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#192025
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OutsmartYourShelf
The Long Walk | Richard Bachman
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Pickpick

Sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty is about to start the Long Walk - an annual competition between 100 boys where the one to walk the longest distance wins his wildest dreams. The boys have to maintain a pace of 4 miles per hour, day & night, no stopping for toilet breaks, eating, or sleeping, & soldiers monitor them continuously. 3 warnings & you are out - permanently.

OutsmartYourShelf Attention everyone, I think hell has officially frozen over! I've just read a Stephen King book that I finished AND I actually liked it. It started off rather subtle for a King book (albeit writing as Richard Bachman), the idea of a walk being a horror subject is strange at first. The key is the required pace of 4 miles an hour - it sounds manageable but imagine keeping that up nonstop for days. 5d
OutsmartYourShelf Anyone falling behind or stopping gets 3 warnings before they 'receive their ticket' - the full horror of that innocuous phrase becomes clear fairly early on.

It's fairly fast-paced (ironically enough) even though most of the 'action' is the boys talking to each other & their dilemma between friendships & rivalry. If I could change one thing it would be to remove the creepy bits about women & girls' bodies - just not needed.
5d
OutsmartYourShelf Overall though, this is one of King's best books for me. 4🌟

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/754777681
Read 17th-19th Oct 2025

#HauntedShelf #GrimReaders @CSeydel

Words found: Temptation & Fearfully

#ReadAway2025 @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
#SPNBookBingo2025 Changing Channels
#FallReadingBingo
#192025 (1979) @LibraryBelle
#TBRCampSlasher Book you have been putting off reading
(edited) 5d
CSeydel That‘s a common complaint in any King novel. I try not to let it ruin the story, but sometimes he can be very cringe-inducing 4d
OutsmartYourShelf @CSeydel He's not a writer I particularly like reading but I'm going to try The Running Man as well (hopefully this month). 4d
29 likes2 stack adds5 comments
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BarbaraJean
Brideshead Revisited | Evelyn Waugh
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This is yet another book that‘s been on my shelf forever… so long that I can‘t pin down the recommendation that originally prompted me to buy it. I wish I could remember, because that might offer me some direction on why I wanted to read it and what I might have gotten out of it!

This was beautifully written, the characters are richly drawn, and it left me cold. I actually kind of wanted to throw the book across the room at the end. ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) The sadness and nostalgia for a disappearing place and time didn‘t really land for me, because I found the characters so unlikable—and as such, the overarching themes of conversion and grace felt like too little, too late.

I‘m glad I read this with the #hashtagbrigade to glean from others‘ comments some of what I missed! Also, this checks off 1945 for the #192025 challenge. @Librarybelle
6d
Librarybelle I‘m glad that this was a #hashtagbrigade book! I‘m still reading it and am enjoying it. (edited) 6d
Centique I had some of the same feelings reading this a few years ago. Just didnt draw me in, as compared to something like The Go-Between - also in that whole “fall in love with a big house and a wealthy family genre” (genre I just made up!) 6d
BarbaraJean @Librarybelle I'm glad you're enjoying it! @Centique It was an odd experience for me. I didn't dislike it—the writing was gorgeous. I found it engaging and wanted to keep reading. But I also disliked basically all of the characters and where the plot landed was frustrating. I kind of want to read it again 😂 I love your made-up genre—it IS a thing! I'll have to check out The Go-Between. 3d
43 likes4 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Pickpick

This served as a delightful unicorn chaser while I was reading Newitz‘ The Future of Another Timeline. I‘ve wanted to read Tamora Pierce for a long time—and I‘m glad I chose this as my 1983 pick for #192025. A lot of the plot felt unrealistic to me—Alanna‘s path isn‘t easy by any means, but she‘s a little too readily accepted & fits in as one of the boys far too quickly. But honestly, I didn‘t mind. I needed a lighter take on female empowerment ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) …and gender dynamics, and I was happy to sink into a story where a girl in Alanna‘s place isn‘t in grave danger and the male characters aren‘t all violent, villainous misogynists! 6d
Librarybelle Yay!! 6d
35 likes2 comments
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kwmg40
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Pickpick

Feeling nostalgic, I recently picked up the first 3 books in this series which I enjoyed as a child. It feels very dated in its portrayal of women's roles and how the airline industry is run (in-flight meals included an after-dinner cigarette). Still, I found this book thoroughly charming and fun to read.

#BirthdayBashReadathon
#HauntedShelf #ScreamTeam
#OneSnacktoRuleThemAll #AllThingsApple
#BookSpinBingo

Librarybelle Yay!! 6d
TheAromaofBooks Somehow, despite loving a lot of books from this era, I never read the Cherry Ames books. And I've never even heard of Vicki Barr! 6d
40 likes3 comments
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BarbaraJean
A Separate Peace | John Knowles
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Realizing there are ten weeks left in the year is ridiculous, and I can‘t resist #10beforetheend. I have 10 books left for the #192025 challenge, so that‘s my list! For some of the years I‘m still debating between a couple options, so that‘s why there‘s more than one book cover in several slots. Fingers crossed I can get all of these read by the end of 2025!

Librarybelle Good luck on finishing #192025 ! You have some good titles for the last 10 reads! 1w
ChaoticMissAdventures Some great titles! I will always vote Baldwin, but Agatha Christie is so much fun. Good luck! Hope the 10 Before the End gives you that extra push! 1w
37 likes2 comments
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BarbaraJean
The Inimitable Jeeves | P. G. Wodehouse
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Pickpick

I‘ve had the Jeeves & Wooster books on my list for so long! I finally read this one as my 1923 pick for #192025… and I think my expectations were too high 😆

Don‘t get me wrong—I enjoyed it. It made me laugh, and the banter and the ridiculous situations were great fun. But it‘s more loosely-connected short stories than it is a novel, and so it felt scattered. I kept waiting for an overarching plot rather than isolated episodes. ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) Also, the setting and the Jeeves & Wooster relationship felt so similar to the Lord Peter Wimsey books that I kept wondering when the murder was going to happen. 😂 These are minor criticisms—the problem was more my own expectations than the book itself! I‘m planning on & looking forward to reading more Jeeves & Wooster down the road. 1w
Ruthiella Oh yes. There is never really a plot to speak of. I love these stories because they are so ridiculous. 😂 The TV series with Fry and Laurie is also excellent. 👍 (edited) 1w
AlaMich Yes, these are worth doing on audio, although I think there are a lot of different narrators. 1w
Librarybelle I‘ve yet to read a Jeeves book! 1w
31 likes4 comments
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BarbaraJean
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This was a delight! It‘s been on my shelves for years, and a #blameitonLitsy trifecta prompted me to read it: I put it in my #192025 lineup for 1972, @TheAromaofBooks spotted it on my #BookSpin list & suggested a casual buddy read, then it landed as my August #BookSpin…clearly, it was meant to be!

Herriot‘s descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside make me long for England (admittedly, it doesn‘t take much to trigger that longing in me!). ⤵️

BarbaraJean (Cont‘d) His stories of life as a vet range from hilarious to charming, as do the personalities he introduces us to along the way. I loved every one of Herriot‘s anecdotes—from Siegfried‘s infuriating but somehow also charming contradictoriness, to Tricki Woo the beloved and overfed Pekingese, to Herriot‘s disastrous attempts to court Helen. I devoured the short chapters like the best treats, using the book as a reward to follow heavier reads. 1w
AmyG I read these as a young adult and absolutely loved them. 1w
SamAnne A favorite of mine from my early teenage years. 1w
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Ruthiella I also read these as a teenager and remember loving them. The TV show was also on PBS at the time which was wonderful. 😍 1w
Sparklemn @Ruthiella There is a newer version on PBS that is wonderful as well. 1w
Librarybelle Great choice! 1w
Daisey I loved these as well! 1w
BarbaraJean @Ruthiella @Sparklemn My parents loved the original TV show... I've just put the newer version DVDs on hold at the library, to watch with my dad 😊 1w
TheAromaofBooks It was SO fun to revisit this one! I'm starting All Things Bright and Beautiful next week 😂 1w
BarbaraJean @TheAromaofBooks Yaaaay! It is SO tempting to start in on All Things Bright and Beautiful... but I'm trying my best to finish a couple of reading challenges and can't believe October is almost over 😩 I'm planning to start #192030 in the new year, and I might just have to put Bright & Beautiful and Wise & Wonderful down for 1974 and 1976 😁 1w
40 likes1 stack add10 comments
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Liz_M
Babbitt | Sinclair Lewis
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@ChaoticMissAdventures I am very close to finishing #192025 and #10BeforeTheEnd will provide some extra motivation! @Librarybelle

BarbaraBB That is so cool Liz! 1w
Librarybelle Yay!! 1w
ChaoticMissAdventures Love the extra motivation! I also need to read Baltasar and Blimunda at some point, I love Saramago. Good luck!! 1w
35 likes3 comments
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kwmg40
Family Ties: A Novel | Celia Buckmaster
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I'm somewhat behind with the #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub schedule but finally finished this one. I did enjoy following the interactions of the villagers, even if most of the characters were thoroughly unpleasant!

#192025 #1952 @Librarybelle
#HauntedShelf #ScreamTeam
#OneSnacktoRuleThemAll #AllThingsApple
#BookSpinBingo
#ISpyBingo (cosy vibes )
#PumpkabooHunt (medium)

@ImperfectCJ @Bookwormjillk @TheAromaofBooks @PuddleJumper

Ruthiella I‘m glad you liked it. Everyone was pretty awful in the novel, I agree! 😂 1w
LeahBergen What @Ruthiella said! An all around disagreeable bunch. 😆😆 1w
Bookwormjillk 🍎🍎🍎 1w
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PuddleJumper 🎉🎉 1w
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1w
Librarybelle Yay!! 1w
37 likes6 comments