Messing Library

BOOK REVIEW  |  Every year, around Halloween, I always try to grab some kind of book to get into the mood of the season. When I was younger (and again when I started working at MICDS) I often picked up something by John Bellairs; the creepy stories with classic illustrations by Edward Gorey (in some of the books) made for great Halloween reads.

The other thing I usually do around this time of year is read a short story by Richard Matheson. This year I re-read one of his best-known stories "I am Legend" in anticipation of the third time the story has been made into a movie... this time with Will Smith as the last man on Earth in a messed-up version of New York City.

This story might seem a little dated for some readers, but it's as entertaining as any other horror-type plot on the market today. That's because it's written by the guy (Matheson) that's pretty much considered the Godfather of horror writing.

It's also interesting because the first actor to play the main character in a movie went to school at Country Day (and we named a theatre after him a few years ago).

What's it about? Huge virus turns everyone on Earth into zombies... except one guy who goes around killing them while they sleep during the day. During the night, every night, they come in hordes to try to kill him in his barricaded house.

Pick this one up. Give it a read. Here's its Google Books page.