Growing Pains

New Reads is moving and incorporating itself into my official webpage, Defiled Curator.

Some content (Great Lines, a handful of reviews, any interviews that have not been posted elsewhere) will be moved to the new site, and all content will remain here as well.

Please join me as the site grows and changes. It's a bit cluttered at the moment, but it's looking better with each new update and bit of editing finesse.

Great Lines in Literature - The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

At my advanced age (/sarcasm), it's unusual for me to find a work that so completely returns me to my teenaged years. I've read books here and there that make me wistful for one aspect of my coming of age or another, but I rarely, if ever, find anything that captures that distilled sensation of being young, female and entirely unsure of oneself, reaching out to the rest of humanity in an attempt to analyze and define the self.

Sylvia Plath's unabridged journals (unabridged insofar as all remaining journals of her adulthood are included - two will never be published, as one was lost over time and Ted Hughes intentionally destroyed the "maroon-backed ledger" that contained the entries closest to Plath's suicide), despite chronicling her life from 1950 to 1962, feel in places that they could be detailing my own life in the mid-1990s. It's been years, but I can still remember what it felt like to be a virgin despite not wanting to be, feeling awkward around my male counterparts, and how I railed in private against common conventions and what I assumed was expected of me as a young woman. Reading someone else's stylistic interpretations of my deepest, most hidden thoughts feels exceptionally eerie and makes me quite angry I destroyed my own journals from my late teens. I would have liked to have made a side-by-side comparison, just to see how they would echo against each other.

From 1950, the summer before Plath entered Smith College:

- Yes, I was infatuated with you; I am still. No one has ever heightened such a keen capacity of physical sensation in me. I cut you out because I couldn't stand being a passing fancy. Before I give my body, I must give my thoughts, my mind, my dreams. And you weren't having any of those. -

- There is so much hurt in this game of searching for a mate, of testing, trying. And you realize suddenly that you forgot it was a game, and turn away in tears. -

- If I didn't think, I'd be much happier; if I didn't have any sex organs I wouldn't waver on the brink of nervous emotion and tears all the time. -

- How complex and intricate are the workings of the nervous system. The electric shrill of the phone sends a tingle of expectancy along the uterine walls; the sound of his voice, rough, brash and intimate across the wire tightens the intestinal tract. If they substituted the word "Lust" for "Love" in the popular songs it would come nearer the truth. -

Reading Plath's journals, at least the earlier ones, remind me so much of myself that I feel myself reaching out almost subconsciously to say "Stop worrying, you'll be okay," before realizing that they are not my own words, and that Plath was never okay.

A Man for the Asking by Catherine Breillat

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Great Lines in Literature - Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell

I love pulling quotes from books I read. I've got notecards filled with scribbled musings and page numbers tracking lines that captivate me, whole paragraphs in books highlighted in Noodler's Atlantic Salmon ink, asides tapped by hand straight into the text of my Kindle (for iPad - my god, for a compulsive note-taker the application is genius).

Occasionally, I find a quote that is so thought-provoking, so introspective or so hilarious that I feel the need to share. Usually I read the passage to whomever is sitting or standing beside me at the time, or belt it out during a Skype chat, but seeing as how I have this handy-dandy blog at my disposal I may as well stick it here for posterity and distribution.

Right now I'm reading Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell, an offbeat mafioso novel that's a curious blend of goomba-speak, medical terminology and fake academia. Bazell's clever usage of footnotes for anything from historical references to hospital jargon clarification to pop-culture tidbits has been enough to quicken my nerdy pulse and keep me turning pages, but one bit of New York historical drama had me cracking up and howling with laughter.

In a passage detailing the rise of the mafia in New York and the activities that sustained them:

Eventually, though, Rudy Giuliani decided enough was enough and brought in Waste Management, a multinational corporation so scary it made the mafia look like little girls in those competitions JonBenet Ramsey used to enter. Waste Management's own crimes were severe enough to ultimately force changes in the SEC, among other things, but its appearance on the New York garbage scene inspired another round of funeral announcements for the mafia.

Oh, my god. That is hilarious.

Anyone care to guess where I spent the worst five years of my life and what company issued my paychecks up until my layoff?

A Quick Update

It seems like this little blog has stagnated a bit. While I’ve kept myself quite busy, I’ve somehow failed to keep New Reads updated on my goings-on. Here, in brief review, are the book-related details of my life since February’s update.

For Horror News:

Nevermore by Harold Schechter, a phenomenal first-person “biography” penned by Edgar Allan Poe.
The Rage Plague by Anthony Giangregorio (new review).
Morning is Dead by Andersen Prunty, which was one of the stranger reads I’ve had in a while.

I even took a stab at film reviews with Daybreakers, which I enjoyed enough to snag a Type B+ blood (water, unfortunately) bottle off eBay.

For Dark Markets:

Reprints:
Nightlight by the Harvard Lampoon.
John Dies at the End by David Wong

New Reviews:
Eleven Twenty-Three by Jason S. Hornsby (which also features a quote from my review on the back cover). The novel will be available for purchase in August, and we will be running an interview with him when the street date approaches.
Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman by Jim Bernheimer.
The Tale of the Vampire Bride by Rhiannon Frater.
Necrophilia Variations by SUPERVERT (interview with the author forthcoming).

Interviews:
David Dunwoody, author of Empire.
Greg Hall of Choate Road and host of The Funky Werepig podcast.
D.L. Snell, editor and author of Demon Days (interview originally posted here).
Jacob Kier, owner of Permuted Press.

I’ve read a handful of books recently that were not slated for review anywhere and were bought by me, out of pocket, simply for reading pleasure. Whether or not I get around to reviewing them is up in the air at this point.

Crossing by Andrew Xia Fukuda
I (Heart) Lord Buddha by Hillary Raphael (second readthrough)
Ximena by Hillary Raphael

In other news, I’ve been a bit busy on the writing front as well. I’ve appeared in a few anthologies with several more in the works. I’m the editor of Kody Boye’s upcoming rerelease of Amorous Things, a collection of short pieces focusing on the many facets of love and my first novel, In the Teahouse, is slated for release through Library of Horror Press.

I even have, believe it or not, an honest-to-goodness Goodreads author page now.

All in all, not bad for a five month stretch, wouldn’t you say?

A Bit of News on the Review/Interview Front

I haven’t really announced it properly yet, but as of a few weeks ago I’ve been brought onto the Dark Markets staff as chief reviewer/interviewer. This is in addition to my Horror News position, so I’m doubling up on work for the time being.

I never really expected the review thing to take off. I started this little blog as a way to keep myself accountable and track my 50 Books Challenge progress, and it kind of erupted into something bigger than I’d ever thought possible. The idea of authors actually wanting my opinion and giving me free books to review blows my mind, but I’ve got a stack of them right here to prove it’s actually happened.

I’m a full-time college student as well, and in addition to that I’ve just taken a part-time job to pay the bills. My time is extremely limited, and I’m a known scatterbrain despite my near compulsion to micromanage my life. I’m not always successful, but I try. I just want to let everyone who’s sent me review copies or interview requests know that I’ve got them all in the queue. I’m trying to get through them all as quickly as possible, but it may be a bit slower than some would like. I’m working on it. I haven’t forgotten anyone and I will get to every single thing that’s sent my way.

Thank you all for your kindness, your generosity and your interest in my opinion. It’s an awesome honor to receive so many requests. The path to my heart, despite the assumption that it may lie in my stomach, truly is through free books.

The Order of the Bull by Jason Brannon

Chapbooks are awesome and will always hold a special place in my perpetually teenaged heart. The Order of the Bull is a quick and entertaining read, and I’m somewhat saddened to know that only twenty-six copies of it exist in print. I’ve got #5.

You can read my whole review over at Dark Markets.

Every Sigh, the End by Jason S. Hornsby

I read this over the last few weeks of Fall semester and kept telling myself I’d collect my thoughts enough to write a coherent review of it eventually. Well, that day has come and the review is now up at DarkMarkets.com.

This a really, really unique read, one I probably wouldn’t have gotten to for quite some time were it not for placing in Permuted Press’s flash contest at this past year’s Horror Realm convention. It was one of my prizes (along with Derek Gunn’s The Estuary, which I will get to as soon as my review copies have been read and reviewed).

Bangkok Haunts by John Burdett

Sonchai Jitplecheep, one of the most sympathetic and complex police detectives in present day crime fiction, returns for a third round of heartache and murder in Bangkok Haunts. First there was a dead US Army officer inside a locked vehicle teeming with snakes. Then there was the brutal disembowling and castration of a lonely CIA agent in a rented hotel room. This time, Burdett has upped the stakes (and the brutality) by starting his novel off on the very first page with depictions of the cruelest violence imaginable.

Damrong, prostitute turned porn starlet, is murdered on screen by her costar during an erotic film shoot. Having been at one time, very briefly, one of her lovers, Sonchai is horrified to find footage of the act sent to him anonymously on an unmarked DVD. Along with friend and occasional partner Kimberly Jones of the FBI, Sonchai sets out to find out who killed Damrong and just how far the web of perversion reaches.

Like any other Burdett novel, Bangkok Haunts teems with violence, sexual depravity and Buddhist observation. Just as in the novels that came before, what should be a fairly easy case to solve (following the money trail is never too difficult in Sonchai’s world) becomes more and more complex by the page, until readers are overloaded with subplots, double-crosses, broken hearts and motives so imaginative and disturbing that in another author’s care would come across as incredibly hokey. Like any other Burdett novel, the twisting plot and improbable complications work like a charm, only this time around the dealings are way more spiritual (some would even say magical) than they were before.

Half incredibly violent crime noir, half exotic pornography, Bangkok Haunts almost left me wishing I had a ghost creeping up on my bed at night. Almost.

The fourth Sonchai Jitpleecheep novel, The Godfather of Kathmandu, came out two days ago, and already it’s at the top of my must-read list. Burdett is an exceptionally adept storyteller, and has an amazing talent for creating meaningfulness out of depravity.

8/10

HorrorNews Review of Derek J. Goodman's Apocalypse Shift

My first review for HorrorNews is now up. I reviewed The Apocalypse Shift once before, several months ago, but it’s a damn fine book and needs more publicity than it’s receiving at the moment.

THE APOCALYPSE SHIFT|Written by Derek J. Goodman| Book review|HorrorNews.net

Horror Reviews Going Elsewhere

While I fully intend for this little blog to keep chugging along, I’m now writing my horror reviews for HorrorNews.net. Interviews within the horror genre will also be more than likely posted there as well.

Any books or persons already covered on that site will be covered here instead. Several books in my TBR queue have already been covered by other reviewers.

I’m very excited to be a part of HorrorNews, even in a very minor capacity. I expect my first review to be up shortly, and we’ll see how it goes from there.