Winter Blogfest: Stephen King

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of Glimpse, Memoir of a Serial Killer.

Christmas with the Kings

I grew up in a loving family home, one of five kids, where Christmas was a time you looked forward to for the entire year. It wasn’t just the presents, it was the vibe. The smell of the open fire, the stocking always found at the end of the bed crammed to overflowing with goodies, no matter how late I tried to stay awake to catch Santa out.  The mountain of scrunched up discarded wrapping paper, that had to be disposed off afterwards, was so high I couldn’t see over it. Dad always went to the pub, while Mum and my Nan prepared a late lunch fit for royalty, and as I became a teen, I was allowed to go to the pub as well – I felt very adult. The lunch was amazing, and was finished off with pudding that if you were lucky, held silver coins. And, at night the family played a card game called Kings, for pennies, and my Nan always used to win. They were very special times, that brought the family together, and petty squabbles with my brothers were in abeyance. 

Now I’m an adult, and my wife and I worked tirelessly, and with massive smiles on our faces, to recreate our childhood for our children. Now, they have all moved out with partners of their own, and I am delighted to say, my wife is still a bigger Christmas addict than ever; and I love it.

Out house is still festooned with outdoor lights that make the city dim when we turn them on. Inside her tree is breathtaking, adorned with baubles collected from around the world. The living areas more resemble Santa’s Grotto, than a suburban home, and I am pleased to report, my children have become a facsimile of their mother.

It’s that one time of the year, when regardless of your beliefs, it’s about family, giving, and love – after sixty years, the spirit of Christmas is alive and well in the King household.

Thirty-Three Days

Jenny is a lonely university lecturer whose consciousness has traveled back in time to her younger body to try to save the future of the world. A young microbiologist is going to release genetically modified wheat that will mutate and ultimately destroy all plant life, leaving nothing but barren windswept dust bowls.

In the past, Jenny finds a love that has been missing from her life; the kind that comes just once in a lifetime. But Jenny can only stay in that time period for thirty-three days. Meanwhile, in the future, fearful Jenny will fail; plans are made to send another back in time-an assassin. How can she choose between saving the man she loves and saving the future?

Another benefit of this technology viagra for women australia is that blend doesn’t go wasted as its absorbed quite quickly. The science of Ayurveda says that tumour forms in http://valsonindia.com/interview-in-dalastreet/?lang=it canadian cialis pharmacy the pituitary gland due to doshas like vata dosha and Kapha dosha. If you are buying medicines from traditional shops getting viagra without prescription then you are denying yourself the fruits of technology. You ought to be constructive, do-it-yourself assured, not cheap levitra pills http://valsonindia.com/category/press-release/?lang=eu to mention have faith in yourself. About the Author: I left Perth, Australia in 1975 to go East and find fame and fortune in the music business as a long-haired rock guitarist. I gave it all up for love and got married. Then, real life took over, children came along and I threatened to write a book for so many years my long-suffering wife eventually pushed me into it by buying me a laptop and said: “No more excuses, do it.” And so began this amazing journey.

Thrillers and crime genres have always fascinated me, and in particular, the dark world of serial killers and police procedurals. I love a good, un-put-down-able, thriller; the kind you just want to read one more chapter of at three in the morning, but you have to get up at six to go to work. Have I succeeded in creating stories that can take people to that place? I hope so.

My first book, Forever Night, was contracted and published by The Totally Entwined Group UK’s now defunct Evidence Press when they were taken over by Bonnier UK. Undeterred it was followed by a trilogy, comprising of Domin8, The Vigilante Taxi and Burial Ground, All were self published due to contractual problems with TEG, even though they gave me an editor to work with in the interim. Months passed in limbo. Repo, saw me return to two characters from Forever Night as new private investigators trying to save a man from jail for a murder he did not commit, which was also also self pubbed until the war with the big bad publisher was over and agreements were signed along with a confidentiality agreement – so I can’t talk about it.

The Wild Rose Press in NY (no more UK publishers for me) contracted Thirty-Three Days, for which I will always be grateful – they are awesome to work with. They have also contracted another Trilogy called Three Deadly Glimpses, the first is due for release on the first of October and is called, Glimpse, Memoir of a Serial Killer. Book Two: Glimpse, The Beautiful Deaths will follow shortly after as it is going through the third round of editing now, and the finale: Glimpse, The Caring Killer will be available next year.

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Thirty-Three Days buy link: http://a.co/d/8agAD4r.

Winter Blogfest: Leslie Bowes

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win an e-book of my book Heart Healer.

Christmas Is My Fav Time of the Year

Christmas is my fav time of the year. I remember when I was four years old had been very sick and could go out and do all things I love do for Christmas. But on Christmas ever I was feeling up to going to church. When we got there the father came up to talk to my mom. He then asked me if I would like to bring out the baby Jesus and put him in the manger during serves. When ever Christmas comes around, I still think about that night.

 

Catherine Andrews is an English woman living in the 1800’s. Her father sells her to Blake Von-Clyer to be his wife to pay off debts owed to Mr. Von-Clyer. Catherine soon finds out Blake is a cruel and horrible man.

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Christopher King is living in 2014 doing his best to raise his young son Ryan after his wife left him. One night, Christopher finds a woman in the river unconscious and barely breathing. She is also wearing old fashioned clothes. Christopher does everything in his power to help the young women. When Catherine regains consciousness, she finds herself in a strange and unbelievable situation. Terrified, she does her best to keep her guard up against Christopher. But as she gets to know him, she can’t help but fall for the man who saved her life. When Catherine’s dangerous past comes back to haunt her, it has Catherine and Christopher fighting for each other and their love.

About the Author: I was born and raised in southern Maryland. When I was thirteen I moved Summerville, South Caroline where I fell in love with the Lowcountry culture and history. South Caroline was my inspiration for my book Heart Healer. Recently I moved to central Va and now I am enjoying the beauty and history of this area. The rolling hills and pastoral views will surely inspire ideas for future stories.

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Winter Blogfest: Heidi Wessman Kneale

This post is part of Long and Short Reviews’ Winter Blogfest. Leave a comment for a chance to win all three books of the Of The Dark series (God of the Dark, Bride of the Dark, House of the Dark) in ebook format (.epub or .mobi).

Your Summer Break: Christmas in Australia

Recently we had a very hot day here in Western Australia. My first thought was, “Gee, it feels like summer.” For my daughter, she excitedly announced, “It feels like Christmas!”

I had to think about that for a moment. See, I grew up in the Northern Hemisphere, where the holiday season meant snow and winter. But for my very dinki-di Aussie-born daughter, Christmas was the epitome of summer. Nothing says Christmas to her like sweltering days at the beach and hot summer nights where the solar Christmas lights make every house on the street sparkle. Christmas dinner consists of seafood quickly cooked on the barbie (barbeque) and cool salads.

Kids still get excited on Christmas Eve. Good luck getting them to bed, though. Being only a few days after the Capricorn Summer Solstice, the sun won’t set until well past littlies’ bedtimes.  The sun also rises at stupid o’clock in the morning. Good luck Mum and Dad getting a sleep-in as well. Nothing guarantees a sleepless kid like the promise of getting “pressies from the rellies at Chrissie” (presents, relatives, Christmas).

The day after Christmas is Boxing Day. While Christmas is for families, Boxing Day is for friends. The more sporting-minded head out for cricket matches. Those who are sick of the heat retreat to the comforts of the air-conditioned cinemas to catch all the Boxing Day releases. The rest of us head out to mates’ Boxing Day parties, and hope they have a swimming pool.

Although I’ve been here more than twenty years, I still can’t get used to a hot Christmas. One of these fine years I’ll take the multitudinous offspring to my folks’ place where they can experience a winter Christmas. I don’t know if they’ll enjoy it the same. After all, a cold, wet winter reminds them of dull, dreary July.

The End

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Adrastea, a simple country healer, is surprised to receive a marriage proposal from the Dark God Mor-Lath. As a devotee of a rival god, of course she turns him down. She was raised on chilling tales of this chthonic being who drags the souls of the unrepentant to Dom-al-gol. Adrastea loves her simple country life of brewing medicines and saving lives. Marriage to Mor-Lath would greatly complicate things. Besides, why would the Dark God propose to her?

Undaunted by her refusal, Mor-Lath insists on courting her. Sometimes he is charming, winning over the other villagers, but other times, she sees him for the dark god he truly is. He refuses to let anyone stand in his way. While he makes it clear he’ll only have her willingly, he’s making it very difficult for her to say no. She wonders, what is he really after?

Adrastea faces a quandary: if she accepts the Dark God’s marriage proposal, she’ll lose her very soul. But if she rejects it, the world itself and everything in it might be at stake. Either way, the price is too high.

About the Author: Heidi Wessman Kneale is an Australian author of moderate repute known for her Fantasy and Romance novels. When not providing escapist fiction to the masses, she can be found composing music and studying the universe.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Winter 2018 TBR

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

My TBR list has been exploding with exciting new titles to add to it recently. This winter is shaping up to be an excellent time for whittling that list down to something more manageable again. Today I wanted to share some of the titles I’m looking forward to reading the most between now and the end of winter as they’re released.

1. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

Release Date: January 8

The characters in this book will be doing something I’ve been curious about for many years: purposefully living the same way people did back in the Paleolithic era, stone tools and all. That was more than enough of a lure to convince me to grab this as soon as it becomes available.

2. Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Release Date: January 15

It’s so interesting to think about the logistics of hiding something like the ability to shape-shift. I’d never want to use this ability at all because of how easy it would be for a passing neighbor to peek onto my property at the wrong time and realize that I wasn’t as ordinary as I seemed.

3. Talk to Me by John Kenney 

Release Date: January 15

Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. The main character of this tale made a series of minor  mistakes over many years that eventually caused serious and possibly permanent damage to his relationships with his wife and children. Then he made a huge error that cost him his job. The thought of someone starting over with nothing so late in life piques my interest.

4. No One Here Is Lonely by Sarah Everett

Release Date: January 22

Grief is one of those experiences that all humans eventually share but is also hard to describe to someone who hasn’t been through it yet. I’m intrigued by the thought of still being able to communicate with a virtual version of a loved one. It’s not clear to me whether that would make it easier or more difficult to say goodbye to them, but I’m curious to find out.

5. The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

Release Date: January 29

I definitely don’t condone lying in general, but I am looking forward to getting to know the main character of this tale better. The blurb talked about why she felt the need to hide her true self from her family, and the reasons it gave were pretty understandable. I’d like to know more about her culture and find out whether she’ll ever be able to be honest with her parents.

6. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Release Date: February 5

I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book to be released for a decade. Given how much audiences loved The Hate U Give, her first novel, I think this is going to be a great read and a smashing success for Ms. Thomas.

7. The Fever King by Victoria Lee

Release Date: March 1

The thought of magic being spread virally makes this something I’m quite curious to check out. I’d never heard of something like that before, but it sure would change the way people thought about magic and what it means to be able to do it. Will these characters think of magic as a disease or a blessing?

8. Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi

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Release Date: March 5

This is a modern-day retelling of Hansel & Gretel. As soon as I read that part of the blurb, I knew it was a must-read for me. There can never be too many retellings of classic fairy tales if you ask me.

9. Instructions for a Funeral: Stories by David Means

Release Date: March 5

Short story collections grab my attention easily in general. This specific anthology looks like it’s going to touch on some particularly poignant themes about mental illness, family, and grief.

10. The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum

Release Date: March 15

Not only is this about one of my favourite branches of science, astronomy, but it looks like it might be about someone’s first love as well. I always enjoy seeing how characters react to this sort of experience.

What are you looking forward to reading this winter?

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter Solstice Reads

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

The Winter Solstice is the holiday I observe at this time of the year. I believe there’s something to be said for acknowledging the changing of the seasons and celebrating when the days finally begin to grow a little longer again in December.

From a purely scientific point of view, there’s something fascinating to me about how much the weather shifts from one season to the next. Studying science is a hobby of mine, and I love absorbing as much information as I can about everything from astronomy to zoology.

I also enjoy learning about how various cultures explained and prepared for the changing of the seasons back before humans understood why the western hemisphere has so many more hours of daylight in the summer than we do in the winter. Some of the titles on this list will reflect that curiosity.

Since I’m still hunting down copies of some of these books, I won’t say anything specific about them today. I am really looking forward to reading all of them, though! This is one of those topics that can be approached from so many perspectives that I could read about it for ages and still find new takes on it.

1)  Grandmother Winter by Phillis Root

2) The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Wendy Pfeffer

3) Yule: Rituals, Recipes, & Lore for the Winter by Susan Pesznecker

4) Fireside Stories: Tales for a Winter’s Eve by Caitlin Matthews

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5) Winter Waits by Lynn Plourde

6) The Solstice Evergreen: History, Folklore, and Origins of the Christmas Tree by Sheryl Ann Karas

7) Lights for Luucy: A Unitarian Universalist Celebration of Winter Holidays by Connie Dunn

8) Yule: History, Lore & Celebration by Anna Franklin

9) Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice by Melanie Falick

10) The Return of the Light: Twelves Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice by Carolyn McVickar Edwards

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Wintry Reads

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Can you believe it’s December already? I feel like last winter just ended, and now here I am about to begin another one.

There’s something about this time of year that makes me want to return to books I’ve reread many times before. The weather in the part of the world where I live grows pretty cold in November and generally doesn’t warm up again until April.

We’ll soon be getting into snowstorm season, too, which makes spending a lot of time outdoors even less appealing to me. These long, dark months are perfect for reading, though!

I love the feeling of beginning that first chapter of an old favorite when you know everything that’s about to happen to a beloved character. It feels sort of like having a cup of coffee with an old friend in real life and catching up on all of the wonderful things have happened to them since you last spent time together.

This list is going to be filled with nothing but the classics, many of which are taught in school. Due to that, I won’t be going into detail about my choices like I normally do. I strongly suspect that everyone who finds this post has already read, or at the very least heard of, everything on my list.

1. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

3. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry.
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4. Heidi by Johanna Spyri.

5. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

6. My Ántonia by Willa Cather.

7. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

8. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

9. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

10. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

What do you like to read when the weather outside is frightful? If you live in a warm climate, I am a little envious of you right now and hope you’re enjoying all of that nice, sunny weather.

Top Ten Tuesday: Friendships in Books

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Not all of the characters in this post are human, but all of them are excellent examples of how meaningful friendships can be throughout someone’s life.

I asked a few of the other bloggers here for help coming up with ideas this week since the topic was a bit of a tricky one. Thank you to Cholla and Marianne for your assistance. It was greatly appreciated.

1. JD Robb’s “In Death” series.

Dallas has a few really amazing friends (Mavis, Peabody, etc) who really serve to balance and support her and the stories.  One of the reasons I follow the series is for the interpersonal relationships the author has created.  – Marianne

2. James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series

There are also a lot of police procedurals with that kind of relationship as well.  Lindsay Boxer the ME, Claire, from James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club series – Cholla

3. Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie

The friendship between Morrie and Mitch was a beautiful thing. They only had a few short months together to reconnect after losing touch for many years, but in that time they made a lifetime’s worth of memories. I also like the idea of learning from the wisdom of older generations. Some senior citizens have a lot of fantastic advice to pass down to younger people.

4. Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty

This is one of those stories that has somehow only grown better over time, and it’s not something that will only appeal to kids. Anyone who cares about animal welfare or horses should read it. Black Beauty went through a lot of difficult experiences as a young horse, but his relationships with the kind humans he met made a permanent difference in his life.

5. Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters

I’m in awe of people who still maintain close relationships with their childhood friends long into adulthood. Two people might have a lot in common when they’re six or ten, but it sure seems to be rare for them to share the same interests and values decades later.

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6. W. Bruce Cameron’s A Dog’s Purpose

Fair warning: this one’s a tearjerker. The main character was a smart, if also a little goofy, dog who was attempting to understand human culture and protect the man he loved. There were so many scenes that made me laugh until I cried, and even more than simply brought a tear to my eye for sentimental reasons.

7. Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers

What better way is there to spend time with friends than to run around having adventures? If such a thing exists, I can’t imagine what it would be.

8. N.H. Kleinbaum’s Dead Poets Society

When I was first exposed to this story, I was envious of people who came from very wealthy families. I was young enough then that I couldn’t imagine how growing up with all of that wealth and prestige could possible have a negative side, so it came as a surprise to me to meet characters whose parents were so busy making money that they didn’t bother to get to know their children at all.

Honestly, some of these characters had no one in the world to rely on other than the friends they made at boarding school. That was eye-opening, and it made for a compelling plot once one of the friends became dangerously depressed.

9. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table

Oh, how I wish we knew the names of the people who came up with this legend !  It’s a story I’ve loved since the very first time I heard it. The friendships between King Arthur and all of the knights who served him were filled with so many different emotions: loyalty, betrayal, joy, and pain. Their relationships felt so real to me that I like to imagine something similar to the original plot really did happen at various times and places in history.

10. Bill Watterson’s The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

Raise your hand if you loved reading this comic strip! I was so disappointed when it ended. The relationship between Calvin and his stuff tiger was complex, sometimes hysterically funny, and always touching.

I still hope that we’ll get an update on these characters’ lives someday. It would be nice to think that Calvin and Hobbes still go on adventures sometimes.

Top Ten Tuesday: Thanksgiving Cookbooks

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Lately I’ve been thinking about all of the work that goes into creating a delicious Thanksgiving feast. Cooking is a skill, especially when it comes to making multiple dishes using ingredients that might not be so commonly used the rest of the year by the average person.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a family that taught basic cooking skills, but not everyone has this advantage in life. Thank goodness for cookbooks and recipes written by more experienced cooks that can fill in the gaps there for anyone who wants to make the perfect Thanksgiving meal.

Today I’m sharing ten such cookbooks. If you know of any others that are also a good resource, let us know in the common section below.

1. The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman and Beth Dooley.

Look at just a few of the recipes included in this collection: cedar braised bison, griddled wild rice cakes, amaranth crackers with smoked white bean paste, three sisters salad, deviled duck eggs, smoked turkey soup, dried meats, roasted corn sorbet, and hazelnut–maple bites.

My mouth is watering already. They all sound amazing.

2. Vegetarian Times Complete Thanksgiving Cookbook by the Editors of Vegetarian Times .

I enjoy the challenge of creating a delicious and filling holiday meal that can be eaten by a group of people who sometimes have wildly different dietary needs. This includes friends and relatives who don’t eat meat. With a few tweaks, anyone can eat their fill at my dinner table. I’m proud of that fact.

3. Betty Crocker Complete Thanksgiving Cookbook: All You Need to Cook a Foolproof Dinner by the Editors of Betty Crocker . 

This would be an excellent place to start for anyone who has never cooked Thanksgiving dinner before.

4. Taste of Autumn Cookbook by Gooseberry Patch.

There is a recipe in this book for herb roasted turkey that I can’t wait to try. This is also something I’d use to test out recipes ahead of time to see if I liked them enough to include them in the official Thanksgiving lineup.

5. Where People Feast: An Indigenous People’s Cookbook by Dolly Watts and Annie Watts.

Seafood isn’t something I’ve had at any holiday dinner, but the recipes for it in this cookbook sound incredible. I might have to replace the traditional turkey with fish or mussels one day.

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6. Southern Holiday Feast: Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Easter & More! by S.L. Watson.

Southern food is delicious at any time of the year, so of course I’d want to see what they come up with on special occasions, too.

7. Diabetic Holiday Recipes by Publications International.

Once again, I love the idea of making small changes to the traditional spread in order to make sure that everyone will be able to enjoy it.

8. Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina Garten.

My kitchen has a limited amount of counter space, no dishwasher, and a small oven, so I make as much food ahead of time as possible during special occassions. It is so much easier to spread the cooking out over a couple of days as opposed to finding the room to make everything at once and washing a small mountain of dishes afterwards.

9. Pies and Tarts: for All Seasons by Annie Rigg and Nassima Rothacker.

There is never such a thing as too much pie. The nice thing about this dessert is that it generally keeps well if you’re too full to have a slice immediately after the main meal. Of course, my stomach always thinks it has enough room left for pie no matter what else I’ve eaten.

10. Edible Wild Plants: A Naturalist’s Look at the Wild Food Plants of North America by Oliver Perry Medsger. 

As you might have already guessed, I enjoy eating locally grown food when possible. I don’t know enough about safely identifying wild plants to eat them on other than rare occasions, but I am fascinated by the idea of wandering into the woods to gather one’s dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our American readers from everyone here at Long and Short Reviews!

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Items/Merchandise I’d Like to Own

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

One of the reasons why I decided to blog about this week’s topic is that I’m a minimalist. There aren’t many physical objects in life that I wish I owned but haven’t already either purchased for myself or been given as gifts by people who know me.

I’d much rather save up and buy a really nice version of something I know I’ll use regularly than get a flimsy version of the same item or buy something similar that doesn’t quite have all of the features I’m looking for.  (Yes, this means I can be a hard person to shop for. It’s something I try to warn new friends about pretty early on.)

Given all of this, I thought it would be a worthwhile challenge to come up with ten practical and useful things for this list. Wish me luck! (Oh, and Long and Short Reviews is not affiliated with either of the sites I’ll be linking to in this post. I included them only to give our readers a better idea of what I was talking about in those sections).

1. All of the Mint and Herbal Tea in the Entire World

Or at least enough of it to get me through the long, cold winter that is looming ahead. I originally started drinking tea when I was in elementary school.

My parents only brought sweets into the house on special ocassions, so tea was my best option for most of the year unless I was genuinely hungry and wanted a salad or apple as a snack, too. On the positive side, this taught me to love this beverage from a very early age.

Now I automatically think of books when I drink tea, and reading often makes me crave tea as well. It’s a beautiful cycle that I hope lasts forever.

2. Novelty Mugs

Speaking of drinking hot liquids, is it ever really possible to have too many mugs? I go through them so quickly during the cold season that this is one of those things I don’t mind having extra copies of. I will use them regularly, especially if they have funny sayings on them.

3. Tote Bags

I’ve been known to use tote bags until their handles disintegrate. They’re good for everything from packing up miscellaneous items for a vacation to bringing home way more library books than I was intending to borrow. Honestly, I use mine every single day…and I could use a few more of them now that I think about it.

4. Book Lights

Occasionally, I wake up far too early in the morning and can’t get back to sleep. When this happens, it sure is nice to have an easy way to shine a light on the pages I’m reading without also filling the entire bedroom with light.
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5. Dairy-Free Chocolate

While I do still eat carrots and salad while reading sometimes, there are other stories that demand something a little richer to nibble on as I find out what happens in them next. Due to my milk allergy, I don’t get to do this as often as I’d like, but I do love it when I find a chocolate I can eat at the same time that I’m reading something exciting or scary.

6. Warm Socks

I have no idea why this is so, but I have a hard time concentrating if my feet are cold. Sometimes I specifically seek out my warmest pair of socks before reading something complicated or nuanced so that I’ll be better able to pay attention and figure out what is happening in the story.

7. T-Shirts with Book Quotes Printed on Them

There are bonus points if the quotes are humorous, but really any thought-provoking quote will do. I think you can learn a lot about a person by paying attention to what kinds of messages they’d want to have on their t-shirt.

8. Literary Smart Phone Cases

This is something I just discovered recently, and I really like the idea of walking around with a quote or scene from your favorite book on your smart phone.

9. Little Blank Books for Writing Down Quotes

I used to do this more often before cellphones became capable of storing this kind of information, but I still like the idea of pausing what you’re reading in order to write down a meaningful or uplifting quote. There’s something beautiful about being later being able to go back and read through those quotes.

10. Literary Duvet Covers

For example, I recently saw one that had a picture of Edgar Allen Poe printed on it. If I needed a new duvet cover, I’d go for something creative and unusual like this over a traditional floral pattern in a heartbeat.

What bookish items do you wish you owned?

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween in Nonfiction

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

I adore Halloween. It’s by far my favorite holiday of the year for reasons ranging from my love of dressing up in costumes to the fact that candy corn finally becomes available again as we move closer to the end of October.

Today I wanted to share some books about the non-fiction side of this holiday and some of the things that have become so closely associated with it. I find the history and sociology of this stuff just as interesting as reading about spooky monsters, and I hope you will as well.

1. Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween by Lisa Morton. 

I live in a wonderfully diverse community that includes many people who have no cultural understanding of Halloween at all. It’s fascinating to see how they react to this holiday the first time they come across it. Things I think of as perfectly ordinary continue to surprise them for years to come. For example, the thought of knocking on a neighbour’s door and asking them for food is a common source of bewilderment for them.

2. Things in the Basement: A History of Halloween Horrors by John Lloyd Retzer.

Wow, this book covered a lot of ground. It’s something I’d recommend to anyone who is totally unfamiliar with this holiday and wants a basic overview of what it’s all about.

3. The Haunting of America: From Salem Witch Trials to Harry Houdini by Joel Martin. 

Believing in the paranormal sometimes can have unintended negative consequences for a community or nation. I liked the way this book framed this topic. It was full of compassion for everyone from the citizens of Salem to contemporary people whose beliefs in various supernatural things pushed them to do stuff they probably wouldn’t have otherwise considered.

4. Medusa’s Gaze and Vampire’s Bite: The Science of Monsters by Matt Kaplan.

What a cool idea for a book! I’ve often wondered how certain legends were invented in the first place, especially when it comes to vampires. Knowing possible scientific explanations for what was really happening back then helps me understand why and how people misinterpreted what was going on with them so terribly.

5. The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present by Ronald Hutton.

This was such an eye-opening read. I’d known that there were women (and a few men) who died violent deaths in the past after being accused of being witches, but I had no idea how widespread this practice actually was or why it began.
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6. The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror David J. Skal. 

If you’ve ever wondered by certain types of horror movies were wildly popular in certain eras, go read this book.

7. Ghosts: A Natural History: 500 Years of Searching for Proof by Roger Clarke.

With everything that’s changed for humans over the last century, it’s nice to see that this is one thing has remained constant for generations. Just about everyone enjoys a good ghost story now and again.

8. It Lives Again! : Horror Movies in the New Millennium by Axelle Carolyn. 

This book reminded me of just how far behind I am in watching modern horror films. I have a lot of catching up to do.

9. Monsters in America: Our Historical Obsession with the Hideous and Haunting by W. Scott Poole. 

I hope this author writes sequels about how monsters are viewed in other cultures. Every culture on Earth seems to have developed their own stories about various frightening creatures that are often based on the social mores at the time those tales were first created.

10. Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night by Nicholas Rogers.

Finally, I’ll leave you with a history of Halloween that begins with its pagan origins and ends with how it is currently celebrated. This makes me wonder how the people who first came up with it would react to the ways it is observed today.

Happy Halloween from everyone at Long and Short Reviews!