Such a sweet story about finding where you belong. My favorite part was when all the children went into town for an outing. I love how Linus has so little self worth yet always seems to say the right thing. This book made me feel happy.

I‘m sitting here on my lunch hour. I‘m about to start my new book. I open it up and find the wrong book inside. It has the correct cover but a whole other book on the inside. Has this ever happened to anyone? I am upset. I feel cheated. I bought this online and now I have to try to get my money back.

I enjoyed this book. A week later and I am still thinking about it. There were some creepy parts and I will never look at stains on the wall in the same way. I love books about cults and this cult is truly terrifying.
The book did feel overlong. The character Max seemed to have long explanations that could have been shorter. The supernatural aspect of this was disturbing. How can you fight an otherworldly demon?

My book haul. I got a Barnes and Noble gift card for my birthday and this is what I bought.

I received this book from a work friend. Previously I read Big Little Lies and The Husband‘s Secret from this author so I am looking forward to reading this.

Great book. I really like Quinn, the main character. I feel like they gave away the bad guy too early. But even knowing who it was, the book was still interesting. Kettle Springs sounds like a terrible place to live.

This book is amazing. I love the world building and the behind the scenes look at the support staff of villains and heroes. I want to live in this world. Is it wrong that I secretly want to be a hench?

A great addition to the Pendergast series. A return to form with an interesting mystery at the core. I enjoyed the storyline, and was surprised by the reveal at the end. I liked that this was a pure mystery, with none of the Constance/Diogenes drama. I look forward to more books like this one.

I want to read this book but have been unable to obtain a copy. Everywhere I look it says temporarily out of stock. Anyone know why?

#scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix
Points for week 4 = 80

9 books read in October 2021. It was an amazing month. I had 3 5 star reads:
Pumpkinheads
Hench
Warm Bodies

“I would rather be home than anywhere else at all”

A sweet love story to all things fall as well as a lovely story about friendship. That pumpkin patch sounds amazing. I wish we had something like it around here.

A collection of 11 short stories.

My favorites: Over the River and Through the Woods by Mocha Pennington, Furry Skins by L. Pine. The stories in the book were good, but nothing really thrilled me. I was hoping for more.

I did not get much reading done this week. Just read 1 book - Pumpkinheads. Also watched 1 scary movie and 5 tv shows. #scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix

I love this book so much. I felt actual emotion when I read it. The story of a zombie who is trying to find his way back to humanity. This feels so original. In general, I try to avoid zombie stories because they bore me. But for Warm Bodies I will make an exception. So good. 5 stars.

#scarathlon2021 #buddyread #teamhendrix

My favorite part of the book was in the opening, when Malerman mentioned the town of Goblin. I love it when author's write different books set in the same universe.

Books about mutant animals or nature gone wrong are my favorite genre. Pearl is a formidable opponent, although I was still rooting for the humans to prevail. I liked the way this was written and how everyone knows there is something wrong with Pearl but tries to ignore it.

#scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix
I read 11 short stories plus the buddy read. Also 3 scary movies and 6 tv shows.

260 points

A graphic murder starts off the book. As we revisit the murders several times throughout the book, we get a healthy dose of violence. I felt the book wasn't really sure what direction to take. It is billed as a psychological thriller, but it also has strong horror elements, and that of a ghost story. For much of the book I wasn't sure if Dixie was seeing ghosts, was crazy, or if somebody was messing with her. The book was pretty interesting.

Thank you to my non-litsy friend for the bag of birthday books. I‘m so excited to read them.

Look what I found in the mail today! A new ARC courtesy of @celadonbooks This looks like a really cool memoir. And best of all today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me!

#scarathalon2021 #teamhendrix week 1 totals
4 books read = 50
13 shows watched = 65
Total points = 115

A fresh take on the vampire mythos. I really liked how the world knows about vampires, and in some ways coexists with them. This book focuses on Atl, who comes from an ancient line of Aztec vampires, and Nick, one of the Necros form of vampires. Nick wants to kill Atl. Add in a young human assistant, and a police detective determined to stop the vampires, and you get a great story. I loved the world building here, and the writing was intriguing.

I like the characters, especially Pippin.They make small town life very appealing. The story telling was well paced and interesting. I wasn't exactly sure why the artifact they discovered was so important but that didn't stop me from enjoying the rest. I am looking forward to book 3 in the series.

The most terrifying part of the book is the Puritans. They are so rigid and judgmental. I can‘t imagine living in a society like that, where everyone watches each other for the slightest transgression. The writing is atmospheric and made me feel I was there with Abitha. The story moves along steadily but a little slowly. The pacing was fine with me as I really enjoyed just reading about life at that time.

This is all I read in September. My son was in the hospital for 3 weeks and I couldn‘t concentrate enough to read. Luckily I enjoyed every book I did read. My son is back home now so I‘m hoping life gets back to normal and I have a better month.

My #scarathalon2021 tbr. 2 novels and 1 book of short stories. @StayCurious #teamhendrix #scarathalontbr

My bad dog has destroyed yet another library book! He really tore this apart.

A group of 5 high school friends go to an abandoned amusement park. Things soon go horribly wrong. Is one of the 5 a killer? Is there an escaped maniac on the loose? Or is the park pure evil? A scary, gory thriller that I finished in a few hours.

My only complaint was the “they” “them” pronouns of the nonbinary character. It made for some confusing reading at times.

A cute middle grade book. Rick is entering 6th grade. His friend is starting to notice girls, but Rick isn‘t attracted to them. He‘s not attracted to boys either. Then he learns about asexuality and wonders if that could be him. This book is about learning to be comfortable with yourself and finding where you belong.

3 1/2 stars. Interesting read but a little slow paced. The ending was satisfying.

The fourth book in the MEG series. The action cuts back and forth between the aquarium at the Tanaka Institute in California, and a newly created aquarium in Dubai. The action was nonstop and presented in an easy to read format. I felt I was learning about ancient sea creatures in a fun way. The storyline set at the Tanaka Institute became a little repetitive, but the one set in Dubai was pure fun. I enjoyed reading this.

A young adult book focusing on 15 year old magician Quinn. After an exciting opening chapter, the pace slowed down a bit. It took a while for me to become invested in the story. This story focuses on friendship, and how how we treat our friends matters. It also explores how jealousy can be a part of a friendship. The final showdown at the magic audition was the best part of the book. I thinks kids who enjoy magic will enjoy this book very much.

I had a good reading month. But I read more the first half of the month because I started a new job mid month and it is really cutting into my reading time.

Mr. Perdu finally reads a 20 year old letter from the love of his life. Reading it prompts him to leave his house and travel down river in his floating bookshop, looking for closure. The book is at it's best when Perdu is in his bookshop, dispensing books and wisdom. I enjoyed his travels down the river with his friend Max. The basic story is lovely, but there are slow parts you need to slog through to get to the good.

A newly married couple joins a secret society called The Pact. The Pact promises that your marriage will last forever if you just follow a few rules. Of course, things quickly get out of hand, with overly severe punishments for breaking any of the rules. The book was interesting but a little unbelievable. Joining a secret society always ends badly.

As a 5 year old, Sean tells a lie about his teacher that spirals out of control. 30 years later Sean is now named Richard and he is an art teacher. History is about to repeat itself as a student accuses Richard of unspeakable acts.

I had a hard time with the subject matter. I hate the thought that someone can be so thoroughly destroyed by the lies of another. I did find the story interesting. This is not a scary book but it was disturbing for me.

A standard demonic possession story. A young couple move into a run down house in the bad part of town, right next to an abandoned church where something terrible happened. What could go wrong?

This is a 3 star soft pick.

Thom returns to his childhood home and discovers fairies are real, in this fairy tale for grownups.

This book was well written, but at times too descriptive. His visits to the fairy land are described in too much detail and I wished we could get to the action sooner. The ending was satisfying, but I could have done without the comparisons of Thom to Jesus Christ. Overall a good book.

Laymon's books are always a good time. Fast paced and action packed. The plot twists in ways I was not expecting. This is not a great literary achievement, but it is a fun read.

Thank you to LibraryThing and Candlewick Press for the lovely review copy 😄

Ellen, Sue and Tanya are three middle aged women who are growing bored with their lives. They decided to purchase an old house and rehab it. It turns out the house they are interested in has a reputation for being haunted, and also a possible treasure hidden somewhere on the property.

I was a little disappointed when we learn who Amy is. It seemed a bit far fetched. Overall the story was interesting, and I will give this author another try.

I love short fiction, and I love horror. This book is both! I have heard of and read most of the authors in this book, but some were new to me. It is always good to discover a new horror author.

Some of the stories were too slow moving for my taste. Although well written, I could have used a bit more action and actual horror. But with any collection of stories, some will resonate with you and some will not.

This book started a bit slow. Pendergast is presumed dead after the events of the last book. Constance is kidnapped by Diogenes, and Proctor goes after her. Once we get back to Pendergast, the story picks up. We find out how he survived, and then he goes after Constance. This book is more an ode to the Pendergast family back story. The elixir that prolonged Constance's life comes into play, as they try to recreate the formula.

I came to this series because I wanted to read a detective story but much of this book is telling a love story from World War II. A story of doomed love, it sets up a murder revenge plot in the current time. I enjoyed the parts where Harry was investigating the murders. I also liked that he has a new love interest. I felt this was the weakest of the 4 books I have read, but I will still read more in this series.

My current read. The cover is amazing. The design is raised.

I've liked what few books I've read in this series. I preferred the one I read set in Norway, but this was interesting too. Harry goes to Australia to help with a murder investigation of a Norway citizen. So while being a murder mystery, it is also a fish out of water story as Harry learns to navigate around Australian customs and scenery.

This series has lots of promise and I will continue reading it.

My reading stats for the month of July. Although I read a number of books I enjoyed, I can‘t say that any stuck out as my favorite. I did like The Bat by Jo Nesbo, Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell, The Obsidian Chamber by Douglas Preston and A Perfect Bind by Dorothy St. James.

In the town of Cypress, South Carolina, the library has been converted to fully digital content. No physical books at all. Is this a horror story? This sounds like a terrifying situation. A person is murdered behind the library. The book was fun to read and I liked the characters. I still can't wrap my head around an all digital library. Why can't you combine digital and physical books? I enjoyed the basic mystery and thought it was well written.

This is a fun book. If you are a fan of Survivor or other reality shows, this gives a behind the scenes look at the filming of a show. The contestants competing on a deserted tropical island find out that the island is inhabited by mutant humanoids. It is action packed and interesting. The main characters were likable and I was rooting for them. I also liked the author's note that the creatures were inspired by Richard Laymon's Beast House series.