Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

Pages 302

First published in 1936. This edition published by Virago in 2006

Challenges - RIP, A to Z Title and 100 books

First few lines.

It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a granite sky and a drizzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o'clock in the afternoon the pallor of a winter evening seemed to have closed up on the hills, cloaking them in mist. It would be dark by four.

I will admit to having had a very decisive view on the quality of Daphne Du Maurier books before I had even read a page. I had classified her up there with Catherine Cookson and had vowed never to read one of her books. I now realise I was being a real ignoramus. Daphne Du Maurier is a legend and I intend to devour every book she has ever written.

From the first chapter of this book, I was completely immersed. Daphne's style of writing just draws you in, with her descriptive passages. The book is set in Cornwall and has the air of a thrilling gothic drama to it. I insist that all who read this, set the scene first, by saving it for a dark and stormy night, just to add your own personal sound effects. I refused to read it during daylight hours, as it is a book that needs darkness to be read to it's full effect.

The story begins with Mary on a sad and desperate journey to her aunt's home after the death of her mother. Before arriving, she is forewarned about the reputation of her new home, Jamaica Inn. Mary arrives with trepidation,to a dark and forbidding inn, standing lonely on the moors, only to be greeted by her evil uncle, whose reputation travels before him. Mary is shocked to find her aunt so different from the frivolus and carefree one she remembered. Her aunt has been overpowered by her brooding husband and Mary vows to take care of her. The inn is a dark place to live in, with lots of evil seeping out through the walls. Mary is so disgusted by the antics of her uncle and his shady colleagues, that she makes plans to get her uncle arrested to pay for his crimes.

Mary is a very strong female character. She is not afraid to stand up to her uncle and his friends. She risks her own life in order to seek justice. Her only stumbling block is the brooding younger brother of her uncle. Whilst looking at Jem, she realises how her aunt fell into such a disastrous marriage , as Jem is an exact replica of his brother and she can feel herself falling in love. The book shows how strong Mary is as she battles relentlessly against her uncle. He finds her attractive and interesting as she does not bow down to his demands. In return, Mary is repulsed by her uncle and fights to keep him at a distance.

I just loved this book. I could not put it down. To me, each paragraph seemed to be so finely tuned. As you read the book, you find the writing just flows. I felt that this book really stands the test of time and could have been written in our present era.

I loved comparing Joss Merlyn, Mary's uncle with his younger brother Jem. Jem is exactly like his brother used to be and with his roguish charm, you can easily see why Mary's aunt was so easily led.

This book is full of darkness, disaster, destruction and death, definitely a book I would read again.

A friend of mine, who has urged me to read Daphne Du Maurier for the last two years, was overjoyed at defeating my hostility and has now lent me Rebecca to read. As I understand, Rebecca is by far the best book Daphne Du Maurier ever written, so I shall soon be diving in. I know quite a few of you have Jamaica Inn on your list of possible books for the RIP challenge and I would highly recommend that you read it.

Alexandra Palace Goodies

Saturday was Ally Pally day in my household. I went on my twice yearly visit to London to the Big Stamp and Scrapbook Show. It is a big event to my friends and I, as it takes us three hours to get there; this time it took four hours to get home as they closed one of the tube lines down.

So you can imagine the exhaustion on returning home. I went with four of my scrapbooking buddies and we faced the crowds, enduring being punched and verbally abused, but all worth it. At lunch time, we could not help but laugh at the behaviour of grown women at the event, who thought nothing of being really nasty and pushing everyone out of the way. It is just a scrap show ladies - chill!
I always take my scrap trolley, as I have an aversion to carrying bags. So many people tripped over my bag, even when it was stationary, I actually lost count of how many times I apologised for it's existence.
Anyway, I thought I would share my goodies with you, as I spent an obscene amount of money and I need you to make me feel better about my purchases.

On the train up, I insisted that I was not allowed to buy paper. My friends were to physically stop me buying any. Yet look above and you will see I not only bought sheets of paper, but also two paper packs.


Within this picture, you will see I bought some card making kits. Now I don't make cards at all, in fact I am probably the only member of my scrap group who doesn't make cards. However, Fiona has challenged me to make some, so with her help I picked out some card making supplies.

I also bought some lovely stickers. The ones in black are Little Claires stickers; they are peel offs but all in black and look very beautiful on card.

Here are a selection of the stamps I bought. I also purchased some shrinkies, which are pieces of plastic that can be stamped on then shrunk. They will look fabulous using the cupcake stamps, I just can't wait to get started.

As you can see, I also bought a lot of dots. These dots are very similar to brads without the bit to pierce the paper. So they are much easier to attach to pages.

On the journey home, I started to panic that I didn't buy the big bags of buttons I had seen at the show. I insisted to everyone that I needed them and I had missed out on a fabulous bargain. As you can see from above, I was lying completely. I really don't need anymore buttons.

So there you are my goodies from Saturday. My reading has already suffered because of the show, as I haven't picked up a book since Friday. I really need to learn to balance my time to include all my hobbies.

Thanks for stopping by and not moaning about my scrap obsession.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming Competition Winner

I have to apologise as I should have drawn the winner for this competition last week. Unfortunately life is a little frantic at the moment and I am struggling for time. So apologies again for being so late.

I used the randomizer to pick the winner of this competition and the winner is:-

CARMEN FROM WHOOPIDOO...INGS. Well done Carmen. Please can you email me your address, so that I can pop it in the post for you.

Sorry to everyone who didn't win. There should be another competition coming up very soon.

Sunday Salon - Graphics Frenzy.

Good morning Sunday Saloners,



A couple of weeks ago I was moaning about my lack of reading. So, I grabbed the bull by the horns and solved my slow reading, with an injection of graphic novels. I have read four lovely graphic novels over the last couple of weeks and rather than doing long reviews of them, I am going to give you a quick run down of the story line and what I thought of them. I still have so many books to review and not enough posts to use for them. I am adamant that I will not write more than one post a day as I basically don't have time and I don't think it is fair on you guys. So here goes.

I will start with the Nana series by Ai Yazawa. Anyone read any of these? I was lucky enough to pick up the first two books in the series at the library. Until I read these, I had never heard of 'manga' and 'shojo' and I didn't have a clue what they meant. For those of you, who like me often live in a world of graphical darkness, they mean the following. Manga is a basically a comic or cartoon book in any format developed in Japan in the late 20th Century. Shojo is the Japanese word for girl.


The Nana books are basically about two very different young girls who happen to have the same name Nana. In the first book, we get to meet both Nana's. Nana Komatsu, a romantic young woman, always falling in love with the wrong person and Nana Osaki, a rock chick, desperate to make it big in the rock and roll world. Within the first book, neither character actually meets. You follow them on their journey to moving to Tokyo, their reasons for going and the decisions they have to make.


Within the second book they actually meet on the train journey to Tokyo. They find they are total opposites to each other, yet by the end of the book they both end up sharing a flat.


On one hand, I loved the character of Nana Osaki, she is a strong and determined young lady who doesn't let anything linger on the surface. She keeps everything well hidden in order to protect herself. On the other hand I hated Nana Komatsu, she was really annoying and very childish. She needs a major dose of maturity, in order to make me like her.


I found these books very entertaining, if a little hard to read because you have to read them from the back to the front and from right to left, which took me a little while to actually get into. This style of layout is in keeping with the original Japanese comic format.


This are quick to read and very entertaining. Definitely worth a read, if you are short of time and need a quick book fix.


Moomin - the Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip - I am pretty sure that this is not the complete comic strip and that there are actually a few other books circulating with different Moomin comic strips in. This book was volume 4 and consisted of five different comic strips.

The stories covered Moomin Papa's invention of a time machine which transported the Moomins back to the Wild West and to eighteenth century France. My favourite out of all the five comic strips was a story about a comet landing on Earth causing a great tidal wave. In Moomin style, everything works out in the end and all the stories are just lovely. I would highly recommend one of these books as an introduction to the Moomins. I dare you not to fall in love with these cuddly creatures. I am a big fan of the Moomins and I am hoping to get hold of all the original paperback books.

Creatures of the Dark by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli. Whoa, this book consisted of a couple of very dark tales. The book has two of Neil Gaiman's stories about enigmatic animals and their supernatural influences on the human world. The first story 'The Price' is about a friendly black cat which makes a new home for itself in a cottage with a family. Every morning the family find the cat has been viciously attacked. Worried and concerned about his safety, they watch to see what is hurting him, only to find that their house is not as safe as they had thought.

The second story ' The Daughter of Owls' is a recount of a historical tale of a baby girl abandoned at a church and doomed to spend the rest of her life behind the convent walls until the men of the local town take an unhealthy interest in her.

Both of these stories are really dark and not for the fainthearted. This is not a book I would allow children to read as I would not have said the stories were suitable. However if you are looking for a read for your RIP challenge, then I would highly recommend this book. The pictures reminded me a lot of the graphic version of Coraline that I reviewed recently.

So that wraps up my graphics frenzy this week. Have you read any good graphic novels recently?

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at You Should Be Reading and you can find it here.

I wasn't going to write a Friday Finds post this week as I have been slow to recover from what now may have possibly been swine flu. I hadn't seen a lot of books that had interested me, however that may just have been my state of mind, rather than the quality of books. Then lo and behold, my lovely book blogging friends throw an abundance of books at me that I just can't resist.

1) The Summer Book by Tove Jansson.
I found this one over at Nymeth's blog Things That Mean A Lot last week and fell in love with it instantly. I am a huge fan of Tove Jansson's Moomin books, so I am pretty sure that I would love this one.

Here is the blurb from Amazon.
The Summer Book is a fresh, vivid and magical novel about seemingly endless summers of discovery. An elderly artist and her six year old granddaughter while away the summer together, on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland, their solitude disturbed only by migrating birds, sudden storms and an occasional passing boat. Gradually, the two learn to adjust to each other's fears, foibles and yearnings for independence, and a fierce yet understated love emerges - one that engulfs not only the summer inhabitants, but the very island itself. Tove Jansson writes with a special toughness, and with a quiet, dry sense of humour, about a small girl and her grandmother, who as kindred spirits share the long days together.


2) In The Sanctuary of Outcasts - A Memoir by Neil White.

I found this one over at Maggie Reads. Maggie ran the Southern Reading Challenge earlier in the year and keeps me supplied with Southern book ideas. This book appealed to me because it is about a colony set up in Louisana for lepers, which was also a prison. Last year I read The Island by Victoria Hislop, which was a fictional acount of a leper colony on an island called Spinalonga and nearly a year after reading that book, it still plays in my mind. I thought this would be an excellent followup.

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

White was a successful magazine publisher in 1993 when he was convicted of fraud and check kiting and sentenced to prison in Carville, Louisiana. He knew he was facing 18 months without his wife and two young children; he knew his enormous ego and ambition had landed him in prison; he knew he had to figure out a way to save his marriage and somehow rebound financially. What he didn’t know was that the isolated 100-year-old facility at Carville was home to a leper colony of 130 patients. He learned that the patients (some severely disfigured and disabled) and the 250 inmates eyed each other suspiciously across the corridors and breezeway, each thinking the other was the scourge of the earth. Because his work detail brought him into frequent contact with the patients, White developed strong relationships with them. His favorite was Ella, a dignified and beatific elderly black woman, who had lived at Carville for more than 50 years.




3) Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

I found this one over at Christina's site Reading Through The Night.

This is a book in a genre that I haven't really read any books from. Christina read it as part of the GBLT challenge which is run by Amanda over at The Zen Leaf. I hope to be able to take part in this challenge next year.

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

Russel Middlebrook is convinced he's the only gay kid at Goodkind High School. Then his online gay-chat buddy turns out to be none other than Kevin, the popular but closeted star of the school's baseball team. Soon Russel meets other gay students too. There's his best friend, Min, who reveals that she's bisexual, and her soccer-playing girlfriend, Terese. And there's Terese's politically active friend, Ike.
But how can kids this diverse get together without drawing attention to themselves?
"We just choose a club that's so boring, nobody in their right mind would ever in a million years join it. We could call it Geography Club!"
Brent Hartinger's debut novel is a fastpaced, funny, and trenchant portrait of contemporary teenagers who may not learn any actual geography in their latest school club, but who learn plenty about the treacherous social terrain of a typical American high school and the even more dangerous landscape of the human heart.

So they are my finds for this week. They are a little different from my usual choices, but I do like to dabble in different genres. What did you find this week?

Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton

Pages - 343

Published by Headline Review in 2009

Challenges - 100+ books.

First paragraph

'Autocare Direct Motor Insurance. My name is Mina, how may I help you?'

It was the forty-eighth time she had said it today, according to the computer log. Nearly fifty policy-holders -anxious, irritable, impatient or merely bored - and it wasn't even eleven a.m. Number forty-eight was a man, and appeared to be none of those things; if she'd had to plump for a description, it would probably have been ....hesitant.

I have no idea why, but it has taken me for ever to get around to reviewing this book. This should not reflect on the quality of the book as I really did enjoy it. I think it is just me being a bit lazy. The longer I left it to review, the less likely I was to review it. So I grabbed the bull by the horns and jumped straight in today.

This is a story about love crossing the geographical divide. Mina is a single mum working in a Sheffield call centre helping customers claim on their car insurance. Peter,also a single parent and a Cambridge Geography don, is her next customer, ringing to report the first of a couple of accidents in his car. Events occur over a short period of time, which involve Mina taking home Peter's telephone number and beginning a long distance relationship by telephone. Peter and Mina become telephone pals, phoning each other to talk about their daughters and life around them. Eventually there relationship moves on further from telephone conversations, as to whether they become a couple, you will have to read the book to find out.

Rosy Thornton contacted me via email after I left a comment on Amanda's blog The Zen Leaf. Amanda had reviewed the book and I mentioned how interesting it would be to read, especially as Peter has twin daughters about the same age as mine. Rosy wondered if I would be interested in reviewing it, especially as I could comment from experience on living with twins. So I was only too happy to receive a copy of the book.

The twins in the book are very entertaining. The girls actually get on a lot better than my two do. Anyone who has met my daughters would know that they would disown the other in an instant, given half the chance. The book made me want to swap my twins for the delightful Cassie and Kim. In the story, Cassie and Kim are constantly talking at the same time and finishing each others sentences. It sounds really cute, until you live in those conditions. Imagine have two different radio stations playing at the same time in either ear, constantly from nine in the morning until eight at night and you will no long think it is cute. Though with the passage of time, I am getting better at switching off.

All the characters in the book are entertaining and very realistic. They are all warm and funny and each have their own oddities, that you cannot help but love. Rosy Thornton has a real eye for characters and I dare you not to find a little of people you already know within them. Mina's daughter, Sal is a bookworm and everytime I read about her, I could see a version of myself crossed with Roald Dahl's Matilda. Sal will often be found reading a classic story throughout the book and I found myself writing little notes to remind me to add yet another book to my TBR list.

The book is very descriptive and I found myself immersed in the world that Rosy had created. Everything is described in such detail. There is a description within the book, describing fried fish, which I cannot get out my head, because to me the description is so utterly perfect. See what you think, it may just be me.

'Mina unfolded the oily paper from around her fish, fingers basking in the released hot vapour. The batter was warm and brittle dry, but when she broke it open the fish inside was slick and steamy, scalding her fingertips.'

C'mon all my British readers, isn't that a perfect description for a nice bit of cod from the chippy?

This is not the normal run of the mill romance novel, even though the cover is a little too girly pink for my liking. This is a book about how difficult the first part of a relationship can be. There is no hearts and flowers, but there are difficult situations that bring the most unlikely lovebirds together across a class divide as well as a geographical one.

I would not hesitate to recommend this book. Rosy's style reminded me a little of Catherine Alliot, who always keeps my laughing. Thank you to Rosy for sending me a copy of this book, which I will definitely read again in the near future.

The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor

Pages 228


Published in 2002 by Penguin Books. Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2002.


Challenges - 10%, A to Z Author and 100 books

First paragraph

Captain Everard Gault wounded the boy in the right shoulder on the night of June the twenty-first, nineteen twenty-one. Aiming above the trespassers' head in the darkness, he fired the single shot from an upstairs window and then watched the three figures scuttliIng off, the wounded one assisted by his companions.

I feel really bad about this book. I picked it purely as it ticked all the right boxes for my challenges, I had never heard of it before and thought the title a little boring. For that reason only, I read this book and I now realise it was worth more than a mere box ticking process.

This rather thin book, with its understated cover and very plain title is a really beautiful, poignant book waiting to be discovered. It is a quiet, unobtrusive book that cuts you open wide and plays on your emotions. It is one of the those books that will make you think about your future, leave you wondering who will be there to look after you when your loved ones have passed on or moved on.

This book shows how one simple action can change the lives of so many people, causing irreversible disaster to all that it affected.

Lucy's childhood is idyllic. Lucy lives with her wonderful parents, who dote on their only child. She lives by the sea in Lahardane, in Lahardane, Ireland, surrounded by the woods and the glens. When Lucy reaches eight, her world becomes dangerous, after her father ( a Protestant ) shot and wounded a Catholic boy who was preparing to burn his house down. No longer feeling safe in the family home, Lucy's father prepares to take his family overseas until the present dangers pass. Lucy is angry about having to leave her home and determined to stop her parents leaving, so she disappears, leaving her parents to believe that she has drowned. The story then moves onto to show how Lucy's ill fated decision affects all the people she loves and changes the course of her own destiny.

Within this book, there are lots of events that don't happen. These events come very close to becoming reality and then by chance they end up not happening, leaving you with a curiosity as to how the story would have occurred if they had happened. If the Catholic lad had been successful in burning down the Gaults house, the story would have obviously had a very quick ending, but you would have looked at how the effects on the Catholic boy may have given him a different perspective on his life. Throughout the book, he reappears and lives with nightmares of what could have happened. He can not sleep without seeing Lucy die as a child, which leads to his eventual madness.

I found Lucy's disappearance a little difficult to believe. I know if it was a child of mine, I would never give up the search, where as Lucy's parents presumed her dead, after finding her vest. A thorough search of the surrounding areas never occurred, if it had, the circumstances would have been different. So I found that part rather unrealistic.

After finishing this book, I could not help but contemplate my own future. I have always felt blessed to be surrounded by my family, however I very aware that one day that could change. I look at my own parents who until recent years were surrounded by family. Both of their children moved away and their siblings passed on, followed by dear friends. As much as I include my parents in my life, they still live two hours away from me, with little chance of them ever living closer. I know that as time passes, being alone at some point in life, is almost a rite of passage, but it is a scary thought. You cannot depend on people being there for you all your life. Within the book, Lucy copes well with the loneliness, as she has grown up with the feeling of abandonment. In fact, I would almost say she is content to be alone in old age and living with her past constantly surrounding her in a house that has not altered since she was a child. I am not sure I would cope as well as she did with such loneliness and I love my own company. When I think of Lucy, I think of The Beatles song Enola Gay.

The characters are well written. You cannot help but feel sorry for Lucy. She spends most of her life, regretting a decision she made at the age of eight. She hates herself for the pain she puts her parents through and never really forgives herself for her actions. Imagine living with the same guilt all your life.

I would definitely recommend this book. I enjoyed this book a lot more than I ever thought I would. William Trevor appears to be an understated writer and this book is a beautiful example of his work to read.

Fall Into Reading Challenge

I mentioned the other week that I planned to join the Fall Into Reading Challenge as I was a little concerned about the books I needed to read by the end of the year in order to complete my reading challenges.

The Fall Into Reading Challenge is basically a challenge designed to suit you. For the challenge, you decide how many books you would like to read by December 20th, make a list and attempt to stick to them.

So I went through all my challenges and worked out what books I needed to read, then added a few extra that I really want to read and ended up with a list of 30 books. I then sat back in horror at the thought of actually reading 30 books by December 20th. Luckily one of my avid readers was on hand to remind me that on average I read about 12 books a month anyway, so I could easily complete this task.

For the first time ever, I have been really organised and put all the books I need to read on one shelf, so that I can wear blinkers as I pass all the other shelves. Some of my books are from the library and I have banned myself from getting anymore from the library until I have finished reading all 30 books. Don't get me wrong, I love the library, I just really need to start reading a lot of my own books first.

So here is my list of books to be read by December 20th. I will keep the list updated on this post rather than have a long list on my side bar.

1) The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff

2) Sexing The Cherry by Jeanette Winterson

3) Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote

4) Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi

5)Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

6) The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde

7)Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

8) The Birthing House by Christopher Ransom (not shown)

9) A Case of Two Cities by Qiu Xiaolong

10) 100 Shades of White by Preethi Nair

11)Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

12) Ink Exhange by Melissa Marr

13) The Zahir by Paul Coelho

14) The Nightwatch by Sarah Waters

15) Julie and Julia by Julie Powell

16) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

17) The Ressurectionist by James Bradley

18) The Dead and Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

19) The Witch Hunter by Bernhard Knight

20) City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

21) City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

22) Snow Flower and The Secret Fan by Lisa See

23) The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi

24) Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout

25) Sharp North by Patrick Cave

26) The Many Conditions of Love by Farahad Zama

27) The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike

28) Fifty Days by Sarah Quigley

29) Uglies by Scott Westerfield

30) The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness

So that is my list, wish me luck.

If you would like to join in with this challenge, then please click on the picture above which will take you through to the guidelines for the challenge.

Apologies for my unexpected absence.

I have to apologise for disappearing over the last few days. Unfortunately I got hit by a rather nasty stomach bug on Thursday, which got worse as the weekend approached. I have spent most of the last four days in bed, feeling very sorry for myself, but pleased with the unexpected weight loss. However there are now certain food groups my stomach can no longer tolerate!

I only started to actually retain my food last night, so my energy levels are a little on the low side. I hope to back to normal within the next few days and trying to visit all your blogs.

Thanks for listening to my pitiful moanings.

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at You Should Be Reading and you can find it here.

1) Homer & Langley by E. L Doctorow
I found this really unusual book over at Diane's site Bibliophile by the Sea.
Diane wasn't sure about this book, but the story had me really intrigued. I think I will let Diane explain this book as her explanation will be better than mine.

This is a work of fiction based on the lives of the infamous Collyer brothers. The decaying bodies of these eccentric bachelors were found beneath mounds of rubble in their upper west side, Manhattan home in 1947. It was reported that some 100 tons of junk had to be removed.

Diane has written a really good review of this book, so do click on her blog title above and check out what she has to say about this interesting and unusual work of fiction.


2) Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

I found this book over at Eva's blog A Striped Armchair. Eva had picked this book up as part of her library loot. Now I know this is another vampire book, but I feel the occasional one won't hurt.

Here is the blurb on this book from Amazon.
Octavia Butler's first new novel in seven years, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.


3) The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

These last two books were both found over at Carl's site Stainless Steel Droppings.

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo--author of The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane-- has crafted another exquisite novel for young readers. The Magician's Elephant tells the tale of Peter Augustus Duchene, a ten-year-old orphan who receives an unbelievable piece of information from the local fortuneteller. Peter learns that his fate is tied to an elephant that has inexplicably fallen from the sky when a magician's trick goes terribly wrong. Why did it happen? And, how can an elephant possibly change the course of Peter's life? This darkly atmospheric, yet hopeful tale, demonstrates that when the answers to life’s big questions are opaque or unforthcoming, all is not lost. DiCamillo's rhythmic writing, combined with Yoko Tanaka's mysterious black-and-white illustrations, enchants and calls out to our sincerest wishes and dreams (recommended for readers ages 8-13).


4)Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror by Chris Priestly

Here is the blurb from Amazon.

Uncle Montague lives alone in a big house and his regular visits from his nephew give him the opportunity to relive some of the most frightening stories he knows. But as the stories unfold, a newer and more surprising narrative emerges, one that is perhaps the most frightening of all. "Uncle Montague's Tales of Terror", it transpires, are not so much works of imagination as dreadful lurking memories. Memories of an earlier time in which Uncle Montague lived a very different life to his present solitary existence.

To find out how good it is, do visit Carl's blog to read his review.

So there are my finds this week. What good books did you find?

Giveaway in honour of BBAW

In honour of Book Blogger Appreciation Week I am giving away a brand new copy of Joshlyn Jackson's The Girl Who Stopped Swimming, which I reviewed in the post above.

If you would like to win a copy all you have to do is:

-For one entry - leave a comment, telling me the name of your favourite ghost in literature, film or on television.

-For two entries - answer the question above and also become a new follower to my blog.

-For three entries - answer the question above and already be one of my followers.

That is it - an easy peasy competition that is open worldwide.

Closing date for the competition is midnight GMT Thursday 24th September.

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshlyn Jackson

Pages 311

Published by Hodder and Stoughton in 2008

Challenges - RIP, Reliquiae and 100 books

First paragraph

Until the drowned girl came to Laurel's bedroom, ghosts had never walked in Victorianna. The houses were only twenty years old, with no accumulated history to put creaks in the hardwood floors or rattle at the pipes. The backyards had tall fences, and there were no cracks in the white sidewalks. Victorianna had a heavy wrought-iron gate guarding its entrance.

Don't you just love a good ghost story? I do and this wasn't it. It was good book, a real thriller and it had ghosts in it, but the ghosts in this book were purely there to help the main character Laurel make decisions in her life, similar to personal visions.

Here is a bit about the story, before I start waffling.

Laurel Hawthorne is woken up in the middle of the night by a ghost of a young girl staring at her in her bedroom. Laurel follows the ghost to the window and then notices the body of 14 year Molly floating dead in her swimming pool.

Every one in the gated community of Victorianna is convinced that it is an accident, even the police have decided it is an accident too. Yet Laurel feels that their is something more sinister going on. Everything around Laurel starts to fall apart and she calls upon the help of her rather destructive sister Thalia to help her discover what really happened to Molly.

They embark on a journey to solve the death of Molly, along the way Laurel also discovers some home truths about her family and finally what did happen in the woods all those years ago.

This was a fabulous plot. I honestly thought it was very well crafted. As you read the book, you watch as the story slowly unfolds, just like an oragami folded flower, where each time you unfold a piece the whole thing looks different to before.

Laurel starts off as quite a weak character, she has spent years learning to live within her comfort zone and learning to wear blinkers to certain aspects of her life. By the end of the book, Laurel has learnt to kick ass! She stands up to the members of her family who have kept her under their thumbs for years. Laurel comes to realise that she is happy with her lot and no amount of meddling by her sister will change the fact.

Thalia is the sister, you would rather not have. Thalia comes to her sister's rescue with one intent close to her heart, to destroy her sister's marriage, which she believes is not the life her sister really wants. Personally, I think marriage is hard enough, without having a member of your close knit family poking sticks into your relationship, till all the marbles fall out like in Ker Plunk! and you are left with an empty shell of a marriage. By the end of the book, the relationship between Thalia and Laurel is repaired and they bounce back stronger as if they had been bonded by Superglue. I don't think I would forgive my sister so easily, but hey I am British.

There are some stir crazy minor characters whose unusual activities tend to make you raise your eyebrows.

I was trying to think about another book I felt this one reminded me of and then it came to me. Years ago I read Paullina Simons book Tully and I found a lot of similarities to this one and her other book Red Leaves. Now I really love Paullina Simons, when I first read her books I found her style of writing refreshing and unique, so finding a comparison to her is definitely a winning new author to me.

This book was much more of a thriller than a ghost story and a very dark one at that. It touches on taboo areas such as child abuse, alcoholism and prostitution, but in a light hearted way, so you don't feel uncomfortable reading about them.

I would highly recommend reading it. I also have her first book in my collection, Gods In Alabama to read, so I can't wait to dive into that one too.

Other reviews of this book

Lou's Pages

Everything Distills Into Reading

Socrates Book Reviews

Bookfan Mary

Peeking Between The Pages

Flyte by Angie Sage

Pages - 521 (gulp!)

Published in 2006 by Bloomsbury.

Challenges - RIP, Reliquiae and 100 books.

First paragraph

It is night on the Marram Marshes; a full moon shines down on the black waters and illuminates the night-time Things who are going about their business. Silence hangs in the air, broken occasionally by the glugs and gurgles of the Quake Ooze as the creatures tha tlive beneath it make their way to a feast. A huge ship with a full complement of sailors has sunk into the Ooze and Things are hungry- but they will have to fight the Quake Ooze Brownies for the leftovers.

This is the second book in the Septimus Heap series. I reviewed the first one, Magyk , here.

This is not going to be a long post, as it would be pointless for you to read if you have not read the first book in the series. All I will tell you about the story line is that Septimus has now become the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's Apprentice and is quickly becoming a very capable magician. During this book, his sister, the Princess has been kidnapped by someone meddling in the Darke side. Septimus is shocked by the identity of the kidnapper and with the help of his family sets out to rescue her and save the ExtraOrdinary Wizard at the same time.

I am really enjoying this series of books. As a sequel, it did not disappoint, in fact I thought the storyline was actually an improvement on the first and seemed to have a better direction. Septimus has grown in character and strength and now has more belief in his potential as a Wizard. You cannot help but love the characters in the book.

Within this book, the Darke side, gets darker and nastier, in the same way that the Harry Potter books get darker with each one.

These books are long, but really are quite quick to read. I know you are probably gulping like I did at the length at the book, but the pages are actually quite small in length.

The book has the most beautiful illustrations in it, just like the last. Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures of some of them before I took it back to the library, so if you happen to see a copy in a bookstore, do have a look at the pictures. They are truly awesome.

I would definitely recommend this series of books. As I mentioned in my previous post, if you love Harry Potter, then I feel you would definitely enjoy these.

See, look, nice short post.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken

Pages - 192

Republished by Red Fox in 1992

Challenges - RIP and 100 books.

First paragraph

It was dusk - winter dusk. Snow lay white and shining over the pleated hills, and icicles hung from the forest trees. Snow lay piled on the dark road across Willoughby Wold, but from dawn men had been clearing it with brooms, and shovels. There were hundreds of them at work, wrapped in sacking because of the bitter cold, and keeping in groups for fear of the wolves, grown savage and reckless from hunger.

After acknowledging the title of the book and reading the first paragraph, I was convinced this book was about wolves - vicious, scary, bloody thirsty wolves.

Well I was wrong. The wolves feature in the first few chapters and then that is the last you hear about them, apart from a passing phrase, they really don 't feature that much in this book. To say I was disappointed, would be an understatement. Not that I didn't enjoy the book and find it quite a thrilling ride through the story, I just wanted the wolves to play a major role in the book and they didn't.

The book is set during the year of 1832. Bonnie's parents are about to embark on a lengthy cruise to aid her mother's ailing health. Bonnie is to be left with her cousin Sylvia as her companion, a recent addition to the family home, after living with her aunt whose is now too old to look after her. Both children were to be governed by a complete stranger Mrs Slighcarp, a distant cousin, whom Sir Willoughby has never met, but is quite happy to leave in charge of all his worldly possession. Mrs Slighcarp turns out to be a very evil old hag, who is intent on destroying all of Sir Willoughby's hard earned possessions before his return. Bonnie sets out with the help of Sylvia and some of the remaining servants to save her father from ruin.

The story was fast paced all the way through. It moved from location to location as Bonnie attempts to help her father by reaching his lawyer. At one point I wondered if I had actually stepped onto one of the sets from the film Annie.

Bonnie is a very strong character. For a child living during an era when children were seen and not heard, Bonnie is a force to be reckoned with. I do believe that she would give the teenagers of today a run for their money. Bonnie's forcefulness is diffused a little by her submissive cousin Sylvia.

Mrs Slighcarp is beyond evil. The pictures in the book show her as a rather larger than life character, towering over the young girls left in her care. She has a haughtiness about her and a fierceness that would even give me nightmares.

Books like this, make me grateful that I live during this century and that situations can almost be solved instantaneously by phone or by email and journeys across the world now only take a few hours rather than a few months.

I read this book quite quickly and I did enjoy it. As I said earlier, my only disappointment was the lack of wolves in the majority of the book. It is a good book to read, sitting with the lights down low, the fire flickering and the branches of a tree tapping on your window outside.

Another book to add to my RIP list.

Book Bloggers Appreciation Week.

Well Book Blogger Appreciation Week has arrived and I am feeling a little overwhelmed with it all. I am at a lost at whether I should join in or not. I feel like a new kid in secondary school, a uniform that is too big and has precise creases in the legs, a bag full of essentials that I will never use and a map of the school but no idea which classroom I need to go into next.

I have spent all day, reading some fabulous blog posts about the blogs that are the best to visit and I am feeling the love right now. I want to thank everyone who wrote about my little blog and made me feel all warm and cosy inside. I am still giggling over Alyce's comment over At Home With Alyce, who wondered if I sounded like Julie Andrews. Those who have heard me talk, don't shatter her illusion of me!

Well, I cannot resist this blog loving appreciation, so here is a list of book blogs I just can't live without.

At Home With Alyce - I just love to visit Alyce blog. Alyce is a fantastic book blogger, whose writes superb reviews which only adds books to my TBR list. Alyce linvites you in and makes you feel at home. I love to know what happens in Alyce's world..

Bibliophile by the Sea. - Diane is a thoughtful blogger, who always shows her caring side when she comments. Diane reads voraciously and I love the style of books she reads.

Book, Line and Sinker - Natalie writes posts that make me think. I come away from her blog full of new ideas for posts. Natalie's posts are witty and entertaining, always keeping me amused.

Books Love Jessica Marie and Carries YA Bookshelf - These two lovely bloggers are often responsible for the majority of my Friday Finds. They have a nose for finding the yet to be published,especially in the YA genre.

Fluttering Butterflies - Michelle was one of the first book bloggers I met online and I feel like we have become good friends since I started blogging. Michelle has a talent for blogging about reality and her posts actually make me think about my life. Michelle reads a lot of the same books as me, so I love to see what new ones she has found.

Hello, My Name is Alice - Alice is not just a book blogger, she is one fantastic photographer. Alice creates a mixture of reviews and photography on her blog. One of the first people to welcome me to the book blogging world.

Katrina Reads - I met Katrina through Sunday Salon and found some fantastic books on her blog. The books she chooses are often new to me and often end up on my ever growing TBR list. I got my own back though, by converting her to scrapping.

Melissa's Bookshelf - I just want to delve into Melissa's book cases as she has all the books I want to read. Melissa is always first to read the latest and often has me spending my pennies.

Things that Mean A Lot - Nymeth, what can I say! If you haven't been to Nymeth's blog, then you must visit. Nymeth is definitely one of the most influental book bloggers I have met. I would say she may be responsible for a very high percentage of the books I actually buy and read.

Nothing of Importance - I just love Debi and her family. Her posts are like conversations over a cup of coffee and a slice of carrot cake. Debi doesn't consider herself a book blogger, but she definitely is and her choice of books really influence my TBR list.

Page After Page - I feel like Kim is an old friend who not only provides me with book reviews, but also some fabulous recipes. I always feel at home on her blog and want to sit down on a cosy sofa and talk books and food.

Passionate Booklover is a new blog to me, but one I really enjoy visiting. Andreea and I share a similar taste of books and I feel like we should just swap our books back and forth as we end up reading the same books.

Peeking Between The Books - Dar, we love you and miss you. Come back soon.

Christina -Reading Thru The Night. Christina makes me laugh and is definitely a bad influence on my book pile.

Socrates Book Reviews - Yvonne has an entertaining blog, full on brilliant reviews and some really funny cat photos.

The Bookworm - Naida, one of the first book bloggers I met, who was quick to make me feel welcome. Naida really enjoys historical romance and is also very good at crocheting. Her blog is eloquent and a joy to behold.

The Book Resort - Diane is amazing. She writes the most posts and seems to get everywhere. I think secretly she has secret powers. Her blog is constantly evolving. At present, she is drip feeding me New Moon trailers.

The Zen Leaf - I only recently found Amanda's blog and now it is part of daily routine. Amanda is a superb writer and her posts really make me think. I hope to see her name on the bestseller list one day soon.

The Eclectic Reader and The Queen of Happy Endings - Teddyree and Alaine - these two lovely Australian ladies are wonderful book bloggers and as well as keen scrappers. They are best friends and I am glad I found their blogs.

I am going to have to stop there, but I feel bad as there are so many other wonderful blogs out there that you need to visit.

Lou's Pages,

Linus Blanket

Life and Times of a 'New' New Yorker

A Striped Armchair and so many more.

Thank you all for letting me into the book blogging world and making me feel at home.

I thank you all for giving me permanent neck ache from the hours spent over the PC. My family thanks you for their clothes never being ironed or washed, their dinner only arriving via the microwave and the house constantly looking like a scene from Stig of the Dump. I love you all.!

Monday Mailbox

I feel like I have been surrounded by good book bloggers this week, all declaring book bans for the foreseeable future and it sent me into a frenzy which involved me actually buying two brand new books. I can't cope with everyone being so good! I need to be rebellious.

So I went out and bought Julie and Julia by Julie Powell, which I have been wanting to read for a while. I also bought Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, which I just had to have.

I also picked up two books from the charity shops.

The Floating Brothel by Sian Rees -The Extraordinary True Story of an 18th-Century Ship and Its Cargo of Female Convicts.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I am really pleased with this one as it is the hardback version and it doesn't look like it has ever been read. It costs £18 to buy new and I got it for £2. Bargain.

Now I did attempt to put myself on a library book ban until I have read a few of my own books. However, on returning two of my already large library selection, I came across these two graphic books.

Moomin - The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip - I have a real strong urge to read the Moomin books lately. I think it has something to do with the change of season as I vividly remember reading my first Moomin book during the autumn. I cannot find my original books, so I am on a quest to buy them again. So I was over the moon, when I spotted this graphic book in the library. I can't wait to read it.

Creatures of the Night by Neal Gaiman and Michael Zulli. This features two of Neil Gaimans stories - The Price and The Daughter of Owls which originally featured in Neil Gaiman's book Smoke and Mirrors. I thought this would be ideal for the RIP challenge.

So there are all the books that have entered my house this week. What did you get?

Sunday Salon - a slow reading week.

Sunday Salon can be found here.

Good morning to all Sunday Saloners and anyone else who happened to be passing.

I have had a very slow reading week this week. I finished reading Flyte by Angie Sage, which is the second book in the Septimus Heap series. It is quite a big book at 520 pages, but that was not the reason it took me so long to read. I struggled to get into at the beginning of the week, as the children went back to school on Monday and everything just seemed to become really chaotic. There uniform no longer fitted and they had only tried it on three weeks ago and it had been fine. Two doctors appointments for me which really breaks your day up. Also the girls started dance classes at a new dance school, which involved trying to purchase new ballet and tap outfits. I just feel exhausted by it all and a little overwhelmed.

I always find the beginning of a school year so stressful as I never know how the girls are going to react to the changes that occur. One of my daughters has settled quite nicely into her new class, however my other daughter, also in the same class, is struggling a bit and very anxious. She is constantly worrying over every little thing and as of yet, she has no reason to be worrying, so I am finding it really difficult to console her. She has always struggled more than her sister and I suppose it must get really annoying to her to have a twin who appears to be cleverer than her. I need to find something she is good at to help build her confidence.

So, as I mentioned reading has been slow. I have recently started 'The Girl Who Stopped Swimming' by Joshlyn Jackson, which I will have a new copy to give away after I have reviewed it. The story has ghosts in it, so it is ideal for the RIP challenge. I have also started reading The Spellbound Hotel by Tom Eglington, which is full of ghosts too.

During a library visit I picked up four graphic books to tuck into which should increase my reading level next week.

I spent a little while looking through my reading challenges this week and decided to write a list of books that I need to read by the end of December. The list seems quite long, so I have decided to join the Fall Into Reading Challenge, where you basically make a list of the books you want to read and hope to achieve your goal.

I doubt if I will get much reading done until this evening, as I promised my daughter (the one full of worry), that I would help her clean out her bedroom, which actually goes beyond disgusting, so my whole day will be taken up. I am not relishing cleaning anything as I am nursing a hangover, the result of an evening with friends.

Have a great Sunday. I will be so jealous if you are reading all day.

Hooray! Finally I have made some scrap pages. I went to my scrap club on Saturday and came away completely inspired again. I loved meeting up with my scrapping pals after our long summer break. It seems like ages since we last saw each other.

Whilst at scrap club, I continued to make scrap pages for my auntie's album as I promised my mum I would try and get it finished by November. I am just over half way through, so that is not too much for me to do. I am still struggling to tell a story with the pictures as I was given such a random bunch of photos with no details. If I can give you one piece of advice, please label your photos with names and dates, because there is nothing more irritating that not being able to work out when it was taken and who is in the picture. Grrr!

This first picture was inspired by the old Love is ... comic strip where they two characters were in the nude, but used to have a flower behind their ears. The background page was blank, so I added the swirls, flowers and butterflies, making them stand out by giving them a 3D effect.

Don't you just love the old family official photographs. I just knew that this one would need to have a title of Family Tree. I definitely have a thing for different shaped 12by 12 paper at the moment, because I just can't leave the sheets alone without making some alterations.

This is the last one, where I wanted the post stamp effect as I imagined it being put on a postcard from their cruise. I left boxes for my auntie to write in, as I don't know when they went on their cruise.

They are all my pictures so far, I am in the process of making another two pages, so hopefully they will be ready for next Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by.