10 Stephen King Tattoos - Literary Ink Series

Welcome back to another literary tattoos post.

I've featured tattoos inspired by children's stories and Jane Austen's classic works, but this time it's a little bit different, these are tattoos from horror expert Stephen King.

I'm a big fan of Stephen King's books, but I'm not sure I'd want some of his more horrific characters and scenes inked permanently on my skin. Still, it was fun looking for these tattoos and there are some amazing ones out there; not just characters and images but Stephen King quotes too.

I've tried to just include tattoos inspired by King's books, so, though there are some amazing tattoos of Tim Curry and Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise, I've not included them as they're influenced more by the films than the book. Though I'm sure there are some with a bit of crossover.

There are still some great Stephen King tattoos though, check them out.

Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben

Book Review

"After all these years, they found me."

Don't Let Go will be released in the UK tomorrow (26th September 2017). It is written by Harlan Coben and published by Century.

If I was a teacher marking this book it would be a B- with the note; good effort but must try harder.

Harlan Coben is an established author but to me Don't Let Go read like a newbie author's offering, there's a good story in there, but it needs work. To be fair, I've never actually read any of his books before, and he's a bestselling author so he's obviously doing something right, but Don't Let Go just felt a bit...sloppy to me.

The Adversary by Emmanuel Carrère

Book Review

"I was thinking of the big white void that had slowly taken over inside him until all that was left was that semblance of a man dressed in black."

The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception is written by Emmanuel Carrère and published by Vintage.

I'd never heard of The Adversary before, or Jean-Claude Romand, but when I saw this latest edition on NetGalley I had to request it as the true story sounded so incredible. In fact, I think if the story of a man conning his family for almost 20 years and then killing them all before his secret could come out was written in a fiction, I would have said it wasn't believable.

And yet, real life is often stranger than fiction, Luckily, Carrère tells this story in a way that is quite understated, letting the brutality of the crime do the talking rather than courting controversy by inserting thrills. The Adversary is a well written and fascinating exploration of a crime and the criminal.

Audiobook vs Reading - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

This is a general ramble on my part, a little bit about the pros and cons of listening to audiobooks over reading, it's not specifically about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but as that's the audiobook I've just finished I'll mention it here.

First off, let me say, I loved The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Even though I'd never fully read it before I grew up knowing large parts of it because my Dad quoted it all the time

"The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don't."

I quite often thought he was mad, going on about depressed robots and whales falling through the air, but all becomes clear once you read it, or listen to it.

That's what this is, it's not a review, I'll tell you right now that I gave it four and a half stars, I'd give it five but I only give it to my very favourite books and this didn't quite make it.
But part of me wonders if this is because I listened to it on Audible instead of reading it. Did I miss out on something? Or did I gain more by having it read to me by the wonderful Stephen Fry?

This is quite a rambling post about my own experience with audiobooks, if you want you can skip to the bottom where there's a simple pros and cons summary of audiobooks vs 'real' books.

August 2017 Link Love

Like my monthly favourites post I'm afraid August's link love post is late too, so late that it is now cold and raining and August feels like a distant memory. I  hope you like this month'slinks, there are a lot of book reccomendations, some great writing tips and quite a lot of autumn-themed randomness.

August 2017 Favourite Books

August's favourites are a little late this month. I had a week off to celebrate my birthday (30, how am I so old?), and I meant to be organised and schedule posts but never got round to it. I'm now rushing to hurry up.
This month's favourite books post is a steady balance of classics and new releases, with horror, humor and suspense all included.

The Break by Marian Keyes

Book Review

"We were so tightly bonded and our sundering has been shocking and brutal. His departure was too sudden; the wrench was ragged and rough."

The Break is released in the UK today (7th September 2017). It is written by Marian Keyes and published by Penguin Michael Joseph.

Regular readers of Reading, Writing, Booking (all three of you) may be surprised to see me review an author who is so often classified as Chick-Lit (unfairly I think). Marian Keyes doesn't often write about mysterious murders, which are usually my thing, but I'm actually a big fan of Keyes' work and used to read her books a lot when I was younger.
My tastes have changed a bit over the years and I don't reach for them as much as I used to but I still get excited when there is a new Marian Keyes novel out.

The Break is her latest book, out today. After a slow start I found myself hooked to the story of two people and their 'break' from marriage. Keyes really understands the dynamics of couples and she writes in such an honest and often hilarious way.

Also, Marian Keyes herself is bloody amazing, she does these hilarious YouTube videos and has written and spoken really honestly about her struggles with depression.

The History of Bees by Maja Lunde

Book Review

"...in order to live in nature, with nature, we must detach ourselves from the nature in ourselves."

The History of Bees will be released in the UK on 7th September 2017. It is written by Maja Lunde and published by Scribner.

The History of Bees is a wonderfully written but sometimes slow look at the lives of three different beekeepers. It's also a truly terrifying examination of how important bees are to the world and our existence.