Friday, June 14, 2024

{Book Blogger Hop} — A Go-To Summer Book

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

To plan the post for next week in advance, go here for upcoming prompts. You must complete this form to submit a prompt.

There is now a Facebook group for the Book Blogger Hop! Please join the community to connect with other book bloggers and receive the most recent Book Blogger Hop information.

What To Do

1. Post your response to the question.

What's your go-to book to start the summer, and why does it set the tone for the season?

Submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

2. In the linky list widget, enter your name or nickname @ Blog Name and the direct URL to your post answering this week's question. Here's an example: Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer

3. Please go to the other blogs on the list and comment on their BBH post.

{Book Blogger Hop} — Summertime Reading

Billy Burgess book blogger hop ,

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

To plan the post for next week in advance, go here for upcoming prompts. You must complete this form to submit a prompt.

There is now a Facebook group for the Book Blogger Hop! Please join the community to connect with other book bloggers and receive the most recent Book Blogger Hop information.

What To Do

1. Post your response to the question.

Summer often means more time for reading. Do you have a list of books you're eager to start reading during June's warm days? Do you have a summer reading goal?

Submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

2. In the linky list widget, enter your name or nickname @ Blog Name and the direct URL to your post answering this week's question. Here's an example: Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer

3. Please go to the other blogs on the list and comment on their BBH post.

[Spotlight] —"THE NASTY: The Complete Series"

Billy Burgess spotlight ,

Find it on Goodreads and Books2Read.

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE NASTY: The Complete Series by John Lees & Adam Cahoon Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About the Book

The Ring meets Empire Records in THE NASTY, a coming-of-age horror story splattered with dark comedy, as a group of horror movie-loving teens bites off more than they can handle when the most sought-after video nasty ever slips through their fingers, and they are forced to film their own video nasty slasher movie – where evil, screams, and nightmares bleed into reality.

Keep telling yourself: “IT’S ONLY A MOVIE!!!

Isn't it?

Scotland, 1994.

Eighteen-year-old Graeme “Thumper” Connell still has an imaginary friend: the masked killer from his favorite slasher film. Thumper is obsessed with horror and always has been. He fills his time with scary VHS rentals and hanging out with his friends and fellow fans, The Murder Club. But everything changes when his local video shop acquires one of the notorious films known as “video nasties” — films so scary they’re the target of the British Moral Decency League’s crusade to ban and burn.

But it’s only a movie, right?

It’s all just imaginary, isn’t it?

The Nasty is a story about the perception of evil, the power of genre, the love of fandom, the need to create art, oh, and crap-your-pants TERROR! Become a bonafide member of The Murder Club: pick up this book!

For fans of Stranger Things, Stand By Me, IT, The Monster Squad, Donnie Darko, Empire Records, My Best Friend’s Exorcism and other books by Grady Hendrix, fans of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, Little Monsters (Jeff Lemire & Dustin Nguyen), The Closet (James Tynion IV), The Me You Love in the Dark (Skottie Young & Jorge Corona), Giant Days, Afterlife With Archie, Killadelphia (Rodney Barnes & Jason Shawn Alexander), and Proctor Valley Road.

PRAISE FOR THE NASTY

Horror Comics To Watch For in 2023 - Fangoria

“There is no other title I have been more excited about than this because it is a love letter to horror while tackling the conservatism we are seeing rise in pop culture today..." - Fangoria

“The Nasty is a bloody valentine to slashers and the outsiders who love them.”– AIPT

“The Nasty is a love letter to slasher flicks and a generation of kids who loved them. Tender, funny, surprising, endearing, with an emerging horrific twist. We had Faces of Death as the taboo underground horror tape that was whispered about but it wasn't cursed. The Nasty takes a fun nostalgic trip down memory lane and elevates it to a new level of horror. – Lotusland Comics

About John Lees

John Lees is an award-winning comic book writer from Glasgow, Scotland. He is best known for his work on acclaimed horror series AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE, with artist Iain Laurie, and hard-boiled Glasgow crime saga SINK, drawn by frequent collaborator Alex Cormack. Currently, Lees is the co-creator and writer of THE NASTY from Vault Comics. John's other credits include superhero drama THE STANDARD, serial killer thriller OXYMORON: THE LOVELIEST NIGHTMARE, psychedelic nightmare quest QUILTE, and a story for TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES UNIVERSE. His latest projects are MOUNTAINHEAD, a snow-swept thriller from IDW Publishing, working with artist Ryan Lee, and HOTELL, a horror anthology series from AWA Upshot, featuring artist Dalibor Talajic.

Newsletter subscription: www.deep-ender.johnleescomics.com.

Patreon: www.patreon.com/johnlees

Website | Twitter | Instagram

About Adam Cahoon

Tuffs, Origin House: Spa and Retreat, and Anomaly, as well as his design work with Second Rocket Comics. His other credits include the fan comic Silver Surfer Grey, and the forth-coming I Was A Teenage Ghost Rider. He has design work as well as short comics in the forthcoming books Everything Is Different Now from Justin Richards, Morsels by J Donahue, and Dead Blood by DB Andry.

Website | Twitter | Instagram

Giveaway Details

2 winners will receive finished copies of THE NASTY: The Complete Series

US Only

Ends June 25th, midnight EST

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Week One:

5/27/2024	Two Chicks on Books	Excerpt/IG Post
5/28/2024	The Momma Spot	Excerpt
5/29/2024	@darkfantasyreviews	Excerpt
5/30/2024	Fire and Ice Reads	Excerpt/IG Post
5/31/2024	Sadie's Spotlight	Interview Adam Cahoon/IG Post
6/1/2024	Writer of Wrongs	Excerpt

Week Two:

6/2/2024	@thepagelady	IG Review
6/3/2024	GryffindorBookishnerd	IG Review
6/4/2024	Comic Book Yeti	Interview John Lees/X Post
6/5/2024	Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer	Review/IG Post
6/6/2024	@evergirl200	IG Review
6/7/2024	@stargirls.magical.tale	IG Review
6/8/2024	@sparks_books	IG Review

Week Three:

6/9/2024	Books and Zebras	IG Review
6/10/2024	The Book Critic	Review/IG Post
6/11/2024	FUONLYKNEW	Review
6/12/2024	Country Mamas With Kids	Review/IG Post
6/13/2024	nerdophiles	Review
6/14/2024	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Review/TikTok Post
6/15/2024	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic/TikTok Post

Week Four:

6/16/2024	@enthuse_reader	IG Review/TikTok Post
6/17/2024	@dana.loves.books	IG Review/TikTok Post
6/18/2024	@jaimes_mystical_library	IG Review
6/19/2024	jlreadstoperpetuity	IG Review/TikTok Post
6/20/2024	Two Points of Interest	Review/IG Post
6/21/2024	Lifestyle of Me	Review

{Sunday Post} — Mountain of Mirrors, Pliable Truths, and Stargate

Billy Burgess Sunday Post ,

My Current Reads

Once again, I'm in between books, though I did read the prologue to Friday the 13th: Mother's Day over a week ago. I placed bookmarks in multiple books, but I was on the fence about what to read next. I should probably read The Chaos Agent, but part of me wants to read Pliable Truths (Star Trek: The Next Generation) by Dayton Ward, which I just received in the mail yesterday afternoon. No, it's not an ARC; I ordered it from Amazon. I was supposed to receive an ARC, but my gallery contact has been MIA for several months. Sometime, I need to read ARCs of Extinction, Acts of Defiance, and Lost Birds. Also, I've added Freida McFadden's The Housemaid and The Housemaid's Secret to my current reading list. There's a third book coming out soon, so I'm wanting to read these two first.

{Book Blogger Hop} — Environmental Reads

Billy Burgess book blogger hop ,

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

To plan the post for next week in advance, go here for upcoming prompts. You must complete this form to submit a prompt.

There is now a Facebook group for the Book Blogger Hop! Please join the community to connect with other book bloggers and receive the most recent Book Blogger Hop information.

What To Do

1. Post your response to the question.

June 5th is World Environment Day. Can you suggest a book that has an environmental message or theme?

Submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

2. In the linky list widget, enter your name or nickname @ Blog Name and the direct URL to your post answering this week's question. Here's an example: Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer

3. Please go to the other blogs on the list and comment on their BBH post.

{Sunday Post} — Act of Defiance, Micro Adventures, and You Like It Darker

Billy Burgess Sunday Post ,

Happy Memorial Day!

Yep, I'm posting a late Sunday Post on a Monday. I was going to skip this week's post, but I have extra free time today; I'm writing it now.

Song of the Week

My Current Reads

I'm nearly finished with Star Wars: The Living Ghost and should finish it tonight. Then I'm moving on to Argylle; I plan on reading it fast. These two loans are due June 6th. At the same time, I'm reading an old YA book, Friday the 13th: Mother's Day.

Stephen King is Back!

It should be no surprise to anyone that I picked up Stephen King's newest book, You Like It Darker. It's a short story collection; one of the stories, Rattlesnakes, is a sequel to King's 1981 novel Cujo. I'm a bit behind on King's recent releases; I might start reading You Like It Darker today and just read a story or two here and there.

What's in the Mailbox?

I received a copy of the newest Jack Ryan novel, Tom Clancy's Act of Defiance, written by Andrews & Wilson (Brian Andrews and Jeffery Wilson). I believe "Act of the Defiance" is the first Jack Ryan story written by these authors. There's a submarine on the cover, and I love subs, so I can't wait to tread on this one.

What's New on the Bookshelf?

I'm skipping my weekly thrift store stop today because the store is closed for Memorial Day, and I probably won't go there again until next week, though you never know with me. However, I did buy quite a few books last week, all for a dollar. Yep, there was a $1 bag sale again. So I got everything for $1

Up first is a Doubleday jacket-less hardcover of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. It has a copyright of 1938, but no edition is listed. Rebecca is one of my favorite books; I now have four or five copies.

I got a paperback of Preston & Child's Cemetery Dance. I thought I already owned the book; apparently, I didn't. I must've read it from the library. Also, I got a paperback of The Killing Game by Iris Johansen.

While I'm not the biggest fan of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, I got a July 1983 paperback edition—only because I liked the artwork on the cover. I got a 1980 tie-in edition paperback of Florence Engel Randall's The Watcher in the Woods. I've heard of it but never read it or seen either movie adaptation. Also, I grabbed an Archway paperback, The Greatest Monster in the World, by Daniel Cohen.

I found three Choose Your Own Adventure Paperbacks: The Mystery of the Chimney Rock (Special Book Fair Edition) by Edward Packard, The Abominable Snowman (Special Book Fair Edition) by R.A. Montgomery, and Mystery of the Sacred Stones by Louise Munro Foley.

From 1984 to 1985, Scholastic published a YA book series, Micro Adventures, created by Ruth Glick and Eileen Buckholtz, that combined adventure stories with computer programs. Each books have several short Basic type-in programs that can run on the IBM PC, PcJr., Apple II +, IIe, COMMODORE 64, VIC-20, ATARI 400/800, RADIO SHACK TRS-80 (Level 2 or greater), and RADIO SHACK COLOR COMPUTER. There were ten books published and four Magic Micro books.

Guess what? I found nine books in the Micro Adventure series. The titles are Jungle Quest by Megan and H. William Stine, Million Dollar Gamble by Chassie L. West, and Time Trap by Jean Favors, Mindbenders by Ruth Glick and Eileen Buckholtz, Robot Race by David Anthony Kratt, Doom Stalker by Ruth Glick and Eileen Buckholtz, The Big Freeze by Jean M. Favors, Dead Ringer by Chassie L. West, and Spellbound by Megan Stine and H. William Stine.

I got five Goosebumps reprints with new covers released to tie in with the first Goosebumps movie. There's only one that I don't already own, Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls, first published in 1998 as part of the Goosebumps 2000 series. Unfortunately, the book had a few pages torn, and others were missing, which I realized later. I fixed the r pages with tape and will keep the book as a "placement" in my collection until I can find a better copy

The other books are One Day at Horrorland, The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, Please Don't Feed the Vampire (Give Yourself Goosebumps), and Say Cheese and Die!

My favorite finds from this thrift trip are R.L. Stine's Fear Street: The Secret Bedroom and the novelization of Gremlins by George Gipe. Despite the cover damage, I was on a high when I came across the Secret Bedroom because I knew, for a fact, that I didn't have it in my Fear Street collection.

It's rare to find an 80s novelization in the wild, and Gremlins makes the fifth of my recent finds. Remember, I found The Terminator and three Knight Rider books a few weeks ago; I imagine Gremlins was part of the same donation. Oddly, I found Gremlins mixed in with the kid's books. The 1984 film is a horror film, not a kid's movie. Nevertheless, there were (and still are) plenty of Gizmo plushes marketed for kids. I still have the one from my childhood, though it's seen better days.

Here's a fact: George Gipe also wrote the novelizations for Back to the Future and Explorers. Sadly, he died on September 6th, 1986, from a bee sting. Weirdly, my birthday is September 7th (five years earlier), and I'm also allergic to bees.

I stopped by a different thrift store and got Max Brand's Smiling Charlie for fifty cents. At Dollar Tree, I bought Exile by James Swallow (this guy also writes Star Trek books) and The Mother Code by Carole Stivers.

New titles on my Kindle include Phasers on Stun! How Making (and Remaking) of Star Trek Changed the World by Ryan Britt, Nightmare Hall: The Silent Scream by Diane Hoh, Forever and a Day: A James Bond Novel by Anthony Horowitz, Supernatural: Bone Key by Keith R.A. DeCandido, Fire by Caroline B. Cooney, Brainchild by Andrew Neiderman, Immortals by Andrew Neiderman, Blood Spell by Janice Harrell, and The Valancourt Book of Horror Stories, Volume 4.

Other new titles on my Kindle are The Perfume by Caroline B. Cooney, The Vampire Promise: Evil Returns by Caroline B. Cooney, The Vampire Promise: Fatal Bargain by Caroline B. Cooney, Night School by Caroline B. Cooney, The Yearbook by Peter Lerangis, Driver's Dead by Peter Lerangis, The Dark Chronicles: The Calling by Barbara Steiner, Blindfolded by Diane by Hoh, The Photographer by Barbara Steiner, and The Photographer II: The Dark Room by Barbara Steiner.

{Book Blogger Hop} — Favorite Outdoor Reading Spot

Billy Burgess book blogger hop ,

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

To plan the post for next week in advance, go here for upcoming prompts. You must complete this form to submit a prompt.

There is now a Facebook group for the Book Blogger Hop! Please join the community to connect with other book bloggers and receive the most recent Book Blogger Hop information.

What To Do

1. Post your response to the question.

What's your favorite outdoor reading spot, and do you have any advice for creating the perfect outdoor reading experience?

Submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

2. In the linky list widget, enter your name or nickname @ Blog Name and the direct URL to your post answering this week's question. Here's an example: Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer

3. Please go to the other blogs on the list and comment on their BBH post.

It’s Time for the Protests to Stop and for Us to Support Israel! — [Giveaway]

Billy Burgess

I never discuss politics on this blog because of fear of left-wing trolls and crazy people leaving nasty comments. Although I do not entirely favor the current Republican presidential candidate or President Biden, two of the worst US presidents ever, my views tend to lean right. Look at what he has done: the rate of inflation has shot through the roof, the US is shelling out trillions of dollars to finance the war in Ukraine against Russia, and the border with Mexico is in disarray. And then there is Israel, where, based on his audience and approval ratings, Biden keeps wavering between endorsing and criticizing anti-Israel demonstrations.

[Review] — "CHASING ENDLESS SUMMER" is a Forgetful Fluff Sequel

Billy Burgess books ,

Once upon a time, when you heard the name V.C. Andrews, we all thought of gothic thrillers. Now I'm asking, does the cover art for Chasing Endless Summer cry "gothic thriller?" It doesn't; if anything, it cries out young adult romance. While the cover isn't horrible, I still miss the old stepback covers.