Uncategorized – Beth's Bookish Thoughts

Readers Imbibing Peril roundup for October

I started, but didn’t finish, Sheridan Le Fanu’s In a Glass Darkly. Maybe I’ll have time to finish it this month. Everything I listened to from Pseudopod in October: Pseudopod 830: The Honey Witch by Kathryn McMahon, published September 30, 2022; listened October 1, 2022 ***** We’ve All Gone to the Magic Show by ToddContinue reading “Readers Imbibing Peril roundup for October”

Review: Welcome to Night Vale, Season 1 & Starter’s Guide

A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale. Welcome to Night Vale is a horror podcast presented as a radio show for the fictional town of Night Vale. This isn’t quite my first experience withContinue reading “Review: Welcome to Night Vale, Season 1 & Starter’s Guide”

Readers Imbibing Peril: Short Stories read in September

There’s no official sign-up for RIP this year, but I read or listened to a bunch of horror short fiction in September, all from the Pseudopod podcast. Pseudopod 823: Little Freedoms by Ephiny Gale (August 13, 2022) (first published 2017) listened September 14 **** Pseudopod 822: The Experiment of Erich Weigert by Sewell Peaslee WrightContinue reading “Readers Imbibing Peril: Short Stories read in September”

Review: Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

I hardly know what to say about this book. I found it in my library’s OverDrive ebook catalog, looking the books they had by Catherynne Valente, because I’ve intended to read more of her work for a few years now. (I’ve previously read Deathless and Space Opera.) I read most of it on Thursday, butContinue reading “Review: Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente”

5 Great Fantasy Stories as Podcast Episodes

This is another post for the Fantastic Five short stories prompt (May 22: “Bite-sized delight”), a little late this time. I have listened to a lot of short story podcasts in the last few years, mostly the horror podcast Pseudopod and its sister podcast Podcastle, which covers fantasy short stories. My first pick for thisContinue reading “5 Great Fantasy Stories as Podcast Episodes”

Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner

Kingdoms of Elfin is a collection of 17 stories by the English writer Sylvia Townsend Warner, most of which appeared in The New Yorker in the 1970s. This was her last book. I don’t know why “Elfin” seems to be a noun in the title instead of an adjective; I’ve never seen anyone else useContinue reading “Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner”

5 Fabulous Fairytale Retellings

(tree wolf image by chic2view on 123RF.co) This is for the Fantastic Five short stories prompt (May 22: “Bite-sized delight”), but I decided to be a little bit more specific and recommend 5 of my favorite fairytale retellings. I’ve read a few novel-length retellings — I loved Robin McKinley’s Deerskin and Spindle’s End — butContinue reading “5 Fabulous Fairytale Retellings”

Fantastic Five: Great fantasies I’ve read since last May

This is my first post for this year’s Wyrd & Wonder, an annual event each May with a fantasy theme. This year, each week in May, there will be a Top 5 List prompt called the Fantastic Five. This will give me a chance to give a shoutout to books I didn’t review! The CurseContinue reading “Fantastic Five: Great fantasies I’ve read since last May”

There Would Always Be A Fairy Tale: More Essays on Tolkien by Verlyn Flieger

My library doesn’t have Flieger’s earlier collection, Green Suns and Faërie: Essays on J.R.R. Tolkien, so I read this instead. I’m not really sure how to review this, so I’ll start by linking to Megan Fontentot’s review:http://journal.finfar.org/articles/book-review-there-would-always-be-a-fairy-tale/ These were interesting to read, but I’m finding it difficult to say much about them. I’ll probably comeContinue reading “There Would Always Be A Fairy Tale: More Essays on Tolkien by Verlyn Flieger”

Classics Club Spin #27 List

I haven’t reviewed any books in a while, but I’m joining the Classics Club Spin #27! Info here. And I will review The Conference of the Birds soon (my current book for The Classics Club). The Golden Ass The Symposium The True History Electra The Saga of the Volsungs Troilus & Cressida Cymbeline Songs ofContinue reading “Classics Club Spin #27 List”