Tops of the year

Seems like this time of year everyone is making their list of the top books, albums and movies for the year. So that I will have a reason to update my blog, I'll do the same. I'll start with my picks for the top 5 books of this year.

5- The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski: It's a long story at just over 500 pages about a mute boy that comes to think that his father's death is not an accident and that his uncle has nefarious plans involving his mother and the house and barn that his father's father built from scratch. Also involved is a highly specialized dog breeding business and a ghost. A great study of characters patterned loosely after Hamlet.

4- Baltimore: The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire by Christopher Golden: A great vampire yarn with atmosphere out the wazoo. It doesn't hurt that the book is littered with illustrations by Mike Mignola as well. This is an alternate take on the plague in Europe and a riff off of The Steadfast Tin Soldier tale of Hans Christian Anderson.

3- Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow: An epic prose poem in the vein of Homer meets Stephen King. A tale of weredogs in the city that certainly has bite. The writing is high octane and several of the passages are a beauty to behold. Don't let the format scare you away.

2- Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler: Apparently this is a reissue but I'm glad for it or I would have missed another excellent entry in the mystery genre. This book tells the tale of the first case of the now a bit long in the tooth pair of British detectives in the Peculiar Crimes Unit. The setting is an old theater in London that holds shadows of a phantom. Witty and a lot of fun. I can't wait to devour the rest of the series.

1- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: The Jungle Book but change the setting to a graveyard and the black panther to a vampire. The story is told in a series of chapters with each happening when Bod (the orphaned boy living amongst the graveyard) is a different age. A magical book with scenes that linger in your mind like ghosts long after you put the book to rest.

That's the list. Stay tuned for my top movie picks.