12 Books To Read This Fall: Lucci's List

Post Thanksgiving food-fest and pre-winter hermitage, I would like to share with you the complete Lucci's List for Fall, 2018. This group of twelve books includes a variety of genres which will appeal to a range of readers.

"Poetry for the Spiritual Soul" by Martha W. Brandt

Sensory and tactile, this poetry collection uses each artistically styled page to illustrate themes of hope, family love and pain, and mourning. Human nature blends with the natural world in these poems that will strike your heart with life we can all relate to.
This is a viscerally enjoyable book to hold and read, moment by moment; page by page.
I would recommend it particularly for women who could use a lovely moment of inspiration to connect themselves to the world. It would make a special gift for a teacher, nurse, doctor, caregiver, aunt, or any other heartful person in your life.

"Behind the Fan" by Caroline Walken

"Behind the Fan" is a multi-faceted story that reveals a mysterious family history, sensual romance, and startling realizations.
A pair of sisters and their young-adult daughters move in to the old family house to help take care of an ailing grandmother. They discover a hidden treasure, which shocks them and then intrigues them. When they investigate further, they learn new truths about their relationships, and themselves.
While the younger generations struggle with the inner turmoil brought on by their discovery, the grandmother lapses into what the medical experts classify as dementia. In an alternate timeline, she travels to the past in her memory, where the ghostly love of her life awaits her.
Experiencing the past in these flashbacks allows the grandmother to reconnect with her lost love, and inspires her to share the heritage of her life story with her family. The more the younger women learn, the closer their relationships become, bridging gaps between generations and viewpoints.
The author Caroline Walken has created a tale within a tale that intertwines the threads of romance, mystery, and drama with paranormal worlds and glorious flourishes. The reader is taken back in time to the glittery world of on-stage entertainment with naked girls, jazz singers, and gritty mobsters in Chicago's mob-run heyday. This book is an invitation to see our older relatives through newer eyes, and a sense of awe and fascination as the past creeps in to modern reality.

"Typo Squad" by Stephen Lomer

If you have the sense of humour of a 14 year old boy and the grammatical wit of an ancient librarian, this is your book.

New drinking game: every time you read a pun, drink. You will have alcohol poisoning by the last page.
The premise of the story is that reading a typo could injure or kill you. The Typo Squad is a special branch of the police force that protects the population from such trauma.
It might sound corny, and it is, but the story is tight and fast paced like a great crime novel should be.
I did find one error in grammar. I might be the only one who noticed. I had the pleasure of meeting the author, Stephen Lomer, and am convinced that he and his crew pored over each and every word with diligence. I might be Typo Squad material.

"I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

The epic theme of man versus machine takes a provocative turn in this tale when the machine's man creates create philosophical chaos simply by operating as programmed.
This sci-fi story is poignant now as IT and robotics in our modern era have progressed beyond the pages of imagination.
Whether you are raising a child, attempting to reprogram your brain, or contemplating smart-homes and robotic assistance, you may be inspired to think deeper about the effects of language and communication within humanity and technology.

"For the Win" by Cory Doctorow

"For the Win" by Cory Doctorow showcases an alternate reality that is not too far from the truth. Gamers, mostly teens, are obsessed with playing video games, and there is a world-wide market for it. The teen gamers play for enjoyment, and also for work. What? Get paid for playing video games? If it sounds too good to be true... The kids were not getting paid so much as forced into winning prizes on games, which the boss would then sell off to gamers. Think of Super Mario Brothers: in the world of "For the Win," Mario's cache of coins would be earned by a gamer in forced labour, then the boss would sell the game coins for other players to use. If you have ever paid to play, you have purchased non-existent power-ups, houses, ponies, pets, pancakes; whatever the game required that you just could not accomplish without pulling out the ol credit card.

The kids are tired of being used and attempt to unionize to protect their future assets.
I found it to be an interesting story of revolution and the power of the people. There were a lot of characters, though, which were hard for me to keep track of. The explanations about economics were helpful, and I think I learned a little bit, but finances in general bore me. That does not mean the book was not worth reading though.

"Saturday Night Dead" by F.H. Belfus-Bennett

"Saturday Night Dead" is a chilling tale about murder in 80s era Massachusetts. Local readers will get a kick out of the recognizable settings and landmarks. The author's grasp on the area allowed for one fun reminiscing within the tale of horror.

"Fairy Tale Ending: A Creepy Little Bedtime Story (Creepy Little Bedtime Stories Book 5)" by William F. Aicher

"Fairy Tale Ending" is a chilling take on classic fairy tales. The deviant characters and alternate story lines mix with blood, gore, horror, and thrilling nastiness. If you prefer your bedtime stories to lull you into sweet nightmares, this book is for you.

"Calliope" by Katrina Fiorella

Calliope by Katrina Fiorella is a perfect book for Halloween. Witches, wizards, knights, royalty, battles between good and evil, and potions. Add in burning at the stake and beheading, and now it is gruesome as well as magical! A touch of romance, a sprinkle of family secrets, and some beer guzzling: now it is ready to devour!

"Salem's Lot" by Stephen King

I have read short stories and compilations by Stephen King, and novels more adventure than horror, yet I am probably the only New Englander who never read Salem’s Lot. Until now.
Reading from a variety of genres is important to me. I do not consider myself a horror fan, however. H.P. Lovecraft? Yes. Please. More. I cannot get enough of the phantasmic worlds created by that dark legend. I have watched my share of Stephen King movies and television series. But I close my eyes and cover my ears during 2/3 of “The Walking Dead.” I like the adventure and characters, but not the gore.
Instead of borrowing this book from the library, I decided to try it out on audiobook. During the first several chapters, I laughed out loud a few times with my earbuds in. All was well and good.
Until I fell asleep.
And woke up yelling along with the main character.
At 3AM.
From there on I opted to continue it as a DAYTIME book.
I appreciate Stephen King’s brand of vampire: creepy, ghoulish, eerily calm, violent, floating and fading in a mysterious mist. Their thirst is horrifying. The tangled relationships between characters become laced with blood.
In true New England fashion, King managed to insert comical exchanges and pure Maine dialogue. This book had everything a good vampire story needs: fangs, screams, crucifixes (anytime the Church is involved in a horror story, it is a hundred times more scary for me), and absolutely no sparkly teenagers driving sports cars.

"The Crane Wife" by Patrick Ness

"The Crane Wife" by Patrick Ness blends folktale with modern life. A lonely man does a god deed for an injured creature and then good things start happening for him. He has a daughter with similar relationship issues and throughout the book, their lives intertwine with metaphor.
Although this is a modern retelling of a Japanese folktale, it seems to me that most of the magic and charm was lost because of the dreary characters. Dreary characters can be endearing or induce empathy, but the main character was such a boring old stick-in-the mud, without qualities that would stand out as likable, that he came off as annoying. I did not really care about his problems because he was such a dry dolt.

"The Evidence of Things Not Seen" by James Baldwin

This book is an important commentary on race relations in America. It explores the prejudice against black Americans in the judicial system by honing in on a murder trial from the early 1980s.
Although I believe the author's investigation and contemplation is valid, the writing style did not provoke me to read eagerly. At times the language and phrasing was lovely and powerful, but overall I did not find it cohesive.

"The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom" by Miguel Ruiz

This book wasn't terrible, but it was vague, oversimplified, redundant, and seemed cliched and unoriginal to me. Overall it had a positive message, although I found myself disagreeing with some of the points.

And now for a preview of Lucci's List: December 2018.

• "The Twelve Days of Seduction" by Eva Devon
• "White-Hot Holiday" by Coleen Kwan
• "A Cinderella Christmas Carol" by Hope Tarr
• "Secret Santa Baby" by Robert Covington
• "The Movie Star's Red Hot Holiday Fling" by Christine Glover
• "Christmas In Love: A Flash Fiction Anthology" edited by George Donnelly

• "Hogfather" by Terry Pratchett

• "Boy Erased" by Garrard Conley

I am delighted to share my Lucci's List throughout the year. Please check back in December when I unveil Best of Lucci's List 2019!