I've already posted one book recommendation this countdown. Here are a couple more that I think are well worth picking up.
I'm a big fan of ghost stories, and one of the best authors of ghost stories is M. R. James. Like James, most of the characters in his stories are academicians and many of the stories involve old manuscripts, relics, or properties connected to an area of study. The combination of characters who represent level headed, rational thinking, and the unknown and unexplainable makes the otherworldly elements of these stories even more uncanny, as does James' precision in selecting the minimal amount of details to provide a chill, while keeping the mysterious vague and mysterious all at once.
His writing style is very casual, as if he were sitting in a chair opposite the reader and relating the story in person, one on one. In fact, these stories were written to entertain his friends at Christmas time. The Collected Ghost Stories, published by Oxford University press collects all of his ghost stories in one volume.
Too Much Horror Business has a fairly unassuming cover but is filled with page after page of drool worthy eye candy for the horror fan. Here is presented many of the items from the collection of Metallica's Kirk Hammett. This is what the collection of a serious horror fan with a very deep wallet looks like and it is stunning. How stunning? This one photo should be enough of a tease, and would be impressive if this were everything he owned, but it's not.
This is no thin volume either. There are tons of posters, props, toys, paintings, and masks as well as a number of interviews with Hammett where he talks about various aspects of his collection. This book is worth every penny, and hopefully someday we'll get a sequel.
1 comment:
When I was 10 and first getting into Metallica back in 1987 I remember stumbling upon a copy of Metal Edge or some such magazine that was purely devoted to Metallica. I was also just becoming addicted to comics and collecting at the time and there was this amazing two-three page section devoted to Hammett's ever growing collection of stuff. This book is like that article times 1000. Thanks for pointing to it John!
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