Book Haul

 

Reading is definitely near the top of my list of favourite things to do - I love being able to completely switch off from everything and have my mind thinking about the characters and story and nothing else.

I don't mind paying full price for books, but I tend to just impulse buy based on the cover (bad, I know) or if I like the author. I don't tend to read the 'Top Chart' books until waaaay after everyone else has, as I like to ignore the hype and not let it affect the story I'm reading. The Girl on the Train is a perfect example, whilst the hype around the book isn't quite dead, I have already read it. I can't say I was too impressed actually, or blown away, so I really don't know what all the hype was around that book. I hate it when you expect so much & the book and author come off worse for it, so I tend not to read books when they're above 50 and below in the chart.

I am signed up to a website which you can freely swap your books with other members, the only charge being the postage you pay. Usually people post 2nd Class, non recorded and just get proof of postage, so the receipt. I've swapped quite a few times now and haven't had problems at all. You basically upload the books you have that you're happy to swap, and you can either wait for people to swap with you, or if you have a particular book in mind you can search for it and request swaps with others! The website link is www.readitswapit.co.uk - it'd be great to get more readers on there! 2 of the books above were from this site, so only cost me £4.50 for both of them in postage on what I'd sent back!

I bought the other books (excluding the Marco Polo guide to Australia)from a Bargain Book Store shop in Skegness when myself and Luke were up there for our anniversary weekend - the books were 3 for £5 so I paid a mere £10 for 6 books all of which state around £7-8.99 on the covers!

I used to read the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series but ended up getting in the middle of my exams and just forgetting! So I bought the first book to get back into them, from what I remember I really liked them.. I bought The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow purely for the cover, it's beautiful. When I review the book I'll have to show you, I did this too with Drakenfeld, it looks really medieval and interesting. I read the blurb for this and it seems a bit intense and heavy compared to what I'm used to, so probably won't be a holiday or casual read book, but still worth a go!

I bought the Marco Polo Guide to Australia as I'm going for 2 weeks next year (hopefully), my Aunt lives in South Australia near Mt. Baker so I'm sure she'll be showing me all the sights, but I'm hoping to tour the whole of Aus at some point so thought it'd be great to get an idea of what I'm doing to do!

Have you read any of these? Would you recommend any?

Let me know if you sign up to ReaditSwapit, I'll look out for your books!

Book Review: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

 

 

Firstly, I apologise for my photography.. It's the one thing I hate about blogging the most, I hate taking photos of objects, they're boring and inanimate.

 

As part of my Reading Challenge, I've recently finished Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Gillian is probably known more for Gone Girl, a book which I really enjoyed. Dark Places is written from 3 alternate view points, in a diary style.

 

'Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club… and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.' (http://gillian-flynn.com/dark-places/)

I never imagined that I would be able to read something so dark, and quite gruesome, but actually I really enjoyed this. I finished this in less than a week, reading it at every opportunity, but finishing each chapter then leaving it a while to truly allow the story line to sink in.

This book is definitely worth a read if you enjoy mystery novels, but definitely a great over all, all genre read. I never really felt any sympathy for Libby, which I find incredible considering all that's gone on, I didn't actual feel sympathy for any of the characters, even Ben Day who'd been locked in prison for the past 15 years. Flynn has this way with the character build that you care enough to keep reading and really want to follow the characters lives, but at the same time you don't pity them because of what's happened. It seems almost, normal, what happened & how the characters act.. It's very odd!


Have you read any of Gillian Flynn's books? Will you being giving Dark Places a read? Let me know!

I'm reading Caroline Kepnes' 'YOU' next, have you read this? Is it a good read? No spoilers please!