My 13th year!
Search this blog
Twitterings
My TweetsCurrent favorite quote
“It was salutory to remember, I told myself, that writers and other creative artists do not relish other people’s ideas. They usually have more than enough of their own, and well-meant suggestions only add to the burden of their already over-stocked minds.” Miss Read, Farewell to Fairacre (1993)
-
My last 5 posts
- #WitchWeek2020: The end is nigh! November 6, 2020
- #WitchWeek2020 Day 6: MEXICAN GOTHIC and the Classic Gothic Tale November 5, 2020
- #WitchWeek2020 Day 5: Gothic fantasy, with puppets November 4, 2020
- #WitchWeek2020 Day 4: M R James and the Gothic Tradition November 3, 2020
- #WitchWeek2020 Day 3: The Graveyard Book November 2, 2020
Check out these blogs
Where you can find me
No upcoming events
Category Archives: Humorous
Fortean doings
A bonus post for R.I.P. XIV (Readers Imbibing Peril) — what more could anyone ask of this week before Halloween? Today, a YA trilogy drawn from Edison’s and Tesla’s rivalry that raises important questions about morality, mixed in with some … Continue reading
Posted in Am reading, Historical fiction, Humorous, Macabre, Mystery, RIP, Science fiction
Tagged Eric Elfman, Neal Shusterman
Leave a comment
Quiet Backwaters
The novels featured in today’s brief post (another for my Melville bicentennial celebration) are set on rivers. Two are classics, and the third deserves to be. I’ve read all three before, but they fit so neatly into my on-the-water theme … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Am reading, Animal tales, Humorous, Seafaring
Tagged Connie Willis, Jerome K Jerome, Kenneth Grahame
6 Comments
Amuse bouche: SF version
Guys Read: Other Worlds, ed. Jon Scieszka (2013, Harper Collins; Vol 4 of a series) Next week starts the main event of Witch Week, so I thought I’d lead you gently into it with a couple of quick reviews — … Continue reading
Posted in Humorous, School setting, Science fiction
Leave a comment
Backward Rambles
Little Follies: The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences and Observations of Peter Leroy (So Far) (1995), Eric Kraft What do you remember from your childhood? How far back do your memories go? More importantly, how much can you trust your memories? … Continue reading
“The chosen of All-Muggleton”
Packing for a lengthy trip that includes a great deal of moving on and off trains, buses, boats and trams (not to mention walking) presents a particular challenge for a reader who hopes to travel light: How many books should … Continue reading
Posted in Adventure, Classic, Fiction, Humorous, Travel, Travel book
Tagged Charles Dickens
8 Comments
Bookshop for sale
The Bookshop (1978), Penelope Fitzgerald (156 pp.) Occasionally an ad appears in one of the papers I read about a bookstore for sale. The latest one is in the Scottish borders, and so enticing! The idea of living one’s life among books … Continue reading
Schools are still the same
Hundred Percent, Karen Romano Young (2016) Authors have gotten a lot of mileage out of the terrible years of schooling that kids must endure before adulthood swamps them with real life. Karen Roman Young adds to the stack with this … Continue reading
Posted in Humorous, Review, School setting, YA Lit
Leave a comment
Proust drops in at 44 Scotland Street
Alexander McCall Smith, 44 Scotland Street series (2005 – no end in sight) If you like your soap operas literate, breezy, quirky, and in book form, then the prolific Mr. Smith* has a few options for you. I settled into … Continue reading
Posted in 2016 Goals, Art, Fiction, Humorous, Roman fleuve, Series, Travel
Tagged Alexander McCall Smith, Marcel Proust
4 Comments