I like big books and I can not lie…

So, remember how I set a goal to read 15 books this year…not going to happen. Unless you count board books…

I was all set to accomplish this modest goal, until I saw this:

–

Well, now I have to read it…by June. My copy is 1,072 pages. Whew! Now that my little one is starting to sleep better (fingers are crossed), this should be very doable.

Like the title of my post suggests, I love big books, and book series. At first, they seem intimidating, but then I get to know the characters, buy into the premise…and shortly, I’m emotionally invested and cannot believe what happened to my favourite character – how are he/she going to get out of this one/how could she fall in love with him/why did that he/she have to die/what is going on!!!!! I’m gasping and tearing up; I’m swearing and laughing…this reaction can rarely be coaxed out of me in a work shorter than 500 or so pages.

Here are some of my favourite big books and book series (and don’t worry, they’re not all Stephen King):

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

–

The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King

–

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice (I’m on my second copy – the first one started falling apart from so many readings!)

–

The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy

–

And of course, we can’t forget the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

–

What are your favourite big books?

Happy reading!

C.

P.S. Here’s another teaser for you 🙂

“Come and play with us, Danny”

Now that we’ve talked about spooky songs, it’s time to get down to the good stuff…

Do you like scary movies?

I’m not a fan of torture/butchering/hacked up limbs gore, but I do like a good suspenseful scare…although, I can’t watch them alone…as I get older, this is becoming more and more of a problem.

I remember one time I was living in a basement suite and was stupid enough to try to watch What Lies Beneath by myself. I believe I ended up on the phone with my best friend Barb…neither of us saying a word, but each offering up silent moral support to the other…I think she was watching Steel Magnolias for the first time… 🙂

So, I’ve seen Saw, but it was too much for me, and that was the last really gory movie I’ve seen. But Halloween doesn’t need to be all about the gross factor. Let’s talk about the scare factor.

One movie that I still have problems watching to this day (originally saw it when I was between 10 and 12 I think) was The Serpent and the Rainbow.

 Voodoo…zombies…people buried alive…and a really disturbing scene with naked Bill Pullman tied to a chair and a metal stake…still makes me uncomfortable to think about. It’s probably super cheesy by today’s standards, but sometime it’s the ones that scare the crap out of you as a kid that stay with you.

–

One of my favourite suspense films is also one that had an impact when I was young. I’m not sure how old my sister and I were, but my dad turned out all the lights and sat us under a blanket on the edge of the sofa bed, and we watched Wait Until Dark.

Audrey Hepburn’s character is blind, so she can’t see what is happening around her, but you can…nail biting and tense…excellent! A couple other suspense films I enjoy include The Others and The Skeleton Key…neither are exceptional (or exceptionally scary), but the former has some great jump-in-your-seat moments and the later has one of the best a-ha moments, when the main character realizes she’s screwed.

–

From the title of the post, I’m sure all of you know that I’m a big Stephen King fan, and I really enjoy many definitely not all of his movie adaptations, especially scary are The Shining, Misery and It – holy creepy Tim Curry!, but I want to end this post on a humourous note…and I get to…cause I’m the writer here…

What is Halloween, without the terrible but wonderful Rocky Horror Picture Show!

–

Or Zombies…

–

And even more zombies?

If you haven’t seen this, please do yourself a favour, and watch it this weekend…hilarious!

–

What scary movies are you going to watch this weekend? Got your costume ready?

C.

Recent Reads – July edition

I hope all of you have been having a lovely summer! I definitely took advantage of the sunny days over the long weekend. No yard yet, but at least there has been progress on our rough grade – fingers are crossed!

It’s now time for my monthly installment of what I’ve been reading. This month, listed in order of enjoyment…

–

Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

I read some negative reviews about this, but what do they know I really liked it. At nine years old, the main character discovers that she can taste the feelings of the person who prepares the food she eats – I think this is a fascinating concept. I love how her voice changes as she grows and how she learns to live with and then embrace this interesting gift. Really fascinating and unique story.

–

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen

This was my first experience with Anna Quindlen, and I was very impressed. The story was well thought out and moved smoothly. I felt the characters were true to life and the situations were realistic. It was dark material, but Quindlen handled it well – real but delicate. Not a light read, but a good one.

–

The Witches by Roald Dahl

Not my favourite Roald Dahl book (I’m partial to The Twits myself), but this is a very entertaining children’s story. I have to admit though, I liked the movie better. Who wouldn’t love Angelica Huston as the evil Grand High Witch!

(source)

–

Follow Your North Star by Martha Beck (audiobook)

“After sharing a touching story of her own personal awakening, life coach Beck narrates a well-organized and thoughtful program about personal discovery. Through a series of crafty suggestions and exercises, she helps listeners find their essential self and break free from the social roles most people fall into because of wanting to fit in and not disappoint others. The author’s way of thinking and talking about this process is so sincere and appealing that listeners will overlook her less-than-ideal speaking voice. Her pacing is natural, and the ideas are so comprehensive and intuitive that this message will be heard by even the most stubborn among us. An intelligent and powerful road map to finding one’s true destiny.” (Amazon Description)

This wasn’t so much a book as it was a workshop on finding your real purpose. I really enjoyed listening to it – she wasn’t reading, but talking to the listener as if they were right in front of her. An interesting option if you’re into self-discovery sort of material.

–

Along Came A Spider and Kiss the Girls by James Patterson: I think I was spoiled by seeing the movies first. The character of Alex Cross didn’t work for me because I kept picturing Morgan Freeman…

(source)

…and I couldn’t imagine Morgan Freeman acting that way. Oh well, these two were decent mysteries that moved along quite quickly.

–

Currently reading:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: I have to take breaks when reading philosophy so my head doesn’t explode so I can fully absorb the material.

Tipping the Velvet: am loving the writing so far.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal: irreverent and funny, loving it!

–

Coming up:

I didn’t get to The Year of the Flood or The Drawing of Three, so those are definitely next on the list.

After those, I may try Ape House or Blaze, or I may just keep going with the murder mysteries.

Has anyone read A Game of Thrones yet? I’m thinking about tackling it, but I’m not sure how heavy it is…I can take the 800 and some pages, just wondering what I’m getting myself into…

–

Happy Reading!

C.

Do you know Stephen, like I know Stephen?

I realize many people do not enjoy the horror genre when it comes to their reading material. This may come as a surprise, but I don’t read much horror…with one big, big exception…

(source)

In my opinion, Stephen King is one of the most prolific storytellers of our time…but I think many people don’t realize it because they associate his name with horror…and they don’t like scary books…

However, and please hear me out, his writing – and story-telling ability – are well worth the chance. And besides, you’re most likely familiar with his work, even if you’re not aware of it.

I am always surprised when The Shawshank Redemption or Stand By Me come up in conversation, and there are those who do not know that these two fantastic movies were based on equally fantastic stories by Stephen King – both appearing in Different Seasons.

The Green Mile is also based on a Stephen King novel.

I remember stalking the bookstore for each new edition of this story; it was originally published in six installments.

Why I like Stephen King:

Simply put, Stephen King is a great writer. He can take something as simple as a mutated flu virus and turn it into an epic tale of good versus evil. This is the theme I most resonate with in his books: good versus evil. No matter what the premise, there is this fundamental battle. And while none of the characters are perfect (they are perfectly flawed), they must pick a side and fight – either internally or with a variety of deliciously evil villains.

I also like that King takes chances. Some of them work and some don’t, but he is always experimenting and is not afraid to try something new. I also like how he rewards those he calls “constant readers.” If you read enough of the novels, especially those that deal with the mythology of the beams, you will be rewarded. (I would be very happy to explain, if you wish.)

My Favourites

If I had to pick favourites, they would include:

The Dark Tower series: This seven-book series is epic…and incredible. (For the record, the ending worked for me. I don’t know how else he would have done it, and I don’t know if any ending would have satisfied the majority, and he did warn us. I think ending these types of stories must be the most difficult task for the writers, but I digress.) The characters are complex and changing; the story is dense and the journey is unforgettable. My favourite is the fourth book of the series, Wizard and Glass.

As the Ka-tet continues its journey, this volume primarily deals with Roland’s youth and his love affair with Susan – beautiful, tragic and magical. Thankee, Sai.

On Writing:

A fantastic piece of non-fiction that combines the story of King’s writing background, the story of his accident and tips for writing a novel. This is worth it just for the stories from King’s youth and early adulthood.

Needful Things and The Tommyknockers

Again, these are dense stories filled with fascinating characters – much better than the movies.

Also: The Talisman, Insomnia (It is very hard for me to choose.)

If you would like to know Stephen, try these:

Delores Claiborne or Gerald’s Game: these aren’t horror per se. They are interesting stories with a touch of the supernatural, but nothing too evil. 🙂

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon: an excellent, and shorter, novel about a girl who gets lost in the woods.

Nightmares and Dreamscapes: for a selection of pieces, try this book of short stories. This book also contains an essay King wrote about his son’s baseball team. I couldn’t care less about am not very interested in baseball, but this is one of the best things I’ve ever read.

What author can you not live without?

Long days and pleasant nights,

C.

Recent Reads – June Edition

Well, my time this month has been spent mostly working, essay writing or studying, or worrying about work or essay writing, so my June reads are a little thinner than a regular month when I’m slacking off.

I spent a lot of time immersed in Chorus of Mushrooms and Sweetness in the Belly for my latest essay (I greatly enjoyed these two books, by the way), and finished my final course book Voices in the Desert, which is a book of short stories, essays and poems by Arabic-Canadian women.

I did however, manage to read a few for fun books as well.

Bloody Chamber:

This was…interesting…

I really enjoyed her rendition of the tale of Bluebeard’s wife, and I liked something about the vampire story. I found the rest strange, and there was too much Little Red Riding Hood. I felt like Angela Carter was trying too hard to be sensual, and it didn’t connect for me.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle:

I really enjoyed this. I listened to the audio book – it was great to hear the story straight from the author.

I don’t know how much will apply here as our climate and my amount-of-land-available-to-me situation is quite different from the author’s. I really liked the emphasis on supporting local food producers and farmers. I also found the discussion of asparagus extremely interesting. 🙂 I look forward to visiting the companion website to try some of the recipes described in the book.

Harry Potter mania:

This month, I re-read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I’m also almost finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I just love these stories. They are full of adventure and wonder, and I love how they grow in complexity and drama as the students age. As a fairy tale lover from way back, I’m not ashamed to admit I’m in love with this series. Initially, I picked up Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone  just to see what the fuss was about, and I was hooked. I like to re-read the series before each movie comes out, so by the end of the weekend, I should be prepared for the final movie.

Up next on the bookshelf:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood (yeah! new Atwood!)

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M Pirsig (new to me)

The Drawing of Three by Stephen King (I’m slowly going through this series again as well – one of my favorites – I’m told movies will be coming soon!)

True Blue by David Baldacci (because every summer needs at least one crime drama)

What are you reading this summer?

Happy Canada Day weekend!!!

C.