Bark's Book Nonsense

I keep trying but I'm not a huge fan of young adult fiction. Here's why . . .


Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler Narrated by Khristine Hvam
Young Adult Fiction
Unabridged Audiobook: 6 hours and 33 minutes
Amazon ♦ Goodreads
I'm telling you why we broke up, Ed. I'm writing it in this letter, the whole truth of why it happened.

Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped.
My Thoughts

I don't even like YA but I picked this because my library had a copy. That's truly all it takes and I know this review is entirely my own damn fault. Why We Br…

And it's not too late to join us over at Booklikes! Click on the picture below to learn how to request your card if you're a Booklikes member (it's all free).


Here's my beautiful custom card and a little glimpse into what kinds of books I'll be reading over the next several weeks.

For those concerned about the yes/no button installation outlined in my previous post, Netgalley has chosen to remain silent. In fact, they have removed all comments from their initial blog postand have shut off the comment feature on the post after leaving this vague PR statement:

netgalley-admin says:
August 18, 2017 at 5:09 pm
Hi all! We love and appreciate all the thoughtful input we’re getting from the NetGalley community about these new features. We are actively collecting and analyzing all the comments we’re seeing across various channels, and incorporating your feedback into future changes. Stay tuned, and thank you for your dedication to NetGalley! They have also been deleting comments on their Facebook post and muting their Twitter feed comments regarding reader concerns.

Maybe I've read too much dark fiction, but this does not bode well.

Bloggers, I know you love your Netgalley. Or, if you're anything like me, you have a love/hate relationship with them. Love? Hey, free books and you get them early. All you have to do is review them and you do that anyway, right? Hate? Well, it's self-loathing really. Personally, they test my willpower and suddenly I'm requesting and not touching my physical tbr pile in over a year! I love the fact that Netgalley is a separate entity from the usual book haunts. It is all about getting books into the hands of reviewers, librarians and book sellers so they, in turn, can get the word out. Netgalley has been a safe haven away from the sometimes drama filled world of review/reviewer/blogger drama and competition. We request our books and we walk away, hoping for a few requests to come through. We've all been on the same playing field. But after receiving an email from them two days in a row, I fear things may be changing. Please tell me I am wrong.

If you have not seen the …

And, no it's not cleaning that dirty fence!  I'll be back to my regularly unscheduled posts when I can peel my butt away from this chair. 
To everyone who has so kindly emailed me with queries, thanks so much for taking the time to write me! I will be going through them in a few days. If you don't hear back please feel free to nudge me because email often gets buried. Please note that I am participating in Halloween Bingo starting September 1 and I will be reading mainly horror fiction. Please feel free to join us! Click on the pic below for more info. It is the best game of the year, if you ask me :)

Looking for some strange little stories? You'll find something to love here.


Behold! Oddities, Curiosities & Undefinable Wonders edited by Doug Murano
Short Strange Fiction
Released July 2017 
Amazon ♦ Goodreads
Crystal Lake Publishing and Doug Murano, the Bram Stoker Award-nominated editor of GUTTED: BEAUTIFUL HORROR STORIES, are proud to present BEHOLD! ODDITIES, CURIOSITIES AND UNDEFINABLE WONDERS.

Embrace the odd. Satisfy your curiosity. Surrender to wonder. Witness as the finest talents of our time bring you tales of the strangeness at the edges of existence.





My Thoughts

I took one look at the cover and decided I had to read this. I wrongly assumed it was about the carny life and ever since reading Geek Love I’ve been drawn to those types of books. These stories aren’t about sideshow freaks and pop-up carnivals but they’re mostly pretty good despite that.

The book is broken up into three sections. Oddities, Curiosities & Undefinable Wonders. I enjoyed more of the stories in …

Awesome narration & snarky dialogue but marred by a bland lead.

The Woods by Harlan Coben, Narrated by Scott Brick
Mystery Fiction
Unabridged Audiobook 12 hours, 30 minutes
Amazon ♦ Goodreads
Twenty years ago, four teenagers at summer camp walked into the woods at night. Two were found murdered, and the others were never seen again. Four families had their lives changed forever. Now, two decades later, they are about to change again. For Paul Copeland, the county prosecutor of Essex, New Jersey, mourning the loss of his sister has only recently begun to subside. Cope, as he is known, is now dealing with raising his six- year-old daughter as a single father after his wife has died of cancer. Balancing family life and a rapidly ascending career as a prosecutor distracts him from his past traumas, but only for so long. When a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to Cope, the well-buried secrets of the prosecutor's family are threatened.

Is this homicide victim one of the …

A murderous monster is on the loose!


Conjesero by Carl Alves, Narrated by Steve Rausch
Horror Thriller, 7+ hours
Audiobook Released April 2017 
Amazon ♦ Goodreads
San Francisco homicide detective Kevin Russell has arrested serial rapists, murderers, and more sadistic thugs than he could remember. Nothing he has ever accomplished can prepare him for Conjesero, a supernatural serial killer who has been terrorizing the Americas for centuries. Conjesero—a creature with extraordinary intelligence and a vicious nature that has created a trail of bodies from Mexico to San Francisco—has always made law enforcement cower in fear and pretend that he doesn't exist. Only Kevin is willing to stand in its path. His desperation takes him on a journey inside the killer’s twisted world. There is nothing that he is unwilling to do, even if it means making a deal with the devil to stop Conjesero or die trying.


My Thoughts

3 1/2 but closer to a 4 than a 3.

Conjesero is about a homicide detective whose late…

Creepy Christmas in the middle of summer? Why the heck not?!


N0S4A2 by Joe Hill
Narrated by Kate Mulgrew
Horror Fiction
Unabridged Audiobook, 19 hours and 41 minutes
Amazon ♦ Goodreads
NOS4A2 is a spine-tingling novel of supernatural suspense from master of horror Joe Hill, the New York Times bestselling author of Heart-Shaped Box and Horns.

Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. On her Raleigh Tuff Burner bike, she makes her way to a rickety covered bridge that, within moments, takes her wherever she needs to go, whether it’s across Massachusetts or across the country.

Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.”

T…

Ahhh, books! How much do I love thee?
More than I realized, apparently.

While I was on my little hiatus from the reading and internet world last week, I went out into the real world and did something I hadn't done in years. I visited a brick and mortar independent bookstore and spent hours browsing. I looked at every used title and realized I owned many of them (oops) and then I went over to the new section and tried to touch them all.

It was heavenly.

You all need to do it at least once a week if you don't already, even if you don't buy anything (I didn't, I really wish I had but tbr guilt stayed my hand). Go, look, touch, smell (well, maybe don't smell if they look anything like this!) and savor the bliss that washes over your soul. There is nothing quite like it. I used to do this when I was young and free and had all the time in the world. I worked next door to a used bookstore and the employees all knew me by name and usually had a stack waiting just for me. I…