I read today (on Twitter, where else?) that the first Stephen King book Dean Koontz ever read was CARRIE. Which of course, being a HUGE Stephen King fan, instantly made me stop & think about Stephen King books, and the order in which I read them. Which then made me think ... What about Dean Koontz? Must he always be second banana to King in discussions of horror books? Well, yes. Can't help it -- King at his best is mind-bogglingly good. But damn, Koontz can also be exceptional, and has a uniquely warped imagination, wry wit, and let's face it, ya gotta love a guy who loves dogs.

So I ask you, and hope you'll respond:

What was the first Dean Koontz book you ever read, and which are your favorites?

My first Dean Koontz book was SHADOWFIRES, an older copy that had one of his pseudonyms on the cover, so I wasn't even aware it was his. Found it impressively creepy, the stalking done by its retrogressing creature violent and unrelenting. Cool. When I heard shortly thereafter that it was actually written by Dean Koontz, I then brought home an armload of his books and devoured them. Thought MIDNIGHT was extremely dark, exciting, and entertaining; I couldn't help worrying about, and rooting for, its main characters. Thought THE BAD PLACE was good but could have been better. Loved the cop characters and humorous dialogue in DRAGON TEARS. Loved everything about SOUL SURVIVOR but the TV movie (or was it a miniseries?) it spawned. Loved loved loved THE TAKING, sci-fi from Koontz for a change (the genre he started out writing, at the beginning of his career) -- its characters overwhelmed by a perverse deformation of Planet Earth. Thought YOUR HEART BELONGS TO ME had a cool premise. And I plan on reading Koontz's newest, BREATHLESS, as soon as I get a copy.

But the Dean Koontz novel I've read umpteen times and will no doubt read again: WATCHERS! I absolutely fell in love with Einstein the dog, and if you love dogs, you will too. Haven't you always wondered what your dog would say if they could speak? Well, if Einstein is any indication, dogs apparently have a wise-ass sense of humor. And are sweet in a childlike way. And did I mention wise-ass? There was a point in this book where I cried. Very few movies make me cry. Books do not make me cry. Ever. Except this one. But it also made me laugh. And gave me the urge to go hug a dog.  If you love horror, love dogs, and hell, even love horrible creatures who love Mickey Mouse (I kid you not), read WATCHERS. You'll be glad you did.

To all the snow shovelers who, during this miserable, snowy month, shoveled not only their sidewalk but the sidewalk of their elderly next-door neighbor ...

To all the snow shovelers who didn't stop at the very edge of their property, but cleared a path through that last 3 feet of snow or ice or slush between their property and the next shoveled sidewalk ...

To all the snow shovelers who didn't just clear the snow along their sidewalk, but also cut a path out to the street for pedestrians ...

You rock!

These weeks of non-stop snow and wind and sleet and frigid temps have brought out the best in so many people. And in others, revealed character flaws that ought to embarrass them ... but no doubt won't.

All in all, though, we're a nation of pretty damn good people.

And an overabundance of icky brown slush. And soon, maybe more pretty white on top of that. Then, more icky brown slush.

Aggghhhh!

I'm thinking maybe I should switch to decaf.

Better yet, let's all try and remember that before long, there will be warm sunshine and gentle breezes filled with the fragrance of spring.

And then, of course, heat waves, droughts, sunburns ...

You knew I couldn't end on a sappy note, right?  ;-}