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liseyp's reviews
1386 reviews
Daddy Blackbird by Caroline Roodhouse
By my calculation between those three groups that will probably cover everybody, which sounds about right for who should read this book.
You should read this to know that if you’ve been bereaved you’re not alone, and there’s no ‘right’ way to feel.
Read it if you’re not sure what to say to a friend or colleague going through something like this (and if you’re in that situation pledging to ‘be more Emma’ to support those people in your life would seem like a good out come to me. Emma’s Caroline’s best friend and the value of her support shines through in the book.)
And most of all read it if thoughts of taking that ‘permanent solution to a short-term problem’ have ever crossed your mind. Read it to make sure you understand even a little about the pain and confusion that decision will cause for people who know and love you, and please, please let them help you now instead.
Naturally trigger warnings galore apply when reading this book. Caroline highlights this ahead of the most particularly difficult parts. But, her honesty is what shines through and makes this book so powerful, and shying away from the moments of getting the news, telling her eldest daughter at primary school, the inquest, the questions, the anger, would have made this book much less.
If it’s a scenario too raw for you, then skip to part three, aptly titled ‘Hope’, for confirmation that no situation is ever hopeless, no matter how it might feel in the moment(s).
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
There are three groups of people I think should read Caroline Roodhouse’s book about her family’s journey after her husband died by suicide:
- Anyone bereaved by suicide
- Anyone who knows someone bereaved by suicide or knows someone who has survived an attempt
- Anyone who has ever considered or tried taking their own life
By my calculation between those three groups that will probably cover everybody, which sounds about right for who should read this book.
You should read this to know that if you’ve been bereaved you’re not alone, and there’s no ‘right’ way to feel.
Read it if you’re not sure what to say to a friend or colleague going through something like this (and if you’re in that situation pledging to ‘be more Emma’ to support those people in your life would seem like a good out come to me. Emma’s Caroline’s best friend and the value of her support shines through in the book.)
And most of all read it if thoughts of taking that ‘permanent solution to a short-term problem’ have ever crossed your mind. Read it to make sure you understand even a little about the pain and confusion that decision will cause for people who know and love you, and please, please let them help you now instead.
Naturally trigger warnings galore apply when reading this book. Caroline highlights this ahead of the most particularly difficult parts. But, her honesty is what shines through and makes this book so powerful, and shying away from the moments of getting the news, telling her eldest daughter at primary school, the inquest, the questions, the anger, would have made this book much less.
If it’s a scenario too raw for you, then skip to part three, aptly titled ‘Hope’, for confirmation that no situation is ever hopeless, no matter how it might feel in the moment(s).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Grief
Skeleton Crew: featuring The Mist by Stephen King
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Another classic short story collection from King. The big name story in this one is The Mist, which will probably go down as the only King movie to have a bleaker ending than the original short story!
These are mostly properly short stories so easy to binge read or spread them out if your have more self-control than I do.
As always with King’s short stories the things that strike me most strongly are the links to previous novels and the foreshadowing of books to come. But, Mrs Todd’s Shortcut and The Raft stick out particularly as the best stories in this collection.
The horror podcast Talking Scared did a two-part deep dive on some guests’ favourite King short stories and it’s no accident that the majority came from this collection.
Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
William by Mason Coile
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The House of Mirrors by Erin Kelly
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Thank you to the author, publishers Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley UK for access to this as an ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.
Alice Clarke is an impetuous, volatile young woman. She begins receiving mysterious visits, calls and notes from a stranger she calls The Woman. Could this be her missing-presumed-dead aunt or someone else who can unlock the mystery of her family?
Apparently this is a sequel although I didn’t figure out that it was until I read the author’s acknowledgement section at the end. Even then it took me while to figure out that it’s a follow-up to the author’s debut novel The Poison Tree, following up on the characters who survive that. The good news is that if, like me, you haven’t read that one it won’t impact on your ability to read this one.
What I don’t know is whether having read The Poison Tree will spoil this one.
For me this is a five star read despite the fact that the main character Alice is pretty unlikeable. She’s selfish, has no self-control and is difficult to root for. Her mother Karen, who part of the story is told through the eyes of, is suspicious of anyone in her daughter’s life and far too controlling/interfering to be likeable either. So it’s the reveal of the mystery of Alice’s life and the truth about what happened in the summer of 1997 that made me so invested in this. And having read the blurb for The Poison Tree I’ve got a feeling anyone who’s read that book will already know the answers.
But, when looked at as a standalone I can definitely recommend it.
Alice Clarke is an impetuous, volatile young woman. She begins receiving mysterious visits, calls and notes from a stranger she calls The Woman. Could this be her missing-presumed-dead aunt or someone else who can unlock the mystery of her family?
Apparently this is a sequel although I didn’t figure out that it was until I read the author’s acknowledgement section at the end. Even then it took me while to figure out that it’s a follow-up to the author’s debut novel The Poison Tree, following up on the characters who survive that. The good news is that if, like me, you haven’t read that one it won’t impact on your ability to read this one.
What I don’t know is whether having read The Poison Tree will spoil this one.
For me this is a five star read despite the fact that the main character Alice is pretty unlikeable. She’s selfish, has no self-control and is difficult to root for. Her mother Karen, who part of the story is told through the eyes of, is suspicious of anyone in her daughter’s life and far too controlling/interfering to be likeable either. So it’s the reveal of the mystery of Alice’s life and the truth about what happened in the summer of 1997 that made me so invested in this. And having read the blurb for The Poison Tree I’ve got a feeling anyone who’s read that book will already know the answers.
But, when looked at as a standalone I can definitely recommend it.
Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems by Frances Frei, Anne Morriss
As with ‘Unleashed’ by the same authors this book is immensely readable. The tone of voice and approach is very human and easy to translate into day-to-day. I also highly recommend their Fixable podcast for lots of practical examples of how to implement this approach.
I particularly love the gut check summaries of whether you’re ready to move on to the next step. And the lists and questions to provoke reflection.
And if you don’t recognise the barriers to change in the section on ‘Ten signs your organisation is stalling’ then you’re probably working for one of the exemplar companies in the book. The ones which rang loudly for me were:
Whether you’re working in comms, leadership, organisational development or just care about the organisation you work for, this is a must read.
funny
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
Organisational change at pace can work, as long as you have the trust between leaders and teams to make it happen.
That’s my overall takeaway from the latest book by Frances Frei and Anne Morriss ‘Move Fast and Fix Things’.
Turning the maxim to ‘move fast and break things’ on its head Frei and Morriss make the case that you don’t have to make a choice between making change and supporting people. That progress doesn’t have to be slow and steady to bring people with you.
Set out over five days the book takes you through a focussed set of steps to make meaningful change in an organisation. The authors are clear that not all problems can be fixed in a week (although their challenge to readers is to start from an assumption that they can), so the five days structure also works as five steps.
- Identify the real problem holding you back
- Build and rebuild trust in your company
- Create a culture where everyone can thrive
- Communicate powerfully as a leader
- Go fast by empowering your team
As with ‘Unleashed’ by the same authors this book is immensely readable. The tone of voice and approach is very human and easy to translate into day-to-day. I also highly recommend their Fixable podcast for lots of practical examples of how to implement this approach.
I particularly love the gut check summaries of whether you’re ready to move on to the next step. And the lists and questions to provoke reflection.
And if you don’t recognise the barriers to change in the section on ‘Ten signs your organisation is stalling’ then you’re probably working for one of the exemplar companies in the book. The ones which rang loudly for me were:
- People doubt whether the organisation (really) has a problem. Or the subset of this one is that only parts of the organisation have the problem. Even more reason why in my book they should be championing the change to bring everyone to their way of working rather than opting out of the cultural change process because they’re already ‘perfect’.
- You’re asked to respond to the grave concerns of unidentified critics.
Whether you’re working in comms, leadership, organisational development or just care about the organisation you work for, this is a must read.
Different Seasons by Stephen King
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Four novellas. The innocent man in prison. The precocious boy with a dark interest in an old man’s past. The pre-teen boys on the trail of a dead body. The pregnant woman determined to bring her child into the world at any cost.
Out of four stories in this book sprang two of the best-loved adaptations of Stephen King’s work. The Shawshank Redemption and Stand By Me. Both fantastic stories and ones where the essence of what’s great about them survived the transition to the big screen.
Apt Pupil is probably one of the most hardest to read stories King has ever written. Largely because the characters are all thoroughly unlikeable. It’s still a gripping story.
The Breathing Method remains my favourite in this collection though. The story within a story that it’s named after would be a brilliant short story in it’s own right. It stands on its own literary feet and it intrigues me that the author didn’t choose to present it in that way. I assume it’s because it was in his mind too intrinsically linked to the setting in which it’s told. The mysterious gentleman’s club with untold rooms and strange slithery sounds, which appears the be powered by stories. An idea I find endlessly fascinating, perhaps more so because of the confines of the tale and the unasked and unanswered questions of the protagonist.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Gunslinger, a man of few words, journeys across the desert following the Man in Black and heading for the Tower.
While I’ve read The Gunslinger before I’ve never made it any further in The Dark Tower series. I think that’s because while I love King’s novels for their epic world building and the fantasy novels I love have a similar feel, the world of The Gunslinger feels very shallow.
There’s little sense of what it all means. I feel like I can follow it a bit now because so much if the Crimson King and the Tower seep through into the main novels. But, The Gunslinger on its own is quite a passive book with little sense of what the questions are never mind the depth of the answers.
I did find Roland more intriguing this time around, and on this King back catalogue read through I’m planning to give the sequels in this series a go too.
Witness 8 by Steve Cavanagh
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
DS Declan Miller is back with more bad jokes, passable ballroom skills, and determination to crack the case of his wife’s murder.
Funny, despite DS Miller’s ‘jokes’ rather than because of them, tense and emotional. Another great outing from Mark Billingham’s tragicomic new series.
Miller isn’t like your conventional detective story leading man. He’s not an alcoholic. His marriage seemed to be pretty healthy, even his imagined conversations with his late wife show a balanced relationship of equals. He has a group of good friends outside of the job. And, it’s his wacky humour and off-kilter thinking that brings him into conflict with his colleagues rather than lone wolf tendencies.
And yet the plots are everything you want from a good detective novel, and well worth a read.