PT Hylton

Author of the Storms of Magic, The Savage Earth, and The Deadlock Trilogy

Books

May Book Reviews

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I read a great group of books in May, so let’s get started.

kickassThe Kick-Ass Writer by Chuck Wendig

Chuck Wendig is the author of Blackbird, Mockingbird, and even some non-bird-titled books. He writes novels with style, personality, and memorable characters.

When I learned he had written a series of writing books, I knew I had to check them out.

Most writing books give you the feeling of sitting down by the fire with a master storyteller as he or she carefully and elegantly explains the secrets of his or her trade. This is not that. [Read more…] about May Book Reviews

Are Streaming-Style Services the Future of eBooks?

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I’ve been a member of Oyster – the streaming-style* ebook service that bills itself as the ‘Netflix for books’ – since late September. After five months of regular usage, I think I am ready to share my thoughts.

My profile, complete with no friends. I haven't quite figured out the social aspect.
My profile, complete with no friends. I haven’t quite figured out the social aspect.

First, the numbers. Oyster costs $9.95/mo for unlimited reading. I’ve spent $39.80 total (the first month was free). I’ve read 19 books on Oyster during that time. So that breaks down to about $2.10 per book read. Not bad.

Is Oyster worth $9.95/mo? The answer to that question depends partly on how much you read. But the reasons I like it aren’t really reflected in the dollars and cents.

Here are five reasons I love Oyster: [Read more…] about Are Streaming-Style Services the Future of eBooks?

Something to Love: The Right Way to Do Wrong

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Something worthy of your attention, and five reasons I love it.

  1. Over a hundred years ago, Harry Houdini wrote a book about how to successfully commit crimes. Yep. It’s just as weird as it sounds.
  2. Houdini came into regular contact with many law enforcement types as he travelled the world performing his escape acts. Many of these police officers, detectives, and judges told Houdini their favorite stories from the years they’d spent on the job. Houdini collected these stories and he presents them here along with some humorous asides. This book details how to steal a diamond with a piece of chewing gum. It describes a complicated con game involving a person hidden inside a couch, Trojan horse style. It breaks down the routines of successful ‘second story men’. His stated purpose is the education the public so it can defend itself from crime .
    [Read more…] about Something to Love: The Right Way to Do Wrong

Something to Love: The Blood Between Us – A novel by Jerrod Begora

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Something worthy of your attention, and five reasons I love it.

TBBU1. The Blood Between Us is the story of three siblings struggling with real life issues. One is dealing with his college girlfriend’s pregnancy. The second is battling racism at his high school. The third fights to have her dreams taken seriously despite her disability. Then the vampires show up.

2.  Though the novel has three interconnected storylines, the standout character is Lorelei. Lorelei is obsessed with comic books, and she is eager to prove her keen detective skills even if the local police department won’t hire her as anything more than a crossing guard. She has Down syndrome and –while that might change the way the world sees her – it doesn’t change the way she sees herself. She possesses a keen awareness of how the world views people with Down syndrome, and she uses that knowledge to her advantage in hilarious ways throughout the book.

3. The Blood Between Us mixes genres with confidence. The cover says it’s a ‘Twisted Teen Comedy’, but I think it is more than that. It’s a family drama, a coming of age story, and an adventure story all in one.

4. In the interest of full disclosure, The Blood Between Us is written by my good friend, sometimes bandmate, and former classmate (kindergarten through fourth grade). Jerrod works as hard as anyone I know on his craft, and it has been a pleasure to watch him grow into the writer he is today.

5. The Blood Between Us features a unique take on vampires. If you are tired of the sparkly vampires of Twilight and the feral vampires of Let the Right One In, check it out. It draws its bloodsuckers with a different color palate than anything I’ve seen before.

Check it out here.