Would you rather…?

I was recently tagged by my friend Mia in a “Would you rather …” blog hop that is going around. I do like a good blog hop, especially with something as easy as answering some questions so here goes…

Would you rather only read trilogies or only read standalones?

Trilogies. If I really enjoy a character, or world, I love to stay with them, or in it for as long as I possibly can.

Would you rather only read male or female authors?

That’s a messed up question. I have never picked a book by its author’s gender nor will I.

Would you rather shop at Barnes & Noble or Amazon?

Amazon. I can get any book that I want from Amazon. Barnes & Noble’s is pretty and full of books, but they do not always have the book I am looking for

Would you rather books were made into TV shows or movies?

Definitely movies. There was a book series, which I really enjoyed, and it had the rights bought by the television network, then the idea was scrapped and nothing ever came of it. And had they left it alone, it would’ve been a brilliant movie!! Everyone always complains of making a book into a movie takes something away from the book, but I disagree. I think making a book into a movie can shine a greater light on the art of writing a book. It brings the same brilliant material to life for those who aren’t necessarily readers, maybe even introducing someone to begin reading. Sure, 8 times out of 10, the book is going to be better than the moviE – but it’s the written word, of course it’s better!

Would you rather read only five pages per day or five books per week?

Five books per week, I’d never get a dent made in my to be read stack(s) at five pages a day! Who only read five pages a day, sheesh!

Would you rather be a librarian or a bookseller?

Oh this one is tricky. I would love to do either in all honesty. The idea being surrounded by books, all day long – bliss. But I would have to choose a bookseller, to have my own shop and meet other book-lovers on that sort of level, ahhhh.

Would you rather only read ebooks or physical books?

Physical books. I have a semi-decent library of ebooks, but nothing compared to my bookshelf at home. I keep it double stacked and overflowing. Unfortunately, I cannot read on my Kindle for long periods of time. After a while, reading the screens give me a nasty headache. That is the one thing I hate about meeting such wonderful indie authors, most of their books are digital and so I tend to be a really slow reader when reading their works.

Thanks Mia for the tag!

Till next time,

~AJP

What determines a good book?

This week I picked up the book, Dark Places by Gillian Flynn.

If you haven’t read anything by this author, she is known for her extremely dark imagination in her psychological thrillers. I did not care as much for her book, Sharp Objects, but I loved Gone Girl giving it a 5 star review. All three of her novels are being made into movies, Gone Girl to be released first in October.

So I wasn’t sure what to expect from Dark Places but the synopsis sounded intriguing.

Libby Day was just seven years old when her evidence put her fifteen-year-old brother behind bars.

Since then, she had been drifting. But when she is contacted by a group who are convinced of Ben’s innocence, Libby starts to ask questions she never dared to before. Was the voice she heard her brother’s? Ben was a misfit in their small town, but was he capable of murder? Are there secrets to uncover at the family farm or is Libby deluding herself because she wants her brother back?

She begins to realise that everyone in her family had something to hide that day… especially Ben. Now, twenty-four years later, the truth is going to be even harder to find.

Who did massacre the Day family?

 

I finished reading it last night and I am still not sure how I feel about this book.

First off, it read quickly, I like that in a book. It left me wanting to know what was going to happen next and how it was going to end. Boring would not be a word I used at any point in this one. It had an interesting plot – I would love to get to know the author to see how her mind works, that unfolded gracefully throughout the story.

The chapters were a mix of present and past tense and set in different point of views; which if done well- and it was, gives the reader a chance to delve deeper into the story instead of just being one sided from one person’s POV.

However, there were things in this book that I didn’t care for either.

There were a few plot building characters that were deranged but I was left wondering why they acted in the bizarre ways that they did. It seemed that there was no reason or explanation other than this is who they are and that’s that. It felt unbelievable.

Then we have the ick factor; there were things written in this book that just seemed written to be gross and make you feel gross but really had zero bearing on the plot what so ever, leaving you with the thought of that was random and weird.

Again it read quickly, but at the same time it was exhausting to read. These lives are so full of misery (yes, I knew this was a psycho thriller when I started reading) but it was bad thing after bad thing happening and as a reader I was never really given the chance to get off of the roller coaster. It was a page turner for sure, an interesting one at that, but I found myself needing breaks because it just became too much bad to be enjoyable all at once.

Then we have the ending… I felt like it was kind of cut short in the story line. We have followed these people’s lives going back 24 years and have felt their pain, misery, heartaches and then she threw the ending at us like an info dump.

Maybe the points listed above, that I found un-enjoyable about Dark Places, were intended by the author, and if so then she did a great job!

This book took me on a mind bender of a ride with being fascinated, creeped out, spooked, and jumping at the little noises in my house. Overall, a good sign while reading a selection from this genre. In the end, I gave this read 4 stars and recommend you give it a try if you haven’t already.

I am looking forward to seeing this one as a movie. IMDb is showing Dark Places movie release to be this November so here is hoping Hollywood does it justice.

 

Have you read Dark Places? Or any of the other books by Gillian Flynn? If so, what did you think? If not, are you going to? What is your take on these types of books?

~AJP

 

Read any good books lately?

Books are a big staple in my home. I have entirely too many books to be honest. My bookshelves are double lined with rows of them. What doesn’t fit onto the shelves are stacked on desks, tables or other various flat surfaces.

And then to add to my own collection, my children are the same way. In fact, as I look around my living room, I think that maybe we borderline having an obsession…

Even with as many books as we own, we spend quite a bit of time borrowing from the local library. We’ve already visited three times just this past week.

(I’ve also been to the local book store this week too.)

With this being said, I find myself being in a reading slump. I can’t seem to get hooked on anything. Each one that I pick up, I get a portion of the way through and then have to force myself to finish. And most of these books are written by authors that I normally love.

I’ve tried different genres, authors, best sellers, not best sellers, you name it. Usually, I can devour a good book in under a few days. Lately it seems to take me a couple of weeks to finish a standard sized book. Or I become so bored with it that I never finish reading it.

What I want is a really good book.

Have you ever had this happen to you? If so, how did you work your way out of your slump? 

~AJP

A good Author with a hook of a name

I love getting those lists each month in my email of what books are being released that month, or what books made it to the top lists. (I love lists too, all kinds.)

While perusing one of those lists recently I came across an Author that reeled me in just by her name alone.

Rainbow Rowell.

I love just saying it out loud (Yes, I know that I am a total weirdo, but that is besides the point of this post), but it just rolls off your tongue.

Anyways, so after saying her names a few times, I checked out her website and instantly kind of wanted to be her best friend. Seeing as how that made me seem a little more freakish than I care to be, I did the next best thing. Collected the three books that she has published in the past few years. And I became even more hooked.

 

Attachments, (Adult fiction), had me rolling with laughter. It reminded me of conversations I used to have with my best friend when we worked in the office together. While you were reading Beth and Jennifer’s conversation, you had that creepy sensation that you weren’t meant to read their conversations. It was taboo, so I kept yelling at Lincoln to stop. But then there wouldn’t have been a story now would there? Then while reading Lincoln’s POV, you felt for him and knew that stopping wasn’t an option. I read the story with a sense of foreboding because i thought I knew how the story was going to end. But RR surprised me, and I liked it.

 

 

Fangirl, (YA), might have been my favorite. I couldn’t put it down, I finished it in about a day. I have never read anything Fandom related, I have always thought, It’s just not my thing. But reading Fangirl, I walked away with a whole new appreciation for it. Cath turned out to be one of my favorite characters in general. It might have been because I related to her so much, with her insecurities, her smart-aleck tendencies or her reaction to eating alone in the big dining hall. But in this story we watched Cath start out as this shy, awkward,twin who is just trying to hold on to what she knows and loves as she grows into an independent, confident girl who finally figures out who she is.

 

 

and Eleanor and Park. (YA), This one made my heart hurt. In so many ways. It had humor, but the humor was lost on me. Not because of how it was written but because I was too busy wanting to hug Eleanor and tell her everything was going to be alright. My favorite character of all was Park’s mom. Loved. Her. Eleanor’s mom just made me want to spit in her face. RR wrote, once again, another story that sucked me in immediately.

 

 

 

RR has her fourth book, Landline, (Adult) coming out this year and I am super psyched and can’t wait to get my hands on it too!

 

Go check her out and let me know what you think!

 

Till next time, AJP