Phoenix Reads

I just recently finished rereading it, and it was even better than the first time. Fun fact, this is the book that pushed me down the slasher horror movie rabbit hole, the one that started it all. At the time, I've only watched Halloween (1978) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). After finishing this book, I binge watched the Halloween franchise, the Friday the 13th franchise as well as the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies. After looking through the slasher tags on here, I've found even more gems like The Boy, House of Wax, Laid to Rest, The Collector etc. I got so into watching 80s horror movies that I've found The Lost Boys and in association to that, Near Dark.

This book is a love letter to the classic slasher horror movies of the late 70s to 90s. When I read it the first time, I only got the surface level, very obvious references. But coming back to it a few years later after delving deep into this world, I noticed a lot more. I had so many moments when I had to stop reading because I caught another easter egg and got a bit too hyped up. There are so many little details and references sprinkled in there for the people who really get it.

The book also discusses violence perpetrated against women by men, how society treats female victims, and what's left after the interest in their cases dies down and they are left to pick up the pieces. The characters have been through a lot, they are far from perfect, they make stupid and sometimes infuriating choices, they all cope in their own ways. But in the end they are still fighters who don't give up.

The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust by Diana B. Henriques.

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis (about the 2008 stock market collapse).

The Caesar's Palace Coup: How a Billionaire Brawl Over the Famous Casino Exposed the Corruption of the Private Equity Industry by Max Frumes and Sujeet Indap. (I admit I've never finished this one; the writing is hard to read.)

The Great Beanie Baby Bubble: Mass Delusion and the Dark Side of Cute, by Zac Bissonette. I bought this book because of the subtitle and I have never regretted it. You must read it.

Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale. They turned this one into a movie! The book was very different and is worth reading.

The Cult of We: WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion, by Elliot Brown and Maureen Farrell. I haven't read this one yet, but it's on my tbr pile!

Opus: The Cult of Dark Money, Human Trafficking, and Right-Wing Conspiracy Inside the Catholic Church, by Gareth Gore. I'm reading this one right now. The author is a financial journalist who stumbled onto this story by unraveling a bank failure in Spain.

And here's a list of more non-fiction books about fraud and financial scams. The first book on this list is about Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes, which I also haven't read yet.

I just finished How To Ru(i)n A Record Label, Larry Livermore’s first-hand account of the rise and fall of legendary East Bay punk label Lookout Records, which he cofounded and, among many other bands, gave the world Green Day.

I’m not a massive nonfiction fan, but Livermore’s voice and brutally honest accounts of major and minor events made this a great read, not just for fans of pop punk music, but those who like a good story well told.

I was introduced to Lookout Records by my roommate at the start of my freshman year of college when he loaned me Energy by Operation Ivy. I couldn’t stop listening to it. It was my gateway to Green Day, Screeching Weasel, Mr. T Experience, Pansy Division, and so many more awesome bands.

I loved Lookout’s releases so much, it became one of two labels from which I would buy a new release even of I didn’t know the band. The other was 4AD, home of the Pixies.

And my love of the East Bay pop punk sound led to me see Green Day play a small club in Richmond, VA about a year before they signed with a major label. The second time I saw Green Day was last year at SoFi Stadium in L.A. Quite the change.

(It’s also worth mentioning Richmond, VA’s own Avail became one of the few non-East Bay bands on Lookout.)

...that all the prices on our Ebooks Direct ebook bundles are still holding at Black Friday levels (pretty much 50% off, and in some cases more...), because frankly I think everybody can use a little bit of a break around now.

I invite you to pause the doomscrolling (assuming that's what's been going on), take a few deep breaths, and visit another universe. Or two.

The complete* Young Wizards bundle is here:

Or maybe you want just the feline wizards? Their bundle's here.

And the LGBTQ-centered Middle Kingdoms bundle is here:

And if you're feeling like going utterly ham, here's the Whole Store bundle. At a truly silly price. (Possibly we need our heads felt, but that's an internal issue.**)

As usual: all these bundles are DRM-free and come with our lifetime free replacement guarantee. (Because as non-billionaires, we somehow don't feel any urgent need to make you pay for lost or mislaid ebooks twice). Lose a loaded device, have a drive crash, or suffer some other local difficulty that results in ebook loss? Mail us with your order number and we'll send you new download links.

That's it! That's the post. Support your local non-AI-using authors!

And thanks, everybody. :)

(I keep forgetting to add this, probably because i hate it: UK friends, please note that we can't sell directly to you any more, because of Brexit. Dammit. But still: sorry.) :/

*Except for Games Wizards Play, which we can't offer due to not holding rights for it.