The Friday 56 - The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.


I've been a bad Friday 56ther and managed to miss the last two weeks but I'm back with another selection just in time for the new year. I've taken another ibooks selection this week with The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle and before I begin the teaser I just want to wish everyone a prosperous reading and writing 2011.


The teaser line is:


"Dear me! It is a stake for which a man might well play a desperate game."


Enjoyed the teaser? Then check out a previous entry.

2011 Reading List

2011 Reading List

Because I buy way more books than I actually have time to read and they can sit on the shelf for years unopened, I’m setting the task of playing catch up. These are the only books from my collection I currently have access to. And there are at least another 5 I’ll be purchasing over the next few weeks and adding to this list, after that no more buying or downloading until I’ve culled this list.

Ebooks

1) Cemetery Poets : Grave Offerings (Poetry Anthology)

2) Gorelets : Unpleasant Poems by Michael A Arnzen (Poetry Collection)

3) Dark Demons by Kurt Newton (Story collection)

4) Femmes De La Brumme (Short story Anthology) edited by Nicole Thomas

5) Momento Mori by Angeline Hawks Craig (short story collection)

6) Above The Arctic Circle by Brian Lawrenson (Non-fiction)

7) Are These Eyeballs by Garry Charles (Short Story Collection)

8) The Hound Of The Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle (Novel) Take a peek inside with The Friday 56.

9) Twisted Imaginings Vol 1 by Garry Charles (Short Story Collection)

10)The Strange Case Of Doctor Jekyll And Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stephenson (Novel)

11) Vicious Verses And Reanimated Rhymes edited by A. P. Fuchs (poetry anthology)

Paperbacks

12) Cell by Stephen King (Novel). Take a peek inside with my The Friday 56 entry.

13) The Rising by Brian Keene (Novel). Take a peek inside with my The Friday 56 entry.

14) Staying Alive: Real Poems For Unreal Times edited by Neil Astley (Poetry Anthology)

15) Myths And Legends by Anthony Horowitz (collected myths)

16) Houses Without Doors by Peter Straub (short story collection)

17) The Collected Poems of W B Yeats (poetry collection)

18) Moon On The Water by Mort Castle (short story collection)

19) The Mammoth Book Of Best New Horror edited by Stephen Jones (short story anthology)

20) 52 Ways Of Looking At A Poem by Ruth Padel (Poetry reference) Take a peek inside with my The Friday 56 entry.

21) Collected Poems Of Sylvia Plath (poetry collection)

22) The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry (Poetry reference)

23) How Poetry Works by Phil Roberts (Poetry Reference)

24) Phantom Noise by Brian Turner (poetry collection)
25) The Man In The Picture by Susan Hill (Novel) Take a peek inside with my The Friday 56 entry.
26) Banquet For The Damned by Adam L G Nevill (Novel)
27) Nightmare Collector by Bruce Boston (Poetry Collection)
28) A Mouth For Picket Fences by Barry Napier (Poetry Collection)

New Years Writing Goals 2011

New Years Writing Goals 2011

In the tradition of millions of people the world over making their resolutions, I’m setting my writing goals for 2011:

1) Write every day whether it’s a blog post, the novella I’ve recently begun working on or a new poem

2) Write at least one chapter of the novella a week.

3) I will not miss my poetry course deadlines.

4) Start submitting my poetry to the markets again.

5) Read more poetry.

How will I achieve my goals? 

Taking part in Novpad last November proved that I can write every day, it offered the motivation that this has to be done now and not left until the day after. But motivation when left to my own devices isn’t so easy to come by, I always seem to be battling constant tiredness and a general lack of time so perhaps reminding myself daily why I write will suffice. I certainly don’t want to be a failure anymore.

Wish me luck and feel free to use the comments section to share your own goals. 

Review - Shredder by Garry Charles

Synopsis - Ex-Soldier is persuaded to take part in a secret operation and ends up fighting for survival.

Review - Shredder is just the right length to sustain the fast paced bloody action without becoming over the top. A no-nonsense writing style balances the action with character development and description.

Rating - 4/5

Download for free at smashwords

Review - Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill

Synopsis: A nightwatchman and an American woman discover the terrifying history and secrets inside an abandoned apartment.

Review: Apartment 16 revolves around a London apartment building. It follows the separate but interlinked stories of two characters. Firstly, Seth a nightwatchman and wannabe artist who becomes aware of disturbances in Apartment 16, and secondly Apryl staying at the apartment building to finalise her recently deceased Great-Aunts affairs. 

Apartment 16 has a steadily building plot, good character development and plenty of twists and surprises. The theme of being trapped in place and time was well-developed. It held me in its grip from page one and it’s the best damn thing I’ve read in a long time. 

Rating: 5/5

Writing Prompt 10 for December 2010

Writing Prompt 10 has been posted to the website.

Instructions: Use one of the photo's below to inspire a piece of writing such as a free write, a poem or story. A new writing prompt is added every month so come back often to try the new ones or revisit old ones. Why not try writing a piece that incorporates more than one photo?

I have deliberately not supplied any information with the photographs. I want to see what your imagination can come up with on its own. If you sell a piece of writing that was based on one of these, please let me know so I can celebrate with you.

All photo's are taken by myself with either a Nikon D50 or a Coolpix S3000 camera.

The Friday 56 - 52 Ways Of Looking At A Poem by Ruth Padel

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it here.

It's that simple.


I've gone for a non-fiction selection this week. The book is 52 Ways Of Looking At A Poem by Ruth Padel. It looks at how 52 poems can be interpreted and I'm expecting to begin reading this in about a week or so when I've finished Apartment 16.


The teaser line is:


The subjects of the poems that follow are things that matter to all of us: memory, childhood, embarrassment; war, illness, death, love; dreams, art, jealousy, betrayal, loss.