Readerly Rambles: 11/02/2011

What I gave up on:

Let me preface this by saying that I love Rebecca and I REALLY love My Cousin Rachel.  I thought I would adore Daphne Du Maurier's short-story collection Don't Look Now.  I hated it.  I simply couldn't finish.  The first story ("Don't Look Now") was fairly interesting, but I thought the ending a bit ridiculous.  I read the second story.  Meh. I started the third story.  Double Meh.  I couldn't quite but my finger on why these should-be-thrilling stories were so lackluster.  Then it hit me.  Timing.

Telling a scary story is much like telling a clever joke, the timing has to be right.  Du Maurier's short stories are too long.  Now I'm a fan of a longer story / novella but the writer must be able to sustain that level of suspense.  I felt as if Du Maurier just needed a good editor; someone to tighten the prose.  Her stories went on and on and on and on and I soon lost interest.  I couldn't care one fig what happened to the characters and my imagination was bored. 

What I read: 

The Du Maurier collection put a damper on my reading this week, but last night I picked up Susan Hill's latest novella, The Small Hand.  Holy Geez it was creepy!!!  In fact, I had planned on using my Wednesday morning at home to draft blog posts.  Instead I brewed a pot of Irish Breakfast tea, grabbed a quilt, curled up with the cat, and read my eyeballs out.  The story is so unnerving.  I think it was a bit like The House at Riverton meets MR James AND Henry James.  Go.  Read it right now.  I'll wait here. 


What's up next:


Fables #13 by Bill Willingham:  I realize that getting into novels before going to bed is folly; inevitably I spend the night reading away and am one grumpy library girl the next morning.  To curb my novel spelunking I've taken to reading graphic novels or short stories before bed.   The reviews for this volume of Fables are less than stellar; I'm not a fan of the Jack spin-off series, but I will read this volume because my OCD will not allow me to move to volume #14 without having read volume #13. 

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel:  It is time.  I have been saving this novel for a few years and I feel it calling me.  Time to dive in to some historical novel goodness.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton:  I really enjoyed The House at Riverton and I can't wait to read this one.  After The Small Hand I find myself needing some more decaying English countryside and dark secrets.

And now for some library loot:

 
Happy Reading!

Fragile Things -- Week 2

A Bluebeardesque picture from my Alma Mater (late 1800s).

I really enjoyed all of the stories in this week's Fragile Things read along.  Click here to see what everyone else thought about this week's reading. 

"The Hidden Chamber"

This is a Bluebeard poem and I simply couldn't help myself from comparing it to Angela Carter's short story "The Bloody Chamber."  I've always been fascinated by Bluebeard (I even wrote my own Bluebeard poem for my college thesis*).  On one hand Bluebeard is a nefarious man, luring women and keeping one secret room locked away and then virtually taunting them to open it so he has an opportunity to punish (i.e. slaughter) his brides.  But if the story isn't tangible, it there isn't a literal room and if there isn't actually murder committed the story shifts.  As a deeply introverted person, I understand the need for something that is a haven for oneself, be that a room, a journal, an hour in the day.  And I can't stand that some people feel the need to grope and pry one's entire life, space, thoughts. 

What I'm trying to convey is that one can interpret Bluebeard tales on a spectrum.  The grisly murder of one's bride is obviously a Bad Thing, but what if you're simply pissed off and emotionally distant because your bride read your diary (or in Sam's case that would be like me going through his Spawn action figures in the man cave).  In Gaiman's poem I feel as if this is an emotional locked room and the Bluebeard has an inability to emotionally connect.  Try as she might, the bride will never be able to figure out his secret, his self locked away in his own loneliness.  I thought the last lines particularly beautiful:  "The world flutters like insects.  I think this / is how I shall remember you, / my head between the white swell of your breasts, / listening to the chambers of your heart."


"Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Secret House of the Night of Dread Desire"

It took me a bit to orient myself to this story.  Filled with the typically Gothic tropes of lighting, creatures, fleeing maidens, talking ravens, family secrets, and curses, this story is one that would laughingly frighten someone like Catherine Morland from Northanger Abbey.   This story is about a writer trying to write literary fiction and to do so taking his cue from his reality (which just happens to be a reality of Gothic horror).  A raven suggests he writes fantasy and the author writes a novel from our rather boring, rational world.  It is an interesting take.  To tell the truth, I've often wondered how things would be if my world was fantastical imagination and someone simply made me up.  But then again, I'm completely nuts.


"The Flints of Memory Lane"

My least favorite of this week's read, "The Flints of Memory Lane" sounds closest to a real ghost story.  By real, I mean those creepy things that happen that one cannot easily explain.  It is only my least favorite because it is so brief.  It concerns a teenager who has an encounter with what very well could have been a ghost.  The best part of this brief tale is the writing; I love the phrase "I like things to be story-shaped."

"Closing Time"

In his introduction, Gaiman says that this story is styled like an MR James story.  I LOVE MR JAMES (in fact, I read one of his collections a few years ago for RIP).  This story scared the living shit out of me.  A little boy hangs out with some older boys.  Pranks and jokes are played and then they find a creepy playhouse and the boys taunt the little boy into going in.  The little boy doesn't go in and instead dares the older boys to go in.  They older boys go in the terrifying playhouse and ....... never come out.  But then we learn that the boys did survive, at least to adulthood.  The terrifying part is that my stupid brain fills in the blanks.  Either this was all an elaborate ruse to scare the little boy or there is something evil and supernatural going on or there is (even scarier to me) an evil sexually abusive dad torturing the older boys.

This story really emphasized my own sense of "what is horror."  Vampires, ghosts, ghouls, and supernatural evil are creepy and thrilling.  I'll read a book or watch a movie filled with spookiness.  Human horror and horribleness is the stuff of nightmares for me.  I don't watch movies like The Accused or watch shows like Criminal Minds because to me the stuff that humans do to hurt each other is far more frightening and ghoulish then the creepiest MR James story one could conjure.

Excellent reading this week and I can't wait to continue on with the collection.

(*it was a three-part poem of pretentious drivel.  It sucked.) 

D is for Darkshadows

Today is a short-post kinda of a day.  It is so AUTUMN out today.  I've been to JoAnne's so I have new yarn and needles to play with and a stack of books and it is grey and rainy and cool.  In other words, I'm not feeling all bloggy today. In fact it is the perfect day to watch an episode or two of...



Let me start by saying that I'm not a "die hard" fan.  I love the show, but I'm certainly no expert.  What I must like about this vintage, dramatic, Gothic, campy soap is.... watching it with Hope.



Yup... my eleven-year-old daughter ADORES Dark Shadows.  We started at the beginning and we're working our way through all the episodes (thanks, Netflix).  We haven't even gotten to Barnabas yet.  Hope likes the creepiness and the melodramatic glances and -- dear god -- the lines.  It is also especially hilarious to watch her crack up over Caroline Stoddard's dancing one minute and then curl up next to me on the couch the next minute in fear.

I'm looking forward to the forthcoming movie, but I must say I don't picture Johnny Depp as Barnabas.

Alright.  That's it for today.  Dark Shadows... love 'em.

R.I.P. VI Reading Challenge

It is time for my favorite reading challenge of the year, Carl's R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Challenge!  I'll be participating in Peril the First (reading at least 4 spooky or mysterious books, but striving for 7) and the short story, screen, and Fragile Things read-along.

Here's my pool of potential reads.  What should I start with first?

• At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie
• Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
• The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
• The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins
• The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox
• The Alienist by Caleb Carr
• The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
• The Haunted Doll's House by M R James
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• The Bad Seed by William March
• Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
• The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (re-read)

Hooray for deliciously creepy, autumnal books!

Readerly Rambles: 08/05/2011

What I've Finished:

My reading has been clipping along at a lovely pace -- well, for me at least -- and I've finished several books in the past month:

• Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner:  You can read my belated International Brookner Day post here.  I'll certainly be revisiting this author, as I really enjoyed her writing style.  I'm a fan of witty observations paired with quintessentially British characters. 
• The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett:  This nonfiction book is about John Gilkey, a man who has stolen over $200,000 worth of rare books and other items.  I was intrigued by the Bartlett's extensive interviews with Gilkey, her chronicling of his thievery and upbringing, the depth of her explanations of the rare book world, and her interviews with Ken Sanders (the rare book dealer who caught Gilkey).  However, I think this book lacked a certain amount of depth.  Hoover repeatedly discusses Gilkey's delusional outlook on life, his desire to "make" his image through book thieving, and his belief that he deserved these stolen goods.  She strongly emphasizes that he seems to have a mental break with reality.  HOWEVER, at no point does she discuss his issues/history with mental health professionals.  The book is a fast and enticing read despite its flaws; I finished the book while sitting in the movie theater awaiting the midnight showing of Harry Potter 7.2.
• Elizabeth I by Margaret George:  Margaret George is my new author crush.  This is the first book I've read by George even though she has been on my TBR pile for ages.  It took a good 50 pages or so for me to get into the book, but once I was in there I didn't want to come up for air!  What I liked most about the novel is that it begins with the Spanish Armada (Drake representin') and covers Elizabeth's later rule and death.  Most books seem to focus on the young Elizabeth and it was fascinating to read a novelization of her later life.  You must read this book!
• The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories:  I've actually been reading this book off and on since December 2009!  This large volume is filled to bursting with deliciously creepy ghost stories.  Let's just say I will NEVER play hide'n'seek in a house at night EVER (sorry kids). 
• Interlibrary Loan and Document by Lee Andrew Hilyer:  this was a ridiculously concise book on ILL.  I think it is for folks who are totally unacquainted with interlibrary loan.  I picked up one or two things.  Yes, I read it for work and yes, it was infinitely dull.

What I'm Reading:

I have two books going at the moment:

• A Word Child by Iris Murdoch: I adore Iris Murdoch, but I haven't picked up a Murdoch book in ages.  I'm about 100 pages in and all of my favorite Murdochisms are present - pitiful and unlikable characters to which, oddly, I find myself liking, phenomenal feats of language play, wit, dashes of mystery, and dear god her powers of description.  I can't put my finger on why I love her character descriptions so.  There earthy and real; her descriptions of people have this animal quality.  I'm on a mission to find the perfect description to illustrate this aspect of her writing.  More on that in the soonish future.
• Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin:  This is my secondary read.  This book is planted in the nursery by the rocking chair for when I'm nursing and rocking Atticus.  I've only read the first chapter of this novel about Lewis Carroll and his Alice, Alice Liddell.  I haven't read as much because I've developed a habit of dozing when rocking the baby.  I'm intrigued by the novel and slightly uncomfortable.  In the first chapter Alice is a child and mesmerized by Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) but there is something certainly creepy about the attraction between the two.

What's Next:

I have a library book and an ILL book on my nightstand to read next.  Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym (I'm on another Brit. streak) and Vin Packer's pulp novella duo Whisper his Sin / The Evil Friendship.  The Packer story The Evil Friendship is about the Parker-Hulme murder and was part of the inspiration for Heavenly Creatures.

Loads of great reading going on and even more in the future.  Tomorrow I'm taking the kids to the library so I'm sure I'll find a few more books jumping on-board.