Continuing with our focus on early 20th century female writers, May’s “Tea and a Book” features two cosy mysteries (yay!) by E.C.R. Lorac (1894-1958). Lorac wrote quite prolifically under three pseudonyms, so check out her impressive catalog on Wikipedia.
April’s “Tea and a Book” continues its focus on the early 20th century by recommending Rachel Ferguson’s THE BRONTES WENT TO WOOLWORTHS. Rachel Ferguson (1892-1957 — not to be confused with last month’s author, RUBY Ferguson) was a journalist, author, biographer,...
For March Tea and a Book I am recommending two titles by English writer Ruby Ferguson (1899-1966). Like the authors previously featured this year, Ferguson published her novels in the middle of the 20th century (active from 1926 to 1965). In addition, she wrote...
The final category of this year's horror collection is my favorite -- Grief and Alienation. For me, the most gut-wrenching horror is not about terror. It's about loss. My standard disclaimer: I prefer horror about people and relationships, with stories that emphasize...
This collection of films features protagonists with a strong will to live. The characters must dig deep and use their brains and brawn to negotiate the horror landscape. Ultimately, their stories are more about survival than transformation. A reminder: I prefer horror...
'Tis the season for horror! Gather around, children -- today's offerings feature pandemics, ecological calamities, medical misdemeanors, and alien incursions. What fun! FULL DISCLOSURE: I crave horror about people and relationships, with stories that emphasize the...
This year it's been far too easy to put a book down. Many of us have suffered from diminished attention span during the pandemic, of course, and accepting this has made it easier to let go of books that aren't working for me. Lately I've found it particularly...
During our many summers in Oxford, I spent a lot of time in Blackwell's Bookshop -- browsing, reading, drinking tea, and sometimes even writing. It's probably my favorite bookstore in the world because it is enormous, exhaustively stocked, and yet somehow intimate and...
I've seen The Green Knight. It's a dark film, often bizarre and at times inscrutable. You'll find little of the pageantry or romance we often associate with Arthurian films. You'll also find little in the way of schmaltz or Hollywood sparkle. This adaptation is gritty...
Writing is hard work, especially when you must squeeze it in alongside the daily commitments of employment, relationships, domestic engineering, childrearing and pet wrangling. Sometimes the only way to get anything done is to abandon these commitments altogether! If...
Timeless is a celebration of Mackinac Island and its cottage architecture. The book includes historical context and gorgeous exterior and interior design photography -- perfect for fine coffee tables everywhere! That said, I must also tell you that this post is much...
I first encountered Eva Ibbotson in the YA section of our local Borders bookstore in the early 2000s -- back when I was teaching high school English (and Borders still existed). I began with A Countess Below Stairs and so enjoyed this story of a Russian countess...
Recently I read When the War is Over, by Barbara Fox. This memoir of the author's mother, Gwenda Brady Gofton, focuses on her childhood years as a WWII evacuee in Cumbria. After a couple of false starts in other evacuation areas, Gwenda and her older brother Doug...
One of the few positive things about this terrible pandemic is that it's forced us all to spend more time with ourselves. In our own heads. Dreaming, reading, planning, growing. I'll confess that I love being alone. I inherited this trait from my mother, and many of...
I just wrapped up this year's Spooky Film Recommendations, but there's more I wish to share. In case some of you are planning a bit of horror viewing over the weekend, I wanted to list my favorites from 11 years of blogging horror -- and I'm going to put the films in...
