Review #14 - The Great Gatsby

Title: The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published: 1925
Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

The world and his mistress are at Jay Gatsby’s party. But Gatsby stands apart from the crowd, isolated by a secret longing. In between sips of champagne his guests speculate about their mysterious host. Some say he’s a bootlegger. Others swear he was a German spy during the war. They lean in and whisper ‘he killed a man once’. Just where is Gatsby from and what is the obsession that drives him?

Innocence Is A Divine Thing

Years ago, I started an account on 'Fiction Press' and decided to have a go at writing my own 'novel'. I only posted one chapter. Now, three years later, I have decided to revisit it!

Under the 'Read More' tab, you will find the new, improved version. (However, if you really feel like reading the first draft, you can click here.)

Synopsis:

One thing is for certain: I did not kill the king. And another thing: everyone believes I did. I'm totally innocent; I was just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Cliché, I know, but believe me, it happens. 

 Except now I'm on the run, my horse pretty much hates me, and winter is fast approaching. I don't think I'll be able to camp out in the forest when the snow sets thick.

{Fantasy Adventure, set in Medieval Britain with Germanic roots} 

Stencil Saturdays - Week 2!

Welcome to Stencil Saturdays, Week Two!

'Stencil Saturdays' is an original weekly project/meme, starting right here, that I (and hopefully you!) will partake in. The aim is to produce a piece of fiction- creative writing, in the form of poem or prose, describing something- and what that is is totally up to you!

My challenge for you guys is to write your own description, and do this, just like me!

If you wish to partake, then the rules are:

- Write as much or as little as you like!
- You can post your response where ever you feel most comfortable- on your blog, as a comment here, or just keep it to yourself.
- If you do post your response, add the URL of the post or comment containing the entry to the appropriate week's Stencil Saturday into the LinkUp!
- Please link back to my blog, The Book Carousel, in your response!

Each Saturday, I will include in the post my favourite entry of the previous week! This is not a competition, just a little exercise and a chance to have some fun! Good luck and happy writing!

My Entry:

The air is frozen,

Like a baron wasteland with,

Absolutely no

Sign of living or dead, since

The sun turned its back on us.

The above is a 'waka', one of the earliest forms of haiku poetry. It consists of five lines, with the syllable pattern being 5-7-5-7-7.

Review #13 - The Spectacular Now

Title: The Spectacular Now
Author: Tim Tharp
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2008

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

In the last months of high school, charismatic eighteen-year-old Sutter Keely lives in the present, staying drunk or high most of the time, but that could change when starts working to boost the self-confidence of a classmate, Aimee.

This is one of those books that I stumbled across as an Indie film, and then found out it was a book, and refused to watch the film until I've read the book.

Author Q&A - Dan Thompson

Hey guys! So, today I am here with Here Lies Love author, Dan Thompson. I've asked him a couple questions about the book, and his life, so let's hear what he has to say, shall we?

Warning: This session contains slight spoilers for the book, (within answer to question number 3- it's the last paragraph, so you may wish to skip that section if you haven't finished the book yet!)

Review #12 - Here Lies Love ¦ TOUR STOP!

 Title: Here Lies Love
Author: Dan Thompson
Published: 2014

A brief synopsis; 

When she is sold by her father, Abbey discovers that nightmares can occur when you’re awake. Trapped inside a wooden cage, Abbey is forced to listen to the horrors and atrocities above; time ticking down until it is her turn. But Abbey isn’t prepared to become a victim; she will escape. 

Although, what Abbey isn’t prepared for, is how harsh and unfair the world can be. With the sun turning its back on humanity long ago, life gives no opportunity. The only thing Abbey can do is learn to survive. To exist. And that means stealing any opportunity that comes her way. Haunted by the unpleasant memories bestowed upon her only nurtures Abbey’s paranoia, until she realises that to truly live in the world, she must confront the person who was responsible for her misfortune – her father. 

Here Lies Love is a New Adult tale of actuality, of facing up to the fact that love comes in many guises. Can Abbey find the one glimmer of the hope or will she be overcome with the darkness of revenge? 

Stencil Saturday! Week 1

This project is going to run every Saturday, starting from now!

'Stencil Saturdays' is an original weekly project/meme, starting right here, that I (and hopefully you!) will partake in. The aim is to produce a piece of fiction- creative writing, in the form of poem or prose, describing something- and what that is is totally up to you!

My challenge for you guys is to write your own description, and do this, just like me!

If you wish to partake, then the rules are:

- Write as much or as little as you like!
- You can post your response where ever you feel most comfortable- on your blog, as a comment here, or just keep it to yourself.
- If you do post your response, add the URL of the post or comment containing the entry to the appropriate week's Stencil Saturday into the LinkUp!
- Please link back to my blog, The Book Carousel, in your response!

Each Saturday, I will include in the post my favourite entry of the previous week! This is not a competition, just a little exercise and a chance to have some fun! Good luck and happy writing!

 My entry: 

This is a child's playground. The air is crisp, the night is young, and the fires are alight all around. People dance with their companions; with strangers, brothers and sisters, cousins and aunties, uncles and grandfathers, prancing around the burning flames.

The smell that lingers in the air is a plethora of difference - the sweet, sticky smell of melted butter and toffee, the sharp, woody smell of embers, floating up and down in the wind like tiny Chinese lanterns. The sounds they hear are a mix of organs, accordions, violins and trumpets, the melody as lulling as the atmosphere itself.

Tents propped up all around house the most wonderful, amazing feats known to man- acrobatics who defy the laws of physics, ventriloquists who possess the dark and sacred powers of voodoo, mediums who commune with the long lost, contortionists who have more talent than bones.

Their bright, sequinned costumes are like beacons in the dark, attractive and glorious, mesmerising and spellbinding.

[Discussion] - Circus Ramblings

Last weekend, I went hiking up the Old Man in the lake District, and then stopped off at Liverpool on the way home. And what did I see upon entering the Albert Docks? (Besides The Beatles exhibition, of course)

A carousel!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Excuse the man butting in on my picture) (Also known as a Merry-Go-Round, which I guess is a more popular name over here, but my life is infinitely influenced by American media)

There was also a lovely circus themed restaurant, named Circo, which my dad wouldn't let us eat in.

Now, I think the circus is my absolute favourite thing. I don't even know why; I just know I am a tad bit obsessed. I mean, if it was viable for me to run away with the circus, then I definitely would. Just sayin'.

Review #11 - American Psycho

Title: American Psycho
Author: Bret Easton Ellis
Published: 1991
Publisher: Vintage Books USA

A brief synopsis; (Via Goodreads)

In American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis imaginatively explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.

Now, this book was recommended to me by my three soul mates, whom I would gladly read whatever the hell they recommended for me. I was so glad that this was one of them.

Warning: This review (and book) is not for the faint hearted. Proceed with caution.

August TBR!

I'm going away for the weekend, so I decided to compose a list of books I plan to finish in August:
(It's a three hour drive- I'll get through at least 2 books during the journey there and back)

At the end of the month, I'll do a wrap up post!