4.5 stars!
It‘s hard to talk about this story without giving anything away.
I will say my emotions ran the gamut from worried, scared, to what-the-hell just happened. I even audibly gasped at one point!
The blurb by Stephen King says it best:
“A true nerve-shredder that keeps its mind-blowing secrets to the very end.”

Thoroughly engrossing literary fiction that melds together elements of horror, suspense and sci-fi…and does it all seamlessly.
My first Chuck Wendig book, but definitely not my last!

I rarely buy physical books these days, but when I do it‘s by one of my favorite authors.

This took me a month and a half to read.
Not because of its 600+ pages but because I knew this was the conclusion of this remarkable series and I wasn‘t ready to say goodbye. So I Took. My. Time.

With an out of this world ending I did not see coming, Bancroft, with his talent for prose and propulsive storytelling, knocks it out of the park. At 600+ pages, not an easy feat.

An excellent conclusion to a wonderful and thrilling saga.

For some reason my family finds this bookend that was on my holiday wishlist….disturbing. 🤷‍♂️😂

RIP Joan Didion
12/5/34 - 12/23/21
😢

As a teen, the first author I became a fan of was Stephen King. And then came Anne Rice. I still have the hardcover editions of some of her books (I loaned out Interview to someone and never got it back which is why it‘s missing!). I also still have the handwritten family tree I created to help me keep track of all those Mayfair witches!
Thank you for all those wonderful stories!
RIP Anne Rice. 😢📚

RIP Anne Rice😢

Well here's another book I can add to my
"Reasons I Don't Camp" collection.
3 women go camping in the Grand Canyon.
What could possibly go wrong?
First 100 pages were a bit of a slog and I had to suspend my disbelief at the actions this group decided to undertake once warning signs started to appear.
That said, Stage managed to write wonderful characters that you care about (well most of them) which held my interest to the very end.

I think I‘m all set for The Fall of Babel!
(Not Pictured: A second tshirt that my husband is currently wearing.)

Down a hard to find maze-like alley is a small iron door built into the wall. Beyond that door lies a mysterious garden where, from the perspective of 5 individuals, we experience the tension, thrills and terror that is Slade House. To say anything more would spoil the story.
One of the joys of reading is discovering authors I‘ve never read before and loving their work. That is the case for me when it comes to David Mitchell.

Waited almost two years for the 4th and final book in the Books of Babel series and now the wait is over!
I bought a signed copy from the author, my husband bought the Kindle edition and my local bookstore (support your local bookstore!) had held a copy for me that I forgot I preordered! So we now own 3 versions! So excited to immerse myself in this epic world once again!
#josiahbancroft #booksofbabel #thefallofbabel #fantasybooks

It‘s difficult to predict the future & this book which was written in the 1950s takes place in Mill Valley, CA in the 1970s.
That said, the hysterical & helpless female protagonist does not reflect the Women‘s Lib movement of the 1970s. She‘s written as a product of her time.
Everything was moving along great until the last 3rd of the book where the exposition was endless.
Otherwise, this book is a classic for a reason & definitely worth the read.

I saw the movie several years ago and I still haven‘t recovered. So it makes perfect sense for me to revisit that trauma and read the book. While not as unsettling as the film, Murakami does an excellent job of creating a sense of impending dread that will have you quickly turning the pages until the very end. A quick, fun and suspenseful read.
Trigger warning: Animal abuse

This was a perfect book for the Halloween season. A scary, engaging page turner about a famous and retired rock star who has to battle with vengeful individuals, both living and dead.

And the year isn‘t even over yet!
Yay me!
#GoodreadsReadingChallenge

Love Richard Matheson (and if you‘re a fan of Twilight Zone, you know his stories) and this one, while not my favorite, was excellent.
Some parts were problematic (ogling a 16 year old girl) and some of the physical descriptions of our main character traversing his new giant sized landscape were, for me, difficult to envision.
That aside, a thrilling and exciting story told by one of the greats.
Now to watch the movie!….
#scarathalon

While watching Frankenstein I noticed for the first time that Mary Shelley wasn‘t credited with her actual name. Guess she needed her husband‘s permission? 🙄🤦‍♂️

A slow burn of a book (much like the movie that terrorized me as a child which I rewatched last night for the first time in 40 years!) that turns the haunted house trope upside down. Enjoyed the ending which was different from the film.
Well done creepy tale that's perfect for the Halloween season!
#scarathlon2021 #screamathon

Halloween candy for adults.

Love the movie (the 1940 Best Picture winner directed by Hitchcock...not that Netflix version) and now that I've read the book,I can say that I love it as well.
Beautifully written and engaging gothic mystery that stands the test of time.
For a tale set in 1938, du Maurier has a lot to say about women's roles, their acquiescence to dominating males and the inevitable rebellion against the patriarchy that comes as a direct result of that dominance.

“The baby kicked like a demon. Rosemary told it to stop or she would start kicking back.“

Another instance of being very familiar with the movie, but still being utterly drawn into the story despite knowing the outcome. The sense of paranoia, claustrophobia and dread leapt right off the page and just added to what was already a chilling and disturbing read.
(About the photo…I may have gone a little sticker crazy)
#scarathlon2021 #screamathon

How many hints do you need, girl?? 🤔
#scarathlon

Having seen the film countless times, this was the first time I've read the book and it still managed to be unsettling! The film is quite faithful to book except for the fact that the description of Norman Bates had me thinking more of Philip Seymour Hoffman than of Anthony Perkins. I was also surprised to see that Hitchcock changed the setting of the book from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area(where I grew up) to Phoenix, AZ.
#halloweenreads #Scarathalon

“You aren't allowed to smoke. You aren't allowed to drink. You aren't allowed to see any girls. Just what do you do, besides run the motel and attend to your mother?“

“Oh, I've got lots of things to do, really.
I read quite a lot.
And there are other hobbies.“

Someone should make this propulsive page-turner of a book into a movie.
#halloweenreads

Happy Birthday to Stephen King who apparently is giving all of us a present!

I‘m not waiting until October…Halloween reading starts now!!
#HalloweenReads

With a slew of characters (I kept getting them mixed up..."Which one is Carla...which one is Angela") and shifting POVs and time jumps, along with the big reveal that wasn't so big...this was a bit of a challenge. Having said that, it kept my interest until the end.

Ugh...so much overwrought Millennial angst!
Some funny moments but in the end "It just wasn't for me".

Signed,
Gen X

Love the movie, but never read the short story, but now I have. Much more explicit and racy with some problematic language for this day and age. That aside, it's hard not to think of Audrey Hepburn when Holly Golightly is speaking the witty words of Truman Capote. The additional short stories were also very good.

Aging is something we all just accept as a natural part of life. The idea here is that aging is actually a treatable disease. One that affects 90% of us. Compare that to cancer which impacts 8.7% of us, yet cancer research received 6.3 billion while aging research got less than 1/10th of that. That was an eye-opener for me as we are focused more on the symptoms but not the cause.
A thoroughly captivating (while at times a bit challenging) read!

If you are a fan of the slasher film genre, or even if you're not, this is a fun, twisty and bloody ride filled with Easter eggs for the aficionado amongst you while also examining the misogyny inherent in these films. Soon to be a limited series on HBOMax!

If you can avoid reading the blurb about this book, I would recommend you do so. The less you know the better as the blurb practically gives the entire plot away.
A great, albeit not entirely original concept, the story examines the roles of husbands & wives, child rearing & gender inequality. It started off strong & then took forever to get to where it was going. In the end, because I read the blurb, there were little to no surprises for me.

After finishing and loving Razorblade Tears, I went back to read this one. Suffice it to say, I am a fan and I eagerly await his next book!
If you are looking for a fast-paced, gritty crime story…your search has ended with this propulsive story that will have you turning pages faster than Bug‘s Plymouth Duster!

Unpopular opinion ahead…
This was a fun ride about a hit man who is hired to do "one last job" before he retires. I'm not big on war stories, so those segments slowed things down for me and the ending confrontations felt rushed. Not my favorite King story, but I'm a lifelong fan so it was worth the read.

Sounds like a great premise for another Stephen King story!
😜

I was unable to purchase this book yesterday by this up and coming new author…so thank you to Village Well Books & Coffee for putting it on hold for me!
#stephenking #billysummers #newreleasebooks

I‘m still laughing about the Willie Nelson joke!😂🤣

All the stars!!!
A gripping page turner about two fathers, one black and one white, who join forces to avenge the murder of their gay sons.
A timely story about tolerance, love, family and ass-kicking!

How did the insights of a teenager's science fair project became the official policy of the US Gov when it came to controlling a pandemic? How did a group of rogue patriots working behind the scenes help to save the country? These are just some of the scenarios in Michael Lewis‘ fascinating book about what we‘ve learned from past pandemics & how that impacted how the US Gov, the CDC & the medical industrial complex are handling the current one.

If you are looking for a book for the next time you fly, keep looking!
Putting aside some clunky writing and improbable eye-rolling scenarios, this is a book with a fantastic premise that is almost impossible to put down. A pulse-pounding page turner if ever there was one. You‘ll also walk away with a new appreciation for flight attendants!

😂❤️

Another moving and funny tale with wonderful characters that is almost a hybrid of A Man Called Ove and Beartown.

I imagine if Tennessee Williams had written a play about a haunted house it would be something like this.
I had high expectations as I had read somewhere that this was one of the scariest haunted house stories ever written.
Two words: Um. No.
But it was entertaining.

Lots of lofty praise for this book & based on the synopsis I was totally hooked. Unfortunately, I found the writing to be disjointed ("Is this chapter in the past? The present? Who is speaking?") thus making the story a bit hard to follow. My biggest issue was that it took FOREVERRRR to get to the big & underwhelming reveal. That being said,the themes of racism,diversity & being true to oneself while trying to get ahead was enlightening & timely.

Picked up yet another physical book! I knew this new local bookstore would be dangerous for me!😂

Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a helluva ride!
50 pages in I was wound so tight with anxiety that I figured it had to let up soon...boy was I wrong. It just never did! A propulsive and intense page-turner that will be of particular enjoyment to cinephiles everywhere!

A delightful modern day Auntie Mame filled with laughs, tears and Guncle Rules!