Top Ten Authors I Own the Most Books Of

It's been a VERY long time since I participated in a Top Ten Tuesday. And technically I'm not really participating since it's over an hour past midnight and well into Wednesday! But I saw what the topic was and felt I should contribute my Top Ten since I think I may actually have a good list!

1. RL Stine (42+) - Goosebumps Original Series - Yes, I own "almost" all 60+ books! Any true 80's baby and RL Stine fan would! I also have the first book of the series signed by him!

2. Sue Grafton (23) - Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series - I own from the letter A to the recent letter W. My grandmother started me out by giving me A through P for Christmas over a decade ago.

3. Glenn Beck (16) - I didn't realize I owned so many of his books till I counted them just now. That's all I'm going to say about that.

4. Agatha Christie (14+) - I mostly own her Hercule Poirot mysteries, but there is something about the book And Then There Were None because I currently have it 3 times on my shelf!

5. JK Rowling (14+) - Soon to be 21. Not sure if owning more than one boxed set of a series counts? But I own the original first editions hard copy and then I bought the set as a soft cover. I'm in the process of buying the UK Editions. I also own Casual Vacancy as well as her 2 books written under the name of Robert Galbraith.

6. Christopher Moore (14) - He's currently written 14 novels and I own them all! Not only that, but I have all of them personalized by him! I love a good book signing!

7. Lemony Snicket (13) - I recently purchased the entire 13 books of the Series of Unfortunate Events.

8. Dean Koontz (11) - I am collecting his Frankenstein and Odd Thomas series.

9. Gregory Maguire (7) - I have all 4 of the Wicked series as well as 3 of his stand-alone books.

10. Kurt Vonnegut (6) - I'm simply collecting all of his works.

Honorable Mentions: Michael Scott, Frank L. Baum, Stephen King, Margaret L'Engle, JRR Tolkien, Brandon Mull, Richard Paul Evans, Christopher Paolini, Robert Ludlum, Brad Thor, Marissa Meyer, Veronica Roth, Chris Colfer, Ben H. Winters, etc.

The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore (Book Review)

"They waited at the dock, the three Venetians, for the fool to arrive."

Review: This book is a sequel to the ever popular Fool. I love all Christopher Moore books and in person he is just as funny as the characters he writes so well.

If you've read Fool you know that it's a very naughty twist on an old classic written by the famous bard himself, William Shakespeare.

Moore is able to take the classic language of Shakespeare and construct it in such a way that maintains the authenticity of the time and characters while seamlessly adding his own sense of brilliant destruction and hilarity. I still don't understand how he does it besides acknowledging his genius and his madness. For only a mad genius could come up with the countless tales he has spun for us (and specifically for me) his fans.

I've managed to meet Christopher Moore twice (briefly) by attending the book signings that have taken place here in New York City and now I have all 14 of his books signed by him!

This book weaves together not one, not two, but THREE Shakespeare plays! I leave it up to you to decipher which ones. Far be it for me to spoil that discovery for you! But trust me you'll want to read this book (and his first, Fool), as soon as you can! Be warned of the many foul words used as well as the scenes of a sexual nature. They are all necessary to the story and in good fun!

And, as I will always do when reviewing a Christopher Moore book, I urge you to read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, without delay! It is the book that introduced me to the insane mind and world of Moore's, of which I am forever grateful. Regardless of how you feel or what you believe about religion, keep an open mind and you won't be able to hold back the laughter to the point of tears! You'll thank me later... so now, be gone with ye, and read his many books! Aaarrr!

Synopsis: Venice, a long time ago. Three prominent Venetians await their most loathsome and foul dinner guest, the erstwhile envoy from the Queen of Britain: the rascal-Fool Pocket.

This trio of cunning plotters—the merchant, Antonio; the senator, Montressor Brabantio; and the naval officer, Iago—have lured Pocket to a dark dungeon, promising an evening of sprits and debauchery with a rare Amontillado sherry and Brabantio's beautiful daughter, Portia.

But their invitation is, of course, bogus. The wine is drugged. The girl isn't even in the city limits. Desperate to rid themselves once and for all of the man who has consistently foiled their grand quest for power and wealth, they have lured him to his death. (How can such a small man, be such a huge obstacle?). But this Fool is no fool . . . and he's got more than a few tricks (and hand gestures) up his sleeve.

Greed, revenge, deception, lust, and a giant (but lovable) sea monster combine to create another hilarious and bawdy tale from modern comic genius, Christopher Moore.

Note: The book, too, is a veritable work of art. Rich creamy stock is enhanced by two-color printing, featuring part/chapter titles, running heads, and folios printed in red ink. The text block has blue-stained edges. The book opens to reveal two-page spread endpapers decorated with a sepia-toned antique map of Venice; an antique map of Italy graces the book’s front matter, printed in red. The jacket sports a matte finish with embossed author and title type; gold foil embellishes the title and illustration detail.

The Serpent of Venice

by Christopher Moore

316 pages

William Morrow, 2014

humor / fiction

Read in 4 days

Rating: ★★★★★

Amazon | BN

To learn more about Christopher Moore, visit his site here.

Top Ten Sequels I Can't Wait To Get My Hands On

This should be a fairly easy list since I've been reading a lot of books that are planned to be more than just one. However, some of my choices won't be sequels but probably the 3rd in a trilogy as well. Now that I think about it, I might not have a full 10 but I shall try...

 

Cress by Marissa Meyer 

Okay, so it's not the sequel to the Lunar Chronicles, it's one of four books. But who ISN'T excited for this book to come out? Who seriously in the realm of Young Adult books won't be taking the day off from work JUST so they can be at the bookstore when it opens to purchase it then spend the entire day devouring every last word?

 

Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd
This IS a sequel to, I believe, a planned trilogy? Anywho, have you read The Madman's Daughter? Anyone who reads, or claims to read, Young Adult books has definitely come across this book and read it. If you have, you are just as excited as I am to find out what happens next and will we be going back to the island or will the island inhabitants be coming to us? You only get that if you've read the book.

 

Hollow City by Ransom Riggs
No offense to the two books I previously mentioned but if there is a book I've been looking forward to the most, like two years, I think it's been two years now (??), it has GOT TO BE the sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children! Brilliant book and so very imaginative. I'm glad he listened to his fandom and was able to squeeze out another book. Will there be a third? Look at me, I'm already looking for the next installment without having read this one yet. But I know it will be that damn good. I've got the Graphic Novel to tide me over till January.

The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore
Are you acquainted with Christopher Moore? If you aren't, then you need to go out right now (or go to Amazon.com and order) and pick up Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal then you can thank me after. His books are hysterical. I laugh till I cry with his books. So to be coming out with a sequel almost ten years later about a character everyone can love and love to hate is great.

Okay, so I only came up with 4 books, but it's almost 1am and I'm tired cause I've been working on my NaNoWriMo life right now! Be happy I remembered about Top Ten Tuesday enough to post this! lol

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm headed back to the world of novelists.

Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore (Book Review)

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story

by Christopher Moore

304 pages

Simon & Schuster, September 1995

romance/comedy/horror

Read in 8 days

Another Review…

Star Rating: ★★★ 1/2

Amazon.com | BN.com

My Review: Meet C. Thomas Flood, a writer, who's in San Francisco with little money and no place to stay. After making a shrewd $50/wk deal with a Chinese man to share a room with 5 men named Wong, he then manages to procure a job as a night manager at the local town market. His luck does not stop there. After befriending the Emperor of San Francisco and the Animals who work the graveyard shift at the market he manages to get himself a girlfriend. We should ALL be so lucky! Then again, perhaps we should not count our chickens before they’ve hatched. For you see, all is not as it seems for C. Thomas Flood. Probably he should have taken his fathers advice and stayed home to learn the family farming business.

For starters, the roommates he starts out with all want his hand in marriage! You read right. They’ve heard that a gay marriage is just as legal a way of procuring a green card to stay in America as a heterosexual one. Why he declines their offer of taking good care of him for as long as they all shall live is beyond me. Then there’s the slightly crazy yet harmless Emperor who lives in the streets he protects with his two dogs Bummer and Lazarus. His latest adventure finds him in search of a vampire who he believes is the killer behind the latest string of vicious attacks. The Animals are, I’m sure, the stereotypical group of guys you’d find working the night shift at just about any supermarket. The things men do when left to their own devices! Lastly, there’s his girlfriend. How he meets could be called coincidence but it wasn’t. Why he agrees to move in with her immediately and do (almost) her every bidding is a mystery as well. Let’s call it love? Either way the real reason boils down to Jody being a vampire. Albeit a new vampire, she’s quickly learning the ropes of how to survive. All while being watched by the more than 800 year old vampire who made her into who she is now.

This is a love story. The likes of which you’ve probably never read but will find yourself searching for the rest of this trilogy to see what happens next. And don’t worry, I’ll be reviewing those for you in the coming weeks.

To learn more about Christopher Moore, please visit his site.