Book a Week 2022 - BW40: October Spooktacular and the Unreliable Narrator

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to our Spooktacular October reading month full of chills and thrills, spine tingling adventure stories, and unexpected, jump out and surprise you, don't turn the lights off reads? If you are anything like me, gruesome horror isn't your thing. However, psychological, mind bending, Hitchcock type thrillers full of suspense are my favorite type of reads, along with paranormal, ghosts, vampires, were wolves and the weird.

If you haven't read the classics, now would be your chance with Frankenstein or Dracula, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Picture of Dorian Grey or Something Wicked This Way Comes to name a few. Put away your expectations because you may be surprised when they don't turn out how you suspect they will. 

And this month's crime spree category fits the bill with the Unreliable Narrator.

The first rule of reading books by an Unreliable Narrator is to not read anything more about it than a brief description. All the charm in this genre is surprise so you must be diligent in avoiding spoilers.


The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Malice Aforethought by Francis Iles
We Were Liars by E. Lochart
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson

Challenge: Who can you trust? Really? Watch your back and pick up a book by an Unreliable Narrator.


And our A to Z and Back Again letter and word of the week are M and Mayhem.


Cheers to a spooktacular reading month.

Link to Book Week 39

Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini, and perpetual challenges.

Edited October 2, 2022 by Robin M

[Robin M]

Currently reading James Rollins thriller Kingdom of Bones in his Sigma force series. 

"It begins in Africa . . .

A United Nations relief team in a small village in the Congo makes an alarming discovery. An unknown force is leveling the evolutionary playing field. Men, women, and children have been reduced to a dull, catatonic state. The environment surrounding them—plants and animals—has grown more cunning and predatory, evolving at an exponential pace. The insidious phenomenon is spreading from a cursed site in the jungle — known to locals as the Kingdom of Bones —and sweeping across Africa, threatening the rest of the world.

What has made the biosphere run amok? Is it a natural event? Or more terrifyingly, did someone engineer it?

Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force are prepared for the extraordinary and have kept the world safe, vigilance for which they have paid a tragic personal price. Yet, even these brilliant and seasoned scientific warriors do not understand what is behind this frightening development—or know how to stop it. As they race to find answers, the members of Sigma quickly realize they have become the prey.

To head off global catastrophe, Sigma Force must risk their lives to uncover the shattering secret at the heart of the African continent—a truth that will illuminate who we are as a species and where we may be headed . . . sooner than we know.

Mother Nature—red in tooth and claw—is turning against humankind, propelling the entire world into the Kingdom of Bones."

[mumto2]

After several days without internet I am back online!  Power came back after only one day, woot!   I read a lot of fun comfort type reads so some contemporary romances were part of the package.
 

I also finally cracked open a set of bargain Kindle books I bought over a year ago because they are set on Pine Island where part of my childhood was spent.....opened in honor of Ian and the huge damage the island sustained.  I am currently binge reading this series and want to say that Jack Hardin did a fabulous job with the location.  A pet peeve of mine in books that are essentially selling a location is when the author screws up the location by turning in the wrong direction etc when I know the location. If too much is wrong location wise I frequently have to abandon the book.   In these books the main character lives basically 200 yards from my old house (how amazing is that)  so if location wasn’t well done I would notice it quickly.  I’m on book three and still finding Ellie the CIA agent turned DEA agent entertaining.....

I finished my personal spelling challenge for last month by reading books with E’s.  So Exposed by Laura Griffin,  The Black Eyed Stranger by Charlotte Armstrong, and The Eagle Catcher by Margaret Coel were all enjoyed while waiting for power and internet to be restored.

As many of you know I love spooky month and plan to read a stack of cozy’s with spooky characters this month!  I have a stack ready to go featuring library ghosts and knitting vampires!  Can’t wait!

[Kareni]

Glad to hear that you are safe, @mumto2, and happily revisiting a place you knew well as a child. Are the Pine Island books cozy mysteries?

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

Do Whatever You Want With Your Books by Molly Templeton

This link was included in the above:

30+ CREATIVE USES FOR OLD BOOKS

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

3 hours ago, Kareni said:

Glad to hear that you are safe, @mumto2, and happily revisiting a place you knew well as a child. Are the Pine Island books cozy mysteries?

Regards,

Kareni

More of a thriller. They are on the mild side description wise for a thriller but not really cozy level.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40118199-broken-stern

[Laurel-in-CA]

I had some 24-hour bug this weekend and spent Sunday reading books that wouldn't expect too much of me. This turned out to be a multi-book series about the Rocky Mountain K-9 Patrol (various authors), predictable but enjoyable. We are gearing up for a trip to a big family reunion next weekend, so this week I'll be busily packing and counting out all the meds and trying to figure out what to wear in the 95-degree heat predicted for SoCal...15 degrees hotter than here in the fall. Luckily the bug didn't stick around too long!

[Kareni]

Have fun on your trip, @Laurel-in-CA!

**

It's been a busy week, but I've squeezed in some reading.

I quite enjoyed the contemporary novel Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan. Parts of this book strained credulity, but it was a fun read. This author excels at witty banter, and I laughed aloud several times. Be aware that this could be difficult to read if a loved one has/had dementia.

"For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger. 

On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her. 

As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more.

If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers."

**

I also enjoyed a reread of the young adult science fiction Earth Girl (Earth Girl series Book 1) by Janet Edwards

"Just because she's confined to the planet, doesn't mean she can't reach for the stars. 2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. Eighteen-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can't travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She's an "ape," a "throwback," but this is one ape girl who won't give in. Jarra makes up a fake military background for herself and joins a class of norms who are on Earth for a year of practical history studies excavating the dangerous ruins of the old cities. She wants to see their faces when they find out they've been fooled into thinking an ape girl was a norm. She isn't expecting to make friends with the enemy, to risk her life to save norms, or to fall in love." 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

Two more books ~

Appropriate for the season, I read and enjoyed A Gift of Ghosts (Tassamara Book 1)

by Sarah Wynde which was a thankfully not scary contemporary romance...and a book I've owned since 2016. BONUS: it is currently free for Kindle readers!

"Akira Malone believes in the scientific method, evolution, and Einstein’s theory of relativity. And ghosts.

All the logic and reason in the world can’t protect her from the truth—she can see and communicate with spirits. But Akira is sure that her ability is just a genetic quirk and the ghosts she encounters simply leftover electromagnetic energy. Dangerous electromagnetic energy.

Zane Latimer believes in telepathy, precognition, auras, and that playing Halo with your employees is an excellent management technique. He also thinks that maybe, just maybe, Akira can help his family get in touch with their lost loved ones.

But will Akira ever be able to face her fears and accept her gift? Or will Zane’s relatives be trapped between life and death forever?"

**

After reading the first King Henry Tapes book last week, I enjoyed reading this collection of shorter works in the same urban fantasy world. Note that these do not stand alone.

King Henry Short Pack One (The King Henry Tapes) by Richard Raley

Regards,

Kareni

[Robin M]

Howdy! Waving hello.  I wasn't ready to leave the world of Lizzie Grace plus it is spooktacular so read the whole series again, delightfully finding there were one or two books I hadn't read in the mix. 

We watched Marvel's Werewolf by Night last night. A one hour special on Disney +.  I'd seen the previews and decided it was too scary for me. James insisted we watch it and held my hand. Turned out not to be so bad. It was scary mixed with humor. Enjoyed it. 

[Robin M]

@Laurel-in-CA Glad you are feeling better. Have fun on your trip! 

@mumto2 Glad you all came through IAN okay. 

On 10/2/2022 at 12:56 PM, mumto2 said:

In these books the main character lives basically 200 yards from my old house (how amazing is that)  so if location wasn’t well done I would notice it quickly

How cool. Glad he was faithful to the location. 

 

@Kareni I enjoyed Thank you for Listening too!

[Robin M]

Link to week 41