Friday, February 12, 2010

Retro Horror Movie, Some Music CDs, Some Books

DVD

The House of the Devil starring Somebody Named Gerta. Desperate for quick cash, college sophomore Samantha Hughes takes a babysitting job in the isolated mansion of the creepy Ulman family. Ignoring the warnings of her best friend, Samantha has no idea that a nightmare of unspeakable fear and torment awaits her within these walls.

Music CDs

Rated R by Rihanna. Is this the gal who was dating Mr. Punchy?

Worship Jamz - Blue. Techno gospel?

Contra by Vampire Weekend. Flavor of the indie month.

Breakout by Miley Cyrus. Our last copy cracked.

Kidz Bop 16. Children sing popular pop tunes. The booklet says I am supposed to check out kidzbop.com. I refuse.

Original Soundtrack to Princess and the Frog. Randy Newman must have a lifetime contract with Disney.

Fiction

The Abortionist by Michael james Caughill. A Library customer read a review in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and requested I get purchase a copy. I did.

NonFiction

Women and Men on the Overland Trail: 2nd edition by John Mack Faragher. A lively and penetrating analysis of what the overland journey was really like for midwestern farm families in the mid-1800s.

Large Print

The Bargain Bride by Barbara Metzger. My wife watches that television show set in an expensive bridal gown store.

Early Dawn by Catherine Anderson. Woman kidnapped in Colorado by "murderous outlaws" who plan to sell her in Mexico. Local dude rescues her and they go on the run.

Love and Summer by William Trevor. Mid 1950s...orphan girl...blighted by unspeakable tragedy...young photographer...poignant love affair...herself.

Gemma by Meg Tilly. Twelve-year-old is kidnapped and just survives the abuse.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

What to Read 35: Gerald Seymour's "The Walking Dead"

What to Read 35

Gerald Seymour's The Walking Dead.


DVD and AudioBooks: Colombian Yoga Zombies Drive Trucks

DVD

Seven Pounds starring Will Smith. Another copy.

Zombieland starring Woody "THC" Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg. Nerd and White Trash Guy join forces after the zombie plague.

Yoga for Strength and Training with Stephanie Snyder. 60 minute toning and strengthening sequence and 30 minute core practice.

Isolated Incident starring Dane Cook. I thought this would check out.

Dog Eat Dog starring [people you never heard of]. El Orejon, the agoraphobic crime kingpin of Cali, Colombia, goes after two guys who stole a cash collection and killed Orejon's godson. Lot's of shooting. I think.

Somerstown starring [Limeys]. Two teenaged boys in London become friends. One is homeless and the other lets him stay in his house without his father's knowledge.

Trucker starring Michelle Monaghan, Nathan Fillion. Truck driver Diane lives a carefree, unattached life as in independent driver. Diane's 11-year-old son, who she has not seen in ten years, shows up to stay with her when his dad is in the hospital.

The Biggest Loser Workout: 30-day jumpstart with [people from some television show]. Five 10 minute workouts.

AudioBooks on CD

Vegas Heat by Fern Michaels. Her books check out

The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz. His book check out, too.

No Mercy by Lori Armstrong. This is supposed to be good.

The Wolf at the Door by Jack Higgins. Burning car on the cover.

Iron River by T. Jefferson Parker. Desert landscape on the cover.

Super Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Exploding apple on the cover.

Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler. Boring cover with compass face.

Monday, February 08, 2010

Two Foot Stack Variety Pack with Blond Yoga Girl, Joe Sacco, Charlie Hood

DVD

Yoga for Beginners and Beyond by Ana Brett and Ravi Singh. I bought this DVD for two reasons. 1: People here like yoga DVDs. 2: Blond chick on the cover (she's okay looking).

50 Dead Men Walking with Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess. Crook in Belfast is recruited by the police as a grasser against the IRA during the height of the Troubles.

Blood Creek with Michael Fassbender. A Nazi scholar's effort with the occult in 1936 West Virginia come back to haunt a modern family.

Fiction

Iron River by T. Jefferson Parker. Sheriff's Deputy Charlie Hood has joined an anti-drug task force on the California-Mexico border. When a stakeout ends in the death of a boy the boy's father, an extremely violent Mexican cartel leader, is out for revenge against the ATF agents involved. The other two Charlie Hood novels have been quite good.

My Before and After Life by Risa Miller. Two daughters fly to Israel to try and convince their newly religious father to return to the U.S.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The last copy fell apart.

The Chill by Jason Starr and Mick Bertilorenzi. Comic book novel with a serial killer in NYC. Looks good with a deadly woman, ritualized murder, a centuries old cop, nudity.

NonFiction - Lots of it, so pay attention

Apache: inside the cockpit of the world's most deadly fighting machine by Ed Macy. British Army pilot Macy was ready to retire when he takes a job as an Apache pilot in Afghanistan. Only 2% of candidates complete the 18 months of Apache training. Macey is sent into the ultra-violence Helmand Province and is involved in a rescue attempt with the rescuers, Royal Marines, strapped onto the outside of his Apache.

Skateboarder's Start-Up: a beginner's guide to skateboarding by Doug Werner and Steve Badillo.

Ultimate Super Bowl Book: a complete reference to the stats, stars, and stories behind the football's biggest game - and why the best team won by Bob McGinn. Excluding yesterday's game.

Midwest Home Landscaping Including Southern Canada: new edition by Roger Holmes and Rita Buchanan. Believe it or not, some people actually enjoy gardening.

Master Cheesemakers of Wisconsin by James Norton and Becca Dilley. Yeah, laugh it up. Cheese and Wisconsin, ha ha ha. But, this has great little bios of Masters with plenty of photographs to keep you interested.

Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco. Sacco is an excellent journalist writing in comics format. He travels to crappy places like Palestine and the Bosnian War then writes and illustrates the stories of his trip and the interviews he made with residents.

Murder for Hire: my life as the country's most successful undercover agent by Jack Ballentine. Ballentine joined the Phoenix Police Department in 1978 and often posed as a paid killer. His work led to 24 convictions for murder conspiracy. Phoenix is a dangerous beat. Remember that gunfight a few years ago when two officers were murdered?

None Left Behind: the 10th Mountain Division and the Triangle of Death by Charles W. Sasser. Delta Company's work along the Euphrates River in 2007. Including the attack and capture of several infantrymen on 12 May 2007 and the 10th's search for the missing men.

Checklist Manifesto: how to get things right by Atul Gawande. Gawande does some great writing and analyses on methods, procedures, and human nature. When medical checklists are followed they can save lives. Or, like when a pilot skips a step on his takeoff checklist, people will die.

Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin. I am late buying this book. Mainly because I think Griffin is a horses's ass and I ignore her whenever possible.

Inside the Teenage Brain: parenting a work in progress by Sheryl Feinstein. The brains of teenagers are growing and changing the same as the rest of the body.

Stones into Schools: promoting peace with books, not bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by Greg Mortenson. Mortenson writes another book.

Large Print

I, Sniper by Stephen Hunter. Another tale on the beauty of the .30 caliber.

Impact by Douglas Preston.

Unbearable Lightness of Scones by Alexnader McCall Smith.

Prodigal Wife by Marcia Willett.