A Cineaste’s Bookshelf
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It's Monday, October 23. What are you reading?REVIEW: FRANKENSTEIN DREAMS
Within the pages of this collection, therefore, readers may consider "science fiction" to be loosely defined as tales of the fantastic that exclude the supernatural -- no ghosts, no deities, no magic. What may sound like an arbitrary distinction actually demonstrates separate ways for regarding the cosmos.Read More »
Books for October
You heap the logs and try to fill / The little room with words and cheer, / But silent feet are on the hill, / Across the window veiled eyes peer. ~ Hortense King FlexnerRead More »
Penguin Halloween Collection
Now on the other side of the autumnal equinox, I started pulling some Halloween-ish books from my stacks and I realized I have a small selection from a Penguin Classics series. I definitely recommend these for anyone who wants a creepy, seasonal read. Read More »
REVIEW: KOH-I-NOOR
Today, the Koh-i-Noor diamond is part of the crown jewels of England. Hundreds of visitors to the Tower of London see it everyday. This bit of shiny rock has an ancient, bloody past that begins long before British colonialism in India.Read More »
Books for September
From dewy lanes at morning / The grapes' sweet odors rise; / At noon the roads all flutter / With yellow butterflies. ~ Helen Hunt JacksonRead More »
ACCENT: THE AMBER SHADOWS
In the mid 1940s, Britain's most brilliant minds are working around the clock to break the German codes and intercepted messages. Bletchley Park was the central hive of this important work and its worker bees consisted of men and women of varied backgrounds.Read More »
ACCENT: THE GRIP OF IT
Author Jac Jemc has spliced together the classic haunted house story with psychological, domestic suspense. The Grip of It is tight, sparse and yet deeply disturbing.Read More »
BOOKS for August
No wind, no bird. The river flames like brass. / On either side, smitten as with a spell / Of silence, brood the fields. In the deep grass, / Edging the dusty roads, lie as they fell / Handfuls of shriveled leaves from tree and bush. ~ “August” by Lizette Woodworth ReeseRead More »
REVIEW: THE BEDLAM STACKS
Pulley creates details with such ease that the reader quickly accepts the ethereal beauty of the deep Andean forest. And she does so while keeping one foot in the reality of colonialism, missionaries, Victorian exploration and commerce. The reader will relish slowly absorbing the magic of The Bedlam Stacks.Read More »
REVIEW: THE STATE COUNSELLOR
Each of the Fandorin novels takes a slightly different tone, on purpose, as Akunin pays homage to the Doyle, Christie, and Fleming (Murder on the Leviathan is a take on Death on the Nile). The State Counsellor chapters alternate between spies of the dualling networks. The reader sees the push and pull and tangle from both sides.Read More »
REVIEW: THE WITCHES OF NEW YORK
Upon Beatrice's arrival at the tea shop, she is quickly welcomed by the older women and their pet raven, Perdu. And she is equally quick to realize this will be no ordinary clerking position. Though she is not averse to magic, she has never really given it too much thought before.Read More »
ACCENT: AMERICAN ECLIPSE
A total solar eclipse is coming on August 21, 2017. The last time America experienced one like it was 1878. In the days of the Industrial Revolution, the western expansion, and explosive empirical discovery, America was eager to show well-heeled European scientists that they too could conduct successful observations.Read More »
Mules and Musings: Interview with Sarah Domet
Described by the New York Times as "a deft and lovely debut," Sarah Domet's The Guineveres comes out in paperback on July 11. I sat down with Sarah over some delicious bourbon mules and homemade tater tots to talk.Read More »
Summer Solstice
Yesterday I instantly remembered that it was Midsummer Eve, my very favorite day, and lay awake looking forward to it and planning my rites on the mound. …Read More »