Today's mood

Because spring break is over.

Kelly's Really Big Score: Take It Out In Trade edition

Road-tripped up to Ojai and to Bart's Books. I must say that it was the perfect day for such a trip. Sunny day, mid-seventies, and the hills of Ojai were still spring-green and the wild mustard was in bloom.

I took a bunch of books in to trade, and with the store credit I was able to get:

• Louis Bayard - The Black Tower
• Kate Atkinson - Case Histories
• Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karenina
• Bruce Felton and Mark Fowler - The Best, Worst, and Most Unusual
• Colleen McCullough - The First Man in Rome
• T. C. Boyle - The Road to Wellville
• Marilyn French - The Women's Room
• Tim O'Brien - The Things They Carried
• Alexandra LaPierre - Artemisia
• Christina Stead - The Man Who Loved Children
• Joe R. Lansdale - Lost Echoes
• Jose Saramago - Blindness
• Thomas Tryon - The Other
• Clive Barker - Cabal
• Robert Stone - Dog Soldiers
• Donald Hamilton - Murderers' Row
• William Howard - "Gore Vidal's Caligula"

I am particularly happy with the Best, Worst, and Most Unusual and the Murderers' Row finds. The former is a trivia book that's from the late 1970s, and I still remember checking it out of the local library when I was a kid and learning about everything from how awful a durian is to some examples of really off-the-wall architecture. The latter is from Donald Hamilton's Matt Helm series, which are long out of print but which are great reading, and a heavy influence on my Ashes series.

I make no apologies for the last book on the list - it's a novelization of the terrible movie made from Gore Vidal's screenplay for Caligula. I'm sure it's no good but I must have it on my shelf and it was only $2. So there.

Review: Under the Skin

My review of the sublimely creepy Under The Skin is up at Horrorview.

Today's mood

Kelly's Big Score: More Gelato, Please Edition

As if the L.A. Times Festival of Books wasn't awesome enough on its own, now they've added food trucks! The gelato truck was a particular favorite.

I also attended a romance novel panel that featured Tessa Dare, author of A Week to be Wicked and Any Duchess Will Do, both very enjoyable reads.

And of course I did a bit of book shopping. Had to limit myself as I'm on a budget, but came home with:

The Chaperone - Laura Moriarty

The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone - Will Storr

Zero Hour and other stories - Illustrated by Jack Kamen

Hope everyone who goes to the festival has a good time!

Review: The Visitor

My review of The Visitor, a 1979 Italian film that's half horror, half sci-fi, and all kinds of crazy, is up at Horrorview. Enjoy!

Kelly's Big Score: Pancakes and Wine Edition

Made a dash up to Solvang this past weekend, and in between wine tasting and pancake consumption I found time to buy some books from The Book Loft and Martin's Used Books. Came home with:

Wayne of Gotham - Tracy Hickman

The Painted Girls - Cathy Marie Buchanan

Freedomland - Richard Price

Twice Loved - LaVyrle Spencer

Petals on the Wind - V. C. Andrews

OK, that last one is a little iffy but the The Complete V. C. Andrews Blog-o-Rama's recent recap of Petals got me interested in re-reading it. I somehow suspect it won't hold up well…