General/other non-categorized posts
Some would say that the best time to read a scary story is at night when the imagination is more susceptible to the terrifying ideas such tales can conjure. However, we decided that we wanted a fun atmospheric juxtaposition and do our Gothic reading during the sunny summer with Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and The Mysteries of […]
While we may like to inundate ourselves in the new tales and spins on vampires, every now and then, to truly appreciate their enduring presence in fiction, we must look back to those stories that inspired the genre, and even further back to the ones that inspired them. You cannot mention vampires without at least […]
When I was younger and first getting into reading for pleasure, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was one of my favorite. I identified with Jo with her tomboy attitude and passion for writing. I even had a crush on Laurie and couldn’t for the life of me understand why Jo and he didn’t end up together. […]
What if you believed there was a ghost haunting the house in which you were living? How would you discover the truth? Who would you speak to about such a thing? How could you be sure you weren’t going insane? These are the very questions Eliza Caine wrestles with as the new governess at Gaudlin […]
Like all Quirk books, The Meowmorphosis is a mash-up which takes a classic tale and spins it into fun absurdity (not that the original The Metamorphosis was ever lacking in absurdity).
Wait…is that kitty dressed as a man or a man with a kitten’s head?
One of the most peculiar things about human nature is this: we are addicted to safety. We love watching the psychopath’s shadow creep toward the shower curtain, raise the knife, then stab, stab, stab…blood down the drain. All while we munch on over-butterd popcorn from the relative “safety” of our sectional sofa. Of course, we […]
To truly enjoy any story there is a certain amount of forgetting yourself and suspending disbelief that you as the reader are expected to do. I find that my mood is a huge factor in my ability to do so, but one thing will always either draw me in deeper or break the spell completely […]
Today member Mary C.M. Phillips shares some thoughts on writing classes, prompts, and this month’s reading selection. Don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a copy of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, courtesy of Quirk Books!
What if your grandfather told you that he had been hunted by squid faced monsters, had special friends who could do extraordinary things, and had boxes of photographs to prove it? Would you believe him? For most of us, we would chalk up grandpa’s tales of a supernatural or peculiar world to senility or dementia […]
Last Monday my husband and I started taking ballroom dancing lessons. It was his idea. I kid you not!
