Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter

As a history lover, I found this book to be quite entertaining.  I don't know what I was expecting when I opened Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but was very pleased with the fun introduction into the book, as well as all the pages after.  Unlike most Lincoln biographies, this new version tells us what really happened. 

We now know how Honest Abe's mother and sons really died - vampires.  We find out the real reason the civil war was fought - vampires. Grahame-Smith even provides us with photographic evidence throughout the book to back up his claims.

If you love history, and are willing to let your imagination go with the flow, you will enjoy this book as much as I did.  Not only will you find out more about our 16th President's secret life, but you'll learn a little about a few other well-known figures.

Dawn of the Dreadfuls

What can I say? This book was awesome! I received it a couple of weeks ago, and read it twice within the first week. Then, I re-read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to see how they flowed together (very well), and read Dawn of the Dreadfuls a third time just a few days ago.

While reading PPZ, I couldn't help but wonder what could have happened to turn Elizabeth Bennet into a young woman who's first thought is to slit a man's throat when he offends her. After learning of the heartbreak, disappointment, and feelings of betrayal she endured, my question was answered.

The book opens with a funeral, where the poor decedent isn't as dead as the guests thought. With the realization that the unfortunate plague has reappeared, Mr. Bennet insists on training his girls in the deadly arts. Mrs. Bennet is horrified by the fact that this decision has ostracized the girls, and is tormented by the fact that their chances of finding suitable husbands is now almost non-existant. Despite being shunned by polite society, the Bennet sisters, with the help of Lord Lumpley, find that being courted by suitable young men is still a possibility. Those neighbors who at first rejected them, find themselves owing their lives to the unorthadox daughters of the Bennets. This story has comedy, drama, romance, and, of course, the zombie factor.

Dawn of the Dreadfuls was written entirely by Steve Hockensmith's hand, so it was an easier read than PPZ that is mostly in Jane Austen's words. It's a fun, enjoyable novel that not only works well with it's sequel, but is also a wonderful book on its own.

I highly recommend this book, and encourage you to go to your nearest book store on March 24th (or go here to find online stores) to pick up this gem.

In the meantime, check out the website here, and enter their contest here (remember to mention my review, please!). Quirk Classics is giving away 50 Prize Packs that include:

• An advance copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls
• Audio books of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (both wonderful books)
• A password redeemable online for sample audio chapters of Dawn of the Dreadfuls
• An awesome Dawn of the Dreadfuls poster
• A Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Journal
• A box set of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies postcards

Happy reading!

Jane Bites Back

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is still alive today...as a vampire." This line, on the cover of the book, is what made me want to read it. Unlike the popular Jane Austen mash-ups (here and here), this book is about Ms. Austen herself.

Jane has spent the last 2 centuries trying to get her latest book published. 116 rejections later, the manuscript finally gets a bite, throwing Jane Austen, a.k.a. bookstore owner Jane Fairfax, into a whirlwind. The twists and turns are quite amusing, and I loved the surprise characters.

Jane Bites Back is an entertaining, light read that includes a little bit of romance and mystery, and a lot of laughs. I was disappointed to reach the end of the book so quickly, and look forward to the sequel, Jane Goes Batty, that is promised to be coming soon.

To Kill A Mockingbird

I just finished this book, yesterday. LOVED IT! When I was in high school, we only read a couple of books that are on your usual high school required reading list. This is one of the very many we didn't read, and I'm glad. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I had been forced to read it.

I laughed, and I cried, and I sometimes laughed so hard that I cried! I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it, especially given some of the language. There are few words that I absolutely despise, and one of them is seen in this book...a lot. I find it shocking that it's even in one of my favorite quotes. Oh, how I laughed and laughed when I Scout commented on what kind of snowman she's never heard of! I'm not sure why it struck me as so funny, maybe it's because it was so unexpected. I don't know, but it still makes me laugh!

To Kill A Mockingbird takes place during the early-mid 1930's in Alabama. Jem and Scout, and their friend Dill, spend their carefree summers trying to get the reclusive Boo Radley to come out of his house. Then, when their father, Atticus, defends a black man accused of raping a white woman, Jem and Scout get an education they don't expect.

Atticus's wife passed away when Scout was still to young to remember, so he gets a lot of grief over the way he raises his kids. He may let his kids run around a little too much, and he may not dress Scout in cute, frilly, pink dresses and petticoats, but I think he's just the kind of father every kid should have.

To Kill A Mockingbird is definitely a book worth reading, and I strongly recommend it.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Quirk Classics has a second hit on their hands with the adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. In Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, Ben H. Winters throws the Dashwood sisters in with Sea Monsters and Pirates, they even stay at an underwater colony for a while!

After Mr. Henry Dashwood is eaten by a Hammerhead, Norland Park becomes the property of his son, Mr. John Dashwood. John's wife is not a very hospitable woman, and almost immediately encourages Henry's widow and daughters to find someplace else to live. They are offered Barton Cottage on Pestilent Island where Marianne is rescued from an octopus by the Mr. Willoughby. Shortly after he abruptly leaves the island, Elinor and Marianne are invited to spend some time at Sub Station Beta where they are forced to fight off man eating lobsters before the Station collapses.

Meanwhile, Margaret befriends creatures on the island whose description almost reminds me of Gollom from the Lord of the Rings movies. Poor Colonel Brandon is not only unattractive, he's hideous, but finds a little bit of hope when Mr. Willoughby breaks Marianne's heart. Between the pirates, sea monsters, and people who aren't who they appear to be, it's nothing short of a miracle that the lovely Dashwood sisters are able to find their happily ever afters!

While I found this book slightly easier to put down that PPZ, I still thought it was a good read, and definitely recommend it.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Seth Grahame-Smith took a classic, and added an unexpected twist. When I first heard about the book, I had absolutely no interest in reading it. I've never read any of Jane Austen's books, but have seen a couple of the movies made from her books, and I'm not a huge zombie fan. I simply ran out of things to read, so I thought I'd give Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a chance. I loved it!

The first line is a great hook; "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." It's just so absurd that you can't help but want to find out what's going on! Most of the text is Jane Austen's original work. Seth Grahame-Smith just tossed in a few zombies here and there, and enhanced the characters' personalities a bit and taken them to the extreme.

A plague has been sweeping through England, threatening all who live there. Even a small scratch can turn a person into one of the unfortunates. Luckily, that is rarely a problem. The zombies are generally slow moving and clumsy, as is the plague itself, as Charlotte Collins finds out. Changing from a living person to a zombie takes months. If a person is already dead and buried, the change happens much faster. Especially in the wet season when it's easier to claw through the dirt.

While Mrs. Bennett is more concerned with whether or not her daughters marry well, Jane and, especially, Elizabeth know what their main focus should be - keeping Longbourne and the surrounding areas safe. Can they find love and be ferocious fighters at the same time? You should definitely read this book and find out!

Up Next: Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters

The List

As I was watching Emma on PBS last week, I was inspired by her creating a list of 101 titles to read. My list is currently over 100, and I'm sure it will continue to grow. It is made up of books that have been recommended by friends, on recommended reading lists I found online, books by favorite authors, and others that just sound good. They are all books that I have not read. As I read through my list, I will put a * by the ones I have read, and will try to write a review and my opinions of each book.

*Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen & Seth Graham-Smith
*Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters - Jane Austen & Ben H. Winters
*To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee
*Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls - Jane Austen & Steve Hockensmith
Android Karenina - Ben H Winters
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
*Jane Bites Back - Michael Thomas Ford
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Emma - Jane Austen
Mansfield Park - Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
Persuasion - Jane Austen
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
The Help
The Lovely Bones
The Mercy of Thin Air
Perfume
The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series
~*Dark Lover
~Lover Eternal
~Lover Awakened
~Lover Revealed
~Lover Unbound
~Lover Enshrined
~Lover Avenged
~Lover Mine
The Strain
Little Brother
Water For Elephants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
A Tale of Two Cities
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Count of Monte Cristo
Gone With The Wind
Death of A Salesman
Eragon & Eldest
A Farewell To Arms
Island of the Blue Dolphins
Man’s Search For Meaning
Murder on the Orient Express
Robinson Crusoe
Standing For Something
Starry Messenger
The Bloody Country
The Catcher in the Rye
The Crucible - Arthur Miller
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby
The Hiding Place
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Old Man and the Sea
The Pearl
The Red Badge of Courage
The Scarlett Letter
Treasure Island
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
One Hundred Years of Solitude
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
As I Lay Dying
Light In August
The Sound and The Fury
*The Last Song (Nicholas Sparks)
*Dear John (Nicholas Sparks)
The Lucky One (Nicholas Sparks)
The Choice (Nicholas Sparks)
At First Sight (Nicholas Sparks)
True Believer
Three Weeks With My Brother
The Guardian
The Wedding
Nights in Rodanthe
The Rescue
A Bend In The Road
A Walk To Remember
Message In A Bottle
Wokini (Nicholas Sparks)
Tuesdays With Morrie
Gulliver’s Travels
Dawn (Elie Wiesel)
Day (Elie Wiesel)
A Mad Desire To Dance (Elie Wiesel)
After The Darkness: Reflections on the Holocaust - Elie Wiesel
The Forgotten - Elie Wiesel
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
The Last Lecture
Atonement
Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell
North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell
Mansfield Park and Mummies - Jane Austen & Vera Nazarian
*Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter - Seth Graham-Smith
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn & Zombie Jim - Mark Twain & W. Bill Czolgosz
Emma and the Werewolves - Jane Austen & Adam Rann
The Undead World of Oz - Ryan C. Thomas
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Paradise Lost - John Milton
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass - Lewis Carroll
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - L. Frank Baum
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
Little Men - Louisa May Alcott & Mary Renault
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
The Wind In The Willows - Kenneth Graham
Oliver Twist - Stephen Charles Gill
Leaves of Grass - Walt Whitman
East of Eden - John Steinbeck
The Winter of Our Discontent - John Steinbeck
The Wayward Bus - John Steinbeck
The Pastures of Heaven - John Steinbeck
The Long Valley - John Steinbeck
In Dubious Battle - John Steinbeck
Once There Was A War - John Steinbeck
To A God Unknown - John Steinbeck
Cannery Row - John Steinbeck
Sweet Thursday - John Steinbeck
The Moon Is Down - John Steinbeck
Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck
For Whom The Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway
Johnny Got His Gun - Dalton Trumbo