Review: The Pram by Joe Hill

A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill.

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I think Joe Hill does a great job of building the atmosphere of the woods. His choice of words invoke a sense of eerie isolation for the reader. It feels as though the woods had a mind of its own. I liked the concept and introduction of the early settlers of the town. I wished Hill had put more development into explaining their backstory and purpose.

I found that Willy wasn’t very compelling as the main protagonist and the pacing for the short story started off quite slow. It picked up a bit during the midpoint. The story would’ve benefitted from a balance of alternating between Willy and Marianne’s perspectives. Especially since Marianne had more depth as a character and provided much needed rationality to Willy’s obsession clouded-mind.

This was my first experience with an Amazon original story and it was entertaining, if not a little bit predictable. I was however slightly underwhelmed at the open ending as it left me with many unanswered questions. I am still interested to read more from Joe Hill in the future, I have very high hopes for NOS4A2. I probably will continue with the other stories in this collection.

Music Monday #1

Long time no see.

I am a on huge pop music kick this summer and I thought it would be fun to share a few songs that I have on repeat. Of course it wouldn’t be right to have a list without at least one Chappell Roan song. Feel free to share what you’ve been listening to in the comments. I’ll be back with a book review tomorrow, so stay tuned.

New Year, New Me!

Time has flown by so fast, Christmas has come and gone. I’m looking for to the new year, 2020! My mom actually inspired me to pursue this passion again. The last post I made was in July and was for a reading challenge, that I *surprisingly* read nothing for.

I started this blog when I first started highschool and barely kept up with it because of homework and other passions, like reading. Life always gets in the way. I forgot the reason I created this blog in the first place, it was because I wanted to discuss my love of reading with others. I have been following bloggers like Perpetualpageturner, Thewritinghufflepuff, The Mile Long Bookshelf, etc… for years. I always wanted to have a space to connect with others who share a common interest and longed be part of the reading/blogging community. But my anxiety was preventing me from doing so, I was scared no one would read it or that I would be criticized for making a grammar mistake. I was stuck in my own head thinking the worst: that I would not be accepted.

To my shock, I did receive comments and likes from a few individuals. I want to apologize for not maintaining communication and supporting you in turn. I am socially awkward and constantly worry about saying the wrong thing. I want to try to be better this year, let go of fear, and talk about the things I love.

Do you have any resolutions for the new year or do you hate and refuse to make any? What are you reading in the new year?

I’m Participating in the Reading Rush this year.

Hi Readers,

I am participating in the Reading Rush for the first time!

I’m sure most of you know what the Reading Rush is. For those who don’t, the Reading Rush (formerly known as the Booktubeathon) is a weeklong readathon created by Ariel Bissett and Raeleen Lemay. The purpose is to read books and participate in the reading/video challenges. This year, you can earn badges, and you even get a badge for signing up. This year it goes from the 22nd – 28th.

The challenges this year are:

Read a book with purple on the cover & non-human character: My pick is Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amy Kaufman. I’m choosing to double up on this challenge, and I believe there is an alien character as part of the crew.

Read a book in the same spot:                                                                                                                 Satoko and Nada Vol. 2 by Yupechika. I’m planning on reading this in my beanbag chair.

Read an author’s first book: for this challenge, I am choosing Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston.

Read a book that has five words or more in the title & read a book you meant to read last year: I’m doubling up once again. My book of choice is A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer.

Read and watch a book to movie adaptation: I’m choosing Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. I have never read this children’s classic, but have seen the movie. A bonus is that it’s a short read.

Bonus: read 7 books

I will be reading Wherever She Goes by Kelley Armstrong.  Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors and I know I will be sucked into to the story.

 

Are any of you participating in the Reading Rush? Let me know if you are and what you’ll be reading in the comments!

 

https://thereadingrush.com

 

 

Introducing Me.

Hi readers!

Welcome to seasonsofstorybooks. My name is Shannon, and i’m quite new to this. It’s hard to put yourself out there especially on the internet for strangers to read, but reading is my passion. I would love to connect and discuss books with others who share this hobby.

 

Flash round of questions

What was the last book you read?                                                                                                            Again, but Better by Christine Riccio. I’ve been following Christine’s channel for years, and needless to say, I was very excited for her debut novel. I quite enjoyed it.

Favourite food? Poutine! It’s definitely a Canadian specialty. (Yes, that’s where I’m from).

Favourite book series?                                                                                                                                Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. This series means a lot to me, because this is around the time I started reading teen books. I fell in love with the series when I first read it seventh grade. Longer books means more time spent with the characters! 😀

Please feel free to answer any of these in the comments, so I can get to know you better.