Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy
You know, I think I’ve only written about books in passing here on the blog, but in case you didn’t know, I’m secretly a bookworm. When I was a kid, I lived for the days that the Scholastic Book Fair came to my school. I never went anywhere (even on a 2-minute car drive) without a book a tow. I made my mom take me to the library weekly so I would have a constant stream of books to read and the first thing I packed whenever we were going on a trip was my stack of books. My parents used to joke that they would go broke trying to keep up with my book habit and a quick trip to the bookstore always turned into an hours-long visit, with my mom having to practically drag me out of the store.
By the time I made it to college however, my free time to read for fun was pretty much cut down to zero. 90% of what I read during those years was for class and I only had time for personal reading on vacations. One of the things I was looking forward to most about finishing school was having the time to read for myself again. I missed that girl who constantly had her nose stuck between the pages of a book.
Fast forward to the end of 2011- several months out of college. To my great surprise, when I did a quick tally of what I had read since graduating, the grand total was like 2 books. I couldn’t figure out what happened- I had all this free time now, why wasn’t I reading more?
What I realized is that I was out of practice! I had gotten used to getting home from work and just vegging out with my computer on watching TV. I decided that I need to make time for reading again and what better way to put this plan into action than by setting a tangible goal? Thanks to Casee‘s recommendation, I joined Goodreads (which is a great way to keep track of books you’ve read or want to read) and my aim is to read 25 books this year. So far I’ve read 16/25, which is not bad, but I slacked off the last couple months when other things got in the way.
Finally, we get to the picture in this post! I recently started Hemlock Grove, a fairly new novel by Brian McGreevy. I’m not too far into the book, but I can already tell you that there’s a mysterious death, a werewolf, and a 7 foot tall teenage girl. The mix of mystery and horror makes this the perfect read for October, I think! I’ll make sure to share more thoughts once I finish the whole book. Also, this book got picked up by Netflix and they’re making a television series due to be released early next year. I probably will at least give it a try, as I always love to compare how they translate a book to the big screen.
Wow, if you guys made it through all that, kudos! I know my last two posts have been rather word-heavy- guess I’ve got a lot on my mind! Also, I’m always looking for book recommendations, so let’s hear them in the comments!
Tell me: What are you currently reading or planning to read soon?
![It's a very belated book haul! These are the four books I picked up on my trip to Australia back in May. Of course I had to check out some bookstores on my first trip to Sydney and I think I ended up visiting 9 in total (check out my stories to see the mini bookstore vlog I made)!
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It was so fun book shopping over there since majority of the covers are different from our US covers. I couldn't resist this pretty edition of PACHINKO, which I've already read. And when I picked up this copy of PEOPLE PERSON, I was so excited to see it because it wasn't out yet in the US at that time. I also bought two books that I hadn't heard of before I discovered them in the bookstore: IDOL and LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES.
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Do you tend to prefer US or UK book covers?
[P.S. This is an old photo that includes a HarperCollins UK title, but please note that I support the HarperCollins Union.]
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[ID: A stack of the following books sits on top of white bedding in front of a white wall (from top to bottom): PACHINKO, IDOL, LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES, PEOPLE PERSON.]
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#Pachinko #Idol #LoveAndOtherPuzzles #PeoplePerson #whattoread #beautifulbooks #bookhaul #booksandtravel #travelandbooks #bookishaesthetic #bookstacks #bookstacklove #ukbookcovers #ukbookhaul #newbooks #bookbuying #bookpurchases #coolgirlsread #readerslife #bookishcommunity #australiatrip #stackofbooks #bookwormlife #booksandbooks](https://starcrossedsmile.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Yes! I totally remember those book fairs and the book it club where you can get an individual pan pizza :) Sadly the only thing I read now is magazines!
XO
http://www.pearlsandpaws.blogspot.com
Haha, glad I’m not the only one who remembers! :)
I’ve also been trying to carve out more time to do some free reading — I also like I’m woefully out of practice. That book sounds really interesting though…maybe I’ll give it a whirl.
Courtney ~ http://sartorialsidelines.com
Yeah, I really have to consciously make an effort to read more- an ongoing goal this year!
I used to be a hardcore bookworm when I was a kid. Like, I would prefer reading to playing or being outside. I actually read a lot during undergrad and grad school because I’m an English person, but after that, and especially with the Etsy shop, it’s hard to find time to sit down and enjoy a book. My tactic now is to read out loud to my husband so we at least get to read something together. At the moment, I’m in the middle of rereading LOTR 2 and a few graphic novels.
Ha, you mentioning reading out loud reminds me of when I would read out loud to myself because I had a lot of homework/reading to do and was trying not to fall asleep!
As a child and teenager I was a certified bookworm too. I was reading books like Little Women and Great Expectations when I was in 4th grade. And before I had graduated high school I’m certain that I had read Gone with the Wind a half dozen times. But like you after high school my free time to read vanished. I’ve also made it a goal to read more books and I have improved but it still needs some work. I went to 1/2 priced books a few weeks ago and left with about a dozen books.
Tracy @ Sunny Days and Starry Nights
Ahh, discount bookstores are the best! Books can get really expensive and sometimes there’s not enough room in the budget for a $25 hardcover of a new book. I also have an awesome bookstore near me with a $1 and $2 section, which is great.
im currently tackling anna kerenina! love reading!
xx.Mwww.bellesandrebelles.blogspot.com
Sadly I’ve never read that classic- but it’s on my list! :)