When is a Book a Piece of Art?

books 002Let’s face it…I spend a lot of money on books. With over 800 titles in my personal library, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t look upon my bookshelves and admire the beauty laid out upon the shelves. Like with any library, there many titles that I could easily pull out and get lost for an hour just paging through them, reading bits and pieces, taking in the glorious photos and illustrations. I’ve always considered that to be one of the joys of having a book collection. It’s like an open doorway to who knows where.

Most of the titles I have in my library are just standard reference books, filled with the knowledge that I know the author(s) spent a lot of time doing research and planning, even before they actually started putting pen to paper…or fingers to keyboard. I give a lot of credit to most authors that take the time and effort to go through all this work. I say “most authors” because I’ve run across a few other the years that need to double check some of their facts. But that is for another rant.

But there are some titles out there where the authors and publishers have gone far beyond being just a collection of opinions, facts, and photos, making it truly a work of art. Editions that can suck you in, even if it is just admiring the craftsmanship put into the book. From the design to the layout, it is an incredible journey you take once you pull it off your shelf. This physical medium is still a very important one, and one where I feel some of the beauty and charm of an actual book would be lost in the digital format. Especially the ones that seem to go above and beyond just publishing a book. They really do create a piece of art.

So I wanted to take a moment of your time to cover a few titles that I think fit into this category. I will say that some of these titles were a bit pricy when they first came out, and some go for even a higher price now. But there were a few of these that were pretty reasonably priced and are still accessible. Sure, they can still be a bit expensive, but we are talking about art here, right? And usually, at least in my experience, these kind of books never lose their value, In fact, the value tends to rise over the years. So if when you’re trying to justify the cost, think of it of an investment…that you can actually learn something from!

Thank you to the publishers for taking the time, the chance, the effort, and the money to put out such incredible books.

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New Hammer Book Series from Peveril Publishing

curse_of_werewolf_poster_07We had recently received our copy of the first volume of Peveril Publishing’s book series, The Fantastic Films of the Decades and was just blown away by it. The layout is fantastic and am amazed at how much stuff they covered for a decade of silent films. Of course, this is just the first of nine volumes, so there is much more greatness to come, not to mention the chuck out of my bank account this is going to take. But if the rest of the editions are as good as this first one, it will be a well worth investment.

But the fine folks at Peveril didn’t seem to be content with working on this book series, and figured they also need to create something similar for Hammer fans. They have just announced a new 8 volume book series called the Hammer Film Scrapbook Series. Each one of the volumes will cover a particular theme, such as one on their Dracaul films, one on their Frankenstein films, and so on. Below is the complete list:

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Monster Bash…Part 1

We made it home safe and sound from our first trip out to The Monster Bash Conference in Mars, PA. It was a bit of a drive out there, but I have to say it was just a great time and well worth the trip. Ron Adams from Creepy Classics, and his Monster Bash crew, really knows how to put on a show. Sure, it is aimed more for the older classic monster fans and those movies, but none the less, we had a blast.

Ron has events planned from early in the AM until the wee hours of the morning, during every second of the weekend. There is no way anybody could be bored at this show. Hell, he even had films screening on Thursday because he knew quite a few people were arriving early for the show! But something that was different that I liked (even though I didn’t get to spend too much time in there) was that besides the Q&A’s and the movie screenings, there were also presentations given, such as one on films being banned by Britain in the ’30s and ’40s. Not only does it give the attending fans something to do during the weekend, but they can actually learn something too!

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Monster Bash Next Weekend

valerieleonNext weekend, we will be making our first trip out to Mars Pennslyvannia for the Monster Bash Convention. This is a show that we’ve been wanting to do for quite some time but just never make it out there, mainly due to the distance from us here in Chicagoland. But we decided that we were going to make it happen this year and the show is almost upon us now. A much smaller and more personable show from what I’m told, it will be a nice change of pace and really looking forward to it.

Of course, one of the main reasons we decided to take th plunge was they have Valerie Leon as a guest, who appeared in Hammer’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb. So I will be thrilled to add her signature to my Hammer Films book, making her’s the 13th signature. I know I’m not an autograph person anymore, but we’re talking Hammer here, and for that, I’ll make an exception.

But we will be there with our usual wares, with plenty of horror reference books for you to build and increase your own library. We’ve got a ton of titles in stock, both some new as well as some hard to find and out-of-print ones as well. Of course, my wife Dawn (aka Horror Slave) will have her display of pillows and tote bags as well.

So if you’re coming out to the show next weekend, make sure stop by and give us Monster Bash Newbies a warm welcome! For all the details about the show, just click HERE.

MonsterBash2015

Got Gothic?

englishgothic-revisedIf you’re a fan of British horror and have a few reference books around on said genre, then you just might have one by author Jonathan Rigby. I know I have a few of his titles proudly in my library. He’s one of the guys from across the pond that really knows his stuff. Back in 2005, Rigby wrote a book called English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema, which covered the British horror film from pretty much the beginning of film to the current era (at that time…more on that in a bit). Filled with tons of photos, the book covered different eras of the genre, like the early works of Todd Slaughter, moving onward to of course Hammer Films, but many others as well. Certain films are highlighted with cast & crew info, and some quotes about the film, either a review or from someone involved in the film.

In 2007, Rigby put out another edition in what seems to be a series, called American Gothic: Sixty Years of Horror Cinema. It pretty much followed the same format as the previous book, except this one covers films from the states, and has an insert of some color pages, mainly showing poster art. For some reason though, this out-of-print title goes for over $50 on the market. Not sure why, other than maybe it was a small number of books published. But again, worth it if you can find one.

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Little Shoppe of Horrors # 34

LSoH34I don’t buy too many magazines these days. They are a bit pricey for the content you actual get, plus they are not the hardest to find these days. Sure, I’ve tried subscribing to a few, but some of them don’t seem to worry about when you get your issue. Since most of them are 1/3 of ads, I feel that you’re better off putting that $10 towards an actual book. But that is just me.

But, one magazine that I think is much different than those, and one that I buy each and every time a new issue comes out, is Richard Klemensen’s Little Shoppe of Horrors. I have been picking up them religiously since issue #8, which came out back in 1984. “The Klem” as he is called, has been putting this magazine out for over 40 years. If there are two things that shows in each and every issue is passion and dedication for Hammer Films, as well as British horror in general. With every issue, information is packed to the gills from the topics they are covering, with some stunning artwork filling out the pages. You’ll find information and interviews that give you a lot of insight of these films. And the “making of” pieces, which are usually written by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, are worth the cost of the issue alone. He never fails to shed new light on whatever film he is writing on.

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