Angel has eaten more people. Shocker. 

And now some idiots are wanting to catch a liopleurodon. Only the biggest sea predator EVER. 

And then there's the racism. And sexism. And just general stupidity. I'm over it. No amount of awesome dinosaur fish can salvage this.

Yay for the Megs. Boo for most of the people in this book. I was super annoyed with every single person in this massive book. But...damn if Jonas didn't have the baddest moment at the end. Like, total badass for a 65 year old. Ugh. It gives me mixed feelings.

The writing itself was shotty. Not terrible but just poor. The informative sections were so factual they felt out of place. He knows his science, no doubt. But it just takes you out of the moment when you're going along with the plot then you're being given an overview of an island chain and its history.

Anyway, I read this because it's a paperback and I take it to work with me. It's been really slow so I sit on my throne of milk crates and read when I have no prep work or orders. It makes time go by better. I can't decide if I want to move on the 4th book or just end this misery.

The holidays are here, and now it's time to say our thanks.

I'm thankful for each of these books for different reasons. They aren't all favorites per se, but have all made a positive impact on me.

Danse Macabre, Stephen King

This one got me into genre-specific reference books and pointed me towards several books that became favorites. I may never have discovered Harlan Ellison were it not for this, and that would've sucked.

Early Autumn, Robert B. Parker

This was the first Spenser novel I read, at my mother's request. After this, PI novels became one of my go-to subgenres and Spenser one of my favorite PI's. This one also had many solid lessons on how to be an adult male, something I needed at the time. It holds up, too.

Devil in a Blue Dress, Walter Mosley

Another PI novel, but this one showed me that genre fiction was super-flexible and able to tackle almost any theme or issue. It also introduced me to another favorite author and series.

Guilty Pleasures, Laurell K Hamilton

I'm not a fan of this series anymore, but this book introduced me (and may others) to the Urban Fantasy genre, which was one of my faves for years. I liked the first few (heavy on the horror, light on the sex) best, and walked away when the series became, essentially, Erotica. Still, this one had a tremendous impact on my own reading as well as the industry as a whole.

Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin

I'm not caught up with the series (got tired after binging the first three), nor have I watched much of the show, but this book got me back into traditional fantasy and introduced many to GrimDark. I will come back to these... eventually.

The Great Movies, Roger Ebert

These books introduced me to many, umm, great movies while giving me new perspective on many I'd already seen. Ebert has shaped how I watch and think about films, and his beautiful prose helped me see what criticism should be.

A Song for Arbonne, Guy Gavriel Kay

A very literary semi-historical stand-alone that introduced me to one of my new favorite authors. It also had an effect on what I look for in fantasy. It's awesome, and not even Kay's best.

I apologize for my lack of participation here. I've been on staycation and fell into lazy slug mode and life has been . . . eventful and there are never enough hours to do all of the things I plan to do. Anyhow, these are my picks for the favorite series with supernatural elements. I've been steering clear of series for awhile now because I never finish them so these are all oldies and I never did finish the Harris or Hamilton end books (they lost me) but the earlier one's were good stuff.

Pop Sugar 2019 Challenge prompts:

Book that makes you nostalgic 

Book without chapters or unusual chapters (advanced prompt)

What an amazing romp through nostalgia! This book was incredibly well researched and full of details. It mentioned series I didn't even know existed, as well as the huge hits. Full color. Dozens of book covers. Interviews with some of the authors. Even a piece on the person that painted all the Baby-sitters Club covers. If you want to remember your youth, check this out.