literature

Geek literature from the New York Times or the recesses of online. Our favorite stories showcase geeks.

Book Review: "The School Reunion" by Shalini Boland
I have found more Kindle Unlimited psychological thriller fiction and yes, this is the writer of The Birthday Party, which I absolutely loved. The School Reunion is a shorter book but it is not any worse off than the first. About a woman named Chloe who is invited to her secondary school reunion in Bournemouth, we are taken on a whirlwind through her life before it. She initially thinks she isn't going to go because of the divorce she recently went through making her self-image a bit unstable. But, after receiving a bunch of messages from an unknown source saying that she should not turn up, she makes it her business to go to the reunion. But who knew that a ton of secrets from the past, including a suicide, would be dug up only for someone else to end up buried? Shalini Boland creates a haunting atmosphere where we can't see who's haunting Chloe or why, but with our other narrator - Dean - we might see how the ones manipulating the narrative were not who we thought at all. It's all so terrifying and tense!
By Annie Kapur27 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Night of the Hunter" by Davis Grubb
I am not going to lie to you, when I was a lot younger than I am now, the film adaptation of this book used to frighten me because it was so intense. It felt so uncomfortable to watch and has since become one of those films I always recommend to someone who is looking for a scary film that isn't necessarily horror. You wouldn't believe how close the film is to the book because it is pretty damn close if you ask me. Written in a style which echoes the dark pulp fiction of the Great Depression, Davis Grubb's story of the 'Preacher' Henry Powell makes not only for great and intense reading, but is also one of the best books I have read all year. It just feels legendary.
By Annie Kapur28 days ago in Geeks
The Real Reason No One Can Become the Next Liu Huan
A singer was also an interface Liu Huan’s national fame rested on things that rarely line up today. He sang “A Youth’s Aspiration Knows No Sorrow,” the theme song of Plainclothes Police . He sang “The Crescent Moon,” which brought pop music into millions of homes. He sang “Song of the Heroes,” the theme song of CCTV’s Water Margin . He and Sarah Brightman sang “You and Me” at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
By Jin29 days ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The House Guest" by Mark Edwards
Mark Edwards has some quite twisted storylines and though again, I did have a few gripes with this book, I won't be giving up on the author entirely - I'm sure it's going to pick up soon. Be that as it may, my gripes with the book aren't really down to bad writing but really personal preference. I don't see the point in lots of characters being introduced at important parts of the book because then I don't feel like I know them properly, they are kind of just there. Apart from this, I think there were a few plot points that felt a bit shoehorned in. For example: when our main character was driven out to the middle of nowhere by a dodgy cop but then someone comes out of the woods to save him but that's never really explained. It's just these occasional things but, if we put that aside, this wasn't really a bad premise for a book at all.
By Annie Kapur29 days ago in Geeks
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Background and Context: I first read this book a very long time ago and from the first read, I was enthralled. Not from the romance, not from the gothic nature of the story, but because of the brilliant voice of Charlotte Bronte which seems to come alive with symbolism, wonder and emotion when telling such a story. Jane Eyre is a book which has served me well, over and over again throughout my schooling, through my degrees and throughout problems in my life. It is a book of a multitude of feelings - each of which are explored in extreme and meticulous detail. The reason for including this book therefore, is very personal - you can be sure of that.
By Annie Kapurabout a month ago in Geeks
Book Review: "The Birthday Party" by Shalini Boland
Well, even though I have finished the books of Lucinda Berry, I'm working my way through Mark Edwards' books and I am on the verge of completing the books of John Marrs - I have not yet read all the books by Sue Watson or this author, Shalini Boland. Her book The Birthday Party was everywhere on my recommendations and, because it was available on Kindle Unlimited, I was completely sold from the beginning. About a bunch of kids who go to a birthday party run by the parents of the birthday girl, they end up losing a child - specifically the cousin of the birthday girl. As our protagonist (the mother) thinks through telling her sister they've lost her child, there's a whole bunch of secrets that unravel as the perpetrator might be among the crowd, wearing a costume the entire time.
By Annie Kapurabout a month ago in Geeks
She Built a Livestream Empire. Now She’s Washing Bowls.
The photo shows four people against a beige wall. The lighting is flat and bright. A ring light sits directly in front of them. Viya, 41, wears a light blue striped lounge set. The cuffs are creased. Her older daughter kisses the baby's forehead. A black hair tie remains looped around the daughter's wrist. The infant is swaddled in floral fabric. A pair of black sunglasses is digitally edited onto its face. Viya wears matching sunglasses and a black cap. Her husband, Dong Haifeng, sits beside her.
By Jinabout a month ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Follow You Home" by Mark Edwards
If you've been reading my reviews then you probably know that when I read books by Mark Edwards, I am particularly struck by his ability to use things that seem supernatural and paranormal to show us how vulnerable people can get in times of great tension. In a recent book I read by him called In Her Shadow, this is especially true. But this book, entitled Follow You Home, we have a woman who already has a belief in the supernatural and thus, takes the idea of ghosts and runs with it. The protagonist though, isn't so sure. It risks everything, including what seemed to be a solid relationship that breaks down the moment they get home from a European trip which ended abruptly in Romania with a doomed train journey and a missing woman.
By Annie Kapurabout a month ago in Geeks
Book Review: "What Lies Between Us" by John Marrs
Read some examples of other John Marrs books I have reviewed here... Check out my page for more... As you probably know, I've read plenty of books by John Marrs and that is not changing any time soon. Kindle Unlimited is a god-send when it comes to paperback thriller and yet, I am going to definitely make Amazon regret the unlimited idea that comes with that. I've read books like Keep it in the Family, which was a crazy psycho-drama that keeps twisting and turning. But the best book was still the first one I read by him entitled The Good Samaritan. If you want a thriller that is different and mind-blowing then I would definitely recommend that one. You will not be disappointed. Oh, and I was not disappointed by this one. What Lies Between Us is one of those books that keeps you swapping sides until you don't know who to believe anymore...
By Annie Kapurabout a month ago in Geeks
Book Review: "Is God Happy?" by Leszek Kołakowski
There was a reason I bought this book from World of Books though I can't remember what it was. I think I was taken by the title because it made me think about whether, if there was a god (though I do not believe in one), they would be happy with their creation. If I was god? Absolutely not. It's a screw-up, time to start again. Be that as it may, when it also had that quotation from the New York Times on the front, yes the one on the cover, I could not possibly pass up the opportunity to get my teeth into it. There's something about being a citizen of the 'Republic of Letters' that must make this book something so worth reading that if you didn't, you'd have FOMO from the letters and essay scene.
By Annie Kapurabout a month ago in Geeks
Book Review: "In Her Shadow" by Mark Edwards
Yet again, I'm on my paperback thriller reading rage and Mark Edwards, if you haven't noticed, is an author that keeps popping up because his books are so addictive. I read this book in just one sitting and it was simply so good that I have promised myself that I'm not going to complain about the amount of characters being a bit on the large side. I mean, it was and it did annoy me from time to time, but the main storyline concerning Jessica and her child which is Mark Edwards doing what he does best: making something out of the possibility of the supernatural. The threat of the supernatural appears so often in his books and it's always so much fun because that is something that makes his thrillers stand out. It is a unique change within the genre.
By Annie Kapurabout a month ago in Geeks
Book Review: "When You Disappeared" by John Marrs
John Marrs is one of those writers I have become a huge fan of. He has written great books like The Good Samaritan and You Killed Me First. Reading When You Disappeared wasn't exactly a difficult decision. After reading the twisted modern gothic of Keep it in the Family, there was something in me that had to read more by this author and so - here we are. John Marrs' writing style is brilliant, he is able to create so many different and distinct voices whilst also keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. Nothing feels like it is shoehorned in, instead it feels more like you have to go back through the book and recover what you missed. Let's now take a look at When You Disappeared. A book very much part of that twisted and gothic routine we are used to by now...
By Annie Kapurabout a month ago in Geeks