ClimbingSky

Why Baseball, Books, and the Grateful Dead matter

February 2025

  • SHORT STORY REVIEW: “Malice Domestic” by Philip MacDonald

    Writer Philip MacDonald was born in Britain but immigrated to California where he became a screenwriter for Hitchcock among others. I found his excellent short story “Malice Domestic” in Murder by the Book, another wonderful volume in the British Library Crime Classics Series. “Malice Domestic” in the story of Carl Borden, “a writer of some Read more

  • Hard-Boiled Coffee Beans

    “There was a pot of coffee perking in the kitchen. Real coffee. The aroma reminded me of a little store I used to know in Newark as a kid, where fresh coffee beans always spilled out of a grinder into the window. It was the only street in my neighborhood that didn’t stink.” (cf. Vorzimmer, Read more

  • BOOK REVIEW: Murder at the Manor, edited by Martin Edwards

    The classic English country house is a quintessential backdrop for British crime fiction, particularly short stories. From Agatha Christie to Margery Allingham, renowned authors crafted intricate mysteries for their detectives to solve within these sprawling estates. The enduring popularity of these tales stems from a combination of nostalgia for a bygone era and the irresistible Read more

  • Wandering & Wondering

    I may have mentioned here before that in a different life I could have been a pastor. I actually studied and trained for three years after graduating with an English B.A. to be a Lutheran pastor. Even had a congregation for a year, preached every Sunday, led bible studies and retreats. In the end though, Read more

  • BOOK REVIEW: Castle Skull by John Dickson Carr

    John Dickson Carr was born in Greenville, South Carolina, but lived for a long time in England. Since his work features English and Continental locales and detectives he is generally classified as a British Golden Age Mystery writer. Certainly the British Library considers him as such since they include a number of his works in Read more

  • Typing

    I hope to incorporate my typewriter into ClimbingSky going forward. But I will need to experiment with the best way to format for blog reading. Obviously I have the margins too wide here. But I am going to post it anyway. Read more

  • Easy on the Tongue

    I am not certain when or how the insult jackwagon first entered, or more likely re-entered, my daily vocabulary. But it has. Words are just that way. Sometimes we will find a word waiting for us on the tip of our tongues and we have no idea where or how it got there. Was it a word we recently Read more

  • Catchers and Pitchers Report

    This week catchers and pitchers report to Spring Training. The long, dark days of winter are coming to an end. For baseball fans, Spring Training means hope and possibility. Here are some of my favorite quotes about Spring Training. Spring training means flowers, people coming outdoors, sunshine, optimism and baseball. Spring training is a time Read more

  • Hardboiled Coffee Problems

    You know something? It wasn’t so bad having a cup of coffee with her. I mean this was the first time we were alone together and she had a very sweet way about her. But what the hell, I had my own problems. (cf. The Best of Manhunt 2 (p. 398). Stark House Press. Kindle Read more

  • The Year of the Short Story: A Check-In

    I am a little over two months into “The Year of the Short Story” and I thought I would check-in. As of the morning of Saturday, February 8th (when I am writing this post), I have read 101 different short stories. Yes, I am keeping a record. My goal has been to read two short Read more