Return to The Book Stop

A week ago, Jyg and I decided to head over to The Book Stop - the used book store that Monica and I ventured to the other day - mostly because I wanted to show her the place that I had fallen in love with. Sadly, however, there place is closed on Mondays - something I have to note when Monica and I venture out later today. Because it's so close to Georgia's Thrift Store, we headed over there instead where I purchased a baby name book, a copy of Clive Barker's The Damnation Game and a horror book for Jyg. 

Sadly, however, when I opened the copy of The Damnation Game, I discovered that the spine was cracked and the pages jumped from 52 to 67. I contacted Mike to tell him the situation and he apologized and offered to replace the book. Saturday, Jyg, Izzy and I returned to Georgia's to do just that. 

Because there wasn't anything I particularly wanted from the store, we headed off after I replaced the copy and gave Mike the bad one - I haven't a clue what he'd want with it, but I wanted to show him I wasn't making an attempt to screw him over. We were headed home bound when I said we should stop by The Book Shop so Jyg can have a look-see. 

I beelined to the scifi section to see if the copy of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - a book later adapted to the scifi classic, Bladerunner. Lo and behold, the sacred copy was still there and I wasn't about to let it slip through my fingers as it once had over when Hastings was around. After I picked up that book, I started snooping around to see what I could find. Nothing interesting was catching my eye, so I decided to check out the classic section - because I'm a sadist and feel I have to torture myself that way - where I found a copy of Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. While it may not be a classic as of yet, the book has its memories in my mind - which is strange as I have never read the book, even though I love Chabon's writing. 

It took me back to the days in Creative Writing with Rene Saldana, Jr. and the many instances when he mentioned how awesome the book was. Having only read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys at the time - the latter being my favorite, but for some strange reason, not really that great in Saldana's eyes (hmm, I still don't really grasp why) - I knew I wouldn't be disappointed if and when I picked up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. 

The total price turned out to be $9.20 - including tax - which is awesome considering the cover price for both them. The lady and gentlemen - whom I can only assume are the owners of the establishment - were well versed in the taking care of books, suggesting that I place my copies of the important novels in zip-loc bags to protect them from the elements. I'm beginning to assume that Monica and I aren't the only book hunters in the Valley, which is both a reassuring thing and a dreadful one - competition has never been our strong suit. But I'm feeling more at home at the store - us hunters need to stick together, I say. 

As I gave the gentleman exact change, he placed my receipt, a book mark advertising the establishment and a handful of fliers into my bag along with the books. Normally, I can't stand when people just assume I'm going to advertise for them. But this place deserves to stick around. I love it there. It's my new home. I hope they can accommodate me.

My Heart Belongs in Hell

Perhaps I should have titled this "My Heart Belongs to Hellrasier," as - if you ask anyone one who happens to know me well can tell you - I am deeply in enchanted with the Clive Barker created mythos, a term Barker himself states as being "used very liberally these days in regard to the characters and adventures of popular fiction." And Barker is amongst them now, as his Hellraiser mythos has sprouted limbs, heart and - dare I say? - even a soul of its own, never straying from its original intent - to haunt the shit out of us. 

Notice, I didn't say scare the shit out of us. No, Hellraiser (or if you're a purist, The Hellbound Heart) isn't merely about scaring us - at least, not in my book. It's more than that - it's about our natures: sexual, violent, human. It's about heightening our desires to test our thresholds. It's about reminding us there are some doors that we should only open if we're prepared for the consequences...or having hooks zip out of the darkness to tear us apart as mangled versions of our lusts watch with pleasure in their absence of light eyes. 

Despite Barkers obvious protests against using the term mythos to describe the hell he created, that is what it's become. It has spread throughout the world inspiring authors and artists alike to add to it, much like the Cthulhu mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. From film sequels to comic books to short stories, Hellrasier fandom has grown in number, and continues to grow, leaving only one question to spark a smile amongst our faces, "What's your pleasure?" Not too shabby for a novella originally published in an anthology or the independent film that it was later adapted into. 

So with that saying, when Hellbound Hearts was first released, I knew I must own it. But I had to play it cool, I didn't want to get my hopes up only to be delivered to pieces that resemble fanfic than anything worth while. With a foreword by the man himself, Clive Barker, and an afterward by the Cenobite himself, Doug Bradley, I finally click purchased on Amazon and waited for the book to be delivered. Surely, anything with Neil Gaiman in it, couldn't be that bad, right? 

While not all the stories clicked for me - I could've done without "'Tis Pity He's Ashore" and "Only the Blind Survive" - the book is a great testament on how much Hellraiser has shaped our idea of hell. I was captivated by the tales of the birth of a Cenobite, the going ons in the dark and dreaded No. 55 Lodovico Street, the lustful desires of a nun, the dark world of "Wordsworth" and the hell on earth, end of the world aspect of "The Dark Materials Project."

Also featured in the collection are stories by Kelley Armstrong (Bitten, Dime Store Magic, No Humans Involved, Living with the Dead), Richard Christian Matheson (Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks, Dystopia, Created By), Christopher Golden (The Boys are Back in Town, Strangewood, The New Dead (editor)), Nicholas Vince, who played the Chattering Cenobite in the first two Hellraiser films, and Barbie Wilde, who played the Female Cenobite in Hellbound: Hellraiser II.

Stephen Jones, the publicist for the first three Hellraiser films, also lends his voice for the introduction of the anthology, reminiscing how one small independent horror film could morph our point of views - and how he helped make it an instant classic. It also includes the graphic short story script by Neil Gaiman's "Wordsworth."

This book is a must have if you're a hellraiser, or are only being introduce - which is a sad, yet hopeful idea for me - the pleasures of the flesh and agony that would be legendary in hell.

Check out the great deals at Amazon.com

Clive Barker's Age of Desire

Adaptations take on many forms; they aren't always films. With this in mind, I only picked up Clive Barker's Age of Desire because of name recognition - something that failed me earlier.

While I've never read the Clive Barker prose, this adaptation is stunning. P. Craig Russell's adaptation is blessed by being accompanied by the artwork of Timothy Bradstreet. Russell also adds in some added artwork himself within the pages of this graphic novel. 

Age of Desire deals with an experiment gone awry. Blind Boy, Jerome is the center of a sexual study of a drug used to stimulate the sexual imagination, turning him into a rapist and killer. He kills one doctor after - or upon - raping her and seriously injures another. The latter doctor's only mission is to destroy all records of the failed experiment. 

Police are after Jerome, hoping to catch him before he rapes and kills again. The story's climax is foretold before the final page, but its meaning lives on forever. In an age where desire is mimic through drugs - where even a blind boy can have vivid sexual fantasies - what part of us is left human?

Raising Hell

It's a little known fact about me: I don't scare easily. I'm a person of logic. I can figure out a movie's ending, its twist, before the evidence is laid out for us - that is, with the exception of Saw, which blinded sided me. But surprise endings are only of stuff of psychological horror. There's no room for Jigsaw in the ranks of the greats: Freddy, Jason, Leatherface and so on. 

However, those mothers - disfigured by the hatred of others - never so much as sent a chill down my spine. I was immune to them. To their ways. To their tricks. Their slaughters. And I've always been. Nothing could scare me as a kid that wasn't real. Nothing until I was introduced to one ghastly creature.

Call him demon, or call him angel. He is what you seek in your deepest fantasies. He is the vision of your lusts, the search for raw pleasures. Call him The Engineer. But to many of us who are horror fans, he is only known by one name: PINHEAD.

Several times I watched Hellraiser as a kid, never knowing it was based on a novella written by Clive Barker. And several times - despite its cheap effects - the sheer thought of something so metaphysically neutral scared me. (Of course, I had to ration my reasons later in life.) There wasn't anything good about Pinhead, nor was there anything pure evil about him and his gang of Cenobites. There was just something that seemed rather in the between - like the Grim Reaper, who is thought to be as an evil entity, but really, he's just a wraith doing his job.

Flash forward several years: I'm twenty-six years old and I've finally decided it's time for me to read the novella that started it all. I call up my buddy Mike over at Georgia's Thrift Shop (actually, I messaged him on Facebook) and asked if he could find me a copy of The Hellbound Heart. He told me sure, worked his magic and quickly responded it would be in within two weeks and it would only cost me three dollars. Awesome f'ing possum! 

Because I've working on reading my 100+ books for the 2010 challenge, I knew that it would a nice quick read. I wasn't wrong about that. However, I was slightly wrong in my expectations of the book. 

Thinking sheer genius, because Clive Barker is  a genius, what I got was a play by play of the motion picture adaptation. While I read Barker's words, scenes from the movie played in my head. I shouldn't be at all surprised by this, as Barker was both director and writer of the film. There are notable changes from the novella and its adaptation brethren - like there being no actual Pinhead.

Nevertheless, it was a good book, and I praise it higher than most others have on Good Reads. Still, it's not enough to say it's five-star worthy. Four stars at most.

Another Trip to Georiga's Thrift Shop

Got a message from Mike on Facebook yesterday telling me that The Hellbound Heart was going to be left in the store for me. So, of course, I went today. The price, as you can see, was $3 for a new copy.

Georgia's Thrift Shop has a way with me. I go there looking or to pick up just one thing and I come out with more than I anticipated. It's an addiction, book shopping. You can never have too many.

While there, I noted they had The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice. Naturally, I wanted to ignore it. But I've tangled myself in this web and I like to see things through. It was just a dollar more. Total price was $4.33, which isn't bad.

In other news, I might be able to annoy readers more often as I now have a better, savvier phone from which to mobile blog from. So yeah. You all have something to look forward to.

Until next time, happy huntin'.

A book hunt comes to an end

The book hunt for Interview with the Vampire comes to an end. Mike Marino, who runs Bargain Book Store (located inside Georgia's Thrift Shop, 1305 W. Pecan, McAllen, TX), e-mailed me yesterday to tell me the book had arrived. It's a book I've been anticipating for quite some time.

Like all visits to any thrift bookstore, I leave with more than expected. Thankfully, they're all cheap. Along with the mass printing of Interview, I bought first printings of In The Flesh by Clive Barker,  Misery and Pet Sematary by Stephen King. The total price came out to be only $4.33.

In other news, I've been working on a how-to guide of hunting for books. It's pretty basic, filled with common sense, but I thought it might be useful to some of you.

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