I had to put it down, because work and eating and such, but this just brought me so much joy. Kingfisher is so good at creating an outrageous fictive I had to put it down, because work and eating and such, but this just brought me so much joy. Kingfisher is so good at creating an outrageous fictive world in which people behave much more like real humans do. Very much more than I do, to take one example. The mix of horror, humor, and caper is beguiling.
Plus geese, and beautiful endpapers, and a really lovely cover that I can't stop admiring. Highly recommended for a Halloween read, or a gift to others if you can't hold off reading it yourself right away.
A marvelous, creepy, story set on an isolated island owned by a man with too much money to be bound by society. Mrs. Charles Fort is underestimated byA marvelous, creepy, story set on an isolated island owned by a man with too much money to be bound by society. Mrs. Charles Fort is underestimated by everyone, including Theodore Drieser, a fan of her husband. Set during the global flu pandemic of 1918, everything here feels familiar, plausible, and too disturbing to be fiction. The author does a lovely job of recreating a weird time of great change and horrible possibilities and a woman's precarious security in the world. Also: a ripping yarn with echoes of Verne and Wells.
I'm sitting here, metaphorically drumming my fingernails impatiently. I have finished this series and it will be at least three months until the firstI'm sitting here, metaphorically drumming my fingernails impatiently. I have finished this series and it will be at least three months until the first book in their next outing is published. This is such a good pairing of collaborators. They've got the banter, the attraction, the very odd supporting cast. This is a series that if filmed would create a couple of new action stars.
And because this is the final tale in the trilogy, there's time to flesh out the people of small-town Burney, OH. And by focusing on the town the authors have managed a really neat trick: they have shown a society that isn't polarized. Maybe I need to cut back on my news intake, because it feels amazing that political parties are never mentioned. That feels so refreshing. People are still horrible in all the usual ways, but they're horrible because they do horrible things, not because of their opinions on unrelated topics. It's so refreshing to see a small town that's a seething cauldron of greed, lust, and other nice old-fashioned vices.
Also, for those who love this sort of thing, as I do, this one has quite a bit of real estate interest. I wouldn't be surprised to learn HGTV was trying to acquire the rights.
Personal, pre-ordered copy. Because the authors have been wise to mention that is particularly important, and because getting a new book by favorite authors every month is a dream that has languished since the mainline Nancy Drew's stopped publishing eons ago.
There might very well be an "armadillo" shelf coming: I like them, little armored opossums as they seem. Or possibly it will be a Xenarthr28 June 2023
There might very well be an "armadillo" shelf coming: I like them, little armored opossums as they seem. Or possibly it will be a Xenarthra shelf, because I am also fond of the ground sloths and glyptodons. The word sounds quite alien, means "alien joint" which would also be a good bar name.
**
This was so clearly something I was going to love that I had to wait for a good day to read it. And, now that I have finished I get to tell myself "I told you so" which was very cheering, because I did listen and follow my own advice.
Kingsolver is right, this is a book for children. Helpfully, it teaches kids how to fight metaphorical monsters in a way that is understanding, and empathetic, and helpful. Presumably those calling it a book for adults have never read the the Narnia series, the Tiffany Aching books, or an obscure favorite of mine, The Hunger Games. No one wants to consider that there are a lot of people under 18 who have found themselves in horrible situations trying to save themselves and/or others, and this book would take a weight off their minds.
A perfect hero's journey, and a hell of a lot zipper than Huck Finn. This is funny and sad and wise and I love it.
The joy of reading YA is that stories about young adults, written for young adults, often veer off in unexpected directions. This is a s6 January 2023
The joy of reading YA is that stories about young adults, written for young adults, often veer off in unexpected directions. This is a story about five teens and a dog living in yet another small town hollowed out by catastrophe and no future. Two have just graduated, but this summer will be spent with time carved out from between their jobs at Walmart and the YMCA shooting video of themselves ghost hunting. And then one night something amazing falls from the sky...
You can shoot your own trailer from that. There's danger and excitement and mystery in the best Scooby-Doo tradition, although these kids can't afford a van. There is ever increasing creepiness and un-put-downable suspense. And then there's more.
The beginning, the grim reality of their lives, drags on the reader as much as on Franny. But Henry knows how to raise the stakes. So worth it.
Last year I read the The Sun Down Motel and it was so creepy and so good and I loved it. So odds were good I was going to love another one. And I did.Last year I read the The Sun Down Motel and it was so creepy and so good and I loved it. So odds were good I was going to love another one. And I did. St. James is another writer who renders female characters as complete people with real problems and strengths, even the teenage girls. This particular story covers three timelines: the 50s, the 90s, and the present. St. James takes pains to emphasize the victims and their loved ones, the lingering pain violence causes, rather than say, making serial killers cool and victims nothing more than pretty bodies. The amateur sleuth here, a freelance reporter, works in jeans and hiking boots, coat, gloves, and hat in Vermont in November, which is such a refreshing change from scared women running in high heels.
As well I appreciate the sense of place and time. The horrible boarding school so apart from the small town in Vermont. The cold and darkness as winter begins. The different behaviors of girls and women in the different decades. Most importantly, she takes her ghosts seriously, and to my surprise that makes them scary, and increases my sense of dread, even though I know that it’s the living people who are truly dangerous.
Library copy
Lots of good squares are possible on this one: I used it for Ghost Stories, but there’s also Sleepy Hollow, Dark Academia, Psych, Gothic, Mystery, Horror, Suspense, Amateur Sleuth, Supernatural, American Horror Story, Murder Most Foul, In the Dark, Dark Woods, Stone Cold Horror, maybe also Terror in a Small Town, and Magical Realism, because her world is otherwise just like ours except the ghosts are real....more
Bluebeard was described as a "feminist fairy tale," so it's going to differ from the traditional in some way, right? But there was just no telling howBluebeard was described as a "feminist fairy tale," so it's going to differ from the traditional in some way, right? But there was just no telling how it was going to differ, which meant that anything could happen, which made it rather more suspenseful than I had anticipated. Very atmospheric and creepy. Pretty, too. I'll be looking for more of their work.
Edited to add: oh, and Bluebeard made me think of Johnny Depp, which made it even creepier.
This is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For an explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their This is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For an explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf. Thanks to the marvelous people @chpublib and @ocplibraries who are keeping me supplied.I
Stupid life and having to do stuff has gotten in my way just lately, much of it the extra work needed to get everything cleared away in order to take a vacation. Meanwhile...
This is how stressed and emotionally mixed-up kids help each other through difficult situations by virtue of not being involved. It is also about the many positive and calming aspects of being in nature. And the joys of geeking out. There's appreciation for the small pleasures in life like a really good sandwich. It is a lot too emotional and direct for me to be entirely comfortable with, probably because I didn't get enough of these lessons in my own childhood.
Possession stories are all about girls becoming young women and how poorly everyone else deals with the change from sweetly innocent and virginal chilPossession stories are all about girls becoming young women and how poorly everyone else deals with the change from sweetly innocent and virginal child to totally-asking-for-it-slut whom guys will start terrifying on the street, never mind if she's ten. It's a time of incredible vulnerability for the girl, both emotionally and physically, because not only is she changing but so is the way everyone reacts to her.
When one of four smart, popular, best friends starts behaving strangely after a failed LSD trip their sophomore year in high school, Abby has to discover and name every awful thing about being a 16-year-old girl in 1988. It's a substantial book, as you can imagine. There's class and wealth and power in Charleston, which might as well be a small town given the insularity of this private school. There's all the public pressure on girls to protect their virginity and their drinks from drugs which facilitate rape, with no equivalent pressure on the guys not to rape. On the contrary, every movie of the decade showed that incapacitated hot chick = major score for the nerdy guy. There's sex and drugs and rock and roll in the chapter titles. There's a very narrow range of acceptable looks: clothes, of course, but makeup, hairstyles, body shapes, and everyone is policing and judging girl’s appearance all the time. There's an expectation of all-around excellence from the girls and women that is rather at odds with the expectation of marriage to a good provider followed by a couple of kids and well, really, nothing else except chauffeuring for a few decades. There’s the destructive economy of Reaganomics played out in downward mobility for some, limited access to health care, undisguised systemic racism, there’s urban legends and satanic panic, and the stigma of mental health issues. There are earnest Christians being brought in to proselytize in school assemblies, when every student understands football is more important.
And against all of that there is friendship and being seen and known and having shared jokes and memories and an entire shared lifetime by 16. The importance of having your friends stick with you when everything is awful and adults don’t listen, don’t understand, and don’t help. Hendrix evokes the lives of teen girls in a way that doesn’t feel weird or clueless and he shows how helpless a bright 16 year-old is when everyone turns against her.
The amazing thing about Hendrix is that he understands and respects both genre horror and the real horrors that genre reflects obliquely. He makes the most of both of them, with a gentle mockery but very serious intentions. Unlike the books and films he evokes he shows real insight and empathy for the lives of women. One is tempted to say "uniquely."
Library copy Read for American Horror Story...more
This is what I was expecting The Black Pearl to be more like: a young orphaned penniless English woman accepts a job doing [art restoration] at a castThis is what I was expecting The Black Pearl to be more like: a young orphaned penniless English woman accepts a job doing [art restoration] at a castle with a dark and dangerous lord of the manor and a changeable and undisciplined child. There are horseback rides and formal dinners and quaint local customs and a difficult man intrigued by a staunch and somewhat contrary, not especially pretty woman, who is never flirtatious or coy and isn't at all shy about telling him when he's doing things wrong. There is danger, and careful nursing at home, a valuable inheritance, and at least a couple of other single men who might be attracted as well, but are much more charming.
I loved it for so perfectly being what I expected. But boy, did I find the presumption of inherent class to be repugnant. There are actual peasants. It isn't clear exactly when this is set sometime after trains but before rural electrification or antibiotics. Surprisingly few deaths in childbirth, but lots of orphans.
Fun stuff. Especially the horrible sexism that's all about carving out a place for one exceptional woman. Gah. I'm ready to fight on the barricades and eat the rich. Interestingly there's a strong parallel between the story of the brave noble ancestor hiding out from the mob with a kind servant and the stories Southerners like to tell about the aristocratic ancestor's brave struggles during and after the civil war.
Used for Relics and Curiosities in honor of the secret messages that reveal clues to the long-lost emeralds. I guess valuable jewels aren't as crass as regular money.
I get what O'Nan was doing, and I respect it. He was writing his own nostalgic look back at youth as shown in one moody Halloween. And yeah, SomethingI get what O'Nan was doing, and I respect it. He was writing his own nostalgic look back at youth as shown in one moody Halloween. And yeah, Something Wicked This Way Comes is wonderfully moody. But rereading it last year I didn't love it as much as I thought I did. And my biggest problem with it is also my biggest problem with this: so much nostalgia, so little of anything else.
Marco is telling us the story. He's one of several teens who died in a wreck on Halloween one year ago. Marco, Toe, and Danielle are ghosts. Tim survived in good physical shape but with an unbearable burden of guilt and loss. Kyle survived but lost his personality and his memories and many of his life skills. His mother has devoted this past year to his recovery and rehabilitation and is aware that he's never likely to be an independent adult. Brooks is the first officer on the scene and the wreck has ruined his life as well.
It's very stylish this story, but not very engaging.
The best I can figure is someone went through a random collection of scenes never used for other books because they weren't very good, shuffled them iThe best I can figure is someone went through a random collection of scenes never used for other books because they weren't very good, shuffled them into a chronological order, and then typed it up with consistent names.
It's a mess, and none of the aspects rise above thoroughly mediocre: half-hearted Gothic, suspense, romance, travel, adventure, wish-fulfillment, etc. And a really surprising number of bastards or children who were legitimized by marriages between their mothers and people who were not their fathers.
Disappointingly, the Black Opal of the title is pure McGuffin, everyone ends up well off in a lovely home, the three possible love interests don't seem to interest the heroine much, and events are too random to even be coincidental. Of all the squares I considered using it for, it didn't really live up to any of them. I'm going with Gothic because it does have recognizable Gothic elements, even if they're not well-developed.
Nonetheless, it was an interesting read. It wasn't like the Victoria Holt books I read in the 70s, nor is it at all like contemporary romance or suspense. Although it lacked a real commitment to formula, it was very definitely written by someone who knew what would make an enjoyable read. Consider it a lesser work by a real pro. It certainly didn't put me off Holt: I have a couple more I'm considering.
I read this as part of Halloween Bingo, so the fact that this book could reasonably be applied to about half the squares is woth mentioning. This is tI read this as part of Halloween Bingo, so the fact that this book could reasonably be applied to about half the squares is woth mentioning. This is the first book I've read which used the singular nongendered they/their as pronouns, which slowed me down a bit at the beginning. But it worked, and never felt gimmicky. Z. was a plausible fourteen year old zombie who's entire family died in an auto accident: only Z reanimated.
There's werewolves and high school bullying and good teachers and bad teachers and a growing movement in favor of shooting all the monsters. As a metaphor, it is terrifying. But it's also the story of school misfits becoming friends, and of teens solving a mystery, so there is significant fun as well as the terror.
I'm delighted it was recommended to me, and I can't wait to read Shrieve's subsequent books. As good as this debut was the next one should be astounding.
This is a very atmospheric story: although not the usual haunting. It's presented as the oral history of an up-and-coming British folk band in the 60sThis is a very atmospheric story: although not the usual haunting. It's presented as the oral history of an up-and-coming British folk band in the 60s and the story of what happened the summer their producer sent them to a decaying manor house in the middle of nowhere to rehearse and write material for their second album.
Hand paces the story well, giving us little bits of creepiness along the way, and grounding it in the mundane: they're just broke teenagers hoping this is going to be their big chance. The house is a weird one, added onto every century or so. The villagers are stand-offish. The summer is gorgeous, the songwriting is going well, and the rehearsals are great. Just little bits of wrongness here and there.
It absolutely feels like the reminiscences of aging hippies: the sex, the drugs, the ratty old clothes. The band members have different voices and personalities, and the whole thing comes across as exactly the kind of urban legend you'd hear about a band after several decades, or a Whatever Happened to special on MTV or something.
Very well done, and a clever twist on a number of tropes. I rather like the setting (in time and space) for being not at all gothic, but rather idyllic. This is the pattern of most of E. F. Benson's ghost stories and adapted well. It'd make a gorgeous film.
Lady in the Lake - Laura Lippman This is an embarrassment of riches: so much so that I am immobilized in my decision-making capacity. I'll go with wLady in the Lake - Laura Lippman This is an embarrassment of riches: so much so that I am immobilized in my decision-making capacity. I'll go with whatever anyone else tells me first.
This paeon to old school newspapers and journalists was touching, nostalgic, and also thrilling. The relentless hustle to put out a daily paper helps keep the suspense high in a story that stretches out a fair bit. The crimes, the business of reporting on crimes, and how little those two might intersect is a constant theme. Really I loved pretty much everything: Madeliine and Cleo, the many different types of mothers, civil rights and equal rights, the new hairstyles and clothes and fabrics of 1966. For all that is very much a crime story, it has a bit of everything except a Tracy Turnblad musical number. The Dickens comparison still feels somewhat apt.
The only other upside to having finished it (beyond the sheer pleasure of a good story well told) is that I am reluctant to start something else right away. In an effort to keep my buzz going and not bring it down on some other kind of book entirey maybe I will accomplish some of the things I was going to do in the first half of the day "as soon as I finish this chapter..."
Hill provides rather a long introduction to the collection, talking about his family, his career, the writing life, etc. It was nice, nothing shockingHill provides rather a long introduction to the collection, talking about his family, his career, the writing life, etc. It was nice, nothing shocking or too weird.
The stories are great. Hill writes truly disturbing scenarios, about some pretty horrible people, but not in a way that grosses me out or makes me cringe, even when dreadful things happen. And lots of dreadful things happen.
The series arc doesn't take unexpected twists, so you could pick up anywhere without it being to spoilery. But there is a clear and explicit chronologThe series arc doesn't take unexpected twists, so you could pick up anywhere without it being to spoilery. But there is a clear and explicit chronology for the series, and anyone who is planning to read them all should probably read them in the suggested order.
Luckily I bought this: it's likely to be a reread every Halloween, since it is chock full of ghosts. As in the novels, the mystery is there more for plot than as a real puzzle. The novellas tend more to comedy than drama, and this one just charmed the hell out of me. So many ghosts! Cute babies that are whisked away by nannies before they become too annoying! Twee English village! A big house of eccentric design! A veritable paragon of fluff.
A significant part of the pleasure of any of the Rivers series is the part where the magic-using police officer gets to explain to someone else that tA significant part of the pleasure of any of the Rivers series is the part where the magic-using police officer gets to explain to someone else that there is real magic, but that it's hidden by agreements between nations after WWII. Just as part of the fun of Dr. Who is the doctor getting to explain about the tardis. Another pleasure of reading the books in this series is the cast. Many a writer would set a story in a modern German city and have an exclusively white-by-default cast. It doesn't have to be a big thing or a plot point, although there is one minor detail revealed only because someone is Black and it's a tiny wonderful moment. If the women or the mystery were stronger, it'd be perfect. As it is, highly enjoyable....more
Sorry, that person's shelf is private.
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