Even though I am doing this every week, I seem to not be chipping away at the numbers! If anything I keep adding!! I defo need to stricter!
Last week we had a lot of haters for Sparks! I have to listen to you….so he has gone! (Side note he may have to say this week….) You have voted and the following to stay
Sparks was a goner! Okay, so what sacrificial lambs do I have for you this week? (I do promise it won‘t always be King and Sparks every week! I am just working my way systematically!)
Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
Goodreads
Also by this author: UR, In the Tall Grass
What might be done to human beings by the "Other"--whether the "Other" be vampires, demons or creatures from outer space--is always in competition for absolute horror with what we do to ourselves. Stephen King has, in his time, played with both sources of the nightmarish and in Dreamcatcher, the first complete novel since his near-fatal accident, he gives us both.
Four childhood friends, united by secrets, are caught in the quarantine zone when something crashes into the remote forests of Maine; and the question becomes who will avoid being eaten alive by alien fungi, torn from the inside by alien ferrets, possessed by alien minds or menaced by a psychotic military commander to whom ruthlessness has become a macho ego trip?
The Earth is in peril as well, needless to say, but most of our attention is taken up with a few men caught on the edge, and where the most important thing in the world turns out to be the fact that four small boys saved a fifth from a beating.
This has the hall-marks of a good King novel--memorable catchphrases whose meaning we only gradually learn and a sense of how it feels to be human. --Roz Kaveney
I haven’t watched the film for this and there have been very mixed reviews for this 896 paged book!
Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks
Goodreads
Shimmering with suspense and emotional intensity - takes readers on a hunt for the truth about a man and his memories, and about both the heartbreaking fragility and enormous strength of love.
Nicholas Sparks is our very best chronicler of the human heart. His stunning first novel, The Notebook, has been given by friend to friend and lover to lover all over the world as a testament to the timeless power of love. But if we thought he could never again move us so deeply, he now shows us he can-in a story that renews our faith in destiny...in the ability of true lovers to find each other no matter where, no matter when... Message In A Bottle
Thrown to the waves, and to fate, the bottle could have ended up anywhere. Instead, it is found just three weeks after it begins its journey. Theresa Osborne, divorced and the mother of a twelve-year-old son, picks it up during a seaside vacation from her job as a Boston newspaper columnist. Inside is a letter that opens with:
My Dearest Catherine, I miss you my darling, as I always do, but today is particularly hard because the ocean has been singing to me, and the song is that of our life together...
For "Garrett," the man who signs the letter, the message is the only way he knows to express his undying love for a woman he has lost. For Theresa, wary of romance since her husband shattered her trust, the message raises questions that intrigue her. Who are Garrett and Catherine? Where is he now? What is his story?
Challenged by the mystery, and pulled to find Garrett by emotions she does not fully understand, Theresa begins a search that takes her to a sunlit coastal town and an unexpected confrontation. Brought together by chance-or something more powerful-Theresa and Garrett are people whose lives are about to touch for a purpose, in a tale that resonates with our deepest hopes for finding that special someone and everlasting love.
Shimmering with suspense and emotional intensity, Message in a Bottle takes readers on a hunt for the truth about a man and his memories, and about both the heartbreaking fragility and enormous strength of love. For those who cherished The Notebook and readers waiting to discover the magic of Nicholas Sparks's storytelling, here is his new, achingly lovely novel of happenstance, desire, and the choices that matter most...
I know I know, another Sparks’ book. I remember adoring this film back in the 90s and I wanted to give it a chance!
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Goodreads
A celebrated writer's irresistible, candid, and eloquent account of her pursuit of worldly pleasure, spiritual devotion, and what she really wanted out of life.
Around the time Elizabeth Gilbert turned thirty, she went through an early-onslaught midlife crisis. She had everything an educated, ambitious American woman was supposed to want—a husband, a house, a successful career. But instead of feeling happy and fulfilled, she was consumed with panic, grief, and confusion. She went through a divorce, a crushing depression, another failed love, and the eradication of everything she ever thought she was supposed to be.
To recover from all this, Gilbert took a radical step. In order to give herself the time and space to find out who she really was and what she really wanted, she got rid of her belongings, quit her job, and undertook a yearlong journey around the world—all alone. Eat, Pray, Love is the absorbing chronicle of that year. Her aim was to visit three places where she could examine one aspect of her own nature set against the backdrop of a culture that has traditionally done that one thing very well. In Rome, she studied the art of pleasure, learning to speak Italian and gaining the twenty-three happiest pounds of her life. India was for the art of devotion, and with the help of a native guru and a surprisingly wise cowboy from Texas, she embarked on four uninterrupted months of spiritual exploration. In Bali, she studied the art of balance between worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence. She became the pupil of an elderly medicine man and also fell in love the best way—unexpectedly.
An intensely articulate and moving memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment and stop trying to live in imitation of society’s ideals. It is certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.
When I first started blogging, I was going to read this as part of my February challenge, before I discovered tours etc….Wellllllll it is still on my list.
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Goodreads
A most untraditional love story, this is the celebrated tale of Henry DeTamble, a dashing, adventuresome librarian who involuntarily travels through time, and Clare Abshire, and artist whose life takes a natural sequential course. Henry and Clare's passionate affair endures across a sea of time and captures them in an impossibly romantic trap that tests the strength of fate and basks in the bonds of love.(back cover)
I really enjoyed the film (please don’t shoot me for watching the film first!) and then I brought the book…..still collecting dust
The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
Goodreads
Meet Pat. Pat has a theory: his life is a movie produced by God. And his God-given mission is to become physically fit and emotionally literate, whereupon God will ensure a happy ending for him—the return of his estranged wife, Nikki. (It might not come as a surprise to learn that Pat has spent time in a mental health facility.) The problem is, Pat's now home, and everything feels off. No one will talk to him about Nikki; his beloved Philadelphia Eagles keep losing; he's being pursued by the deeply odd Tiffany; his new therapist seems to recommend adultery as a form of therapy. Plus, he's being hunted by Kenny G!
In this enchanting novel, Matthew Quick takes us inside Pat's mind, showing us the world from his distorted yet endearing perspective. As the award-winning novelist Justin Cronin put it: "Tender, soulful, hilarious, and true, The Silver Linings Playbook is a wonderful debut."
This will be a running theme, I watched the film first – whoops! I quite enjoyed it and well hello Bradley Cooper was in it.
Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
Goodreads
When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever.
Twenty-five years later, Sean Devine is a homicide detective. Jimmy Marcus is an ex-con who owns a corner store. And Dave Boyle is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay -- demons that urge him to do horrific things.
When Jimmy Marcus's daughter is found murdered, Sean Devine is assigned to the case. His personal life unravelling, he must go back into a world he thought he'd left behind to confront not only the violence of the present but the nightmares of his past. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy Marcus, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave Boyle, who came home the night Jimmy's daughter died covered in someone else's blood...
Yeah you guessed, I watched the film, do I need to explain why?! The film was awesome and heartbreaking. I thought everyone acted their part well and I really want to give this book a chance.
So who stays and who goes
You decide
Until next time xxx
nickimags @ The Secret Library Book Blog says
Good morning love these posts! Well this week I say keep Eat, Pray, Love and The Time Traveller’s Wife and dump the rest! xx
Zoé says
Love your new picture ? ha ha thank you xx
Ooh a new book one to consider keeping.
noveldeelights says
Chuck the lot ??♀️
Kelly says
I second that. If you do insist on keeping anything, keep The Time Traveller’s Wife, that one’s pretty cool, if not exactly a must-read.
noveldeelights says
I’m beginning to think we were separated at birth ??
Kelly says
That or we just enjoy telling Zoé to get rid of all her books ?♀️?
noveldeelights says
Meanwhile I keep piling them up. Oops.
Kelly says
Maybe you could join in? I’d love to tell you to chuck the lot too ?
noveldeelights says
You forget I have excellent taste in books. There will be no chucking ?
Kelly says
Are you saying Zoé does not?! *gasp* But rest assured, I would find something to chuck ? (and then proceed to add all the others to my TBR no doubt, I do that with Zoé’s too ?)
noveldeelights says
I’ve not even heard of 90% of the books she reads ?
Zoé says
???? I love playing the obscure game with you it’s fab lol x
Zoé says
?? I love that I’m your #bookpusher I love telling Eva all the obscure books I read it’s hilarious xx
Zoé says
??
Zoé says
Me too! X
Zoé says
I think you both do!! X
Zoé says
Ooh really! I can’t even remember what was on my list ?
Zoé says
I knew that was coming ??
likeherdingcatsblog says
Dream catcher is good if I remember correctly – I liked the film too.
The Mystic River film was fab but dark.
I really want to read and watch Eat Pray Love
Zoé says
It’s bloody long though isn’t it dream catcher. I just Damien Lewis is in the film ? so I wanted to watch it. Loved MR!
likeherdingcatsblog says
Yes it’s long and not much happens until the end. I loved the twist though.
Love Damien Lewis in Homeland
Zoé says
I just love him in everything ??
likeherdingcatsblog says
??
calturner says
I adored TTTW so I would definitely keep that one. One of my fav books ever! I enjoyed Silver Linings, although it’s very different to the film. Neither film lived up to the books imo. ? xx
Zoé says
Oh really! Now I am intrigued!!! X
Rae Reads says
I think I’m the only person who couldn’t get into The Time Traveller’s Wife ? I enjoyed the film of Mystic River so I’d say just keep that one ? xx
Zoé says
I’m keeping it! Lol oh that’s a shame you couldn’t get in to TTTW ? x
nsfordwriter says
I haven’t read any of these… I have to say that the length of King’s books does put me off. Depends how you get on with really long books?
Davida Chazan says
Sorry I didn’t see this one already. I was abroad on vacation. I hope you read The Time Traveler’s Wife because the movie was CRAP in comparison!