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Mystery of Mysteries, plus more O. Henry
116. Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe, by Mark Dawidziak. I remember reading a lot of Poe's works in middle and high school, and have even read several of his stories and poems for my online readings. But until I read this excellent book, I didn't realize how little I knew about Poe himself. Really, I knew next to nothing ( Read more... ) -
Very rough week
The past several days were extremely trying. Haven't been so happy to see the end of it in a while. Don't want to get into detail here but I'm looking to Monday with considerable trepidation. Sigh.
Will stick to book reviews for the most part, so as to not fall behind. Mostly O. Henry, plus an excellent book about Edgar Allan Poe.
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Another batch of O. Henry stories
All by O. Henry
104. The Sleuths. This one is hilarious! We see Shamrock Jolnes again, this time as he assists a man who is looking for his sister. Or, at least he tries to help, but another sleuth is called in to assist. Definitely ribbing Conan Doyle with this one.
105. The Skylight Room. I remember reading this in either middle or high school. I ( Read more... ) -
Hot and stormy
The above pretty much sums up the past week. Today is the solstice, and from what I understand it is the earliest the summer solstice has been in 228 years. Interesting!
We've been consistently in the 90s all week, although it hasn't been as broiling as predicted (earlier this week it was supposed to be 97; I think it was 91). Saturday could be a ( Read more... ) -
Intense first part of the week
Glad the past few days have been fairly quiet.
This past Sunday, I get a call from my editor at about 7:40 a.m., give or take. Mass shooting in Akron. 27 shot, with one killed, two critically injured. Just... such a tragedy. Happened at a block party/birthday party. People were having fun, then I guess someone driving by started shooting. That ( Read more... ) -
Lots of books...
The following are O. Henry short stories:
78. The Poet and the Peasant. Not sure I liked this one. Here, O. Henry combines two stories in one and (I think) tries to connect them through a lesson(?). Haven't decided if this was clever, or an attempt to be clever. Leaning towards the latter the more I think about it. One story is about an effort to ( Read more... ) -
Latest book report- mostly O. Henry
That last post was longer than I expected and I have a lot of books, so I figured I'd break things down with a separate post for the books I've finished. Included are two books I've been working through for a while now (both were excellent, just had limited time to read them- one was the book I kept for lunch hour at work, the other until recently ( Read more... ) -
Halfway through the year??
Doesn't seem possible. I know, I think this every year. But the swiftness of time can be breathtaking. Seems like Easter was just a few short weeks ago. Now, proms have past, most schools have had their graduations and the majority of school districts have started their summer vacations. Ironically, late May/June has turned...well, not chilly, that ( Read more... ) -
Another batch of O. Henry stories
72. The Girl and the Graft. Possibly O. Henry's kindest take on women, although I hesitate to call it a feminist tale as I've seen others write. More a statement on the barriers women would have faced in the turn of the 20th century. Here, a friend of the narrator, a "classy" grifter, shares a tale about how what he calls a woman's nature led him ( Read more... ) -
Crazy busy
Whew, pretty much recovered from an insane week at this point, but it was an intense work week. Seven stories last Sunday - two which the USA Today picked up, a nice feather in the cap - plus a sad story that occupied much of the rest of my work days.
Got the rest of my plants out today- had most of them out last Sunday. Did some pot cleaning and ( Read more... )