BOOKS: In the queue

I've got about a dozen books I need to read and write about here, but the temptation of TiVo has kept me from doing much reading recently. Yet, I keep buying books. At Barnes & Noble yesterday, I picked up Dead Until Dark and The Unhandsome Prince, both of which look to be right up my alley, attention-span wise -- quick, fun, light reading. And I've still got Larry Young's most generous gift of Couscous Express I need to get to. I'm really looking forward to reading that with the accompanying soundtrack.

Also, yesterday I received a review copy of Foul Play by Grant Geissman, which was tremendously cool. I haven't read the whole thing yet, so a full write-up will have to wait, but I did just want to note what a gorgeous book it is. It's all about the art and artists of the E.C. horror comics of the 50s, with a plethora of full-page reproductions -- including four (I think) full stories. I love those comics, even though I know much less about them than I'd like to; I wish someone were packaging complete, deluxe reprints of them, like the DC Archives, but until that happens, this is the next best thing. I may even have sold a couple of copies -- while skimming through it at the Ojai Brew Pub, a number of people kept looking over my shoulder to check out the brilliantly, beautifully grisly artwork. "What is that? That's awesome! Can you get that in a bookstore?" (Yes, someone actually said that.) I want a commission!