Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

I finished Something Wicked This Way Comes several days ago, but have been putting off writing about it. Usually I put my thoughts down as soon as I can after finishing a book - I'm notoriously forgetful and if I wait too long I lose a lot of most books. It has to make a major impression to stay with me longer than a week or two. But I don't know how I feel about this one. I listened to Something Wicked This Way Comes for the read along hosted by Michelle at Castle Macabre. It's not something I would have picked up on my own. First, I'm not a huge horror fan. Second, I tend to avoid books that have children/teenagers as the main characters. The good: The writing is gorgeous! It makes even the small everyday things seem magical. The hero is a middle-aged library janitor who loves books. The carnival and Dark are downright spooky. The bad: The writing made everything...
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We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Thanks to RIP and FrightFall, I tend to read a few scarier than usual books in October each year. It's probably the one time of the year when I actually read horror books on purpose anymore. I read way more back in the days of Anne Rice's vampires and witches, but not so much recently. When I was thinking about what books I might read this month, I decided to include We Have Always Lived in the Castle - it's a classic so I can use it as my Classics Club Dare book, people love it, and while it's horror it's not monster or gory horror. That's what I love about reading challenges and events, they encourage me to pick up books I wouldn't normally read and sometimes I love them. The opening paragraph is an amazing introduction to our narrator, Merricat. My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often...
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The Lady in the Cellar by Sinclair McKay

The Lady in the Cellar by Sinclair McKay

In general, true crimes don't interest me. Give me a fictional and a quirky fictional detective who will definitely solve the case and I'm usually happy. However, this year I've been trying to broaden my reading habits to include more non-fiction and classics. The Lady in the Cellar is a fascinating book examining the murder of Matilda Hacker in the 1870s and the events surrounding the body's discovery and the trials that resulted. In a lot of ways, The Lady in the Cellar is similar to the fictional detective stories I enjoy. We have a quirky cast of characters, including the victim herself, who was a well-off woman but did not behave in the way single women of her age were supposed to in that era. We have a semi-famous detective, Inspector Charles Hagen, who had already been in the papers a few years earlier as the bodyguard of the Prince of Wales and was a rising star in the Criminal Investigation...
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Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

Peril at End House by Agatha Christie

Peril at End House is classic Poirot. Lovely Nick doesn't know her life is in danger until Poirot helpfully points out that her near-accidents were probably not coincidence. But why would any of her friends want her dead? She's not rich, she's not mean. Poirot is determined to keep her safe, but that's easier said than done, especially when another woman is killed, mistaken for Nick. This was a fun little mystery. The denouement was a good one, a bit unusual for a Poirot mystery. I mean, there was the typical gathering of all the players, but the excuse he uses to bring them together is a good one. The killer doesn't see the trap he has set at all. (S)he thinks (s)he has everyone fooled. (S)he doesn't, of course, and there are plenty of clues sprinkled through the book - I just missed them....
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The Diary of a Madman by Guy de Maupassant

The Diary of a Madman by Guy de Maupassant

In general, I'm more likely to read novellas than short stories. but RIP XIII's Peril of the Short Story is a good excuse to pick some up. I'm not sure how "The Diary of a Madman" by  Guy de Maupassant came to my attention, but it's one of those stories that manages to pack so much in so few pages. The dead man was a judge, but he was far, far from the upstanding, good man the public believed him. The story, after a short introduction, is a section from his journal, detailing his thoughts on man, and crime, and killing. It's a short story, available at https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-diary-of-a-madman and I don't want to ruin it by telling the entire plot. Suffice it to say, the judge is evil and, in the end, uses his office to put the crowning touch on his crimes. De Maupassant does an amazing job in so few pages allowing us to see the true nature of the judge, as...
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The Night the Forest Came to Town by Charles Ghigna

The Night the Forest Came to Town by Charles Ghigna

I loved this little picture book. One night, nature comes to the dull, drab town. It blows in and scampers in and flies in. The illustrations are whimsical, detailed,  and perfect for the story. The plants and animals are bright and colorful where the concrete and buildings are gray and boring. The rhyming text is cute and I think this would make a wonderful read aloud. I had an advanced copy, but I hope a similar image is in the final version. I love peeking in the windows and seeing people doing such a variety of thing, including painting and playing an instrument. I have slight bias, but I love books that show artists, especially adults. I think it's a good example for kids who don't necessarily see their parents or other adults they know doing those things. The joy the plants and flowers and animals bring to the city-dwellers is obvious. It's a good reminder for all of us to include...
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