Richard matheson-button button

Because I couldn't find Somewhere in Time by Richard Matheson, I borrowed the only available book by him in the library- Button, Button: Uncanny Stories 

It was a very good read. Filled with short, obscure stories that sometimes ended abruptly. Some of the stories in this collection included Button, Button (featured in Twilight Zone and a movie entitled The Box), No Such Thing as a Vampire, Clothes Make the Man, etc.

My favorite was No Such Thing as a Vampire. The plot was quite clever. Dr Petre Gheria's wife, Alexis, had turned sickly and was found in the morning with blood spilt all over her body. Gheria discovered two puncture wounds on her neck and was seemingly led to believe that the village was haunted by vampires. It turned out to be a case of revenge and murder plotted by Petre on his wife and her lover, who was also Petre's close friend.
A fun and cute read...

Richard Matheson-what dreams may come

I watch the movie I think back in 1998 or so. I loved it then but hadn't realized it was adapted from a book till recently when I was browsing through some e-books. I think the film was better than the book. The book's a bit long-winded but then again it paints a bigger picture of the philosophy of life after death, reincarnation, etc and gives the readers more room for thought. I quite enjoyed the afterword by Stephen Simon, the producer of the movie. He said he actually cried reading the book and thought Matheson was ahead of his time by raising all these questions and ideas regarding the spiritual life before new age became popular. It was also through this after word that I realized Matheson wrote somewhere in time (the book title is actually bid time return) , another favorite of mine. I watch somewhere in time back in 1996 but I think it was screened way before 96. It starred Christopher reeves aka superman and Jane Seymour. That movie made me wish I could time travel that way too! By pure thought.
I couldn't find the eBook version of somewhere in time so decided to try my luck at the library today. Unfortunately the library didnt carry it as well but I made another discovery about Matheson. He actually wrote I am Legend. I read the book and watch the movie but didnt recall Matheson being the author. A string discoveries and it turned out I actually liked all the movies that were adapted from his books.
Back to What Dreams May Come... The idea came from Shakespeare's Hamlet where Hamlet said "for in that sleep of death what dreams may come". It hints of the idea that there is belief or even fear of what might linger after death. Do we completely dissolve out of existence or do we carry on another life as what Chris Nielsen experienced after his death. It talked about souls and mostly above love. Chris and Ann were soul mates in the literal sense of the word, inseparable, finding one another life after life. Chris went through hell and was willing to stay on in hell just so he could be with Ann. I remembered this scene very well from the movie. Robin Williams was terrific in his acting. You could really see the light went out of his eyes when he decided that hell was where he would stay, if he couldn't pull Ann out of it. A rather beautiful moment.
Although I so want to believe that everyone has a soul mate, it gets harder as one grows older. Do we really have souls that will persist after our physical shells die?is there only one soul mate for everyone or are there many to go around? How did soul mates come about? An act of God or something else ? Why is it that some people never meet their soul mates and live their lives in single hood ? Did their soul mate got lost in another life? Perhaps.... It's all very strange and I guess we would have no answers to that.

Everything must come to an end,
Nothing lasts forever.

Ebooks

I have got quite a collection now of eBooks. But somehow found it rather tough to concentrate when it's electronic. I guess some things just cannot be "technologised". Nothing beats the crisp smell of a new book, the feel of the pages, the crackling sounds a book makes when you turn the pages.

Sundays at Tiffany's-james Patterson

It never fails to amuse and amaze me how James Patterson can write romance as well as his crime novels. It almost seems like he is "bi-gender".
Sundays at Tiffany's is a cute romance about a woman falling in love with her imaginary childhood friend. Yep it's as strange as it gets but a captivating read nonetheless. The writing style varies so widely from his usual crime novels that it seems like it's been written by a woman. Amusingly enough, he wrote in the voice of the female lead, Jane. Jane, the chubby kid who imagined Michael when she was a young child with a neglectful and overbearing mother. She was often lonely and her only friend was Michael. On her 9th birthday, Michael had to leave her as he so often did when his "mission" was accomplished.
Many years later when Jane was in her 30s, she met Michael again. Imagine her shock. And so it is that Michael is pretty much like an angel. Sent on missions to keep little girls and boys company in their childhood. However, he never forgot Kane and neither did Jane forget him after all these years. And so it was, that they fell in love. By falling in love Michael became more like a human, feeling pain and all. It sounds pretty much like City of Angels when Nicholas Cage fell in love with Meg Ryan and decided to be human.

Quite a good read.

Cross-Fire- James Patterson

I really like the Alex cross series. I don't really know where Alex is in his life in Cross Fire. But his wife Marie(?) was already murdered. He was in a new relationship with another cop, Bree and planning to get married. Kyle Craig his long-time nemesis was on the loose and threatening to kill him and his family. Craig went for plastic surgery to transform himself into an undercover cop and managed to infiltrate the FBI(?) and got closer to Alex Cross. At the same time, murder after murder of important bankers, politicians were occurring, inciting fear in the city. And frustration for Alex.

The book was gripping but nothing new. I would probably give it a 3.5/5.

The little book-Selden Edwards

The idea of this book was very interesting. A man from modern-day San Francisco suffered a blackout and mysteriously ended up in 19th century Vienna. There he met his father who suffered the same condition. And to add complexities, they met their grandfather/father, a stern and no-nonsense man. The story revolved around this teacher they deeply respected and his little book of anecdotes, quotes, teachings.
Unfortunately I did not finish the book. It gets a little boring after some time. But I do love the idea of time travelling and meeting people from the past. Wheeler met Freud, mark twain,etc. Perhaps I should really persevere in finishing this book. I saw a review saying it took the author 30 years to write this book. 30 years!!!?! Seriously....