This is my Instagram. Leighas_Life <----- click here!

I would be happy if anyone wanted to follow me. I post mostly bookish photos and those being vintage, 90s and earlier. An eclectic mix. I don't believe in an age range for books. I will read anything. Horror, romance, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, middle grade, YA, children, "easy" books, hard books, adult books, manga, even picture books, you name it.

There are some more modern books, too and random non-book photos now and again. 99% books bought used for $1! I have a large collection I've been collecting since I was a kid, so even though I post every day that does not mean we go out and buy books every day! haha

Examples of content:

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit of a geek. Like many geeks, I love lists; reading them, making them, debating them or flat disagreeing with them, I love it all. As such, I have quite a few books that are, basically, "best of" lists. I love these because they point me at good stuff I haven't experienced yet.

It struck me that there are many different ways to compile such a book, each with it's own benefits and drawbacks. So, here are a few different ways of doing it, with examples.

1. Utterly Subjective, Single Author

Example:   The Great Movies - Roger Ebert,Mary Corliss  

This style is probably the simplest: You list your favorite examples of a thing and explain why. This is the style I employ on this blog, and the style Ebert employed in his Great Movies series.

Benefits: Ease of writing, pleasantness of experience, enthusiasm, easy to organize.

Drawbacks: No data to fall back on, personal exposure, not authoritative.

You don't have to watch, read, or listen to anything you don't want to, but people can attack you for your opinions (risky in the internet era). Still, it's a lot of fun to just gush about the stuff you love.

2. Attempted Objective, Single Author

Example:   Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels: an English-language selection, 1949-1984 - David Pringle  

Here, the author makes their best stab at an "official" list, compiling examples because of importance, influence, quality, or other criteria based on their own judgement.

Benefits: More comprehensive and authoritative, helpful creative/critical exercise.

Drawbacks: "Why this one and not...", exposure to works that one finds unpleasant, "important" works that don't hold up.

This kind of list is great for the author in two ways: They have to step outside of themselves, and it's a chance to dig into classics they haven't gotten around to (and any purchases are tax-deductible, because it's "research"). Still, they have to slog through some works they don't like, and will still be open to accusations of bias. Hell, they will be biased, no matter how hard they try to avoid it. This will also affect the passion in the writing. And they still don't have concrete data backing them up.

3. Subjective Take on Objective Data, Single Author

Example:    The Top 500 Heavy Metal Albums of All Time - Martin Popoff  

Gather data from various polls, interviews or other outside sources, compile a ranking, and then express your opinion of the various works, their placement, etc.

Benefits: Opportunities for snark, exposure to new works, not having to dredge your own brain.

Drawbacks: Frustration, works you may find awful/offensive, disappointment when some of your favorites are low on the list or absent altogether.

This one is just too much work for me, although it would be interesting to, say, watch and review every Best Picture winner, in order. Watching Crash again would be a chore, though.

4. Utterly subjective, Multi-Author

   Horror: The 100 Best Books - Stephen Jones,Kim Newman  

Get a bunch of people to talk about their favorite works. What could possibly go wrong?

Benefits: Less writing, lots of discoveries, high enthusiasm.

Drawbacks: Logistical nightmare, missed deadlines, explaining the concept repeatedly.

Now I just need to find 100 people in the field who have enough time to write a piece, make sure there are no double-ups (two people picking the same subject), editing each piece, communicate with various agents/publishers, etc. If you prefer organizing to writing, not a bad choice, but keeping your ducks in a row can be a bear. Plus, there will be classics/"essentials" that no one picks, but you can blame your contributors for that.

5. Attempted Objective, Multi-Author

   Fantasy: The 100 Best Books - James Cawthorn,Michael Moorcock,James Cawthorne  

You and a cohort come up with a list of classics, then divide and conquer.

Benefits: Lessened workload, interesting conversations, a united front.

Drawbacks: Arguments, resentment.

Doing an SF list but hate Heinlein? You can have your friend write that piece while you review that Ellison collection. Great, but what happens if one of you has a personal crisis? The other has to step up, leading to a potentially unbalanced workload. And the hashing out of the actual list can be both fun and frustrating, while dealing with each other's criticism of your writing styles just might suck. Just kidding, it'll be fine!

6. Subjective Takes on Objective Data, Multi-Author

Example:    Thrillers: 100 Must-Reads - David Morrell,Hank Wagner  

Gather the pertinent data to compile a list, then get other people in the field to discuss their favorites from said list.

Benefits: Enthusiasm, less writing, hard data.

Drawbacks: Logistical issues, unpicked subjects.

Here, you have the same issues as #4, except you're backed up by data. But what if nobody really wants to write about something on the list? That falls to you, and can lead to some entries having all the verve of a high school book report.

Anyway, thanks for reading this list about books of lists.

-- Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter - http://tinyurl.com/l5p9et8

Website: http://cverstraete.com 

'Much has been said of the strumpets of yore
Of wenches and bawdy house queens by the score
But I sing of a baggage that we all adore,
The Landlord's Daughter . . . '

'. . . Her ale it is lively and strong to the taste
It is brewed with discretion and never with haste
You can have all you like
If you swear not to waste
The Landlord's Daughter . . .'

So this book, I remember watching brief clips of the film on channel 4 years ago, but never quite got round to getting the book, although The wicker man is a book I've wanted to get for my Book collection for ages I finally got it.

Took me really less than two days to read this it's a strange tale set in the isles of Scotland,

Neil Howie, a Scots police Sergeant and fine upstanding Christian fellow, receives an anonymous letter saying that a girl has gone missing on Summerisle, a small island only barely under Scot protection, thirty-eight miles west of the last of the Outer Hebrides. Howie goes out to investigate, and finds that, while all the inhabitants of the island are seemingly quite forthcoming with what they know (save the none of them acknowledge the missing girl so much as exists), Howie is torn between his desire to see the case through and his offence at the various heathen goings-on on the decidedly non-Christian island.

This book blew my mind quite frankly, and after watching the film again. I was highly impressed. It flows though a strange, surreal sort of way. And I'm not going to lie, I didn't like the main protagonist Neil Howie, I think the that the author just made him very dislikeable and prune like.

Give this a read some time it's one of those horror classics that Makes you think the end will stay with you for a long time.

There have been many novels about the end of the world, but there’s only been one Apocalypse Cow. Okay, so technically there’s 2 because there’s  a sequel called World War Moo, but still. The beef (and pork? and chicken? Awwww, crap!)  has a, uh, beef it needs to settle with us. Hang on to your britches, folks, this book was moo-stly fun and udder madness! 

This is going to be one of those books that you either love or hate. I absolutely loved it. I’m almost as hard to please with Comedy as I am with Fantasy books, but Apocalypse Cow hit the nail on the head. I did everything from snicker to guffaw, to choke on my food while I was reading.

“But good looks counted for nothing when you smelled of intestines.”

“Colin threw his head back to let out a laugh so loud and brazen in its bum-lickery it resonated through the office window”

 

“Behind wire -rimmed glasses, he had the eyes of a man who would strangle his own mother in order to get his inheritance early. Had Terry met him under different circumstances,he would have assumed he was a banker.”

 

“Let me get this straight. Your plan is to sit here and hope the good vegan vibes you’re sending out will protect us?”

-Michael Logan, Apocalypse Cow

Basically, the government screws up, and this virus gets released. The food chain gets fried. At first its just the cows that are infected, but it soon spreads, and its a rip-roaring read with some shockingly gory and also sad moments acting as a balance to the hilarious zingers Logan casually tosses about during the udder madness of Apocalypse Cow. Its beefed up with enough action to keep the pace feeling almost frenetic, even when there’s really not that much going on. The characters are disturbingly believable, though the representation of the vegan might offend other vegans.

I was surprised to find that I actually ended up caring about Geldof, the youngest of the crew, and even Lesley and Terry. The rest of them were take or leave (primarily because they were bull-headed toe-rags.) It was ridiculous, hilarious, disturbing and odd, and definitely supplants Year Zero as the best comedy book I read in 2015.