bobblybear

It's very unfair! Nothing I can do about it, but like you say, it's frustrating. That will just teach me to not buy books immediately on release.

Finished Sharp Objects - pretty good read, but would have been mediocre if not for the ending. Now it's on to Revival by Stephen King.

Unbelievable!! I bought it on release day for £9.00! I wonder if it's an error, as I haven't seen any of his new releases so cheap.

Nearly - I'm about halfway through Sharp Objects. When I've finished, I'll start Revival.

Stand By Me is a wonderful film! Hope you enjoy it, Alexi.

Blubber - Judy Blume This is told through the eyes of young teen Jill Brenner. One day in class, a fellow student - Linda - gives a speech on whales and mentions their blubber. Linda is a bit overweight and doesn't fit in, and Blubber soon becomes her nickname. Jill joins in as one of the bullies, but soon the tables are turned and Jill is the one being bullied while Linda becomes part of the in-crowd. This one wasn't as good as I remembered, but given that Judy Blume's books are so short and can be finished in an hour or so, it's still easy to read. It can be awkward and painful reading as to how cruel and cliquey kids can be in school. It's not as powerful as some of her other books, and I don't think I will read it again. 2/6

I have the DVD of IT and The Stand. Love The Stand, even though it got a bit of flack (I think they are remaking it as well), but I remember being really creeped out by IT.

Yep, it was a big disappointment. I think it was a Kindle Daily Deal for only £0.99, so at least I didn't waste too much money on it! I hope you enjoy it when you do read it. It has received good reviews on Amazon (not that that always counts for much) so far. Thanks, I'm sure I will, given that I enjoy most Stephen King. Yeah, I was very bummed out that it wasn't as good as I was expecting. I think it tried too hard to be quirky, and just lost the opportunity for a good story. Thanks! I seem to be reading pretty decent books lately, but I have also read some stinkers this year. Oh well, variety, eh? Thanks - glad you are enjoying it. It's a very thought provoking read, and one of the more interesting non-fiction books I have read. Thanks! It's a pretty decent read; I have yet to read the sequel - I have it on my Kindle waiting patiently (along with the other 200 or so books I have ).

Just bought Revival by Stephen King. It will be my second next read.

Finished Dark Places. Omigoshgoodnessgraciousme! I didn't see the twist/s at the end coming, at all. Really enjoyed it, so much that I'm going to start on her other book - Sharp Objects - tonight.

I wil hopefully finish it tonight. I'm at about 85% through, and was reading as much as I could before work.

Oooooohhh, intriguing!!! I probably won't see them (so there's more than one? ) coming as I'm rubbish at figuring these things out.

Thanks. I didn't think I said I disliked it...I just had a quick look at my comments on the Horror thread, and I think I enjoyed it while I was reading it, then sort of lost enthusiasm once I'd finished, but I think on further reflection it was probably a decent read. Talk about changing ones mind a lot. Thanks. You may enjoy Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore more than I did, though it is definitely a marmite book. I enjoyed sections of it, but I got dragged down by the parts I didn't enjoy.

I just checked my Kindle and I've read 50%, not 30%. Hope to get more reading done tonight. There has to be a twist, there just has to be!

It does have some dark bits which took me a bit by surpise, but I think you have to read the whole book to see the big picture.

I'm about 30% through Dark Places - getting interesting now. I'm convinced but I just know there's bound to be a twist in there. Well, I hope there is - love a good twist!

Horns - Joe Hill I read this for the Horror Month of October. It’s not a book I would have ordinarily picked up, as I didn’t like The Heart-Shaped Box ( and gave up on it early on), so I didn’t have very high expectations (always a good place to start ). Ignatius is reeling from the murder of his long-time girlfriend, Merrin. He was the primary suspect and as far as most people were concerned, was guilty as sin and got away with it. After a night of heavy drinking to escape from his thoughts, he wakes to find horns growing out of his head. He realises that he can see people’s true thoughts (what they usually keep hidden) and the darkest sides to their personalities, while they never seem to be aware that there is anything different about his appearance. It is through his new powers that he finds out who is responsible for Merrin's death, and then plans out his revenge. The story moves between the present and the past, and tells the story of Ig's earlier years, how he met Merrin, and his relationship with his brother and best friend. The pacing was quite good, with various reveals happening all throughout the story so you don't know the full picture until the end. I thought it was a bit longer than it needed to be, and I was definitely less-enthusiastic about the second half compared to the first half. There were some sections to it that I was confused by, but I think they were written to be open to interpretation and either way didn't change how I felt about the book. I probably would have enjoyed it more if the supernatural element were taken out and it became a straight whodunit and revenge story. I also wouldn't classify it as horror and I don’t recall reading any parts that I consider scary. Based on this, I'd be willing to read other Joe Hill books, but they won't be at the top of the TBR pile. 3/6

I see I replied to this thread back in 2012, but still haven't read the book. So typical! Anyway, I have just finished Capital and thought it was brilliant, one of the best of the year for me, so I shall be bumping this one up the list.

Sounds like a good read. It has gone straight onto the wishlist.

It's Sunday night, so roast chicken dinner tonight.

I don't have any set plans for the remainder of the year. I might go through my TBR pile and pick some out for a definitive plan, but there are too many books that I want to read immediately that I just can't choose. I guess I need to take it one book at a time, but I do find myself easily overwhelmed.

My re-reads tend to wait for years from the first time I read them. Most of the books that I re-read are books that I read over 15 years ago. For some reason, I haven't re-read many books that I read in the last 5 or so years, even when I have really enjoyed them. My most re-read books are The Stand and IT (both by Stephen King), and Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood. Can't think of any others that I have read more than twice (though The Pillars of the Earth is on my re-read list, which will be the third time I have read it).

Mr Penumbra's 24 Book Store - Robin Sloan Oh, this book was such a disappointment to me. I’m a bit behind with reviews, so I unfortunately don’t remember all the details ( ), but I recall being disappointed at the path it was taking towards the end. I had been looking forward to it for quite a while. I mean, it’s set in a book store and there is a hint of intrigue, so it sounded like the ideal book. Clay is an recently unemployed website designer who's feeling a bit lost with what he wants. As a chance to do something different, he gets a job being the nightshift clerk in a 24-hour bookstore. The building itself is full of character, with shelves towering far above, only accessible by one of those ladders that slide along on rails. The books are obscure (Clay is told that he must not open them) and the customers are even stranger. The store's owner - Mr Penumbra - tells Clay that he must keep a very detailed log, descriptively written, about each customer that he serves. Soon, Clay begins to notice a pattern in the books that are being read and returned. With the help of a few fellow techy friends, he uses a software program to map the store and the footpaths of customers to see if something emerges. Sounds like an absolutely fascinating read, yah? Well, sadly for me, it didn't live up to what I was expecting. My interest waned about halfway through, and it just went off in a direction that I thought was too far-fetched and silly. It was almost too clever and hip for it's own good, and tried so hard that it just felt a bit forced. Initially I liked Clay, but after a while he began to wear on me, as did his girlfriend and roommate, who were caricatures and just impossible to relate to. This seems to be a book which divides people, so while I didn't like it, there are plenty of people who did. If the plot grabs you...well, it's only £0.85 on Kindle, so might be worth a go. 2/6

Very true, Alexi, that the book was probably more to do with issues rather than storyline. I read somewhere that Judy Blume's daughter encouraged her to write the book because she felt that these were pertinent issues and information was just not available at the time. These days with the internet, the content of Forever is probably nothing new or even shocking.

I'm only about one chapter in, so too early to tell. I hope to get a good chunk of reading done today. I've heard quite a bit about it, so also looking forward to reading it.