Random books from jseger9000's library

About me I'm currently reading:

I've recently finished:

Books first, since this is a book site after all: I love scary stories and have a real soft spot for first time authors. I buy way too many books to reasonably read (especially since I consider myself a slow reader). I only read one book at a time. Otherwise I feel like I'm short-changing the author.

I like to carry my books with me everywhere I go (and I'm a cheap bastard), so I prefer good old mass market paperbacks. I will pick up trade paperbacks if that is all that is available, but avoid hardbacks.

I am perhaps a little too verbose in my reviews. I write like I talk. Can't help it.

In order to support my obscene book buying habit, I maintained a seasonal position at Barnes & Noble. Please put books away if you aren't going to buy them!

Other stuff: Born and raised in California, but cheap real estate brought me to the suburban hell that is The Woodlands, TX (a few miles outside of Houston).

I'm kind of a boring person and at times think I could be happy as a hermit. I'm a left-leaning atheist, which makes me a pariah whenever politics or religion come up in public here in Dubya's home state.

Like everybody else, I enjoy books, movies and music (books most of all). In all three I've noticed that I can enjoy Great Works and crap. But I always have some sort of justification for the crap I enjoy.

As for movies, I love horror movies (especially John Carpenter's stuff) and anything by Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg or Sergio Leone. I'm also a big fan of Godzilla or any of the other Toho giant monster movies. For me it just doesn't get better than a man in a rubber suit knocking over buildings, unless it's two men in rubber suits fighting and knocking over buildings. Yeah, baby! That's the good stuff!

I won't bore you with my fav music.

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About my library I try to feed my head with decent literature, but a quick scan of my library shows that really I'm a horror junky who loves a generous dose of hard sci-fi and some historical fiction on the side.

I really enjoy American lit from the first half of the twentieth century. Steinbeck is my very favorite author, but I also love Fitzgerald and Hemingway. I've tried some Faulkner and Sinclair Lewis and some others, but so far no one else has moved me the way those big three have.

My true love is horror stories. I think it stems from my interest in folk tales and urban legends. I really go for stories of the supernatural invading everyday life. I don't like endless series about weepy, erotic vampires in black lace. I like my horror stories to have strong characters. They seem to make the supernatural hi-jinks easier to swallow. My favorite writers are Stephen King (except the Dark Tower books. I tend to skip those), Peter Straub and Bentley Little.

I read a lot of fantasy as a kid, but I think I grew out of it once I discovered Arthur C. Clarke and hard sci-fi. I've tried picking up some fantasy since then, but it just doesn't have the magic it once did. (Except maybe for Michael Moorcock...) I do still like reading stuff from the pulp days. Fritz Leiber goes sadly unrecognized as a fantasy grand master. Love Robert E. Howard's stuff. He seems to be the antithesis of what fantasy is nowadays.

I love sci-fi in the 2001 mold. Near future stories set within the solar system about encounters with aliens or alien artifacts. Usually very technical descriptions of life in space with pretty flat characters. Steven Baxter is my favorite current writer. I also love Isaac Asimov and as mentioned Arthur C. Clarke.

Shogun introduced me to the wonder of historical fiction. I especially have a soft spot for ancient Greece and Rome. Some of my favorites are Steven Pressfield's Gates of Fire, Colleen McCullough's The Song of Troy and Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa books.

I've only listed books here if I currently own them myself. (My better half has a slew of Dean Koontz books for instance, but I don't consider them 'mine' so they aren't listed.)

Also onMySpace

Real nameJames Seger

LocationThe Woodlands, Texas

Emailjseger9000comcast.net

Account typepublic, lifetime

URLs http://www.librarything.com/profile/jseger9000 (profile)
http://www.librarything.com/catalog/jseger9000 (library)

Member sinceMay 11, 2007

Comments from other LibraryThing-ers

(Leave a comment.)

Hey James, it's Eric over at Horror World...you know me as Satanic Legion. Anyways, I got your message but decided to stick it out a little longer, which was a mistake. After the argument several of the core group started sending me harassing messages. They were calling me asshole and saying shit like nobody likes you and that everyone is going to ignore so just leave. And get this, the moderator Nanci threatened to ban me and I never insulted anyone, but yet they did and it's o.k.

Remember when you accidentally misquoted Laurel and everyone insinuated that you did it maliciously. They were being ugly and rude over something that should have been a non-issue. Then that TTzuma guy said that unless you apologize he won't be responding to your posts. I don't know about you but those people are f#@*ing jerks. Hey man, let me know if you and Pete found a new board. Now I'm not too familiar with this site and haven't figured out how to check if people have left messages for me (which shouldn't be too hard--so let me know on this site or leave a PM at horrorworld.org.

Laters,

Eric

posted by DUNEmessiah at 1:09 am (EST) on May 8, 2008

Liberal/libertarian isn't necessarily a contradiction in terms. But your description of being liberal on social issues does not match with the mainstream usage of social liberalism. Healthcare and other such programs are not socially liberal issues, they are progressive issues. Social liberals believe in individual personal liberty on social and civil issues. Progressives, however, are economic conservatives because they believe in the limitation of individual economic liberties in order to enforce measures like taxation.

Libertarians believe in maximzing both social and economic liberties, while left-wing socialists and right-wing socialists believe in limiting some freedoms but not others. So when I call myself a "liberal" I mean it in the full sense of the term, like with classical liberalism, while most people today calling themselves liberal are only liberal on social issues. There are in fact a significant percentage of people who are starting to call themselves "socially liberal and fiscally conservative." But when you're talking about "fiscal" anything, you're talking about the extent of government powers, not necessarily about individual freedom.

Now, just because you think issues like healthcare are important doesn't necessarily mean the government is the best solution to such issues. I haven't had a chance to read it myself, but Mary Ruwart's book "Healing Our World" is supposed to address the concerns of progressives about non-governmental solutions to "progressive" issues. An older edition of her book is available online for free. Looking over the book it has a few hokey references to the Bible, but she is no social conservative. She has described herself as being a former liberal and her sister lived with her while she was dying of cancer and was actually an assisted suicide patient of Jack Kevorkian.

posted by Lunar at 9:05 pm (EST) on Apr 24, 2008

I'll try to check out [The Traveler] at some point. Dystopias rarely fail to disappoint. My arguments about the FLDS are partly a germination of ideas that started off when I reviewed [A Short History of Myth] by [[Karen Armstrong]]. At this point my anarchism has been helping my atheism approach such concepts as laws and rights as a form of secular mythology. That, and I've probably been unduly influenced by several straight days of coverage and editorializing of the event by the radio hosts of Free Talk Live.

posted by Lunar at 2:23 am (EST) on Apr 24, 2008

Sounds good, I gave you a "thumbs up" on your review! :)

I put that book in my wishlist on Amazon . . . I always
do that, and it sits there, until I can't take it any more,
and in a frenzy order new books. So many to read in the
meantime, ack!

I'm reading Jared Diamond's "The Third Chimpanzee" and
Daniel Dennett's "Darwin's Dangerous Idea", sorta simultaneously,
they compliment each other pretty well . . .

posted by Atomicmutant at 10:26 pm (EST) on Apr 21, 2008

Hey how far down your read list are Psychlone by Bear and Insanity Illinois by Sumner? Really interested in your opinons of these.

posted by RabidPete at 12:48 am (EST) on Apr 16, 2008

now I wanna know how to report someone for abuse.
somehow she still left a comment on my profile after I blocked her.

posted by goodwitch62442 at 4:49 pm (EST) on Apr 3, 2008

hi. I didn't report sissyzz for abuse but I did block her.

posted by goodwitch62442 at 4:56 pm (EST) on Apr 2, 2008

Well, I'll be! Someone who played the game! Thanks for the kind words.
Yeah, it was well reviewed, but poorly distributed. It remains as probably
the project most near and dear to me, but the publisher counts it as a
flop. Oh, well. At some point, we may ressurrect it when the rights revert
to us from the publisher. Those that were able to find it in the store
seem to enjoy it, so maybe if it's done differently, we'll find our audience.
In any event, I got to make a game about giant monsters smashing, so that
was pretty cool to do.

Glad you enjoyed the review and the book. I lap up any of those books that
I see (within budgetary constraints) about the current culture wars, and
faith/reason issues. Just picked up [The Age of American Unreason] by
Susan Jacoby, I really enjoyed her previous work, [Freethinkers], check it
out if you haven't.

Cheers!

posted by Atomicmutant at 9:51 am (EST) on Mar 27, 2008

Thanks for that. I also managed to get hold of him on Myspace after swearing I would never go there. Pity there's no good news. Ah well.

posted by RabidPete at 11:41 pm (EST) on Mar 25, 2008

Ok...i get it now thanks!

posted by lindasbooks at 10:29 pm (EST) on Mar 20, 2008

That's fantastic, thanks for doing the thread thing and I'll be getting on the e-mail to try and sort myself out.

Hah Atomic Punch I wondered where js was.

I try to stay away from myspace, really hate it :( dunno why. It's an irrational thing, like spiders.

posted by RabidPete at 8:56 pm (EST) on Mar 19, 2008

Funny you should mention that js, I joined that forum about 3 weeks ago after lurking for a little while and no matter what I do, I can't get on there to post! Could you do me a massive favour though? If Ray Garton is on there can you ask him if his novella Graven Image is ever gonna get a reprint or mass market release? =) I left a message on his boards at Horrorworld but I don't think he goes there anymore. Hope that's not too cheeky!

posted by RabidPete at 7:49 pm (EST) on Mar 19, 2008

I enjoyed the first Freedom Force, although I don't remember caring too much for the game play, but haven't picked up the sequel. I keep meaning to try for a cheap copy, sometime.

posted by WorldMaker at 2:29 pm (EST) on Mar 18, 2008

Hey Atomic, glad to see you here. I read those articles you posted about Shelfari. I'll stick with LibraryThing; these other guys don't sound too kosher...

Cheers,
Alan

posted by AlanDraven at 11:53 pm (EST) on Mar 16, 2008

Thanks for the feedback on my reviews of Wellington's vampire books. He's also donw a three-volume zombie series that starts with Monster Island that I want to try, hopefully it'll be good too!

I've added your suggestions to by TBR list. Thanks for the tips!

posted by drneutron at 8:01 pm (EST) on Jan 26, 2008

No worries, I actually thought about posting it all over the place for that very reason,
but didn't want to be too obnoxious. I also looked at the group "book talk".

I've been thinking that if that site does its job well, eventually it will sell nothing.
With a huge group of people voting, everyone will find something to not like, lol.

posted by Atomicmutant at 4:49 pm (EST) on Jan 17, 2008

Thanks for the recommendations!
I do have almost all of Bentley Little's books, but none of the others that you mentioned.

posted by youthfulzombie at 1:43 pm (EST) on Jan 6, 2008

"I find it's hard to write reviews for five star books."

Funny, but I have the same problem... actually all my reviews are struggle :). But, with better books I put pressure on my self to write a good quality review.. and then freeze up, of course. Regarding Ann Patchett, I haven't read other books by her, partially because I think Bel Canto would be tough to match. But, I'm hoping to pick up "Run" sometime, which came out last summer.

posted by dchaikin at 9:01 am (EST) on Jan 2, 2008

Hi, I just caught your really nice review of Bel Canto (I tried to thumb, but the thumb wouldn't take...weird). I'm so glad you liked it! I was going to tell you earlier how much I liked it and that it was one of my favorite books... but, I was afraid to ruin it for you by building it up too much. :) Cheers,d

posted by dchaikin at 9:42 pm (EST) on Jan 1, 2008

And you're my first message of 2008. Huzzah!@

Thank goodness. I was starting to think "freak" may have been too strong. I forget that not everyone considers it an honorific.

The slightly embarrassing thing about my library is that I own a lot, I mean a LOT, of stuff that I haven't read--all those years of access to stuff I could check out ruined me, I guess. (And now I'm on a public library jag. What can I say? I have a sickness.) In other words--boy, do I have a lot of catching up to do, myself. Looking at your favs... Gosh, did I put Chandler on my list? I love that guy. And I fell in love with Asimov for his robot short stories, but haven't read any of the novels yet.

Looks like you may need to fall in love with some women (authors), though.

posted by Xiguli at 1:53 am (EST) on Jan 1, 2008

Pretty likely that is from Triplanetary - battle vs space pirates setup gun in corridor scene I think.

posted by bluetyson at 4:31 am (EST) on Dec 29, 2007

I put one up, see what you think.

posted by bluetyson at 5:42 am (EST) on Dec 28, 2007

Never even thought of it, not being a graphics type person, but sounds like a good idea. Will see what I can find. :)

posted by bluetyson at 2:07 am (EST) on Dec 27, 2007

That would be buh-buh-buh-Borders. After a decade there in all kinds of capacities, it's still strange to find myself outside of that world... Though I don't miss a retail xmas even one tiny little bit.

So hello. You look like a freak worth knowing.

posted by Xiguli at 9:37 am (EST) on Dec 19, 2007

I just wanted to say thanks for the conversation about Cell. Too many people, even in book clubs, don't ever seem to want to talk about books. It's nice to "meet" someone with something to say who knows how to say it.

Also, I'm glad to see you're a fellow Happy Heathen. You can never have too many rational people around.

posted by shadow8pro at 1:11 pm (EST) on Dec 18, 2007

Hi fellow Houstonian. With Philosojerk, plus you and I, Houston is well represented in HH... I think that's a good thing :). Thanks for the compliment on my review of Bel Canto. If you get to it, I'd like to hear your thoughts. I Hope you enjoy it. Cheers,d

posted by dchaikin at 9:35 pm (EST) on Dec 15, 2007

Thank you much, sir. The profile photo is what Santa looks like to kids. See you on the Happy Heathens board!

posted by weener at 1:34 pm (EST) on Dec 11, 2007

Thank you for your kind comments on the Weird Tradition post. I also found your about me and about my library section quite interesting. It goes without saying as a writer and publisher of sci fi, horror, fantasy and weird fiction I wish there were more readers and reviewers of fiction such as yourself. It is difficult for new writers and publishers to succeed in today's world, because if either make any attempt to suggest their material, it is commonly flagged as spam by zealous commenters, usually buy those that have never taken the time to check out the website or book they flagged as so. At some point, for a writer and/or publisher to get their material in the hands of readers it has to be suggested somewhere. I personally write for the love of it and publish material for the same reason. Profit means little to me for if it did so, I'd attempt to write or publish Oprah book club material. This also evident by my website which at least half is devoted to the preservation of weird fiction. I say this, as if we as readers and writers are careful, weird fiction might almost die out! If this happens, writers some writers will steer away from its creation stealing wonderful worlds of fiction. I currently give away a few free books, as I can afford to try and get out the material I love out to readers. After reading your profile here on library thing, I think I might have a book you'll enjoy. If interested, I'd be more than glad to send you one free of charge with only two requirements. One that if you choose to review it, and I hope you will, it matters not if it is a good review or bad, but that you do it fairly and second that once done, you will pass it on to someone else with the same conditions. Let me know what you think and if you choose not to do so, no hard feelings and thanks again for your comment in The Weird Tradition.

Sincerely,
Charles

posted by Fictionman at 12:15 pm (EST) on Dec 8, 2007

Hey,

Thank you for taking the time to invite me to "Thing(amabrarian)s That Go Bump in the Night" Group. I have just accepted your invitation and I will make sure to take a look around. If you really love horror, I encourage you to join up at the Leisure Forum. Great group of people there that love to discuss all types of different issues revolving "horror fiction". We literally cover about everything from the economics of publishing in the genre, to movies, all the way to book reviews. Quite a few authors appear occasionally for discussion with some honorable names such as Steve Vernon, Michael Laimo, J.F. Gonzalez, Brian Keene, Tom Piccirilli, Sarah Pinborough and many others.

posted by Huge_Horror_Fan at 4:39 pm (EST) on Nov 2, 2007

No problem... and thanks! I've been using this handle for a while now on the net :)

posted by philosojerk at 8:54 am (EST) on Sep 20, 2007

Re: your question in the forums. Unfortunately there is no actual quote function in our forums, however a good end-around is to simply copy-and-paste whatever text it is you want to quote from somebody, then surround it with the html for italics - [i] and [/i] except replace the square brackets with the pointy ones.

Cheers :)

posted by philosojerk at 3:39 pm (EST) on Sep 18, 2007

Atheists and the supernatural/horror: We love it because we know it's bunk and can enjoy the ride without being afraid of the dark. ha! ;)

posted by Scaryguy at 7:00 pm (EST) on Sep 16, 2007

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