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Review of “A Haunting in Venice” (2023)

For our traditional Saturday pizza and bad movie night, we watched a recent flick, an updated Agatha Christie murder mystery. Plot: Famous Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh), who emigrated to England, has lost his faith in God and retired to post-WWII Venice, no longer investigating, despite the long line of people seeking hisContinue reading “Review of “A Haunting in Venice” (2023)”

Review of “Empire of the Ants” (1977)

Now that I can eat pizza again and stay awake for a while, we resumed our Saturday night pizza and bad movie fiesta. This one was silly. Plot:Somewhere off the Florida coast, figures in red hazard suits dump barrels marked “Danger Radioactive Waste” and “Do Not Open” into the water. At least one barrel washesContinue reading “Review of “Empire of the Ants” (1977)”

Review of “The Little Grey Men” by B.B.

The Stuff: This is a children’s book written and illustrated by a British naturalist. It features four gnomes, reputed to be the last in Britain. They regard themselves as brothers and live under a tree root by Oak Pool. Cloudberry, the most adventurous of the four, has left to find the source of the FollyContinue reading “Review of “The Little Grey Men” by B.B.”

Adventures in Breathing

About a week ago, my husband woke me up and said, “You may as well get dressed. We’re going to the emergency room. You’re breathing like you do when you have pneumonia.” I don’t recall the time. Perhaps midnight or shortly thereafter. I was, indeed, having trouble catching my breath. I’ve had pneumonia maybe eightContinue reading “Adventures in Breathing”

Review of “A Fever in the Heartland” by Timothy Egan

The Stuff: This is a nonfiction book about the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s in the Midwest. Their traditional center of power was the South, the states of the former Confederacy. Most of the events it covers transpire from roughly 1921 to 1925, reflecting a rapid rise and a even moreContinue reading “Review of “A Fever in the Heartland” by Timothy Egan”

Review of “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood

31) “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood Plot: The narrator and his friend, known only as the Swede, take a canoe trip along the Danube. They plan to ride the river from its source in the Black Forest to the Black Sea. The narrator and the Swede have made similar trips in the past, but asContinue reading “Review of “The Willows” by Algernon Blackwood”

Review of “The White People” by Arthur Machen Halloween Countdown

30) “The White People” by Arthur Machen Plot: This novelette opens with a debate between two friends, Ambrose and Cotgrave, on the nature of sin. According to Ambrose, true Sin is rare and has more in common with the sanctified than the mundane. A murder is a terrible thing, but it is not true Sin.Continue reading “Review of “The White People” by Arthur Machen Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Upper Berth” by F. Marion Crawford Halloween Countdown

29) The Upper Berth by F. Marion Crawford Plot:This is a club story, that is, framed as a tale told by a member of a gentlemen’s club. (In the nineteenth century, it meant a private place where men hung out, smoked and drank. It didn’t mean the present-day sense where men hang out smoke, drinkContinue reading “Review of “The Upper Berth” by F. Marion Crawford Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe Halloween Countdown

28) The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe Plot:The narrator confesses to being nervous by nature, but he is not insane. His nervousness has increased his senses, not dulled them. His hearing is especially keen. What first led him to do what he did? He doesn’t know. He loved the old man. The old manContinue reading “Review of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe Halloween Countdown”

Review of “The Striding Place” by Gertrude Atherton Halloween Countdown

27) The Striding Place by Gertrude Atherton Plot: Weigall, “continental and detached,” has tired of grouse shooting. He finds the company at his host’s estate boring and the women “a dull lot.” What’s really bothering him is that his friend, Wyatt Gifford, a guest on a neighboring estate, has been missing for two days. ThisContinue reading “Review of “The Striding Place” by Gertrude Atherton Halloween Countdown”