The Poison Thread

The Poison Thread

By: Laura Purcell

Synopsis

Ruth Butterham lived a rough life from a young age. She was tormented in school because she wasn’t as well off as the other girls. She found her place beside her mother embroidering and sewing, as soon as Ruth’s mother turns up pregnant and the family barely getting by as it was Ruth’s recreational assistance turns into a full-time job at 14. The baby dies after Ruth embroiders on her blanket the family falls apart, her father committing suicide and forcing her mother to “sell” Ruth into service of the dressmaker they were contracting with. As time progresses Ruth learns of deaths and misfortunes of others who she sewed for including her mother her suspicion grows that her sewing is cursed. When her mistress dies, she cannot help but believe it to be her own fault. Dorothea is a 25-year-old aristocrat who is secretly a phrenologist who lost her mother and lives with a father whose main goal is to get her married. While Dorothea’s is to be a good charitable person by Catholic standards. She spends her time at the Oakgate prison where she meets Ruth and is enraptured by the idea that a 16-year-old can have the skull of a killer and if it can change. “If we can detect vice in a timely manner and point the child down another path, the shape of the head, as well as the texture of the spirit may change.” The book is written in alternating perspectives from both girls, Ruth recounting her life to Dorothea and Dorothea muddling through it and her own life.

Characteristics of Horror

·         Has moments of gore described in detail

·         Unresolved Ending

·         Erratic Pacing

·         Dark and Foreboding Mood

·         Narrative told in alternating chapters

·         Vague Villain

Read A-Likes

·         Edgar Allen Poe

·         The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

·         The Unseeing by Anna Mazzola

·         The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Week 5 Prompt

I don’t think its right that one type of book gets reviewed all to pieces and other books get ignored. This can impact the library collection by increasing requests for “Best Sellers” because they have read a good review about it and they are the only books they are seeing reviewed. Then your collection has a large number of one type of book or too many copies of one book that will have to be weeded later on down the line, all because these are the books getting reviewed publicly.

I don’t think it is right to only print positive reviews because not everyone has a positive experience with a book. It's important to show both sides it will save people time and keep them from reading books that aren’t their taste. The only place I do not think this applies is on the book itself because these reviews are meant to help sell the book.  I think reviews are important for me personally because I do not purchase for a library. I read reviews as well as summaries when deciding what to read next. I check the reviews on the book, I know these are generally only good reviews meant to sell the book, but it is a good highlight of what people liked about the book the best.   When the reviews and summaries line up to something that sounds like my taste, I will check out the book. I also like to skim the first couple pages of the book as well to see if I like the writing style.

Kirkus Style Review of The Poison Thread

Set in Victorian England this gothic tale of a charitable aristocrat and a dressmaker turned maid who is in jail for killing her mistress with what she claims are supernatural abilities.

Ruth Butterham lived a rough life from a young age. She was tormented in school because she wasn’t as well off as the other girls. She found her place beside her mother embroidering and sewing, as soon as Ruth’s mother turns up pregnant and the family barely getting by as it was Ruth’s recreational assistance turns into a full-time job at 14. The baby dies after Ruth embroiders on her blanket the family falls apart, her father committing suicide and forcing her mother to “sell” Ruth into service of the dressmaker they were contracting with. As time progresses Ruth learns of deaths and misfortunes of others who she sewed for including her mother her suspicion grows that her sewing is cursed. When her mistress dies, she cannot help but believe it to be her own fault. Dorothea is a 25-year-old aristocrat who is secretly a phrenologist who lost her mother and lives with a father whose main goal is to get her married. While Dorothea’s is to be a good charitable person by Catholic standards. She spends her time at the Oakgate prison where she meets Ruth and is enraptured by the idea that a 16-year-old can have the skull of a killer and if it can change. “If we can detect vice  in a timely manner and point the child down another path, the shape of the head, as well as the texture of the spirit may change.” The book is written in alternating perspectives from both girls, Ruth recounting her life to Dorothea and Dorothea muddling through it and her own life. 

I liked the book but could not help but feel it was missing one more, even a short chapter from Ruth at the end. It didn’t have me burning through the pages, but it did keep me wondering until the end.

Secret Shopper

I needed help finding a horror book for our annotations, as horror is one of the genre’s I chose that I was not as familiar with as others.  I approached the gentleman manning the desk in the popular materials section of the library and told him I was looking for a good book that met the following requirements: adult, horror, fiction. I told him it needed to be a novel for a school assignment so an anthology would not work. He conducted a basic search that lead us mainly to anthologies with horror in the name or description. He then suggested a Stephen King book, this made sense to me as he is the biggest name in horror fiction. After checking out the selection of Stephen King books available I advised him they were too long for what I was wanting. So, we went back to the computer and did a more advanced search and was able to find a title that met the requirements I had provided. It was a successful visit, but it showed me just how much we rely on computers to fill the gap in what we don’t know. I felt the conversation move organically and less like an interview but still a little awkward. It may have gone better if I had gone in with a title I had just finished and was searching for something similar but having done that before I know the librarian would have most likely pulled the book up in their online catalog and found what titles it suggested to go with the one I had just completed. (I have done this before at a different branch in this system and this was the result)

I do not think that my approach to this was a major detriment however because we will have patrons that come in and say “I want a good scary book.” With minimal information on what else they want I knew I wanted a shorter book and I chose the title I did because it was gothic as well which is one of my areas of interest.

Week Three Prompt Response

1. I am looking for a book by Laurell K. Hamilton. I just read the third book in the Anita Blake series and I can’t figure out which one comes next!

The next book in the series is The Lunatic Café its book 4 in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series.

2. What have I read recently? Well, I just finished this great book by Barbara Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer. I really liked the way it was written, you know, the way she used language. I wouldn't mind something a bit faster paced though.
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin is described as having a compelling and lyrical writing style. The lyrical would appeal to your appreciation of her writing style and the compelling indicates it moves a bit faster.

3. I like reading books set in different countries. I just read one set in China, could you help me find one set in Japan? No, not modern – historical. I like it when the author describes it so much it feels like I was there!

You might like The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz it is a detailed novel told in the first person about the first commoner to marry into the Japanese royal family and how her life changed.  Coming full circle to arranging her own son's marriage.  It is full of rich detail.

4. I read this great mystery by Elizabeth George called Well-Schooled in Murder and I loved it. Then my dentist said that if I liked mysteries I would probably like John Sandford, but boy was he creepy I couldn't finish it! Do you have any suggestions?

I would recommend Still Life by Louise Penny. It is another procedural series this is also set outside of the US told at a leisurely pace. You could also check out the next book in the Thomas Lynley series by Elizabeth George called A suitable vengeance.

5. My husband has really gotten into zombies lately. He’s already read The Walking Dead and World War Z, is there anything else you can recommend?

I would recommend Zombies!Zombies!Zombies! its an anthology of zombie stories that include both modern and classic works. It will be episodic like The Walking Dead comic but have the full story of World War Z.

6. I love books that get turned into movies, especially literary ones. Can you recommend some? Nothing too old, maybe just those from the last 5 years or so.
I would recommend The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, it is not a movie yet but it will be soon! It is about a young boy who steals a famous painting after a terrorist attack he survived as a child. This is the story of his life.

7. I love thrillers but I hate foul language and sex scenes. I want something clean and fast-paced. You may like to Watch the Girls by Jennifer Wolfe. It’s about as child actress who is trying to re-establish her career on a fake investigation reality show when she gets fired and stumbles upon a real case.

I have always struggled to find a follow up to what I was reading unless it was a series. I mostly thrived on recommendations from friends and family. I have asked for RA assistance a couple times from a librarian. I will generally search around where I found my last good book to see if I stumble upon anything else. I am a window shopper, I pick up a lot of books before I decide what to take home.

Our Kind of Cruelty By: Araminta Hall

Our Kind of Cruelty

By: Araminta Hall

Synopsis

Mike had only known how hard life could be until he met V. Their relationship lasted through college where they developed a game called Crave. V would go to a bar and get hit on by other men and then Mike would stake his claim to her in a strong way. Then when V called it quits Mike was sure it was just until he held up his end of their plan. Mike finds V again after accomplishing everything he set out to do but she is engaged to another man, is this real or is it just another one of their Craves from college?

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Characteristics for Thriller

·         Dark, gritty theme and mood

·         Story results in he said/she said legal case based against previous sexual history

·         Resolution that leaves you thinking.

·         Moves at a fast pace with Mike’s actions to get V’s attention escalating rapidly.

·         Narrative told between memories, flashbacks and present day.

·         Both protagonist and antagonist are well developed and strong willed.  Cursory characters are fleshed out enough to give them meaning.

Read A-Likes

·         Her Name was Rose by Claire Allan

·         Social Creature by Tara Isabella Burton

·         Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

·         The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

READING PROFILE!

I like to read a little bit of everything. It depends on my mood honestly. I really love historical fiction, literary fiction and fantasy. I am not one to shy away from non-fiction books either I have a massive personal library of philosophy books. I like historical and literary fiction because when I am in the mood I like plausible stories about real people.

When I want to be transported to the surreal I prefer fantasy over science fiction. I like the magic of it all. I think stories can still be about real people in an unreal setting, for example, one of my favorite books is The Hobbit Bilbo is a real person facing extraordinary circumstances. Now hobbits aren't real but some of the dilemmas he faces are. I don't always like books where the heroes win and the good guy gets the girl. I like to see the bad guy come out on top every once in a while because that is life.

I really like listening to podcasts that are Dungeons and Dragons actual play and other story-based podcasts. I like these because they are cooperative stories being told by a group of people each playing a different character. It's a living story. I tend to listen to my podcasts at work when I am working in chat.

It's hard for me to pick favorite authors. I am more interested in the story. So my top 5 favorite books are in no particular order The Hobbit, 13 Reasons Why, The Count of Monte Cristo, the Inkheart trilogy and The Harry Potter series.  I am hoping to develop my skills in picking what book to read next after finishing one and helping people choose what to read to expand their interests.