ROLLIN' SHORTIES READATHON BOOKS IN PLAY

 HERE IS THE SPOT WHERE I'LL POST MY PROGRESS ON THE ROLLIN' SHORTIES CHALLENGE.  As I said before, I'm cheating and reading "THE HERO WHO RETURNED".  Since the first book read was bespoke, I've done spun the wheel and rolled the die for the second story.  So here's what my progress will look like;  stories have not been read by me until they are marked as read.  Ya git me?

1. 
   "The Hero Who Returned" by Gerald W. Page from ISAAC ASIMOV'S MAGICAL WORLD OF FANTASY 4:  SPELLS / Read
   
   
   
2. "The Shifting Growth" by Edgar Jepson & John Gawsworth from THE THIRD PAN BOOK OF HORROR STORIES / READ 
   
   
   
3. "Grisly Rites of Hitler's Monster Flesh Stripper" by Jim McDonald  from WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH edited by Robert Deis & Wyatt Doyle.  READ. 
   
   
   
4. "The Choking Chalice" by Frank Gruber from IT'S RAINING MORE CORPSES IN CHINATOWN.  READ
   
   
   
5. "Soapsuds" by J.E. Grinstead from WESTERN STORIES SELECTED BY GENE AUTRY.  READ
   
   .
6. "The Naked & the Deadly" by Lawrence Block from THE NAKED AND THE DEADLY by Lawrence Block.  READ.
7. 
   "Hungarian Rhapsody" by Robert Bloch from PLEASANT DREAMS by Robert Bloch.   READ.
8. 

   "Bayamo's Night of Terror" by Don Hogan from CUBA:  SUGAR, SEX AND SLAUGHTER   READ.
9. 

   "Strange Journey" by Robert Leslie Bellem  from THE SURGEON OF SOULS by Robert Leslie Bellem  READ.
10. 
    

STORIES ON DECK

1. 

"Crucifixus etiam" by Walter M. Miller Jr.  from A CENTURY OF SCIENCE FICTION 1950-1959.   Still To Be Read.

"Coffins Are For Corpses" by Robert Silverberg from MONSTERS AND THINGS by Robert Silverberg.  Still To Be Read.

"The Man Who Liked Dogs" by Raymond Chandler from KILLER IN THE RAIN by Raymond Chandler.  Still To Be Read. 

July 2025 Top Ten List

 HERE ARE MY FAVOURITE FILMS I WATCHED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN JULY 2025:

1. SINNERS (2025)
2. THE FIFTH CORD  (1971)
3. FREAKY TALES  (2024)
4. LONG LONESOME HIGHWAY: THE STORY OF MICHAEL PARKS  (2025)
5. DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE  (2024)
6. THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES  (1972)
7. CONFESSIONS OF AN OPIUM EATER  (1962)
8. AMUCK!  (1972)
9. SMILE BEFORE DEATH  (1972)
10. CAPTAIN AMERICA:  BRAVE NEW WORLD (2025)

And here are all the rest of the stuffins I watched during July.

.DON'T FORGET THE BOOKS I READ IN JULY:

JULY EARWORMS

 

JULY 1st - LOVE IS HERE AND NOW YOU'RE GONE by Diana Ross & the Supremes 

JULY 2nd - A TREASURY OF NONSENSE by The New Christy Minstrels

JULY 3rd - I'M YOUR BOOGIE MAN by KC and the Sunshine Band

JULY 4th - THE LOOK OF LOVE by Dusty Springfield 

JULY 8th  -  TOO HOT by Kool & the Gang

JULY 9th - GOD by Tori Amos

JULY 11th - HERNANDO'S HIDEAWAY by Johnnie Ray 

JULY 12th - GOODBYE IS FOREVER by Arcadia

JULY 16th - MAKE ME SMILE (COME UP AND SEE ME) by Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel

JULY 18th - SUPER TROUPER by ABBA 

July 20th - AS LONG AS SHE NEEDS ME by Sammy Davis Jr.

July 22nd - SOMETHING COOL by June Christy 

JULY 23rd - EVERLASTING LOVE by Carl Carlton

JULY 24th - SHE SMILED SWEETLY by The Rolling Stones

JULY 26th - THE DECLARATION by The 5th Dimension

JULY 31st  -  QUIET VILLAGE by Martin Denny

MY MARVEL MONSTER PLAN

 FOR THE SECOND HALF OF 2025, I'M INSTITUTING MY MARVEL MONSTER PLAN!  

This is an idea I've totally stolen offa youtuber Michael K. Vaughan (the creator of the JUNE ON THE RANGE readathon I participated in during June.  Totally stole it!  Like him, I am re-reading some of the classic 1970's Marvel Comics monster/horror titles.  Nothing is better than the 1970s, as we all know.  And Marvel Comics had an awesome horror decade not only with their comic books but also with their black-and-white horror magazines like DRACULA LIVES, VAMPIRE TALES and TALES OF THE ZOMBIE.  Luckily, I not only have many of the OG issues of the comix but I also have many reprint collection which I'll be perusing for the remainder of the year - ESPECIALLY when it gets to spooky season.  So far in June, I'm over halfway through the Marvel Essentials collection of TALES OF THE ZOMBIE with out ole moldy friend Simon Garth!  After that one, I plan on starting with TOMB OF DRACULA and hope to read the entire run; the Marvel Essentials books also include the B&W magazine-sized TOMB OF DRACULA as well as the aforementioned DRACULA LIVES!  Stay tuned to this same BAT channel for updates during the rest of the year when I'll probably bump this post up to the top each time I complete another Merry Marvel Monster read!

MARVEL ESSENTIAL TALES OF THE ZOMBIE has been completed!

Currently Reading:

MARVEL ESSENTIAL TOMB OF DRACULA VOL. 1

TENTATIVELY NEXT ON DECK:

Marvel's EPIC COLLECTION: THE MONSTER OF FRANKENSTEIN

June 2025 Top Ten List

HERE ARE MY FAVOURITE FILMS WATCHED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME IN JUNE 2025.  

1. WICHITA  (1955)
2. THE COWBOYS  (1972)
3. COLORADO RANGER  (1950)
4. SHOTGUN  (1955)
5. FOUR FAST GUNS  (1960)
6. CAST A LONG SHADOW  (1959)
7. STRANGER ON HORSEBACK  (1955)
8. THE SPIKES GANG  (1974)
9. TEXAS TO BATAAN  (1942)
10. BUFFALO BILL  (1944)

I guess you can see the influence of JUNE ON THE RANGE on my top 10 list this month.  And here is everything I watched all month:

We're halfway through the year alreadyz!  I managed to earn my little booky-bookmarks for each month as you can see below.  Then there are the books I read this month - the month of JUNE ON THE RANGE, natch, so you may see a few westerns here.  But even though the western novels were really great, the BEST book I read this month is Fern Brady's awesome, award-winning book.