrooge is the world's richest duck. Head of the Duck family. Uncle to Donald Duck and Gladstone Gander. Great-Uncle to Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck. Scrooge McDuck lives in a money bin filled wi...
Faeries
This section is two-fold. I love to read about faeries. I also love to write about faeries. The books listed here can help you with both. Great reference books for anyone interested in studying the history of faerie myths, great stories for those who just want to read about faeries, and great guide books for those who want to write about faeries.
Wonderful, wonderful books.
Wonderful, wonderful books.
Books for Writers
by various authors
Every writer has a few writing-how-to books that they would recommend every writer should have. The five books shown in this section are the ones I put in that category.
The Self-Publishing Manual is the best-ultimate guide that no self-publisher should be without.
The Writers Book of Matches is a powerful brainstormer, filled with 1,001 weird and quirky one sentence story starters. Simple pick an idea and write a story based on it.
The Writer's Little Helper, is your basic writing how-to which covers all the basics of grammar in a simple and easy to read format. Great for quick reference.
On Writing Horror is by far my favorite writing-how-to book. Written by over 50 different horror authors (including Stephen King), it covers everything you ever wanted to know about writing horror books.
Writers on Comics Scriptwriting is a 2 volume set. Written in interview/question & answer format, each chapter details the daily life of a different comic-book author and the secrets to writing for comic books.
The Self-Publishing Manual is the best-ultimate guide that no self-publisher should be without.
The Writers Book of Matches is a powerful brainstormer, filled with 1,001 weird and quirky one sentence story starters. Simple pick an idea and write a story based on it.
The Writer's Little Helper, is your basic writing how-to which covers all the basics of grammar in a simple and easy to read format. Great for quick reference.
On Writing Horror is by far my favorite writing-how-to book. Written by over 50 different horror authors (including Stephen King), it covers everything you ever wanted to know about writing horror books.
Writers on Comics Scriptwriting is a 2 volume set. Written in interview/question & answer format, each chapter details the daily life of a different comic-book author and the secrets to writing for comic books.
My Review of My Fave Writing Book
This little section wasn't big enough, so I built an entire lens about it!-
The Self-Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter
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The Self-Publishing Manual is the most complete book ever written on the art of starting and mantaining a full time career as a self publisher. This is the best book available for anyone seeking to start their own small press publishing house. This...
Books by Linda Seger
More Books Just for Writers.
The editors of Edgmont recommend that all writers should read the books on writing by Linda Seger. Normally I steer clear of traditional publishing houses, as I prefer to have full and complete control over every aspect of my books. In other words I self-publish. I do make one exception to that rule. I just love the books put out by Edgmont, which results in them being the only traditional publisher I ever work with.
Of course, since Edgmont is the only traditional publishing house I send my manuscripts to, that means I went out and bought every single book written by Linda Seger. After reading her books, I can see why they come so highly recommended. They are by far the best books written on the art of writing and no writer should be without them.
Of course, since Edgmont is the only traditional publishing house I send my manuscripts to, that means I went out and bought every single book written by Linda Seger. After reading her books, I can see why they come so highly recommended. They are by far the best books written on the art of writing and no writer should be without them.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
This has got to be the funniest book ever written in any genre. It's like Alice in Wonderland meets Star Trek and than mashed up with every bit of sarcasm this side of the galaxy. To quote the book: It's like having your brain smashed out by a brick wrapped in a lemon. This is one of the best books ever written. I've read it several times, and most likely well read it many more times in the future.
NOTE: If you've seen the movie, do not judge this book by it's movie! The movie fell very short of coming any where's near to being like the book. They kept a few basic concepts and changed most everything else. The book is ten times better than the movie.
I got to admit, that as much as I loved the first three volumes of the trilogy, I did find the final two volumes of the trilogy to be quite disappointing, as they didn't meet up to the standards written in the first three. And yes, for those of you who don't know, there are five volumes in the Hitchhikers' trilogy; that's part of the irony of the series.
For some reason, my copy of this book and the copy Amazon shows here have different covers.
NOTE: If you've seen the movie, do not judge this book by it's movie! The movie fell very short of coming any where's near to being like the book. They kept a few basic concepts and changed most everything else. The book is ten times better than the movie.
I got to admit, that as much as I loved the first three volumes of the trilogy, I did find the final two volumes of the trilogy to be quite disappointing, as they didn't meet up to the standards written in the first three. And yes, for those of you who don't know, there are five volumes in the Hitchhikers' trilogy; that's part of the irony of the series.
For some reason, my copy of this book and the copy Amazon shows here have different covers.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 25th Anniversary Edition
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Release Date: 08/03/2004
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Harry Potter
I know it's cliche by now, but it just can't be said often enough that the Harry Potter books really are the best fantasy books ever written. If you haven't read them yet, I recommend you start today.
Star Trek
by James Blish
I love these books. These are not stories based on the Star Trek series, these ARE the stories of the Star Trek series. Every episode from the original Star Trek series was retold as a novel in the mid 1970's and released under the simple title "Star Trek by James Blish Vol. _".
Children especially love this series as they get to read the same stories they can later watch on DVD. Sadly these old books are nearly all out-of-print now, except for a handful of the more popular volumes, which have been reprinted as anniversary editions. Finding copies of every volume in this series could prove a challenge as they can be quite hard to find now. Mine are all first editions, I'm only missing 3 or 4 volumes.
Children especially love this series as they get to read the same stories they can later watch on DVD. Sadly these old books are nearly all out-of-print now, except for a handful of the more popular volumes, which have been reprinted as anniversary editions. Finding copies of every volume in this series could prove a challenge as they can be quite hard to find now. Mine are all first editions, I'm only missing 3 or 4 volumes.
Pippi of the Villa Villekulla
As a child I loved these books and read them and re-read them as though they were breakfast, lunch, and dinner! They were among the very first "real" books I read, after upgrading from Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak. (I was 6 years old at the time.)
I loved Pippi's complete and total rebellion against the adults in her world. I loved the way she did just as she pleased. I loved that she was a pirate with her own ship. I loved the fact that she, like myself at that time, drove an orange 3-wheeled ATV. But most of all I feel totally head over heals in love with her house: The Villa Villekulla. I dreamed than, (and still do now) of recreating that wonderful old Gothic Victorian house. Of all fictional places to live, this would be my house of choice: The Villa Villekulla.
Of all the books I've read in my life time, I think these are the ones that I have read and re-read the most times.
NOTE: The covers shown here are different from the ones I own, as mine are from the 1960's and 1970's and no longer in print, and these are the new editions which are currently being sold from Amazon.
I loved Pippi's complete and total rebellion against the adults in her world. I loved the way she did just as she pleased. I loved that she was a pirate with her own ship. I loved the fact that she, like myself at that time, drove an orange 3-wheeled ATV. But most of all I feel totally head over heals in love with her house: The Villa Villekulla. I dreamed than, (and still do now) of recreating that wonderful old Gothic Victorian house. Of all fictional places to live, this would be my house of choice: The Villa Villekulla.
Of all the books I've read in my life time, I think these are the ones that I have read and re-read the most times.
NOTE: The covers shown here are different from the ones I own, as mine are from the 1960's and 1970's and no longer in print, and these are the new editions which are currently being sold from Amazon.
Featured Lens: Astrid Lindgren
Not one of my lenses, but about one of my fave authors so I'm putting it here too!
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Astrid Lindgren
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Her books are world wide spread
Donald Duck Adventures (series III; Gemstone digest editions)
comic books in paperback format... great for taking on the road
Donald Duck Adventures Volume 20
(Donald Duck Adventures)
Not what you usually see in America, these are reproductions of the French and Danish stories about Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge, translated into English.
The traditional Disney comic books of America's Golden and Silver Age (1930's - 1970's) as written by Carl Barks and the Modern Age (1980's - today) as written by Don Rosa are aimed for an older reading level, with their long and wordy dialog and their highly detailed illustrations. These are not your traditional Carl Barks and Don Rosa American Disney comic books, however. Unlike traditional American Disney comics these are much more cartoonish, less wordy, less detailed illustrations, brighter colored, with a more "cute" feel to them, and certainly targeted for much younger children.
Some die hard Barks/Rosa fans may not like these stories. They do not follow the 50+ year chronological series that has been so strictly adhered to in America. These stories do not continue from one issue to the next, and instead, they run a muck with no continuity. For those of you used to Carl Barks and Don Rosa, this will be a big change of scenery for you. These stories rarely follow the Carl Barks/Don Rosa story lines and tend to be an anything goes format when it comes to including fantasy, ufo's, and magic.
Each book is 6"x4" paperback-digest editions, approx. 190 pages long, and features 3 different stories in them, all with super bright eye popping art work that is unlike anything seen in traditional American Disney comics.
Instead of telling one long story that continues from one issue to the next for a period of 50+ years (as the American series does), this series is just a bunch of random stories for the pure and simple fun of telling fun and adventurous stories.
Choose Your Own Adventure
series by assorted authors
It was a dark and stormy night when you started reading this book. You heard a noise. If you think it was a ghost in your attic, than grab your flashlight and turn to page 22. If you think it was a burglar coming in the window, get your baseball bat and turn to page 34. If you think it was just a car in the street and of no concern of yours than do nothing and read on to the next page.
And so starts your adventure. Every book in the long running award winning series starts out with YOU as the main character. You start out as an ordinary kid doing your home work and minding your own business, when suddenly something happens and it's up to you to decide how to deal with it. The chooses you make determine the story you read, as each choose takes to a different page throughout the book.
WARNING! Do not read these books straight through. These are Role Playing Game books and you have to follow the instructions answer the questions and make chooses to determine which page you should go too next.
This wildly popular long running series started in the early 1970's and continues to release new volumes today. At last count there where more than 300 volumes in the series written by nearly a dozen different authors, in genres varying from fantasy to sci-fi to murder mystery to adventure and all things in between.
These chapter books are written for children ages 8 to 15, but have been enjoyed by readers of all ages young and old.
And so starts your adventure. Every book in the long running award winning series starts out with YOU as the main character. You start out as an ordinary kid doing your home work and minding your own business, when suddenly something happens and it's up to you to decide how to deal with it. The chooses you make determine the story you read, as each choose takes to a different page throughout the book.
WARNING! Do not read these books straight through. These are Role Playing Game books and you have to follow the instructions answer the questions and make chooses to determine which page you should go too next.
This wildly popular long running series started in the early 1970's and continues to release new volumes today. At last count there where more than 300 volumes in the series written by nearly a dozen different authors, in genres varying from fantasy to sci-fi to murder mystery to adventure and all things in between.
These chapter books are written for children ages 8 to 15, but have been enjoyed by readers of all ages young and old.
My Teacher The Alien
series by Bruce Coville
Did you ever wonder what would happen if aliens invaded the planet, disguised themselves as school teachers, and than set out the teaching earth's children. What if you and your best friend knew the aliens had taken over earth's schools, but you couldn't get any adults to believe you? Why you'd take matters into your own hands and save the world all by yourself of course!
These books are great fun for sci-fi fans. I remember waiting for each volume to be written the same way children today wait for each new volume of Harry Potter.
These books are great fun for sci-fi fans. I remember waiting for each volume to be written the same way children today wait for each new volume of Harry Potter.
The Tailypo
By Paul Galdone and Joanna C. Galdone
It started out as a whispher, but than it grew louder. Tailypo! Tailypo! Where is my Tailypo? Tailypo! Tailypo! I'm coming for my Tailypo!
What child of the 1970's doesn't remember this spooky and terrifying tale of a ghost cat?
Or the stories of the Little Red Hen and Henny Penny?
Or trolls who guard bridges and eat all who dare cross them until the day three brave little goats challenge him to a duel?
Or the story of a brave little kitten who put on a pair of boots and set out to rid the world of orges and demons?
Written By Joanna C. Galdone and illustrated by Paul Galdone, these timeless award winning children's classics have been ebraced by millions of children around the world and revered as some of the greatest picture books ever written.
These beatifully illustrated picture books are written for ages 4 to 10 and are intended to be read aloud by an adult.
BANNED BOOK WARNING!: Though originally written for children ages 4 to 10, one of the Galdone books has gone down in history as one of the most terrifying children's books ever written, made famous by the onslaught of angry mothers who were quick to protest the scary nature of this book, and demand it be banned, claiming that their children were plagued with nightmares for months after being read this story. Mothers and School teachers today still give warnings that if your child is easily scared than avoid reading The Tailypo to younger easily frightened children.
Maybe I was a grim child, but I never found The Tailypo to be over the top scary and it remains today, as it was 30 years ago, one of my all time favorite books. If your children enjoy a good ghost story than find a copy of The Tailypo and enjoy reading this great creepy book together. Best read at midnight by flashlight during a thunderstorm to get the full effect of this story. *flashes evil grin*
To find out just how truly terrifying this book is, all one has to do is read the pages and pages of reviews written about the nightmares the adult reviewers had during their childhoods, caused as a direct result of having been read this book! Here are just the ones on Amazon's homepage for this book. Reviewers on Amazon.com for the Tailypo had this to say:
What child of the 1970's doesn't remember this spooky and terrifying tale of a ghost cat?
Or the stories of the Little Red Hen and Henny Penny?
Or trolls who guard bridges and eat all who dare cross them until the day three brave little goats challenge him to a duel?
Or the story of a brave little kitten who put on a pair of boots and set out to rid the world of orges and demons?
Written By Joanna C. Galdone and illustrated by Paul Galdone, these timeless award winning children's classics have been ebraced by millions of children around the world and revered as some of the greatest picture books ever written.
These beatifully illustrated picture books are written for ages 4 to 10 and are intended to be read aloud by an adult.
BANNED BOOK WARNING!: Though originally written for children ages 4 to 10, one of the Galdone books has gone down in history as one of the most terrifying children's books ever written, made famous by the onslaught of angry mothers who were quick to protest the scary nature of this book, and demand it be banned, claiming that their children were plagued with nightmares for months after being read this story. Mothers and School teachers today still give warnings that if your child is easily scared than avoid reading The Tailypo to younger easily frightened children.
Maybe I was a grim child, but I never found The Tailypo to be over the top scary and it remains today, as it was 30 years ago, one of my all time favorite books. If your children enjoy a good ghost story than find a copy of The Tailypo and enjoy reading this great creepy book together. Best read at midnight by flashlight during a thunderstorm to get the full effect of this story. *flashes evil grin*
To find out just how truly terrifying this book is, all one has to do is read the pages and pages of reviews written about the nightmares the adult reviewers had during their childhoods, caused as a direct result of having been read this book! Here are just the ones on Amazon's homepage for this book. Reviewers on Amazon.com for the Tailypo had this to say:
Wanting to scare children is worse than peculiar . Tailypo is not a favorite childhood memory in our household. A school superintendent told this 'ghost' story to elementary students year after year after year, and the "value" forever eluded this mother. Why must children be unwilling victims anywhere? ~February 24, 2007 By mcHaiku "nmi"
This book traumatized me as a small child. I probably should have been in therapy at the time as a result. BEST BOOK EVER! ~ March 9, 2006 By Thorn
My mom read me this book when I was...5? I'm 30 years old now and I don't like to say the name of this book out loud. I'm not scared easily, but I think I have PTSD from this! You teachers and librarians who think this book with "no blood, no gore" is innocent fun are deluded. It's a good story, and it's horribly scary. Don't read to small kids! ~November 18, 2007 By S. Tompkins
Tailypo haunts me....still, our evil harpie of an elementary school librarian scarred generations of children with this book. we've found some comfort in reading these customer reviews and to discover: we are not alone. the story, the art, it burns into your very soul. i will never ever ever EVER eat a Tailypo's tail!!!!!!! p.s. how many of you traumatized adults are from BOONE, IOWA, PAGE SCHOOL ELEMENTARY '78-80? ~ March 20, 2007 By Jay M. Boileau "zoe6"
Scariest picture book ever! I honestly can't remember much about this book, but over 20 years later I still recall that it scared the dickens out of me! Even now, I'm not sure I have the nerve to try again. There are very few things that have left an impression of being truly scary on me, but this one I will always remember. ~ December 7, 2006 By Mary Leinart
The Tailypo: A Ghost Story (Clarion Books)
Amazon Price: $7.95 (as of 09/05/2008)
List Price: $7.95
Used Price: $3.72
Release Date: 12/31/1969
Avg. Customer Rating:
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and Other Books By Paul Galdone and Joanna C. Galdone
Gothic Cult Classics
dark, spooky, and oooh so romantic!
There is nothing like a good scary Gothic story to read by flashlight after midnight. From Jane Eyre's brooding Mr. Rochester to Count Dracula himself, Gothic books just have the best leading men: dark, grim, creepy, morbid, and villains that just plain make good anti-heroes.
These five books are the best Gothic stories ever written, each filled with big old haunted houses, dark & mysterious leading men, and charming damsels in distress.
These five books are the best Gothic stories ever written, each filled with big old haunted houses, dark & mysterious leading men, and charming damsels in distress.
Bunnicula
series by James Howe
Life with Chester is far from ordinary. Chester is an orange tabby cat who loves to read horror books, suffers from an over-active imagination, and has the ability to tell ghost stories that send the rest of the family's pets running from the shadows.
The series starts one dark and stormy night. While Chester is reading Dracula, the family brings home a new pet: a baby rabbit named Bunnicula.
Chester warns the other pets that Bunnicula is really a vampire in disguise, but no one believes him. Soon strange events lead the other pets to wonder if maybe, just maybe, Chester was right about Bunnicula and before they know it one thing leads to another and the next thing they know, the family pets are thrown into some of the wildest and scariest adventures they could ever imagine.
Written for ages 8 to 12, these great children's chapter books books have everything from vampire bunnies to haunted doghouses to killer zombie vegetables. Loads of great fun for all ages.
The Bunnicula books should be read on chronological order, as they continue one into the other. This is an ongoing series which is still being written, so future books will be added to this series as the years go by.
The Celery Stalks At Midnight is my fave book in the series.
The series starts one dark and stormy night. While Chester is reading Dracula, the family brings home a new pet: a baby rabbit named Bunnicula.
Chester warns the other pets that Bunnicula is really a vampire in disguise, but no one believes him. Soon strange events lead the other pets to wonder if maybe, just maybe, Chester was right about Bunnicula and before they know it one thing leads to another and the next thing they know, the family pets are thrown into some of the wildest and scariest adventures they could ever imagine.
Written for ages 8 to 12, these great children's chapter books books have everything from vampire bunnies to haunted doghouses to killer zombie vegetables. Loads of great fun for all ages.
The Bunnicula books should be read on chronological order, as they continue one into the other. This is an ongoing series which is still being written, so future books will be added to this series as the years go by.
The Celery Stalks At Midnight is my fave book in the series.
InuYasha
series by Rumiko Takahashi
Yep, you guessed it: MORE COMIC BOOKS! Yay! OMG! I am soooo addicted to these books. Rumiko Takahashi both writes and illustrates these amazing books.
These are by far the best book to ever come out of Japan, and they are quickly moving up the ranks to becoming my all time fave books ever.
Kagome is your average high school girl, until the day a demon jumps out of a magic well and transports her 500 years into the past to Japan in 1568 when demons controlled the world and humans were in constant civil war.
Soon after arriving in the past she finds a half human/half dog-demon trapped by a priestess's spell and sets him free. Soon she and the dog demon InuYasha join forces in search of the shattered pieces of a sacred jewel, and it becomes a race against time to gather up the magic shards before they get into the hands of evil demon Naraku. As the series goes on, more and more character join Kagome and InuYasha on their travels.
My favorite character from this series is InuYasha's full demon older brother, the evil Lord Sesshomaru Dog Demon of Death and Destruction.
These are not your standard comic books, each beautifully illustrated 6"x4" paperback volume contains 200 - 275 pages and reads like a very fast paced novel. These books went on to become the second highest, best selling comic book series of all time, and later resulted in an equally popular, long running (8 season) TV series.
NOTE: These books are Rated T-16 by the publisher, which means they are not recommended for teens under 16. This is an action - adventure - comedy - romance series which includes intense scenes of graphic violence, adult dialog (swearing), and light romantic situations which may not be suitable for younger readers.
The animated TV series based on these books, however is rated M (for mature audiences only.) It should be noted that the version played in America on Saterday mornings on Cartoon Network during the late 1990's had been edited for American TV and is rated PG-LV. Adult Swim was the only American TV station to ever air the unedited M-rated version of this show. Note that if you plan to buy this series on DVD you would be buying the UNEDITED M-rated version as it was aired in Japan and not Cartoon Network's edited Saturday morning American version, which you may remember watching. There is a quite a big difference between the edited and unedited versions of the show, enough to make some viewers not like it, so be sure you know that before you buy the DVDs. If you've only ever seen the Cartoon Network's edited version, know that the unedited DVD version has A LOT of blood, gore, violence, swearing, and adult situations (romance) not suitable for younger viewers, which Cartoon Network cut out of the show before airing it on American television.
Watch out! I'm going to try to list every volume of this VERY long running series, which currently stands at 52 volumes! Unfortunately these books are not all translated into English, and only about the first 20 volumes are available in English translated editions. The rest of the series is still only available in their original Japanese language, so you'll have to buy them in Japanese and than do what I did, find English transcripts on the internet to read as you go.
These are by far the best book to ever come out of Japan, and they are quickly moving up the ranks to becoming my all time fave books ever.
Kagome is your average high school girl, until the day a demon jumps out of a magic well and transports her 500 years into the past to Japan in 1568 when demons controlled the world and humans were in constant civil war.
Soon after arriving in the past she finds a half human/half dog-demon trapped by a priestess's spell and sets him free. Soon she and the dog demon InuYasha join forces in search of the shattered pieces of a sacred jewel, and it becomes a race against time to gather up the magic shards before they get into the hands of evil demon Naraku. As the series goes on, more and more character join Kagome and InuYasha on their travels.
My favorite character from this series is InuYasha's full demon older brother, the evil Lord Sesshomaru Dog Demon of Death and Destruction.
These are not your standard comic books, each beautifully illustrated 6"x4" paperback volume contains 200 - 275 pages and reads like a very fast paced novel. These books went on to become the second highest, best selling comic book series of all time, and later resulted in an equally popular, long running (8 season) TV series.
NOTE: These books are Rated T-16 by the publisher, which means they are not recommended for teens under 16. This is an action - adventure - comedy - romance series which includes intense scenes of graphic violence, adult dialog (swearing), and light romantic situations which may not be suitable for younger readers.
The animated TV series based on these books, however is rated M (for mature audiences only.) It should be noted that the version played in America on Saterday mornings on Cartoon Network during the late 1990's had been edited for American TV and is rated PG-LV. Adult Swim was the only American TV station to ever air the unedited M-rated version of this show. Note that if you plan to buy this series on DVD you would be buying the UNEDITED M-rated version as it was aired in Japan and not Cartoon Network's edited Saturday morning American version, which you may remember watching. There is a quite a big difference between the edited and unedited versions of the show, enough to make some viewers not like it, so be sure you know that before you buy the DVDs. If you've only ever seen the Cartoon Network's edited version, know that the unedited DVD version has A LOT of blood, gore, violence, swearing, and adult situations (romance) not suitable for younger viewers, which Cartoon Network cut out of the show before airing it on American television.
Watch out! I'm going to try to list every volume of this VERY long running series, which currently stands at 52 volumes! Unfortunately these books are not all translated into English, and only about the first 20 volumes are available in English translated editions. The rest of the series is still only available in their original Japanese language, so you'll have to buy them in Japanese and than do what I did, find English transcripts on the internet to read as you go.
