Happy Dictionary Day!!!

 

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

Author V. E. Schwab Interview on Redefining the Fantasy Genre

 

I have not read anything written by author, V. E. Schwab, before. However, I have one of her novels, A Darker Shade of Magic, in my 'to be read' pile. Generally, I am not a fantasy genre lover, but I am looking to expand my reading horizons.

Above is a recent interview featuring V. E. Schawb. Now that I've watched the above video on YouTube, I really look forward to reading A Darker Shade of Magic. I am actually hoping to read A Darker Shade of Magic sometime next year as I already have books I hope to read by the end of 2024.

Have read anything written by V. E. Schwab?

A Box of Stories - Book Box Subscription!!

Last week, I learned about A Box of Stories subscription book box through a YouTube channel I follow. This is a new to me book subscription box that sounds very intriguing to me.

You are able purchase a two or four book subscription box. Or you may also purchase a single box of books to see if you like the books you receive and the service offered if you'd rather not sign up for a subscription initially.

I think what I like most about A Box Of Stories book box subscription is that you are able to choose the genre of books you would most like to read. I also love the fact that you will be receiving books that are great reads that have not been well promoted and have most likely never heard of before.

It looks like A Box of Stories ships within the USA or the UK at this time.

Reader Roulette Card Game

 

I stumbled upon Reader Roulette Card Game last week online. It sounds like a great gift idea for the avid book reader in your life... Or even as a gift for oneself!

The description for Reader Roulette Card Game from the following website:

Elevate your reading experience with our Reader Roulette Card Game! With 54 unique cards, this deck helps you decide what to read next in a fun and spontaneous way. Examples include 'Read the book that has been on your TBR the longest,' 'Choose a book with a couple on the cover,' and 'Read the last book you saw on TikTok.' Let chance guide your literary journey and discover new reads you might not have considered otherwise. Perfect for book lovers seeking adventure in their reading choices or as a thoughtful gift for the bookworm in your life, Reader Roulette adds an element of excitement to your book selection process.

Features: 

• 54 cards, gold-foil accented box
• Size: 2.6×3.6×1"
• Instructions: A card deck to help you choose what to read next

I'll be adding the Reader Roulette Card Game to my holiday wishlist!

Hell House by Richard Matheson

 

Who doesn't love to read a horror novel that features a haunted house? The haunted house motif really does seem to be a popular theme in the horror genre world. With Halloween right around the corner, I decided I would read a few novels from the horror genre... I couldn't resist choosing to read Hell House by Richard Matheson as I've enjoyed a few of his other novels and have wanted to explore more of Matheson's novels. Hell House seemed like a good fit as it deals with a haunted house and is also considered a horror classic.

Hell House by Richard Matheson was published in 1971. Hell House has four main characters - Lionel Barrett, a physicist with an interest in parapsychology and his wife, Edith, and two mediums, Florence Tanner and Benjamin Franklin Fischer. Lionel Barrett, Florence Tanner, and Benjamin Franklin Fischer are hired by a dying millionaire, William Reinhardt Deutsch, to investigate the possibility of life after death for a week at the Belasco House (aka Hell House) in Maine. The Belasco House is known as the most haunted house with a long history.

Hell House is a horror novel with a mystery to be solved as to why the house itself is haunted. I especially liked the supernatural horror and mystery components for this novel as it slowly draws the reader in to the storyline over time. The sanity of each of the four characters is subtly undermined as the Belasco House picks up each individual's weakness and uses this weakness to its advantage as the house pits each individual against the other, which erodes the trust between them. 

The Belasco House also has a sordid history of debauchery and other immoral acts, which seemed to occur (or rather be encouraged) by the original owner, Emeric Belasco. The majority of those that enter the home never leave as they end up dead or alive but scarred in some way by other means, like madness, etc.

Although, I liked Hell House by Richard Matheson overall, I did not enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. I absolutely loved Matheson's novels,  Shadow on the Sun and also A Stir of Echoes, but Hell House just didn't measure up completely for me. Yes, this novel features a very scary haunted house, but the plot felt a bit dated and something else I can't put my finger on.

I listened to the unabridged audio version of Hell House by Richard Matheson, which is well narrated by Ray Porter. 

Listening time for Hell House by Richard Matheson is 9 hours, 11 minutes.

Below is the publisher's summary for Hell House by Richard Matheson, which I discovered on Chirp's website:

For over twenty years, Belasco House has stood empty. Regarded as the Mount Everest of haunted houses, its shadowed walls have witnessed scenes of unimaginable horror and depravity. All previous attempts to probe its mysteries have ended in murder, suicide, or insanity. But now, a new investigation has been launched, bringing four strangers to Belasco House in search of the ultimate secrets of life and death. A wealthy publisher, brooding over his impending death, has paid a physicist and two mediums to establish the facts of life after death once and for all. For one night, they will investigate the Belasco House and learn exactly why the townsfolk refer to it as the Hell House.

Hell House, which inspired the 1973 film The Legend of Hell House, is Matheson’s most frightening and shocking book and an acknowledged classic of the genre.

I am giving Hell House by Richard Matheson a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!!

Psycho by Robert Bloch

It's been a few decades since I've watched Alfred Hitchcock's classic horror movie, 'Psycho', which was based on the 1959 novel of the same name and written by Robert Bloch.

With autumn upon us and the Halloween season rapidly approaching, I decided to read some horror themed novels to celebrate the approaching holiday. 

I decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of Psycho by Robert Bloch and narrated by Richard Powers earlier this month while on vacation with my husband. Psycho is a super fast read and was excellently narrated by Richard Powers. I was actually very surprised at how much I enjoyed Psycho. It's a tightly written novel. I enjoyed the characters, the writing, and the storyline. There are some differences between the movie and the novel as to be expected.

Listening time for Psycho by Robert Bloch is 5 hours, 24 minutes.

Below is the publisher's summary for Psycho by Robert Bloch from Chirp's website:

It was a dark and stormy night when Mary Crane glimpsed the unlit neon sign announcing the vacancy at the Bates Motel. Exhausted, lost, and at the end of her rope, she was eager for a hot shower and a bed for the night. Her room was musty but clean, and the manager seemed nice, if a little odd.

Norman Bates loves his mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better, though. He has lived with Mother ever since leaving the hospital in the old house up on the hill above the Bates Motel.

One night, Norman spies on a beautiful woman who has checked into the hotel. Norman can’t help but spy on her. Mother is there though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife.

This classic horror novel, which inspired the famous film by Alfred Hitchcock, has been thrilling people for more than fifty years. It introduced one of the most unexpectedly twisted villains of all time in Norman Bates, the reserved motel manager with a mother complex, and has been called the first psychoanalytic thriller.

I am giving Psycho by Robert Bloch a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars. I really want to watch the movie again now that I've read the novel.

Until my next post, happy reading!

The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner

 

I enjoyed listening to The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner and narrated by Cassandra Campbell while on vacation earlier this month.

Listening time for The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner is 7 hours, 40 minutes.

The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner is a work of contemporary fiction and is also a psychological suspense. I've had this novel in my 'to be read' pile for a number of years and I am glad I finally read it this month.

The pros of The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner for me was the main character, Kyra Winthrop, and the overall storyline. Kyra is a 34 year old marine biologist and she was involved in a diving accident that left her with a complex form of memory loss. She barely remembers anything about her life from the past four years. Kyra has flashes of memories that don't make a lot of sense to her as she tries to piece her life back together.

Kyra is also essentially an unreliable main character. She draws a few false conclusions about her life when it comes to all of her fragmented flashes of memories and how they fit together. I also questioned whether or not Kyra's fragmented flashes of memoir were even true/real at the time or if they were simply false memories.

The overall storyline/plot and other characters were good too. I figured out some of what was happening in the novel early on, but there was a plot twist that I didn't quite catch.

The major con for me was the pacing of this novel. The Twilight Wife was a bit slow for me. 

Below is the publisher's summary for The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner from Amazon's website:

From best-selling author A.J. Banner comes a dazzling new novel of psychological suspense in the vein of S.J. Watson's Before I Go to Sleep and Mary Kubica's The Good Girl that questions just how much we can trust the people around us.

Thirty-four-year-old marine biologist Kyra Winthrop remembers nothing about the diving accident that left her with a complex form of memory loss. With only brief flashes of the last few years of her life, her world has narrowed to a few close friendships on the island where she lives with her devoted husband, Jacob.

But all is not what it seems. Kyra begins to have visions - or are they memories? - of a rocky marriage, broken promises, and cryptic relationships with the island residents, whom she believes to be her friends.

As Kyra races to uncover her past, the truth becomes a terrifying nightmare. A twisty, immersive thriller, The Twilight Wife will keep listeners enthralled through the final, shocking twist.

I am giving The Twilight Wife by A.J. Banner a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!