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Books, Brandon Ayre, Christmas, Film, Horror, Jólabókaflóð, John Goodrich, Karen Sanderson, Maura Spiegel, Poetry, Sidney Lumet
It is always a delight to recommend books written by one’s friends. And so, for fans of horror, whimsy, poetry, and film, I offer the following for your Jólabókaflóð consideration.
Horror:
Aside from the classics, I never considered myself much of a horror fan. Then I met John Goodrich and got a whole new appreciation for the genre. For the horror aficionado on your list check out:
Hag by John Goodrich
Aside from the classics, I never considered myself much of a horror fan. Then I met John Goodrich and got a whole new appreciation for the genre. Hag is a ghost story as human as it is spectral. It will reach out and grab you by throat and heart. And invade your dreams. John transforms the familiar tropes of the genre with the urgency of love, revenge, and survival, in this world and the next.
I Do Terrible Things by John Goodrich
Donna doesn’t know the old man with the sad face and yet there she is, beating him to death with a shovel. Is suppressed rage making her murder people in horrifying ways, or is she some sort of latent psychopath? She dreams of killing another man, and then another. The more people she kills, the more desperate she becomes to stop herself. Can she find the key and stop herself before she commits yet another gruesome murder?
Dark Draughts by John Goodrich
Dark Draughts will burn your throat and disturb your sleep. Culled from nearly a decade of work, it is the first collection of John’s short fiction. From the dusty American West to the blood-soaked battlefields of WWI, from ancient Egypt to rural Vermont, John shines a ghastly light on our human insecurities and lizard-brain impulses. He has a flair for Lovecraftian horror worthy of the master himself, and mines the canon of terror tropes in original, witty, nightmarish ways. With tales sure to delight horror aficionados and novice fans alike, Dark Draughts will make you think twice before turning out the lights.
Little Britches by John Goodrich
Finally, on a somewhat lighter side, there is John’s latest. Little Britches is a tight, fantastical tale of cops, mobsters, and a two-year-old hitman packing two lethal .45s in his diaper.
Whimsy:
Edward’s Animals by Brandon Ayre
Brandon Ayre’s Edward’s Animals is a tender, charming, often funny novella of modern romance.
Edward is a pansexual Manhattanite who is so morbidly shy he cannot see people as people. He loves the males and females of all species, though the creatures he loves are so human they might not be imaginary at all.
If you have a taste for fine writing and gentle, thoughtful whimsy, Edward’s Animals is a delight.
Poetry:
No Boundaries by Karen R. Sanderson
Karen R. Sanderson’s No Boundaries is a long-arced portrait limned with warmth and humor. In blank verse and rhyme, limerick and haiku, Karen skips across emotional touchstones of family, friends, memory, nature, and the writer’s craft itself. This is a delightfully accessible collection, full of wry observations and little gems.
Film:
Sidney Lumet: A Life by Maura Spiegel
Sidney Lumet was a quintessential American director. His is the vision behind such classic films as 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, and The Verdict. Yet, one doesn’t have to be a Lumet fan to enjoy Maura’s trenchant biography. Her affection for her subject and his films, not to mention Sidney’s New York, is apparent as she explores his life and work, highs and lows. A testament to the theatre, film, and man, who reflected America through some of our most turbulent decades. An illuminating pleasure for anyone who loves films and a brilliant man who made some of the best.
All books are available through Amazon.