Pretentious Reader

January As Long as We Both Shall Live by JoAnn Chaney Two Can Keep a Secret by Karen M. McManus In an Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire Death Prefers Blondes by Caleb Roehrig The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart February The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella What I Like About Me by Jenna Guillaume The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson March Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi When the Sky Fell on Splendor by Emily Henry Gravity Is the Thing by Jaclyn Moriarty April The Place on Dalhousie by Melina Marchetta Meet Cute by Helena Hunting The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix Miracle Creek by Angie Kim Little Darlings by Melanie Golding I Know Who You Are by Alice Fe

I can't believe that 2019 is almost over. I am so sad that I did not get to a lot of my goals this year, I was only able to read 27 books so far and I don't think I could reach my goal of 50 but I will definitely try to do my best to do that. I also have a lot of plans for my blog that did not materialize but there's still next year so I don't feel too bad about that. I recently spruced up my shelves and removed a lot of books that I did not finish - check my post here . My TBR is now down to 456 books which could be better if I have not been adding more books this year, click here if you want to see my book hauls for this year. I will be postponing my Short Story Reading Project and move it to next year because I want to focus on finishing my backlog of books. One of the things that I will be prioritizing is my Try a Chapter Book Tag - Horror picks because I do want to join the Fraterfest 2019 Readathon . I will also try to finish the books recommended to me by

As fall arrives, my favorite season, I find myself drawn to darker books that perfectly complement the atmosphere. Recently, I've had the pleasure of finishing a few spooky reads that I highly recommend if you're seeking something not overly terrifying. These include "Tunnel of Bones" by Victoria Schwab, "The Screaming Staircase" by Jonathan Stroud, "The Raven Boys" by Maggie Stiefvater, "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman, and "The Devouring Gray" by Christine Lynn Herman. Currently, I'm engrossed in "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James. Although I primarily selected books categorized as horror rather than paranormal mysteries or thrillers, it's important to note that they aren't hardcore, gory horror stories. Instead, they offer atmospheric ghostly tales that leave a lingering sense of unease. I've set a personal goal to complete these nine chosen books by the end of November and share an update with all

Kill Creek by Thomas Scott The Strawberry Thief by Joanne Harris Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell #1) by Deanna Raybourn Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo The Confession by Jessie Burton The Babysitters Coven by Kate Williams Equal Rites (Discworld #3) by Terry Pratchett A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb Ballad for a Mad Girl by Vikki Wakefield Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane Quiet Neighbors by Catriona McPherson The Swallows by Lisa Lutz Little Darlings by Melanie Golding The Peacock Detectives by Carly Nugent Strangers at the Gate by Catriona McPherson Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted and talked about. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. Chocolat by Joanne Harris Vianne Rocher and her exquisite chocolate shop arrived in Lansquenet. Each box of luscious bonbons comes with a free gift: Vianne's uncanny perception of its buyer's private discontents and a clever, caring cure for them. Is she a witch? Circe by Madeline Miller In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child - not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the

The train rattles as it moves beneath the city. Shadows rush past the windows, little more than streaks of movement, dark on dark. This just came out this week. Something creepy and eerie for the coming fall. Visit Hoarding Books Blog to join in the fun and visit other awesome first lines.

I have been exclusively reading ebooks since 2015 which is when I had to relocate for my job. It's impossible for me to bring all of the books that I have accumulated, that's seven years worth of books which I started to acquire since 2007 so I left all of my books to my dad to fill up his library and now also, my granddad is getting the most use out of them because he loves to read and he reads everything. My choice was largely influenced by economy but as I grew older I realized that owning less things and living in a space that is just enough for me (and my husband)  is better, it just makes  our lives simpler and happier. When I got back into blogging my meta book shelf started growing again and I fear that it will become uncontrollable as what happened in the past so I will be re evaluating my choices in books and will start purging my shelf. I want to start today with unhauling a lot of the books that I did not finish. I will just have to admit to myself that I will

On the island of By-the-Sea you could always smell two things: salt and magic. Something short and sweet for today's first line. Visit Hoarding Books Blog to join in the fun and visit other awesome first lines.

First published in 1844. This is a humorous short story and a satire about the gullibility of the public when reading about incredulous and unbelievable stories in the newspaper. On that same year Poe published at the New York Sun about Monck Mason's trip crossing the Atlantic Ocean in three days aboard a gas balloon which turned out to be untrue and is now known as The Balloon-Hoax. The Angel of the Odd is about an unnamed narrator who reads about a death in the newspaper where a man accidentally swallowed a needle from a blowpipe. He thinks that it is ridiculous and vows to never believe such odd stories, just then an odd being appears and proclaims to be the Angel of the Odd. The man of course did not believe in such things and attributed it to his drunkenness however a series of very unfortunate and odd events starts to happen to him. This short story is available to read for free at Gutenberg.org

The Wise and the Wicked by Rebecca Podos Let's Call It a Doomsday by Katie Henry Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry A Murder of Magpies by Judith Flanders The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead by Barbara Comyns

My husband is not a book reader but he does know my taste in books and he loves good movies so those were his criteria for selecting these books for me. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier This is a very popular gothic mystery which I did attempt to pick up a few times but haven't really committed to read but this challenge will surely motivated me more. The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris This was successfully adapted into a film that I watched snippets of when I was a kid and have no interest reading or watching since then because I'm terrified of the character, Hannibal. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane The film adaptation won a ton of awards and my husband was choosing between this and Shutter Island. The Martian by Andy Weir My husband liked the movie and this was a very popular book that I contemplated on but a lot of reviews says this was sexist so I don't know if I'll enjoy it. Enemy Mine by Barry B Longyear This was his favourite movie when he was

It was a chilly November afternoon. I had just consummated an unusually hearty dinner, of which the dyspeptic truffe formed not the least important item, and was sitting alone in the dining-room with my feet upon the fender and at my elbow a small table which I had rolled up to the fire, and upon which were some apologies for dessert, with some miscellaneous bottles of wine, spirit, and liqueur. This is what I'm currently reading for my short story reading project 😊. Visit Hoarding Books Blog for other awesome first lines.

I'm embarking on an exciting reading project and I invite everyone to join me on this literary journey 😊. While I long to dedicate all my time to reading, my work schedule and my slower reading pace make it challenging. To overcome this, I've devised a plan to read one story per week until I complete the entire book. Each Saturday, I'll share a brief feature post discussing the short story I've finished. Let's dive into these captivating tales together and celebrate the joy of reading! My first pick is The Complete Stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The Angel of the Odd (Aug 18 ~ Aug 24) The Assignation (Aug 25 ~ Aug 31) The Balloon Hoax (Sep 1 ~ Sep 7) Berenice (Sep 8 ~ Sep 14) Bon-Bon (Sep 15 ~ Sep 21) The Black Cat (Sep 22 ~ Sep 28) The Business Man (Sep 29 ~ Oct 5) The Cask of Amontillado (Oct 6 ~ Oct 12) Colloquy of Monos and Una (Oct 13 ~ Oct 19) Conversation of Eiros and Charmion (Oct 20 ~ Oct 26) A Descent Into the Maelström (Oct 27 ~

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo Dream Life by Lauren Mechling The Lady Vanishes by Ethel Lina White Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes What Happened That Night by Sandra Block Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout The Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey Six Suspects by Vikas Swarup

CUSTOMER: I read a book in the sixties. I don’t remember the author, or the title. But it was green, and it made me laugh. Do you know which one I mean? I realized the quote is more than one line but who’s complaining 😊. I also just got this book today. Thank you to Hoarding Books  for this awesome book meme!

I was able to complete three of the challenges. I wanted to complete the 7 challenges and obviously to read more but the other books that I picked up did not really did it for me, I wasn't enjoying them as much as I thought I will. So even though I got thru half of the other books I decided to not finish them and maybe pick them again if I'm in a better mood. On a positive note, I gave 4 stars to the three books that I have finished. Challenge 1. Purple Cover The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman Finished in 3 days. I'm really happy to finish Devouring Gray. Honestly I would not have read it if not for this readathon because I rarely enjoy Fantasy and YA nowadays. This reminded me of the kind of books that I read when I was younger and was really into YA Paranormal books, I would even say that this has similar elements to The Diviners by Libba Bray, however the latter has better character development and writing style. The phasing got better as you read on