My First Book Club

About six months ago I joined the Leisure Horror Book Club. I'd just gone to three local big chain bookstores trying to find Mr. Hands by Gary Braunbeck and Dead Sea by Brian Keene with no luck. These were huge stores and they didn't have a copy of the two books, newly published, that I wanted to read most. Because I had visited the Leisure website, I knew that they were that month's featured books on the Horror Book Club. I figured it was too late to get Dead Sea and Mr. Hands through the book club but it wasn't too late to prevent other really great books from slipping through my hands.

I joined Dorchester Publishing's Horror Book Club by filling out the online application on their website. It was easy. The waiting for the first shipment? Not so much. But finally the books arrived and I ripped open the box to find a pair of thrillers. I'd gotten the wrong shipment. I was disappointed.

I sent an e-mail to the book club's customer service and got back a response the next day: They apologized for the mistake, put the correct shipment of that month's horror books in the mail and told me I could keep the thrillers. They were very nice. And less than a week later my first batch of horror books arrived.

I've been happy with Dorchester Publishing's book club ever since.

Dorchester's Leisure imprint has been reprinting former small press novels (which are often expensive or hard to get) and brand new tales by other new and established horror authors. If you are serious about your horror and you like the idea of getting a wide variety of stories then this may be a worth while investment.

If you harbor some doubt, hang with me for a while. Over the course of this year I'll let you know what books I get. It is my hope that this series of articles will help you decide if a book club subscription is right for you and, if so, which one or ones to get.

We'll be examining the Dorchester/Leisure Horror Book Club, the Cemetery Dance Book Club and the Delirium Books Book Club -- the later I recently signed up for.


(Originally posted in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)