The Book Bump

Autumn has well and truly settled in. The temperatures dropped drastically in the second half of October. We went from warm, sunny days to cold, drizzly ones.

But cold, drizzly days mean an extra reason to spend the evenings snuggled up on the sofa, the fire burner on with a good book?

I’ve been rather preoccupied recently with other projects, including revamping my kitchen, learning to illustrate, and finishing my first novel’s second draft, so the blog and reading were on the back burner for a while.

September and October reads:

Here’s a list of what I read during the last few weeks of summer. Full reviews will be published shortly.

On Writing by Stephen King

Stephen King recounts with wit his journey to becoming the well-known, best-selling author he is today. I found his style of prose to be fascinating and hard to put down.

I am not usually a memoir kind of girl, but I’ve read this book twice now. And I wouldn’t doubt I’d read it again.

Intelligences Artificielles. Miroirs de nos vies by Fibre Tigre, Arnold Zephir and Héloïse Chochois

Something I picked up at my local library. Artificial Intelligence is a topic I am very interested in as it directly affects me as a creative.

Le Genre du capital : Enquêtes sur les inégalités dans la famille by Jeanne Puchol, Céline Bessière, Sibylle Gollac

Something I picked up at my local library. The title intrigued me, as it speaks of the financial inequalities between women and how they are so ingrained in our culture.

Générations Poing Levé by Chloé Célérien

Something I picked up at my local library, more for my husband than me.  

Circe by Madeline Miller

This book was part of my summer challenge (which I miserably failed, as it’s no longer summer, and I haven’t finished it). A friend’s favourite. So, I asked my little sister.

Madeline Miller has an interesting style and take on Circe’s life, who was only briefly mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey.

Last Love: Would he wait a lifetime? By Gill Fernandez

Reedsy gave me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Full review available on my blog shortly. Spoiler: I gave it 4 stars!

If you can’t wait, you can find it here: https://reedsy.com/discovery/book/last-love-gill-fernandez#comments

November reads:

Here’s what I’m currently reading, and each novel has something new to bring. I can’t wait to get my teeth into these. As a beginner writer, I feel like I can learn a lot from these authors.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

This is my first Neil Gaiman book. It has been a while since I’ve indulged in the fantasy genre. Why Gaiman? Well, my brother-in-law is a big fan and I am always curious to try new authors.

Why this title? Well, simply because Stephen King lists reading it at the end of the 20th edition of his memoir On Writing.

The publisher suggested I update this list for this new edition, so here are eighty-plus more – the best things I’ve read between 2001 and 2009. As I said in the 2000 edition of the book… you could do worse.

Stephen King

Gaiman’s style is very different to anything I am used to reading. It took a little time to get used to the all-seeing narrator. But it is very refreshing.

The pace is rather on the slow side, but Gaiman has a way with prose that makes you forget you are reading.

I am very intrigued to see where the author goes with the story. I’m 200 pages in and can’t wait to read more.

Then I might watch the Amazon Prime TV series just to see.   

Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson

I vaguely remember seeing the movie trailer. And I was thrilled when I got the e-book in a book deal.

I love a good psychological thriller, and SJ Watson hasn’t disappointed so far with this novel. I’m curious to see how it will all pan out, although I already have some suspicions.

SJ Watson’s style of writing in the first-person present is very refreshing. As the reader, you feel like you are living the drama with the protagonist.

Merging The Drift by Tom Bray

The author contacted me directly, offering me a free copy of the book in exchange for exposure and an honest review.

The concept of this book is intriguing. It involves a new take on the afterlife. Essentially, those who died before legally becoming an adult coexist in the drift, where they can follow a version of themself to see how their life would have turned out.

I started in the summer. And as interesting as I find the idea of the story and the story itself, something is lacking. But I can’t put my finger on it. I’m unsure what about the book makes me pick a different book to read over this one. Perhaps the setup is a little too slow?

However, the last couple of chapters have proved very interesting. My intrigue has been tweaked. I can’t help but guess where the author wants the story to go.

I have read about a fifth of the book and will continue reading as I have grown reasonably attached to some characters. I want to see how it all ‘merges’ together. I want to see if my suspicions are proved right.

This book is part of a trilogy, but how this book pans out, will determine whether I read the two sequels.

My aim for November is to finish this book and provide Tom Bray with my honest opinion of his book.

Killer Dead, Victim Alive by Michael Geczi

The author contacted me directly through my blog (how cool is that?!), offering me an ARC via BookSirens for an honest review.

So far, I’ve read the blurb and the first chapter. It looks very promising. I love a good mystery and can’t wait to play detective to see if I can work it out before the end.