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Recent Posts
- A Kinrowan Estate story: A Most Beguiling Cookbook
- What’s New for the 13th of April: Anthony Bourdain in print and video; Calexico, Giant Sand and related music; new recordings of ragas, Nordic songs, and vocal jazz, ‘The Night They Drive Old Dixie Down’ performed by The Band
- A Kinrowan Story: We Lost The Cheshire Cat
- What’s New for the 30th of March: Space Opera by Niven & Pournell, Arkady Martine, C. J. Cherryh, Elizabeth Bear, Simon Jimenez and more; Kage reads for us ‘The Empress of Mars’, a novella she wrote; a grab bag of music including new Buryat folk music; The Ukrainians; live music from the Scottish band Iron Horse; Gail Simone graphic novels; Farscape; and of course chocolate
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Our Rooms
- What’s New of 16th of March: A variety of mysteries; some new Scottish music by an old band, new jazz, and splendid archival reviews; ballads in graphic novel form; and chocolate in Paris
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Pub Ghoulies
- What’s New of 2nd of March: Kibbles and Bits including ghostly stories, the Hotel California, music picked by Gary of course
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Quotes that aren’t
- What’s New for the 16th of February: Books by and about Bob Dylan, and music by Dylan and others; plus some new world music and jazz
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Unreliable Narrators
- What’s New for the 2nd of February: All about the Oz books, green man lore, and gargoyles; Baltic polyphony, East-West ambient psychedelia, and a grab bag of other music
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Knit One, Purl Two
- What’s New for the 19th of January: Go Ahead, Be Pleasantly Surprised At What’s Here
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Ancients and Venerables of Guild of St. Nicholas
- What’s New for the 5th of January: A look back at books Gary reviewed in 2024; some seasonally appropriate Nordic music and a little new jazz
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Biscuits
- What’s New for the 22nd of December: A Solstice Story, Crow Girls, Scrooge, Marley, Elizabeth I, Revels and more festive holiday reading; The Lion in Winter on stage and screen; Jethro Tull, Steeleye Span, Christine Lavin, swinging jazz and more holiday sounds
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Fireplaces
- What’s New for the 8th of December: Elizabeth Bear fiction; some holiday related offerings including new music from The Unthanks, Americana tinged jazz, Polar Express, and more
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Eggnog
- What’s New for the 24th of November: Norwegian winter holiday music, archival jazz, new roots music from around Europe, and more; books and what not about things fictional & medæival
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Pudding
- What’s New for the 10th of November: a grab bag of books from our favorite authors; Richard Thompson and Stephane Grappelli on film; music from all over; and comfort food
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Brandy (A Letter to Tessa)
- What’s New for the 27th of October: The Byrds Live, Trader Joe’s Organic Hot Cocoa Mix, Some Excellent Music Reviews, Folkmanis Puppets of an Autumnal Nature, The Mouse Guard begins…
- A Kinrowan Estate story: All The World’s A Stage
- What’s New for the 13th of October: Elizabeth Bear tends a pot of turkey stock, Groot and Rocket Raccoon, A Video and Fiction set in India, Tasty music reviews, and music from Irish trad band Clannad
- A Kinrowan Estate story: Autumn is Here (A Letter to Anna)
- What’s New for the 29th of September: Louisiana’s Lost Bayou Ramblers, live music by Kathryn Tickell, Ottawa based urban fantasies by Charles de Lint, Norwegian saxophonist Karl Seglem, Gus on the Estate Kitchen garden and other Autumnal matters
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Category Archives: Books
Charles de Lint’s The Ivory and The Horn
Imagine a Charles de Lint short story collection as the literary equivalent of a box of Godiva chocolates. Each individual tidbit is luscious, rich, and sensuously delicious. Unfortunately, if you eat the whole box at once, those qualities tend to … Continue reading
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Tagged Charles de lint, fantasy
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John Matthews’ The Summer Solstice: Celebrating the Journey of the Sun from May Day to Harvest
Celebrating seasonal rituals today is often like picking from a smorgasbord of hearty, simple dishes from diverse locales: deliberately rustic and mismatched, taken slightly out of context, but satisfying in a self conscious way. Solar rituals seem to be central … Continue reading
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Tagged folklore, Summer SOlstice
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Charles de Lint’s Waifs and Strays
When I read Charles de Lint, I don’t just pay attention to the words. I slow down and listen to the rhythms the words make. I look for the underlying patterns of color and music that so thoroughly insinuate themselves … Continue reading
Various authors: An omnibus review featuring Lloyd Alexander, Evangeline Walton, et. al
Patrick Ford, translator and editor’s The Mabinogi and other Medieval Welsh Tales (University of California Press, 1977) John Layard, editor’s A Celtic Quest: Sexuality and Soul in Individuation (revised by Anne S. Bosch) (Spring Publications, 1975) Lloyd Alexander’s The Black … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Welsh mythology
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Kath Filmer-Davies’s Fantasy Fiction and Welsh Myth: Tales of Belonging
Contemporary fantasy writers such as Susan Cooper and Jane Yolen are drawing more and more on ancient Welsh mythic tales and folklore as the basis of their stories. (See Grey Walker’s review of Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising series.) … Continue reading
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Tagged fantasy, myth, Welsh mythology
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Mike Ashley, editor’s, The Merlin Chronicles
A storm is coming, but the winds are still, And in the wild woods of Broceliande, Before an oak, so hollow and old It look’d a tower of ivied masonwork, At Merlin’s feet the wily Vivien lay… Tennyson’s “Idylls of … Continue reading
Posted in Books
Tagged Arthurian legend, myth
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John Matthews’s The Song of Taliesin: Tales from King Arthur’s Bard
Lisa Spangenberg wrote this review. The Song of Taliesin: Tales from King Arthur’s Bard is a collection of retellings, loosely based on medieval Welsh and Irish texts, that John Matthews sees as related to the myth of Taliesin. Green Man … Continue reading
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Tagged myth, Welsh mythology
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John Matthews’ Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman
Lisa Spangenberg wrote this review. John Matthews, like his wife Caitlin, is prominent in Neo-Pagan circles, and they have separately and together written an enormous number of books regarding Celtic, Arthurian, and spiritual subjects. You can find reviews here on … Continue reading
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Tagged myth, Welsh mythology
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John Matthews’ The Quest for The Green Man
John Matthews’ The Quest for The Green Man is one of the many books we’ve gotten that touch upon the green man motif. It is typical of the many books that John and Catlin Matthews have produced — lavishly illustrated, … Continue reading
Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment
Rebecca Swain wrote this review. “Not by appointment do we meet delight,” poet Gerald Massey said, and I have found this to be true. I met one of the greatest delights of my life while browsing in my high school … Continue reading
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Tagged Arthurian legend, fantasy
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