Strange Weather by Joe Hill
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill.
"One of America’s finest horror writers" (Time magazine), Joe Hill has been hailed among legendary talents such as Peter Straub, Neil Gaiman, and Jonathan Lethem. In Strange Weather, this "compelling chronicler of human nature’s continual war between good and evil," (Providence Journal-Bulletin) who "pushes genre conventions to new extremes" (New York Times Book Review) deftly expose the darkness that lies just beneath the surface of everyday life.
"Snapshot" is the disturbing story of a Silicon Valley adolescent who finds himself threatened by "The Phoenician," a tattooed thug who possesses a Polaroid Instant Camera that erases memories, snap by snap.
A young man takes to the skies to experience his first parachute jump. . . and winds up a castaway on an impossibly solid cloud, a Prospero’s island of roiling vapor that seems animated by a mind of its own in "Aloft."
On a seemingly ordinary day in Boulder, Colorado, the clouds open up in a downpour of nails—splinters of bright crystal that shred the skin of anyone not safely under cover. "Rain" explores this escalating apocalyptic event, as the deluge of nails spreads out across the country and around the world.
In "Loaded," a mall security guard in a coastal Florida town courageously stops a mass shooting and becomes a hero to the modern gun rights movement. But under the glare of the spotlights, his story begins to unravel, taking his sanity with it. When an out-of-control summer blaze approaches the town, he will reach for the gun again and embark on one last day of reckoning.
Masterfully exploring classic literary themes through the prism of the supernatural, Strange Weather is a stellar collection from an artist who is "quite simply the best horror writer of our generation" (Michael Kortya)."
Seriously, kudos to Stephen King for instilling such a work ethic in his kids. They've all had a busy and productive year!
Gin and Panic by Maia Chance
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Former socialite Lola Woodby is now struggling to make ends meet as a not-so-discreet private eye in Prohibtion-era New York City, along with her stern Swedish sidekick, Berta. When they’re offered a piece-of-cake job―retrieving a rhinoceros trophy from the Connecticut mansion of big game hunter Rudy Montgomery―it seems like a no-brainer. After all, their client, Lord Sudley, promises them a handsome paycheck, and the gin and tonics will be plentiful and free. But no sooner do they arrive at Montgomery Hall than Rudy is shot dead.
When the police arrive to examine the scene, they conclude that Rudy had actually committed suicide. But Lord Sudley can’t believe his friend would have done that, and there’s a houseful of suspicious characters standing by. So Lord Sudley ups the ante for Lola and Berta, and suddenly, their easy retrieval job has turned into a murder investigation. Armed with handbags stuffed with emergency chocolate, gin flasks, and a Colt .25, Lola and Berta are swiftly embroiled in a madcap puzzle of stolen diamonds, family secrets, a clutch of gangsters, and plenty of suspects who know their way around a safari rifle.
Gin and Panic is the next jaunty, compelling Discreet Retrieval Agency mystery from beloved crime writer Maia Chance."
Everyone needs a little fun period escape, and who couldn't do with a little mystery to solve on the side?
Everything is Awful by Matt Bellassai
Published by: Atria/Keywords Press
Publication Date: October 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"From the break-out star of BuzzFeed and the People’s Choice Award-winning comedian behind the web series “Whine About It” and “To Be Honest” comes a collection of hilariously anguished essays chronicling awful moments from his life so far, the humiliations of being an adult, and other little indignities.
Matt Bellassai has no idea what he’s doing. Well, to be fair, he did become semi-Internet famous by getting drunk at work, making him a socially-acceptable—nay—professional alcoholic. He’s got some things figured out. But the rest is all just a terrible, disgusting mess.
This is Matt’s book. Just to clarify, though, it is absolutely not a memoir; Matt is far too young to have done anything worth remembering (though he did win an actual People’s Choice Award for his BuzzFeed web series, “Whine About It,” which is pretty good, if you ask his mother). This is also most certainly not a book of advice; he is too woefully ill-prepared for life to offer anything in the way of counsel (though that won’t stop him from talking). Call this a collection of awful moments that led to his grumbling, blundering adulthood—a chronicle of little indignities that, when taken together, amount to a life of hilarious anguish.
With keen wit and plenty of self-deprecation, Matt reveals how hard it is to shed his past as the Midwest’s biggest nerd, that one time a taquito nearly murdered him at his brother’s surprise birthday party, and the time he came out to his friends and family (the closet was a bit messy). Matt also wrestles with the humiliations of adulthood, like giving up on love in New York City, living alone with no one to heat his microwave dinners, and combating the inner voice that tells him to say aloud all the things the rest of us are smart enough to keep to ourselves.
You probably don’t need this book, but let’s be honest—you do. Since you’re already reading, you might as well pull up a chair, grab your glass(es) of wine, and enjoy."
Sometimes I feel like Matt Bellassai is my spirit animal.
Unqualified by Anna Faris
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: October 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy
The official patter:
"Anna Faris has advice for you. And it’s great advice, because she’s been through it all, and she wants to tell you what she’s learned. After surviving an awkward childhood (when she bribed the fastest boy in the third grade with ice cream), navigating dating and marriage in Hollywood, and building a podcast around romantic advice, Anna has plenty of lessons to share: Advocate for yourself. Know that there are wonderful people out there and that a great relationship is possible. And, finally, don’t date magicians.
Her comic memoir, Unqualified, shares Anna’s candid,sympathetic, and entertaining stories of love lost and won. Part memoir—including stories about being “the short girl” in elementary school, finding and keeping female friends, and dealing with the pressures of the entertainment industry and parenthood—part humorous, unflinching advice from her hit podcast, Anna Faris Is Unqualified, the book will reveal Anna’s unique take on how to master the bizarre, chaotic, and ultimately rewarding world of love.
Hilarious, honest, and useful, Unqualified is the book Anna’s fans have been waiting for."
Would anyone really be talking about this book if Chris Pratt and her hadn't split up?
Now while I am a big comic book fan I'm not really into the MCU. There are characters I like and characters I could do without. And I'm here with open arms for the X-Men. Just be nothing like the movies that have come before. Though Hugh Jackman is welcome back anytime. And I have a shocking confession, I have never watched nor plan to watch Avengers: Endgame. Which is problematic on many levels because that movie is so important to the building of Marvel's multiverse and the roll out of whatever phase we are now in. We're in Phase Four right? Right? So the truth of the matter is that the more entwined the universe is becoming the less likely I am to engage with it. The only movie I am actually looking forward to is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3... Kind of. I have Chris Pratt issues, as we all should. But there is one show I COULD NOT miss, and that was Moon Knight. Why? Well, Egypt and Oscar Isaac! I adore all things to do with Egyptian mythology and I adore Oscar Isaac, so this show was a no-brainer. I had to watch it. But here was the most amazing and welcome discovery when I started watching it, it stands alone. You don't need to be versed in the MCU lore, you don't need any other experience with anything Marvel. It stands completely on it's own and is marvelous. Everything you need to know about the world is given to you in a way that fully explains it without it feeling too much like exposition or like it's talking down to you. In fact, my father who sometimes has a hard time following the more fantastical shows I watch understood and loved this show. The world is wonderfully complete and is believable. Egyptian Gods have avatars who act on their behalf and Oscar Isaac and his three personalities act on behalf of Khonshu. That's it. Throw in another human who wants to be the avatar for a rather problematic God and you have the conflict for the series. But the real conflict is two of Oscar Isaac's personalities. The main personality, Marc Spector, developed another identity to protect himself from childhood abuse at the hand of his mother. The Steven Grant personality is Oscar at his most dorky, a lovely British mama's boy who is very much Oscar channeling some serious Bruce Campbell awkward Ash Williams energy. As one review said, the chemistry between Oscar Isaac and Oscar Isaac is amazing. If he doesn't win an Emmy for this he was robbed. And are we in an Ethan Hawke Renaissance? Because his role as Harrow was again perfection. I literally can't think of another actor who could have had the presence to match Oscar, but Ethan does it perfectly. In fact, this is a near perfect series, even the music. Oh, I hope we get more, but if this is all, it was done so so right.
