Dewey's Read-A-Thon Update #2

Since my last post, I've finished two books: Boom Town by Glenn Rolfe and Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish.

Boom Town is a fun novella about glowing blue alien slime taking over a small town, similar to the film, The Blob.

Linden Manor is a very creepy gothic horror novella about a woman investigating a nursery rhyme her great grandma used to sing to her.

Mid-Event Survey:

1. What are you reading right now?

Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare

2. How many books have you read so far?

Three: Fairy by Shane McKenzie, Boom Town by Glenn Rolfe and Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish.

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

The Complex by Brian Keene - I've been saving it for when I get tired of reading.

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

My boyfriend got home from work around 6:00 pm, so I stopped reading to talk to him for a bit and eat dinner, but now he's playing video games, so I think I'll be able to get back to reading.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

How many books I've been able to read. I've already read three and I'm pretty sure I only read three total last read-a-thon.

The delicious dinner my boyfriend made for me -
pork tenderloin medallions, brussels sprouts and cauliflower. 

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Update #1

I finished my first book, Fairy by Shane McKenzie. It was a quick and creepy read about a woman who is so desperate to have a baby she turns to an evil fairy for help. It has a few gory scenes which you might not enjoy if you're squeamish, but I love gore so I just thought it added to the story.

I've also sampled quite a few of my snacks: Timbits, spinach dip and chocolate milk.

Mini-Challenge: Our Bookish Childhoods

Top 5 Bookish Childhood Moments

1. The first chapter book I ever read by myself was Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library! by Eth Clifford. I was in second grade and I remember being proud and thinking it was a huge accomplishment when I finished it.
2. Someone told me to read That Scatterbrain Booky by Bernice Thurman Hunter, and it became my favourite book and I didn't realize it had two sequels until I saw them at a yard sale. I was so excited, I bought them and started reading immediately. 
3. I always looked forward to Santa giving me books on Christmas. I remember getting a whole box of Christopher Pike books one year and a book in The Face on the Milk Carton series by Caroline B. Cooney, which I loved.
4. Fighting over Goosebumps books at the small school library with other kids in my class (they only had about 5).
5. Going shopping with my grandma in the city (I grew up in the middle of nowhere) and getting to choose one store to go to and always choosing Chapters. My parents would give me some money and I would get to buy one book. 

Dewey's Read-a-Thon

Today is Dewey's Read-a-Thon - an event where book lovers all over the world read for 24 hours straight. I think this will be the 6th time I've participated. I managed to stay up the full 24 hours almost every time, so hopefully I can do it again and cross some books off my giant TBR list.

My book pile

The books:

1. Fairy by Shane McKenzie
2. Boom Town by Glenn Rolfe
3. Linden Manor by Catherine Cavendish
4. Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare
5. The Complex by Brian Keene
6. The Manitou by Graham Masterton
7. Elizabeth by Jessica Hamilton
8. Out Are the Lights by Richard Laymon
9. Faint of Heart by Jeff Strand
10. In Odd We Trust by Dean Koontz and Queen Chan

My food pile

The snacks:

• Spinach dip with pumpernickel bread and pita chips
• Timbits
• Tostitos and peach and mango salsa
• Cheesestrings
• Chocolate
• Iced coffee

Opening Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Oakville, Ontario

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

The Complex by Brian Keene - it came out in March and I've been saving it for the read-a-thon.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Spinach dip - it has become a tradition for me to make it every read-a-thon.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I'm addicted to buying books and was hoping to use today to make a dent in my TBR pile, but I bought five books just for the read-a-thon instead. Oh well!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I'm hoping to read more books than I have previous read-a-thons because I'm six books behind on my Goodreads Reading Challenge and I want to catch up. I chose four books that are around 100 pages or less, so hopefully that will help. 

Happy Halloween!

Here's how I plan on spending my Halloween night:

I'm going to stay in and have a Halloween marathon while drinking Nightmare on Mill Street pumpkin ale. And I plan on watching Ash vs. Evil Dead tonight at 10:00 pm on Super Channel (in Canada).

How are you spending Halloween?

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Update #4

I did it! I made it to the end! I didn't read as much as I would've liked, but I still had fun. I can't wait until the next Read-a-Thon! 

Total pages read: 510

Closing Survey

Which hour was most daunting for you? 

Pretty much from 4:00 am until right now.

Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?

Horns by Joe Hill, Pines by Blake Crouch, The Shuddering by Ania Ahlborn 

Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?

No, I thought everything was great. 

What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?

I thought the challenges were really fun.

How many books did you read?

3

What were the names of the books you read?

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, A Dark Autumn by Kristopher Rufty, Psycho by Robert Bloch and I just started Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge.

Which book did you enjoy most?

The Haunting of Hill House

Which did you enjoy least?

I guess Psycho because I knew what to expect from seeing the movie so many times and the book is very similar. It was still good though.

How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?

I'm definitely going to be signing up as a reader again next year. 

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Update #3

I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. At this point, I'm wavering between "close enough, I might as well go to bed" and "I'm so close I might as well stay up a few more hours." I'm almost done reading Psycho by Robert Bloch, so I'm at least going to try to stay up to finish it. But it's hard to be excited by a book where you know everything that happens from watching the film version several times.

Book Beverage Photo Challenge

I'm currently reading Psycho and drinking a peppermint mocha

Shelfie Challenge

My horror bookshelves

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Update #2

I finished reading my second book of the day, A Dark Autumn by Kristopher Rufty. If you're a fan of Richard Laymon, I think you would enjoy this. It reminded me of Laymon's book, Blood Games.

I'm starting to get a bit tired now, so I'm taking a break to have a snack (spinach dip with pumpernickel bread and iced coffee) and then I'll start reading Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge.

Four Seasons Four Books Mini-Challenge

For this challenge, you choose book covers to represent each season. Books I think work well from my horror collection are Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (rain for spring), Island by Richard Laymon (a beach for summer), Horrorween by Al Sarrantonio (pumpkins for fall) and Eternity by Tamara Thorne (snow for winter).

Dewey's Read-a-Thon Update #1

Wow, I've made it halfway through the read-a-thon and have only managed to finish reading one book. My boyfriend has the day off and has been very distracting. I think I wasted at least one hour reading the same sentence over and over while he talked and watched TV. I ended up reading in bed to get away from him and fell asleep for about a half hour, which was counterproductive.

I finished reading The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. It was pretty good, but a bit dated.

Mid-Event Survey:

 1. What are you reading right now?

I just finished The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and I think I'm going to start A Dark Autumn by Kristopher Rufty next. 

2. How many books have you read so far?
 
Only one. 

3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?

Psycho by Robert Bloch

4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?

Yes, my boyfriend has interrupted me quite a few times. Usually I just give in and listen to whatever he's talking about or end up watching part of whatever show he's watching on TV. I think I'm going to have to sequester myself in my bedroom for the second half of the read-a-thon.

5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?

How little reading I've been able to get done. I need to stop getting distracted! 

My boyfriend made his delicious homemade pizza for dinner,
so I guess I can forgive him for being irritating. 

Dewey's Readathon

Today is Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon! I will be participating again and attempt to spend 24 hours reading (and blogging about reading).

What I plan on reading:

1. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
2. Psycho by Robert Bloch
3. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
4. Halloween Night by R.L. Stine
5. Halloween Night II by R.L. Stine 
6. Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge 
7. All Hallow's Dead by Bryan Smith
8. A Dark Autumn by Kristopher Rufty 
9. Exorcist Road by Jonathan Janz
10. Jackpot by David Bernstein, Adam Cesare, Shane McKenzie and Kristopher Rufty

I chose some horror classics that I've never read, some Halloween themed horror and a few new horror novels that I've been wanting to read for a while.

The snacks:

• Spinach dip with pumpernickel bread and veggies
• Bugles
• Pumpkin spice cookies
• Orange Kit Kats
• Pumpkin spice latte and peppermint mocha t-discs
• International Delight caramel macchiato iced coffee

Plus whatever meals my boyfriend makes.

Introductory Meme

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Oakville, Ontario

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Spinach dip. I made it just for today because I love it and I never get to eat it.

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

I work at Value Village and the best part of my job is my 50% discount on books.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

I want to read more than I did last time. I only read three books when I participated last year, this year I hope to read at least five.  

BOOK REVIEW: The Cliffhouse Haunting by Tamara Thorne and Alistair Cross

Cliffhouse Lodge is a hotel with a dark past. In the 20s, a spirit known as the Blue Lady was spotted just before a murderer dubbed the Bodice Ripper struck on the hotel grounds. Now, guests of Cliffhouse are once again reporting Blue Lady sightings. These are soon followed by murders that have the Sheriff of Cliffside baffled. The owners of Cliffhouse think the murders have a connection with the Blue Lady and help the Sheriff to figure out the mystery.

That description of the The Cliffhouse Haunting makes it sound darker than it is. Although it has some gruesome murder scenes and features a psychotic killer, it's also quite humorous. Especially the chapters involving a character named Constance Welling. Pardon me - Constance Welling, authoress. The humour element of the novel sets it apart from other haunted hotel novels. I spent a good chunk of the novel laughing rather than being scared. That being said, a few of the murder scenes did make me gag a bit. The murderer in this novel is truly sadistic.

The characters are what make this novel a good read. I loved all the chapters involving a crazy guest of Cliffhouse named Constance Welling. She's definitely one of those characters that you want to see killed, making it even sweeter when/if it happens. Dr. Siechert, who carries a severed finger around in his pocket, is another funny character, but in a more darkly humorous way.

If you're looking for a book that makes laugh on one page and cringe on the next, you've found it. The Cliffhouse Haunting is an entertaining novel and is available for a mere $5 on Kindle.

Rating: 4/5