Search

Search only in certain items:

The Festival
The Festival
H.P. Lovecraft | 2020 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
173 of 200
Kindle
The Festival
 by H P Lovecraft

The Festival" is a short story by H. P. Lovecraft written in October 1923 and published in the January 1925 issue of Weird Tales.
The story is set at Christmas time: "It was the Yuletide, that men call Christmas though they know in their hearts it is older than Bethlehem and Babylon, older than Memphis and mankind." An unnamed narrator is making his first visit to Kingsport, Massachusetts, an "ancient sea town where my people had dwelt and kept festival in the elder time when festival was forbidden; where also they had commanded their sons to keep festival once every century, that the memory of primal secrets might not be forgotten."


I am still quite new to reading Lovecrafts work the things that strike me so much about him is his imagination and the way he translates what’s in his head to paper and does it so well! I’m really enjoying these little novellas!

I know not a huge review but I find myself getting bored with long winded explanations of how you should
Or shouldn't feel! With a classical author like this the work tends to speak for itself!
  
40x40

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Winter Stroll in Books

Mar 19, 2020  
Winter Stroll
Winter Stroll
Elin Hilderbrand | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read this ages ago, it seems, back in April while on vacation in snowy Vermont. I've been on an Elin Hilderbrand kick all year. Even though this series actually takes place in Nantucket, somehow reading this Christmas-themed novel in snow-covered Vermont seemed appropriate.

In book two (don't keep reading if you don't want spoilers!), Kelley Quinn is still running the Winter Street Inn in Nantucket. He's now single and actually on better terms with his first wife, Margaret, the mother of his first three children. One of them, Kevin, has a new baby, Genevieve, with his girlfriend, Isabelle. More worrisome is the fact that Kelley's youngest son--with his second ex-wife, Mitzi--is still deployed.

This is typical enjoyable fare from Elin Hilderbrand--I love this entire series. In this book, we hear from Mitzi's point of view, as well as Drake, Margaret's boyfriend. Each book is told from various viewpoints (usually just the Quinn family), so it was nice to expand whom we hear from. Ava, Kelley's only daughter, is her usual mess, even though she's dating someone supposedly more stable. And Kelley's son Patrick, is in jail, causing much turmoil for his wife, Jennifer (whom we also get to hear from) and the entire family.

I found this to be an easy read--I read it in a day on vacation and it's really fun. What isn't delightful about the messed up lives of other, fictional people? Even better is that Hilderbrand writes these as a series, so you really get to know the family and their issues. I can get lost in their lives. This was the perfect Vermont vacation read. 3.5 stars.
  
This book was not at all what I expected but, I don't mean that to sound negative in the least. Let me start by saying that I bought 2 copies of it so I could read 1 & give the other to my nephew for Christmas. I'd seen the trailer for Rise of the Guardians & when I heard it was based on this book I had to read it.
It is written as a legend of how Santa Claus came to be well, Santa Claus! If you think though that you can read this novel & finish with an answer you are wrong. It is just the beginning to the tale of St. Nick.
It starts when a wayward moonbeam accidentally wakes up Pitch, the Nightmare King. Pitch's job was to go around the world feeding off the good dreams of people & replacing them with nightmares. He seems to be succeeding until a wise old wizard tricks a wily thief into coming to his town's aide. That swashbuckler happens to be Nicholas St. North, the man who is presumably going to end up as jolly ole St. Nick.
This is a great story & a quick read. I am looking forward to seeing the movie though I doubt it will be much like the book so be warned!!
  
IS
Illustrated Stories From Shakespeare
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I recently purchased this book from Usborne and am SO in love with it! I have always had a deep appreciation and fascination with Shakespeare's work. (So much so that one year for Christmas all I wanted was Barnes & Noble's The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.) But I admit that at reading Shakespeare was a challenge when I was younger. Struggling to understand the language, I missed much of what was happening in the storyline. I am thrilled to have found this book for my kids. I thought, if they grow up knowing the stories, then maybe when it comes time to read the original plays, they will have an easier time. So far, my three year old LOVES this book! He has sat through Hamlet and was in high dudgeon that I had to borrow it to write this review. The illustrations are beautiful! And even though all of the plays are written so that young readers can understand them, some of the more famous lines from Shakespeare's works can still be found. I am thoroughly impressed and am so excited to introduce my kids to Shakespeare at a young age. Hoping to nurture and grow their love of literature.
  
All He Wants For Christmas is a Fingerling (The Weird & Wacky World of Shifters #1)
All He Wants For Christmas is a Fingerling (The Weird & Wacky World of Shifters #1)
JP Sayle | 2021 | LGBTQ+, Paranormal, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS IS A FINGERLING is a unique (as far as I know) #Paranormal #MPreg book that is the first in a series and offers you a delightful mix of sweet and sassy.

Frenchie is a potato shifter. Yep, you heard me. A POTATO SHIFTER. He shifts into a potato and all is well with the world. Came as quite a shock to our grumpy wolf, Tala, too. Misunderstandings abound before fate kicks in.

This is the first book in the series, and I'm really looking forward to returning. I'm hoping to get some resolution about just why Frenchie was attacked in the first place. It's hinted at but I want more. I'm so greedy! I know the next book won't focus (probably) on Tala and Frenchie but I'm hoping that it will come out as the story progresses.

This was a fun-filled, frolic of a book that I thoroughly enjoyed and read in one sitting. Absolutely recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Nov 17, 2021