Top Ten Hidden Gems

These are some of my favorite books of all time, but they don't have many reviews on Goodreads. (Btw, Andy Davidson's In the Valley of the Sun is on sale today for $1.99!) I'd love to hear if you've read any of these hidden gems.

The Nightmare Chronicles by Douglas Clegg

Strangewood by Christopher Golden



Deep in the Darkness by Michael Laimo

Bad Things by Tamara Thorne

Before Leonora Wakes (Division #1) by Lee Thompson



Beyond the Door by Jeffrey Thomas

Inside the Outside by Martin Lastrapes



A Nearer Moon by Melanie Crowder

Garden of Fiends: Tales of Addiction Horror edited by Mark Matthews

In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson

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This post is being shared as part of The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | August 26

Hi all! I hope the winding down of summertime has been great to you all. I don't have much reading to report this weekend, but I wanted to make sure I popped in to give an update since I have been terribly quiet over the last couple of weeks. Between work and caring for my grandfather, my brain has been incapable of reading/reviewing.

I live on the Texas coast, but it looks like my area will be mostly spared from the hurricane. All of the projection models had it looping to us after landfall. Now that Harvey is on land, though, it looks like it will stay west of us. My work is closed through Wednesday due to the severity of what was expected here, but we are likely to only get rain. I've been feeling so guilty about not even replying to comments last week; I'm going to devote some serious time to getting caught up around here while I'm off.

Posted Last Week

I did a Top Ten Tuesday post listing some of my favorite audiobooks.

Read Last Week

A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet #1) by Madeleine L'Engle: This is my third reading of A Wrinkle in Time. Several years ago I reread it for Banned Books Week. At the end of my review I said I was definitely going to read it again with my boys. Weeeellll, I can't get them to read it. I even tried bribery. Since I went through the trouble of getting it from the library, I decided I would just read it to myself again. *sigh*

Firelight (Amulet #7) by Kazu Kibuishi: When Firelight came out last year, I only had access to a Kindle version through my library. When I spotted a print copy on the shelf last week, I wanted to read it again in print.

Can I just say how happy I am that Goodreads can handle rereads now? It is really going to save my challenge in times of stress.

Review Copies

I'm going to lift my ban on review copies in September. I may post some thoughts next week on what I've learned during my hiatus.

Paperbacks from Hell: A History of Horror Fiction from the '70s and '80s by Grady Hendrix - Quirk Books sent me a copy of Paperbacks from Hell. It is a must read for me due to the content, but I have to say this book is absolutely gorgeous. It's "a tour through the horror paperback novels of the 1970s and ’80s", and it's beautiful. All of the pages are in full color, and it's filled with nothing but vintage horror goodness. "Page through dozens and dozens of amazing book covers featuring well-dressed skeletons, evil dolls, and knife-wielding killer crabs! Read shocking plot summaries that invoke devil worship, satanic children, and haunted real estate! Horror author and vintage paperback book collector Grady Hendrix offers killer commentary and witty insight on these trashy thrillers that tried so hard to be the next Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby. It’s an affectionate, nostalgic, and unflinchingly funny celebration of the horror fiction boom of two iconic decades, complete with story summaries and artist and author profiles. You’ll find familiar authors, like V. C. Andrews and R. L. Stine, and many more who’ve faded into obscurity. Plus recommendations for which of these forgotten treasures are well worth your reading time and which should stay buried." I can't wait to take the tour.

Current Distractions

• My kids are back to school and homework is in full swing. We are still trying to figure out our routines. I miss summer already.
• What kind of torture is this? I finally got caught completely up on Game of Thrones last week, and the season finale is tomorrow?! My husband and I decided to start back over with season one. LOL.
• Are you guys watching Ozark on Netflix? I'm almost through with season one, and I'm just not loving it like everyone else seems to be.
• I also started watching Defenders. My hubs is a huge comic book guy, but they are all hit or miss with me. I'm a big fan of Jessica Jones and Daredevil so Defenders is working out for me so far.

So what about you? Let me know what you're reading (or watching) this week or leave me some links!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Date's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?, Tynga's Reviews' Stacking the Shelves, and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Top 10+ Recommendations for Someone New to Audiobooks

If you are considering giving audiobooks a try, these are some of my all time favorite narrators and audiobooks.

Kate Mulgrew

I love Kate Mulgrew's performance in both NOS4A2 and The Fireman by Joe Hill.

Frank Muller

I give a lot of credit to Frank Muller for getting me as far into The Dark Tower as he did. Unfortunately he passed away before completing the series. That might be why I haven't finished the series either.

I have found other great audios like All Quiet on the Western Front by simply seeking out Frank Muller narrations.

Rob Inglis

I love Rob Inglis's performance in the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy. These are audiobooks I love to revisit.

Jim Dale

My absolute favorite audios of all time are the Harry Potter audios narrated by Jim Dale. I've actually tried to listen to other Jim Dale audiobooks and my brain won't let me. No matter what he's reading, I try to place it into the wizarding world of Harry Potter. I highly, highly recommend listening to the entire Harry Potter series via Jim Dale. The audios are extraordinary.

Wil Wheaton

I've heard great things about other books narrated by Wil Wheaton, but I think the only one I've listened to is Ready Player One. I would recommend it even if the movie wasn't about to release, but there is no better time than right now.

Bonus: I just saw that the upcoming Joe Hill book (Strange Weather) will be narrated by both Kate Mulgrew and Wil Wheaton (among others)!

Michael Page

Michael Page has narrated a lot of audiobooks, and the Gentleman Bastard series is among some of my favorite audios of all time.

Tom Stechschulte

Tom Stechschulte is another prolific narrator, and I love his narration of Robert McCammon's Swan Song. Swan Song is in my top three favorite books of all time (in any format). If the size of Swan Song has ever prevented you from taking the plunge, do not be afraid to go the audio route with this one.

Tom Stechschulte also narrated Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I haven't listened to it, but bet his voice is awesome for that one, too, so I'm including it here.

If you have any favorite audiobooks or narrators, please let me know in the comments!! If you are new to audio, I hope this gives you some options to consider.

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This post is being shared as part of The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday.

Recent Updates and Currently Reading | August 13

This post is going to cover the last two weeks of reading because I've been very bad at blogging the last couple of weeks.

Posted Last Week

August 2017 New Horror Releases | Horror Spotlight

Read Last Week

Artemis by Andy Weir - I couldn't help myself. I didn't want to wait any longer.

I Travel By Night by Robert McCammon - This was a mood reread. I enjoyed it even more the second time around.

Saga, Vol. 2 (Saga #2) by Brian K. Vaughan - Yay, I didn't have to wait too long on Vol 2. Hopefully the couple of folks that are in front of me for Vol 3 will be kind and return it early.

Current Distractions

• Orphan Black! The series finale was last night. I'm very, very thankful that they gave it a good ending. I'm so sad it's over!
• I CAUGHT UP TO SEASON 7 OF GAME OF THRONES! I may get caught up completely by tonight if all goes well today! I'm going to have the biggest hangover after binging that many seasons of GoT!
• My kids go back to school this week. (It's too damn early if you ask me!) All of my blogging time has been going into getting them (and the house..) ready for back to school. I'm sorry for commenting in bursts so often lately. Hopefully things will settle back into a routine soon!

So what about you? Let me know what you're reading (or watching) this week or leave me some links!

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This post is being shared as part of Book Date's It's Monday! What Are You Reading and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

August 2017 New Horror Releases | Horror Spotlight

It's time to spotlight all of the horror releasing in August! There is no doubt about it - horror is on the rise again, and I could not be a happier reader.

Benjamin Percy and Ania Ahlborn have new releases this month. I'm dying to know more about Zhou HaoHui's Valley of Terror. I'm also super curious about The Grip of It. I always gravitate toward haunted house stories. Let me know if you've had a look at any of these!

I'm looking forward to reading the new Kristi DeMeester this month, as well.

Classic Campfire Stories: Forty Spooky Tales by William W Forgey
Expected publication: August 1st 2017 by Falcon Guides

Ghosts on a Plane by M.L. Bullock
Expected publication: August 1st 2017

Dark Light: Dawn by Jon Land
Expected publication: August 1st 2017 by Forge Books



The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
Expected publication: August 1st 2017 by FSG Originals

The Dark Net by Benjamin Percy
Expected publication: August 1st 2017 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

The Law of Retaliation by Jon Athan
Expected publication: August 3rd 2017



The Last Victim of Jarvis Roon by James Shipway
Expected publication: August 7th 2017

Video Nasties by Duncan Ralston
Expected publication: August 7th 2017 by Shadow Work Publishing

I Call Upon Thee by by Ania Ahlborn
Expected publication: August 7th 2017 by Pocket Star



The Aberration: Torment of Tantalus by Bard Constantine
Expected publication: August 7th 2017 by BWB Pubishing

Gravel Switch (Gravel Switch Chronicles, #1) by Aleister Davidson
Expected publication: August 2017 by Black Mantis Press LLC

The Mailman by Jeremy Bates
Expected publication: August 11th 2017 by Ghillinnein Books



Mass Hysteria by Michael Patrick Hicks
Expected publication: August 15th 2017 by High Fever Books

Looming Low Volume I edited by Justin Steele and Sam Cowan
Expected publication: August 18th 2017 by Dim Shores

Risen by Eric Trant
Expected publication: August 29th 2017 by WiDo Publishing



Dracula's America: Shadows of the West by Jonathan Haythornthwaite
Expected publication: August 24th 2017 by Osprey Games

Valley of Terror by Zhou HaoHui, Bonnie Huie (Translation)
Expected publication: August 29th 2017 by AmazonCrossing

A Song for Quiet (Persons Non Grata #2) by Cassandra Khaw
Expected publication: August 29th 2017 by Tor.com



Everything That's Underneath: A Collection of Weird and Horror Tales by Kristi DeMeester
Expected publication: August 29th 2017 by Apex Book Company

Fearful Fathoms: Collected Tales of Aquatic Terror (Vol. I - Seas & Oceans) edited by Mark Parker
Expected publication: August 29th 2017 by Scarlet Galleon Publications, LLC

The Last Town: A Novel of the Zombie Apocalypse by Stephen Knight
Expected publication: August 31st 2017



Cannibal Creek by Jon Athan
Expected publication: August 31st 2017

Hungry Ghosts (Hungry Ghosts #1) by Ron Ripley
Expected publication: August 31st 2017 by ScareStreet.com

Blanky by Kealan Patrick Burke
Expected publication: August 2017

As always, be sure to let me know if there are any horror books releasing in August that didn't make it onto my list! I'd love to hear which horror books you are excited about this month.