Monthly Archives: October 2020

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

26 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by in Fiction, Horror, Humor

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“Its a horror thriller, with a touch of humor and a real page turner.”

“Ghosts of the past have also inspired one of the most rollicking, addictive novels I’ve read in years: THE SOUTHERN BOOK CLUB’S GUIDE TO SLAYING VAMPIRES by Grady Hendrix, a tale of housewives battling vampires that is sweetly painful, like hard candy that breaks a tooth.”—Danielle Trussoni for The New York Times Book Review

“A delight…its incisive social commentary and meaningful character development make The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires not just a palatable read for non-horror fans, but a winning one.”—USA Today, 3.5 out of 4 star review

“Hendrix has masterfully blended the disaffected housewife trope with a terrifying vampire tale, and the anxiety and tension are palpable…a cheeky, spot-on pick for book clubs.”—Booklist, starred review

“Hendrix cleverly sprinkles in nods to well-established vampire lore, and the fact that he’s a master at conjuring heady 1990s nostalgia is just the icing on what is his best book yet. Fans of smart horror will sink their teeth into this one.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

16 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by in 20th century, Biography, Non-fiction

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The heartrending story of a midcentury American family with twelve children, six of them diagnosed with schizophrenia, that became science’s great hope in the quest to understand the disease. (Amazon)

“Hidden Valley Road is a riveting true story of an American family that reads like a medical detective journey and sheds light on a topic so many of us face: mental illness.”—Oprah Winfrey

“The curse of the Galvin family is the stuff of Greek tragedy. Kolker tells their story with great compassion, burrowing inside the particular delusions and hospitalizations of each brother while chronicling the family’s increasingly desperate search for help. But Hidden Valley Road is more than a narrative of despair, and some of the most compelling chapters come from its other half, as a medical mystery.”
—Sam Dolnick, The New York Times Book Review

“A stunning, riveting chronicle crackling with intelligence and empathy . . . Kolker tackles this extraordinarily complex story so brilliantly and effectively that readers will be swept away. An exceptional, unforgettable, and significant work that must not be missed.”—Booklist, starred review

“Riveting and disquieting . . . Kolker deftly follows the psychiatric, chemical, and biological theories proposed to explain schizophrenia and the various treatments foisted upon the brothers. Most poignantly, he portrays the impact on the unafflicted children of the brothers’ illness, an oppressive emotional atmosphere, and the family’s festering secrets . . . A family portrait of astounding depth and empathy.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

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Memento Park by Mark Sarvas

09 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by in Fiction, mystery

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A Jewish son (American) can pry no family history from his Jewish father (Hungarian).  Even when a painting stolen by the Nazis surfaces trying to be reunited to it’s rightful owners – in fact his family!  He can elicit nothing from his hard-love father. Masterfully told, intricate relationships, scathing humor……an unpredictable ending awaits you.

“A riveting story–and, in Sarvas’s able hands, artfully told . . . Sarvas has created a gripping, twisty mystery that deftly tackles big questions–about the weight of history, the intricacies of identity, the often anguished love between parents and children…” –Barbara Spindel, Barnes & Noble Review

“Sarvas’s rich and engaging second novel is worth the decade’s wait since his first . . . Sarvas couples a suspenseful mystery with nuanced meditations on father-son bonds, the intricacies of identity, the aftershocks of history’s horrors, and the ways people and artworks can–perhaps even must–be endlessly reinterpreted.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“What does the next generation carry forward, and why is it so compelling? In his powerful novel Memento Park, Mark Sarvas explores the essential questions of history, its burdens, and legacies. The gifted novelist Sarvas takes us by the hand and tells us a story that demands to be heard.” –Min Jin Lee, author of Pachinko, finalist for the National Book Award

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The End of October by Lawrence Wright

03 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by in 20th century, Fiction

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Since the onset of the coronoavirus pandemic, March 2020, most readers will feel like they literally have just lived the first 2 sections of Wright’s book.  Remember this is fiction should you dare to read to the end…..Guaranteed:  page turner!

“Whew! A compelling read up to the last sentence. Wright has come up with a story worthy of Michael Crichton. In an eerily calm, matter-of-fact way, and backed by meticulous research, he imagines what the world would actually be like in the grip of a devastating new virus.” —Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone and The Cobra Event

 “As a distinguished journalist and author of several highly successful factual books, Wright approached this just as he would any other journalistic assignment, carrying out detailed research and preparation. As he went from expert to expert he heard clear warnings that something like the coronavirus would happen. It was a question not so much of ‘if’ but ‘when,’ and crucially, many asked how prepared governments would be to cope with it . . . Is truth stranger than fiction, as the American writer Mark Twain once suggested? Now we all have a chance to judge for ourselves.” —Jonathan Marcus, BBC

In this riveting medical thriller–from the Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author–Dr. Henry Parsons, an unlikely but appealing hero, races to find the origins and cure of a mysterious new killer virus as it brings the world to its knees. (Amazon)

“This timely literary page-turner shows Wright is on a par with the best writers in the genre.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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