Flyaway | 
pickI really wasn‘t sure about this one at the beginning. The prose was lush and descriptive to a fault, almost overwritten. But when I got to the ending, and saw what Jennings was doing, the conversation she was having about folklore and family tragedy, theft and violence and the uncanny hiding just behind the everyday, it all made sense. A rustic jewel box of a book, filled with treasures grotesque and sublime.
Had my first in person book chat session since the before times (I think it must have been late 2019). 5 people turned up - which is pretty good (especially since it wasn‘t particularly well advertised)
These are the books I talked about 📚 always fun trying to hook someone on a book / author they haven‘t come across before.
I love trying to convince an older crowd to give graphic novels a go!
pickAn Australian gothic folk tale meets chilling family mystery meets urban legend meets coming of age story… I listened to this on audio, my second time around - and got swept away with how all the seemingly disconnected threads all connect.
pickI read this for the Reading Glasses podcast buddy read. It was a creepy novella in that you're not really sure what's going on at first because everything *seems* normal. It follows a girl named Bettina who lives with her mother - her father and two brothers disappeared years ago. When she gets a mysterious note she starts to look into what happened. Her story is mixed in with old tales from the town
#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash @StayCurious
Excited to join another #readathon with my favorite podcast Reading Glasses 🤓 We're doing a buddy read of the tagged book and I have no plans to leave the house today!
#Scarathlon2022 #TeamMonsterMash @StayCurious
Beautiful gothic tale mixed with fairy tales and mystery set in a small western Queensland town. A delightful novella listen that definitely had me enthralled and wondering at the magic inherit in the story and wondering where exactly the story was taking me next and who or what the next victim was going to be.
I filled four lines on my February #BookSpinBingo card! To be honest, a good chunk of these were bails, but at least they‘re off La TBR. They‘re proof I‘ve stuck to my 2021 commitment to abandon books that don‘t click for me, too.
pickHonestly, I‘m not really sure how to summarize this one. Set in a small Australian town, well, sort of three towns very close to each other, I guess. The atmosphere is dark and creepy and it has fairytale elements. It‘s sort of a fantasy with a bit of horror and mystery, too. I definitely understand the comparisons to Shirley Jackson. I was a little confused at first, but I really enjoyed it. I think it is one I would like to revisit. #Bookspin
It‘s only February 3rd and I managed to put my #BookspinBingo card together. Yay me! 😄
The tagged book is my #Bookspin and the one below is my #Doublespin for February.
so-soI have seen so many raves about this one by people with similar tastes so I don‘t know why it didn‘t work for me. I probably wouldn‘t have read the whole thing if it hadn‘t been a novella. I liked the Australian setting and the creepiness of it but there were too many things about the mechanics of the world that were unclear to me. Funnily, I might have liked it better if it were longer.
More 2020 favourites - I discovered that MG author Ursula Vernon also writes under T. Kingfisher - and honestly TREAT YO SELF - I have discovered a nice little back list of her books to read through.
I was quite pleased that I actually read some of the books that I thought looked good but don‘t often actually end up reading 🧐 and a surprising number ended up being absolute favourites!
My current fav bookmark is made of laminated Dutch stamps and in a book I have yet to start. It got it from TravelTrinketsCanada on Etsy
pickA gothic folk tale set in Queensland of all places.
This was equal parts mesmerising and creepy - if you are after a spooky season read - consider this one, it‘s part ghost story, part murder mystery and part fairy tale... and at 168 pages, a fairly quick read!
pickGothic horror isn‘t really my thing, but I quite enjoyed this. Set in an outback Australian town dripping in folklore, this novella practically crackles with creeping dread. You know it‘s coming...and the ending doesn‘t disappoint!
Read for #GothicHorror #Booked2020
pickI loved this exquisite, unsettling Gothic horror story set in Western Queensland. Secrets wrapped in riddles wrapped in folklore wrapped in the impossible are threaded throughout this story about unexplained disappearances & strange sights, which happen with unnerving frequency, & the girl who might just hold the key to understanding & unraveling everything. Tense, atmospheric & mysterious, I really enjoyed this novella. Recommended.
Came home with a new book. I‘ve read several good reviews about it and when I saw it on the shelves at work, I didn‘t even try to resist..And just look at it‘s gorgeous cover! 😍
Beautiful day, two faithful (and sleepy) reading buddies, and a good book. What more could a gal ask for?
pickAustralian gothic fairy tale creepiness! Bettina Scott is a devoted daughter who lives alone with her mother in the village of Runagate surrounded by bush. When a note arrives, disturbing memories surface of her wild, vanished father and brothers. Joined by two estranged friends with histories of their own, the trio will encounter curses and creatures, hauntings and enchantments that have spanned generations under the searing Australian sun.
