Category Archives: Books

Jane Yolen’s Ring Out!, Tam Lin, Mother Goose Songbook, The Sleeping Beauty, and Touch Magic

Used bookstores are great places to find those books that you never expected to locate. A recent trip down a street near where we live yielded three books by Jane Yolen, a writer who has been called the American Hans … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on Jane Yolen’s Ring Out!, Tam Lin, Mother Goose Songbook, The Sleeping Beauty, and Touch Magic

Guides to fantastic literature: an omnibus review

Neil Barron, Fantasy Literature: A Reader’s Guide Neil Barron, Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction John Clute and John Grant, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy David Pringle, Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels Ahhh, been muckin’ ’bout the … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , | Comments Off on Guides to fantastic literature: an omnibus review

The Brothers Grimm’s Grimm’s Grimmest, Maria Tatar (editor), and T.A. Dockray (illustrator)

So you want read a nice, pleasant story with a happy ending to your daughter as she drifts off to sleep? Let’s see what’s offered up in Grimm’s Grimmest… hmmm… There’s the story (“Juniper Tree”) of the woman who decapitates … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , | Comments Off on The Brothers Grimm’s Grimm’s Grimmest, Maria Tatar (editor), and T.A. Dockray (illustrator)

Sarah Avery’s Tales of Rugosa Coven

It’s been a long, long time since my witchy days, but these three novellas bring it all back like riding a bicycle. At least, the parts where the gang are clowning, cooking, squabbling, doing friend stuff, and having personal drama. … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Comments Off on Sarah Avery’s Tales of Rugosa Coven

David Liss’s The Death and Birth of Iliana Marek

I’ve reviewed David Liss’s work here before, a historical fantasy called The Peculiarities. A gory thriller isn’t my usual thing, but The Death and Birth of Iliana Marek is a Liss novel, and he has a tic that I appreciate: … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on David Liss’s The Death and Birth of Iliana Marek

Judith M. Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England

It is not a commonly known fact that in the 14th century in England most beer and ale brewed for sale was brewed by women. Three hundred years later it was an industry run by men. One of the changes … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Food and Drink | Tagged , | Comments Off on Judith M. Bennett’s Ale, Beer, and Brewsters in England

Suzanne Palmer’s Ode to the Half-Broken

Award winning author Suzanne Palmer adds to her growing stack of novel-length SF with Ode to the Half-Broken, an engaging tale of friendship and treachery, adventure and revenge among post-apocalypse AI “mechs” and a few surviving humans in what used … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged | Comments Off on Suzanne Palmer’s Ode to the Half-Broken

David Hughes’s Fifty Yards Of David Hughes, and The Fairport Tour (book+CD)

Chris Woods wrote this for Folk Tales. 50 yards is the latest studio album from British singer songwriter David Hughes, helped out here by Jacqui McShee, Gerry Conway, Matt and Dave Pegg. It’s great for once that I can use … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Music | Tagged , | Comments Off on David Hughes’s Fifty Yards Of David Hughes, and The Fairport Tour (book+CD)

James S.A. Corey’s Leviathan Wakes

It’s already been a few years since the 10th anniversary edition of this book was published, to celebrate the first decade of this huge and hugely popular SF franchise now known as The Expanse. I came to it rather late, … Continue reading

Posted in Books | Tagged | Comments Off on James S.A. Corey’s Leviathan Wakes

Alison Bechdel’s Spent

Best selling graphic novelist Alison Bechdel’s Spent is a laugh-out-loud example of autofiction at its best, tackling serious topics of our present moment while poking fun at herself and her milieu, the world of aging Boomer leftist (mostly) lesbians in … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Graphic Literature | Tagged | Comments Off on Alison Bechdel’s Spent