I’m beginning to think someone at the Lucy Robbins Welles Library (public library in Newington,CT) is a) reading my mind b) has hacked into my iTunes and taken a peek at my Podcasts play list or c) loves Monster Talk as much as I do!  Trust me, there’s no one prancing around the library wearing a “HUG ME I’M A SKEPTIC” button or slithering up to you when you’re deep in the stacks and whispering “Is It Real?” or “Brian Dunning is 27 kinds of HOT!”. That my friends, would be awesome sauce. However Blacklight is of the opinion I’ve just watched a little too much Monster Quest and need a little Netflix break. Whatever!

Even if the above is the side effects of a training induced bacon overdose, it doesn’t change the fact that twice in the last two months I’ve listened to a Monster Talk podcast and a week later at the library, BAM! THERE IS THE BOOK! Now the main question is, did the books live up to the hype?

Let’s start with Joe Nickell’s latest, Tracking the Man-Beasts: Sasquatch, Vampires, Zombies and More.  it’s the usual Nickell MO. Round up some interesting legends/critters, devote a chapter to them, end the chapter just as the info gets really good with tons of references. That’s the average chapter. There are certain chapters/critter investigations that go deep (The Flatwoods Monster, Humanoids Aliens). It’s a great book for those time you want to escape for a few minutes before being dragged back to reality (break time, waiting for a doctor appointment, just home from work on a Friday and Blacklight is popping in and out of the living room to tell you about this awesome game he found a web site devoted to online that was the sex back in the 1980s).

A bit of an aside but rather funny. Sibling Tichy was on his way over for a game night. I’m getting in a little reading before he arrives, reading the about the Wild Beast of Gevaudan, thinking a) hey The Brotherhood of the Wolf wasn’t THAT crazy and b) dang it! should have asked Tichy to loan me his copy of The Brotherhood of the Wolf (Tichy has the long/Canadian version vs the heavily edited US DVD release). What does Ticchy show up with with a few minutes of finishing that particular chapter? Yeah, The Brotherhood of the Wolf!

Okay, so by now you’re most likely wondering what the other book was. Ignore the James Randi and Robert Price intra-library loans! If I had all monies, Mr Ben Radford’s quarterly royalty check would be a lot bigger! Because Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore is totally worth the read! Since Ben Radford is concentrating on one critter versus a bazillion, he can take the time and space to really explore the whole chupacabra thing in detail.

By the time you’ve finished, you’re well versed, have the most awesome checklist which should so be a file on your smartphone and you’re adding a certain mid-1990s film to your Netflix qeuqe. Or it that just me? Do me a favor, read the whole book, especially the last few chapters and tell me if that’s not the most reasonable explanation of what happened in Puerto Rico.

Joe Nickell and Ben Radford’s latest tomes have given me tons of things to ponder. But will the Lucy Robbins Welles Library make the next Monster Talk author interview a hat-trick? Not even James Randi knows!