Tag: readhorror

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The Bell Witch by John F. D. Taff is far more than a telling of the folk legend of Tennessee’s Bell Witch. It’s also a contemplation on the psychology of being haunted, and a philosophical musing on the essence of haunting and being haunted. It’s the kind of book you can have a conversation with, a story to think about while you are watching a camp fire jump and blaze, or when you hear something thud on the roof of your house at night. Taff keeps true to what happened in the Bell Witch legend, and stretches enough to ask “Why did it happen?” Intriguing read.

I don’t usually try to match what I’m drinking with what I’m reading. Check out Jo Kaplan’s excellent newsletter for that kind of alchemy. However, in this case, I couldn’t resist an old-fashioned made with locally foraged shagbark syrup. At Ebb & Flow Fermentations, the charms of which I have previously sung here. If you are in Cape Girardeau, make sure you stop at Ebb & Flow.

The Witch Hunter by Finnish author Max Seeck, (translated by Kristian London) was a whole different critter. A police procedural noir crime novel, this grim and occult-dusted story introduces Jessica Niemi, a cop without the usual foibles (alcoholism, history of insubordination, you know the routine) but with plenty of her own secrets. I carried this book with me everywhere because whenever I had 30 seconds, I was reading it. That kind of stop/start reading doesn’t always work so well with a book in this genre—the plots are usually far too complex. And this one is complex! But it’s so gracefully written that falling back into it is easily done. No spoilers here, just read it. And if you are a beautiful brunette, treat yourself to a chic black evening gown. Wink.

I’m at Blue Sky Vineyard for this one, and that’s a glass of their estate-grown rosé, one of my favorite local wines. It’s always a hard choice at Blue Sky because I like so many of their dry and semi-dry wines, but rosé is always a good choice.

What are you reading in a bar (winery / microbrew) these days?

#nerdinabarwithabook

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I designated March as vampire month. No particular reason. Nothing about March that suggests vampires. Random.

Reluctant Immortals by Gwedolyn Kiste should, first of all, win awards for such a cool cover. But once you are done admiring the cover, read this! Gothic / literary heroines (Lucy Westenra and Bee Mason) and villains (Dracula and Mr. Rochester), prepare for a final showdown in the 1967 Haight-Ashbury flower-child-strewn Summer of Love. You will love these characters. This feminist take on underappreciated female characters is smart, tough, tense, and sophisticated.

I was at Vixen Hill Winery in Palmyra, Illinois, enjoying a rich red wine (of course), Soloman Hill Red.

Octavia E. Butler’s Fledgling is a re-read for me. My first read was in 2014. It’s a strange, beautiful book. The vampiric protagonist looks much younger than she is, which makes for some unsettling images. Though the story is told from the young vampire’s point of view, I think this story has some of the best, most troubling and thought-provoking presentations of vampire victims I’ve ever read. As always with Butler, she challenges the reader to consider broader issues, including racism, genetics and consent.

I was at Huckleberry’s Pub with a good ol’ Samuel Adams Winter Lager.

The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women, edited by Stephen Jones, is a grand collection. I’m half way through, and no two stories have had anything more in common than a vampire in the story. Stories by authors I am familiar with and many I am not – but will be.

I was on the covered patio at Feather Hills Winery, on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, not far from our home. My beloved, Tim Crosby, is playing his original Americana / black dirt music. And I was drinking a red blend, Amalgam.