Showing posts with label Horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Horror. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

NEW! Horror Novels - Reserve them in the catalog



Black Creek Crossing by John Saul - Thirteen-year-old Angie Sullivan adores her family's new home at Black Creek Crossing, until she discovers that the house had been the scene of a double murder and the focus of a series of increasingly bizarre events.

The Bone Parade
by Mark Nykanen
- An artist acclaimed for his series of bronze sculptures of families grouped together in moments of excruciating physical and emotional pain, Ashley Stassler is no ordinary artist, and the art world has no idea as to how he goes about creating his macabre masterpieces--or of the families that have mysteriously vanished in his wake.

The Descent by Jeff Long - At the dawn of a new millennium, humankind faces its ultimate challenge as a demonic horde, led by a satanic overlord, prepares to leave its subterranean kingdom for an apocalyptic confrontation with the forces of good.

The Fury and the Power
by John Farris
- Talented young psychic Eden Waring and her doppelganger, Gwen, are stalked by Mordaunt, the Dark Side of God, an ageless and evil entity who must seduce Eden and seize control of her doppelganger if he is to regain power.

Infected
by Scott Sigler
- CIA operative Dew Phillips, working together with CDC epidemiologist Margaret Montoya, race to stop the spread of a mysterious disease that is turning ordinary people into murderers. A former football player who has become infected with the deadly bioengineered parasite may carry the cure.

The Little Stranger
by Sarah Waters -
After being summoned to treat a patient at dilapidated Hundreds Hall, Dr. Faraday finds himself becoming entangled in the lives of the owners, the Ayres family, and the supernatural presences in the house.

Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory - In the 1950s, ordinary people of varying ages and backgrounds are possessed by entities that seem to spring from the collective unconscious, that many would call demons. It is believed that the key to resolving this plague pivots around the possessed Del Pierce; for whom the cure may be worse than the disease.

The Ruins
by Scott Smith
- In Cancun, Mexico, for a peaceful vacation, a group of tourists sets off in search of one of their group who disappeared during an excursion to some nearby Mayan ruins, only to come face to face with an insidious evil that threatens their lives.

The Terror
by Dan Simmons
- Captain Crozier must find a way for his crew to survive the deadly attacks of a sea monster, in a novel loosely based on the mid-nineteenth-century Arctic expedition originally led by Sir John Franklin.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Middle School Book Club meets @ the Lib

Middle School Book Club
Tuesday, October 6th at 6:30
in the Round Auditorium
Grades 6-8 only



This month we'll talk about The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Did it deserve the Newbery Award? We'll also do a creepy craft and have spooky snacks!

Reserve the book in the catalog and join us!

Call Ms. Heather for more info @ 205.332.6621 or email her @ hmiller@bham.lib.al.us.

Friday, September 18, 2009

MIRRORS DVD Review

Attempting to pick up his life after shooting an undercover cop, former police officer Ben Carson (Kiefer Sutherland) takes a job as a night watchman at a once famous, now derelict department store called the Mayflower. But like the previous guard, he begins seeing horrifying images in the store's ornate mirrors, that eventually threaten him and his family and send him on a mission to unravel the secrets of the building's haunted past.

Like any good horror movie, this one plays on our primal fears. In this case, the fear of our darker side, made manifest in magic mirrors. For me, the movie is most successful when it sticks to that and terrifies with the more subtle and simple effects such as the mirror image moving differently than the person looking into the mirror. Others, however, may be more scared by the gory make-up of creatures, dead things, and graphic murders. Either way, I think the special effects for this film were very well done and quite effective. It certainly made me think twice about walking in front of the mirror late at night. It may be a little slower than horror movie fans like, but I appreciated the time spent on making me care about the Ben Carson and his family. The revelation of the cause of the haunting wasn't particularly original and seemed a bit disconnected, but worked fine for the movie. I found Mirrors to be a better than expected horror movie with some believable acting.

I didn't know this was a remake of a 2003 Korean horror flick called Geoul Sokeuro which I'd now very much like to see it. Generally speaking, I find the original Asian horror movies to be far more creepy than their American remakes, which tend to go for shock and gore, rather than spine chilling, creepy shudders.

This DVD had the R rated theatrical cut and an unrated version, neither of which are appropriate for children.

Reserve your copy of the DVD.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Update on Tailgate with Author Scott Sigler

Scott Sigler, has announced the time and location that he will be in the Birmingham area on his upcoming tour for The Rookie.

He will be here Monday, September 7, at Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham from 5:30 - 8:00 PM. He will have a reading from The Rookie and a discussion of it. He will also have copies for purchase if you would like one. He will also be signing copies of his books and though he did not say it, I am sure he would also sign copies of any of his other novels that you might like signed.

If you are unfamiliar with Scott's work, he writes techno/sci-fi horror and his books are quite gripping. He is also a pioneer in podcasting his audio books and most of them can be downloaded from iTunes and Podiobooks.com. For more information check out http://www.scottsigler.com/node/949

Scott is also an avid football fan and his novel The Rookie reflects that and I imagine that we will also watch the kickoff on Monday Night Football at Dreamland.

Hope to see you there,

Brooks

Friday, August 28, 2009

R.I.P. Challenge!

The R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge is simple: Click the link to read about the challenge and sign up, then read four books in any of the spooky genres (mystery, suspense, thriller, dark fantasy, gothic, horror, supernatural, etc.) by October 31st. When you're done, write a review for each. If you have a blog, post the books you plan to read and your reviews when you're done. If you don't blog, our library catalog has a great feature that lets you post your review for anyone to read. You could also post the reviews on Facebook, MySpace, or another social networking site.

I've officially entered the challenge, and I'm a total horror wimp. I'm also the Teen Librarian, so I've chosen the following Teen titles:
Hell Phone by William Sleator
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith & Jane Austen
The Forest of Hands & Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender

Stay tuned for my reviews!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Tailgate with techno-horror author Scott Sigler

Scott Sigler, best selling author of Infected and one of the pioneers of podcasting books direct to his audience is planning a book tour/tailgate of a different stripe for his mainstream release of his novel The Rookie. His plan is to stop in a number of cities on his way home after Dragon Con in Atlanta and the Birmingham/Tuscaloosa area is first up. He is only going to stop if he can get enough people to confirm for the event.

The event will be held in a family friendly sports bar with a short reading, a discussion and then grab a bite to eat with Pope Siglericus XXX.

If you are not familiar with Scott's work, you can download free podcasts of his work from Itunes and the library has copies of Infected and Contagious for checkout.
http://vulcan.bham.lib.al.us/search/a?SEARCH=sigler%2C+scott&sortdropdown=-&searchscope=1

Scott writes techno-horror and his novels will drag you in and I have not been able to put down any one of the ones I have read.

Check out the link to sign up for the Tailgate with Scott Sigler at Eventful.

http://eventful.com/birmingham/events/rookie-tailgate-tour-birmingham-al-/E0-001-023589930-2