Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Explore 1.5M+ audiobooks & ebooks free for 30 days

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World
    Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World
    Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World
    Ebook47 pages35 minutes

    Active Reader: And Other Cautionary Tales from the Book World

    By Mark Leslie

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Three stories which explore the darker side of the world of books.

    ​In a style reminiscent of the old "Twilight Zone" television show, these three tales will take the book loving reader to a place that is somewhat familiar yet frighteningly surreal and disturbing.

    Active Reader
    Loyalty programs that track a reader's every preference are handy, save time and offer great discounts -- at least until your customer data gets into the hands of the wrong person.

    Browsers
    A passionate book lover is drawn into a mysterious and eerie little bookstore the way a moth might be drawn to a flame.

    Distractions
    How far might a desperate writer go when blindly following the advice of a popular self-help book to eliminate the distractions preventing him from completing his next novel?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStark Publishing
    Release dateJun 5, 2015
    ISBN9781513059105
    Read preview
    Author

    Mark Leslie

    Mark Leslie is a writer of "Twilight Zone" or "Black Mirror" style speculative fiction. He lives in Southwestern Ontario and is sometimes seen traveling to book events with his life-sized skeleton companion, Barnaby Bones. His books include the "Canadian Werewolf" series, numerous horror story collections, and explorations of haunted locales. When he is not writing, or reading, Mark can be found haunting bookstores, libraries or local craft beer establishments.  

    Read more from Mark Leslie

    Related to Active Reader

    Related ebooks

    Short Stories For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related categories

    Reviews for Active Reader

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Active Reader - Mark Leslie

      DEDICATION

      For Francine and Alexander, my two favorite active readers.

      ACTIVE READER

      DO YOU HAVE an Active Reader card? Douglas smiled across the counter at the pretty young woman as she plopped a pile of paperbacks onto the cash desk.

      Her brow creased as she looked at him a moment, then she spied the plastic blue card hanging around his neck on a thin chain – on the card were the words Active Reader, and the NOBLE BOOKS logo of a lion sitting atop a stack of books – and recognition filled her eyes.

      Oh, the discount card. Of course. I always carry it with me. She dug into her wallet and produced the blue NOBLE BOOKS Active Reader card.

      Douglas took her card, swiped it through the machine, and then scanned in her books. As he lifted each paperback over the scanner he glanced quickly at the title and author. She has good taste in dark literature, he thought, recognizing some of the titles by Clegg, Campbell, Little and Clarke.

      Oh, Douglas said. "The Darkest Part of the Woods. That’s a good one. I just finished reading it myself."

      She smiled at him. I love all of Campbell’s writing. Both the novels and the short fiction.

      UK’s finest horror author.

      She nodded enthusiastically.

      He pointed at the next book in her pile. So, have you read other books by this author?

      Carol Weekes? Oh yes, I’ve read a couple of hers. She’s becoming one of my favorites.

      He grinned proudly. Her writing is a real gift to the horror genre.

      The girl nodded, her blonde curly hair bouncing as he continued to scan the books in. Between books, he kept glancing back up at her, noticing the soft blue of her eyes with the subtle green tint. Not only was she very attractive, with sparkling brilliant eyes, but she was also a lover of books and of horror.

      That old familiar nervous tingling flitted about his stomach, and he found himself tongue tied, unsure of what to say next. Attractive women didn’t do that to him; but an attractive woman with sparkling eyes who loved to read horror sent him into a tailspin.

      At the end of the transaction, he announced the total, she paid it and he handed her the books in a NOBLE BOOKS bag and wished her a fond farewell.

      As she said goodbye and walked away from the cash desk, Douglas keyed in the code that would reprint the last receipt and then slid the Next Cashier sign onto the desk in front of his register.

      Carrie, Douglas said to the pimply-faced teen working two registers to his left. I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me. With that said he tore off the duplicated receipt and walked away against the background of the Friday night bustling crowd of avid readers, browsers and coffee house regulars.

      Closing the door to leave the sounds of the crowd behind him, he glanced down at the receipt.

      The top of it read: Active Reader Member: 5552 7958.

      Douglas fiddled with his NOBLE BOOKS tie and sat down at the computer. He entered the general access password, and then flipped around on

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 3