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John Bruni

Goodreads Author

Born

in Elmhurst, The United States

Website

http://talesofquestionabletaste.com/

Twitter

tusitalabruni

Genre

Horror, Crime, Science Fiction

Influences

Joe R. Lansdale, Stephen King, Robert Bloch, Richard Laymon, Jack Ketc ...more

Member Since

January 2013

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John Bruni was born on July 25, 1978 in Elmhurst, Illinois. He attended local schools from kindergarten all the way through college, where he spent time as a journalist for the Elmhurst College Leader, writing comic book reviews, an occasional feature article, and a series of regular columns as THE STRAIGHT with his Primitive Underbelly partner, Jesse “GonZo” Russell (whose story, “Bear’s Tale, Abridged” appears serialized in all three issues of TABARD INN). He was also the poetry editor of the campus literary/art magazine, MIDDLEWESTERN VOICE, for a whole two weeks, during which time he chose none of the poems that were published.

He has worked several jobs, among them selling ad space for a local newspaper publisher. He was not very good a John Bruni was born on July 25, 1978 in Elmhurst, Illinois. He attended local schools from kindergarten all the way through college, where he spent time as a journalist for the Elmhurst College Leader, writing comic book reviews, an occasional feature article, and a series of regular columns as THE STRAIGHT with his Primitive Underbelly partner, Jesse “GonZo” Russell (whose story, “Bear’s Tale, Abridged” appears serialized in all three issues of TABARD INN). He was also the poetry editor of the campus literary/art magazine, MIDDLEWESTERN VOICE, for a whole two weeks, during which time he chose none of the poems that were published.

He has worked several jobs, among them selling ad space for a local newspaper publisher. He was not very good at this (in fact, one might say he was dismal) and was quickly shown the door, but he managed to place a few stories with a couple of their publications (COLLEGE NEWS and CHICAGO COMMUTER) before he left. He also worked selling season tickets for the Drury Lane theater in Oakbrook, which he was much better at, and he toiled away at Sears, selling shoes for almost two miserable years. He was unjustly fired from the library featured in his "Tales from the Library" columns in issues one and two of TABARD INN. He worked as a teleconference operator and in tech support for about a decade, but the company fired him after they discovered his books. He now works in repair for a telecom company, where he is much happier.

He likes to think he’s a professional writer, and he is getting paid for his work more and more often these days. With two hundred publications to his name, his most recent outing is the novel, AND JESUS CAME BACK, from Rooster Republic. He also has collection of short stories called TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE, published by StrangeHouse Books, who also published his novel, POOR BASTARDS AND RICH F*CKS. His novella, DONG OF FRANKENSTEIN, was published by New Kink. He has a novel, STRIP, which was originally published by Melpomene, the mystery and crime imprint of MUSA. It has been re-released by Riot Forge. His shorter work has also appeared in several anthologies, such as ZOMBIE, ZOMBIE, BRAIN BANG! from StrangeHouse, A HACKED-UP HOLIDAY MASSACRE from Pill Hill, and the critically acclaimed VILE THINGS from Comet Press. You can also read his work in issues of SHROUD, MORPHEUS TALES, CTHULHU SEX, OVER MY DEAD BODY!, THE REALM BEYOND, TALES OF THE TALISMAN, AOIFE'S KISS, LIQUID IMAGINATION, and a variety of other grand publications. He is also very proud of his first foray into comic books; thanks to Leo Perez and Jon Lennon of CheeseLord Comics, one of his real life stories was adapted into a one-page strip for the August 2011 issue of PRODUCT OF SOCIETY.

One of his poetry reviews has also been published in the Winter 2006 issue of BIBLIOPHILOS (vol. XII, no. 4), but his contributors copies got lost in the mail, and this issue has sold out. If anyone out there has a copy of this magazine, please get in contact with him at editor@talesofquestionabletaste.com. He is willing to pay top dollar for it.

Very briefly, he was the editor and publisher of TABARD INN: TALES OF QUESTIONABLE TASTE. He still has boxes and boxes of back issues cluttering up his house. If you're interested in taking some of them off his hands, he would greatly appreciate it, as he needs the space.

John Bruni is kind of creeped out by writing about himself in the third person, so he’s going to stop now. Besides, the screaming of kidnapped children in his cellar is distracting him . . and he must do something about this immediately. He can be followed on Twitter @tusitalabruni; on his blog, www.talesofunspeakabletaste.blogspot.... and he was also a horror movie reviewer at www.forcedviewing.com. If you are living in the past, you can also find him on MySpace at www.myspace.com/tabardinn, but be warned, he is never there. ...more

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Combine Editions
John Bruni’s books

Average rating: 3.95 · 551 ratings · 130 reviews · 73 distinct works

	Tales of Questionable Taste 4.07 avg rating — 30 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Strange Sex 3 4.35 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2016 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Poor Bastards and Rich Fucks 4.15 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dong of Frankenstein 3.69 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2015 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Strip 4.40 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2012 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	And Jesus Came Back 4.20 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2017	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tales of Unspeakable Taste 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Life and Times of Hieronymus Aloysis Ziege: By Hi Ziege, Edited and Introduced by John Bruni really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	On Weapons Decisions: How Australia Chooses to Arm Itself (1963-96) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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John is Currently Reading

John Bruni is currently reading

Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance

by John Waters

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Stoner

by John Williams

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John Bruni is currently reading Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance by John Waters	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 03, 2026 09:56AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Liarmouth by John Waters. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Liarmouth by John Waters <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Bruni is currently reading Stoner by John Williams	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 03, 2026 09:56AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Stoner by John Williams. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Stoner by John Williams <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Bruni rated a book it was amazing John Dies at the End (John Dies at the End, #1) by David Wong (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
For about a decade, people have been favorably comparing my novels, in particular Poor B---- and Rich F---- and Dong of Frankenstein, to this book, and everyone is always surprised when I say I didn't read it. I recently won the latest book in this s ...more
Sep 03, 2026 09:48AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of John Dies at the End by David Wong. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — John Dies at the End by David Wong <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
John Bruni rated a book liked it World's Best Science Fiction 1970 by Donald A. Wollheim	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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John Bruni entered a giveaway Off the Reservation (The Only Good Indians, #2) by Stephen Graham Jones (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 24, 2026 05:04PM · like · see giveaway
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John Bruni rated a book did not like it The Face of a Nation by Thomas Wolfe	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I thought I was getting a novel. What I got instead was the literary equivalent to a greatest hits album. That works great for music, but not so much for books. I'm not the kind of guy who can get into a book of passages rather than the book itself. ...more
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John Bruni rated a book it was ok The Best of Fantasy and Science Fiction 9th Series by Robert P. Mills	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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John Bruni rated a book it was ok Astounding: John W. Campbell Memorial Anthology by Harry Harrison	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
John W. Campbell is, hands down, the most important person in the history of SF. Without him we would not have the genre as it is today. When he passed, a bunch of writers he took under his wing got together and did a tribute anthology that they star ...more
Jul 26, 2026 04:05PM · like · see review

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