Food and drink inspired by classic and modern literary works.
There is a trend that I greatly appreciate in modern horror literature nowadays - witches and witchcraft. Silvia Moreno-Garcia's take on this theme, The Bewitching, is her best book yet, IMHO. It's the story of three strong-willed women in three different timelines. In 1908 rural Mexico, we meet Alba Quiroga, whose father has just died. … Continue reading The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I love a good unreliable narrator as much as the next avid bookworm. My favorite will always be the criminally charming, self-aware yet clueless Tom Ripley, anti-hero of Patricia Highsmith's classic novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, which I blogged about awhile back. However, in The Epicure's Lament, Hugo Whittier is not only unreliable, he is … Continue reading The Epicure’s Lament by Kate Christensen
I don't normally like short story collections, mainly because dislike disjointed narratives, although if the short stories are interconnected, that keeps my interest because I like seeing a main character in one story being part of the background in another. Two books that come to mind are When In Florence by Richard Cortez Day (and … Continue reading The Pink Agave Motel by V. Castro
Being a former Goth, I love me a good vampire story. Dracula, of course, is the big bad granddad of all bloodsuckers, IMHO, but he was preceded by that chest-biting lesbian vampire Carmilla; her eponymous book written by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu and published in 1872. Carmilla was unique to its time when it … Continue reading Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
Happy New Year! I hope everyone's 2024 ended well and that 2025 is looking hopeful. As for me, I thought kicking off the new year with a new piece of Gothic literature set tone tone very well. Wakenhyrst was recommended by Sadie Hartman, who has the Instagram account Mother Horror, and though she's suggested some … Continue reading Wakenhyrst by Michelle Paver
Angel's Inferno is the long-awaited sequel to William Hjortsberg's classic novel Falling Angel, which was made into the notorious film Angel Heart starring Mickey Rourke, Lisa Bonet and Robert DeNiro as Lucifer himself. Falling Angel is set in 1950s New York City and Harry Angel, the main protagonist, is a private detective who is hired … Continue reading Angel’s Inferno by William Hjortsberg
A ghostly tale, but not in the traditional sense, The Warm Hands of Ghosts is as much an homage to the bond between siblings and the utter horrors of war as it is a spiritual morality play about the choices we make to remember and forget and how those memories are the essence of who … Continue reading The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
I'm back and I missed you all, but my summer hiatus was much needed. I'm rested and refreshed, and have a new stack of books and many new recipes to blog, so let's go! When I was a young girl discovering the joys of books and reading, I was fascinated by Greek mythology. My favorite … Continue reading In The Garden of Monsters by Crystal King
If you're a Shirley Jackson fan, as so many of us are, you surely are aware of her supernatural (or is it?) masterpiece The Haunting of Hill House. That book, in my humble opinion, is one of the best and frightening novels of all time because it plays with the reader's concept of reality in … Continue reading The Bird’s Nest by Shirley Jackson
I'm a sucker for fairy tales, always have been, and always will be. When I was little, one of my very first pieces of creative writing was retelling the story of Hansel and Gretel from the wicked old lady's viewpoint and how these bratty little kids tried to eat her dream house, accused her of … Continue reading Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman
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