Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish
in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of
2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to
bring bookish friends together. http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/top-ten-tuesday/
NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by
Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave
comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my
profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.
This week...Don't Join The Expedition! Going into deep jungles or exploring places of interest always lead to trouble...
1) Jonah Buck-Carrion Safari
A group of big game hunters are on an island to catch a legendary mutant bat but nobody tells them that when the moon comes up, all the island creatures turn into deadly were-animals. Add in a killer in the group and nobody may make it off the island alive.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30636489-carrion-safari
2) Hunter Shea-Savage Jungle
A team are going into the jungle to kill the humanoid monkey tribe that killed Henrik's manager but they are not expecting to find how smart these creatures are or the other nasty monsters lurking in the jungle.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34822490-savage-jungle
3) Matthew Dennion-Polar Yeti and the Beasts of Prehistory
A team searching for a lost tribe in Antarctica are told by a local man about the Yeti creature that takes their women. What they find is a full lost world full of extinct creatures. ?This was a decent read if not the best of its kind but I still liked it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28054137-polar-yeti-and-the-beasts-of-prehistory
4) Dave Jeffery-Frostbite
A former special forces team are recruited to find a rich man's son who has vanished on an expedition to find the Yeti. With hostile locals gunning for them for invading a sacred mountain, the team don't belive the myth until they find a tribe of Yetis...Wasn't quite what I was expecting but a decent snow disaster expedition.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35392888-frostbite
5) Donald G Firesmith-What Lurks Below
A team are sent to investigate huge holes that have appeared across Alaska. It turns out that a demonic invasion from Hell is occuring and demons are determined to take over the earth. I went into the book expecting giant worms so was a bit startled that it was demons!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37849107-what-lurks-below
6) Russell James-Monsters in the Clouds
A photo of a dinosaur in a jungle prompts an expedition to explore but the team are going to get a few surprises when they find mutated animals, and the secret that the company have kept about why they are really there.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38254086-monsters-in-the-clouds
7) Lou Cadle-Saber Tooth
A park ranger is part of an expedition for teenagers to look at fossils when they accidently go through a portal and back to a period of history with saber tooth tigers on the loose. The group must use all their survival knowledge and find a way home. Decent less violent creature feature.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29534268-saber-tooth
8) PK Hawkins-Titanoboa
Scientists on a boat looking for tree frogs in the Amazon are instead confronted by an extinct monster snake, huge piranha and other large jungle nasties, released by a respected genetic scientist gone bad.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36138185-titanoboa
9) Rick Chesler-Yeti
When his wife dies, Zack decides to take her ashes to Everest where she was due to climb but finds himself not only battling the mountain conditions but a vicious Yeti who is stalking the group.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28054137-polar-yeti-and-the-beasts-of-prehistory
10) Rick Chesler-Luna
Two rival companies are planning to start moon tours and safety is an afterthought when they take a group of experts to endorse the tour. Pity the tour owner forgot to mention a hostile and dangerous life form that has already killed...I really liked the tension in this book and who doesn't love this kind of plot!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26174596-luna
Welcome to Chuckles Chat where great
blogging minds unite to discuss the topics of the day mainly in the book
and blogging world. I'll be sharing my thoughts on a topic and then
inviting you all to share your thoughts. It's ok to disagree but PLEASE
be respectful of each other's views! All of the comments on my blog are
moderated and offensive posts ie racist, bigoted will not be published!
NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by
Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave
comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my
profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.
Over
the coming weeks I'm looking at our book buying life. By this what I
mean is, what are the scenarios in a book blurb that make us really want
to pick up that book and start reading? What do we love about the genre
and what puts us off?
Last week I looked at apocalypses and this week I expand the theme with science fiction and dystopia looking at future worlds and other planets. Now if you know me at all, I'm not the greatest fan of the SF genre in books which is a bit weird as I love watching SF films and TV series. I was a huge fan of Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, Blake's Seven, the original Star Wars trilogy, the Alien trilogy, Total Recall, and things like that but when it comes to space wars, aliens and other planets, I generally have little interest in reading books about them. I don't really understand that at all! I have read novels based on these films like Doom, Aliens, Independence Day, Stargate etc which were decent enough but never been greatly interested in branching out to more of them.
When it comes to books set on other planets, I'm pretty much a no show unless dinosaurs or Sasquatches or something similar are involved. I didn't like older reads like 'Starship Troopers' despite enjoying the film, so I tend to stick to modern writings. Many years back I read Dinosaur Planet by Anne McCaffrey but I don't remember much about it so I've downloaded it and the sequel to read again at some point. I've read a few more recent books like Phillip Tomasso's 'Extinction' and 'Domus' by DS Lillico. If anyone has any recs for good modern dinosaur planet adventures that aren't dead slow, please tell me as I need more of them! Or dinosaurs and monsters loose on a big spaceshift. That would be fun too!
I have branched out recently by picking up a couple of SF books like 'Six Wakes' though I'm concerned that with the cloning stuff it might get too slow, info dumpy and technical for me, kind of like the trouble I had with Michael Crichton's 'Prey'. All that nano stuff was too much for my tiny brain! I do like the idea of a killer or monster hunting people down on a spaceship or other transport so recs for that kind of thing are welcome!
Moving on to dystopia. I used to read a ton of this about corrupt and evil governments of the future, harsh environments and the aftermaths of apocalypse events. A lot of this was YA in the beginning but I basically moved more into enjoying the apocalypse side of things and going towards more of an adult version of these books. But back in dystopia SF I very much like things like The Testing, The Hunger Games and Extinction Trials where there is the element of deadly competition and dangerous environments to deal with. I like the sound of navigating places with traps, monsters and evil people hunting you down, depending on plot of course. I like the idea of breaking in and breaking out of places, teams of people working together for a purpose without dumb angst, slow starts and tons of romance. I've enjoyed things like Future Shock, Branded, The Moon Dwellers but I am more picky about the YA I read now.
What kind of SF and dystopia do you like and dislike?
A new law in the EU known as GDPR (General Data Protection
Regulation) has gone into effect this week, regarding privacy policies and data
management. I have been made aware that blog owners should be taking action to ensure that anyone coming to the blog is aware of how their data is used.
- Tell the user who you are, why you collect the data, and how long it will be stored.
- Get clear consent before collecting any data
- Let users access/delete their data
- Let users know if data breaches occur
Here's the thing. I have a small book blog with less than 150 followers. I know very little about computers, being completely self taught, and I'm pretty clueless on the technical aspects of my blog. I just post stuff, answer comments and visit other blogs. I've never really thought about data collection going on or that kind of thing so this new change has me a bit baffled and confused over what I should be doing or what my blog host is or might be doing.
I personally don't do anything with anyone's personal data. I don't physically collect it, share it with anyone or do anything with it. I don't have a big data collecting server in my home, just my desktop computer and I don't use that to store lists of info about you. I don't have personal access to the email addresses you have other than one or two of you who asked me to email them personally about something and have provided it. I don't have a list of everyone's email addresses to use to send out mass info emails as I don't send out mass mailings of any kind. I do not ask my blog host for access to any data that they have about those following me.
I am aware that my blog host and a couple of third parties I use may collect and use data so I am trying to construct a privacy policy as best I can. It has not been easy!
My web address is https://chucklesbookcave.blogspot.co.uk/
I have an option on the blog where you can follow my posts by email. I set this up to give people choice in how they want to follow and if you use this option, you'll be alerted to new posts on my blog. I am assuming that on each email sent there is an option to unsubcribe at any time and I urge you to use it at any time if you don't want constant emails coming in. When I leave a comment on your blogs, I'm aware that I have to provide a name, email address that is not published and my blog address. I do this willingly so I can comment. If you also have to do this to use my blog, please only provide this information if you are happy to do so.
I give people the option to follow me through Bloglovin'. Here is their privacy and data collection policy. Please only follow me through Bloglovin' if you are happy with the terms of this policy.
https://www.bloglovin.com/privacy
My blog host is Blogger and everything I have on the blog has been set up using their templates and add on things. Blogger has a fun stats section which shows the number of page views
and where these pages have been viewed from around the world. This
information shown to me is completely anonymous and I cannot identify
any user from it. Obviously, this information is created from the identities of those visiting my blog. I honestly do not know if Blogger do anything with any data you provide while leaving a comment but I do expect that as a blog hosting company, they will be taking steps to comply with this new law and ensuring full consent is obtained. Here is their policy for you to look at.
European Union (EU) laws require you to give EU visitors information
about cookies used on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require
you to obtain consent. As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to help meet these
regulations. The notice lets visitors know about Google's use of
certain Blogger and Google cookies on your blog, including Google
Analytics and AdSense cookies. Learn about Google’s privacy practices and how Google uses data on partner sites.
I've put most of this post on my sidebar but it may need to be altered in the future.
If there is one thing that makes a great book even better, it is when
it has a cover that we love! The cover design is what catches the eye
as we browse through a bookstore shelf or check out the Amazon or
Goodreads recommendations. The right cover makes me look closer at a
book, to read the blurb and maybe make a purchase. A poor cover might
mean I never look at the blurb at all.
NB: I don't follow or leave comments on blogs run by
Google Plus, or DISQUS as I refuse to join something just to leave
comments, and I won't allow them to follow new people, update my
profile or post tweets 'on my behalf'. I won't comment on any blog that makes me sign in using another account.
This week...EC Blake
I like the styles for all the books but think it would have been better to stick with either what was used on books 1 and 2, or book 3. The third book could have looked good with a wolf mask hovering above a snow scene...
