Waiting on Wednesday (3)

"Waiting On Wednesday” is a weekly event, hosted by “Breaking the Spine”, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My Pick this Week:

Description:

I am the One, the all and the only. I live in the Pendleton as surely as I live everywhere. I am the Pendleton's history and its destiny. The building is my place of conception, my monument, my killing ground. . . .
 
The Pendleton stands on the summit of Shadow Hill at the highest point of an old heartland city, a Gilded Age palace built in the late 1800s as a tycoon’s dream home. Almost from the beginning, its grandeur has been scarred by episodes of  madness, suicide, mass murder, and whispers of things far worse. But since its rechristening in the 1970s as a luxury apartment building, the Pendleton has been at peace. For its fortunate residents—among them a successful songwriter and her young son, a disgraced ex-senator, a widowed attorney, and a driven money manager—the Pendleton’s magnificent quarters are a sanctuary, its dark past all but forgotten.

But now inexplicable shadows caper across walls, security cameras relay impossible images, phantom voices mutter in strange tongues, not-quite-human figures lurk in the basement, elevators plunge  into unknown depths. With each passing hour, a terrifying certainty grows: Whatever drove the Pendleton’s past occupants to their unspeakable fates is at work again. Soon, all those within its boundaries will be engulfed by a dark tide from which few have escaped.

Dean Koontz transcends all expectations as he takes readers on a gripping journey to a place where nightmare visions become real—and where a group of singular individuals hold the key to humanity’s destiny. Welcome to 77 Shadow Street.
*Excerpt taken from Barnes and Noble

Book Details:

Title: 77 Shadow Street

Author: Dean Koontz

Genre: Adult Fiction

Hardcover: 464pp

Publisher: Random House

Release Date: December 2011

ISBN: 0553807714

ISBN-13: 9780553807714

Why I'm Waiting:

Simply put: I can't get enough of Dean Koontz books. I want them all. The list of his works is huge, but one day I would love to own every single one of them. As for this book in particular; I haven't read a scary book in quite some time and this one looks like it could have me listening for things that go bump in the night.

What are you waiting for?

~Eric

Throwback Thursday (2)

Book:

Why:

I am really interested in reading this book because I really want to read the Dean Koontz adaptation of the story. I feel like I should read the original before I read a spin off. So, after I'm finished with Dracula I will move on to Frankenstein.

If you write your own "Throwback Thursday" please leave a link for it!

Book Review: The Book of Man by William Bennett

First, I would like to thank Thomas Nelson publishing and the Pinkston Group for allowing me the opportunity to review an ARC of this book. Thank you. I would also remind you that this book hits stores today so check it out.

I had high expectations for this book when I received it and first started looking at it. Once I got into the book I would have to say that my high expectations were partially met. Let me explain.

The premise of the book is great. I love the idea of illustrating the points of manhood by using famous speeches, essays, etc. I also like the fact that Dr. Bennett used stories of everyday people such as police men and sanitation workers to illustrate his points. It makes it very easy to relate to the book on a personal level. I gathered a lot of great insight and information on what it means to be a man. That part of the book definitely met my expectations.

I had only two problems with this book. The first problem was the sheer length of it. This books is over 500 pages long and only has 6 chapters. I feel as if Dr. Bennett could have gotten his point across with far fewer essays and stories per chapter. About halfway through the chapters I found myself thinking that we could probably move on to the next point and I would still have 50 or so pages to read in the chapter. The second problem was that I sometimes got bogged down with trying to read all of the different writing styles of the original authors of the essays. What I mean by that is that all of the different stories and essays and speeches were written in their period language, so your mind had to constantly try to switch back and forth and that got tiresome during some chapters.

Having said all of that, my overall view of the book is a positive one. This book is a great resource if you are looking for one or two thoughts on manhood and how it relates to different aspects of life. The 6 chapters cover: war, work, play, polis (politics), women and children, and prayers and reflection. If you are going to sit down and read it cover to cover give yourself plenty of time because it's not a quick read.

I would recommend this book for people that work with men and boys such as counselors, teachers, etc. I would also recommend this book for men that want to take a look at what manhood looks like throughout history and today.

This book releases today! So go check it out!

Overall rating 4/5 (because it's such a great reference book)