If It Bleeds by Stephen King

source: purchased
title: If It Bleeds
author: Stephen King
genre: short story/mystery/suspense
pages: 436
published: April 2020
rated: 4 out of 5 stars

blurb:
If it Bleeds is a collection of four new novellas —Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, The Life of Chuck, Rat, and the title story If It Bleeds— each pulling readers into intriguing and frightening places.

A collection of four uniquely wonderful long stories, including a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider.

News people have a saying: ‘If it bleeds, it leads’. And a bomb at Albert Macready Middle School is guaranteed to lead any bulletin.

Holly Gibney of the Finders Keepers detective agency is working on the case of a missing dog – and on her own need to be more assertive – when she sees the footage on TV. But when she tunes in again, to the late-night report, she realizes there is something not quite right about the correspondent who was first on the scene. So begins ‘If It Bleeds’ , a stand-alone sequel to The Outsider featuring the incomparable Holly on her first solo case.

Dancing alongside are three more long stories – ‘Mr Harrigan’s Phone’, ‘The Life of Chuck’ and ‘Rat’.
The novella is a form King has returned to over and over again in the course of his amazing career, and many have been made into iconic films, If It Bleeds is a uniquely satisfying collection of longer short fiction by an incomparably gifted writer.

My thoughts:

If It Bleeds is a collection of four short stories that I read last year but have just gotten around to reviewing now. The theme of living in a digital era is common in all four stories.

In the first story Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, 12-year-old Craig is hired by wealthy Mr. Harrigan to read to him daily. The two form a friendship and when Mr. Harrigan passes away Craig is one of the few people who was close to him. A cell phone ties the two together even after death. I enjoyed this one and found it creepy, imagine if we could connect to people who’ve passed on via cellphone? This story has been made into a movie on NetFlix and I watched it after reading this book. The film version was pretty good and stood true to the story.

The first half of The Life of Chuck takes place in a not-too-distant future pending apocalypse due to what humans have done to the planet. Bees don’t exist anymore except a few hives in South America so no more honey, the Southern half of Florida is uninhabitable, all major food producing regions in the country are gone and power outages happen more often and for longer periods. The story then switches over to Chuck’s life. I found myself confused with the way this was written and on reading King’s afterword, I realized this story was written backwards. Interesting.

At nearly 200 pages, If It Bleeds was the third and longest story in this collection and actually takes place after book The Outsider so you should read that book before diving into this one. I read and enjoyed The Outsider at the start of the pandemic and I also watched the mini-series, which was great, so it was nice seeing the main character Holly again in this story. She’s on a case to find a school bomber and thinks something paranormal may be going on as she realizes who the bomber may be. While I enjoyed this novella, it nearly put me into a reading slump. I’m not sure why, because it was a really good story but it took me a while to get through this one for some strange reason. I may have just not been in the mood for it. It was nice to see Holly again though.

My favorite short story in this collection is the last one titled The Rat. Drew Larson is a creative writing teacher who suddenly gets inspiration again for a full-length novel after a failed attempt a few years prior. Against his wife’s wishes Drew insists on spending 3 weeks alone at his late father’s abandoned cabin in the woods to write the book. The cabin is located several hours drive from home. There’s no cell service out there just a landline so Drew will be pretty isolated. I loved this story, with the isolated cabin in the woods setting and the unreliable narrator, and the last line made me sarcastically laugh out loud. This short story made this whole collection worth it.

So overall, If It Bleeds was a nice collection. I enjoyed the nods to King’s other works throughout like Everything’s Eventual and Storm of the Century. This was a good dose of weird, creepy stories although I do prefer his full-length horror novels. I want to sleep with the lights on after reading his books. These stories were more suspenseful than anything else but still a solid collection. Also, check out Serena’s great review of If It Bleeds by clicking here. She listened to the audio version.

“Love is a gift; love is also a chain with a manacle at each end.” – p.274, If It Bleeds by Stephen King

About the author:
Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His first crime thriller featuring Bill Hodges, MR MERCEDES, won the Edgar Award for best novel and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Both MR MERCEDES and END OF WATCH received the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014 and 2016 respectively.

King co-wrote the bestselling novel Sleeping Beauties with his son Owen King, and many of King’s books have been turned into celebrated films and television series including The Shawshank Redemption, Gerald’s Game and It.

King was the recipient of America’s prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine.- quoted from Amazon.com


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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I purchased my copy of If It Bleeds by Stephen King.

Sunday Post/Mailbox Monday 9/4/22 : Hello September

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists….

Hello all. Happy Sunday and happy 3 day weekend. I hope you’re doing well. Labor Day is tomorrow so yay for a Monday off work. 🙂

It’s been a long week that started off with an allergist appointment on Monday after work, where I had to wait nearly one hour in the waiting room just to be seen. I never understand why doctors overbook. I went to see my allergist because I keep breaking out in hives and can’t figure it out. Neither can the doctor at this time so he sent me for bloodwork which I had done yesterday morning and am waiting for the results but which may provide no answers. He did the skin patch test which didn’t tell us much other than I’m allergic to dust mites and cats and I don’t need a patch test to know that lol. In the meantime I have to take allergy meds daily for the next 2 weeks. On a nicer note, we’ve been having some really nice weather these few days and I can feel Fall around the corner, it’s already been cooler in the mornings and evenings which I love. I wish it was like this year round.

onto my bookish updates….

recently on the blog:

I shared my thoughts on:

The Little House by the Sea (Pennystrand Village Book 1) by Tracy Rees


The Thin Place by C.D. Major


coming soon:

I’m halfway through which is an interesting story about twin brothers with a psychic connection.

in my mailbox:


The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth came via St. Martin’s Press.


Shifting and Shenanigans by Elizabeth Pantley came via Partners In Crime Book Tours.

Also in my mailbox, we visited a favorite used record shop/book store last weekend and I found an original hard cover edition of Christine by Stephen King.



This place usually has some good King books for decent prices and I was so happy to find this one for my King collection. I got that hard cover first edition copy of Misery on my shelves for $2 a few years ago at a library book sale. I love a good book find like that 🙂


watching:

I binged Bridgerton Season 2 last weekend. So good. I did think it could have been cut down one episode though, I felt like it started to drag on towards the end, but still so good. Also, all the scary things while crocheting so I’ve been watching my fav Halloween movies like the original Halloween and I’ve been making my way though films based on Stephen King books so I just re-watched The Dead Zone yesterday.

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crochet:
I’ve been working on a Halloween blanket for my daughter. We’re designing it together and I’m almost done. I have about 5 more squares to make now and then I have to sew them together and crochet a border.




That covers my updates, for now. Thanks for stopping in. What have you been up to? Enjoy your week!


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Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is available for download. The photos here are my own and not be to be removed from this post.

My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife

source: purchased
title: My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife A Library of America Special Publication
genre: historical non fiction
published: October 18, 2018 by Library Of America
pages:166
first line: My Dear Julia

about:
The Civil War’s greatest general as you’ve never seen him before—a revealing collection of letters written by Ulysses S. Grant to his wife Julia, introduced by Ron Chernow.

Ulysses S. Grant is justly celebrated as the author of one of the finest military autobiographies ever written, yet many readers of his Personal Memoirs are unaware that during his army years Grant wrote hundreds of intimate and revealing letters to his wife, Julia Dent Grant.

Presented with an introduction by acclaimed biographer Ron Chernow, My Dearest Julia collects more than eighty of these letters, beginning with their engagement in 1844 and ending with the Union victory in 1865. They record Grant’s first experience under fire in Mexico (“There is no great sport in having bullets flying about one in every direction but I find they have less horror when among them than when in anticipation”), the aching homesickness that led him to resign from the peacetime army, and his rapid rise to high command during the Civil War.

Often written in haste, sometimes within the sound of gunfire, his wartime letters vividly capture the immediacy and uncertainty of the conflict. Grant initially hoped for an early conclusion to the fighting, but then came to accept that the war would have no easy end. “The world has never seen so bloody or so protracted a battle as the one being fought,” he wrote from Spotsylvania in 1864, “and I hope never will again.”

my thoughts:
I purchased a copy of My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife this summer while visiting Grant Cottage. This is a collection of 84 letters that Grant wrote to his wife Julia while he was in active service. The letters begin while he and Julia were engaged and he was fighting in the Mexican American War and go on through the Civil War up until his final letter to Julia that he wrote at what is now known as Grant Cottage.

I’m a history buff and I find anything Civil War related to be really interesting. I’m a fan of Ulysses S. Grant, he’s a fascinating historical figure. What makes him a favorite is that when I first started reading and learning more about him, his love for his wife Julia and for his family really stood front and center.

I enjoyed this collection of his letters because they provide a first hand/in real time account of what was going on during these battles. I found it fascinating that Grant was taking the time to write these letters to his wife from battlefields, with everything that was going on around him. I suppose writing to her was therapeutic for him during immensely stressful and scary times. The first letters were written during his 2 year engagement to Julia, and you see him really focusing on her getting her parents permission to marry him and he keeps bringing up his speaking to her father about it. You can tell Grant was worried her family wouldn’t approve of him. As the letters go on they are married with children and the loving tone of the letters is the same, but he’s worried about her and the children and he’s always writing about seeing them, whether Julia can visit him etc. He sends her money he wants her to make sure the children have a good teacher and are learning etc. You see Grant as a father and husband in these letters.

I found this to be a great collection, I’m glad Julia saved the letters. I wish the publisher would have included maybe a note as to where the letters were taking place. I wound up googling certain dates for context. For example, each letter starts with Grant naming the date and place: “Tacabaya Mexico, January 9th 1848”, so I would search dates and places to get an idea of where Grant was at that time and what was going on. I wouldn’t be able to rate someone’s letters, but I’d give this a 5 out of 5 because you get an intimate and interesting glimpse into Grant’s personal life. You also see what a great writer Ulysses S. Grant was. The last letter included is one of Grant’s final ones to Julia when he knew the end was near and it once again shows you how till the very end Grant was all about his family. Do I have a slight Ulysses S. Grant crush? Perhaps.

“I hope dearest that you had a very pleasant trip. I know that you have thought of me very often. I have dreamed of you several times since we parted.” Detroit Michigan April 27th 1849– My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife, p. 65

In going away now I feel as if I had some one else than myself to live and strive and do well for. You can have but little idea of the infulance you have over me Julia, even while so far away.” N. Orleans Barracks La. July 11th 1845– My Dearest Julia p. 19

“I feel proud of the Army at my command. They have marched day and night, without tents and with irregular rations without a murmur of complaints. I write in very great haste.” Grand Gulf Miss. May 3rd 1863– My Dearest Julia p. 121

“The world has never seen so bloody or so protracted a battle as the one being fought and I hope never will again. The enemy were really whipped yesterday but their situation is desperate beyond anything heretofore known. To loose this battle they lose their cause. As bad as it is they have fought for it with a gallantry worthy of a better.” Near Spotsylvania C. H, Va. May 13th 1864 – My Dearest Julia p. 133


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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I purchased my copy of My Dearest Julia: The Wartime Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Wife.

Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

source: purchased
title: Interview with the Vampire author: Anne Rice
genre: paranormal horror
published: 1976
pages: 350
first line: “I see…”
rated: 5 out of 5 stars

book blurb:
This is the story of Louis, as told in his own words, of his journey through mortal and immortal life. Louis recounts how he became a vampire at the hands of the radiant and sinister Lestat and how he became indoctrinated, unwillingly, into the vampire way of life. His story ebbs and flows through the streets of New Orleans, defining crucial moments such as his discovery of the exquisite lost young child Claudia, wanting not to hurt but to comfort her with the last breaths of humanity he has inside….

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My thoughts: *slight spoilers*
Interview with the Vampire is my favorite vampire novel because it’s beautifully written, dramatic and it really is unforgettable. This was a re-read for me and I enjoyed every minute of it. I can see myself reading it again one day.
There’s not much I can say that hasn’t already been said about this one plus I don’t want to include spoilers so I’ll keep my review short and to the point. The story starts off in modern day as Louis de Pointe du Lac is telling his life story starting from New Orleans 1791. He tells of how he met Lestat de Lioncourt who turns him into a vampire and everything that unfolds after this event.

I loved Interview the second time around even more than the first. I had almost forgotten how creepy Claudia was, the descriptions of her were chilling. Louis describes her as a demonic doll at one point. I loved to hate Lestat as usual. He’s so nonchalant about many things yet you see how much he needs Louis although he tries to hide it. The relationship between this little vampire family was intriguing and messed up on many levels.

Anne Rice does a fantastic job at bringing these characters to life to the point where the reader can almost see and hear them. If I had to pick a favorite I think I’d pick Louis because he is so dramatic but because he also tries so hard to hang onto his humanity. He spends so much time searching for answers as to his existence and he feels guilt at having to drink human blood. He loves Claudia and don’t get me started on Armand.

This one is a classic, I’ve only read the first 2 in the Vampire Chronicals but I plan on reading more. And of course the film version is a favorite and was perfectly cast. Have you read this one or seen the movie?

“It was as if all figures walked and talked on the desolate home of my damned soul.” p.77, Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

“For I was so attuned to her; I loved her so completely; she was so much the companion of my waking hour, the only companion that I had, other than death.”p.105, Interview With the Vampire

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Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I purchased my copy of Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice.

Sunday Post/Mailbox Monday 3/27/22: Library Book Sale, Crochet, etc.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists….

Hello everyone and happy weekend. Thanks for stopping in, I hope this post finds you well. The past week flew right by. Work and life were busy as usual but I managed to get in a salon visit for a hair dye and trim, I finished up my crocheted Mickey Mouse which made me miss our Disney trip even more and we went to a library book sale this weekend.

On top of that poor Otis had to have a dental cleaning procedure done at the vet this past Friday and they pulled 2 of his teeth. I get nervous with that because he goes under anesthesia for it but he did well and he’s recovering nicely. Poor Otis has to pretty much spend the day at the vet for this procedure too. I dropped him off early before work at 8:30am and he was ready to be picked up at 4:00pm. He was definitely mad at me when we got back home from the vet, he didn’t want to look at me when I was speaking to him. I’m just glad we got that done and over with for his sake.


onto my updates…..


recently on the blog:

I shared my thoughts on the dust of hope: rune poems by Judy Croome.

in my mailbox:
We went to a library book sale this weekend and I found some great books all for $10.00.






I found The Silkworm first and I told myself I would only get it if I could find The Cukoo’s Calling as well. I found it on the other side of the room so I got both.


Bonfire was the first book I saw when we walked in so I grabbed it right away. I’ve heard good things about it. Have you read any of these?

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watching these few weeks:

I watched The Weekend Away which was very good and had alot of twists and turns. I also watched Deep Water which I thought was good, you do have to suspend disbelief for it. And I finished up Pam and Tommy which I somehow got sucked into watching and ended up enjoying this one. I’m not sure how much of it was actually true but it’s definitely entertaining. It also shines a light on what Pam Anderson must have gone through when that sex tape was stolen and published without her consent.

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crochet:
I finished my Mickey Mouse and I really like the way he turned out. I may have to make another one for my parents, they really like this one.






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Well, that covers my updates this week. How was your week? Let me know in the comments and happy reading this week. 🙂

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Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is available for download. Some of these links are affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission. The photos here are my own and not be to be removed from this post.