Black Creek Crossing (Group Read - November 2010)

[Jenna, Group Creator]

November's read will be Black Creek Crossing.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I'll try to listen on audio :-)

[Lynne - The Book Squirrel]

Been a while since I read that one so will join you too!

[Jenna, Group Creator]

Thats great! I look forward to the discussion!

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

My library had the audiobook CD of BCC and I've reserved it in my name, I'm officially in for the group read and excited to re-read this one.

[Jenna, Group Creator]

yay! Thats cool! I picked up the hard cover about a month ago and have just been staring at it because of my critic books taking presedence.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Are we going to read a different book every month - is that the plan? How many books has Saul actually written - nearly 40 isn't it?

[Jenna, Group Creator]

Alot. Yes one a month. :) I was thinking Guardian for December. Id offer one every 2 weeks, but im backed up on reading lol.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Yeah I can handle one a month :-) but I have a lot of other books/authors to read also.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

This be the book - It's gonna be fun to read with other fans!

[Erica]

I just got my copy from the library yesturday. Can't wait to start!

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I've got the audiobook from the library but I'm waiting to get an actual printed copy as well so I can follow along and comment easier.

[Jenna, Group Creator]

THat's great! Not too long away guys! Hopefully some more people will join as time progresses. Im trying to promote just not a huge following right now.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Jenna wrote: "Im trying to promote just not a huge following right now."

That's why I didn't start a group last year :-) But I think we'll do alright - Just takes time to build up a group membership. Word will get out, people will search, people will find us :-) and we'll all have a bunch of fun in the journey.

[Maicie]

I started this today but will hold my comments until November. I finished a paperbook while sitting in a waiting room. Thank goodness I had my Nook and could download Black Creek Crossing. I can't imagine anything worse than sitting in a waiting room with only a 7 year old magazine to read.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Maicie wrote: "Thank goodness I had my Nook and could download Black Creek Crossing. I can't imagine anything worse than sitting in a waiting room with only a 7 year old magazine to read. "

:-) No Kidding! The smart reader knows to always carry your own reading material with you. Was the magazine really 7 years old or was that an exaggeration? If it really was so - what kind of waiting room are you visiting? One in a horror film it sounds like to me.

[Jenna, Group Creator]

Maicie wrote: "I started this today but will hold my comments until November. I finished a paperbook while sitting in a waiting room. Thank goodness I had my Nook and could download Black Creek Crossing. I can't ..."

Thanks for holding the comments, i havent read it yet lol

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I've started reading because some other books I had either didn't interest me or were due at the library. I'm enjoying the story. I'm glad you picked this one - it's a good one for this time of the year around Halloween and the Fall season.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I do have to wonder about John Saul's own childhood and parents though.

[Jenna, Group Creator]

awe its ok, im sure its his therapy..

[Erica]

I have a question about the group read. Can we read the book at our leisure, or do we have to do it in increments? I am fairly new to the monthly group reads.

[Maicie]

In another group I belong to, we read at our leisure. When we post a comment we list the chapter (since pages vary from book to Nook to ipad, etc) and add **spoiler** if it gives something away. That way the reader can avoid reading any comments that pertain to chapters he/she hasn't yet read. Works pretty well.

Not sure how they do it here, though. Moderators?

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I say do what Maicie said :-) That's how we do it in other groups I moderate and participate - keeps things pretty simple.

I've been listening on audiobook. I'm over half-way through now - I don't have a hard copy of the book yet so I can't post much. I'm enjoying the story - I love the witchcraft connection. I don't think it's Saul's greatest work but it's interesting and entertaining. Some of the dialogue bugs me as do the father characters, but I'm enjoying hearing about the mysterious history of Round Tree.

*SPOILER ALERT*
My favorite part so far is finding that book and the hidden cabin - that was awesome & mysterious.
*END OF SPOILER ALERT*

[Erica]

I officially started the book last night, and I feel sad for Angel. Kids can be so cruel.

[Maicie]

I wish I heard that more often: "Do what Maicie says!!!"

[Jenna, Group Creator]

Erica wrote: "I have a question about the group read. Can we read the book at our leisure, or do we have to do it in increments? I am fairly new to the monthly group reads."

Erica you can read it at your own pace :) Just by the end of Novemeber. We want to do a comment as we go strategy :)

[Jenna, Group Creator]

Sorry I havent been commenting every day guys! Been super busy..i have 3 book critiques to write, a paper on The Grave Diggers Daughter comparing it to fairy tales..a paper on The Odyssey to help someone with lol..lots going on.

Just post as you go, like Dustin and Maicie say :) And so will go the discussion.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

I finished the audiobook on Halloween. I give it 3 stars because I liked it. It was a good story, but not among Saul's best in my opinion. When I get a printed copy from the library, I'll try to post a bit more.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

While I was reading Black Creek Crossing, I kept thinking of the Halloween movie called Hocus Pocus which stars Bette Midler and Sara Jessica Parker along with another funny actress that I can't remember her name. Anyway, there were some striking similarities between the two stories including the little cabin/house/shack, witches, a book of spells, local legends/stories, and of course a black cat :-)
Anyone else notice these similarities?

[Maicie]

This is why this book was just 'okay' for me...the plot was 'similar' to a million other plots. Cabin, witches, spell book...and, surprise, a black cat.

However, I did like the ending. Didn't see it coming at all.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Maicie wrote: "However, I did like the ending. Didn't see it coming at all.
"
Saul is famous for what I call "off-the-wall" endings. He almost always throws something crazy in at the last second. However, since you just finished Faces of Fear, you'll know that that one had a "normal" ending :-) I didn't like the ending of Black Creek Crossing the first time I read the book - but that was 5 years ago and a lot has changed, I liked the ending this time :-)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Isn't that a nice ROUND TREE on the cover? I wonder why the town where this story takes place is called ROUND TREE? HMMMM.....

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Maicie wrote: "...and, surprise, a black cat. "

SURPRISE! At least this one didn't talk :-) Black Creek Crossing was a good choice for around Halloween and the Fall season though, don't you think?

[Maicie]

Faces didn't exactly have a happy ending. I admire an author whose not afraid to kill off a good guy now and then :)

Saul, Koontz, Little and King are a few of my go-to horror/thriller authors. I'm not usually surprised or terribly scared but it's like visiting with an old, albeit creepy, friend.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Maicie wrote: "Saul, Koontz, Little and King are a few of my go-to horror/thriller authors. I'm not usually surprised or terribly scared but it's like visiting with an old, albeit creepy, friend. "

:-) Are all your friends creepy? I've never read a book by Bentley Little - which do you recommend if I want to give him a try?

[Maicie]

Remember, I never said Little is super scary. I'm having a hard time remembering which ones I liked. He has such original titles: The Return, The House, The Store (very good), The Association, The Walking (I think I liked it), The Dispatched...See a theme here?

Oh, wait. The last one I read was His Father's Son and I gave it 4 stars.

Another thing I like from these authors is I can count on them not to have too much gore/rape/pillaging. I don't mind gore but every once in while I want to read a book where eyeballs aren't exploding on every page. I also think these authors treat their female characters with a little more finesse than a lot of the shock-jock, modern writers do.

[Jenna, Group Creator]

Dustin Crazy wrote: "While I was reading Black Creek Crossing, I kept thinking of the Halloween movie called Hocus Pocus which stars Bette Midler and Sara Jessica Parker along with another funny actress that I can't re..."

I love that movie. I shouldnt be suprised you do haha.

[Jenna, Group Creator]

Dustin Crazy wrote: "Isn't that a nice ROUND TREE on the cover? I wonder why the town where this story takes place is called ROUND TREE? HMMMM.....

"

DO i note sarcasm in that comment? I love the cover I love trees though haha

[Erica]

just finished the book. It was good, although I could guess what was going to happen next throughout.

[Jenna, Group Creator]

Erica wrote: "just finished the book. It was good, although I could guess what was going to happen next throughout."

Did that make it less enjoyable for you?

[Erica]

Jenna wrote: "Erica wrote: "just finished the book. It was good, although I could guess what was going to happen next throughout."

Did that make it less enjoyable for you?"

Maybe a tiny bit. It's a curse I have, being able to figure plots out fairly quickly. I liked the story line, though. I felt bad for Angel and Seth.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Thanks to everyone who read Black Creek Crossing in November. Our December Group Read is Creature Please join us if you're remotely interested - we are still a very small group with only 8 members and can use all the participation we can get :-) I'll post here with a link to the new discussion thread as soon as I set it up.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl, Colorful Colorado]

Link to the CREATURE Discussion thread:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...

[Maicie]

Woohoo. Creature won. I'm participating in three group reads this month but I'm a pretty quick reader so I don't think I'll be too far behind the rest of you.

I belong to another group with just a handful of members. We're all friends in real life and, since it's a private group, we don't have to be careful what we say. :) I like a smaller group rather than a bigger one. It's a little more work because if you don't participate it really shows. But I think the discussions are livelier and more in-depth.