bobblybear

Someone posted this on Facebook. I wouldn't have thought that two simple sentences could be scary and nearly didn't bother reading the link, but I have to say some of them are genuinely creepy.

A bit of both, I suspect! I only remember the first part of the movie, but if I enjoy the book then I'll try to get hold of the film.

Nice review of The Shadow Year. It sounds exactly like my kind of book, so that's another one added to the wishlist!

I started Pet Sematary by Stephen King last night. I know the story as I've read it before, and I'm dreading what is going to happen.

A Single Man sounds interesting, so I have added it to my wishlist.

I started First and Only by Peter Flannery last night. It's ok; it's another one of those books that I found on my Kindle, yet I have no recollection of buying.

Oh, good! I feel better knowing I'm not the only one! I'll most likely finish The Earth Hums in B Flat tonight. Feel like I've been reading loads lately.

It has now, I think I just needed to be patient. Ooh, hope you enjoy it. I read it earlier in the year and was very impressed.

Struggling a bit with The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan. It's an easy enough read, but I'm trying to find out what the main story or thread is.

I've read all except for the Alex Ferguson book, The Casual Vacancy, Entwined With You, and Guiness World Records 2014. I really enjoyed Gone Girl and Life of Pi. The others were ok.

I have The Good Father....I bought it quite recently (I think it was a Kindle Deal), so I'll be sure to get to it soon. I'm pretty sure I'll acquire the others over time, as she's someone I will keep an eye out for bargains and new releases. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it.

Sounds interesting and I have added it to my wishlist. The doll on the cover is freaky though.

Finished A Monster Calls last night. I must be a hard cow because it didn't have the emotional impact on me that it seemed to have on others. It was sad, but I didn't need tissues. Started The Final Winter: An Apocalyptic Horror Novel - Iain Rob Wright. Good so far.

Think I'm going to make a start on A Monster Calls, but I won't read it at work as tissues may be required, from what I hear.

Finished Dune. What to read next?

Thanks, Athena. Which other books have you read by her, and which ones would you most recommend?

I've enjoyed the first of the three books most. I found the Atreides group more interesting to read about than the Harkonnen.

I had such a crush on him during his Lethal Weapon days. I have Mad Max on my shelf (still in it's wrapping) to be watched, but I've just read your spoiler, and I don't know if I will watch it now. Just finished watching The Shining. I'd say I definitely prefer the book, and the ending confused me a little The little boy (Danny) creeped me out too, though I don't think that was intentional.

The Shining

The English Monster - Lloyd Shepherd It's very hard to know where to start with this one, and I had such mixed feelings about it. I started off really enjoying it, then I was immensely irritated with it (when something was revealed), and then I started to like it again, once I'd adjusted to this new revelation. The book is based upon the Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811. I'd never heard of them, and it's a pretty interesting story and the first murder is covered very well in the opening part of the book. The book follows two main stories, and it's not until a fair way in that the two are linked, and even so, it is never spelled out. The first one is set in London and follows closely the investigation of the murders. I read up on these murders (on linky given above) as I had never heard of them before and the book follows it quite accurately (via the events and the characters). Interwoven with this, is the second - largely fictional story, though the character existed - which follows Billy Ablass as a young lad, off to Plymouth in the 1500’s (which I didn’t pick up on initially, I thought it was the same timeline. I must learn to pay more attention to the dates given at the start of chapters! ) to find his fortune on the ships. I can’t reveal too much without ruining the surprise (and a big clue was given in the first chapter, which had me scratching my head), but it follows a somewhat supernatural approach. This really irritated me at first, as I’d hoped for a serious story based on confirmed events, but once I got past my confusion I was quite impressed with it. It was a very interesting (and unusual) approach, and I suppose it was an acceptable one as the murderer was never found (although someone was found guilty it’s acknowledged that he couldn't have acted alone). It’s one of those books that a lot of the pleasure is in the initial surprise, so it wouldn’t really benefit from a re-read. I would still recommend it, although you need to keep an open mind. 4/6

The Lost Daughter - Diane Chamberlain CeeCee Wilkes is a young and impressionable 16 year old when she meets Timothy Gleason, a 21 year old social work major, in 1977. Falling in love and desperate to do anything to keep him happy, she finds herself involved in his attempt to have his sister released from prison. His plan is to kidnap the wife of a politician (maybe a senator, I can't recall) with some sway, and hold her to ransom on the condition that his sister is released. Typically, things go awry, and CeeCee finds herself on the run, with a lot of secrets to bear. I don't want to give a huge amount away, although the Amazon synopsis gives away a pretty big plot point. Not that it would ruin your enjoyment of the book (it didn't ruin mine, and in fact I'd forgotten said plot revelation), but it reveals more than I would want to know before starting it. The story is told in two main timelines - one from when CeeCee was a teenager, and then when she is an adult. CeeCee had lost her mother at the age of 12, and before she died, her mum wrote her a series of letter to be opened at each birthday. The header of each chapter is an excerpt of a letter, and I liked this little extra flavour to the story. The other timeline which follows CeeCee as an adult is also interspersed with chapters about her daughter. This is my second Diane Chamberlain book (first one I read was Breaking The Silence) and I really enjoyed it. She has often been compared to Jodi Picoult, because they both seem to write about a morally ambiguous situation and makes you question what is right or wrong, and what you would do. Almost like a case of when good people do bad things, etc. It was a very compelling story, and easy and enjoyable to read, but the ending was a bit nice. I find myself saying that a lot actually. It's not that I want a darker ending, but I think sometimes it makes it more interesting and changes the way you look back on a book. I'll definitely be reading her other books. 4.5/6

Being a (mostly solely, now) Kindle reader, covers aren't very important to me. However, if I'm in a bookstore, often a cover can catch my attention from a distance and I will pick up the book to read the blurb. If I like the blurb, then I would either buy the book, or make a note of it to read up about it more. I don't think I would ever be put off buying a book due to a hideous cover....then again, I don't recall seeing too many hideous covers, though I generally don't like movie-tie-in covers. I'm surprised to hear that you don't have much control over the cover. Surely it's a very important part of the whole package? I take it then, that it's down to the publishers to choose the cover. Is that because they feel they have a better idea about what catches a readers' eye?

Lovely, and great choice on the book! Lucky you!

Getting towards the end of Dune. I may finish it today or tomorrow.

Spent ages reading Dune last night, and I'm just under the halfway point. It's a good one!