The Grimoire Commeth

Mark June 2006 as your first chance to meet the Midions. The Curse of the Midions is the first adventure in Brad Strickland’s Grimoire mystery series for young-adults, something I’m sure we’ll hear more about as the months progress. The series is being published by Dial Books for Young Readers.

42nd Annual Historic Home Tour

The Marshall, Michigan Home Tour is in its fifth decade of offering exquisite private homes and businesses for public viewing and enjoyment. "The tour will feature eight vintage homes and will include five historic museums covering diverse specialties such as unusual architecture, antique home furnishings, Civil War memorabilia, and a restored antique post office. To close out the tour's sixteen structures will be three businesses from Marshall's well-maintained historic business district. Marshall's Home Tour was voted the Best Home Tour by the readers of AAA's Michigan Living magazine.”

Cuts Like a Knife

The BBC recently noted a long, lost treasure from the ancient city of Pompeii: 

A set of ancient silverware has been dug up from Pompeii, the Roman city destroyed by a volcano 2,000 years ago. The hand-crafted goblets, plates and trays had been bundled into a wicker basket by an inhabitant fleeing the erupting Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

The tableware, well preserved in ash and mud, was discovered five years ago and archaeologists have used the latest techniques to separate 20 pieces. Experts say it is the most important find of this kind for 70 years.

Five For Six

In the event you thought the uproar of that book released over the weekend flew by us, leaving us unscathed, you’re wrong. We know some people sit up until the crack of dawn reading the latest adventure and, having said that, we were still somewhat surprised at the email that arrived in the overnight hours, awaiting us in the inbox early this morning:

Bibliofile: The Curse of the Blue Figurine

John Bellairs' first three Johnny Dixon novels – The Curse of the Blue Figurine (1983); The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt (1983); and The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull (1984) – were published by British publishing house Corgi in the mid/late 1980s. David Langford comments on the foreign edition’s translation:

Gorey: The Gashlycrumb Tinies Come Home

In cooperation with the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, The Edward Gorey House is very pleased to announce a major exhibit for 2005: the original art for Edward Gorey’s The Gashlycrumb Tinies.

This major Edward Gorey exhibit encompasses the pen and ink drawings for The Gashlycrumb Tinies and Mr. Gorey’s original typescript draft notes for the text. Also featured will be the five pen and ink panel drawings for Gorey’s slipcase for The Vinegar Works (three volume set includes The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Insect God and The West Wing). The exhibit is scheduled to run from June 23 to September 5, 2005.

The "Welcome to My Garden" Tour

Jon Caulkett passes along a story from the Battle Creek Enquirer about the Marshall Area Garden Club's 15th annual "Welcome To My Garden Tour," showcasing some of the community's private and public gardens. On this year’s tour is the Zaharion House, formerly owned by the Cronin family, the house that is the inspiration for Bellairs’s The House with a Clock in its Walls. The tour is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 9 and 10. For more information visit the Marshall Chamber of Commerce.