Vampire Books A Blessing, Curse for Folks

The Sacramento Bee

VAMPIRES -- those who hunt and those who are hunted -- plus zombies, werewolves, demons, pixies and other assorted supernatural types, have made monster strides in their invasion of popular culture niches.

They appear in books (Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" saga), movies ("The Vampire's Assistant" and Meyer's upcoming "New Moon," along with "Zombieland") and TV ("True Blood," "The Vampire Chronicles"). In many cases, a big dash of paranormal romance mixes with a tendency toward mayhem.

If it's spooky Halloween-time reading you're looking for, consider this sampling:

-- Any of the titles in the series of novels by the five biggest names in "urban fantasy," as the subgenre is known: Kim Harrison (the "Hollows" series), Jeaniene Frost ("Night Huntress"), Vicki Pettersson ("Signs of the Zodiac"), Christine Feehan ("Carpathian") and Sherrilyn Kenyon ("Dark Hunter").

-- "The Strain" by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (William Morrow, $26.99, 416 pages): The first of "a vampires vs. humanity trilogy" co-written by the acclaimed movie director (his disturbing "Pan's Labyrinth" is a fitting rental for the season).

-- "Werewolf Sanctuary" and "Beast Warrior" (the first two books of the "Wolf Maiden" trilogy) by Eva Gordon (Vanilla Heart, $14.95 each): These werewolf adventures date to the days of the Vikings. The Rocklin-based author will sign both books at 1 p.m. Saturday at Borders, 2765 E. Bidwell St., Folsom; (916) 984-5900.

-- "American Fantastic Tales: From the 1940s to Now," edited by Peter Straub (Library of America, $35, 750 pages): Horror writer Straub has chosen 42 short stories by top-name writers, including Anthony Boucher, Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison and Stephen King.

-- "Zombies: Encounters With the Hungry Dead," edited by John Skipp (Black Dog, $19.95, 704 pages): Zombies get up and walk in the 32-story anthology, which includes "essays" on all things zombie.

-- "Meridian" by Amber Kizer (Delacorte, $16.99, 320 pages): A confused teenage girl discovers she's half human, half angel. Oh, the angst.

The real Amelia Earhart

Hilary Swank portrays legendary aviator Amelia Earhart in "Amelia," which opened Friday. Which reminds us that Earhart's enthusiastic autobiography, "The Fun of It," has just been reissued (Academy Chicago Publishers, $16.95, 219 pages).

The book was first published in 1932, shortly after Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She again astounded the world in 1935 when she was the first woman to solo over the Pacific from Hawaii to California. Earhart vanished in 1937 in her attempt to circumnavigate the globe.

Meanwhile, a definitive biography just hit bookstores: "Amelia Earhart: The Thrill of It" by Susan Wells (Running Press, $35, 224 pages). The book is full of vintage photos and illustrations, and maps of her flight routes.

The surprise is how diverse Earhart's interests really were, Wells points out. She was "a photographer, poet, hospital worker, truck hauler, fashion designer, social worker, and student of chemistry, physics and medicine."

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