The Woman In Black by Susan Hill

Proud and solitary, Eel Marsh House surveys the windswept reaches of the salt marshes beyond Nine Lives Causeway. Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor, is summoned to attend the funeral Mrs Alice Drablow, the house's sole inhabitant, unaware of the tragic secrets which lie hidden behind the shuttered windows. It is not until he glimpses a wasted young woman, dressed all in black, at the funeral, that a creeping sense of unease begins to take hold, a feeling deepened by the reluctance of the locals to talk of the woman in black -- and her terrible purpose.

Staying on that house alone in that house...really.... Susan done a good job there.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Indiana, 1818. Moonlight falls through the dense woods that surround a one-room cabin, where a nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln kneels at his suffering mother's bedside. She's been stricken with something the old-timers call "Milk Sickness."

"My baby boy..." she whispers before dying.

Only later will the grieving Abe learn that his mother's fatal affliction was actually the work of a vampire.

When the truth becomes known to young Lincoln, he writes in his journal, "henceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion. I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose..." Gifted with his legendary height, strength, and skill with an ax, Abe sets out on a path of vengeance that will lead him all the way to the White House.

While Abraham Lincoln is widely lauded for saving a Union and freeing millions of slaves, his valiant fight against the forces of the undead has remained in the shadows for hundreds of years. That is, until Seth Grahame-Smith stumbled upon The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, and became the first living person to lay eyes on it in more than 140 years.

Using the journal as his guide and writing in the grand biographical style of Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, Seth has reconstructed the true life story of our greatest president for the first time-all while revealing the hidden history behind the Civil War and uncovering the role vampires played in the birth, growth, and near-death of our nation.

The Secret Of Crickley Hall

Synopsis:
The Secret of Crickley Hall is a new take on the classic ghost story in the same way that his bestseller Once was a new take on the classic fairy tale. The Secret of Crickley Hall is set in a children's home in a coastal town in England. Some of the children are persecuted by the people who run the home and have found places between the floors and walls of the home to avoid the adults. They can also spy, of course. One day there is a flash flood which sweeps through the town and the children's home. All the children escape, except the kids in the walls and floors, who drown. They come back as ghosts and seek their revenge.


It is a classic haunted house take. Crickley hall had a secret during the war, when the guardian went mad and killed his 10 charges during the night of a great storm.

Some of the incidents in the story were really thrilling. You could only realize it by reading it. Excellent! 

One Summer

Synopsis :
It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children. Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care for them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country. Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together. Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie's death, he reunites everyone at Lizzie's childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack will begin to learn to love again, and he and his children will learn how to become a family once more.

Just read it, you will understand on your own. Enjoy!

Bleachers

Story  Brief :
High school All-American Neely Crenshaw was probably the best quarterback ever to play for the legendary Messina Spartans. Fifteen years have gone by since those glory days, and Neely has come home to Messina to bury Coach Eddie Rake, the man who molded the Spartans into an unbeatable football dynasty.
My Review :
Couldn't put it down. And it makes you think about how people influence you and how strong a bond in between coaches and players. This was excellent.

Eragon

Another opportunity I had gotten, to read the Eragon. Now see what I got from it....

Synopsis :

When young Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his adopted family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself...

“It's a difficult question and not one you can answer until you're faced with it. Keep in mind that many people have died for their beliefs; it's actually quite common. The real courage is in living and suffering for what you believe." -Brom” 

“The greatest enemy is one that has nothing to lose.” 

“It's amazing that a man who is dead can talk to people through these pages. As long as this books survives, his ideas live.” 

 “It's better to ask forgiveness than permission.
- Brom” 

“I'll fight when needed, revel when there's an occasion, mourn when there is greif and die if my time comes...But I will not let anyone use me against my will.” 

“Are you willing to die for what you believe in? The real courage is in living and suffering for what you believe.” 

“Sometimes there are no answers.” 

“Do not dwell on what once was, but rather look forward and ponder how you can make the future brighter” 

“From now on you're going to have to think. There's a reason why we're born with brains in our heads, not rocks.” 

The Alchemist

The Alchemist is a novel by Paulo Coelho first published in the year 1988. Originally written in Portuguese, it has been translated into at least 56 languages as of September 2012.

I started reading this book on my Sir's suggestion. It was my first story book that I had read and I consider it as a special gift to me. I can say it was a good start.

Some quotes that are yet remarkable to me...

“When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

“Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives”

“We are told from childhood onward that everything we want to do is impossible. We grow up with this idea, and as the years accumulate, so too do the layers of prejudice, fear and guilt. There comes a time when our personal calling is so deeply buried in our soul as to be invisible. But it’s still there”

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You’ve got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense.”

“What’s the world’s greatest lie?” the boy asked, completely surprised. “It’s this: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie.”

“One’s Personal Legend is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their Personal Legend is. “At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their Personal Legend….whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It’s your mission on earth”

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.”

“Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”

“Every search begins with beginners luck and ends with the victor’s being severely tested.”

“Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World.”

“When you want something with all your heart, that’s when you are closest to the Soul of the World. It’s always a positive force.”

“There is only one way to learn . . . It’s through action.  Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

“When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.”

“If you start out by promising what you don’t even have yet, you’ll lose your desire to work toward getting it. ”