Welcome to Friday 56! Hosted by Freda’s Voice, you turn to page 56 or 56% in any book or reading device and pick a sentence that grabs you.
“Once inside the pub, Hannah realized that beneath its gruff exterior, the Admiral’s Arms’ interior was even gruffer. It wasn’t a 1970s-themed pub; it was a pub that had been built in the 1970s and had remained exactly the same, only somehow it had also grown worse. The carpets were threadbare, the wallpaper was peeling, and the leather of the booths was the texture of Keith Richards’ face.
First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday! Hosted by Socrates Book Reviews this is where you share the first paragraph of one of the books that you are currently reading.
“Two men stood on the rooftop, watching the city toss and turn in its sleep. The shorter of them looked at his watch–it was 4 a.m. In his experience, no city that was worthy of the name actually slept. Even now, there were signs of activity: the occasional lonesome wanderer and the odd taxi light, trying to find each other in the night. Still, this was the moment when it got as close to truly quiet as it ever would. The sliver of time before the day shift took over from the night.”
Goodreads Monday is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog. “Goodreads Monday allows you to post about what books are on your “to read” lists, the progress you have made on your current books and reading challenge, and any other Goodreads news!”
There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them…
A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. At least that’s their pitch. The reality is less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered, and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor… well, that job is a revolving door–and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who’s got problems of her own.
When tragedy strikes in Hannah’s first week on the job, The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious investigating. What they discover leads to a shocking realisation: some of the stories they’d previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker forces than they could ever have imagined.
Brushing away dust and dirt and sand and grit, the towering penumbra men stagger, drift, and wonder of the dark earth that surrounds them. These gods of an ancient world are simple men staring at a nothing moon struggling to invent a word to describe such darkness. The penumbra once had a word for the sun, VVLNA, but in this strange world, this black earth, there seems no use for it. And Father Jackal… every trace has vanished. The penumbra wonder if indeed they are alone here. In the distance stands The House of Wolves. There they will find answers. Some wish for food. Some wish for God. Only one will see the light.
Since 1973, The Exorcist and its progeny have scared and inspired half a century of filmgoers. Now, on the 50th anniversary of the original movie release, this is the definitive, fascinating story of the scariest movie ever madeand its lasting impact as one of the most shocking, influential, and successful adventures in the history of film. Written by Nat Segaloff, an original publicist for the movie and the acclaimed biographer of its director, with a foreword from John Russo, author and cowriter of the seminal horror film Night of the Living Dead.
On December 26, 1973, The Exorcist was released. Within days it had become legend. Moviegoers braved hours-long lines in winter weather to see it. Some audience members famously fainted or vomited. Half a century later, the movie that both inspired and transcends the modern horror genre has lost none of its power to terrify and unsettle.
The Exorcist Legacy reveals the complete story of this cultural phenomenon, from the real-life exorcism in 1949 Maryland that inspired William Peter Blatty’s bestselling novel on which the movie is based, to its many sequels, prequels, TV series, and homages. Nat Segaloff, biographer of the film’s director, William Friedkin, draws on original interviews with cast, crew, and participants as well as revelations from personal papers to present an intriguing and surprising new view of the making of movie, and its aftermath.
Segaloff also examines as never before the keys to the movie’s enduring appeal. Friedkin and Blatty’s goal was far more ambitious than making a scary movie; they aimed to make people “think about the concept of good and evil.” The Exorcist succeeds, and then some, not just by creating on-screen scares, but by challenging viewers’ deepest personal beliefs—and fears.
Progress: Kindle 33% (May 15th: 11%, June 6th 22%)
Franz and Lola are vampires in love. They live in a cottage near the sea with their little vampire baby.
Burn Girl is a lonely girl who walks along the bottom of the sea, constantly on fire. The water doesn’t put her fire out or soothe her burns. It only makes her feel like she’s wearing an itchy wool sweater.
Bruno is the buffest vampire. He is building Muscle Island, a floating fortress comprised of mussels.
The Vampire Science Council has been working for centuries to prevent the depletion of their arctic planet’s blood supply, but the blood has finally run out.
Cyrus Lugosi’s friends want to slaughter him as part of a ritual sacrifice that will raise Cthulhu from his tomb at the bottom of the sea. There are just two The closest thing to the Necronomicon they’ve got is a unicorn coloring book, and Cthulhu is more interested in his quest for the perfect hamburger.
Their fates will converge when Cthulhu Comes to the Vampire Kingdom.
Progress: Page 82 of 172
Next Up:
Title: One True Loves
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Book Length: 331 pages
Goodreads Summary:In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.
On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.
Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.
That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.
Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?
Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.
Author: William Pauley III and Joseph Bouthiette Jr.
Audiobook Length:1 hour
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Genre: Fiction, Science Fiction
Read Start Date: June 6, 2023
Read Finish Date: June 6, 2023
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads:Brushing away dust and dirt and sand and grit, the towering penumbra men stagger, drift, and wonder of the dark earth that surrounds them. These gods of an ancient world are simple men staring at a nothing moon struggling to invent a word to describe such darkness. The penumbra once had a word for the sun, VVLNA, but in this strange world, this black earth, there seems no use for it. And Father Jackal… every trace has vanished. The penumbra wonder if indeed they are alone here. In the distance stands The House of Wolves. There they will find answers. Some wish for food. Some wish for God. Only one will see the light.
My Review: I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The penumbra are a race of cyclopes who awake to a strange world after an indeterminate amount of time sleeping in the ground. Everything is new, their Gods have seemingly forsaken them, and they are no longer immortal. Danger awaits them around every corner, and I as a reader sat on the proverbial edge of my seat wanting to know what happened next. Will they make it to the House of Wolves? Who will perish along the way? Will their Gods of the old world save them?
The writing is beautiful and descriptive and sucks you in with every sentence. The melodic timbre of the narrator’s voice is perfect for this story.
Definitely worth a read!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Welcome to Friday 56! Hosted by Freda’s Voice, you turn to page 56 or 56% in any book or reading device and pick a sentence that grabs you.
“They walked together as far as the corner and said goodbye without touching. Quentin headed in the opposite direction and sat on a stoop to light a cigarette. He could feel people staring at him as they bounced by on their morning jogs or shepherded their children to the playground down the block. He didn’t care. He would go home soon and get Lulu, take her for a walk. Maybe buy some flowers at the farmer’s market. He looked down at his phone. Cleo was calling. The day, after all, was just beginning.
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors, page 56
First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday! Hosted by Socrates Book Reviews this is where you share the first paragraph of one of the books that you are currently reading.
“She was already inside the elevator when he entered. He nodded at her and turned to pull the iron gate shut with a clang. They were in a converted factory building in Tribeca, the kind still serviced, unusually, by freight elevators. It was just the two of them, side by side, facing forward as the mechanism groaned into motion. Beyond the metal criss-cross of the gate, they watched the cement walls of the building slide-by.”
In this revised and expanded edition of Your First Novel, novelist Laura Whitcomb, seasoned literary agent Ann Rittenberg, and her knowledgeable assistant, Camille Goldin, team up to provide you with the essential skills needed to craft the best novel you can–and the savvy business know-how to get it published. Complete with updated references, analysis of new best-selling novels, and the same detailed instruction, Whitcomb will show you how
• Practice the craft of writing, using both your right- and left-brain • Develop a flexible card system for organizing and outlining plot • Create dynamic characters that readers love–and love to hate • Study classic novels and story structure to adapt with your ideas
Featuring two new chapters on choosing your path as an author and understanding the world of self-publishing, Rittenberg and Goldin dive into the business side of publishing,
• What agents can–and should–do for your future • Who you should target as an agent for your burgeoning career • How the mysterious auction for novels actually goes down • Why you should learn to work with your agent through thick and thin Guiding your first novel from early words to a spot on the bookshelf can be an exciting and terrifying journey, but you’re not alone. Alongside the advice of industry veterans, Your First Novel Revised and Expanded also includes plenty of firsthand accounts from published authors on their journeys, including Dennis Lehane, C.J. Box, Kathleen McCleary, David Kazzie, and more.
My Review: Your First Novel Revised and Expanded Edition: A Top Agent and a Published Author Show You How to Write Your Book and Get It Published is a comprehensive guidebook that offers valuable insights and expert advice on the process of writing and publishing your first novel. In this revised and expanded edition, a highly regarded literary agent and a successful published author join forces to provide aspiring writers with practical techniques, step-by-step instructions, and industry secrets to help bring their literary dreams to fruition.
This book covers a wide range of topics, including developing compelling characters, constructing engaging plots, crafting authentic dialogue, refining writing style, and polishing manuscript drafts. It also delves into the intricacies of the publishing industry, providing guidance on query letters, book proposals, finding the right literary agent, and navigating the submission and publication process.
I am only giving it three stars because I was disappointed in the publishing aspect (the reason why I bought the book). First, a lot of the advice was not useful to me. Of course, this is a subjective review, and therefore subjective reasoning. You might like the book more, or find it more useful if you had a degree in writing, had published somewhere, or live in America. For example, she advised that 1) you have to have writing credentials already (I am an unpublished lawyer, so nothing like that in my background) and 2) you need to go to conventions and meet agents, or you need to do readings in bookstores, etc. I live in Austria so none of these things are possible.
While the first portion of the book (how to write your first novel) was interesting to read, I feel like in order to fully make use of it, one would have to take notes. I was also not familiar with a lot of the novels referenced / used as examples in the book (or if I knew of the novel, I had not read it).
Lastly, I was a little annoyed before I even read the book because I came across the book on the website of Ann Rittenberg’s literary agency when I was researching agents to query. The link on her webpage brought me to the old edition of the book being sold on Amazon. It wasn’t until I went to start reading it and entered it into Goodreads, that I discovered that there had been a newer version of the book published years later. Obviously a book published in 2018 is going to have more timely and up to date information on the industry than a book written in 2006. So I ended up having to buy the book….again. Why would you not update your webpage? Or at least make sure the link was correct?
So in conclusion, am I saying this book isn’t a good resource? No, it could definitely be. It just wasn’t for me.
Goodreads Monday is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog. “Goodreads Monday allows you to post about what books are on your “to read” lists, the progress you have made on your current books and reading challenge, and any other Goodreads news!”
Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank’s life is full of all the excesses Cleo’s lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could’ve predicted.
Each compulsively readable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank, and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it’s Cleo’s best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo’s marriage, or Frank’s financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing, and painfully relatable, as the last.
As hilarious as it is heartbreaking, entertaining as it is deeply moving, Cleopatra and Frankenstein marks the entry of a brilliant and bold new talent.
There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with readers, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much?
Michelle Obama offers readers a series of fresh stories and insightful reflections on change, challenge, and power, including her belief that when we light up for others, we can illuminate the richness and potential of the world around us, discovering deeper truths and new pathways for progress. Drawing from her experiences as a mother, daughter, spouse, friend, and First Lady, she shares the habits and principles she has developed to successfully adapt to change and overcome various obstacles–the earned wisdom that helps her continue to “become.” She details her most valuable practices, like “starting kind,” “going high,” and assembling a “kitchen table” of trusted friends and mentors. With trademark humor, candor, and compassion, she also explores issues connected to race, gender, and visibility, encouraging readers to work through fear, find strength in community, and live with boldness.
“When we are able to recognize our own light, we become empowered to use it,” writes Michelle Obama. A rewarding blend of powerful stories and profound advice that will ignite conversation, The Light We Carry inspires readers to examine their own lives, identify their sources of gladness, and connect meaningfully in a turbulent world.
Since 1973, The Exorcist and its progeny have scared and inspired half a century of filmgoers. Now, on the 50th anniversary of the original movie release, this is the definitive, fascinating story of the scariest movie ever madeand its lasting impact as one of the most shocking, influential, and successful adventures in the history of film. Written by Nat Segaloff, an original publicist for the movie and the acclaimed biographer of its director, with a foreword from John Russo, author and cowriter of the seminal horror film Night of the Living Dead.
On December 26, 1973, The Exorcist was released. Within days it had become legend. Moviegoers braved hours-long lines in winter weather to see it. Some audience members famously fainted or vomited. Half a century later, the movie that both inspired and transcends the modern horror genre has lost none of its power to terrify and unsettle.
The Exorcist Legacy reveals the complete story of this cultural phenomenon, from the real-life exorcism in 1949 Maryland that inspired William Peter Blatty’s bestselling novel on which the movie is based, to its many sequels, prequels, TV series, and homages. Nat Segaloff, biographer of the film’s director, William Friedkin, draws on original interviews with cast, crew, and participants as well as revelations from personal papers to present an intriguing and surprising new view of the making of movie, and its aftermath.
Segaloff also examines as never before the keys to the movie’s enduring appeal. Friedkin and Blatty’s goal was far more ambitious than making a scary movie; they aimed to make people “think about the concept of good and evil.” The Exorcist succeeds, and then some, not just by creating on-screen scares, but by challenging viewers’ deepest personal beliefs—and fears.
There are dark forces at work in our world (and in Manchester in particular), so thank God The Stranger Times is on hand to report them…
A weekly newspaper dedicated to the weird and the wonderful (but mostly the weird), it is the go-to publication for the unexplained and inexplicable. At least that’s their pitch. The reality is less auspicious. Their editor is a drunken, foul-tempered, and foul-mouthed husk of a man who thinks little of the publication he edits. His staff are a ragtag group of misfits. And as for the assistant editor… well, that job is a revolving door–and it has just revolved to reveal Hannah Willis, who’s got problems of her own.
When tragedy strikes in Hannah’s first week on the job, The Stranger Times is forced to do some serious investigating. What they discover leads to a shocking realisation: some of the stories they’d previously dismissed as nonsense are in fact terrifyingly real. Soon they come face-to-face with darker forces than they could ever have imagined.
Progress: page 220 of 420
Next Up:
Title: One True Loves
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Book Length: 331 pages
Goodreads Summary:In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.
On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.
Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.
That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.
Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?
Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.
Title: The Ballad of Old Joe Booth (A Song for Eighth Block)
Author: William Pauley III
Audiobook Length: 45 minutes
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Genre: Fiction, Bizarro Fiction, Horror, Novella
Read Start Date: May 23, 2023
Read Finish Date: May 23, 2023
Number of Book in Series: 5
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads: Some monsters are impossible to see. This is The Ballad of Old Joe Booth. An epic poem in four parts. A song for Eighth Block.
My Review: I received this audiobook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the 5th book in the Bedlam Bible series, but I haven’t read book 2 or 3 yet because they were archived on Netgalley before I had a chance to download them. In any event, it isn’t necessary to have read the previous books, as this one is stand-alone.
The Ballad of Old Joe Booth is a captivating tale narrating the genesis of the enigmatic cosmic horror entity known as Old Joe Booth. The Bedlam Bible, an extraordinary compilation encompassing every book in the series, holds the key to Old Joe Booth’s demise. Learning of its existence, and the potential fatal nature of the Bedlam Bible, Old Joe is prompted to embark on a relentless quest to eradicate this ominous tome. With its evocative descriptions and thrilling narrative, this eerie and delightful short story by William Pauley III is yet another resounding success.
Other Books in the Series (that I have read)
Title: The Tower
Author: William Pauley III
Audiobook Length:2 hours and 23 minutes
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Genre: Fiction, Horror, Short Story
Read Start Date: January 27, 2023
Read Finish Date: January 31, 2023
Number of Book in Series: 1
Brief Summary of the Plot from Goodreads:Something is happening to the residents of Eighth Block Tower…
There’s radiation in the walls. Salt covers the hallways. The food and water are poisonous. A giant green brain pulsates under the roof, pumping electric venom throughout the apartment building. The residents are trapped and losing their minds.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
The Legal Alien 