I don’t read much horror. I don’t actually love it as a genre, but I was totally sucked into this book because of the magic element. The book is a braided narrative, running on two tracks with two sets of protagonists. In the modern era, two magic geeks visit Atlantic City to gawk at the home of a long-disappeared magician who figures prominently in the entertainment history of New Jersey’s once-grand Boardwalk mecca. The other track is told from the POV of their idol, a magician from another era who struggles to hide his two deepest secrets. The rise and fall of his career are neatly entwined with the fortunes of Atlantic City. The author really knows her AC, and it shows. For some reason, the story stuck with me for days after. If you like magic, horror, New Jersey, haunted house tales, and stories set in beachy locales, this is for you. Thanks, Mia Dalia, for a great read that I haven’t been able to shake from my mind.
What is the greatest trick of all—survival or disappearance? How far would you go to find out?
In the heyday of Atlantic City, a man determined to rise above his circumstances and make a name for himself in a world hostile to people like him, finds his calling in the art of illusion.
In the present day, two friends pretend to be interested buyers to gain access to the house where a famous magician once lived — before mysteriously vanishing.
Once the night falls, all secrets will be revealed... to those who dare cross the threshold of Alakazam.
I read this book earlier this year and it made a huge impression on me. So much so that I quickly bought and read Manson’s second book, Everything is F*cked. Gosh, he sure likes to swear, but that’s why he’s so funny and why his distillation of the core challenges of human life is so approachable. His central thesis is that life is a series of obstacles, and the only way to happiness is to drive a Mack truck straight through them. But since humans are wired to avoid pain and suffering, we avoid, deny, and ignore the very things that would bring us peace. Avoiding our problems only makes them fester and grow. Manson uses a narrative tool employed by writers such as Malcolm Gladwell, who offer interesting bet-you-didn’t-know anecdotes from history and science to illustrate his points. (If you’re a geek for that stuff, I recommend getting paper editions of his books. You’ll be able to read the abundant footnotes and track down the books he cites far more easily than in the ebook edition.) His clickbaity title rests on a solid premise. Given that all life is struggle, the smart thing to do is to learn which things you will struggle for—i.e., give a fuck or two about. The right things are the ones that hold the most meaning for you.
New York Times Bestseller In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people. For decades, we've been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F**k positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let's be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it." In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn't sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is-a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today.…
I don’t re-read many books, especially books about writing, but I do find myself turning to Ueland every year and I get something out of it each time. For many years I kept a few extra copies in the office to share with friends. Her book first saw the light of day in 1938. Ueland had a long career as a professional writer, but her claim to fame was teaching wannabe writers at the YMCA in the Twin Cities. Her biggest point is literally the title of her first chapter: “Everybody is talented, original and has something important to say.” This is a slim, wonderful book, only 18 chapters and 179 pages long. She quotes tons of creative types, such as William Blake and Vincent Van Gogh. While her subject is writing, and how every human has the ability to express themselves so long as they stay true to themselves, speak from the heart, and use simple prose, she’s really talking about all forms of creativity. Creation, she reminds us, is at the heart of what it means to be human. If you are enthusiastic enough about a topic to write it from the heart, your reader cannot help but feel the same thing. Art is infection, she tells us more than once. If I were teaching a group of new writers, this would be the text I’d read to inspire myself, and them. Each year I reread Ueland to more fully understand my compulsion to embark on this insane career. If someone were just starting out and asked me for advice, I’d hand them this book, and have. I *think* but have not confirmed, that this book is now in the public domain. Choose the version published by Graywolf Press, the nonprofit publisher in Minnesota that has been entrusted by the Ueland estate to keep this work in print since the 1980s. You don’t want to go wrong; the book is filled with delicious footnotes that sloppy publishers can easily screw up. If You Want to Write is Graywolf’s bestselling book, for good reason.
Brenda Ueland was a journalist, editor, freelance writer, and teacher of writing. In If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit she shares her philosophies on writing and life in general. Ueland firmly believed that anyone can write, that everyone is talented, original, and has something important to say. In this book she explains how find that spark that will make you a great writer. Carl Sandburg called this book the best book ever written about how to write. Join the millions of others who've found inspiration and unlocked their own talent.
Since I mentioned a book set in New Jersey, I thought I'd toss in one of my own. This one is a quirky small-town thriller. A working-class antihero in a sweltering New Jersey summer is forced into a deadly moral choice: take the bribe and look the other way, or risk everything to expose a land swindle and cover-up. Perfect for fans of Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasen, and gritty noir with black humor.
