Welcome to the Reading Room

Welcome to Library Card of the Damned, my attempt at a media review blog.  Well, I call it a 'media review blog', but really, it's just going to be me rambling on about whatever book/movie/TV series (DVD only, as I don't watch current TV shows due to laziness) happens in front of my eyes.  It'll mostly be current media- the stuff I'm reading and watching at the moment- but I'll probably also go back and highlight some standouts from the past.  Also expect the odd music recommendation now and again.

The idea for this came from two sources.  First, I've posted the occasional book review on my first blog, Karloff's Ghost, and really enjoyed stepping out of my normal post as artist and into role as media rambler.  I love books and movies, and I love getting the word out about those ones I love (and warn against the ones I don't).  I thought this might be a more natural outlet for those reviews, rather than throwing everything off course over there.  Second, I was inspired by a podcast I've started listening to: Science Fiction Book Review Podcast.  The creator of the podcast, Luke Burrage, does a fantastic job reviewing SciFi books- great analysis of each book, from a reader's perspective instead of a critic's.  His reviews are always fun to listen to, and I enjoy hearing his thoughts on each book- which is saying something, since I've disagreed with almost every review he's done of a book I've read.  His always-enjoyable reviews have helped inspire me to burden you readers with my own.

The format will be pretty straightforward-think of the book reports you did back in high school.  I'll lay out the basics of the book- non-spoilery plot, characters, etc., then talk about whether or not I actually liked it and why.  Finally, I'll do something clever like rate it on a scale, since that's what I always look for first in a review online (great thing about podcast reviews- I listen through the whole thing before I can hear the bottom line).  After that, I'll let you know what I'll be reading/watching next- when I can.  I sometimes don't know what I'll be reading until I've picked it up.  Please don't expect this to be by any means a professional review- I'm just a fan of books and movies, and I love talking about them, so this'll be a pretty off-the-cuff discussion.  If I have a lot to say about a book, I will- if I don't, I won't.  I'm not paid by the word (if only!).

As always, your thoughts, opinions, and suggestions are more than welcome- I'm always on the lookout for new books to read.

First up will be some reviews of books I recently finished: Fragment by Warren Fahy.

Thanks for wandering into the Library.  Please remember, no loud noises- you'll wake the monsters...

Cheers!