B is for (Books About) Blood

For A to Z 2018, my theme is Books About ____. If you’re stopping by from your own A to Z blog, feel free to leave a link. If you need help with how to do that, you can look here.

If you’re someone looking to read a lot of great blogs, here’s the link for the A to Z challenge.

If you’re like me and love horror, eventually, blood is going to show up. Vampires, zombies, murderers… they’re all out for blood. (Well, technically zombies are out for flesh, but it makes blood, so…)

Anna Dressed In Blood, by Kendare Blake (YA horror): This one is so bloody, it’s even in the title. Cas hunts bad ghosts and kills them all the way. When he hears the legend about Anna, he goes looking for her. She kills everyone who walks into her house, but for some reason, doesn’t kill Cas, and he doesn’t want to kill her either. Romance + horror = a fun read.

Guilty Pleasures, by Laurell K. Hamilton (fantasy): For me, this is one of the best vampire series of all time (the first 10 or so). Anita Blake’s “day job” is as a necromancer, reanimating the dead to pay the bills. As a side gig, she’s a vampire hunter who knows the dark underbelly of St. Louis and gets way too cozy with the monsters around her. There’s romance, politics, adventure, mystery, along with an interesting and kick-ass main character.

The Coldest Girl In Coldtown, by Holly Black (YA horror): Tana wakes up from a party to find just about everyone slaughtered by vampires. It’s not supposed to happen because vampires live in Coldtowns, away from everyone, so it should be safe. Only her boyfriend and a strange vampire seem to be around, so she takes them both away before they’re slaughtered by the bad vampires lurking in the basement. I love Holly Black, but this book is my favorite of hers.

Carrie, by Stephen King (horror): It’s an old book, but still one of the best horror novels out there. I loved both the 1976 and 2013 versions of this movie, but the book is still the best. Carrie is an unpopular teen with a crazy mother. When Carrie develops powers, her high school will never be the same.

What are your favorite bloody books?

Books That Influenced Me

I’ve always loved reading, and loved the power of a good story.  My grandmother used to tell me stories to my heart’s content.  She used to tell me the story of “Snow White and Rose Red,” which was different from the Grimm’s Fairy Tale version.  My parents read Cinderella to me more times than they care to remember.  There are some stories and some books that stick with you forever, and here are mine.

1.  Orange Oliver, The Kitten Who Wore Glasses, by Robert Lasson- I remember this book appealed to me because Orange Oliver couldn’t see anything, and others made fun of him just for that.  I always championed the underdog… cat… 🙂

2.  The One in The Middle is the Green Kangaroo, by Judy Blume- I only remember this one because it was the last “kid’s” book I read.  I was home sick from school, and my mom brought it home for me.  When I got through it in pretty much no time at all, my mom told me that she wasn’t buying me any more kid’s books.  It was adult books from there on out.  Which brings me to…

3.  Watchers, by Dean Koontz-  My favorite Koontz book and ironically the first one I ever read.  I picked it because it had a picture of a dog on the front, but I was hooked.  This book is probably the reason I fell in love so much with horror and suspense.  After Koontz, I started reading Stephen King and John Saul.

4.  Watership Down by Richard Adams- I was on the waiting list for a book in 6th grade, and I really don’t remember what the book was about.  The librarian handed me this book instead and thought I might like it, even though she thought it might be a little big for me.  It wasn’t.

5.  Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton-  A friend of mine bought me this book, and then I never read it.  Years later, I picked it up at a flea market (not realizing I already owned it) and loved it.  This is the book that introduced me to the alternate universe idea, because in her universe, vampires and shapeshifters are just part of every day life.  No explanation.  It’s just business as usual.  At the time I read this, it was a revolutionary idea for me.

I’m sure there are more I’m not thinking about, but these were the 5 off the top of my head.  What books most influenced you?