Review: Face "Cean Fantasy With A Very Light Touch"

Book review: The Face in the Frost

44th Annual Historic Home Tour

“The Marshall, Michigan Home Tour offers exquisite private homes and businesses for public viewing and enjoyment. The tour will feature eight vintage homes and will include six 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 seventeen structures will be one business 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.”

When: September 8-9, 2007
Time: Saturday 9:00 to 5:00, Sunday 10:00 to 5:00

For more information, including cost, please contact the Marshall Chamber of Commerce or Marshall Historical Society.

Bibliofile: Luis Barnavelt I Potwór Dzikiego Strumienia

Longtime visitors to Bellairsia may recall how a number of years ago (c.2001-02) we found a handful of book cover images from the Lewis Barnavelt series when they were published in Poland:

Review: Fidgeta "A Slim Volume Of Inspired Foolishness"

Book review: Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies

Researching Laughlin Hall

The fourth in an occasional series about where John Bellairs lived during his time in Chicago.

A couple of years ago, one of John Bellairs's friends, the late Bernie Markwell, sent us some notes about meeting John for the first time four decades ago in Chicago. His notes were somewhat sparse and he indicated he would send more. He never did, he never will, and so we're stuck with what we have. 

Markwell said he first met John in the fall of 1960 when he "moved to Laughlin Hall (now destroyed) to get more work done."  He also said a few years later Bellairs would eventually live in the building as well. It is unknown if he lived here before or after his tenure in Minnesota - that is, before fall 1964 or after spring 1965.

Oh Come Hither, Harry!

A few lines composed inside Bellairsia HQ:

A tip of the hat to the author
for creating that mythical force,
a spellbinding sense of wonder,
derived from staying your course.
Yes, the mystery’s finally over,
the secret’s been spilt from your pen.
Much praise for getting those children
Back to the library again.
And we laud the legions of readers,
who we hope don’t end up and weep,
but you’ve got the whole stinkin’ weekend -
so go home and go get some sleep!

Review: Figure "Another Delightfully Creepy Tale"

Book review: The Figure in the Shadows

Wit! Whither Wander You?

Now you can set out on your own and see the world of John Bellairs without even leaving your house. Wanderlust is the beginning of a new map-plotting project that will identify the locations and inspirations found in the books by John Bellairs and those continued by Brad Strickland. Become an armchair cartographer as you visit distant points in England and Germany, as well as those sights from Bellairs’s backyard in Marshall and Massachusetts.

17th Annual Welcome to My Garden Tour

The Marshall Area Garden Club prepares for their 17th annual Welcome To My Garden Tour later this month, showcasing some of the Marshall area’s private and public landscaped gardens. For more information visit the Marshall Chamber of Commerce.

When: July 14-15; 10:00 to 4:00 (rain or shine)

A Riveting Collection of Bridges

The Calhoun County Road Commission and the Parks Trustees Board will be holding its annual "Living History Demonstration" at the Historic Bridge Park on the Kalamazoo River in Emmett Township this coming Saturday. The event will include demonstrations of industrial building techniques such as forge welding and black-smithing.

Peculiarities in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Happy Summer Solstice, northern hemisphere! If you’re on the road for a vacation this summer and are heading to the Upper Peninsula of Bellairs's home state and want to wowed by some wackiness, be sure to stop by the Weird Michigan Wax Museum. Opening this June, it is owned by Dan McCarthy, who also operates the nearby St. Ignace Mystery Spot, according to roadsideamerica.com.

A Journey to John

We’ve heard some great stories of young people (and some probably a bit older) writing John Bellairs, who would usually write back and include one of his drawings. Or calling John on the telephone, and talking with him after a speaking engagement at a library or convention.

It was a Pleasure to Burn

I guess we missed the news about this "celebration." Kansas City bookstore owner Tom Wayne couldn't find anyone to buy the excess books from his store so he set out to get rid of them the only way he knew how - burning them.

First Edition Potter Worth $14K

I have a feeling all of my First Edition Bellairs collection wouldn't be worth this much. Scratch that – it wouldn't be worth that much money, but you can't buy these memories.  Does that sound sappy enough for this early in the morning?

A first edition of the debut Harry Potter novel by J.K. Rowling is expected to sell for up to 7,000 pounds (10,300 euros, 13,950 dollars) at an auction in London on June 26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first in the series about the young wizard, will be sold by the auction house Bonhams. Between 500 and 1,000 copies of the first edition of that novel were published in 1997, signaling the beginning of one of the biggest successes in publishing history.

On Being a Plain Jane

Cecil Castellucci acts more like a 15-year-old boy than a 37-year-old woman. And she makes no apologies.  And this article about her first graphic novel (June 5, 2007) reminds me more of Rose Rita Pottinger.