Peculiar Book

Author Ransom Riggs has created a very peculiar book.  Not only is the story strange, but also the way he wrote the book.  He has taken photographs from 10 collectors that were found or rescued from flea markets, antique malls and yard sales.  He then wrote a story around those photographs.  The book contains 44 of these photos and they add to the mystery of the story.  Here is a link to the trailer for the book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWrNyVhSJUU&feature=player_embedded

I found this book by accident while searching through the digital library for a book to read.  The cover caught my attention so I downloaded the book and could not put it down. It is a very original story with great pacing and flow, keeping the reader intrigued from beginning to end.  Here is a short description from amazon:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

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You can check out more about the author on his blog at www.ransomriggs.com. He recently posted that there will be a sequel coming in 2013 and he has another book, Talking Pictures, coming in April 2012.

Dean Koontz

I just finished reading the new Dean Koontz short story The Moonlit Mind.  This story is only available in ebook form so those of you who have not embraced the future are out of luck on this one. Here is the description from Dean's website:

In this chilling original stand-alone novella, available exclusively as an eBook, #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz offers a taste of what’s to come in his new novel, 77 Shadow Street, with a mesmerizing tale of a homeless boy at large in a city fraught with threats . . . both human and otherwise.
Twelve-year-old Crispin has lived on the streets since he was nine—with only his wits and his daring to sustain him, and only his silent dog, Harley, to call his friend. He is always on the move, never lingering in any one place long enough to risk being discovered. Still, there are certain places he returns to. In the midst of the tumultuous city, they are havens of solitude: like the hushed environs of St. Mary Salome Cemetery, a place where Crispin can feel at peace—safe, at least for a while, from the fearsome memories that plague him . . . and seep into his darkest nightmares. But not only his dreams are haunted. The city he roams with Harley has secrets and mysteries, things unexplainable and maybe unimaginable. Crispin has seen ghosts in the dead of night, and sensed dimensions beyond reason in broad daylight. Hints of things disturbing and strange nibble at the edges of his existence, even as dangers wholly natural and earthbound cast their shadows across his path. Alone, drifting, and scavenging to survive is no life for a boy. But the life Crispin has left behind, and is still running scared from, is an unspeakable alternative . . . that may yet catch up with him.

I enjoyed the story and found it very creepy and disturbing.  The reason why Crispin is homeless is very shocking.  Even though I figured out what was going on before the end, I still thought the book was very satisfying.  The ebook also features the first 3 chapters of Dean's new book 77 Shadow Street that will be available on December 27.  I can't wait.  Find out more about Dean Koontz at www.deankoontz.com and visit www.77shadowstreet.com for an immersive experience.

Welcome

My name is Trey and I used to be a bookseller for a major book retail chain.  That company is no longer in business and I miss talking about my passion: books.  On this blog, I will post reviews for the books I read and give links and info that I hope you will find interesting.  I also encourage you to send me your reviews and I will post them.  I will try to post at least 2 or 3 times a week, maybe more in the beginning.  Although the focus of this blog will be books, I may from time to time post about movies or tv if it is based on a book. Let me know what you think.