OneErased Reading Motivation and Accountability

Finished reading this one today, so 3 days again. They're pretty fast to read, so I'll start the third and last one tomorrow. Partner's mom's gonna visit tomorrow and will bring some new books, so there's that at least. Kinda done and lonely with the whole hospital sentence. 

Goal #12

Author: James Bowen
Book: A Gift from Bob
Goal: July 28th (~40 pages/day) 

This one's a short book, so I'll most likely finish it in a couple of days. There's a lot of stuff I can relate on them, with the homelessness and addiction themes. Wish I had had a Bob back then, but we all take our own paths out. 

SYNOPSIS

In this poignant new story, A Gift from Bob, James Bowen recalls the last Christmas he was to spend on the streets, busking and selling the Big Issue with his cat Bob. 

In 2010, the weather was as bleak as his prospects. Christmas had always been the time he dreaded. Now at least he had Bob by his side, but his health was poor, and he had no money for food or warmth. There was no choice but to venture out onto the frozen streets to earn enough to pay for his electricity and - with luck - to afford some small treats for Christmas as well. 

What James learned through this toughest of times was to give his new life with Bob - and Christmas - a meaning it had never had before. 

Just finished reading this. It was short, so my couple day guess was right. They are nice books and all, but after three similar books I'm kinda looking forward to reading something else. I have some options, so I'll see about all that tomorrow. 

That's actually six books read this month, think that's a record for me. Doubt I'll finish any more this month, but will start one at least. 

@OneErased you are doing amazing, i´m so proud of you 😊

Goal #13

Author: Sebastian Fitzek
Book: Passenger 23 [original German title Passagier 23] 
Goal: August 17th (~19 pages/day) 

Seems like my partner's mom reads Fitzek too, so she brought me a couple of books by him. I recently read one of his books and want to see what else he can do. It's a longer book too, compared the three last ones, so it'll take me more than a couple days with it. Hopefully at least, I've already read 6 books this month alone... 

SYNOPSIS
Every year, on average 23 people disappear without a trace from cruise ships. No one has ever come back. Until now. 

Five years ago police psychologist Martin Schwartz lost his wife and son. They were holidaying on a cruise ship when they simply vanished, the case written off as a straightforward case. They are not the only parent-and-child pair to have disappeared from the ship in recent years - and yet, the authorities seem unconcerned. But when a missing girl reappears - carrying Martin's son's beloved teddy bear - the police won't be able to avoid the truth that something sinister is lurking on board.

I finished this book last night and I'm extremely conflicted about it. 

TW abuse

As for the book itself, it was a really interesting read. The story was interesting, the characters were interesting - definitely one of those page turners that you just wanna keep reading. Yet, at the same time it was extremely hard for me to read cause of the subject matter. A bit part of it included talk about child abuse of the sexual kind. So, there were a lot of emotions and memories involved and triggered by it. It thankfully didn't go to much detail, it remained in the talk part of it all, but I got a reminder that I definitely haven't fully dealt with my experiences. Even after all this time. But, overall, the story was extremely interesting and I'm still glad I read it. 

Goal #14

Author: Sebatian Fitzek
Book: The Night House [original Norse title: Natthuset]
Goal: August 10th (~36 pages/day) 

My partner's mom bought me some books since I'm stuck in the hospital and their care. This was one of the books, a horror thriller that I started reading today. I'm not really impressed yet, but we'll see how it goes. It's a short one, with just 255 pages, so I'll manage to read it in a week if nothing comes in the way, thus the short goal time. But it's nice to go back to horror for a bit so I'm hopefully it'll pick up. 

SYNOPSIS

In the wake of his parents' tragic deaths in a house fire, fourteen-year-old Richard Elauved has been sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the remote, insular town of Ballantyne. Richard quickly earns a reputation as an outcast, and when a classmate named Tom goes missing, everyone suspects the new, angry boy is responsible for his disappearance. No one believes him when he says the telephone booth out by the edge of the woods sucked Tom into the receiver like something out of a horror movie. No one, that is, except Karen, a beguiling fellow outsider who encourages Richard to pursue clues the police refuse to investigate. He traces the number that Tom prank-called from the phone booth to an abandoned house in the Mirror Forest. There he catches a glimpse of a terrifying face in the window. And then the voices begin to whisper in his ear...

She's going to burn. The girl you love is going to burn. There's nothing you can do about it. 

When another classmate disappears, Richard must find a way to prove his innocence - and preserve his sanity - as he grapples with the dark magic that is possessing Ballantyne and pursuing his destruction. 

Then again, Richard may not be the most reliable narrator of his own story... 

Finished reading this one today. Was a quick read as I suspected. It was an interesting book. Not really my cup of tea, but there were some interesting things to it, like the ending and all. Predictable, but interesting. Definitely worth a read if you're looking for softer kinda horror, young adult style really, but nothing hardcore really. 

Goal #15

Author: Warren Fellows
Book: 4,000 Days: My Life and Survival in a Bangkok Prison
Goal: August 17 (~23 pages/day)

Kinda wanted a change of pace. My partner brought me some more books and one of them was this true story. Sounded interesting so why not. It's short too, with 204 pages, so really shouldn't take too long.

TW for violence, in case you're going to read the synopsis. 

Doing this on the phone again and hate it. Can't change the size of the cover so sorry for that. 

SYNOPSIS 

In the late 1970s, author Warren Fellows and two of his friends had the perfect scheme: they would traffic heroin between Australia and Thailand, concealing it flawlessly in high-tech, invisible compartments in suitcases. The money was there, and the process seemed foolproof--especially because they hadn't gotten caught in all their prior attempts at smuggling. But in 1978, all that would change, and Fellows would spend the next twelve years of his life enduring violations of his human rights of unimaginable hideousness.

Fellows, convicted in Thailand, spent these twelve years in Bangkok's infamous Bang Kwang prison, witnessing atrocities committed by both prison officials and his fellow inmates. He survived countless torturous beatings, was forced to eat rats, and endured solitary confinement under terrifyingly inhumane conditions. On a daily basis, Fellows also witnessed the torture and execution of those around him, their screams as common as the insects and vermin in his cell. Many of the prisoners in Bang Kwang turned to heroin--the vice that landed Fellows there in the first place--to escape their daily nightmares, and the prison guards often helped feed this deadly addiction.

Fellows, now a free man, has lived to write about these twelve ghastly years. He has captured the filth, pain, anger, hopelessness, and torture of life in a Thai prison with vivid, engrossing detail and brutal honesty.

Think this was the first time I missed a goal by a few days. Migraines keep coming so reading's been slow whenever I can do it. The book itself was interesting and brought up a lot of thoughts, so I'm glad I read it. Not the typical type of a book, but well written and gruesome in its contents. Definitely recommend it, if you're up to some real life violence and suffering. 

@OneErased take all the time you need to recover from the migraine, don't hurt yourself by pushing your limits 🌻

Goal #16

Author: Magdalena Hai
Book: Sarvijumala (freely translated to The Horned God) 
Goal: August 29th (~15 pages/day) 

Last book was real intense, a true story and all, so figured a young adult horror could be a bit easier to read. It's by a Finnish author, don't have a lot of experience with them so should be interesting. It's a real short one too, with 162 pages, so should be fast to read. Will see with the migraine situation. 

SYNOPSIS
When death touches your life, everything changes. 

Lauri wakes up in the hospital after a fatal car crash and he doesn't remember much about it. Mom is dead and now life has changed drastically. 

When Lauri starts his slow recovery in a small town at his aunt's house, he has an unpleasant feeling that everything is not right. The dead don't stay dead and the beautiful neighbor Vilja-Maaria doesn't want to live. When an ominous creature with antlers appears behind the window, Lauri begins to see nightmarish dreams that feel too real. 

I actually finished reading this a good while ago. Don't really remember much about it, as I never do, so not sure what to say about it. Guess, based on my notes and my review, it was good for what it was. Interesting at most part and well written. 

Goal #17

Author: Richard Morgan
Book: Altered Carbon
Series: Takeshi Kovacs
Goal: October 31st (~15 pages/day) 

Kinda lost interest on reading, so this is my attempt to get back on track. I wanted something completely different for that, so I picked this book trilogy that's apparently some kind of a dystopian sci-fi cyberpunk noir thriller thing from my partner's collection. He said it's more of a complicated read cause of the genres, so I decided to go easy with the goals. We'll see how it goes. I'll read the entire trilogy in one go, and apparently there's a tv show based on it too these days, so might check that out too if I like it. We'll see if it gets me back into reading or if I lose my interest before I get anywhere. 

The site didn't let me upload the cover of the actual book I have, so I'll go with another cover. Not a big deal, but kinda hate that too - I rather have the actual cover here to make it clearer for myself. The book cover I have is adapted from the tv show, apparently. 

SYNOPSIS
Four hundred years from now mankind is strung out across a region of interstellar space inherited from an ancient civilization discovered on Mars. The colonies are linked together by the occasional sublight colony ship voyages and hyperspatial data-casting. Human consciousness is digitally freighted between the stars and downloaded into bodies as a matter of course. 

But some things never change. So when ex-envoy, now-convict Takeshi Kovacz has his consciousness and skills downloaded into the body of a nicotine-addicted ex-thug and presented with a catch-22 offer, he really shouldn't be surprised. Contracted by a billionaire to discover who murdered his last body, Kovacs is drawn into a terrifying conspiracy that stretches across known space and to the very top of society. 

@OneErased sounds interesting 😮