Ten of the Best #92

Happy weekend everybody. Where I am it's cold and getting colder. And that's not just all the news feeds. It's the weather. Seriously though, you guys need to cheer up a bit. Wherever I looked for inspiration, fun and laughter, music and happy days, I found Trump, SA is going down the tubes, and articles on depression and suicide. Miserable lot, aren't we?

So I cast my net wide and deep, to find the funny, and try and lift us all out of the doldrums. There was some. Trevor Noah on Trunp firing Comey was first up.

James Corden called it like this - oh well, someone had to.

When I first saw it all breaking, I thought of all the comedians rubbing their hands with glee, thinking they'd never been so lucky. Then I saw that the new SNL promo is out.

Spicey. Is. Back. aka Melissa McCarthy. Imagine my face when every single clip "Isn't allowed in your country". So what's a girl to do? Resort to twitter, that's what. Here it is. Sean feeling pretty.

Friday Books - Behind Her Eyes

Friday again. Already? Time to do things other than work. Well perhaps. The weekend is looking rather busy, so we'll see.

BookBeginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader, and The Friday 56 - hosted by Freda’s Voice are the hosting sites for the Friday link ups, where we discover more books, and make friends. Both involve sharing excerpts from a current book - the beginning and - you guessed it - page 56.

What am I reading? Well, I'm so glad you asked. It's 

That certainly hooked me. So whoever this is, has clearly had some problems. But who is it in the "NOW"? 

I know you want to read it now. I'll say no more. Except to ask about the covers. Because I really loe them both. Which is your favourite?

I'm enjoying quick, thrilling reads. So I can get completely engrossed and forget about everything else for a while. This ticked all the boxes. Here's my review.

What're you reading today? 

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend.

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The Substitute by Denise Grover Swank

Do you ever feel like a quick, lighthearted read? Sort of like a little packet of jelly babies before bed, or popcorn at the movies.

That’s exactly what I needed. I’d been reading quite a lot of thrillers, and before that, heavy books - thought-provoking, worthy and interesting. Wonderful, but I needed a reading binge.

The Substitute is the stuff nightmares are made of. Megan Vandemeer is on her way home to a wedding organised by an overbearing mother. Only she hasn't quite picked up the courage to tell them that Jay no longer her fiancé, since they broke up. She tells enough of her story to a handsome stranger on a plane, then passes out. Guess what happens? Use the title if you’re not sure…

I picked this up free on Kindle. (Click the pretty cover for link to free version - hope it lasts!) And it was everything I was looking for. Also, when you’re looking for this kind of book, it’s easy to also attract bad writing. Here, nothing grated me. Maybe a little too much repetition of facts I’d heard before, and some overused phrases, but all in all a happy read.

A predictable, yet a little different and interesting plot. And just what I was looking for.

Denise Grover Swank, I’ll see you in a few weeks, for another cocktail - pink and pretty, tasty and delicious.

ISBN:9781939996237

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Dead Scared by Sharon Bolton

"Keep telling yourself it's only fiction... as you read this sensational thriller. Are you scared yet?"

That's the teaser from the blurb. And it's so accurate. Yes, even the word "sensational". Here, it fits.

I’d been avoiding Lacey Flint. I dont know why. I think maybe I was scared (dead scared - ha ha) that I’d love her too much, there’d be like 34 books int he series, and I’d lose myself in them and miss all the other wonderful book opportunities there are for me to read. Silly that.

I’ve fixed my little problem. I do love Lacey Flint. There are only 4 (sob, why so few) books in the series, and I’m going to read the first one now, and then the rest in order, like I should have done in the first place.

This is the second in the series. At Cambridge, students are committing suicide. Not abnormal, that. Just average, if you’re dealing with the usual stresses and strains of being a student. Except that, the numbers are not average, or even slightly above average, they’re off the charts. Especially for women. And the resident counsellor - psychologist Evi Oliver - believes there is something weird going on. Enter Detective Lacey Flint, an undercover student, working with Mark Joesbury. Only Lacey doesn't know the half of it.

This book is brilliant - ok, sensational. I experienced the nights, looking up at the creepy cathedral spires, cloaked in evil intent covering dastardly deeds committed by who? And how? And where? The uncovering was deeply satisfying and there was humor throughout. Sharon Bolton, you genius, I loved this. And I love it when the title of the novel is just so …well right, and then right again, and again.

An enthralling clever, dark book.

5 stars

ISBN: 9780593064153

You may also enjoy Sacrifice, by Sharon Bolton. Or some Belinda Bauer - try The Beautiful Dead, or what about The Breakdown by B.A. Paris?

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Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Clever that. To make the potential downfall of the book a spoiler of such epic proportions, that if you’re a reviewer with a conscience, you can’t hold forth about what part of the book didn't work for you.

But I’m going to try to be cleverer. You see, it didn't work for me. And I am going to do this without spoiling the book. I promise you.

Behind her eyes is about relationships. It’s a thriller, psychological and gripping. Meet Louise, a single mom to Adam. She has a fun night out, lets her hair down, hooks up with David. David turns out to be her new boss. And married. To Adele. Louise meets Adele, and unexpectedly, becomes her friend. We see from Adele and Louise’s points of view, in the first person, with some flipping back - to “THEN” from “NOW”, which I liked the simplicity of. I enjoyed the writing. It wasn't too much, and it didn't tell all. Lots of dialogue with Sophie, Louise’s friend, and a lovely unsettling feeling, as you realise how strange David and Adele’s relationship is.

Yet, the plot reveal, the twist that no one saw coming, the denouement, the final whistle, was something so…out of character, out of the ordinary, that it made the whole book lose a little shine for me. Maybe it’s because we’ve seen it all before, and Sarah Pinborough had to really push the boundaries, the result of which I don't think will be to every reader’s taste.

So if, like me, you manage to get to read this without someone spoiling it for you (and people will do it inadvertently, so stop them talking about it) then you should hold the ending very lightly. Appreciate the book for what it delivers and try to forget about the “OMG” ending. Then, when it comes, you can go and find everyone who tried to spoil it for you, and tell them what you really think.

4 stars

ISBN: 9781250111173

You may also enjoy The Breakdown by B.A. Paris. Or what about Peter Swanson's The Kind Worth Killing?

Some more books.

Set fire to the rain

Do you ever half wake up in the wee hours and hear that soft relentless rain, or the piercing cracks of thunder with the snaky shaky flashes of lightning that you can see even through closed eyes? Or maybe you can just feel them? Doesn't matter, you know they're there.

It makes me smile, snuggle down and think - oh yay, no running in the morning.

Only it usually stops, or at least breaks enough for me to still go. Or, I could just get wet...Imagine that. But usually, I don't.

Please don't say you can't run in the rain. So many runs have been stolen from us that way. This week, if that happens, and you can't stand the squelchy shoes, the dripping hair or the soggy shirt, why don't you try a walk? Yes, with an umbrella and yes in the rain.

Because there is no stopping us. We are doing this exercise thing. Whether we run, walk or swim, we're getting fitter, stronger, and nobody is going to stop us.

Makes me think of some music to get us going. Adele's "Set fire to the rain". How about that?

If like me, you're going to run anyway, let's go so fast, that the downpour just steams off us. I bet you've never sung this song that way. I'm going to.

I set fire to the rain,

Watched it pour as I touched your face,

Well, it burned while I cried

'Cause I heard it screaming out your name, your name

That's me, screaming out your name - come on, we can do this!

Happy running.

More Monday Motivations

Ten of the Best #91

Morning all you wonderful people. I'm so glad you joined me this morning. It's time to catch up on all the stuff we couldn't se this week, because we were too busy, or supposed to be too busy. I raided all your timelines, and have rounded up the best of the week here.

Breaking news...You know it's bad when you get the news this way, from the comedians. Seriously a new health bill was passed in the US. Warning: this isn't that funny.

John Cleese is spending time in America lately. And he had this to say... 

The Pepsi ad wasn't worth sharing, it was so bad. The Heineken ad, which is kinda showing Pepsi what they should've done, is far better. Take a look. (Yes, there is s link to that other one in this, too, in case you missed that too - where have you been?)

Friday Books - The Breakdown

It's Friday again. At last. Time to do things other than work. Hopefully read, but I will be quite busy this weekend, so maybe not. 

BookBeginnings, hosted by Rose City Reader, and The Friday 56 - hosted by Freda’s Voice are the hosting sites for the Friday link ups, where we discover more books, and make friends. Both involve sharing excerpts from a current book - the beginning and - you guessed it - page 56.

What am I reading? Well, I'm so glad you asked. It's 

Do you feel the crackly tension in the air. Well, it's going to get worse. Cass is on her way to her little home, tucked away in a remote corner of the woods...

I'm still on my quest for quick, thrilling reads. So I can get completely engrossed and forget about everything else for a while. This ticked all the boxes. Here's my review.

What're you reading today? 

Thanks for visiting. Have a great weekend.

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The Breakdown by B.A. Paris

The breakdown starts when Cass, travelling home late one night, to her house in the woods, which she shares with her husband, there is a torrential storm, and she is involved with a car that has broken down in a remote spot.

Cass is a teacher, has recently suffered through her mum's illness, and is quite keen to start a family. Simple dreams for a happy contented life. Only B.A. Paris has created an eerie world for Cass, as a stranger starts calling compulsively. Cass must sift shifting truths, mounting frustration at her own shortcomings, and not knowing who to trust as the life she thinks she has comes under threat, from all directions.

This is a clever, yet easy to read thriller. You'll find yourself guessing and then second guessing, and maybe even third guessing. And you won't want to stop reading until all is revealed.

I enjoyed it thoroughly, despite being a little too frustrated with Cass at the outset of this book, and also finding the unravelling, when it happened, too quick and easy. One thread pulled, and the whole thing came rapidly apart.

But a good diversion, nevertheless.

4 stars

ISBN:9781848454996

You may also enjoy Black-Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin, or Behind Closed Doors, also by B.A. Paris, or Little Black Lies by Sharon Bolton.

More books to read.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale in 1984, the year (and title) of George Orwell’s futuristic runaway success, which he’d written in 1949. Think about how brave that was of her, for a minute.

Yet, that didn't seem to be enough of a literary hurdle to clear. Unlike 1984 with all its gadgets, slogans and Newspeak, Atwood did not use anything in her novel that had not yet been invented or discovered, or had not actually happened yet in history. Setting herself up for failure much? As a woman?

But Atwood so didn't fail here. The genius of this glorious, tragic beautiful story is its simplicity. The handmaid - Offred (all the handmaids were given their “master’s” names - Ofglen, Ofwilliam, etc), is assigned to a Commander, who is married to Serena Joy, a previous televangelist. They live in the Republic of Gilead, a totalitarian theocracy, where men have wives, careers, lives and possessions, and women are destined to be non-childbearing wives, handmaids or Marthas (servants). That’s if they’re not banished to colonies. Apart from the rather obvious observation that it takes at least three women to do the “work” of a wife, mother and housekeeper (usually one person), the commentary on feminism struck a deep resounding groan at the core of my soul.

And you don't have to worry about explanations about weird inventions, or fabulous concepts. Because of the constraint, nothing is unfamiliar. The environment is real. This is speculative fiction, not Sci-fi. And despite that, it’s more harrowing, and even scarier.

This book will stay with me for a very long time. Apart from the fact that I have to resist the urge to Google the crap out of Gilead (it doesn't exist, Bev, it’s just a story), there’s the whole “How much of this permeates the whole of our society today?” question. As well as the “What are we doing about it?” follow up. And too, “How do I get all of Atwood’s other books and read them? Now.”

The work of thinkers and writers like Margaret Atwood should be preserved, prescribed reading and this one, a cautionary tale. Only I fear it’s too late.

The audible narration (by Claire Danes) is superb, as is the dramatisation of the end. And the author’s own comments (written in 2016, and narrated by Maragret Atwood herself) make this the best Audible Book. Ever.

An unforgettable incomparable 5 stars.

Read it soon, before you watch the TV series.

ISBN: 9780385490818

You may also enjoy 1984, by George Orwell, or The Wonder by Emma Donoghue.