Throwback to traveling days for Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums. A sampling of some of my favorite exterior photos to get into the Halloween spirit!
Yorktown Memorial Hospital – Yorktown, TX
Yorktown Memorial Hospital
Farrar School – Maxwell, IA
To purchase your copy of Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums, head on over to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Asylums-Prisons-Sanatoriums-Institutions/dp/073873750X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
I was introduced to the series because of a random walk-in at our local Book Warehouse outlet. The mystery series, starring twelve-year old English heroine Flavia de Luce strikes the right balance between precocious and obnoxious, which is a hard thing to do when writing a child’s character! I particularly enjoyed this seventh book because we got to see Flavia in an entirely new setting (and seemingly alone). Her father and her Aunt Felicity have sent her to Canada to attend Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy, which is the mysterious school that her mother Harriett attended in her own youth.
Things are getting Secret Society good in the land of Flavia de Luce. I will be tuning in for more! It probably isn’t fair to classify this is a guilty pleasure read because that seems to convey that the story/writing lacks substance (which it does not), so maybe “binge-read” is a better term.
Throwback to traveling days for Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums. A sampling of some of my favorite exterior photos to get into the Halloween spirit!
St. Albans Sanatorium – Radford, VA
Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum – Weston, WV
To purchase your copy of Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums, head on over to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Asylums-Prisons-Sanatoriums-Institutions/dp/073873750X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
There are books that are masculine and there are books that are feminine, and this is decidedly a feminine book. Set in 1686 Amsterdam, the book tells the tale of eighteen year-old Petronella Oortman’s new life when she arrives at her new merchant husband’s home. The green flags are where I have marked the book’s “mysteries.”
What secrets are kept by her new sister-in-law Marin? Who is the Miniaturist and why does she do what she does (Alas, we are never told the answer to this question, which was a bit unfulfilling, and I have to guess that the Miniaturist is some sort of psychic and uses her powers through her art to try and help or warn her clients). Lastly, why is her new husband, Johannes, so detached from her? This is a book of mysteries, but more importantly than that, this is a book about relationships, love, forgiveness, betrayal, and perseverance. Life marches on, and so does Nella.
The story line between husband and wife was one I certainly was not expecting, and not one I could relate to or want to relate to. Why does Nella care about him after finding out what he did/who he is? I would have left the sucker to rot in prison, and let him march forward to his execution alone. She was not without resources or family, so she could have left, but Nella is not me, so Nella stayed and supported him. Should his punishment have been death by drowning? Certainly not, and the trial proceedings are chilling. Dangerous times.
I did enjoy the character of Nella and the things she persevered through and overcame. The book was a page turner, and kept me reading to finish the 392 page book in about two days. The story did make me think about how awful it would have been to be a woman in that period of time. I am glad I wasn’t, or if I was, that I have not retained hard memories of it now. Even the wealthy women were just property and slave puppets, mostly. Just an awful, awful time.
Interestingly, Petronella Oortman was a real Dutch woman who had a cabinet house. Today, it is on display at The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Throwback to traveling days for Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums. A sampling of some of my favorite photos to get into the Halloween spirit!
Ashmore Estates
Waverly Hills
To purchase your copy of Haunted Asylums, Prisons, and Sanatoriums, head on over to Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Asylums-Prisons-Sanatoriums-Institutions/dp/073873750X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Jonathan Howard focuses more on Horst (the vampire brother) in the fourth installment of the series. I thought it was a nice change to have Horst as the main character in this one, and have his personality developed a bit more for us.
A mysterious society (The Ministerium) has raised Horst from the dead. Less Nosferatu / Lord of the Dead, Horst is really more of a Dapper Dan sort of vampire, which makes for some funny reading. Horst soon discovers the true purpose of the society, which is to raise an army of the dead (zombies, vampires, and werewolves, to be even more specific) to take over society. Chapter 8 (“In Which We Encounter Ladies Wearing Trousers”) introduces some female fighter pilots who are fantastically interwoven into the tale. Really enjoyed those audacious trouser-wearing ladies!
One can’t help but read this as a political parody of today’s Globalism / One World movement. It makes you wonder. Would our victory be as clean and clear as Horst and Johannes found their war? Let us hope.
Just digging some Abstract Expressionism at the Birmingham Museum of Art last weekend.
This has got to be one of the best horror reads I have ever read. Admittedly, the Prologue threw me a bit, but by the time I reached Page 57, I was pulling out my post-it pad and writing: “One of the best ghost stories I’ve ever read.” I was talking about the Fenny and Gregory Bate part, which was really a story within the story (one of the Chowder Society member’s stories).
Page 141 – 142: Love the Dr. Rabbitfoot description.
Eva Galli and Alma Mobley? Shapeshifter, but the same timeless creature in both earthly characters? Some creature is playing a game with the members of the chowder society, and I think it sounds more like a shapeshifter vs. a ghost. Fascinating.
I don’t always, but every now and then I will read other reviews after finishing a book to see what other people are taking away from the read. I seemed to see a lot of criticism about this book in the sense that allegedly it is not a good book for women (the whole Eva accidental death thing, mainly). Bear in mind that this was written in 1979 before the liberal police were out in such full force. Also, it really irks me when a random person writes a criticism about a book allegedly because they feel that the author somehow failed this anonymous reader in some way. “I wanted a story about a woman who graduated from college in 1929 and became a teacher, later becoming the Principal of her school.” Um… okay, well go pick up another book, asshole.
I really wish readers would try to give authors a bit more respect in the sense that, here is a human being who had a story in him to tell. He got it out on paper, and told it, and the book is a wonderful thing. Why can’t we just try to enjoy his work (or any work we are reading for that matter) for what it is instead of getting on the whole “I wish he would have done it this way,” or “I would have written blah blah blah snort.”
Well, you didn’t write it. Likely, you haven’t written anything except a grocery list, much less been published. Peter Straub wrote it, and it could not have been any other way. He wrote what he had to say. It isn’t here to please you per your exact spec and wish. Remember this, please. Sit back and let the author tell you his story.
So I guess I will quit reading other people’s book reviews, because it just winds up making me irritated. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I’m not saying that we all have to like everything, but I prefer it when reviewers are able to say what works for them, what they find inspiring about the writing, or what doesn’t work. Constructive criticism is fine, but for some housewife to get on the internet and pen ignorant reviews of Peter Straub’s work just really kills me. I can’t take it.
Let the Master be, internet reviewers. And by all means, build a fire and make yourself a cup of tea. Pick up this book and read about what the Chowder Society has been getting up to in Milburn.
Jamie Davis Writes 