The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

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

In The Garden of Monsters by Crystal King

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

The Bird’s Nest by Shirley Jackson

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

Mundane Majesty: The Food Odes of Pablo Neruda

To kick off National Poetry Month, my latest NM Humanities article on the food odes of Pablo Neruda is now available. Neruda is arguably known more for his poems of love and desire, but his odes to everyday items, namely food, are at the heart of my article. Enjoy! https://nmhumanities.org/?blogId=2227

Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman

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

Hell House by Richard Matheson

A group of ghost hunters walk into a haunted house. Sounds like the opening of a joke, for my money, but it's not. Instead, it's the premise for one of the weirdest, creepiest, horniest and silliest (in the sense of the ending, that is) haunted house books I've ever read, and that's saying something because … Continue reading Hell House by Richard Matheson

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Though there is something to be said for the untraditional ghostly tale, for Halloween all I want is an old-fashioned ghost story and for classic ghost tales, you can't beat those of Susan Hill. I personally love any type of ghost story or haunted house tale and The Woman in Black fits the bill to … Continue reading The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone with the Wind by Alexandra Ripley

I will be the first person to say that I never cared for Gone with the Wind. The book, people, not the film! But yes, I found GwtW just so sentimental and racist, though I do understand that it was written from the perspective of a white woman who lived in the South and who … Continue reading Scarlett: The Sequel to Gone with the Wind by Alexandra Ripley

The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino

The author Italo Calvino is not for all readers, a fact for which I am grateful and for which I love him and his writing even more. Reading this book in particular is like taking a semiotic journey through a vaguely medieval setting in which signs and symbols abound, but that take on multiple meanings … Continue reading The Castle of Crossed Destinies by Italo Calvino

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

You know a writer is good when he or she writes a villain in such a way that you not only sympathize and empathize with them, you find yourself actively rooting for them and hoping they get away with murder. Patricia Highsmith did it with Tom Ripley. Thomas Harris did it with Hannibal Lecter. Shakespeare … Continue reading A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers