Tag: Children

Book Review: ‘Little Women’ by Louisa May Alcott

1 Comment

I’m unsure if Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Little Women’ was my second read of the year because I couldn’t finish it.

This book was one of my picks for my book club. I’d always been curious based on—and don’t laugh now—that ‘Friends’ episode. You know, the one with Stephen King’s ‘The Shining’? Well, I figured if Joey loved it, then I would have no trouble.

How wrong I was.

This book was the most sugary, sentimental, too-perfect tripe I’ve ever tried to slog my way through. There are four daughters and one mother. They are all a Mary Sue. Everything is excellent, and everyone is a good little Christian girl. Everything was so brilliant and fabulous that it made me angry. ‘Oh, how good it is to be poor, for it so teaches us proper appreciation! Three cheers for Marmy!’ Bugger off.

I know that I am a thirty-year-old man living in the year 2024. I know I love horror and science fiction. I know Alcott wrote this in the 1800s. I know she wrote it for little girls. But I can appreciate things outside of my wheelhouse. Hell, this is part of the reason why I wanted to join a book club in the first place. To expose myself to books I would have otherwise missed. And I also know that this was one of my picks—I was curious.

But good God, was it awful.

I felt—and this is no exaggeration—nauseous after reading it.

After ingesting so much sugar, I may be diabetic now.

Book Review: ‘Sour Candy’ by Kealan Patrick Burke

Leave a comment

Kealan Patrick Burke’s ‘Sour Candy’ is the penultimate book on my 2023 reading list.

After devouring Hill’s gargantuan ‘NOS4A2’, I wanted something short and sharp. Burke’s novella fit the bill; others in horror book groups had recommended it all year.

The story follows a divorced, child-free man in a relationship with his girlfriend. One chance encounter in a supermarket and things soon go awry. The man finds himself in charge of a young child, who everyone insists is his son. This universal gaslighting terrified me, and Burke uses it to good effect. And it turns out that there is more to this child than screaming fits and a taste for strange candy brands.

‘Sour Candy’ uses its short length and does not overstay its welcome. Burke packs a lot into these eighty-or-so pages. A lot of it made me uncomfortable and squeamish. You’ll ask yourself throughout the book: can he get out of this alive?

Burke’s ‘Sour Candy’ works well if you need a quick, powerful slice of horror.

Book Review: “Das unheimliche Labor” by R. L. Stine

Leave a comment

It seems fitting that my 13th—my lucky number—read of the year is also my first German book ever.

I debated reviewing it because it’s a children’s book. But then I thought, “Why the hell not?” I’m proud to have finished a text in German, and I had a good time doing so.

My German isn’t great—it’s a complex language!—so adult books are off the table, at least for now. Yet, having loved “Goosebumps” as a kid, I reasoned that reading “Gänsehaut” in German would be a good starting point.

Which brings me to R. L. Stine’s “Das unheimliche Labor”! The story follows two kids who are the children of a mad scientist. Their father—who specialises in experiments on plants—has recently lost his job. The reasons for this are mysterious. The unemployed doctor has now set up a lab in his basement at home, which the children cannot enter. But, of course, the kids can’t help their curiosity.

Some of the German was beyond my capabilities—quite a bit. But I got the general gist of where the story was going and who each character was. It was great practice, and I will dive straight into another German “Goosebumps” book.

As an adult, I love horror, even horror made for kids (I adore the “Goosebumps” movies!). “Das unheimliche Labor” is no different; I had a blast with it. The twists are clear, and the threat isn’t too serious. Of course, nobody will die as they do in Stephen King’s novels. But it’s pure, innocent, goofy fun.

And that’s what all reading should be: fun.

‘Where the Children Used to Play’: A story about what happens after the horror

Leave a comment

Hey guys! How we all doing? Sick of this constant barrage of stories yet? Well, I’m afraid we’re not quite done yet — but we’re almost there! This next one I’m really rather fond of. It was written for the contest A Moment Like This, and for a while I was thinking about using the prompt, “Write a story told entirely through one chase scene,” but in the end, I went for, “Write a story about a summer afternoon spent in a treehouse.” I don’t want to become predictable, after all! Anyway, the title of my story is Where the Children Used to Play, and you can read it here on WordPress or over on my Reedsy profile.

They couldn’t climb, so she knew she was safe, even if only temporarily.

Continue Reading

Well, until next time, guys and gals — stay safe, and look after each other. 🙂

‘Don’t Let It Feed’: My entry for the December #BlogBattle!

Leave a comment

Blogbattle_Innocent

Well, here we are! Another month, another #BlogBattle! This is the final one of 2019! I can’t quite believe it… Well, here’s to 2020, and the stories we will tell!

The prompt for December was ‘innocent’. I knew exactly the kind of story I wanted to tell… I just struggled to keep it within the 1,000 word limit! You have to really cut away the fat when the story is this short.

The title for my story is Don’t Let It Feed, and you can read it here!

Ernest Kirby didn’t die in vain. The soft-spoken 73-year-old with painful arthritis and an inoperable tumour somewhere in his bowels saved twelve others on that bleak night in early December.

Continue Reading

I hope you enjoy the last entry for the year! As always, please be sure to check out some of the other short stories, when they get posted! There’s always something for everyone over at the !

‘Watching Jeremy’: My bleak entry for this week’s Reedsy contest

Leave a comment

https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/author/joshua-insole/

Well, here we are again. It doesn’t seem quite right that we’re halfway through October 2019 already, does it? But as they say, time waits for no man. As with last week, you’re getting twice the Josh today — Bite-Sized Halloween and a short story!

This week’s theme was ‘childhood meets adulthood’. I chose prompt #4 — “Write about a parent who sees pieces of a family member’s (or their own) personality in their child — whether this brings them comfort, terror, or something in between.’

I wrote my story in a frantic rush once I’d read the prompt. Sometimes I have to think about the story a bit, before putting words on paper. This was not one of those occasions… The words came rushing out of my fingertips in a frenzy. I feel as though the story is quite a bit darker than my usual fare, even though it’s not straight-up horror. It’s called Watching Jeremy, and you can find it here on WordPress, or over on my Reedsy profile.

Dad had killed people. Before, I mean.

Continue Reading

I hope you find it to be an entertaining read, despite its dark tone. Writing this was one of those rare experiences where you don’t even think about what you’re doing, it just… happens.

You should definitely check out some of the other entries over on Reedsy’s site — there’s really something for everyone, regardless of your genre-specific tastes.

Until next time…

‘We Take the Wolves’: This week’s Reedsy entry!

Leave a comment

reedsy-prompts-widget

Yes, yes, I know, I’m breaking my rule regarding posting more than once a day — but sharing my short stories is kinda the whole point of this blog, and I’ve only got 20 days or so to wrap up that Bite-Sized Halloween story I’ve got going… So, today, I’m afraid you’ve got double the Josh. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing, I’ll leave you to decide…

With that said, I hope you guys have had a good week! I’m feeling much better now, after last week’s period of writing whilst in the grip of a fever… This week’s theme was Peanuts. As in, the comic strip with Charlie Brown and Snoopy, not the salted snack!

I chose prompt #3 — “Write a story about someone who is unexpectedly wise.” I knew straight away where I’d take this prompt, and I think I’ve kinda gone back in a horror-ish direction, after straying away from it slightly with my recent entries. The title of my short story is We Take the Wolves, and (you know the drill!) you can read it here on WordPress, or over here on my Reedsy profile.

When the werewolves first attacked, we didn’t stand a chance.

Continue Reading

As always, I hope you like the story! I had fun writing it, but then, that’s no surprise, is it? Wouldn’t be much of a writer if I hated doing this thing! If you get the chance, check out the other entries over on Reedsy — there’s always some brilliant work happening, over there.

Until next time, have a good’un!