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Kevin J. Anderson tends to spend a lot of time in other peoples worlds, from Dune to Star Wars. Recently he has taken a stab at the world of DC Comics. First with ‘The Last Days of Krypton‘, and now with a story about the first meeting between Superman and Batman. Anyone who knows these characters well understands that their approach to crime fighting is very different. And ‘Enemies & Allies‘ does a pretty good job showing the opposing views of these two super heroes.

Set in a more nostalgic setting of the 1950’s, this story remains faithful to the characters as they were depicted during that era of comic books. It’s classic space ships, kryptonite, communist generals and Lex Luthor at his finest worst.

I truly enjoyed the chance to spend some time back in a classic comic book setting. The writing style is easy to read and makes this a book to spend some relaxing fun time with. This isn’t the type of book that will have you thinking to hard, but it was just too much of a childhood super hero zone out to put down. I found myself finding every free moment reading it.

If your a DC Comics super hero fan, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. I can’t wait to share this with my kids someday.

About one year ago I began using an online service called BookMooch, created by John Buckman. The objective of BookMooch is to create a take-a-book leave-a-book service using the internet. Book Mooch uses a point system for the exchange of books. The point system works like this:

• Add a book to your inventory: get 1/10th point
• Send a book request to someone in your country: get 1 point
• Send a book request to someone outside your country: get 3 points
• Give feedback upon receipt of a book you requested: get 1/10th point
• Request a book from someone in your country: spend 1 point
• Request a book from someone in another country: spend 2 points

Over the course of a year I have received a total of 68 books via Bookmooch and successfully sent around 67 books to other people. That has saved me quite a bit of money I might have otherwise spent on new books. And the majority of books I have received were in excellent condition. The only cost to me was the price of postage to send books out to other people. And, it makes me feel good to know that the books I no longer wanted found new homes instead of being thrown out.

Now I’m taking it one step further;

Now I’ve taken my BookMooch obsession to new levels and started saving others peoples books from destruction. I’ve been buying books from various library sales for pennies (1 box for $5), and getting some free books from friends and craigslist. I know, most people would ask “Why bother?” Well, I don’t have a great reason other than the fact that I feel good about it, and I’m happy to send books I’m done with to people who really want them. It’s a cheap recycling method that doesn’t really cost much and let’s me get books I’m looking for.

So if you’ve got a bunch of old books you were just going to throw out, consider signing up for BookMooch. And if your looking to mooch some books check out my inventory.

“Merry Christmas.Well, that’s what people say at Christmas, right? Except normally they have somebody to say it to. They have their friends and family all around them. They haven’t been crouched naked under a Christmas tree with a needle in their arm like an insane person in a mansion in Van Nuys.They’re not out of their minds and writing in a diary and they’re not watching their holiday spirit coagulating in a spoon.

I didn’t speak to a single person today…I thought of calling Bob Timmons, but why should I ruin his Christmas? I guess I’ve decided to start another diary this time for a few different reasons…

1. I have no friends left.
2. So I can read back and remember what I did the day before.
3. So if I die, at least I leave a paper trail of my life (nice lil suicide note).

Merry Christmas…it’s just you and me, diary. Welcome to my life.“

So begins one of the best rock biographies to come out in 2007. A couple of weeks ago I finished reading the Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx. The story was so engaging that this book was read in record time for me. I took it to lunch; I read it while following my wife around the stores in the mall; I kept reading it during every spare moment I could grab. It was that good.

The Heroin Diaries is the story of Nikki Sixx’s addiction to drugs, and just how low one can sink. It consists of diary entries he made over the course of a year, primarily during the Girls, Girls, Girls tour. At times it is funny, and other times just shocking; but it is always from the heart. Sixx bears his soul in a way few other musicians have. You see the real grit that was Nikki Sixx and Mötley Crüe. To give a complete perspective the diary entries are mixed with feedback from the people who were around Sixx at the time. The honesty from these contributers is real, and at times brutal. No punches were pulled.

And I almost forgot to mention: the book is an fantastic work of art on its own. A lot of creative work went into putting this together.

But things don’t just stop with the book. Nikki, together with some of his closest friends has put together a new band called Sixx:A.M. and created a soundtrack to go with the book: The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack. This CD took my excitement about the book to a whole other level.

The CD is hands down the best project Nikki Sixx has ever produced. Plenty of hard rock goodness with a dose of progressive rock mixed in, all to tell a truely heart wrenching, emotional journey. It’s hard not to be moved by the emotional ups and downs of the music, especially if you reading the book at the same time. My favorite songs off this album include the single ‘Life Is Beautiful’ and ‘Pray For Me.’

And the best part about buying the book is that proceeds will be donated to Running Wild In The Night, a fundraising initiative for Covenant House Of California started by Nikki Sixx. Its objective is to give kids an outlet in music and try to keep them from going down the road that Sixx traveled. If even 1 person reads this book and makes the choice to stay away from drugs, then Nikki has done some good with his book.

Learn more about Sixx:A.M. and watch the ‘Life Is Beautiful’ video at http://www.sixxammusic.com/

I have recently decided to get involved with a new company called BookWise. It’s all about one of my most passionate loves, reading. BookWise is one of the fastest growing bookstore chains in America, and together we are bringing back that personal touch you used to get from the corner bookstore.

If you are interested in finding out what BookWise is about, I would like to invite you to signup as a Preferred Customer. My Preferred Customers will recieve up to 42% off retail prices, with fast affordable shipping. My store is currently growing and will soon have a selection of 1.5 million books, CDs, DVDs, and video games. And all preferred customers will receive a free BookWise classic, 100 of the Greatest Literary Works Ever Written, each month that they make a purchase. This literary classic is available in three ways; a fully downloadable eBook, audio book, and a two page summary.

Need more? 1% of every purchase on my BookWise store will be donated to charities, like The Christmas Box International (http://www.thechristmasboxhouse.org/) and Operation Kids (http://operationkids.com/).

If you are ready to see my new store, please visit http://www.GetYourReadOn.com

Thank you.

I came across Librarything.com in a posting on slashdot and I’ve been addicted ever since. It’s a fantastic online application that lets you catalog your entire inventory of books. So if your an avid reader like myself and have a huge library, this is a good way to keep track of what you own. Below are a few of the book widgets you can create at the site.