Trick or Treat Book Blog Hop Trick or Treat Reads Several authors are giving away FREE books on Halloween! Patricia Lynne, one of the brains behind the twitter chat #StoryDam, hosts this annual Halloween book giveaway at her blog. Just for you! You can read more about it by clicking here, but if you just want to grab your free books, then click on the link below on October 31st. Click here on Halloween to get FREE Books! I am one of the…
Black Creek Crossing by John Saul Based on the blurb, I was expecting Black Creek Crossing to be ghostlit, but it turned out to be more of a witch novel. Or more precisely, a ghost-witch book. A witch from the days of Colonial times makes her presence known, but she is also a ghost because, well, she died 300 years ago. Unfortunately, also residing in this haunted New England house is an entity of pure, unadulterated evil who encourages men to…
Reading Highlights We’re nearing the end of Book Challenge by Erin 9.0, so I thought I’d provide some reading highlights with notes I made. For a complete list of books I read for this challenge, go here. Below are a few books in various categories I thought especially worth mentioning. (I’ve read all ten books for the initial challenge, and I’m now working on the bonus round.) Okay, here we go. 10 points: Read a book that starts with the…
It’s book challenge time again! Book Challenge by Erin 9.0 is here! Below are the categories with my selections. For more information and to join in the fun, check out Erin’s Facebook page. 5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages Less by Andrew Greer A failed novelist of a certain age unceremoniously dumped by his partner. Won the Pulitzer! 10 points: Read a book that starts with the letter “N” The Ninth Hour by Alice…
Going AWOL Hi Dear Readers! I missed you! How are you all doing? Did you notice I’d gone AWOL? I’ve been AWOL from Pen In Her Hand for two months now. I didn’t even realize it had been that long. What, you may ask, have I been up to? Well, I’ve been focusing more on novel writing. I’ve been working on a YA novel, which has now changed to Upper Middle Grade mostly because workshop readers told me my book…
Book Challenge by Erin 8.0 I’m a little late getting this post up (by a month considering the latest installment of Book Challenge by Erin started in January, but, oh well). As you probably know, the challenge consists of ten categories with one book for each followed by a bonus round for avid readers and runs for five months. Here are the categories for Book Challenge by Erin 8.0: 5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least…
My reading in 2017. At last it’s New Year’s Eve. I’ve yet to speak to anyone who is not happy to bid farewell to this year of greed and infighting and fake news and war mongering. Of course, reading is never something to regret but rather to look back on with affection even as we anticipate the new reads of the new year. With that in mind… I read many books but only recorded 30 of them on Goodreads. Among…
The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert Publisher: Tom Doherty, 633 pages Format: Hardback Source: Purchased What it’s about: In The Secret of Crickley Hall, Gabe and Eve Caleigh along with daughters Loren and Cally have rented Crickley Hall while Gabe is working on an engineering project nearby. Gabe and Eve’s goal is to find some peace and quiet to mourn the disappearance of their child Cam and to prepare themselves to acknowledge Cam’s death, even though his body has…
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher Prior to committing suicide, Hannah records tapes that she places in a box. These messages–thirteen reasons why–detail the series of events that led her to take her life. She mails the box of tapes to the first person on the list with instructions to listen and then mail the box to the next person on the list and so on. I wasn’t planning on reading this book, but I needed to find a banned…
I didn’t know what a bardo was until I picked up George Saunders’s novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Bardo is the state of the soul between death and rebirth. The translation of this Tibetan word is “between two.” And that’s exactly the condition of the souls in the Oak Ridge Cemetery in 1862 when Willie Lincoln, third son of Abraham Lincoln, was interred. The death of Willie Lincoln and the night-time visits of Abraham Lincoln set off a series of events that will change the ghostly residents of Oak Ridge.
What time is it? R.I.P. time! I must admit, though, R.I.P. XII caught me by surprise this year. In many ways, this has been a dispiriting year for many, so perhaps that played a role in my tardiness when it comes to my favorite time of year and the spooky books I love to curl up with when the days lengthen and darken. At any rate, better late than never to year twelve of the beloved autumn reading challenge in…
It’s time for Book Challenge by Erin 7.0! Yay, reading! This will be my third or fourth time participating, and I’m jazzed about the categories for Book Challenge by Erin 7.0. Here are the books I’m reading. Yes, I have selected ten. Yes, I know you can count. Two are on the kindle, and two are still to be checked out from the library. In case you’re unfamiliar with Erin’s book challenges, she runs them twice a year with different…
Good day, Readers! Welcome fellow Book Challenge by Erin participants! Have you been busy reading now that 2016 is behind us and we are firmly established in the Year of the Rooster? I hope so! As for me, it’s time to update my reading progress for Book Challenge by Erin 2017. Here’s what I read so far with my comments: 5 points: Freebie – Read a book that is at least 200 pages. Frannie and Tru by Karen Hattrup Loved the…