So the new Holiday Guide presents a special new feature! Best Of. That’s right. I got some folks together and asked them to contribute a list of their top ten movies and top ten books. Along with an intro and some pimping of their stuff when I can, we’ll be doing one a day when I have one. I had nothing to do with these lists except soliciting them. The descriptions are the authors’ as are the picks. Remember, I do not write these. The people listed to.

Adrienne Jones is crazy. In that good way.

MOVIES

1. Tideland—Terry Gilliam. The new one from this strange genius is about as out there as it gets.

2. Frailty—Dark and powerful story with a twist. Bill Paxton is amazing.

3. Rushmore—Smart, funny, unique, starring one of the Coppola clones

4. Altered States—an oldy but a goody; I’d forgotten how intense this film was until I watched again recently. Starring a young William Hurt as a genius researcher who taps into his own genetic memory.

5. Lolita—whether it’s the original Kubrick version or the new Lyne version with Jeremy Irons, both do Nabokov justice and then some. The Kubrick version has more humor, while the Lyne Version has more pathos and intensity.

6. Prince Of Darkness—while this Carpenter film is wrought with hokey cheese, and the anti-Christ looks like a jar of bubbling Mountain Dew, something about the Quantum Physics and the time travel dream message never ceases to scare the living crap out of me.

7. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels—Guy Ritchie just kicks so much ass.

8. Shallow Grave–Danny Boyle and John Hodge, starring a younger Ewan McGregor, this is one of the best dark comedy thrillers ever.

9. Hellraiser–the original, the first, the ONLY one worth a poop.

10. Vampire’s Kiss—This is a black comedy from some years back starring Nicholas Cage as a literary agent who’s convinced himself he’s becoming a vampire.

BOOKS

1. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks (horror with a comedic first person voice and edgy, unique characters)

2. The Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks—chicks turning into trees, bloodstones, and demons crawling out of a dimensional prison—the fantasy geeks that call Brooks a Tolkien rip off can kiss my ass. Tolkien WISHES.

3. Drawing Blood by Poppy Z. Brite—-one of the best mood writers on the planet, this is by far my favorite work of hers, dark, intense, with wild and creative imagery that will transport you.

4. Steppenwolf: A Novel, by Herman Hesse—Every sentence is a quotable treat, a bible for the free spirit with a dark side.

5. The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell–a literary and scifi masterpiece that will leave you spinning.

6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon—this is a great story told from the first person POV of an autistic pre-teen. Though I think Haddon’s new work is ass, and he’s begun to think he walks on water THIS one is well worth the read.

7. Communion , by Whitley Strieber—anything that can make me sleep with the light on for a month deserves an honorary mention.

8. Losers, by David Eddings—though slow to start, this novel shows off Eddings talent in a way his fantasy work never did.

9. The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice—though part of the Vampire Chronicles, this steps outside the established theme and explores astral projection and then some; works as a stand alone.

10. Eve, by Aurelio O’Brien—a futuristic dystopian world of bio-engineered creature comforts—think X-rated Disney film on acid.

You can also go grab a copy of The Hoax now, and also grab a copy of Adrienne Jones’ new novella Gypsies Stole My Tequila.