A Gentleman of Brave Metal

In what probably will be our last post for 2012 we note that one of Hamish Runcet’s prophecies has gotten a makeover. Or something like that.

Where’s There: The Hagway

Having been given 24 hours to prove his existence (and come up with a way to defeat Snodrog), Sir Bertram wanders the land until he comes to this road winding “through country vaguely reminiscent of northern Indiana” [The Pedant and the Shuffly; 30-1].

Alert: Anthony Monday & eReads

Spend your holiday season in Hoosac!  eReads, the oldest independent digital publisher in the field bringing out-of-print books back in electronic formats, has released the first book in the Anthony Monday series.

John Bellairs: Author Of The Imaginary

During Patrick Dunne's undergraduate years at Notre Dame - from which he graduated in 1960 - he was a fellow classmate of John Bellairs. Dunne shared some of his memories in the Autumn 2012 edition of the Notre Dame Magazine:

List, List, O, List!

This is the first time we've ever seen this sort of thing, so...yeah.

looking for a girl to read me a story. the spell of the sorcerer’s skull maybe or some of the one thousand and one nights. serious inquiries only (Craigslist; November 26, 2012).

 Go easy, Scheherazade.

Review: Face "One Of The Most Delicious And Sadly Under-Appreciated Books Ever Written"

Book review: The Face in the Frost

Where’s There: Hellespont

Standing in Leander’s Tower in 1453, Professor Childermass says that the tower “stands on a tiny spit of land in the Hellespont, the narrow body of water that runs between the Black Sea, which north of here, and the Sea of Marmara, which is below us [The Trolley to Yesterday; 28].

Edward Gorey: Artist of Contradictions

A post at Gathered Nettles celebrates Edward Gorey:

If Gorey’s philosophy of art was defined by ambiguity and contradiction, it certainly makes sense when seen in the context of his work. Not only is he frequently working in the in-between genre of the illustrated book (what is more important here? Words? Images?), the content of his books always hovered somewhere between sinister and humorous, at times deeply macabre while remaining childishly delightful. His style it is at once extremely minimalist and spare but also fastidiously detailed and specific.

Review: House "Kind Of A Great Little Horror/Mystery"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Review: House "Noteworthy For The...Chills Of A Gothic Mystery...[And] Everyday Woes Of Being A Fifth Grader"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

Things Teeming with Autumn

And in time for the season, here is "The Haunting", written by Brad Strickland (Oct. 2009):

‘Twas late, late in October,
With a sky low, gray, and sober,
And few crisp leaves upon the boughs up high;
When the wind howled low and lonely,
And the air felt chill, and only
Seven stars shone faintly in the sky.

Zoë Archer: Chocolate-chip Cookie Fan

As Halloween fast approaches, USA Today's Joyce Lamb asked other authors to discover what book raises the hair on the back of their neck. In the Oct.28 edition, Lamb asks a number of romance authors, including Zoë Archer, about what's scared them:

Book News: Eden Feint

The third book in the Jim Dallas series has hit Amazon – and perhaps soon your Kindle, too?

Book News: Dallas Times Three

The first three Steve Dallas adventures are now available together in one edition.  Released Oct. 25, readers can now get caught up on the adventures of Jim and Sam in Atlanta Bones, Cuban Dagger, and Eden Feint.

Is There Still Room For Scares...?

We were surprised this morning to read an interesting tribute to John Bellairs and The House with a Clock in its Walls by Erik Adams at the Onion AV Club:

Interview: Sandra Frey

Imagine our surprise when we were approached by someone writing a thesis on John Bellairs. Excellent! Surprise escalated into bewilderment when we discovered it was being proposed by someone living in Germany!  Wie wäre es damit? Sandra Frey lives and works in Heidelberg and last year studied translation for English and Italian with her Bellairsian thesis her final project. She currently works for a translation agency and, in between that and her other hobbies, has graciously answered some questions about her project and provides us in the states with a European perspective on the books.

Presenting Snake Year Press

We stumbled upon a strange celebration of a singular moment from The Face in the Frost in the form a publishing group named for ... ewwww ... snake year cherry.  Author Quentin Dodd has this to say on his new publishing venture:

The Secret of the Enduringly Popular Author

Bellairs fan Daniel McInerny wonders what made Bellairs's books so fun to read:

Where’s There: Rocks Village Bridge

Father Higgins has been relocated from Duston Heights to Rocks Village, described as a tiny cluster or picturesque eighteenth-century houses near a seventy-year-old iron bridge [The Secret of the Underground Room; 8].

10 Reasons Not to Bring Someone Back from the Dead

The subject above should have been written in big, bold, friendly letters on the first page of whatever book Lewis Barnavelt finds in his uncle's study back in 1948.  Write Lauren Davis proposes some of the following examples:

• They Come Back, But Not Quite Alive
• You Bring Them Back Wrong
• They'll Try to Kill You Afterward
• It Makes for Unnecessary Sequels

We did get The Tower at the End of the World, so -- thoughts?

Colin Meloy's Wildwood

Colin Meloy is the lead singer and songwriter for The Decemberists and has completed the second of his books in the planned Wildwood Chronicles trilogy of children’s novels - which are both wonderfully illustrated by his wife, Carson Ellis.

Under Wildwood: The Wildwood Chronicles, Book Two (2012) follows last year's Wildwood: The Wildwood Chronicles, Book 1 (2011) and tells the tale of Prue McKeel and her adventures in the Impassable Wilderness, full of animals, mystics, bandits and more.

Dickens, Schuler & Bellairs V

We’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of celebrated author Charles Dickens’ birth this year. Born February 7, 1812 in Landport, Portsmouth, England, Dickens created a plethora of memorable characters with whimsical names across a dozen major novels and numerous short stories.

Review: Remembering the Best of John Bellairs

Book reviews:

The House with a Clock in its Walls

The Figure in the Shadows

The Letter, the Witch, and the Ring

Review: Lamp "Exciting With Just A Hint Of Danger"

Book review: The Lamp from the Warlock's Tomb

Edward Gorey, Balletomane

Author Mark Dery is writing a biography of Edward Gorey (news) and is seeking stores about Gorey in relation to his interest in the New York City Ballet.

Memoriam: Herbert Lom

Actor Herbert Lom – the last of the lady killers – has died. He was 95.

A native of Prague, his first picture was a very early Czech film, Zena Pod Krizem (1937), that he participated in before migrating to England to continue his career. His roles flourished throughout the next four decades including The Seventh Veil (1945), War and Peace (1956), El Cid (1961), and The Phantom of the Opera (1962).

Where's There: Cemetery Island

Described as "just a dot on the map out in Hurricane Sound, not far from Vinalhaven," this island on the southeastern coast of Maine was home to Warren Windrow in the 1840s [The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull; 125].

Book Alert: Gorey's Halloween, Ghosts, and Saint Melissa

You read it first at Goreyana earlier this year...new books by Edward Gorey.

2012 Living History Portrayal Walk

Marshall's Oakridge Cemetery was first used in 1839 and is one of the oldest continuously operated cemeteries in the state. For the twelfth year in a row Oakridge will be home to the "If These Stones Could Talk...", a walking tour where local actors and actresses portray significant people from Marshall's past at that person’s grave site. Small groups will be guided by hosts in a predetermined lantern-illuminated pattern through the cemetery and the once-prominent residents will rise up and share their stories.

This year’s event takes place Saturday, October 6 at 7pm come rain or shine. For more information, including ticket costs, please contact the Marshall Chamber of Commerce.

49th Annual Historic Home Tour

The 49th Annual Historic Home Tour of Marshall, Michigan will be offering exquisite private homes and businesses for public viewing and enjoyment. The tour will feature seven homes and will include seven historic museums covering diverse specialties such as unusual architecture, antique home furnishings, Civil War memorabilia, a restored antique post office, Michigan's largest collection of magic memorabilia as well as two art centers. To close out the tour's twenty structures will be one business from Marshall's well-maintained historic business district.

Marshall's tour has been called the Granddaddy of Midwest Home Tours and is famous all over the country for its traditions and heritage, and was voted the Best Home Tour by the readers of AAA's Michigan Living magazine

This year’s event takes place from Saturday, September 8 (9am-5pm) to Sunday, September 9 (10a-5pm). For more information, including cost, please contact the Marshall Historical Society.

Book News: Cuban Dagger

Brad Strickland announced via Twitter that the second Jim Dallas adventure – Cuban Dagger – is now available through your Kindle!

Review: House "Passes the Bechdel Test"

Book review: The House where Nobody Lived

What's What: Lapsang Souchong

We get an idea of how awkward Miss Eells is by how she prepares her hot plate and kettle for tea, including the ordeal of sweeping up sugar and trying to remove the lid off the Lapsang Souchong box [The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn; 15-6].

Dickens, Schuler & Bellairs IV

We’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of celebrated author Charles Dickens’s birth this year. Born February 7, 1812, in Landport, Portsmouth, England, Dickens created a plethora of memorable characters with whimsical names across a dozen major novels and numerous short stories.

Reviewing Strickland: Atlanta Bones

Review: Atlanta Bones

Alert: New Titles from SF Gateway

We suppose we knew this was eventually going to happen, and it appears it did while we away last month. British publisher SF Gateway released the final four books in the Johnny Dixon series for those readers who a) live outside the United States and Canada and b) prefer electronic books. Much like American publisher eReads released the four Strickland-involved Dixon books earlier this year, SF Gateway has done the same – keeping with their traditional yellow covers, of course.  The first eight books were released by SF Gateway late last year.

Book News: Atlanta Bones

Brad Strickland announced via Twitter that you can now read the new “Florida thriller” novel, Atlanta Bones, available now for your Kindle.

Interview: Carl Foster

Bellairs fan and budding author Carl Foster lives, works, and writes (or as he says, scribbles) in New Orleans, where he daily takes in the grisly and fascinating history of the city to share with visitors to the French Quarter. A graduate student in mass communication who also spends his working hours with the National Park Service, Carl says he is always on the lookout for Bellairs books to buy for the young readers who cross his path and, like the colophon of one of those beloved Bantam paperbacks of yore, is currently at work on his next chilling tale.

What’s What: Patriotism Award

Award given by the Montana Women's College; recipients have included Chiang Kai-Shek and Professor Reichsmotif [Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies; 75].

Time Capsule: 1912

1912: We’re celebrating a century since the roll out of the Haynes-Atkinson Structureless Inflatable Biplane.

Interview: Richard Denney

Over the years a number of fans have said that John Bellairs motivated them to write. You know – books. This month we introduce one such writer, Richard Denney, who has authored stories for teens and children such as Violet Fury and The Immortalists. Denney lives out in the west Texas town of El Paso and shares his thoughts about John with us – and he’s such a fan he says he’s getting a tattoo in memory of him this summer. During his down time from writing, blogging, and YouTubing, Richard has been known to catch The Vampire Diaries on the telly, too.

What’s What: White Rock Girl

Dr. Coote crouches on the end of his bed similar to the White Rock Girl to watch the struggle between his friend, Professor Childermass, and a sinister, parasitic creature [The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie; 121-2].

Review: House "Has A Bizarre, Creepy Feel...Didn't Make Sense"

Book review: The House with a Clock in its Walls

The Spell of the Satirist’s Skill

by Eve Tushnet (June 11, 2012)

(originally published at acculturated.com)

Dickens, Schuler & Bellairs III

We’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of celebrated author Charles Dickens’s birth this year. Born February 7, 1812, in Landport, Portsmouth, England, Dickens created a plethora of memorable characters with whimsical names across a dozen major novels and numerous short stories.

Memoriam: Ray Bradbury

Author Ray Bradbury has died at the age of 91.

Author of Fahrenheit 451 (1953), The Martian Chronicles (1950), and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962), Bradbury was one of the most celebrated among 20th century American writers of speculative fiction and was the recipient of the 2000 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, the 2004 National Medal of Arts, and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation.  A native of Waukegan, Illinois, Bradbury lived in California where he died June 5.

BiblioFile: eReads Artwork

Johnny Dixon and Edward Gorey will always be connected because of John Bellairs’s three series of young-adult adventures, only one had the same artist for the entire run of American hardcover editions. The Barnavelt series has had five different illustrators and there were two for the Monday series, but Gorey created the wraparound dust-jacket art for all twelve Johnny Dixon books published between 1983 and 1999. Because of that there is a certain consistency to their look when the novels are displayed end-to-end. (Some people do that, we’re told.)

Review: Face "Atmosphere...Is What Makes It So Good"

Book review: The Face in the Frost

Fantasy Novels That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity

Charlie Jane Anders recently wrote a piece at io9 - a blog focusing on science, technology, and science fiction - that "everbody loves a good dark, horrible fantasy. A misanthopic adventure, in which everybody is morally compromised, and we all live and die in the dirt. But every now and then, it's nice to read a fantasy novel in which people are, you know... good."

A Good Nose is Requisite

A decade or so ago, two of John's friends, Alfred Myers and Charles Bowen, worked with us on a walk-through of Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies.  The project was to help us better understand the time and place from which it came from as well walk us through John's sense of humor in many of the jokes, puns, and satire.  Anyway, Bowen shared this remembrance during our research and we came across it again recently.  Dig in.