Halloween Book Ideas for Adults and Children

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Hi!

It's that time of the year again - last year I set myself huge reading challenges for Halloween, but it didn't work out as planned (the second half of Dracula made me lose the will to read). This year is faring much better - I'm on book 12 of the month (my Sky+ planner is full to the gills of stuff I haven't watched) and hope to get through a few more that I've been saving up for this time of the year. I'm going to give you some adult suggestions along with a couple of young adult and children's books, hopefully there will be something here to suit everyone, and you might find a book you'd like to read for Halloween!

Stephen King

Stephen King - my favourite horror writer. He's not perfect, but I love that he reads as much as he writes. He just lives and breathes books - there are many of us who started reading his books way too young, but I feel like I've grown up with him. I can personally recommend The Shining, Carrie, Misery, IT, and Revival. Any or all would be a great choice this October, although none mention Halloween in particular. The Shining is one of my favourite books of all time. If you've already read it, check out Doctor Sleep, in which we revisit Danny as an adult. Sometimes I forget that others aren't familiar with King's books, so here's a brief idea of what each book is about:

• The Shining: A writer and his family move to a remote hotel for the winter where he takes up the position of Caretaker, but finds himself slowly going insane with a little help from some former residents. 
• Carrie: A young girl with a very religious mother has the power of Telekinesis - she is subjected to horrible bullying incidents at school, but she gets her own back..
• Misery: Writer Paul Sheldon has just written the conclusion for his very popular book series when he is involved in a car accident and rescued by his biggest fan Annie Wilkes. But Annie is not quite ready for her favourite series to be finished, or for Paul to leave her. 
• It: An epic 1,000 page plus novel about growing up in a small town inhabited by pure evil, and a group of friends coming together one last time to defeat it once and for all. 
• Revival: A boy keeps coming into contact with a Preacher at various stages of his life. Their lives intertwine until a final, terrifying conclusion is revealed. A story about addiction and obsession. 

Shirley Jackson

Shirley is someone I only discovered a year or two ago. In The Lottery, a short story just a few pages long, she delves into the concept of The Chosen One and turns it on its ear (a concept reproduced many, many times since). If you've seen the horrible movie version, you'll know this story - but it's definitely worth a read. I haven't read any of the other stories in that collection yet but hope to get to them this year. In We Have Always Lived in the Castle, we meet two sisters, one of whom has been declared insane by the villagers after an incident she was blamed for. When a cousin turns up and threatens the girls' way of living, it's up to eldest sister Merricat to get rid of him.

Young Adult

Horror is a genre that has always been popular in the YA world - how many of us cut our fangs on R.L. Stine's Goosebumps or Point Horror series? Goosebumps is still popular (in this house anyway), car boot sales and charity shops are goldmines. There are a number of Point Horror books available on Kindle, but in my opinion it's worth tracking down the old paper version, it just doesn't feel the same on a Kindle. Some other YA horror that I enjoyed are:

Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender: a story about a 15 year old girl full of attitude trying to help her younger sister after she is possessed by an evil spirit.

The Doll by JC Martin: a short story about a creepy (and real) Mexican island that worships dolls, and what would happen if one left the island.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - a young boy suffers a terrible family tragedy and ends up in a small, strange Welsh village where he encounters strange children in an even stranger building. Littered with amazing vintage photographs, they're creepy and definitely worth a look.

This is a Film Too

I love reading books that were later turned into films - or in some cases, books that were written to tie in with films. Here are a couple of books-to-movies that would work great for Halloween

The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson: I was a bit disappointed that this story of the legendary 1975 Amityville haunting wasn't scarier, but some of you might enjoy it more. How much of it is true? Well, the names are the same, but I would approach with an open mind!

Halloween by Curtis Richards: Written after the movie, this expands on the history of Michael Myers and gives us a better insight into his character. The paperback of this is very hard to find, so if you see it anywhere, pick it up! It's very easy to find a digital copy online, give me a shout for the link.

Rosemarys Baby by Ira Levin follows a young New York couple as they move into their dream home and become involved with some very scary people. When Rosemary find out the truth, it's already too late.

If you enjoy a horror movie, have a look and see if you can find a book. Nine times out of Ten, the book came first - The Omen, Psycho, Ring, The Exorcist, The Other, Children of the Corn, The Haunting, Frankenstein, Dracula - all books.

Halloween Books for Children

Demon Dentist by David Walliams - for children 10 and up, this is a favourite with my 11 year old. It's about a demon masquerading as a dentist in order to pull teeth from the mouths of children, leaving them grotesque 'presents' under their pillows instead. Approach with caution - some events may upset young or sensitive children.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman - a story about a young girl who finds an alternate reality in her home, including an alternate set of parents. But is the grass always greener? Talking cat alert! Readers 8-12 would be well able for it.

Meg and Mog  by Helen Nicoll and Jan Pienkowski - suitable for toddlers and up, Meg and Mog (written in 1975!) is the story of witch Meg and her cat, Mog. They intend on going to a great Halloween party, until Meg's spell goes wrong and turns all the other witches to mice. Great fun to read aloud.

The Witches by Roald Dahl - I read this around age 7 or 8, but it's up to parents if they think their children are old enough for it, it could be scary for younger readers (I always found the Quentin Blake illustrations scarier than the actual story). This story of a boy who infiltrates a convention of witches is still one of my own personal favourites.

And Finally...

A couple of other books I enjoyed -

The Crucible by Arthur Miller - originally a play, this is set during the Salem Witch Trials and draws on true events to create a story of paranoia, hysteria, and injustice. The book is great - but for the love of god, avoid the terrible film version.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman - a dystopian thriller/horror about a young woman who finds herself all alone with her two children five years after a terrible unknown event in Russia spread worldwide - people see something, then they go insane, killing each other and themselves. The only way to avoid it is to remain blindfolded. Now the woman has to make a decision - in order to escape to safety, she must leave her home with her children and go outside where she knows 'they' watch her. A really good psychological horror, the baddies are as scary as your imagination can make them.

Hopefully I've covered a wide range here, and that you can find something to enjoy over the rest of October and get you in a Halloweeny mood!

Black Cats and Witches and Stuff - An Ode to Hocus Pocus

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Hi!

To really kick off my Halloween theme here on the blog, I decided to have a ramble about my all-time favourite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus.

Released in 1993, it wasn't supposed to be a big hit. It was intended to be a Disney Channel Original Movie and was a box office flop - but became a cult hit through home video. I first saw it around 1995/1996 on video. It was one of the first films I ever remember crying at (the end where Binx whispers in Dani's ear) and I have been in love with it ever since. I'm not exaggerating when I say I have seen it at least 50 times. At least.

Sarah Jessica Parker

The cast is just perfect. There isn't one dud. Not one. Thora Birch is fantastic as the slightly bratty Dani, Omri Katz was a huge crush of mine as a child after seeing him on Eerie, Indiana, and the three sisters couldn't have been played by anyone else. Sarah Jessica Parker irritates me in nearly everything she is in, but she is my absolute favourite Sanderson Sister. The movie could have been very different - Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role of Max to do What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and Rosie O'Donnell turned down the role of Mary as she "wasn't comfortable playing a character who killed children."

The Best Mondegreen of All Time

Everyone can sing along with I Put a Spell On You - "I say, it's a pie, up and baby, up and die!" - right? Nope. Here's what she's really singing:

Ah say ento pi alpha mabi upendi

Ah say ento pi alpha mabi upendi

In comma coriyama

In comma coriyama

So that solves the mystery of why a song about babies and pie would make people dance until they died. 

It Started as a Bedtime Story

If you're a fan of the movie at all, watch this video. It's just under a half hour long, and it's a panel discussion held for the 20th Anniversary featuring Omri Katz, Vinessa Shaw, Kathy Najimy, Thora Birth, Doug Jones and David Kirschner, who came up with the idea from a bedtime story he told his daughters.

Billy

Source

See those moths flying out of Billy's mouth? They were real moths. Actor Doug Jones couldn't swallow them because of a type of mouth guard. Gross, yes? Also - no need to feel like a weirdo if you thought Billy was probably once a little bit hot. He was supposed to be. He also ad-libbed his famous "Wench! Trollop! You buck-toothed mop-riding firefly from hell!" line. All he was originally supposed to say was "Bitch!" but he deemed it unsuitable for a Disney movie.

The Four Things That Still Annoy Me

This doesn't ruin my viewing - I can literally recite the entire film dialogue when watching it - but these four things still occasionally WRECK my head.

- How does the tub of salt last that long?
- At the start, the teacher tells the entire story and THEN says "so, the Sanderson sisters were HANGED!" but we had already seen them be hanged.
- How does anyone know that Binx was turned into a cat? The only people who witnessed it were the Sanderson sisters, so who knew he was a cat??! Why didn't he talk to his father?!
- When Dani meets Allison at her house, she says "There's a museum about 'em?" and then in the same conversation says "Max, I'm not going up there, my friends at school told me about that place" - why didn't she tell Allison that instead of pretending she didn't know?!

I'm pedantic. I know. It's a disease.

Was Venetian Princess Emily Binx? (NO)

This is like that Marilyn Manson in The Wonder Years rumour was - it will not die. Even IMDB credits the role of Emily Binx with Amanda Shepherd, said to be youtube star Venetian Princess' (now Ariella Grace) acting name - she has cleared it up multiple times, but still.......nobody listens.

There is NO Sequel

Sorry folks, it's not happening. Not yet, anyway. However, Sony ARE remaking The Craft, which I am disgusted about.

These Nails

This nail art by Madam Luck Nails is the best Hocus Pocus art I've ever seen - I made my own stab at it but it pales in comparison, this is just my absolute dream Halloween nail art. 

Satan and Medusa

Remember these? They have what is probably my favourite exchange in the whole film:

Satan: They call me master!
Medusa: Wait 'til you see what I'm gonna call you...

Well, they're brother and sister in real life. Penny and Garry Marshall. Garry was the director of both Princess Diaries movies, Pretty Woman, and Beaches (among others). 

I'll Just Leave This Here

Really genuinely going to watch it right now.

Books I Read in September

ARCs from Netgalley Included

Hi!

Where on earth did September go?! The end of it appeared to have been replaced by the Summer we didn't get in June. October is here, which means my annual spooky reads month (I say annual - I did it last year for the first time), so here's my September roundup, I got through 11 books and one short story.

Rick O'Shea Book Club

I had already read one of the choices, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. The other choice was The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat by Oliver Sacks, and I could only read about a quarter of the way in before I had to stop, there was just too much medical jargon and I couldn't understand half of it. So I had no book club choice this month!

Richard and Judy Book Club

The Well by Catherine Chanter
I read one book from the Richard and Judy Autumn picks (you can find them on my book page here), the cover and title caught my eye immediately and I wanted to read it. Unfortunately it wasn't exactly as spooky or as thrilling as I thought - a couple move to an idyllic home in the remote countryside during a three-year long drought in Britain, only to discover that theirs is the only site in the world with water. Sounds dystopian and futuristic, but the drought wasn't even necessary to the plot. It was alright, but it was more of a look at a marriage and how it's affected by loneliness, grief and tragedy.

Review Copies

I requested lots of books from Netgalley after reading a few previews, I didn't think I'd get approval for the half of them but I did - leaving me with a case of both the guilts and pressure. I do this every single time I get my dashboard down to 3 or 4, I can't help myself. This month, I read three review copies.

Bream Gives Me Hiccups & Other Stories by Jesse Eisenberg
I'm not a fan of actor Jesse Eisenberg, but I wanted to read this collection of short stories based on a sample of the first in the collection, Restaurant Reviews From a Priviliged Nine Year Old. It was funny, witty, and full of social commentary. Sadly, the book went a bit downhill from there. This is along the same lines as David Sedaris' fictional short stories, but nowhere near as funny. My Roommate Stole My Ramen was good, it was more my kind of humour - dark, politically incorrect, black comedy. This definitely won't be for everyone. I LOVE David Sedaris and even I'm not always a fan of his fiction, so I don't think this stuff always works.

One Wish in Manhattan by Mandy Baggot
My first Christmas book of the year so far! I loved this so much. It was a story about a single mother and her nine-year old daughter going to New York City for Christmas. The mother overhears the daughter wish to meet her real father, and this is the real reason for the trip - Hayley is determined to find Angel's real Dad, but she meets Oliver, a billionaire CEO (a nice non-violent non-stalky version of Christian Grey). I just really enjoyed it, it was sweet without being twee. I don't think I rolled my eyes once!

Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio
I know that this will have fantastic illustrations by Will Staehle, but my review copy was unfinished in that respect. This is a story for 8-12 year olds about a young boy named Warren who lives in his family hotel and has to find a treasure before his power obsessed Aunt finds it first. With a host of likeable characters and great villains, this was really enjoyable and I'll be picking up a finished copy for my eldest son for Christmas. Reminiscent of Coraline by Neil Gaiman or some of Sebastian Gregory's stories.

Paperbacks

I'm trying to make an effort to clear some of the backlog of paperback books that I own, but for every one I read I seem to buy two more. Anyway - I read three paperbacks in September.

Her by Harriet Lane
I had such huge hopes for this one. It was sold as a thriller, a psychological page turner in which one woman stalks another - both have met before, but one doesn't remember. What it actually was, was a lukewarm portfolio of a psychopath who had no reason to stalk a woman she barely knew. The reason for the stalking was just ludicrous, the character Nina had major issues but nothing was really resolved or properly explained. I just didn't like this at all - I swore at the ending and flung the book across the room. How melodramatic am I? Shite.

Revival by Stephen King
A return to old-school King with this one. It follows one man through 60 years of his life, and documents his various dealings with a mysterious minister he first meets as a child. It's a great look at how one person can have such an influence on the lives of others, but it's also Stephen King - so it is gross in places. It's one of his small-town American twisty slow tales that culminates in an ending you really don't want to think too much about afterwards.

The Children Act by Ian McEwan
I've never read anything by Ian McEwan before, and after reading very mixed reviews on this book, I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the story of High Court Judge Fiona and her crumbling marriage, interspersed with details of the various cases she must rule on. I HATED the direction it took about 3/4 of the way into the story, I thought that was highly unlikely, unbelievable, and made Fiona look silly. But overall it was a good read.

You Must Read This

Louise O'Neill is fast becoming one of my favourite authors. This is her second book. Her first, Only Ever Yours, was released last year and was one of my top books of 2014.

Asking For It by Louise O'Neill 
Emma is a teenager, she's beautiful, she's popular - but she's not particularly likeable. She's not a good friend, she has a mean streak, and she uses people to get what she wants. One night, she goes to a party. The next morning, there are graphic pictures of her all over the internet. Was she asking for it? Will anyone believe Emma didn't have it coming to her? This examines jock culture in Ireland as well as rape culture and it's just heartbreaking. It's not an enjoyable read - but it is an important one.

Not Recommended

I didn't enjoy either of these books - just personal taste, both have many excellent reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, they just weren't my cup of tea at all.

There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Ahern
Also called A Place Called Here, this is a story about a woman who is obsessed with finding lost things. Until one day - she herself becomes lost, and ends up in a place with lots of other lost things. I had a huge issue with this book - the relationship of the main character with her therapist. I felt it was inappropriate and it led to me not enjoying the rest of the book. I find Cecelia's writing very hit and miss for me but I'll still probably read the ones I haven't read because I like her ideas.

He's the Man by M. Malone
This was free on Kindle, I think it was one of the BookBub offers. It wasn't great, but it's part of a series so I'm sure fans will enjoy. I read it after Revival because I wanted fluffy after the giant ants/all hope is lost thing, and fluff is what I got. Action man Matt is a soldier in need of some anger management and/or the love of a good woman - and that's what he finds in his "formerly pudgy" physical therapist. A good ride fixes everything, apparently.

Short Story

Zero Hour by Eamon Ambrose
A short but punchy read, this is just over 20 pages on Kindle and it's a cracking little read. It's a post-apocalyptic story about a lone soldier trying to find some sign that humanity isn't extinct. Imagine being the only one left. A nice little ending and definite series potential.

I'm on the Bandwagon

The Martian by Andy Weir
I really want to see the film, so I thought I'd read the book first. I was disappointed by the writing style, it's written in logs - and they get very technical! If you love mathematics and engineering, you'll love this. The sciencey stuff was the stuff of science geek dreams. I found it hard to follow - Astronaut Mark Watney gets accidentally left behind on Mars and immediately seems to have his survival mapped out MacGyver style. I thought I would be more worried about a guy on Mars on his own, but I wasn't. I really liked the main character's sense of humour, he reminded me of a kind of Xander Harris character. The book really picked up for me when we started to get the POV of what was going on down on Earth too, so if you're also finding it slow do stick with it.

And that's it! October will be dedicated to all things spooky, horror and supernatural. Do let me know if you have any good Halloweeny recommendations, particularly things set in Salem or involving witches.

Books I Read in August, Book Haul & Booktube-a-thon 2015 Results

Hi!

August kicked off with the Booktube-a-thon (previous post about that here) - out of the 7 books I hoped to read, I managed to get through 5. I could have read all 7 but I completely lost my reading mojo after getting stuck on a book that was really boring (more about that in a bit). Apart from that, I read 5 others - bringing my August total to 10.

It was a poor reading month for me (considering I read 7 of these books in the first ten days of the month) - when I lose interest in reading I really lose it and don't want to go near books for weeks. It happens a few times a year so hopefully it's full steam ahead now for September!

As always with these round up posts, if you want to read my original Goodreads review for each or any book, visit the Books 2015 page and click on an individual book cover to go to that review.

Rick O'Shea Book Club Pick

This month it was a choice between Paul Murray's The Mark and the Void or Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. I chose the latter, and I just finished it at the start of September. The protagonist, Christopher, is fifteen years old and has Aspergers Syndrome. The book is told from Christopher's POV. His neighbour's dog has been murdered - this is the catalyst for a chain of events that leads Christopher to discover all is not as it seems within his family. This is a fantastic portrayal of someone with Aspergers - not something I'm familiar with, I was fascinated by the way Christopher's brain worked. I liked the book a lot.

Booktube-a-thon 2015

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
This classic coming-of-age tale has been around for decades, but I'm only getting to it at the grand old age of 32. Margaret Simon, aged 12, recently moved to a new town and is shocked by the way the other girls talk about boys, boobs and periods. Feeling a bit lost, Margaret turns to God for the chats. This was okay - it was a bit rushed and nobody was particularly well developed (pardon the pun) apart from Margaret. But it's worth a read - I mean, it's Judy.

Memoirs of a Fruitcake by Chris Evans
This is the book that killed my mojo. Having had such an enjoyable reading experience with Chris' earlier autobiography It's Not What You Think, I had high hopes for the follow-up - what I got was a mind-numbingly boring account of how a very rich man spent all his money. I just didn't like this at all - it was pretentious and it wasn't enjoyable. Chris himself seems to be a lovely man, this was just at a period in his life where he was flinging money around, forgetting he bought houses, and it didn't make for a relateable or entertaining read. This took me the guts of a week to read, and considering this was during a week-long challenge, it wasn't ideal. I'd recommend the first book but you don't need to read this.

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
The premise for this was brilliant - a teenage girl with a disease that means she could be infected by anything outside of her own house. Inside her home is sterilised, it's safe - but Madeline has never been outside. When a new boy moves in next door they begin connecting via Instant Message but when things look like they're progressing, what can Madeline do about it when she can't even leave her home? I didn't like the direction this book took towards the end, it seemed to turn from an inventive, new concept to a typical YA romance but it was worth a read and it was enjoyable.

The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
If you haven't read anything by Donal Ryan I'd very much encourage you to go and rectify that as soon as possible. His writing is edible, especially if you grew up in small-town Ireland. His descriptions, his turn of phrase, his characters - this tale about a community of people in post-recession Ireland connected in various ways had a real Pure Mule feel about it and I wanted to read it again the minute I put it down.

172 Hours on the Moon by Johan Harstad
Set in the near future, NASA decide to boost popularity for a new lunar expedition by selecting three teenagers to join the astronauts on the mission to moon base DARLAH 2. They want to investigate something under the guise of a 50th moon landing anniversary - when the teenagers get there, they realise that NASA have not been entirely honest with them, and that something very sinister is going on. I liked this a lot - it's definitely a YA book but it's a great concept and was written really well. I got vibes of Hugh Howey's Wool or Marcus Sedgwick's The Ghosts of Heaven from it so if either of those floated your boat, give this a go.

Fiction

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
This is such a clever little book - set in an Orsk store that sells knock-offs of IKEA products, Amy is an employee that gets roped into doing an all-night spying exercise with some other employees and her horrible manager after some items in the store have been damaged. Perfect black comedy for those who have ever worked in retail, this takes a really dark twist in the middle and goes down the horror/gore route. No issue with that, but I do wish it had retained some of the comedy. Great social commentary, brilliant illustrations, fantastic concept, but the quality of the horror let it down.

You by Caroline Kepnes
Joe works at a book shop. One day, he notices a woman named Guinevere Beck in the shop and becomes fascinated with her - his obsession reaches dangerous levels as he begins to slowly make sure that Guinevere is dependent on him. This is written from Joe's POV - a brave choice, but I just didn't like it that much. There's a lot of swearing (the C word - not the Santa one, the BAD one is used to describe both female genitalia and as a swear word), plus the whole thing left me with a nasty feeling. Was I supposed to feel sympathy for Joe at any point? Because I didn't. I felt like Guinevere (or Beck, as she's known) was made out to be a slut, a tramp, therefore had all this coming to her. Probably (and hopefully) not the intention but I just didn't like it. It definitely made me more aware of what I put on social media, it's frightening how easy it is for strangers to track your every move even from a few seemingly harmless tweets. This just didn't hit the spot for me thriller-wise.

The Boy Between by Susan Stairs
This is Susan's second book, it's the tale of a daughter trying to uncover a family secret. Set in modern day Ireland, Orla can't make it home for Christmas because of the Big Freeze of 2010. When she finally gets home, her mother is even more dejected than she feared - the second half of the year has always been hard for Orla's mother, but nobody will tell her why. In a moment of desperation, her father hands her a photograph of her parents the year Orla was born - in the photograph, there's a teenage boy with white-blonde curly hair. Orla has never seen him before, but when her father clams up, she sets off on a journey to discover more about the boy and whether or not his identity will prove to be the key that unlocks the sadness within her mother. We get the boy's story here, revealed in every second chapter. It's a beautiful, sad tale about love, loss, grief, and hope. Really good and recommended.

Book Haul

I visited Amazon to get the Mark Haddon book for Book Club, and saw that it was in the 3 for £10 deal. Now - here is my logic for this next photo. Amazon offer free shipping over £25. So that's the 3 for £10 deal twice. There's still £5 to make up - but for another £5, you can have THREE more. So I got three more. And a single one. I won't be doing that again for a while until the exchange rate improves, but for now I'm happy with my shiny new books! Also in the photo there are some beautiful books from ROADS publishing that I received for review, but they'll get their own post soon. I placed a small Book Depository order earlier in the month as well, so those two books are in the picture too. Most of the ones I ordered from Amazon are Richard & Judy Summer Reads. I've only read two so far but I'll give a brief synopsis of each one in case you want to take advantage of the offer.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker
15 year old Nola Kerrigan disappears in New Hampshire in 1975. 33 years later, her body is dug up from the yard of author Harry Quebert, along with a copy of his manuscript. It's up to his student, Marcus Goldman, to clear Harry's name and find out what really happened.

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Adapted from a Russain fairytale, this is set in the 1920s in remote Alaska where a couple have moved to the wilderness after suffering a loss. One night, the wife makes a child from snow - the next day, the child is gone, but they begin to see a little girl around the farm.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bachman
Ove is an incredibly grumpy man who passes his time doing "rounds" of the neighbourhood to point out the stupididy of his neighbours, but is there more to Ove than meets the eye?

Her by Harriet Lane
A tale of two very different women with two very different lifestyles - but their paths have crossed before, and though one may not remember.........the other does.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
An epic modern classic about a group of eccentric classmates studying classics at a New England college and how their lives are changed by a terrible secret.

The Children Act by Ian McEwan
A novel about a 17 year old boy refusing life-saving medical treatment and the Judge who must decide on the case.

The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
The book upon which The Village of the Damned was based. A silver object falls from the sky one day and all the town residents fall unconscious. The next day, the object is gone, but every woman in the town is pregnant with a blonde, blue-eyed child. I ordered this from Book Depository.

The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
Set in a small rural town in the aftermath of Celtic Tiger Ireland, tensions and tempers are high and  violence is inevitable. When an incident occurs, several different people connected in some way are given a voice and given their say. Nobody gets a second chapter, but the truth gradually comes to light. If you've read Ryan's The Thing About December, Johnsey's story is mentioned and we find out what happened afterwards. Also ordered from Book Depository.

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
Set in London in 1922, an impoverished widow and her spinster daughter take in lodgers that change their lives in unforseen ways.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon
A fifteen year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome sets out to solve the mystery of how his neighbour's dog was murdered.

The Humans by Matt Haig
Professor Andrew Martin is not feeling himself after an incident one Friday night - he appears to be annoyed, irritated, and frustrated with every aspect of the human race. What could have changed him so much?

A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray
The Bradleys are, in every respect, a normal family. The 16 year old is in love, the 13 year old dreams of playing football professionally, the 7 year old believes in miracles. His Dad does too - but the Mum finds it hard to believe in anything after losing Issy, in fact she finds it hard to get out of bed.

I'll cover the ROADS books in a post of their own, they deserve their own post.

So - spot anything you like, or have you read any of these?

Where the hell do I start?!

Books I Read in July

Hi!

I did well at the beginning of the month and then Snapchat really took off so my reading went to the dogs towards the middle and end of July. I was still reading at night but not as much, plus I was doing some cross stitch projects and devouring Grey's Anatomy.

The total for July was 15, which is surprising, because I didn't think I read that many. Some of those were just a few hours long though, so it's not as massive as you might think.

ARCs

I've been trying to cut down the amount of ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) on my Netgalley shelf for ages - some of these have been approved since last October and were just sitting there. I made a real effort to try and get the shelf cleared - then requested a load more, oops....anyway, ten of my reads this month were ones I got from Netgalley.

Buzz Books 2015 Young Adult Fall/Winter by Publishers Lunch

I love these compilations. They come out twice a year in both YA and Adult format, and they bring previews of several upcoming releases from both prominent and new authors. This one had 20 extracts, favourites included Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon and Dumplin' by Julie Murphy, both of which I have yet to read in full. I did request a few full books and was approved, but it's also a great way to figure out what to avoid - handy for someone like me who tends to buy into hype when it comes to books. And makeup. And candles. And pretty much everything. 

Buzz Books 2015 Adult Fall/Winter by Publishers Lunch

This is the adult version, and has 33 decent extracts. Tender by Belinda McKeon is included, as well as the new one from Mitch Albom, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto. The Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg's debut Bream Gives Me Hiccups was a surprising favourite here, it's a Sedaris-esque satirical look at social situations. You'll also find some upcoming novels by Patrick Ness, Geraldine Brooks and Alice Hoffman. It covers 14 fiction, 10 debut fiction, and 10 non-fiction books including Dick Van Dyke's latest book on ageing. I ended up with 13 of the 33 either requested or pre-ordered in full. Oops. 

One by Sarah Crossan
This is a YA (young adult) novel about conjoined twin sisters Tippi and Grace. They have been homeschooled for 14 years, but now must enter mainstream High School after the funding for homeschooling has run out. "Normal is the Holy Grail and only those without it know its value". I enjoyed this, but I felt it was a little over hyped. It's written in poetic verse, making it a quick read - this wasn't at all off-putting but I just found it hard to connect with the characters. I am very much in the minority though, so do give it a go. The writing is beautiful.

Are you Still There? by Sarah Lynn Scheerger
I read a preview of this in one of the Buzz Books collections and thought it looked good. It's another YA, about a very ordinary High School student named Gabi who helps to run a teen helpline after a student plants a bomb in the school. We also get the POV of the bomber, or "The Stranger" here - I was totally wrong about who the bomber was. This is very cheesy, but I did enjoy it because it reminded me of the Point Horror books I loved as a teenager. Give it a miss if that's not your thing.

Are You Watching Me? by Sinéad Crowley
This is the second novel from Sinéad. We revisit Detective Claire Boyle, first seen in last year's Can Anybody Help Me?. She is now Mum to a small baby, and her marriage is strained due to the pressure of being new parents with job commitments. This book focuses on twentysomething Liz McClafferky, the reluctant public face of Tír na nÓg, a refuge of sorts for elderly men who have no other source of interaction in the community. As one of the men is found dead and a link to the centre is discovered, Liz has to come to terms with her past and Claire has to figure out how to have it all. I enjoyed this, not as much as the author's first book, but as "the difficult second novel" it was a worthwhile read.

This Raging Light by Estelle Laure
This was another Buzz Books extract that I ended up requesting. The protagonist, Lucille, is 17 and left in charge of her 9 year old sister Wren after their mother goes AWOL. Their Dad is in residential care after having a mental health incident a few months earlier. Lucille is trying to keep on top of things and deal with the prospect that her mother might not come back, so now is definitely not the time to fall in love. This was sweet, it sounds a bit shite from my synopsis but the writing was sharp, the characters were likeable, and it wasn't a sweety-teeny-googly eyed romantic book. Really enjoyed this, the teenagers didn't make the best decisions at times, but if you can't make a few mistakes when you're a teenager, when can you? It was just different enough to be very enjoyable, and the ending was brave.

The Lost Child by Ann Troup
Elaine's mother has died, so Elaine has returned to the town her mother grew up in to scatter her ashes. While she's there, she befriends a tearaway teenager named Brodie. Brodie's sister disappeared 30 years ago when she was three, and Elaine becomes involved in Brodie's attempt to find out what happened to her. If you've read any kind of thrillers or mysteries at all you'll spot "the twist" a mile off, as I did. That's one of the perils of reading a lot so it wasn't necessarily off-putting, but the writing was a little Joey-Tribbiani-with-thesaurus. Fifteen words where one would do. Not bad by any means, just snooze when you've seen it done a million times and done a lot better.

Edgewater by Courtney Sheinmel
This had a real We Were Liars vibe off it (not the same plot, though). Rich family secrets, strange goings-on, and cover-ups. Lorrie Hollander is attending a prestigious equestrian program for advanced riders when she is removed immediately and sent home because her Aunt hasn't paid her fees. Lorrie goes home to sort it out - and realises that things at home are much worse than she could ever have thought. Enter rich boy love interest and a shit-ton of family secrets and you have one slick, well-written novel about everything going to pot behind a glossy exterior. Really enjoyed this.

My So-Called (Love) Life by A.L. Michael
Books like this are like chewing gum - not particularly satisfying, but sometimes you just bloody want chewing gum. The main character's name is Tigerlily, which was off-putting, but essentially this is a feel-good story about a woman who makes positive changes in her life after her fiancée left her a few days before her wedding. Ollie, the love interest here was a total ride, and while I didn't really like Tigerlily, I appreciated her determination and desire to grab life by the balls after wasting time with someone who didn't appreciate her as she was. Perfect fluff for a rainy afternoon.

Where Secrets Sleep by Marta Perry
Have you ever read Amish fiction? Me neither! This was set in Dutch Pennsylvania, in a part Amish community and centred around Allison, who has inherited a converted mansion from her recently deceased Grandmother. The mansion is home to several small businesses and shops, including an Amish quiltmaker named Sarah, with whom she strikes up a friendship. There's also a handsome single Dad carpenter named Jamie and a bit of small-town rivalry thrown in. This was okay - it was like one of those Lifetime movies I'd get sucked in to if I were doing nothing of a Sunday, but it ran a little long for me. Still, it was okay.

Rick O'Shea Book Club

This month, the two book club picks were Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Harvest by Jim Crace. Both are on the shortlist for the 2015 IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards. I bought Harvest for the Kindle but I didn't get to it, I had Americanah in paperback so I read that. 

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Ifemelu, a lifestyle blogger who moved to America to study and who is now returning to Nigeria. The book is written in 6 parts, some of those are told from the POV of Ifemelu's High School sweetheart Obinze, a young man who had planned to follow Ifemelu to America but ran into some problems. I just really, really enjoyed Adichie's writing and how it flowed, even though I didn't particularly like Ifemelu or Obinze as people. The writing is powerful and it taught me a lot about Nigerian culture and racism. 

Fiction

Summer at Shell Cottage by Lucy Diamond

This is the holiday read of 2015 for me. It's easy to read, the characters are well developed, and the story flows well. It's the story of several different female generations from the same family, and how they cope with various issues in their lives. Olivia is recently widowed and a little bit lost after discovering her husband was hiding something from her. Freya, a GP, has made a mistake at work and fear that her job will be on the line. Harriet, Olivia's daughter in law, feels like she doesn't really belong in the family, and finds out something about her husband - does keeping secrets run in the family? Throw in a teenage girl with a secret (and potentially dangerous) relationship and wrap it all up in Shell Cottage - "The generous-sized cottage, painted a soft barley colour, with a thatched roof and a poppy-scarlet front door, above which a scallop shell had been carved into the stone lintel. Behind the house you could see a flower-filled garden, which looked very much as if it might lead straight onto sand dunes and then a pale, curving beach in the distance." - and you have an incredibly enjoyable summer read. Really, really liked this. 

The Peculiar Life of a Lonely Postman by Denis Thériault

I picked this up in the recent Kindle sale, it's quite a short book and took around an hour to read. Bilodo is a 27 year old postman who has no real human interaction apart from his work colleagues. He is alone, but he's not lonely - he has taken to steaming people's letters open before delivering them and has become obsessed with an ongoing correspondance between a man in his local town, and a woman, Ségoléne, in Gibraltar. When tragedy strikes and the man is killed, Bilodo decides to continue the correspondance in his place........the whole thing takes a very odd turn here, although it's set in Montreal, it's very Asian and reads more like a Japanese novel. Really quirky and the ending left my mouth hanging open! I'm glad I got it.

The Baby by Lisa Drakeford

I saw someone talk about this on youtube - possibly Amber - but it looked interesting. A young girl gives birth on the bathroom floor at her friend's 17th birthday party, and the girl has to deal with the repurcussions along with the baby's father and their three other friends. Every person involved gets a chapter, and though it had a completely unnecessary "twist", I did enjoy it. 

Non-Fiction

It's Not What You Think by Chris Evans

All I really know about Chris Evans is that he presented The Big Breakfast and TFI Friday on Channel 4 when I was younger. I watched both, but never really gave Chris much thought. With the recent TFI Friday special, I spotted this on sale for £0.99 on kindle and decided to give it a go. It's one of the most enjoyable autobiographies I've read, it covers the period from Chris' childhood right up to the early 00s when he purchased Virgin radio from Richard Branson. Every chapter starts with a Top Ten list, the number one being the topic for that chapter. The chapters are between 1 and 5 minutes long. Chris is easy to read - he's warm, funny, and acknowledges when he has been a bit of an arse. He's respectful of ex wives and partners, and comes across as a genuinely nice person. I downloaded the follow-up to this immediately after finishing, I really like his writing style. 

So, there you go. If I can cut back on the Snapchat and come out of Booktubeathon 2015 alive, hopefully August will be a good reading month too!

Booktube-a-thon 2015 - Information & TBR!

Hi!

You may remember me talking about Booktube-a-thon last year, but if not, here's a quick synopsis. Booktube-a-thon is a week long readathon, hosted by Ariel Bissett and a host of other booktubers. It's a week of challenges, quizzes, reading sprints, and general bookish fun. You don't have to be a booktuber or book blogger to join in, anyone of any age can take part, it's all about challenging yourself to read more and having some fun along the way. This year, it begins at the stroke of midnight TONIGHT your time, wherever you are in the world. That's August 3rd, and it ends at the stroke of midnight your time on August 9th, next Sunday night.

Find out more:

Official Booktube-a-thon Youtube Channel
Official Booktube-a-thon Twitter
Official Booktube-a-thon Instagram

My Booktube-a-thon posts from last year are here.

This year, Ariel has set a whole new host of challenges! Here they are:

I've been putting my TBR pile together for a few days now, and here are my choices. You don't have to pick a different book for every challenge, you can double up - for example, if you have a book you really want to read that has blue on the cover? That's challenges 6 AND 1 completed.

• A book with blue on the cover: Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
• A book by an author who shares the first letter of your last name: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (think it's about time, don't you?)
• Someone else's favourite book: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Margaret from Bleach House Library's favourite book)
• The last book you acquired: Memoirs of a Fruitcake by Chris Evans

• Finish a book without letting go of it: Are you there, God? It's me, Margaret by Judy Blume (should be able to do this in one sitting when the kids are in bed)
• A book you really want to read: 172 Hours on the Moon by Johann Harstad
• A seventh book: The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan

If you're taking part in Booktube-a-thon 2015 please let me know! I know that Chloe, Breige, Paula and possibly Róisín are taking part so do keep an eye on their blogs too. My 10 year old is going to try some of the challenges too, I love seeing children read so I'll let him write his own little review next week on how he got on. 

Let's do this!!

Books I Read in June

Hi!

So, June was a really good reading month for me. I pretty much let TV fall by the wayside altogether so I got a lot more read at night - it has been too hot to read during the day so we've been going for more walks. June's total was 15 - but it's more like 14 and a half, because I didn't finish one (hate doing that, but life's too short for bad books).

Rick O'Shea Book Club

The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney
This was the book club pick for May, but I had to wait for the library to buy it in for me (libraries do that, you know. If you want a new book that they don't have, they'll buy it). It's a Love/Hate type story set in modern day Cork City that centres around the lives of a drug dealer and his girlfriend, a prostitute, a gangster's mother - and digs deeper into the links they share and the secrets they hide. Brilliant read.

Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume
This was one of the June book club picks (the other being The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which I tried to read last year and gave up on). The title is a play on the four seasons of the year. The book follows the story of one year in a man's life - a man who doesn't have much social interaction, and who gets himself a dog that nobody else wants. They soon become as thick as thieves - but when that relationship is threatened, he decides to take the dog on a road trip of sorts. This is dark, it's uneasy at times, but the writing is breathtaking. In terms of plot, there's not a whole pile here - but the writing alone is worth it. It reminded me a little of Donal Ryan or Eimear McBride at times but much easier to read.

Books to Review

For The Love of Martha by Maria Murphy
I was kindly sent this to review from Poolbeg - it's a timeslip novel about an 18 year old orphan named Martha, who is living with her cousin as a Governess. The family decide to move to Carissima, a sprawling home in Co. Monaghan - putting an end to Martha's romance with a local handsome doctor. Meanwhile, we're also following the life of Juliet in London in 2010 - she is a photographer, and is seeing the man who currently owns Carissima. This lacked something for me - it took ages to get going and while I liked Martha's story, I wasn't bothered about Juliet.

The Number 8 by Joel Arcanjo
I requested this on Netgalley because the premise sounded amazing - a group of strangers in New Zealand, stuck on a tour bus, and one of them could be a killer? Yes please!! Unfortunately, very little of it was set on the bus so it lacked the claustrophic element necessary to build tension. The descriptions of the tour areas were fantastic, but the characters and plot were dull.

Date With a Rockstar by Sarah Gagnon
Another one from Netgalley - I enjoyed this way more than I should have. Set in the distant future, Monet O'Neal is suffering from the disease Fluxem. There's a cure, but it costs thousands of dollars. Monet applies for a place on a Reality TV show to meet and date rockstar Jeremy Bane, and win $30,000 - but what will happen if anyone realises she has Fluxem? Will the producers dig up any more secrets about her? Loved this. The Reality TV setting was brilliant and it was cheesy as hell, but it was written well enough to carry the story.

Seen the Movie? Now Read the Book!

One of my main 2015 reading goals was to read more original book versions of movies. This month, I read three.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Oh my GOD why have I not read this before now?! It's amazing. It was addictive - a sweeping, passionate, turbulent tale of Scarlett O'Hara and her determination to succeed. Set pre, during and post the Civil War era, I could not put it down. It's racist and hard to stomach in places, I had to keep reminding myself when it was written and when it was set - but it's one of the best reading experiences I've had in my adult life. Absolutely adored it.

Madame Doubtfire by Anne Fine
Yikes. Where to start with this one - Mrs. Doubtfire starring Robin Williams will always be one of my favourite family films. It was one of the first I ever saw in a cinema, and it holds a lot of great memories about a favourite person from my childhood - so I was eager to read the book. It is horrible. The parents have horrific fights in front of their children, they play the children like pawns, and there's a horrible undercurrent of fear and worry where the children are concerned. Much like when I read Skipping Christmas by John Grisham - I was shocked at the lack of warmth, heart, or humour. The children know all along that their Dad is the new housekeeper - probably because his disguise consists of wellies, a pink coat and a turban. Absolutely one to avoid, watch the movie instead.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
This isn't a movie yet - but it's coming, and it will star Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role. Based on the true story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last woman to be publicly executed in Iceland in 1830, this is the story of Agnes' last few months at a nearby family farm where she has been sent to wait out her death sentence. Convicted of the brutal murder of two men, Agnes is silent about her crimes - until she begins to open up to her Spiritual Advisor, Tóti, and the lady of the house, Margrét. Agnes' story is so tragic and so sad, I knew what was coming but I didn't want to believe it - it was haunting, beautiful, and the eerie landscape of Iceland was a character in itself. 100% recommended.

Kindle First

Sugar by Deirdre Riordan Hall
The title refers to Mercy Gracia, or Sugar, as she is known. She is a very overweight Puerto Rican/Polish teenager who lives with her disgusting physically and verbally abusive brother and her mother, who has not gotten out of bed in months due to her increasing size. Sugar cares for her mother, but in the meantime, doesn't care for herself. When she makes a friend, something she once thought impossible, things begin to change and she realises that she must find the strength to make permanent changes in several areas of her life. This isn't a makeover book, it's difficult to read at times and I HATE the event that happens towards the end (kick a girl when she's down, why don't you) but it was a worthwhile read.

Thrillers

The Exit by Helen Fitzgerald
Catherine is 23, and gets a job in a care home - mainly to get her mother off her back. She doesn't like old people, she's not bothered, she just wants the money. Rose Price is 82, a resident of the care home and a former children's author. Rose is convinced that something sinister is going on at the care home - but nobody will listen to her. She enlists the help of a begrudging Catherine to try and find out what's going on. I thought this would be another Elizabeth is Missing but it was far from that - Catherine as a protagonist is a breath of fresh air, she's not exactly likeable but she's a strong character. Her relationship with Rose is brilliant - this is quite dark, and maybe not one to go for if you have a weak stomach.

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
Little Jacob Jordan is killed in a hit and run when his mother lets go of his hand to cross the street. Wracked with guilt, she flees. Jenna goes to a remote village in Wales to try and move on with her life, but still can't get over what happened to Jacob. Meanwhile, DI Ray Stevens is working on the hit and run case, trying to find the driver, while dealing with personal issues of his own. But Jenna's past is about to catch up with her, and it could prove fatal. Absolutely 100% the best thriller I've read this year. Clever, shocking, frightening, tense - this is everything a thriller should be. Read it.

Young Adult

Immaculate by Katelyn Detweiler
One night when Mina is finishing up her shift in the Pizzeria where she works after school, a strange old lady comes in and tells her that she will have a baby. Mina laughs it off - she has a boyfriend of two years but she's a virgin - so how can she be pregnant? But she is......... This reminded me of that movie Saved! at times. It's not religious, but it does discuss faith (not in a preachy way). The author took the story of the Immaculate Conception and put it bang smack in the middle of High School in the social media era. Really good, unique concept, and enjoyable.

Lies Like Love by Louisa Reid
This has been on my Kindle for ages - it's about 16 year old Audrey Morgan and her battle with depression and self harm. Or is it? Audrey, her mother, and little brother have moved to a new area after a fire destroyed their home. Audrey has a history of self-harm, and her mother hopes that the move will bring a new beginning for them all. Leo is staying on a nearby farm - he is 17, and has had experience with mental health issues himself, so he immediately feels like Audrey is a kindred spirit. As their relationship begins to blossom, all may not be what it seems.......I really don't want to spoil this for anyone, so I'll just say - when the penny dropped, it hit me smack between the two eyes and I lay awake in bed with my heart thundering. It's really, really good.

Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider
Lane Rosen is a new resident at Latham House, a boarding-school slash Sanitorium for teenagers with a total drug resistant strain of TB. It's set in the modern day, it's not dystopia, it just happens to take place in a Sanitorium. Sadie is also a resident - Lane and Sadie know each other from Summer Camp a few years ago. But is there any point in getting close to someone at Latham when survival odds aren't in your favour? Full to the brim with witty dialogue and Harry Potter references, this was enjoyable enough.

Did Not Finish

Breakable by Aimee L. Salter
Also published as Every Ugly Word. In my copy, the lead character was called Stacy. In the subsequent editions, she is called Ashley. Stacy is in therapy after "an incident". We're not privy to the circumstances yet, but we're going along for the ride as Stacy discusses the months leading up to the incident with her therapist. Having gone through horrific bullying, Stacy turns to herself - quite literally. She sees an older version of herself in the mirror. "Older Me" seems to know all about Stacy's future. Here's where it got enough for me: I like magical realism. A lot. I love the idea of your future self appearing in the mirror to tell you what's going on. But she doesn't tell her anything useful. The bullying - when Stacy's mother finds abusive texts on her phone, she asks what Stacy did to provoke such a reaction. The therapist asks about her role in her own abuse. Her friend asks her to try and make friends with the bullies. Not at any point in the first 14 chapters does anyone pull Stacy aside and say - This is not OK. And there I left it - victim blaming ain't my cup of tea.

So that's it! Productive by all accounts, but I've about seventeen programmes to watch on Sky+ at this stage. I'll update the 2015 book page (here) with the covers, as usual you can click on a cover to go to my full Goodreads review.

Bring it on, July!