Horror October Week 3 Recap

What was even this week?!  I thought it was going to be a pretty mellow work week, but holy crap we had some large order go out of the bakery.  Upside I got Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon off and got spend the whole day reading!

Ugh! I'm so glad I watched this during the day.  It was like the top three things that creep me out! Would have been better if had been so gloomy outside.

This is definitely a house favorite.  I cannot even count the number of times we've thrown this on while doing housework and what not.  YOU DRANK IAN!

After re-starting it for Dewey's because I forgot pieces, I also finished it!  The book and movie differ in a lot of ways, but one way the are the same is I didn't approve of either. Should have the review this one up soon!

I'm about 60 pages into this guy.  I fell asleep inside of is last night, and I have to say I had some pretty screwed up dreams.  Which I totally blame Joe Hill for.  These stories are kinds of weird!

ONE WEEK UNTIL HALLOWEEN! Anyone dressing up as a literally character this year?  I'm going as a Crystal Lake Camp Counselor. :)

Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon Recap

What a day!  Everyone in my house took part in the Readathon, and neither of managed to make is all the way until the end.  My roommate managed to make it to around 1 am.  I managed to make until a little after 2am.  Around that time I passed out inside my book.  Still I think we both managed to read about three books a piece and at least one BINGO book.

Currently Reading: 20th Century Ghosts

Books Finished: 3

Pages Read: 446

Hours Read: 18 hours

Don't worry if you missed this Readathon!  Dewey will be back April 2017.  Just keep an eye HERE!  How was ya'll's readathon?  What's the best thing you read?

Dewey's 24 Hour Master Post

I should have totally posted this sooner, but my plans slightly changed for the day.  Instead of little updated every few hours like some people are doing.  I though I'd make a Master Post and just update on thing today.  Part of me is always sad to see how people seem to read so quickly through books as I'm still mowing through my own tiny books, but I've long since accepted I'm a slow reader!  Whatever! Onward to the Master Post.

5 am to 7:30 am: Coffee pot was turned on and The Women in Black picked up.  I started from the beginning again, because I had set it down three days ago and yeah.  I've forgotten how the book starts compared to the movie.

8 am to 9 am: No reading done. Had a friend in town and we grabbed some breakfast as it was her last day visiting.

9 am: Finally back home to my cats and my comfy spot!  Also thoroughly creeped out now, cause yeah.  The Women is definitely creeper in the book.  Thanks for that Susan Hill!

3 pm: Just finished The Woman in Black, and immediately jumped into something happy. 2 graphic novels down, Invader Zim Vol. 2 and Howard the Duck Vol. 0. Not bad for hour 11!

3pm to 5:30 pm: I napped.  Didn't mean to, but I fell face first into my book and snoozed for a bit!

5:30pm to 9pm: Picked up 20th Century Ghost Story by Joe Hill.

9pm: Watching Dirk Gently!!  So should you be!! 

Dewey's 24-hour Read-A-Thon!

Holy crap! This post should have been way before this, but real life has this way of getting in the way of things like blogs, reading, and social calendars. Anyway! The time has come, and that time is tomorrow!  TOMORROW!  This will be my third time participating in Dewey's 24 Readathon. However, it will be my second year getting to have the whole entire day to read.  My boss was super amazing about helping work the schedule so I could have the whole day.  Hectic my job may be, but I'm blessed with a wonderful of crew people to work alongside.

Now, tomorrow!  This will be my first year with my very own blog with Dewey's.  So I'm not real sure what I'll even be doing!  I know we're taking a break around the 3 hours mark to go have breakfast and the coming straight back to read, and the snacks and a late lunch planned.  Which takes are of the important parts.

As for posting.  I'll get a second post up tomorrow about my goals, and throughout the day I'll try to keep that updated via my phone.  I might even try to grab a few giveaways this year.  Maybe even post some photos along the way as well.  Then hopefully on Sunday I'll get a wrap up set up after work!

It's not to late to sign-up and read!  Dewey's is super low stress.  Read the way you want and how you want!  Below I'll post a few links for those who cross this way that want to know more.   For those already in the running, leave me your blog and I'll make sure to take some time to cheer you along!!

GOOD READING!!

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Throwback Thursday - Misery

I'm keeping up with Horror October a picked the one Stephen King book that has always sort of freaked me out.  Well, all of them freak me out, but this one takes the cake.  Not only did the book scare me.  Then I saw the movie and Kathy Bates made this movie!

Original Publishing Date: November 1, 1988 

Author: Stephen King

Genre: Horror/Suspense 

Series: Stand Alone

Paul Sheldon. He's a bestselling novelist who has finally met his biggest fan. Her name is Annie Wilkes and she is more than a rabid reader - she is Paul's nurse, tending his shattered body after an automobile accident. But she is also his captor, keeping him prisoner in her isolated house.

What's everyone's favorite Stephen King? Or, the best one that's messed with your head?

Waiting on Wednesday - Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming release that book bloggers are eagerly anticipating.

Release Date: Oct. 25, 2016

Publisher: Nan A. Talese

Author: Deirdre Bair

Genre: NonFiction

Series: Stand Alone

From a National Book Award-winning biographer, the first complete life of legendary gangster Al Capone to be produced with the cooperation of his family, who provided the author with exclusive access to personal testimony and archival documents. 

I have this weird sort of fascination with gangsters and the whole Prohibition Era. While I'm aware of the blood bath and the misery that was actually surrounded this era.  There is still this sort of romanticized shroud around the whole Era that makes is fascinating, and I'll eagerly pick up any book about the gangsters and their crimes. 

Horror October Week 2 Recap

The second week of October has come and gone.  I can't believe this month, let alone this year, is so close to being over!!  This week I finally got hit by the bug that has been floating around my work.  Which means I watched a lot of scary movies, but got very little reading done.  For three days this week I basically slept!  Upside though is Saturday is Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-thon and I can catch up.  More on that later.

  Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow is a favorite in my house during the beginning of Fall. While it hasn't made me jump in many years, I do enjoy the overall version of this Gothic Classic.  It's hard to hate with the line-up of amazing actors they cast.

Because one Tim Burton always seems to follow another, at least in this house.  We finished the night off with one of my personal favorites.  Always best to end the night of scary movies on a rather morbid, but hilarious note.

So this has been a re-watch for me this week while I was sick.  I do adore this series and was very sad to hear that the Third Season was the last.  However, I'm glad it at least ended on what I've heard is a really good, but most likely sad, note.  This re-watch has been fun because I've noticed things this time around that I didn't notice with the original watch.  As of tonight I'm half-way through Season Two.

I finally saw Ash get his chainsaw hand!! My roommate is the one to original introduce me the Evil Dead. Up until a few years ago I head no idea what is was, and when she found it she rented it.  Finally I've seen the second movie and we're waiting for the third to arrive at the library so I'm finally caught up to watch the TV Series.

On Friday, I finally managed to have the energy to more than blink on the couch.  I decided to pick up The Woman in Black.  I did the thing where of course I've seen the movie before reading the book.  Which made it a little hard to start, because of spoilers, but I've been reading it a chapter at time now that I'm back to work.  So for I'm enjoying it!

That was my week!  Mostly scary movies, but meh I was sick!  So if you want to see what everyone else is doing for Horror October, jump over here!

Anyone else getting excited for Halloween!  Reading or watching anything must see/read?!

Throwback Thursday - The Legend of Sleepy Hallow

In keeping with the Horror October theme, I chose my next Throwback read not because it ever really scared me, but because it's just plain creepy.  I was drawn to the book because of the mystery side of the story.  However, the sort of ominous feel to the story kept me hook and I read it one in sitting.


Original Publishing Date: 1820
Author: Washington Irving
Genre: Gothic/Horror
Series: Stand Alone

Sleepy Hollow is a strange little place...some say bewitched. Some talk of its haunted valleys and streams, the ghostly woman in white, eerie midnight shrieks and howls, but most of all they talk of the Headless Horseman. A huge, shadowy soldier who rides headless through the night, terrifying unlucky travellers.

Schoolteacher Ichabod Crane is fascinated by these stories....Until late one night, walking home through Wiley's swamp, he finds that maybe they're not just stories.

What is that dark, menacing figure riding behind him on a horse? And what does it have in its hands?

And why wasn't schoolteacher Crane ever seen in Sleepy Hollow again?

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is definitely a Classic when it comes to Horror.  In fact I feel like it's more of a Gothic tale, than Horror as we know it today.  I'm a sucker for a good Gothic Tale.  Which something I haven't found a lot in recently published works.  So if anyone has any good recommendations I'd love to have them!

Waiting on Wednesday - Unmentionable: A Victorian Ladies Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming release that book bloggers are eagerly anticipating.

Release Date: October 25, 2016
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Author: Therese ONeill
Series: Stand Alone
Genre: NonFiction

Therese Oneill opens the doors to everything we secretly wanted to know about the Victorian era, but didn't think to ask. Knickers with no crotches? Check. Arsenic as a facial scrub? Check. The infrequency of bathing and the stench of the Victorian human body? Check mate.

I'm basically waiting on this one just be released.  Unmentionable combines my two favorite things: the Victorian Era and strange NonFiction books.  This may be my, congrats on dying when you moved over Thanksgiving, gift to myself.

So what's book are you waiting on this week?

Horror October - Week 1 Recap

Well the first week of October has come and gone! Unfortunately, I didn't get to any of the books on my TBR.  Mostly because I picked up a lot of shifts at my work this week to help out because everyone was sick.  Tis the season.  Though, in true October fashion I had a pretty gnarly run-in with a hot glue gun that was so not enjoyable for anyone involved.  However, I did squeeze in a couple of movies this week from my list!

So I've seen this movie a handful of times already, and it honestly is still one of my favorite movies Alan Tudyk is in.  It's really a spoof of the backwoods Horror movies of years past, but with a twist that more hilarious than scary.  However, it is really gory.  So it's perfect for the Halloween season.  Tucker & Dale vs Evil, has become a Halloween tradition in our house.

I have no idea why it taken me so long to finally see this movie. It's produced by Guillermo del Toro.  Who has been making me sleep with the lights on for many years.  Horror October gave me the perfect reason to check it out from the library.  Holy Crap! So happy I decided to this during the day and not later that night.  I've been a little jumpy with the lights off.  The Orphanage is a creepy sort of take on Peter Pan and Wendy.  A very, very creepy version.  I jumped a handful of times and it kind of screws with your head as well, because I did not see that ending at all.  Definitely glad I picked this one up!

So, did anyone else do anything Halloween-ish this week?  

A Study in Scarlet Women - Review

Release Date: October 18, 2016

Author: Sherry Thomas

Series: Lady Sherlock #1

Genre: Mystery 

ARC Received From: Berkley Publishing

With her inquisitive mind, Charlotte Holmes has never felt comfortable with the demureness expected of the fairer sex in upper class society.  But even she never thought that she would become a social pariah, an outcast fending for herself on the mean streets of London. 

I want to start by giving a big thanks to Berkley Publishing for giving me a chance to read A Study in Scarlet Women a few weeks early!  I received this in return for my honest review of Sherry Thomas's newest book, and what follows is just that.

Personally, I feel it's always best to start with parts of the book I did in fact enjoy.  Which I have to say is Charlotte Holmes herself.  She is the main character of A Study in Scarlet Women, and personally I felt like she was wonderful blend of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes from the Canon.  I was rather taken with her from the first we met her, and honestly did enjoy her throughout the book.  As well as her sister Livia Holmes.  They were probably my favorite characters in the book, and really the reason I made myself keep going to finish the book.

The pace of the book is very quick.  There really wasn't a part where I found the book was really lagging.  The flashbacks were well placed and easy to follow when they happened, and I honestly never had a moment where I wasn't certain of how we ended up somewhere.  Which made the book very easy to read and come back to between work shifts. Something that occasionally with Mystery books I have a trouble with and have to go back a couple of pages to catch back to where I stopped the night before.

Also the writing is very solid and tight.  Sherry Thomas clearly knows how to put together a book.  A Study in Scarlet Women was the first book I've read by Thomas, but it wasn't hard to see why so many people love her books.  Or, even why she's a Bestselling Author.  The book was well put together and flowed wonderfully.  However, I just couldn't get myself excited about once I started it.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. Just the character of Charlotte wanted me to love this book more than I did, because I honestly adore Charlotte Holmes.  However, I just found myself putting this book down more than picking it up.  I kept finding reasons not to pick it up again.  I never really found myself attaching to the mystery of it all.  Never felt overly invested in how it would all end, but I was determined to finish it.

Another thing, and maybe the real reason I couldn't get into it much, was I wasn't a fan of Watson.  Who is my favorite character in the Sherlock Series. I just didn't like this version of the character. Most of the time I find her a waste of a scene and would have rather seen Livia with Charlotte more.

So was it a terrible book?

No, by all means it's a good book.  I can see why a lot of people have enjoyed it given it a much better rating than me.  It just wasn't meant for me.  In fact I have a coworker I think might really enjoy it, and I fully intended to pass this on to her.

I gave it 2 stars because I personally thought it was Okay.  Not bad, but just not for me.

Buy, Borrow, or Skip: Borrow, if your a Sherlock, or a Sherry Thomas fan, definitely pick this one up from the library.

Throwback Thursday - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

As part of the Horror October challenge this month, all my Throwback Reads will be my favorite Halloween time books.  I honestly couldn't think of a better book than the first one to make me sleep with the lights on as a kid.

Original Publishing Date: January 5th 1886

Publisher: Longmans, Green & CO

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

Series: Stand Alone

In this harrowing tale of good and evil, the mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll develops a potion that unleashes his secret, inner persona—the loathsome, twisted Mr. Hyde.

What book was the first one to keep you awake at night? Or, make sleep the lights on?