Book Beginnings On Fridays (The Girl Next Door)

Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Rose City Reader and as she says the idea of this meme is for you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name. There's a linky list on the website and you can use #BookBeginnings on Twitter.

 

 This week my book beginning is The Girl Next Door by Ruth Rendell.

 

He was a handsome man. A handsome boy, his mother called him, because she started praising his looks when he was five. Before that, he received the compliments children necessarily get: 'Beautiful baby' and 'Isn't he lovely?' His father was never there.

 

 

Book Description: 

 

When the bones of two severed hands are discovered in a box, an investigation into a long buried crime of passion begins. And a group of friends, who played together as children, begin to question their past.      'For Woody, anger was cold. Cold and slow. But once it had started it mounted gradually and he could think of nothing else. He knew he couldn't stay alive while those two were alive. Instead of sleeping, he lay awake in the dark and saw those hands. Anita's narrow white hand with the long nails painted pastel pink, the man's brown hand equally shapely, the fingers slightly splayed.'
     Before the advent of the Second World War, beneath the green meadows of Loughton, Essex, a dark network of tunnels has been dug. A group of children discover them. They play there. It becomes their secret place.
Seventy years on, the world has changed. Developers have altered the rural landscape. Friends from a half-remembered world have married, died, grown sick, moved on or disappeared.
     Work on a new house called Warlock uncovers a grisly secret, buried a lifetime ago, and a weary detective, more preoccupied with current crimes, must investigate a possible case of murder. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 Its Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme run by Book Journey and you can mention books you've just finished, are currently reading and any you plan to read this week. You can leave a link to your blog and read other bloggers posts.

  

I was still off work last week and finished Confessions by Kanae Minato and He Wants by Alison Moore, they are two very different books but I loved them both. Confessions is the first Japanese crime novel I've read and it's definitely got me wanting to read more. I finished The Sea Sisters by Lucy Clarke this morning, another great book and a 5 star read for me.

Next up is probably Red Rising by Pierce Brown which I got from Netgalley earlier this afternoon.

Waiting On Wednesday (Revival)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we can't wait to be published.

 

Revival by Stephen King

 

 

In a small New England town, in the early 60s, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs Jacobs; the women and girls - including Jamie's mother and beloved sister - feel the same about Reverend Jacobs. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond, based on their fascination with simple experiments in electricity.

Then tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, the preacher curses God, mocking all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

Jamie has demons of his own. In his mid-thirties, he is living a nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll. Addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate, he sees Jacobs again - a showman on stage, creating dazzling 'portraits in lightning' - and their meeting has profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings. Because for every cure there is a price . . .

 

Published November 11th 2014 by Hodder & Stoughton

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Its Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme run by Book Journey and you can mention books you've just finished, are currently reading and any you plan to read this week. You can leave a link to your blog and read other bloggers posts.

 

We were on holiday in the New Forest last week and I wasn't sure how much reading I would get done. I did finish two books though, The first was We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, it started very well and it's no secret that there's a twist about 80 pages in. I did work out what it was and after it was revealed the novel didn't hold my interest as much which was a shame. The second, The Walk by Lee Goldberg, is about a large earthquake in LA and Marty who is trying to get home to his wife. It was an easy, fast paced read that is enjoyable as long as you don't take it too seriously. It also had a twist near the end which this time I didn't see coming.

 

I'm now reading, and thoroughly enjoying Confessions by Kanae Minato.

 

 

 

Book Blogger Hop (August 15th-21st)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted at Ramblings Of A Coffee Addicted Writer and this week's question is:

 

What is your favorite electronic device to use to add posts and content to your blog? Example: Your phone, your computer, your iPad, or another device?

 

My favourite is my desktop computer as it's much easier to use for adding new posts. I have used my tablet before for this but it's awkward and takes a very long time. My tablet and phone are okay for looking up other blogs and adding comments though. 

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Its Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme run by Book Journey and you can mention books you've just finished, are currently reading and any you plan to read this week. You can leave a link to your blog and read other bloggers posts.

 

This week I finished Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice-Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson, I haven't reviewed it yet but loved it and rated it 5 out of 5 on Goodreads. I'm now reading Across The Mersey by Annie Groves. It's a family saga set during WWII, perfect for me to read during the summer holidays as I don't have to concentrate on it too much.

 

I also posted about the Rendlesham UFO trail walk we all went on here

I've got a busy couple of weeks coming up so may not get much time for blogging. If not I'll definitely be back by the end of the month though and hopefully back to normal on here from September.

 

Rendlesham Walk

Yesterday we all went to Rendlesham Forest for a picnic. We decided to go to the main forest visitors centre area, there is a very good play park that is suitable for my daughters ages (they're ten and eleven) and plenty of walks for us all. We did the 3 mile circular UFO trail, you can pick up a leaflet which has a map along with the story of what happened in the early hours of 27th December 1980. My younger daughter loved looking out for the signs we needed to follow as well as seeing where we were on the map. We will definitely go back again.

     

Book Blogger Hop (1st-7th August)

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted at Ramblings Of A Coffee Addicted Writer and this week's question is:

 

How many bookcases do you have, and how do you organise the shelves?

 

I have four bookcases, two large ones in the living room, one small one in my bedroom and another in the spare bedroom. The two downstairs are for favourite books (there's a couple of shelves full of just Stephen King novels) and I also have some from my TBR on those as well. The upstairs bookcases aren't very organised at all, they have a mixture of books that we've read but still want to keep and unread ones that we may get around to one day. The bookcase in the spare room is quite messy but no one can see it so it doesn't matter.