Started: 21.10.26
DNF: 1.11.26
Kindle
In an attempt to stay off of Reddit (I've now uninstalled the app), I thought I'd try and have a non-fiction book on the go on my phone, and I've been dipping in and out of this one for a while. I think I've been losing interest in it recently though, so I'm calling it a day.
'Final Girls' and female friendships, slightly disappointing ending.
2. Boy's Life by Robert McCammon
Magical, whimsical, nostalgic - loved it!
3. Theo Of Golden by Allen Levi
Started off ok, but then I found myself skipping bits. Overhyped.
4. The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling
DNF
5. Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi
Enjoyed this, definitely want to read more of his books
6. A Murder Of Crows by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett
Was hoping this was a series I could get stuck into, but didn't really warm to the characters
7. Full by Paul Dermody
Lots of platitudes about being kind to yourself around food
8. The Mysterious Case Of The Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
Ok, but I might be getting a bit tired of this format now.
9. After The People Lights Have Gone Off by Stephen Graham Jones
DNF, I think SGJ might be just a bit too weird for me
10. An English Ghost Story by Kim Newman
DNF, ghosts, yes, but just not my kind of ghosts. And a very annoying family.
11. The Hundred Year Old Man Who... by Jonas Jonasson
Fun!
12. The Cabin At The End Of The World by Paul Tremblay
Terrifying!
13. The Familiars by Stacey Halls
Really good, based around the Pendle Witch Trials
Started: 28.10.26
Finished: 30.10.26
Paperback
I think this is the second Stacey Halls book I've read, the first being Mrs England, and I've enjoyed both of them.
This one is set around the time of the Pendle Witch Trials, and though it's fiction, it does feature some real people. It's a fiercely feminist story of women trying to help other women, and the dangerous lengths they have to go to in order to survive and fight the powers that be.
Started: 25.10.26
Finished: 28.10.26
Paperback
Now this was terrifying! A family holiday descends into horror with the arrival of four strangers who refuse to leave until they've delivered their message and awaited the outcome. Every parents' worst nightmare, not knowing whether your child will be safe, or if you'll be able to protect them. The tension throughout was unbearable; I'm sure there were moments where my heart was racing or I was forgetting to breathe! The fact that these were just 'normal' people is what made it so scary; this kind of thing can (and does) happen. Not exactly 'enjoyable' but five stars for psychological terror vibes!
Started: 24.10.26
Finished: 25.10.26
Paperback
The present, and past, adventures of 100 year old Allan Karlsson - this was a really fun book!
Started: 21.10.26
DNF: 24.10.26
Paperback
I really thought a book called "An English Ghost Story" would be perfect for me, but I haven't been able to finish this one. It's about a family called the Naremores who are seeking to start a new life for themselves in the countryside, in a house called The Hollows, the former home of a popular author of children's books. It seems that they are escaping some trouble in their old life, but it wasn't clear to me what that was. Whilst on a house-hunting mission, as soon as they arrive at The Hollows they all know instantly that it's 'the one'. Very quickly, they realise that the house is haunted, or rather charmed or enchanted. Strange things happen, but they accept it all without much question. At first the house seems to welcome them, but then it seems to turn on them and their previous problems start to rear up again, although I didn't get that far.
I thought the family were awful, nothing likeable about them really, and I didn't like the way they spoke to each other. The young boy was in a kind of 'army phase' so he was always spying and doing recces, and using acronyms/initialisms like PP for paternal parent, or HH for ha-ha. His big sister (BS) was mooning about the boyfriend that she'd left behind, and MP (maternal parent) was yearning to be more than just a housewife. There was also the mysterious Vron, her friend from before who the rest of the family referred to as the Wild Witch (though she hadn't appeared by the time I stopped reading). And the dad believed he was the head of the household and the saviour of the family. Basically I think the house lured them in and then turned them against each other.
I made it about halfway through, but I just wasn't enjoying it.
Started: 4.10.26
DNF: 21.10.26
Kindle Unlimited
These short stories were all just a little bit too weird for me. Sometimes I just don't understand what a particular sentence even means, and sometimes I think the dialogue is odd. I struggled a bit with The Only Good Indians too, for similar reasons. I really want to read The Buffalo Hunter Hunter though, but if I can't get on with that either, I might have to accept that Stephen Graham Jones is just not for me.
Started: 19.10.26
Finished: 21.10.26
Hardcover
Another 'mixed media' type of novel from Janice Hallett, this time consisting of transcripts of Whatsapp messages, emails, audio recordings, novel excerpts and screenplays. Two true crime journalists have to work together to find new angles on the story of the Alperton Angels (lots of angles and angels throughout the book!). The Angels were a cult who planned to murder a baby who they believed was the AntiChrist. The baby survived and is now 18, and it's a race to see who can find them first, to get the all important interview.
In all the Janice Hallett books I've read so far, I find that she always seems to have the same type of characters - an overly ambitious one, a 'snooty' one, a bubbly one, a creepy one, a two-faced one etc - and this book was no exception. Although the plots are different, everything else is very samey. I know that the mixed media stuff is kind of her USP though, so I can't say that I wasn't expecting it. I did find myself skipping parts of it though, like the novel excerpts and the screenplay. And in the transcripts where Ellie added little comments of her own such as 'did you shrug here?', 'there was a long pause, like he doesn't want to answer', I found these a bit clunky. I know they need to be more 'tell than show' because they're audio recordings that have been transcribed, but I think that's possibly why a whole book full of them doesn't work too well.
Unfortunately, I fell for a persistent Facebook ad from Corex Books, and bought The Killer Isn't June, not realising that the format was a rip-off of a book called The Killer Isn't Alice by Iris Starling. I also bought their other book, The Victim Isn't Dead.
The books arrived on Monday, which happened to be the start of a week when I was on annual leave from work. Brilliant, I thought, I've got all week to keep chipping away at these puzzles!
I started The Killer Isn't June at around 7pm. I stayed up past my bedtime, till about 11.30, but by this time I was 99% sure I'd narrowed it down to the correct page. The next morning, I spent about an hour checking a couple of other clues, and then I logged onto the website to submit my answer, which was correct.
I moved onto The Victim Isn't Dead, and this one was solved in about two hours.
When you read all the clues, you realise that you can eliminate quite large sections of the book in one go. As you narrow down the search area, more clues help you to logically work out which pages it can, or can't be.
The adverts imply that you need to work your way through the book, eliminating names. They show people highlighting different clues and different names. If this is how your brain works, then fair enough, but it's not necessary. Just cross out entire pages, and chapters, and names with pencil. It really isn't difficult at all, and it doesn't take long (I spent a bit of time in the first book crossing names out on pages that I should've already eliminated, otherwise I would've solved it even quicker).
I was very disappointed in how easy these books were to solve, especially because they are so expensive for what they are. I haven't tried the original Alice one, although I'm tempted, but from what I've read, it is similarly quite easy to solve so I think it would also be disappointing.
It seems to be impossible to leave a negative review on any of their countless Facebook posts (hmm, how strange?) so I'm leaving one here. Don't waste your time and money on these books!
Started: 17.10.26
Finished: 19.10.26
Kindle Unlimited
As with a lot of self-help books, I read this but I feel like I haven't taken anything in. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mindset for it, maybe I was rushing it a bit (I'm trying to read as many KU books as I can before cancelling my subscription at the end of the month). Almost every sentence felt like a platitude. I say that I haven't taken anything in, but actually, I think I did grasp that the overall message was more about discovering and following your values, rather than chasing goals. And I did like the quote "say yes happily, or say no, but don't say yes begrudgingly". That's very similar to "if it's not a 'hell yeah' it's a no".
