ClimbingSky

Why Baseball, Books, and the Grateful Dead matter

BOOK REVIEWS

  • Golden Age Detective Fiction

    For some reason I have been reading a lot of Golden Age Detective Fiction of late. The Golden Age of Detective Fiction is generally considered to be the kind of mysteries written in the 1920s and 1930s, primarily in Britain. What that means is that I have been reading novels by and short story collections… Read more

  • BOOK REVIEW: Murder by the Book, ed. by Martin Edwards

    The Bibliomystery is a sub-genre of Mysteries that I greatly enjoy. Bibliomysteries, as their name implies, are mysteries deeply intertwined with books and the literary world. These stories might involve the theft of a rare edition, the murder of a bookseller, or shady dealings within a publishing house. The defining characteristic is a substantial connection… Read more

  • Choosing What to Read

    I have admitted here before that I am an “Indiscriminate Reader.” I read what catches my fancy. And if the book is free, even better. I routinely pick up any Kindle freebies that catch my eye. Over the years, I have found some very enjoyable reads that way. And, to be fair, some very dreadful… Read more

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • Why We Love Books

    Sometimes it is easy to forget why we fell in love with books to begin with. This is especially true I think of those of us who were English Majors in college. Honing your ability to analyze books and styles, it becomes all too easy to take your eye off the ball. Ultimately we first… Read more