Friday, October 31, 2008

Review: Vengeance "A Very Fast Read...Deliciously Spooky"

Book review: The Vengeance of the Witch-Finder

Time Capsule: October 31, 1948

The ayes have it
October 31, 1948: It may be hard to believe but it was sixty years ago tonight that ten-year-old Lewis Barnavelt dared himself to meet Tarby Corrigan in Oakridge Cemetery and...well...you know the rest.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Such Virtue Hath My Pen

Fan art for "The Figure in the Shadows"
Color us impressed: John Joy has created a mock book cover design for John Bellairs’ The Figure in the Shadows.  Very impressive - to the point we'd like to see the whole series by Mr. Joy. Anyone at Dial paying attention?

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Book Alert: The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer

The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer
It's summer again in New Zebedee and Lewis Barnavelt is back in another hair-raising adventure! What sort of shadowy figure does Lewis see and why has our timid hero immersed himself in understanding the mystical and magical number three? Fates? Wise men? Blind mice?

Friday, October 3, 2008

Time Capsule: October 3, 1958

Scholastic
October 3, 1958: 50 years ago today John Bellairs debuted in the pages of the University of Notre Dame student magazine, the Scholastic. Now a senior level English major, Bellairs and friend Charles Bowen were tapped to share their humorous observations about life in South Bend by alternating each week as the author of "Escape".

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

2008 Living History Portrayal Walk

Oakridge Cemetery
Oakridge Cemetery, one of the oldest continuously operated cemeteries in Michigan, is home again this year to the 8th Annual "If These Stones Could Talk..." Living History Portrayal Walk. This guided walking tour will feature actors portraying significant persons from Marshall's past at each of those individual's gravesites.

This year’s famous Marshallnites include Anne Ells (no relation Myra, that we know of), Samuel Burpee, Mary Coleman, Deville Hubbard, Calvin Clark, Rev. Christopher Heidenreich, and Adam Crosswhite. The event will take place rain or shine so participants are encouraged to bring flashlights, wear comfortable walking shoes, and carry an umbrella.

When: October 11, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm

To learn more, please contact the Marshall Chamber of Commerce.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Time Capsule: September 20, 1378

Grand Central Schism
September 20, 1378: 630 years ago today Antipope Clement VII was elected by French cardinals as opposition to the Roman-elected Pope Urban VI; these proceedings lead to what Bellairs lovingly called the Grand Central Schism in Saint Fidgeta and Other Parodies [58-9].

Thursday, September 18, 2008

To Think What Follows....

Eoin Colfer
The Bookshelves of Doom notes the news of the sixth book in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy, after Adams's widow sanctioned Eoin Colfer (Artemis Fowl) as the author. The site then notes:
I generally don't like it when people continue the work of much-beloved-but-sadly-deceased authors (see Anne of Green Gables, Harriet the Spy, John Bellairs, etc.).
The sixth Hitchhiker’s book, And Another Thing..., will be published in October 2009. 


Saturday, September 13, 2008