New Release: Ghosts of Greenglass House

Lately, my new release posts tend to be for review copies because obligation is the only way that I actually get around to reading a book somewhat close to the release date. BUT ... Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford was one that I *had* to buy in hardcover and I could only keep it on my shelf unread for about three weeks -- and, of course, I also had to reread Greenglass House first. It made for the best Thanksgiving break ever!

This story starts exactly a year after the first one ends, on the first day of winter vacation at the inn. Only, this year, there's no snow--only disappointing frost--and also a guest who keeps extending his stay. So, once again, Milo has to cope with a non-standard break that only gets crazier as the days pass. Filled with Nagspeakian history and lore, indoor adventures, and, yes, ghosts, this was another amazing read.

I love Kate Milford's books for so many reasons but I realized a new one this time. She normalizes late risers! Milo and his parents keep late hours because they need to take care of inn guests so they stay up past midnight and then get up at 9 or 10 in the morning and IT'S OKAY. These are people who keep different hours and they aren't lazy or missing out or anything else. They have activities, conversations, and adventures late into the night instead. Thank you, Kate! There were also great discussions about respecting boundaries, more about adoption, and even some lessons on lock-picking. I loved it all.

Finding family in random places,
K

#RIPXII Wrap-Up

How is it the end of October already?! Luckily I got my fill of RIP reads over the past two months with 25 perilous reads, 17 of them rereads. Yay!

I loved my massive Agatha Christie binge. I had great fun with audiobooks from Carlos Ruiz Zafón and John Connolly. And I finished the event with a collection of ghost stories--Ghostly--collected by Audrey Niffenegger. With just two duds (I guess I am not really a fan of some modern ghost stories), this was a great collection.

So, I would stop the RIP reads now except that my hold on the audiobook of The Screaming Staircase just came in so I'm gonna need a few more days on this challenge ... ::wink::

What was your favorite read this season (perilous or not)?

Reminder: Witch Week is starting over at Emerald City Book Review today ...

Until we meet again ... in a dark alley, under a full moon,

K

Friends With Boys

One of the graphic novels that I enjoyed the most this past Readathon was Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks. Maggie, the lovely girl on the cover, is the youngest of four kids. Just like her three older brothers, she was homeschooled until high school by her mom. The difference now is that her mother, finally done with raising her kids, has gone away to live her own life. So Maggie starts high school with no friends, a police chief father, and, well, a ghost lady from the nearby graveyard as her protector.

This was just such a great story. There were parts with no words that didn't need them --

because Maggie's face was so expressive. There were parts of the story that were so perfectly high school --

like the random enthusiasm of Lucy for this old museum piece. There was the hint of supernatural stuff, which I love, but most of it was honest emotion and high school-type happenings. I rarely reread graphic novels but this is one that I'm already looking forward to revisiting later.

Making a new book friend,
K

New-ish Release: Ghostland

This past weekend I participated in the 24 in 48 Readathon and the book I started with turned out to be a great one and probably my favorite of the weekend -- Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey. On the surface, this is a collection of some of the different kinds of hauntings, grouped by the types of places where they happen -- private houses, commercial buildings, civic buildings and graveyards, and whole cities. The wonderful surprise of the book is the fact that Dickey talks mostly about the social reasons for believing in ghosts, the shortcomings of local folklore, the whitewashing of ghost stories, and other tangents. This was an incredible social science volume and I found a wealth of things to think about.

For example, one of the locations that claims to be highly haunted is an area of Richmond, Virginia called Shockoe Bottom, one of the two main ports for the reception and trade of slaves from Africa. It seems obvious that there would be copious amounts of pain and sadness in this area, right? But here's the catch. All of the ghost stories attached to local bars and stores are about WHITE ghosts. Yep. But Dickey is smart and so he spends almost all of the chapter talking about all of the horrors and history that could have/should have been preserved by ghostly means and only briefly mentions the actual stories that you will hear in Richmond. I loved this.

With very thoughtful assessments of asylums, prisons, and even religions, I couldn't get enough of this book and I plan to buy a copy (this was a library book) and use it as a launching place to learn more about some of these issues (ie, Spiritualism as a feminist movement, the history of Kirkbride psychiatric hospitals, and the haunting trope of "Indian burial grounds").

Digging up the past,
K

#RIPXI: 1, Ghostly Echoes

I have a goal to review each RIP book I read this season the day I finish it (or the next day if it's late) so that I don't end up with a backlog. And yes, I already finished my first book -- Ghostly Echoes by William Ritter, third book in the Jackaby series. I actually reread the second book right before so I was totally in the mood to spend more time with R.F. Jackaby, supernatural detective, and his apprentice, Miss Abigail Rook. I really love this pairing. Jackaby is definitely a Sherlock-like character but he knows his limitations. While he is a Seer and can see things like auras and spiritual residues, he knows that this causes him to overlook the more mundane but just as important details. Abigail is perfect at spotting these things and quickly seeing their value. This book ends right in the middle of the overarching storyline so if you want to wait until the fourth (and final, I believe) book is published, feel free. But if you just can't wait to read about creatures, ghosts, mad scientists, and peril in nineteenth-century New England, by all means, pick up this series ASAP!

I read the first book, Jackaby, for RIP in 2014 --

I loved, loved, loved this book. It has some of everything and it is all brought together in an interesting and fun way. Jackaby is smart and amusing and Abigail is brave and also intelligent. But what I loved most is that they still needed each other. Their world views are very different but they are definitely complementary.

-- and reread Jackaby and read Beastly Bones for RIP last year.

With a smart and secretly caring detective and a strong and capable female assistant, these stories are a pleasure to read. The crimes are bloody and the climaxes are explosive but everything is tempered with a bit of humor and romance, which makes these my ideal RIP books.

This series is definitely one of my favorite new traditions and I know I'll be rereading them over the years.

Straining to see,
K

RIP X: 2, The Uninvited

My second RIP read of the year was the new release The Uninvited by Cat Winters. I got a review copy before it came out in August but I just couldn't resist saving it until time for the challenge.

Set during WWI and the influenza epidemic of 1918, Winters takes us to Buchanan, Illinois, former welcoming home of European immigrants but now a place of illness and suspicion. Ivy Rowan, a twenty-five year old "spinster" has just recovered from the flu and word has recently arrived that her brother Billy was killed in the war. The reaction of her father and other brother? Murder. This prompts Ivy to leave the home that she had been stuck in for years but what she finds in town might just be as horrible.

There are so many surprises and twists in this story that I don't want to say much more. I was annoyed by Ivy for a good chunk of the book but then, as I got to know her, I forgave more of her foibles. What was more interesting to me though (but also horrifying, especially when reading it in the context of current events) was the treatment of the German, Polish, and even Swedish citizens of this small town. Street and business names were changed, music and language were treated suspiciously, and, eventually, almost everyone who was different was either killed, arrested, or driven out of town. This was brutal to read about and almost as terrifying as the spooks. This was a fantastic historical fiction and a fairly good ghost story.

Trying to learn from the past,
K

RIP X: 1, The Madness Underneath

I kicked off my RIP reading this year with The Madness Underneath, second in the Shades of London series by Maureen Johnson. The third book is already out and this is definitely not a trilogy (according to those who have read it). So, I'm not going to talk much about plot here because this is one of those series that build from book to book. The basics though are these: Aurora, Rory for short, has moved from Louisiana to London and has enrolled at a posh boarding school. Soon after she arrives, she almost dies when she chokes at meal time. This leads to her being able to see ghosts which, as you can probably guess, leads to nothing but trouble.

This second book is comparable to the first though the plot has moved on past the Jack the Ripper plotline. For some reason, Rory bugged me more in this one, making blatantly bad decisions and acting in nobody's best interests. Still, one feels for her and can only imagine what it would be like to be thrown into ridiculously fantastical and perilous situations in an unfamiliar place as a majorly hormonal teenager. I'll keep reading the series but I'm going to get the next book from the library rather than buying it. I think this is a one-time-through kind of series for me.

Avoiding the cracks,
K

Cleaning the Slate: A Bunch of Quick Reviews

This is the stack of books that has been sitting next to my computer and growing, waiting for reviews to be written. I'm tired of looking at it and stressing about writing back reviews so you are going to get a quick rundown of these books. If there are any you would like more thoughts about, just let me know!

Starting from the bottom with the ones I read in ... gulp ... February --

Fiercombe Manor by Kate Riordan
My notes on this book say "not special but solid". If you want to read a wonderful book of this type (dual narrative in time), read Kate Morton. Her mysteries are much more spectacular and shocking. If you've already read all of Morton's books and can't wait until the new one in October, then pick this one up this summer!

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters
I hated every character in this book. I hated their personalities and I hated the things they did. But it was such a well-written book that I couldn't take my eyes off the train wreck! This one ranks toward the bottom of Sarah Waters' books for me but it was still quite readable and I could imagine rereading it at some point.

The Suicide Shop by Jean Teulé
Wow. This novella about a shop run by a French family that sells methods for committing suicide blew my mind and broke my heart. Black humor followed by utter blackness. I loved it but the ending turned that love to hate in less than a handful of words. This is one book where you just can't read the end first. It would taint your entire reading experience. And now everyone wants to pick it up and read those words, right? But I promise you, you will ruin everything. Just go find this one and read it (or don't if you don't want your heart broken into a million pieces).

My Real Children by Jo Walton
My first Jo Walton fiction! Finally! It blew my mind. The premise is that an aging woman in a memory care facility has clear memories of two entirely different lives, hinging on the moment she decided to marry a man or not. She has different children, different partners, and a really different life experience based on that one decision. I loved this thought experiment and I loved Walton's writing. I will probably read more by her this year.

Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman
Bottom line, if you loved Seraphina, you will love Shadow Scale. It's a really different story from the first but the amazing characters are still there and there are super crazy things that happen (both good and bad). This is only a two-book set so it's not a lot of time-investment from start to finish. Just know that both books are a bit slow at the start but their overall thoughtfulness is ultimately a strength.

The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing
I hadn't read any noir lately so I grabbed this one. It was not great. A lot of the prose was ham-fisted, the ending was too ambiguous, and the characters were completely one-dimensional. This wasn't the worst book I've ever read but I wouldn't ever read it again.

The Fangirl's Guide to the Galaxy by Sam Maggs
I'm just going to mention this here because I really want to do a full post on it soon. Bottom line: it's a much deeper book than it looks like from the outside!

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead
This was an unexpectedly great book. I have only read Until You Reach Me and I loved that but this one was so different, I wasn't sure. It was so much packed into a very small book. I don't want to spoil anything about it but the basic premise is that a family moves from their house into an apartment building and the son meets a very strange friend there. Gah. That is such a sterile description but this story was anything but. Just trust me and read it. It's another quickie!

Un Lun Dun by China Miéville
This was one of my planned rereads for this year and I'm glad I took the time for it. I had forgotten so much about it but just knew that I really liked it the first time. Well, I did again! If you're wondering what type of book it is, his acknowledgements at the end say it all --

"As always, I'm indebted to too many writers to list, but particularly important to this book are Joan Aiken, Clive Barker, Lewis Carroll, Norton Juster, Michael de Larrabeiti, Tanith Lee, Walter Moers and Beatrix Potter. Particular thanks are due to Neil Gaiman for generous encouragement and for his indispensable contributions to London phantasmagoria, especially Neverwhere."

If those names are on your list of favorite authors, you will probably love this book too. I wish that Miéville would write another children's book. If it was set in Un-London, I wouldn't mind either.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
I picked this one up for a lot of reasons. One was magic. Another was alternate Londons. Finally, there was a bit of fangirlishness about it out there that I couldn't resist. What I wasn't expecting was just how action-packed and truly dark this book is. I was frequently shocked at violent events and the fact that no character was safe from peril. I look forward to reading the second book in the series later this year!

My next post will be kicking off the readathon on Saturday morning. If you haven't signed up yet and want to join over 1200 people that are reading together for 24 hours, go get the deets on the Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon site!

Breathing a bit easier,
K

#DWJMarch: The Time of the Ghost

My first read for DWJ March is one I have only read once before, The Time of the Ghost. I remembered being uncomfortable while reading the book the first time but not much more about it. Well, it turns out that I was uncomfortable reading it again. It's a strange, disorienting story that has strengths but also a couple of weaknesses (like the fact that I still can't place the sisters in age order). It is probably my least favorite DWJ but, considering that I love, love, love so many of the others, "least favorite" isn't that bad.

Charlotte (Cart), Selina (Sally), Fenella, and Imogen are sisters that live with their mother and father at a boys' school. They're woefully neglected, even to the point of the parents not noticing that one of their daughters isn't there anymore. When a ghost shows up at the house/school, it's not sure who it is or why it's there -- except she thinks that she is one of the sisters, that there has been an accident, and that an evil and ancient entity is responsible for it.

I'm not a huge fan of horror and, though this story is a mix of fantasy and horror, there are parts of this story that are violent and/or bloody enough to make me squeamish. And yet, the real horror comes from the terrible parents, especially their father, Himself. He calls his daughters bitches, hits them repeatedly, and can't even tell the four of them apart (even when there are only three of them present). Diana revealed that the book was based on her own childhood with her two sisters and her negligent parents. Neglect and abuse are two different things though and I hope that she didn't suffer quite as much as these girls did.

What really stood out to me, though, were the relationships between the sisters. They bickered, they complained, they shouted and threw things, but, in the end, they all were there for each other. They represented a range of body types, a range of personalities and faults, and a range of talents, but their differences all became trivial when they needed to focus on something bigger together. Some very unbelievable things happened in the story and yet they believed each other and immediately stepped up to support each other. I'm sure this was the message that Diana intended to deliver, one that she learned in her youth.

Side note: I meant to re-read this earlier because Neil Gaiman cited it as an influence on The Ocean at the End of the Lane and I definitely saw that. BUT, I also thought there were some connections with The Graveyard Book (specifically, The Sleer) that I'll have to ask him about someday!

Invoking nothing and nobody,
K

New Release: Things Half in Shadow

Things Half in Shadow is a roller coaster ride of a story, taking the reader through both high and low society in Philadelphia in 1869. Alan Finn has brought together spiritualism and showmanship, mediums and P.T. Barnum, in a tale of murder and suspense. Edward Clark, a young crime reporter, orphan, and Civil War veteran with a well-heeled fiancée, is dragged into the world of spiritualism through his job. He is asked to do a series of articles that debunk the various mediums operating in the city. The first one he goes after, Lucy Collins, turns out to be the wrong thread to pull, one that threatens to unravel his entire life.

Though the start of this story was a little shaky, it quickly picked up pace and ended up barreling through all sorts of crazy situations, one after another. Though the story went well into the realm of the unbelievable, it was of the best sort, the kind that makes for a very entertaining read. I believe this is first in a series and I'll be interested to see where it goes from here. (There are no cliffhangers or anything like that. This book works perfectly well as a standalone.)

The back of the book says "Alan Finn is the pen name of an acclaimed author of mysteries and thrillers". Well, unable to resist any mystery, I did a bit of Googling and and came across this fascinating article. It's worth a read if you've ever wondered why an established author might change their name mid-career.

Listening for bees,
K

RIP IX: This House is Haunted

I only have a couple of days left of RIP season and quite a few reviews to catch up on so this week's posts will be short and sweet (well, as sweet as murder and mayhem can get)!

As someone who has read many Victorian ghost stories (good and bad), I found This House is Haunted by John Boyne to also be a strong classic ghost story, despite being published only last year. A young woman, Eliza Caine, caught up in the grief of a sudden loss, seeks to change her situation by leaving everything she knows, heading to Norfolk, and becoming governess to some children. From the start, things are not as they seem and eventually Eliza sets out to find out the true history of the house and the family. What she finds is not pleasant but her own good nature and family ties help her in the end.

I wouldn't say that I loved this book because there was nothing that was exceptional about it ... but, it was still a pleasure to read. It was a good, solid ghost story. This book reminded me of the books of John Harwood, without the more sordid parts. I have no complaints other than the fact that Eliza seemed pretty slow to catch onto things at first. Thankfully, she stepped up her game by the end and even became a bit crafty. Good job, Eliza!

Hoping this post is not haunted,
K

RIP IX: New Release: The Supernatural Enhancements

The second I saw Edgar Cantero's The Supernatural Enhancements, I knew I had to read it. I managed to avoid all mention of what it was about (because who needs any more impetus than that cover, right?!) and only took in the praises of various readers that I respect. I put in my hold at the library and thankfully it came in quite quickly (I can only assume because everyone who picks it up speeds through it without being able to put it down).

I'm going to be a bit secretive about the plot because, as I was tweeting with Becca about it (she was reading it at the same time), I realized "I like the way it reveals things slowly, after you've already assumed something else". I think this is definitely part of the genius of Cantero's writing. The story is told through letters, journal entries, and audio and video recordings. It incorporates literature, puzzles and cyphers, and nameless things that are only to be found in dreams and nightmares. The two main characters, A. and Niamh, are young and slightly mysterious and likable. And Axton House with its supernatural enhancements is a place of history and mystery.

As soon as I finished the book, I went to my reading spreadsheet where I usually record a couple of brief thoughts. All I could come up with was "holy crap". I tweeted this thought and the author himself found my tweet. He asked if it was the sort of crap he should retweet or not. I chuckled and said that it was absolutely the kind to retweet because I loved the book and the end was simply mind-blowing. I didn't see it coming at all. I would love a sequel that just expands the Epilogue.

I've already got Chris reading this book (and the last time I talked to him about it he was loving it). Have I convinced you to pick it up?

Cherishing my quiet dreams,
K

RIP IX: Constable & Toop

What will definitely rank as one of my favorite reads of this RIP season (I'm calling it early) is Constable & Toop by Gareth P. Jones. I didn't know that I was looking for a book with ghost protagonists (and one plucky living kid) until I picked up this one and got lost in the rules and procedures of the world of the dead.

Sam Toop has always lived above the funeral parlor with his father and he has always been able to see ghosts. Usually they just ask for help with their unfinished business but he's about to be drawn into a much more serious business: that of saving the ghostly world -- with the help of ghostly boys, dogs and bureaucrats.

Though it's marketed to middle grade readers, I thought the story was well-written enough to please older readers too. It takes a bit of effort at the beginning to get used to switching between multiple narratives (it changes each chapter between three or four story lines) but once you learn patience, it pays off with a story where you find yourself truly caring about the fates of ghosts. Because, though Sam is the main living character of the story, I'm not sure that he's any more important than ghostly paper-pusher Lapsewood, young and transparent rogue Tanner, or the comical and clearly insane Marquis. I can't wait to give this one a reread during a future RIP season.

Spectrally,
K

New Release: The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit

Graham Joyce's The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit begins by introducing us to college student David Barwise, who has just arrived at a seaside resort in 1976 Skegness to start a summer job. He's ended up there because it's the location of the only photo he has of his father. He doesn't know much else about the man who died years ago but he has a strange notion that the answers are in Skegness. He ends up finding a lot more than he bargained for there -- unconventional relationships, ladybugs and a ghost in an electric blue suit.

Powell's has created a pretty cool companion playlist for the book. I wish I had found it before I read the story so that I could have listened along to Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Kate Bush and more while I journeyed with David through a summer of varied co-workers, vacationers and leisure activities. Even though it turned out to be a different type of story from what I would normally read, I still enjoyed it quite a bit. It took me to a time and place that I've never visited before, introduced me to people I wouldn't have met otherwise and made me think about memory and the past in a different way. The crafting of the story was superb, even in the most uncomfortable moments of David's summer.

I definitely want to read something else by Graham Joyce. Any suggestions?

Returning to shore and (relative) safety,
K

p.s. I received a copy of this book to review from the publisher.

#DWJMarch: Book Highlight -- The Time of the Ghost

The Time of the Ghost

1981

Fantasy

A ghost appears in a field, outside of what appears to be a boarding school, but she has no memory of who she is or how she is connected to the place. As she visits the school, she starts having feelings of familiarity even though she isn't remembering much. She thinks the three girls living in the back of the boarding school may be her sisters but she's not sure. The one thing she is sure of is that danger is coming from an unexpected place (and time) and she's the only one who can stop it.

Reviews

Readers by Night, May 2013

Scholar's Blog, October 2005

Somewhere I Have Never Traveled, February 2011

The Book Coop, June 2010

We Be Reading, October 2010

Share your The Time of the Ghost love today!

Long-Awaited Reads Month: The Ghost in Love

I believe that this book, The Ghost in Love by Jonathan Carroll, made it on to my TBR years ago after a rave review from Lena (who I don't believe is blogging anywhere at the moment). I guess I never picked it up in the interim because I had forgotten exactly what it was about. It turns out that it's about many things and it's hard to describe but believe me when I say that its uniqueness makes it fresh and thought-provoking and beautiful, all in an unusual way -- because this is definitely a strange book and it's not ashamed to be that at all.

This story has a ghost and the man whose ghost she is, and a dog (of sorts), and an ex-girlfriend and a complete stranger, and angels and many other characters that come together in an ensemble that causes one to reflect on the tenuous border between life and death, the essence of each of our beings and the things that allow us to love each other past all our faults and flaws.

I'm very excited to explore more of Jonathan Carroll's work and, as Chris has highly recommended The Land of Laughs, it will be my next read of his -- and I promise that it won't take me years to get to it.

With love and ghosts,
K

RIP Reads 7 & 8: The End of Mr. Y and Picture the Dead

I have to admit that I bought The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas without knowing anything about it. I had heard the title and the book is pretty with its black edges and, well, it was cheap at Half Price Books. So, when I thought that it would be a good RIP read, I really didn't know for sure but I was hoping for a perilous read. As I started reading it, I also began second-guessing my choice -- that is, until it became more perilous than one could ever imagine.

I don't want to give too much away about the plot so I'll just say that it's about a Victorian book that has the ability to fuel a very dangerous obsession. There's a lot of philosophy in it and sometimes I felt like it was a little too weird but, by the end, I was impressed with the direction that Thomas took. I'm definitely going to look for more of her books because of the unique ideas in this one.

At our Scholastic book fair last year, I picked up a copy of Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown. I thought this story had its ups and downs. It's a Civil War era story with ghosts and spirit photographs and love and betrayal. The story was a overly dramatic in parts but nicely historical in others. I think this is one case where I might be too old for the book. If I had read it as an eleven or twelve year old, I probably would have loved it.

Traveling from one end to another,
K

Summer Project: London -- Update Two

source

My summer London project is winding down now but I have a few more London books to share with you that I read this summer --

I finished Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens in a fairly short time. It was full of coincidences and unfortunate events that strained belief but I thought Dickens did a very good job of portraying the lives of the poor and the orphaned and those who either attempted to help them or used them to their own benefit. Though one of his more "issues" based novels, it was surprisingly not very preachy or wordy. There is definitely quite a bit of sarcasm in it (which I enjoyed). The portrayal of London as a place where one can just as easily be found as lost was also fascinating. Though a more violent novel, I think it's also one of Dickens' more accessible ones and I'm happy to now understand many of the references to this novel that I've encountered over the years.

Next I moved forward in time to Consequences by Penelope Lively, a journey through generations from the 1920s through modern days. With many different personalities and relationships, I thought this was a fascinating story. It was my first Penelope Lively and if her books are all as quiet and touching as this one, I'm sure I'll find my way back to her soon. As for London, it was interesting to see how a home and a neighborhood changed over time in what was once an affluent area.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson was one that I was going to save for the RIP challenge but then I was in the mood for something more modern after all of this summer spent mostly with a London of the past. What I got was one of the most "YA" books I've ever read. It took me a while to get into it, into the teenage awkwardness and drama, but once the supernatural part of the story started, I was hooked. There was a very terrifying villain and the main character, Rory, was interesting and convincing in all of her "teenness". This story took me back into the underground areas of London but also gave me a look at boarding schools and pubs. Quite fun and I look forward to the next book in the series, The Madness Underneath.

Finally, I had a hankering for some Agatha Christie and I still have a couple of unread novels sitting on my TBR, mostly those that feature Poirot and were made into tv films. I had to wait long enough until I couldn't remember the solution anymore so that they would be interesting reads. Hickory Dickory Dock is a boarding house mystery full of unlikeable twenty-somethings. With plenty of mentions of race relations (and some of Dame Agatha's own questionable descriptions of those non-white characters), this was a look into the workings of the succotash (please tell me a better word for it if you have one!) that is London.

This might be the end of my London reading for the summer. It was a really interesting experience to see so many different ages and sides of a single city and its people. One day I'll get to visit London and hopefully fill in the gaps that must exist after only learning about the city from books. I can't wait.

Letting my anglophilia shine,
K

RIP VII Read #13: Dial-a-Ghost

Z and I did read one book together for RIP this year -- Dial-a-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson. This book was similar in theme to The Great Ghost Rescue which we read last year but it was different enough that we had fun anyway!

Z would like to tell you about this book so here he is --

The book is about this boy called Oliver Smith who goes to Helton Hall but gets bullied by Fulton & Frieda Snodde-Brittle. Fulton asks Dial-a-Ghost Agency for scary ghosts for scaring Oliver to death but the Wilkinsons showed up instead. The Wilkinsons are friendly ghosts who wanna protect Oliver. The Shriekers were the original choice to go to Helton. The Shriekers were scarier!

I thought the book was funny but scary at the middle. My favorite character was the pet budgie because he was kinda stupid. The book made me believe in ghosts!

Sharing the spooky reads,
K and Z

"I was never so frightened as I am now."

My pending-review books are now stacked by size and not by when I read them because the stack was starting to wobble (yikes!) so my apologies if my thoughts in any upcoming posts are a bit scattered or, most likely, sparse. I think Affinity was the first book I finished this year. There was a lot to like about it and then there were things that just didn't work for me. What I liked the most was the familiarity of Sarah Waters' characters. I would never be able to tell you what it is about them but I could recognize one of her women anywhere. Waters really has a distinct voice and a certain way of writing her leads. I also really liked the descriptions of the Victorian women's prison. I don't think this is something that gets talked about very much so it was quite fascinating (and heartbreaking, of course). What I didn't really like in this story was the plot. I didn't hate it but it just didn't do much for me. I think by never finding out what this novel was about before reading it, I got my expectations too high for a ripping good ghost story. Instead, it's a tale about belief and kindness and the human condition.

So, because this didn't become my new favorite Waters' novel, I'll have to keep The Little Stranger in the number one spot. In fact, if I get a chance, I wouldn't mind re-reading it later this year!

(If you would like a more thorough discussion of this book, Kelly and Marg just posted about it yesterday and had some great thoughts about it.)

Waiting for the next offering,
K