(Not quite a review of) The Long Halloween, by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale

To borrow a line from Lisa (and Moira, and Rosy), writing this article seemed like an excellent idea back when I volunteered for it.   However, the reality of attempting to write about The Long Halloween quickly turned out to be much more complicated than I had thought.  This is why I am further stealing [...]

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Hallowe’en Soapbox

This is the time of year when we return to our ancestors. Our mindset suddenly goes back about 6 or 7 centuries to preoccupation with death, the afterlife and all those mysteries that we still haven’t figured out. Deep within our shiny metal carapaces and electronic swaddling we discover that all of our computer [...]

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The Likeness by Tana French

Do you believe that out there somewhere is a person with the same face as you? Someone who has not just a passing likeness, but an exact copy of your face? Could you believe that if aforementioned person died you would be able to step into their life and pretend to be them, fooling the [...]

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The Road to Terror: Stalin and the self-destruction of the Bolsheviks, 1932-1939, by J. Arch Getty and Oleg V. Naumov (Part of the Annals of Communism series)

Part of the “Writing Stalin” sub-series
The first thing you will notice about The Road to Terror – okay, perhaps the second thing once you get over the immensity of Stalin’s moustache on the cover – is that it is a very big book.  This is not a book you can pop in your handbag.  (Well, [...]

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A Cartoonist’s Life by Linda Davis

Later in life, the creator of The Addams Family would be greeted by neighbors clicking their fingers in imitation of the TV show theme song. Children would phone, asking to speak with Uncle Fester. Never descending into true eccentricity, as Edward Gorey did, Charles Addams bore it all with good humor. The man who [...]

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Coming Up on Vulpes Libris

It’s Halloween this week! Mwahahahaha… But could I find a fox in fancy dress? I could not. So we have instead a plastic figurine of a fox in fancy dress, or more accurately: a foxy Robin Hood.
Lots of treats in store this week and no tricks, so you’re safe to knock at the Vulpes Libris [...]

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The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The way I discover new books has, up until now, been by random accidents.  Reading a review or an interview, a blog post, “Customers who bought this also bought…” on Amazon, e.t.c.  I have rarely handled my choice of reading material before it’s mine, since the majority of my book browsing and buying is [...]

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Not a review of Doctor Zhivago

Part of Russian Revolution Week.
I volunteered for it. That is probably the most galling element of the whole soul-sapping experience. An invitation was offered to the group, and swept along on a tide of camaraderie plus affection for the organiser- our Russian expert, Kirsty – I stuck up my virtual hand and said, “Alright I’ll [...]

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Erdman’s The Suicide (or Thursday Soapbox: why farce is great)

Part of Russian Revolution Week
Ok, this possibly has very little to do with the Russian Revolution. Kirsty said, “Let’s do Russian Revolution Week!”and everyone went “yay!” and then everyone went “Oh god! What do we read now?”. I volunteered to chat about a Russian comic play from 1928 called The Suicide instead but this seems [...]

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Ten Days that Shook the World by John Reed.

Part of Russian Revolution Week.
When Kirsty first suggested a ‘Russian Revolution Week’ we jumped up and down, clapped our hands enthusiastically and said “Ooh!  yes!  Great idea, Kirst … You go for it, girl …”.  At least, I did … so that when she was casting around for a volunteer to read Ten Days that [...]

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