Swoozie Ramblings

I've been on a reading kick lately! I love to read, I mean really LOVE to read. I attribute it to the fact that my sister read a lot when I was growing up. She would actually go to the library and bring books home for me. I would spend my allowance on books at Waldenbooks instead of lip gloss or other things girls my age would purchase with allowance money.

Of course, my mother and father read, as well. My father always had the newspaper and two sets of encyclopedias at the ready. I was so happy that before he passed away, he was able to experience the Internet, but it kind of made me sad in a way that his beloved encyclopedias were no longer necessary or useful.

My sister brought my first Christopher Pike book from the library many years ago. For as long as I can remember, I have loved horror movies and books. As I grew out of the Christopher Pike "young adult" series, I moved on to Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and John Saul.

Bringing us to the present and my new obsession with reading all books written by Richard Laymon. It happened quite by accident when I picked up one of his books (The Beast House) at our local library. When I arrived home I realized that it was part of a trilogy. Always playing by the rules, I had to track down the other two books so I could read the series in order.

Laymon passed away in 2001 so the series will never be completely finished. Are any ever, though?

Laymon's books are definitely not books to read if you want to come away with a nice, glowy feeling after reading a book. They often take you to a dark place and remind you of the horrors of the world in which we live and just what people are capable of doing. You know, things you try not to think about. But, for a horror writer, I would rank him right up there with King, Saul, and Koontz.