Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of Jools Barnett's books

400 ratings | 12 reviews | avg rating:4.36

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.

Go to Jools’s 2025 Year in Books

Jools Barnett’s Followers (6)

Jools’s Bookshelves

to-read (175)
currently-reading (1)
read (397)
did-not-finish (0)
1001-books-to-read-before-you-die (0)
spanish (1)
to-be-read (140)

Jools’s Friends (118)

Jemima Pett

2,260 books | 645 friends

Stuart Yellop

3,541 books | 48 friends

Victoria Limbert

2,484 books | 2,917 friends

Paul

3,562 books | 2,156 friends

Ryan Burt

1,398 books | 4,665 friends

Guy Portman

452 books | 542 friends

Rob Shaw

247 books | 46 friends

Armand Rosamilia

6,814 books | 4,994 friends

More friends…

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

edit data

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

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

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

Jools is Currently Reading

Jools is currently reading

Other Worlds Than These (The Talisman, #3)

by Stephen King (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Oct 15, 2026 08:23AM

Jools’s Recent Updates

Jools wants to read Mythago Wood (Mythago Wood, #1) by Robert Holdstock	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
Oct 19, 2026 03:28AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools is currently reading Other Worlds Than These (The Talisman, #3) by Stephen King (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
Oct 15, 2026 08:23AM · like
Jools rated a book it was amazing The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath	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
Oct 14, 2026 08:22AM · 1 like · like
Jools wants to read The Spire by William Golding	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
Oct 04, 2026 02:44AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Spire by William Golding. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Spire by William Golding <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools is currently reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath	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
Oct 02, 2026 12:54AM · 1 like · like
Jools liked Rob’s status update Rob Shaw wants to read Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)
Oct 01, 2026 08:14AM · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hyperion by Dan Simmons <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools rated a book it was amazing Black House (The Talisman, #2) by Stephen King (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
Oct 01, 2026 08:13AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Black House by Stephen King. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Black House by Stephen King <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools wants to read There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm (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
Sep 26, 2026 12:55AM · like
Jools started reading Black House (The Talisman, #2) by Stephen King (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
Aug 11, 2026 12:15AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Black House by Stephen King. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Black House by Stephen King <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Jools rated a book really liked it Children of Ruin (Children of Time, #2) by Adrian Tchaikovsky (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
Aug 10, 2026 11:26AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">