October Roundup/ Month Ahead

I didn't do one of these last month but have decided not to do two months in one. To be honest I didn't have that much to share from September. It was a fairly quiet month reading wise. October was fairly quiet too mind you but I still have more to share.

First of all I decided to stop taking part in the 'Books I Should Have Read By Now' challenge. True I only had six books to go from my original list but I decided that if I only got to read three books in one month I would rather it was something that I really wanted to read and not just a book that has been collecting dust on my shelf. Plus, half way through October I decided I wanted to have some Halloween reads and I knew there was no chance that I could do both. I still think I did well in taking part though and here are the books I did manage to pull down off that dusty shelf and finish;

1. Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

2. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry

3. Hard Times - Charles Dickens

4. Exit Ghost - Philip Roth

5. Lullaby Town - Robert Crais

6. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet - David Mitchell

7. Mary Tudor - Anna Whitelock

8. The Surgeon - Tess Gerritson

9. A is for Alibi - Susan Grafton

10. The Bachman Books - Stephen King

11. A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold - George R. R. Martin

12. Making History - Stephen Fry

I think 12 is a respectable try. I have managed to make my tbr pile grow back again in the last few months but I made a good dent in some of the older books sitting there. My least favourite was Hard Times by Charles Dickens. A little sad that it's the classic. I think disappointment put it at the bottom as I normally love Dickens and this was the first book I read by him that I didn't like. The favourite is actually harder to choose.  I probably got the most out of Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. I also read it as part of a readalong and had some fantastic discussions as a result. King, Mitchell, Roth and Martin are up there with it though.

Being October I decided to read some scary books and I looked for suggestions from other bloggers and friends. This is only the second year I have done this although I used to devour the horror section. Here is what I picked out from all the ones I was recommended;

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury
The Fall of the House of Usher and other Stories - Edgar Allan Poe (still reading)

Whilst not the scariest books I have ever read I did enjoy them for the most part. Odd Thomas may have disappointed me in plot but I did love the character. The Haunting of Hill House was a pleasant surprise. However, my favourite was the Ray Bradbury. Extremely creepy with a fantastic range of characters and beautifully written. I'm not really surprised by that mind you, I have always enjoyed Bradbury.

So this month I managed to read;

How To Be A Woman - Caitlin Moran
The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
The Woman In White - Wilkie Collins (classic of the month)
An Idiot Abroad - Karl Pilkington
The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson
Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz
Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

My classic choice was my favourite this time. I loved The Woman In White. Full of suspense and a great detective story. My least favourite was An Idiot Abroad. It just wasn't as funny as I was hoping it would be.

I actually don't have my books planned out for the month ahead. I am probably going to read "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens for my classic of the month. It was originally on the challenge list but I was put off a little after the last Dickens. I have gotten over it now though and I am looking forward to it once again. Other than that I am just planning on enjoying the books I am reading now and will try my hardest not to buy any more. Speaking of which, I will have another What's Next post for you this week. It's been a while.

How has your reading month been? Any highlights? What do you have planned for November?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 It's Monday is a book meme by Sheila of Book Journey. It's a fun way of sharing your reading week and finding out what everyone else has planned.

A good week this time. I read;

An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington. Not as funny as I was expecting it to be. I think Karl is probably funnier on screen when being ridiculed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. This was one of my Halloween reads. Sadly it failed to scare and impress. Loved the main character though so I really do wish I liked the book

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Another Halloween read. This one was fantastic. I really can't recommend it enough. Extremely creepy and beautifully written.

Just now I am reading;

The Fall of the House of Usher and other Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The last of the Halloween reads. This one is going to take me a while as I didn't quite realise just how many short stories are in this collection. Enjoying them so far though.

IQ84 book one and two by Haruki Murakami. Since my latest Halloween read is short stories I had decided to read other books at the same time. As the Halloween reads are all gone I could no longer hold this one at bay. I am only 30 pages in but have been quickly sucked into Murakami's world. Just like I always am. Already I am enjoying the characters.

I haven't planned what book is next although I have a fair idea what it will be. The short stories are going to take me a while and I really want to savour IQ84.

What have you been reading?

Edit: Almost forgot "Happy Halloween". Anyone got any fun plans? Fun costumes? I have none as I have exams and other things on this week so I have to live through all of you. ;)

Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

Two boys have lived their lives side by side having been born just minutes apart. The two are so completely different and yet in sync. Jim is always racing ahead and Will is always trying to catch up. One day the carnival comes to town and the boys sneak out to watch it set up. Instinctively they know that there is something wrong with this carnival. Something about it worries them as they watch the tents going up at 3am in the morning. In the daylight all looks normal and many people are enticed in to have their dreams and wants come true. Jim and Will discover that there is more to this than there seems and set out to stop anyone else getting hurt. However, they are discovered by the owners of the carnival and now their own lives are in danger as the carnival hunts them down.

I love Ray Bradbury. I have read a number of his books and I always forget just how wonderful they are. With this one it was the writing style of the book. It was almost as if the words wanted to take a poetic format. I seriously think this could easily have been read out in a performance. Possibly not surprising since Bradbury intended the original of this book to be brought to life on screen.

The boys themselves were fantastic characters. Each so very different and yet sharing that strong bond of friendship. Their characters almost complimented each other. I also loved Will's dad who looked over the boys longing for the freedom and youth they have. A desire the carnival picks up on and tries to use to sway him. Little does her realise that his son doesn't see him as the old man he sees himself as.

As well as being a fantastic piece of writing the book has confirmed something to me. Carnivals are creepy places. I have never really liked them and now I know why. They are scary and bad things can happen. I've actually came across a few stories about carnivals which have added to this hypothesis. These boys are certainly braver than me. I would never leave my house at 3am just to watch one being set up. I certainly wouldn't wonder around it alone after hours.

A great Halloween read. I highly recommend it. Oh, and the next time you go to a carnival maybe think twice about going into the hall of mirrors or going onto the carousel.

Odd Thomas - Dean Koontz

Odd Thomas lives up to his name. He is a little Odd, a harmless eccentric to the people who don't really know him in his own town. Being born with his gift being Odd is understandable. He can see dead people. He can't hear them and so has to use his intuition to discover what it is they need from him. The rest of the time he is a fry cook and boyfriend of the lovely Stormy. On August 14th he is working in the kitchens when a strange man enters the cafe. His food order is strangely large but there is something about him that gives Odd Thomas a bad vibe. Something is going to happen in the town and it centers round this creepy man. Odd believes that he has to do something to stop him or many people will die.

I got into Dean Koontz round about the same time I started reading Stephen King. Even then I knew they weren't in the same league but I still enjoyed reading Koontz. He was at the lighter range of horror which can be a nice change. I eventually stopped reading them though and I certainly didn't feel the need to read his entire back catalog because all of his characters started to feel the same to me. They all ran into one another and I couldn't honestly remember the names of the main characters in the books that I had read months after reading it. I picked this one up because it was recommended to me as a Halloween read. It's been years since I have read any of his books and I did actually like the fact that it was the first in a series starring this one character (plus with the name Odd Thomas I am not likely to forget). So, I was actually looking forward to it.

I very much wanted to like the book and not just for old times sake. I liked Odd Thomas. He was a sweet if rather strange guy. I liked his out look on life even if he did seem a little naive at times. Definitely likable which showed in the fact that everyone in town seemed to love him if not understand him. The first and main problem I had with the book is the first person narrative. It was great because I got to see they way Odd worked and what he thought. However, he did have a tendency to wonder off the point. From the first few pages I would find I had read a page and not taken anything in because my mind started to wonder. I would go back and re-read it only to find that I didn't need to bother. What I had missed had nothing to do with the story at hand. I felt that there was a lot of that in there. Plus a lot of repetition in there too. I don't know how many times we heard that Granny Sugars used to like to gamble or that Odd's dad was trying to send land on the moon.

The plot itself I felt was a little weak. Most of it was chasing round one guy and then nothing really happened until the end. All of a sudden a satanic cult was involved and the detail in that was light until the end too. The fact that Odd can see something called baldocks was interesting but in the end they didn't really have much to do with what Odd was trying to prevent. Although I can see that they might have a part to play in another book. Odd also experienced something supernatural in the house of the stranger but again it had no real part to play in the plot. We never really found out how or why it happened other than some guess work made by Odd. I have to admit that I spent most of the book impatiently waiting for the story to move along.

As much as I liked Odd as a character I don't think I will be reading any more of these books. I am actually a little sad about that because I really did like him. Oh, and as a Halloween read I would give it a big zero. Wasn't scared for a minute and I am a bit of a wimp.

An Idiot Abroad - Karl Pilkington

Karl Pilkington is friends with Ricky Gervais and as a result he spends his life being mocked by him. Mainly for his oddly round head. Pilkington is not and adventurer or a traveler. He knows what he likes and he would rather it stayed that way. Friends Ricky and Stephen decide this is the perfect way to poke some fun at him and make a TV programme at the same time. So they send him round the world to visit the 7 wonders, force him to stay in hovels and to take part in tasks he would rather not do. This book is a diary of those events.

I am actually not a fan of Ricky Gervais. I am probably the only person in the world who is unable to watch him without wanting to hurl something at the television. Famed for his amusing arrogance which actually just sets my teeth on edge. Despite that I clearly have a bit of a sadistic side because every time he appears on TV with Pilkington I find him hilarious. Really I am laughing at Pilkington and I should probably feel bad about that but he does have some of the most insane ideas. Some of which actually scarily make sense.

Anyways, that's my round about reason for picking up this book. The truth is I probably should have just watched the show. It probably would have been funnier. Oh, the book did get a few laughs but not enough to make me say this man is hilarious. Instead it was filled with a few laughs, lots of complaints about toilets interrupted by annoying conversations with Gervais.

This might actually be my shortest review as I don't think there was much more to add about the book. Unlike most travel books he didn't inspire fascination for the places he was visiting. It was a nice distraction but not worth buying the book for. I am curious about his other books though and wonder if maybe they will be a little funnier.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

This is a fun meme by Sheila of Book Journey. A great way to share our reading week.

This week I read;

The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins. Up there as one of my favourite classics. This was my classic a month choice.

 The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. Loved this book. Not as scary as I thought it would be but I still enjoyed it. One of my Halloween reads.

Just now I am reading;

 An Idiot Abroad by Karl Pilkington. Not really impressed to be honest but I am reading it to keep me distracted from the monsters.

 Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. Another Halloween read. Been years since I've read any Koontz. Not that far into it but already the first person narrative is irritating me.

Next I plan to read;

The Fall of the House of Usher and other stories by Edgar Alan Poe. This will be my first foray into Poe. I am very much looking forward to it. Plus the photo of this cover doesn't do justice to how pretty it is. Another example of the fantastic Vintage classics series.

Read more than I expected to but then the Shirley Jackson was a short and easy read. Not sure if I will get onto Poe this week but it is definitely my next book. What have you been reading?

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson

Dr Montague sees himself as an expert on psychic activity. He stumbles over Hill House and decides it's the perfect place to study this phenomenon. A reportedly haunted house that no one will talk about openly. So he invites some people along who are know to have shown some psychic ability. Eleanor decides to go now that she is all alone in the world. She has nothing else to lose and maybe it will give her the sense of belonging she craves. The beautiful Theodora also accepts and Luke, heir to the house, tags along. The house immediately makes itself felt and the group are aware that it won't be long before something happens. They are unsure as to what that will be but don't believe it will put them in any physical danger until it's too late.

My first knowledge of this book was actually the 1999 film "The Haunting" starring Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luke Wilson. It's a film my mum would watch relentlessly. A film I hated as it just wasn't very good. When I asked for some Halloween book recommendations my friend urged me to read this one. I picked it up although I had my doubts when I discovered the book was based on it. I know I always share why I decide to read a book and it's usually not relevant. In this case it is though as I had to push my memories of the film out of my head in order to read the book. Or at the very least try not to let my dislike of it prejudice my view of the book.

The book actually has a very different tone. It's set in the late 50's and the characters in the book actually had a very different feel to those in the film for that reason alone. We immediately feel for Eleanor who has spent most of her life caring for her mother. She takes this offer to Hill House as a way to get out the house of her selfish sister and her husband. For her sake I wanted her to keep driving round America rather than to end the journey she was enjoying so much at Hill House. I was so relieved for her when she quickly fit in to the group and found a niche for herself. A relief that the character felt herself. As the book continues though that niche isn't as secure as it first seemed. Either by Eleanor's doing or by the people around her. Maybe as her neediness showed the other characters were put off by it and in the end pitied her.

What I really think though is that it's the house. We know as soon as Eleanor arrives at the village that there is something wrong with house. The people are strange and uncommunicative. Then the people caring for the house are exactly the same. Possibly the house has seeped into all of these people. Eleanor herself is afraid as soon as she arrives at the house. As the book continues the house is found to be creepier. Doors that won't stay open, noises in the night and an unexplained cold spot not to mention the dark decor and forbidding decor. The blurb of the book says that the house wanted to claim one of it's guests as their own. I think it seeped into the guests and deliberately gave Eleanor that feeling of being an outcast again. Through out the book she continually reached out to people only to be shrugged off.

The book didn't seem particularly scary or creepy at first. There were a few dark moments such as Eleanor's arrival at the house but the mood of the book was quickly brightened again with the arrival of more people. This just added to the build up because I hit the half way mark and I was extremely glad that I was reading it during the day. In fact I managed to finish it during the day too so no sleepless nights for me (fingers crossed).

A fantastic book which I am glad I read. It goes back to that view of the film never matching up to the book. In this case I am thankful of it.