On Reading (part two – the books)

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Answers, Books, Competition, creative, Fun, On Reading, poems, poetry, Quiz, Reading, writing

As promised here is the list of books to accompany ‘On Reading’ my post from Saturday.

I hope you got them all!

1. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
2. The Stranger (Albert Camus)
3. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
4.The 39 Steps (John Buchan)
5. The Trial (Franz Kafka)
6. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carrol)
7. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World (Haruki Murakami)
8. The Vegetarian (Han Kang)
9. The Castle of Crossed Destinies (Italo Calvino)
10. Hotel de Dream (Emma Tennant)

On Reading

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Books, Competition, creative, Fun, Guessing game, Literature, On Reading, poems, poetry, Prizes, Quiz, Reading, Silliness, verse, writing

Just a bit of silliness, really, (the verse that is, not reading itself without which…).

Points will be awarded for anyone who can recognise the books from the (sometimes slightly obscure) precis. There are ten points up for grabs…but no prizes other than self-satisfaction!

I lost myself
Between the sheets
Lived each page and
Every beat,
I was the lover on the moor
The killer on the shore,
Sat in a garret wracked with shame
Keeping secrets on a train,
A man on trial without a charge
The girl both small and large,
The man with shadow never seen
A woman turning green,
My stories told in Tarot cards
Where dreams collide and play,
I lost myself
Between the sheets,
And found myself
Within the words.

Answers (for those interested) on Monday.

You’ll Never Walk Alone by Chris Hall

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1980's, Adventure, Chris Hall, Liverpool, mystery, Reading, Review, Review week, story, You'll Never Walk Alone

Just for a change (and in support of a few authors whose work I have been enjoying) I thought that I’d post a review a day for a week. Hopefully something might take your fancy!

You’ll Never Walk Alone by Chris Hall

Chris Hall writes with a style which can only be described as irresistible. From the very opening of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ until the closing sentence I was hooked and, like all of the other stories of hers that I have read, I simply didn’t want to put the book down.Written with great wit and humour, the story twists and turns, drawing new characters in as it unwinds, each of whom has their role to play. Without wanting to give too much away this is a story that is easy to imagine actually happening; the characters are all very real and three dimensional and some of the coincidences that occur along the way are very believable and, indeed, relatable.
Chris’s descriptions are vivid and clear, and certainly not over-worked, allowing the reader to easily form a visual narrative as they read. Would it help to have a little background knowledge of Britain in the 1980’s? Well, I’m not sure. Being British (and of an age) I found it easy to identify with the setting (even though my knowledge of Liverpool, where the story is set, is very limited), and I found myself chuckling at times at some of the references to which her characters allude: (‘You dancing?’ for example). So, in answer to the question, I would say not, such is the strength of the story.
There are moments within the story where I genuinely took a breath and thought ‘well, I didn’t see that coming’, which, if I’m honest, doesn’t happen that often.
And, of course, there’s a monkey! Who could say no?
This is a story that I know I will re-read over and over and, if you enjoy a good, realistic adventure (with just a hint of mysterious legend) then ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is the book you’ve been searching for. 
Highly recommended. 

Dead Souls by Andrew S French

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Andrew French, Andrew S French, Dead Souls, Ghost, Horror, Reading, Review, Review week, short stories, Spooky, stories

Just for a change (and in support of a few authors whose work I have been enjoying) I thought that I’d post a review a day for a week. Hopefully something might take your fancy!

Dead Souls by Andrew S French

Dead Souls is a fine collection of supernatural stories each with an original and unique perspective. Very little about each of the stories is predictable which makes them a joy to read.None of the stories are overly graphic, focusing on the unsettling rather than relying on horror or gore for their impact, which makes them all the more interesting and satisfying.
If you are looking for short stories which are ghostly but thoughtfully written then I would highly recommend reading this collection.

Static Dreams – Tara Caribou (ed)

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Authors, Ghostly, Horror, mystery, Reading, Review, Review week, short stories, Static Dreams, stories, Tara Caribou, Terror, Various

Just for a change (and in support of a few authors whose work I have been enjoying) I thought that I’d post a review a day for a week. Hopefully something might take your fancy!

Static Dreams – various authors, edited by Tara Caribou

It would take a lot of searching, and even more page turning, to find a finer collection of dark tales than Static Dreams. From Mark Ryan’s quintessentially English story, which will make you think twice about visiting a charity shop, to Lou Rasmus’s chilling tale of a man’s decline to editor Tara Caribou’s own disturbing dystopian contribution, whose roots feel very close to home, this anthology features stories by some of the most original independent authors around.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

What’s more is that there is an equally impressive Volume 2 as well. Definitely worth checking out!

The Stories Inbetween by River Dixon

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Ghost, Horror, Reading, Review, Review week, River Dixon, short stories, stories, Terror, The Stories Inbetween

Just for a change (and in support of a few authors whose work I have been enjoying) I thought that I’d post a review a day for a week. Hopefully something might take your fancy!

The Stories Inbetween by River Dixon

I will preface this review by saying that I read a lot of short stories.

Having got that out of the way I have to say that I have never read a collection so original, so cleverly written or so affecting as ‘The Stories Inbetween’. Whether it is the dark humour of stories like ‘The Example’, the superb literary idea behind ‘The Diner’ or the unsettling nature of ‘Conversations in the Mirror’, River Dixon has managed to craft a collection of stories which will stay long in the memory. His style is very much that of a writer’s writer, using prose effectively and succinctly and knowing exactly what to include and where to leave spaces for the reader to fill themselves.

Many of the stories contained here are darkly horrific, but benefit from River understanding precisely how much ‘gore’ is needed to maintain the effectiveness of the  story – yet I would not lump this collection in with a horror genre. It is far more than that. So many of the stories are both insightful of human nature and  indeed, thought-provoking, and this is, without doubt, a collection that I will read many times.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

A week of reviews

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Adventure, Amazon, Chris Hall, Lunaisonline, Reading, Review week, Reviews, Song of the Sea Goddess, story, writing

Just for a change (and in support of a few authors whose work I have been enjoying) I thought that I’d post a review a day for a week. Hopefully something might take your fancy!

Song of the Sea Goddess by Chris Hall

Part fantasy, part adventure and part allegory, Song of the Sea Goddess is an imaginative and eloquently told story about the unfolding of the lives of a group of seemingly unconnected characters following one bizarre event.Chris Hall develops each character through individual chapters that slowly become interwoven and lead towards an unexpected climax. Particularly enjoyable is how seemingly random events show up which give a wonderful insight into the past lives of several of the characters. Indeed each character comes to life as the story unfolds and, as most of the book is written in the present tense, the reader’s connection with them develops in a sort of ‘real time’.
The chapters themselves are relatively short which works very effectively to help the reader to internalise their understanding of the characters and their relationships. 
I don’t want to go into plot detail as each event is important to the overall story and needs to be discovered by the reader, but expect plenty of twists and turns with each page. 
So often, I find, story endings can ‘tail off’ a little, but this is far from the case here; Chris’s ending is as strong as her opening and leaves a satisfying feeling on the reader.
I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a fantasy adventure with its feet firmly planted in reality.

Nobody Reads

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Communication, creative, Disconnection, isolation, Language, Nobody Reads, poems, poetry, Reading, verse, writing

Nobody really reads

Anymore

And I sit here with my pen

And page

Quartz-white and aching

With the longing to be heard

With the longing for the scratches

Of life and love and pain

To leave their trail 

Like the snails who emerge

To the freshness of the rain

With a purpose and a will

On the fences and the leaves

On the skin of another.

Nobody really reads 

Anymore

Eyes scan screens and pages

Lifeless

As if expecting something more

To leap out from the words

To seep from the page

And settle beneath the skin 

Like a message or a meaning 

Or something better to take

The time away

A quiet infection of purpose

Or entertainment or something 

Something other than this.

Nobody really reads 

Anymore 

As a colourless wash paints over

It’s grey

Face recycled with the same words

That we heard before

That we heard tomorrow 

With no more meaning than the clouds

Which spin and scuttle

Like frightened crabs across the sky

Across the beach

To the sea that swallows them whole

As the language slowly dies

Behind our eyes.

Nobody really reads 

Anymore.

It’ll be lonely this Christmas…

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Another Tease, Books, creative, Ebook, Falling Sleet, Lulu, Paperback, poems, poetry, Publications, Reading, short stories, stories, The Beautiful Silence, The Candle Game, verse, writing

…without a good book to hold (or, failing that, one of mine!). So, in  shameless act of self-promotion, (and hoping that at least one person out there has picked up on the festive reference to the ’70’s group Mud) may I be so bold as to draw your attention to a few books that might be perfect for those last minute gifts!

Falling Sleet – a collection of poetry

LULU

AMAZON

BOOK DEPOSITORY

ABEBOOKS

ALIBRIS

EBOOK

The Candle Game and other stories

LULU

AMAZON

BOOK DEPOSITORY

ABEBOOKS

ALBRIS

EBOOK

Another Tease – poetry, prose and lyrics (perfect for a non-festive sing-a-long)

LULU

AMAZON

BOOK DEPOSITORY 

ABEBOOKS

ALBRIS

The Beautiful Silence and other stories

LULU

AMAZON

For lovers of Amazon I can only apologise as I have had some issues with the links! I can assure you that all of the books are available through their site.

Happy reading one and all!