The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

Finished:

Kings of the Wyld, by Nicholas Eames. I didn't love it as much as I thought I would but it was a fun fantasy with great characters. It just got kind of messy towards the middle, but maybe that's just me. I'd give it a 3.5/4 out of 5.

Bird Box, by Josh Malerman. I mean, I liked it... it was a nice fast-paced thriller, and that's it. I'll watch the film in the near future, but I suspect it could be one of those cases that the film is probably better than the book. 3/5.

Will start:

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. I just gave into the hype, lol. I really want to see the tv series but I just want to read the book first, even though they're apparently not very similar. Still, excited about this one!

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

I have mixed feelings about this book. I love Shirley Jackson’s writing and her characters. The lore and descriptions of Hill House were really interesting to me. The overall story was just missing...something. It felt like the anger of Hill House was gradually building up to a tremendous fight, but it was cut short by Eleanor being just a tad bit more susceptible to Hill House. I really wanted to see more of Mrs. Montague and Arthur and how their confidence would be slowly beaten down by the house. Jackson built such an interesting setting and team of characters, I really wish she would’ve gone further with it. But I know horror stories can be difficult to finish which leads writers to come up with bizarre and over the top endings (Stephen King) so maybe I should be happy with The Haunting of Hill House finishing before things got too crazy.

I finished Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn today. It was dark, twisted, and beautiful. Lived up to the hype.

I read all 13 novels of the Southern Vampire Mysteries this past week. This was a brainless guilty pleasure and so much fun. There was a huge drop in quality towards the end of the series, I kept reading because I was addicted to the characters...I probably should have stopped at book 7.

I'm currently reading Brothers K, only 200 pages left! I started at the beginning of this summer and I'm going to prioritize finishing it this week. I'm also reading The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. The prose and atmosphere is beautiful but I'm slightly bored. I'm looking forward to moving on to We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Spooky season, so I started The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. It's only short, so I'll probably finish it pretty quickly - so next will either be Bird Box, by Josh Malerman or Carrie, by Stephen King.

Finished The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

Tomorrow I'm going to start reading Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace

Finished:

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

I LOVED it! I wouldn't say it's a very scary book but it's definitely a creepy one, especially from the middle or so. The atmosphere is just perfect, and the writing is excellent. The ending is really really good. Also 3 episodes in in the tv show and it's very different but amazing. 5/5

The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James

I really liked this one aswell. The story and the atmosphere were great. Some of the dialogue felt a bit odd and I still have some unanswered questions, but that's ok. (Btw, The Others is one of my favorite films of all-time which is partly based on this story.) 4/5

Started:

Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi

About 80 pages in, I'm liking it, pretty entertaining so far.

I started to read the Red Rising, by Pierce Brown and even if I am just a few pages in, it seems to be pretty spectacular extraterrestrial journey. This is my first Pierce Brown.

Also, I am reading We Should Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver, but to be honest, this book feels like a drudgery. I´m making a very slow progress, being angry at Eva when she recounts her childhood memories (particularly the one with her birthday party) and her utter lack of discipline or self-reflection. She is just a spoiled brat to me... having kids just to fulfill "next challenge", Christ...

On other note, I hope to jump right into the Stiff, by Mary Roach, which looks very interesting and also fun (according to first two pages, where I laughed a lot).

To recommend a book I really loved this summer, I have to point at the Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. If you want to read my whole review, click here

This week I’m reading The Little Stranger, by Sarah Waters, and Women and Power, by Mary Beard. I also finished The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson and definitely want to read more of her work.

Still working on Pet Semetary, by Stephen King and absolutely loving it. Probably top three King novels, for me. I'll definitely finish it this week!

Yesterday, I started The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson and it's great so far! I love the character Eleanor.

His Last Bow, by Arthur Conan Doyle

Enjoyed. Still better than the novels but you can see that Doyle was tired of Holmes stories.

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The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

A big disappointment. I can't believe in many who said this is the most freightening story ever.

The characters behave like children and you can see that Eleanor is a bitter person. And the comic duo at the end is so so so so anticlimax.

The Hill House is not haunted but spoilers for the end

This is the worst book that I read in the last two years.

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We Have Always Lived in the Castle, by Shirley Jackson

I had another book from her and this one can't be worst than the last one, right? The beginning sure is boring but at least the characters are more interesting. Still in the 3rd chapter. Let's see how this one will end.

Just finished Where the Waters Turn Black, by Benedict Patrick I actually enjoyed it quite a bit more than the first book, probably because I think the pacing improved a lot.

Going to start reading The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson next, since I try to read at least one classic horror novel in October.

Started reading The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson.

I just finished The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson, and I just started The Road, by Cormac McCarthy.

Honestly, I was a little underwhelmed by the events that took place in The Haunting of Hill House, but I was a huge fan of the first person perspective righting. I thought it was really well done.

Finished:

Nightfall, by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg

I had previously read the Asimov novelette which this novel was expanded from. Overall it is a good read, although the expansion lacks a lot of the impact of the original book.

Started:

The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist, by Marcus Rediker

I've just started this biography, and it already looks like it will be fascinating. It chronicles the life of an unfortunately obscure American hero, a man centuries ahead of his time who promoted not only abolitionism, but also vegetarianism.

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

I've just started this novel as well. Not very far in, but the characterization and writing look promising.

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

One of my book club's traditions is to pick a horror novel for October. We're reading The Haunting of Hill House this year!

Finished Grief Cottage, by Gail Godwin it was on the What Should I Read Next Podcast so I figured I'd give it a try. Good relaxing book.

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Started The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson I'm hoping this will give me my spooky fix because Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier didn't and I am not patient enough to read a whole Stephen King book

Finished The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho

Started The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

I have recently finished reading Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

It wasnt as scary as I thought it would be, but I really enjoyed it. Watching the Netflix show now and its nothing like the book.

Currently reading Dark Money, by Jane Mayer

I am about 180 pages in and so far it has been really unsettling how crazy amount of money has been influencing politics and by whom.

Finished The Haunting of Hill House by Shirly Jackson this week and lived it. Thought it was amazing and will definitely read again next Halloween season.

Started Pet Semetary by Stephen King to keep with the spooky theme.

Finished on Kindle: The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

Started on Kindle: Faithless, by Karin Slaughter

In-progress audiobook: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson

The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. Really liked it. The sheer absurdity of the concept, the detailed descriptions of Samsa's struggle and the creeping dread that both he and his family experience for completely different reasons. I think what I liked the most is that I came away from it not thinking in terms of who was good and bad, but that they were all rather human.

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson. I suppose I hyped this book too much because of the number of lists I've seen it mentioned in over the years. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and the narration was truly spectacular in some places. But it's definitely one of those books that's about terror and not horror.

The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin. Read this on a whim because I wanted to continue with "disturbing" books. It was enjoyable, though quite obviously dated. I was spooked by the concept even though I saw the end coming a mile away, quite a few "Oh no no no" moments throughout. It was also quite well-written, with an occasional turn of phrase that had me pausing in admiration.

Like many others, I just finished:

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

What I really enjoyed about it was the 60's vibe and the unconventional feel about the book.

Currently reading:

This Is How It Always Is, by Laurie Frankel

I've never knowingly read a celebrity endorsed book before but I found this Reese Witherspoon's book club book for £ 0.88 and thought why not. I was sceptical because of the twirly cover font and maybe a little bit because of Reese. Well, this book is freaking amazing. I am so immersed in the story.

Just finished The Magus, by John Fowles. Still thinking about what the hell it all means. I'll give it this much, Fowles is a very skilled writer and can seduce and distract with words. He also writes beautifully about Greek islands in the book.

I'm now just about to start The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson.

Finished...

• Educated, by Tara Westover
• The Last Report of the Miracles at Little No Horse, by Louise Erdrich

Started...

• The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson
• The Golden Tresses of the Dead, by Alan Bradley

The Last Report of the Miracles at Little No Horse took me a pretty long time so I'm lagging behind on my library book mountain and I need to pick up the pace this week.

Just finished The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson which converted me into a Jackson true-believer. So next up is going to be We Have Always Lived in the Castle, also by Shirley Jackson

Guys, it's been a minute since I've posted here.

Read this past week:

• The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

• Surprise, surprise. It's wildly different from the TV show. It's not particularly scary but it creates this unsettling feeling of dread. It does kind of make you question when characters are being sincere or sarcastic or if something is perhaps a hallucination. It was just a very interesting horror book and I finished it quickly.

Reading this week:

• The Altruists, by Andrew Ridker
• Death is Hard Work, by Khaled Khalifa
• The Enchanted April, by Elizabeth von Arnim

• Just started The Altruists. Only like 15 pages in and it's already past due to the library. So, I might read a bit more but return it and go back on the waiting list.
• Getting Death is Hard Work back from the library any day now. I'm about half-way through already. Hoping to finish this weekend.
• The Enchanted April is another book on round two from the library, this one on Kindle. Hoping to finish this at the weekend as well. Then probably a break from library books (lol yeah right) while I catch up on the #unreadbookshelfproject.

Finished The Mist, by Stephen King

Started The Haunting Of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting Of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

The Power, by Naomi Alderman

I'm currently reading The Power for my book club. This book has a pretty interesting premise!

Last month's book was The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. I had to miss the meeting because there were too many other things going on in my life. However, I still plan to finish it anyway so that I could discuss it at this month's pre-meeting dinner. :-)

Just finished reading: The Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson

Just started: Demons, by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Just purchased:

The Mistborn Triology, by Brandon Sanderson

Notes from Underground, by Fyodor Dostoevsky