Lesa's Book Banter: The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Synopsis from Amazon: Arthur Kipps is an up-and-coming London solicitor who is sent to Crythin Gifford--a faraway town in the windswept salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway--to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of a client, Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. Mrs. Drablow's house stands at the end of the causeway, wreathed in fog and mystery, but Kipps is unaware of the tragic secrets that lie hidden behind its sheltered windows. The routine business trip he anticipated quickly takes a horrifying turn when he finds himself haunted by a series of mysterious sounds and images...

 

ooOOOoooOO-- what a good old fashioned ghost story! The setting is post-Victorian but the style is reminiscent of old Victorian ghost stories by Dickens, Wilkie Collins, ect. So it is not 'in your face' scary like most contemporary horror novels/movies but rather has an eerie slow atmospheric build of suspense and uneasiness. And it has the obligatory tragically horrifying 'drive the hero mad' clencher of an ending. 

If you have an appreciation for old fashioned ghost stories, give this novella a try.

Oh yes, I absolutely loved the character of Spider, the brave little terrier. So clever of the author to add Spider to the story because there is nothing more unnerving than a dog growling and bristling at something that isn't there or at least at something we humans can't see. 

 I abandoned a trek to behind the house last night after dark (even with a flashlight) to turn off the water because my dogs wouldn't go with me. And they always go with me. Then one dog barked.  I thought of little Spider and scurried back into the house and locked the door.  Bigfoot might have been back there! (I live in the woods and there have been Bigfoot sightings around here.. and mountain lions and bears, oh my!)

One more thing, this book was recently made into a movie starring Daniel Radcliffe. Not sure if I plan to see it or not since the movie is probably way scarier than the book. I may not want to actually see the specter or hear the eerie sounds since I'm easily creeped out. 

Do you like ghost stories?  Will you watch the movie or read the book? If you already have, what did you think?

My Goodreads rating: four stars out of five which means I really liked it and had fun reading it. 

Source: Library  

Books I have been forced to read

Hello there, bookworms!
I have not been present here in what seems like a lifetime, so let me introduce myself. I am Isabella, an almost fifteen-year-old-girl who loves to read. My specialities include girly-fluff novels (books with no substance), timeless classics I struggle to get through (I'm looking at you, Jane Austen) and of course, those wonderful books I am forced to read at school.

I usually have to write an in-class essay after I've read the book, making reading these books a painfully stressful process. Never have I actually read one of these books for a novel study and liked them. Ever. Here are a few of the wonderful gems I have gotten to read over my advanced English years. 

Outfall by Brian Ridden

I can't really remember much of this book. It was all a frantically-trying-to-get-an-A+ blur. Some details I remember, though, like that it was about a teenage surfer boy, he was protesting against something environmentally destructive and he had nightmares about sharks a lot. And the book had sexual references that we had to read aloud in class. Tee hee! 

A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove by James Moloney

We had to analyse this book so much that by the end I never wanted to hear it mentioned ever again. And I know that even if we didn't have to analyse so heavily, I still wouldn't have liked it. It's just so sad. The main character, Carl, is someone you just can't help but feel sorry for. He has a dysfunctional family, no social skills, and loves a girl who doesn't feel the same. I like to feel happy when I read, and this book just didn't do it for me. Of course it has a happy ending, but it just takes so long to get there. Read this if you're not a massive softie like me!

To Kill a Mocking-bird by Harper Lee

Ah yes, the classic tale of racism and justice. I think. I'm just taking a jab in the dark here because I have not actually gotten past the first chapter. I'll admit, it seems a little more interesting than the others, but I just can't bring myself to read it during the holidays. Boo Radley seems really scary. 

Who knows, maybe I'll read this one and actually enjoy it. Probably not. I'll keep you all posted. 

http://viewsofnow.blogspot.com.au/

The French Foreign Legion

Tonight's conversation started with Hubby mentioning that he had met Bob Irwin, the late Crocodile Hunter's father. That led, naturally to his son, and other adventurous men.

We then wandered on to discuss one of our favourite TV shows, Bear Grylls. 

The family reminisced about an episode where Bear joins in a French Foreign Legion boot camp, and the question came up, 'What is the French Foreign Legion?'


I looked in Wikipedia and learned that is was founded in 1831, is still an important part of the French military, and has fought in almost all French wars.  I was interested to read that a large number of refugees find sanctuary in the ranks.  A few of years of honourable service in the FFL offers citizenship, even though there are no FFL forces based in France except during war.


So we talked of rogues and new identities and soldiers and spies.  


We sat around our table and agreed we'd rather be here than wrestling crocs, eating spiders or serving France in a war zone.  My spaghetti and meatballs weren't wonderful, but they were definitely better than some other options...

Utterly fantastic fan mail part 2!

MEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!

LAUREN CHILD REPLIED!!!

LIFE IS COMPLETE!

............................................................

Okay, okay. As you may have noticed, Lauren Child sent my friend and I a letter back. I was utterly surprised because not only did it come so utterly fast, but we thought it would never come back. But... WE WERE WRONG! 

She sent us the letter and 2 fabulous post cards! (It would have been horrid if she only sent 1!). We photo copied the letter so now there is one for me and one for her. The picture on the post card is titled;  My dream bed. It says; 'Would your dream bed be your own bed?'

Utterly amazing!

E-readers Are Not Evil! (vlog)

Hello, book buds! Did you notice my absence around blogland, Facebook and Twitter the last few weeks?  No? *note to self: Lesa is not the center of the universe*  Well, I have been enjoying a much needed social media sabbatical. 

And I have been utterly and completely obsessed preoccupied with my KindleFire.

Yes, I have joined the darkside ranks of the e-reader cheerleaders. (If you missed it, groove here to my KindleFire dance party) 

In fact, I am so thrilled with the KindleFire (and e-reading in general) that I decided to focus my first ever solo vlog on it. If you fear brainwashing don't have time to watch, scroll down to read my favorable and convincing first impressions.  



Apologies, the camera got too hot and stopped, hence part two.



What I'm liking about the Kindlefire:

It is very user friendly despite a very touchy touch screen. 

The background color, font, text size and brightness of a book page can be adjusted to suit personal preferences. It makes reading a book very easy on the eyes. And it does not look or feel like reading on a computer. 


The backlit screen allows reading in the dark! My favorite feature!! I can read at night while riding in the car! When I can pry it away from my child...  

By the way, if you have children consider getting them their own Kindlefire to fight over. My little boy loves reading books and playing free games on it.  He actually prefers it over his DSi XL. Grrr...

I like the novelty of streaming videos, music and accessing the web but the Kindlefire may be redundant if you already do that with other portable devices. If that is the case, try an e-reader that is for books only. 


What I'm loving about e-reading:

Free books! And not just classics. There seems to be an unlimited supply of 'new' fiction/non-fiction freebies available.  


Convenience! An entire portable library is at hand anytime anywhere. 


So any new converts among the e-reader naysayers and fence sitters? 

Testify, Brother and Sister Bookworms! 


E-readers are not evil!

E-readers are good!

Embrace e-readers!

Really, you will be delighted by how much an e-reader enhances your reading life. 

I kid you not. I still can't get over the wonder of this cool fun new way to read. 

And I am still reading physical books too... still buying 'real' bargain books... still borrowing books from the library.  

Using an e-reader hasn't changed anything regarding my love or use of physical books. It has only enhanced and added a new dimension to my reading life. 

So don't be as silly and stubborn as me, try an e-reader soon!

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For those who viewed my vlogs, what did you think?

Have I not made a perfect drinking game vlog for book club night?!  Every time, Lesa flaps the Kindle cover take a swig! Every time,  she says 'fun', take two swigs!!

Hahahaha! Watching oneself on video is a real eye opener!  

I want to get better at this vlogging business so please share your tips and advice.  I'm very competitive with myself so I've already noted many ways to improve, such as:

1. Keep it short and to the point!  My challenge will be to keep future vlogs between 2 and 4 minutes long.  Feel free to place bets among yourselves. hahaha

2. Invest in an external microphone to eliminate camera noise and increase sound quality. 

3. Stop saying 'uh'. 

4. Stop playing with the props.

5. Sit still. Well, that one may be an impossible goal so at least sit in a non-squeaky chair. Which I did for part two. Did you notice?

6. Vlog when the lighting is best. The lighting had changed during part two and wasn't as nice.

Anything else? Be honest. Don't worry about hurting my feelings. I have no illusions and would prefer to avoid future embarrassment. ;)

Thank you so much for your help.

And many many thank yous for watching (and reading).

Until next time, hugs and happy reading!