I originally picked up Bradbury
's Classic Stories
because it contains The Exiles, a short story that mentions The Wizard of Oz
of which I am obsessed with reading about and a huge fan. The book is a compilation of Bradbury
's short stories taken from The Golden Apples of the Sun
and R is For Rocket
.While Ray Bradbury
is more widely known as a sci-fi/fantasy author, Classic Stories is more of a blend of all his works, classic fiction included. Although I can appreciate that Ray Bradbury
has produced classic works, his science fiction is too outdated for me to enjoy. The majority of them were written in the 1950s, and many of his stories take place during years that have already come and gone, like 1997. His material is not time-sensitive, and our modern technology has waaaaay surpassed Bradbury's fantasies. The book is more comedic than anything, and I read several of them out loud to my family for entertainment.
, a compilation of books of all genres for every mood, moment, and reason as is her catch-phrase.
is a black comedy entwining the lives of people involved in theater. Pulitzer-Prize winning 
is one of the most unique novels I have ever read in my life, and I am proud to say I own both the hardcover and softcover versions of the book as well as 
is a novella about a man named David Fine who murders his business partner and best friend Stan Well over money manners. Shortly after David buries Stan several miles away, he begins to receive creepy phone calls from beyond the grave.
for his plot that concludes with a 
"
"-esque ending. Even creepier than the story is Allen's protagonist, David Fine, a sleazy womanizer who nearly gets his way with three different women in town in the midst of dealing with creepy phone calls that threaten David's well-being. The phone calls connect to David regardless if the line is dead, the phone is broken, or even if the phone is a children's toy. Redundantly, David reacts and responds exactly the same to each phone call. Editing is strongly needed throughout the book, which if done will greatly improve the choppy reading experience.
takes place in historical England during the 1700s and is about a breed of fantasy people that are half-human, half-dragon. A rogue dragon-woman named Rue Hawthorne steals valuable jewels for fun and eventually teams up with Christoff, a Marquess who is also part-dragon. Together they take steps to find a diamond that has gone missing in order to keep their dragon-like identities a secret from the rest of the world.
by 
's 
is the author's debut stand-alone novel sans 
, who co-wrote 
with 
is about foul-mouthed, sensuous young Cockney woman Gloria Winstanley, who works with sister Marje in a munitions factory during World War II and is on the hunt for love. The novel actually spans back and forth from present time, in which Gloria is an Alzheimer's patient in a nursing home to the past during her Blitz experiences. The mystery surrounding the novel has to deal with a chunk of Gloria's memory missing from those Blitz days, and Gloria's son Hank helps her piece things together. The end result is quite surprising.
is a tastefully written novel about a series of violins that sound so beautiful they are coveted by both vampires and humans alike. 
.
by 
is definitely the book to read. This beautiful, extraordinary novel involves hypnosis and past-life regression that flips between modern times and historical days of the Welsh.
is enough to grip readers from the very beginning, "When all is said and done, killing my mother came easily". Almost immediately, we are struck with knowing that this book is going to be a very dark and insanely compelling read!