395 ratings | 12 reviews | avg rating:4.35

Jools’s Year In Books

Jools’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Jools’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

605 books | 447 friends

Victoria Limbert

2,408 books | 2,925 friends

Michaela Buckley

581 books | 9 friends

Jemima Pett

2,146 books | 646 friends

David Owen

1,279 books | 1,330 friends

Ryan Burt

1,385 books | 4,677 friends

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3,498 books | 2,160 friends

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Jools Barnett

Goodreads Author

Born

in Leigh on Sea, Essex, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.joolsbarnett.com

Twitter

joolsbarnett

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Humor

Influences

Stephen King, Haruki Murakami, Raymond Chandler, Douglas Adams, Philip ...more

Member Since

July 2011

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/joolsbarnett

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The name's Jools Barnett, and I'm an independent author and screenwriter, most known for the serialised Kindle novella series Watchtower.

I was born and currently live in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex in the United Kingdom.

I've been fascinated with writing and the written word since I was but a mere tiny child, often scurrying away to a darkened room with nothing but the flash of a monitor and brain full of insane dreams and file cards to keep me company. I penned many short stories when I was a kid (but, like most acts of youth, the art itself was beyond terrible -- I can even recall a short story about a talking cat that hunts ghosts using a time machine...) in addition to making plethora upon plethora of films with my friends whilst we grew up toge The name's Jools Barnett, and I'm an independent author and screenwriter, most known for the serialised Kindle novella series Watchtower.

I was born and currently live in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex in the United Kingdom.

I've been fascinated with writing and the written word since I was but a mere tiny child, often scurrying away to a darkened room with nothing but the flash of a monitor and brain full of insane dreams and file cards to keep me company. I penned many short stories when I was a kid (but, like most acts of youth, the art itself was beyond terrible -- I can even recall a short story about a talking cat that hunts ghosts using a time machine...) in addition to making plethora upon plethora of films with my friends whilst we grew up together.

However, when I was 19, I began to study for an undergraduate degree in Law with the Open University. During this time, I was struck by how utterly disinterested I was by the subject of Law, and how the only thing that consumed my mind day in and day out, was this unhealthy obsession with stories and the written word. At that point, it seemed silly to not pursue my interests to the fullest. I always dreamed of being a writer (a screenwriter, specifically), but it always felt to be just that -- a dream. But why couldn't that dream become reality? Why couldn't I do something with my life that actually engaged me. So I did.

The art is what captivated me, learning the craft all I could think about. Day in and day out I would read every script I could grab, analyse every TV programme, movie and book. Why did they work? Why did they engage me so? How can I give back to the world this feeling of entertainment and thematic resonance that these works have given me? And why were the rubbish ones so terrible?

I spent the next five years, whilst studying and working those dreary admin jobs, penning multiple projects, including the giant five series arc for my eponymous Watchtower series. Originally intended as a television series pitch, the project grew and grew until narrative fiction became the most sensible outlet for the story, that world and those characters.

I graduated with a 2:1 in Law in December 2010, and have been writing (and film-making) ever since. ...more

3 posts
Jools Barnett's Blog

Is the Daily Telegraph Ruining Journalism?

The British papers are a strange bunch.

There's nowhere else in the world where you can find the latest FTSE pages sandwiched between headline puns so excruciating they would make Groucho Marx kick a man in the teeth, and pictures of glass-eyed Skins rejects with their jubblies out, sporting the vacant melancholy you'd expect from someone who opened up their Christmas presents a week too late and f

Combine Editions
Jools Barnett’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 12 ratings · 2 reviews · 1 distinct work

The Start of Something Beautiful (Watchtower Series 1, #1)

3.75 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2012

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Jools is Currently Reading

Jools is currently reading

The Partner

by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Apr 15, 2026 12:40AM

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Jools’s Recent Updates

Jools is currently reading The Partner by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 15, 2026 12:40AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Partner by John Grisham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Partner by John Grisham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools rated a book really liked it Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1) by Ann Leckie (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 13, 2026 12:41PM · like
Jools and 3 other people liked Stuart Yellop's review of Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, #1): "Romantasy is not my genre. Nevertheless, it dominates the publishing industry, and this is a popular example. 'Fourth Wing' has become an international bestseller, inspiring fan-fiction, fan-art, and Hollywood interest. Alas, I fail to see the appeal" Read more of this review »
Apr 13, 2026 12:41PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools rated a book really liked it Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1) by Ann Leckie (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Jools rated a book it was amazing The Rainmaker by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 17, 2026 09:31AM · like
Jools wants to read The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1) by Jasper Fforde (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 08, 2026 09:23AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools is currently reading The Rainmaker by John Grisham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 17, 2026 12:31AM · like
Jools rated a book it was amazing Case Histories (Jackson Brodie, #1) by Kate Atkinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 16, 2026 10:35AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Case Histories by Kate Atkinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools rated a book it was amazing A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 11, 2026 01:37PM · like
Jools is currently reading Case Histories (Jackson Brodie, #1) by Kate Atkinson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 03, 2026 04:17AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Case Histories by Kate Atkinson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Case Histories by Kate Atkinson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">