Something About Pompeian Political Ads

Or something about voting and hot air.

Something About Underrated Fantasy Movies

I'll see your faithful adaptation and raise you a farting topiary.

Happiness Was An Octagon

Eight sides to hold you.

Fifty Years of Appointments With "The Wicker Man"

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Wicker Man, the classic British horror film directed by Robin Hardy and starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland, and Christopher Lee.

Something About Statistics

Sorry, no half-time show.

Something About A Printing Error

A real page-turner.

Something About Giants (in England!)

Big?  Yes.  Friendly?  Unknown.

Something About Sir John Bennett

Keeping to his schemes, the hours tick away.

Something About A Pope, A Pope, and a Pope

omne trium perfectum?

Something About Hans Sloane

No chocolate teapot in his collection?

Something About Moss Men

The fens way.

Something About Jon Klassen

Mist-y eyed.

Something About Aelfrics Wuldor

Olde Tyme Waves.

Something About English Monarchs

Was rightful heir unto the English crown.

Book Alert: The Stone, the Cipher, and the Shadows

Open Road Media will publish the 2022 Johnny Dixon title The Stone, the Cipher, and the Shadows in paperback on Aug. 8, 2023.

It began life as an e-book, was published as an audiobook earlier this year, and now will become a paperback. My how the times have changed.

Why not buy an extra copy and make your own hardcover?  Ha.

Researching Mary Zimmerman Yet Again

It wouldn't be a year ending in 3 (like 2003 or 2013) without a note about Mary Zimerman. Zimerman was a poet, playwright, and a one-time resident of Wisconsin, where John Bellairs met her when he came to town for a friend's wedding. She reportedly was a big fan of all things purple. Bellairs was intrigued and inspired to create a similarly-named character, Mrs. Florence Zimermann.

Piotr: The Music of John Bellairs in the Wild: Five Field Recordings

We've interviewed musician and historian Derek Piotr, but we're turning over this week's post to him this time.

Something About Gog and Magog

For whom the bell tolls.

570th Anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople

This year - and indeed today - is the 570th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople. May 29, 1453, also marks one of the rare times when we can pinpoint an exact date of the events of one of John Bellairs's novels - namely, The Trolley to Yesterday (1989).

Interview Again: Derek Piotr

We met musician Derek Piotr in 2018, and now we hear he's researching and recording traditional folk music. We had to know more; he was nice enough to share his answers again. He's sharing his archive online, too, and the best thing is you can contribute to it. But first - a few words on how he got started.

Anthony Monday Available as E-books

Open Road Media will publish the three remaining books in the Anthony Monday series as e-books on May 16. The Dark Secret of Weatherend (1984), The Lamp from the Warlock’s Tomb (1988), and The Manion in the Mist (1992) join The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn (1978), published initially as an e-book back in 2014.

He was like, 'Hast thou led me to, like, Egypt, or whatever?'

The following quote from the autobiography of filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille resurfaced recently:

If 1,000 years from now, archaeologists happen to dig beneath the sands of Guadalupe, I hope they will not rush into print with the amazing news that Egyptian civilization, far from being confined to the valley of the Nile, extended all the way to the Pacific coast of North America.

Something About Various Voynich Owners

Divine provenance?

Something About Sloane Square

Eye Opening Trivia, Part 2.

Something About John of Austria

Puzzlin' evidence.

The House with a Clock in its Walls: Revisiting 50-Year-Old Book Reviews

It's not just The House with a Clock in its Walls turning 50 years old this year. It's also all the reviews from the various publishing journals. Just like the text of the book, some reviews have aged better than others. Here's a rundown of what we've collected over the years. 

Something About Used Ushabtis

Goo goo dolls.

Something About Nafpaktos

Port authority.

Something About The Battle of Lepanto

Splish splash.

Cover Critic: The House with a Clock in its Walls (Germany, 2000)

Cover Critic is our periodic survey of readers and fans about the various artwork and illustrations of the books in the Bellairs Corpus.

Something About The Ghost Returns

Too subtle?

Something About Sanitizing In A Church

Caveat subscriptor (sort of).

Something About Turkish Earthquake Damages

Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour.

Something About the Oldest Rune

Stick figures.

The Earl of Cork's Enigma

I recently found the bits and pieces of my 1980s-era GAMES magazine collection. In what little remains was this "enigma" from a 40-year-old magazine, and it struck me as something readers might enjoy or want to take a crack at solving.

Cover Critic: The House with a Clock in its Walls (Portugal, 2006)

Cover Critic is our periodic survey of readers and fans about the various artwork and illustrations of the books in the Bellairs Corpus.

Something About Saint Ursula

Friends went up to eleven.

Something About 90 Seconds

To play till doomsday.

Something About Ad Altare Dei Incense

Mind altering.

Happy Birthday, John Bellairs

Another year rolls around and we celebrate the 85th birthday of John Bellairs.

Something About Egbert Ludovicus Viele

Grave accent.

Something About Lending a Hand

Why did no one ever volunteer a foot?

The House with a Clock in its Walls: 1973-2023

 
2023 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Dial publishing John Bellairs's The House with a Clock in its Walls, the first book in the long-running Lewis Barnavelt series and the first of several young adult novels.