Hooked on Books discussion

Members Starting the BR: Sammy, Jenny, Angie, Judith, Donna
Challenge: Book Quest Adventures
Book: Boy's Life by Robert McCammon

Anyone is free to join in this Buddy Read! Happy Reading!

I’m not in the book quest adventure, but I’m definitely joining this IBR! I read this book about 20 years ago and loved it. Can’t wait to revisit.

Fabulous! Not sure when we are starting it yet.

I'm reading this in June, so will be joining as well :)

It's one of my favourite mccammon books. So looking forward to it!

I'll probably jump into this one soon. Been itching to get to this one 😁

So this is only my third read of this one, but I already have that relaxed settling in for a favourite comfort read feel starting this book.

I love the narrative voice. I love the writing. I think McCammon has Bradbury's skill in creating an atmosphere and he evokes the time and place just beautifully here.

But even with that, he doesn't exactly wait long to throw his characters into the action. I guess the pacing of this is another thing I love. It feels like a cozy and lazy summer afternoon, yet somehow still keeps up the pace when you're not looking 😆

Off to enjoy this some more!

Well, when you invoke Bradbury, I am even more anxious to start.

My cunning plan worked!

*gleefully rubs hands together*

And I'm done.

I'll not comment further until other people get around to reading, but suffice to say, I loved it once again!

also, I just mentioned this in my review, but thought I'd give a heads-up here too...

If anyone is at all worried about the horror tag, don't be. This is just another of those cases where someone previously known as a horror writer writes a book that isn't, yet people still seem to have to tag it as such!

I was wondering why it was tagged "horror". Lol

I'm only about 20% in and wouldn't at all consider anything that I've read so far to be horror-ish. Well, I guess Moses could be....or the wasps....

I have a question. Does anyone other than me think that watching flies eat a toad would be about as mesmerizing as watching paint dry?? 🤣

Sammy wrote: "I love the narrative voice. I love the writing. I think McCammon has Bradbury's skill in creating an atmosphere and he evokes the time and place just beautifully here...."

I too think this is true!

Well, maybe if you licked the toad first, you might see some interesting things.

Angie ☯ wrote: "I have a question. Does anyone other than me think that watching flies eat a toad would be about as mesmerizing as watching paint dry?? 🤣"

I think you have to be a 12-y-o boy to appreciate that one 😂

Yeah, there is nothing really horror like as such. All the "supernatural" hints throughout the book can be put down to a young boy's overactive imagination (the flying scene was a perfect example of that), or general superstition (Moses would fall under that, with a little embellishment from said 12-y-o).

With the wasps, he'd already made a point of mentioning all the combined perfumes and aftershaves and such, which could easily account for that situation!

Jenny wrote: "Well, maybe if you licked the toad first, you might see some interesting things."

🤣

LOL!!

I'm trying to get further into another book before I start this one, but the chatter in here made me think about putting the other book down for now, lol.

I am SO easily influenced by buddy read discussions :D

Teehee! Join us. Join uuuuuus! 😁

Very late to this party but am thoroughly enjoying this book.

I’m having to almost speed read to get through it so I can get everything done by the end of the month. I think I’ll be rereading this in August once TT is over.

And at a slower pace to really enjoy the prose.

Sammy how is the narrator on this one? I’ve almost picked this up a couple times on audible sales.

I like the narrator. Not one of my top favourites, but he's not annoying, which is a Biggie for me 😆

That book was a delight Sammy, I’ve been meaning to get to it. Thanks for the push to read it now!!

And it worked for a good task for TT so win-win! 😂

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I had a feeling you would, as I know you enjoy the Matthew Corbett series too.

I love how McCammon is so versatile in his writing.

I am just about to start..

Okay, the girl they call the Demon... she's mean, yes, but that art project ROFL!

So, if your dad is the richest guy in town, you can go around with your junk swinging in the wind. Noted. LOL!

Must be nice... I think I'll pass either way, rich dad or (in my case) not. No-one needs to see that! 😂

I just have to say thank you to Sammy for recommending this book.
I bloody loved it, and my guess is that I will be buying a physical copy so I can read it again later.

I definitely got Bradbury vibes, mixed with King, in the brilliant way the inner lives of the characters were portrayed.
Plus, there are just a bunch of lines I want to commit to memory. What a beautiful book.

(view spoiler)[Okay, is it mean that the whole bomb scene made me giggle? I mean, there are all these men standing around trying to figure out what to do. Then the bomb makes a noise, and they all run, leaving the injured guy to fend for himself.
Then another guy comes down and starts tinkering with it, giving the injured guy fits. I mean, he's crying and thinking he's gonna die. Then he starts confessing his sins. It was kind of a funny scene. (hide spoiler)]

I second Jenny on that, Sammy. It was a fun read. I had no idea what to expect going into it, but I really enjoyed it.

I'm so glad you all enjoyed it!

It's rare I will recommend a book universally - I usually tailor them to an individual and err on the side of caution - but this is one of those books that I don't hesitate to bring up when people ask for a good read.

I love McCammon on the whole and do recommend a lot of his other stuff depending on the individual. He does everything from gothic historical mysteries and WWII spy thrillers with added werewolf component to hardcore horror, so they're never going to please everyone, no matter how good!

Late to chime in, but also thanks Sammy for recommending!

I thought that scene was funny as well, Donna!

Donna wrote: "Okay, is it mean that the whole bomb scene made me giggle? I"

This was a great scene - McCammon's writing made the whole thing and the humor of it all, come alive.

I loved the writing in this one - loved the way you are left knowing that just being a child, or innocent, makes the magic bloom around you. When you haven't seen it all, everything new sparkles - or scares, as the case may be.

Jumping on the Sammy appreciation bandwagon - thanks for talking this author up! I'll definitely be reading more of his books :)

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