Katherine Nabity's Blog, page 172

Deal Me In, Week 11 ~ “The Villager”

Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis

“The Villager” by Shirley Jackson

Card picked: Eight of Spades – I swear I’m shuffling, but this is my third Shirley Jackson story in a row.

From: The Lottery and Other Stories

Thoughts:

Miss Clarence lives in Greenwich village. She moved to New York City in hopes of becoming a dancer. Instead, she became a secretary to pay the bills and, twelve years on, has become a private secretary, has a comfortable apartment, and considers herself a “Village die-hard.” At age thirty-five, she is always on time, with a pack of Kools on hand, as she searches for the right furniture for her apartment.

Not like the Roberts’ who are selling off their (woefully inappropriately 0ak) furniture and keep a messy house. Miss Clarence doesn’t even meet Mrs. Roberts–Mrs. Roberts had to run an errand she forgot about and left with door unlocked with a note for Miss Clarence to look around until she gets back. The Roberts’ are obviously the artistic sort; their bookshelves full of books about painting and photography…and dance. To kill time, Miss Clarence strikes a dancer’s pose, something that she used to do but had always required work, and is interrupted by a young man also there to look at the furniture. In order to not seem foolish, Miss Clarence tells him that she is Mrs. Roberts, a dancer.

Of the three stories of Shirley Jackson’s that I’ve read in a row, this is the second with identity at its core. Jackson doesn’t really leave us with a firm sense of whether Miss Clarence is regretful of the path her life has taken; whether the work it took to be a dancer was joyous or, well, just work.

Is This Your Card?

Review ~ Heirs of Grace

Heirs of Grace by Tim Pratt

Recent art school graduate Bekah thought she’d hit the jackpot: an unknown relative died, and she inherited a small fortune and a huge house in the mountains of North Carolina.

Trey Howard, the lawyer who handled the estate, is a handsome man in his twenties and they hit it off right away-and soon become more than friends. Bekah expected a pleasant year to get her head together and have a romantic fling. Problem is, the house is full of junk…and siblings she didn’t know she had are willing to kill her for it.

More important, the junk in her new house is magical, she’s surrounded by monsters, and her life seems to be in mortal peril every time she ventures into a new room. As Bekah discovers more about her mysterious benefactor and the magical world he inhabited, she’s realizes that as tough and resourceful as she is, she might just be in over her head…

Heirs of Grace is a tale of family and magic, action and wonder, blending the strong heroine, cheeky humor, and dark fantasy that have become the hallmarks of Tim Pratt’s writing. (via Goodreads)

It had been over five years since I read Tim Pratt’s Hart & Boot & Other Stories when I noticed the Heirs of Grace ad on my Kindle. I don’t buy a lot of ebooks, but I like to support writers I like and, with a creepy house as its centerpiece, I figured I couldn’t go very far wrong.

Mostly, I was right. Pratt’s fantasy infused reality  is fun and also appropriately scary. Even some of the “good guys” in Heirs of Grace were unsettling. The romance aspect was at a level I like: there, but not the main point of the story.  The novel was originally released by Amazon as a five-part serial, and the structure works well. Bekah meets challenges in bite-sized pieces that do ramp up to an…interesting…ending.

(Also, there’s a nice little nod to another Rebecca–the road to Grace House is lined with rhododendrons.)

The one thing that really bugged me was, well, Bekah. I know she’s supposed to be strong and, as a woman of color, probably has reasons to be on her guard, but the chip on her shoulder was huuuge. Everyone she meets is judged and found wanting. Thinking poorly of others just isn’t a quality I like in my main characters. Despite that, I did like that Bekah is smart and level-headed. For example:

A lot of romantic comedies annoy me because three-quarters of the time, the star-crossed lovers could uncross their stars if they only sit down and actually talk to each other instead of sitting around being pissed off about some misunderstanding.

Amen to that.

Weird? Shapeshifters, magic eaters, fish gods, and titans. Not to mention the bellowing thing in the woods…

Publishing info, my copy: Kindle ebook, 47North, February 18, 2014

Acquired: June 6, 2015, Amazon

Genre: fantasy

Magic Monday ~ An Automaton Illusion, Mister B. Gone, and a trip to Open Court

I like Mondays. On Monday, I am refreshed from the weekend and exhilarated by the possibilities of the week ahead. I also like magic. I like its history, its intersection with technology, and its crafty use of human nature. I figured I’d combine the two and make a Monday feature that is truly me: a little bit of magic and a look at the week ahead.

Carisa Hendrix, magician and all-around sideshow gal, presents an illusion that mixes an automaton, some history, and a little modern dance. It’s rough around the edges, but still pretty neat.

 

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

After finishing Tim Pratt’s Heirs of Grace and bouncing between books for a couple days, I’ve settled on Mister B. Gone by Clive Barker. Settled…except for the moments when I’m more in the mood for Bret Easton Ellis’s Lunar Park. It’s *hard* being a mood reader!

Both books are for #Weirdathon. There’s still a teeny bit of time to sign up for #weirdathon if you haven’t already. (Sign-ups end the 15th!)

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, hosted by Book Date!

What Am I Writing?

I’m not ready to face my Abbott stories yet. Instead, I’m going to work on putting together a collection of David P. Abbott’s writings from Open Court magazine. It’ll give me a good opportunity to reread his articles.

Deal Me In, Week 10 ~ “My Life with R. H. Macy”

Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis

“My Life with R. H. Macy” by Shirley Jackson

Card picked: Nine of Spades

From: The Lottery, and Other Stories

Thoughts:

During the summer when I was fifteen, I worked for 2.5 hours at a Wendy’s. That was the length of the training video and being introduced to the long line of condiments that had to be applied in precise order and amounts to hamburgers and cheeseburgers. I went home and realized that the job was not for me. Too fast. Too much. I only ever returned to drop off my apron and pick up my check. And, well, to eat there since it was the fast food place around the corner. “My Life with R. H. Macy” reminded me of that story.

The R. H. Macy of the title is Macy’s department store. This super short story chronicles the two days that employee 13-3138 works in Books. Shirley Jackson makes it sound utterly dystopian, full of numbers, abbreviations (Comp. keep for ref. cust. d.a. no. or c.t. no. …), and being sent to lunch three times since the counter head mistakes her for 13-6454 and 13-2246. In the end, though, our bookseller gets a little revenge before being a customer once again.

#weirdathon Review ~ Mrs. Caliban

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

Here is the haunting story of a California housewife’s affair with a “gigantic frog-like creature” who has escaped from a sadistic institute for oceanic research. Ingalls magically portrays their affectionate relationship in this novel hailed by critics everywhere. (via Goodreads)

I would have never heard of this book if not for the Obscure Literary Monsters list, so I suppose it does qualify for obscure. As for the monster part…

Dorothy is a late 70s housewife. Her marriage has fallen apart since the death of her young son and a subsequent miscarriage. She’s fairly sure her husband is having an affair. She could divorce him but, honestly, she’s not sure that it would be worth the trouble. Her best friend Estelle is divorced, juggling two men, and trying to parent her teenage son and 20-something daughter.

While she feels she’s mostly recovered from the grief and depression she suffered after her son’s death, Dorothy’s world isn’t quite right. The young women she meets seem flat and puppet-like. She’s heard special messages on the radio that are meant only for her. And then there’s her super-secret affair with Larry. Larry is a sort of amphibian-man. His head is froggy. His hands and feet are webbed, but just a little. His skin is mottled green and hairless. The rest of him is muscular and, ahem, all male. And despite what the radio news reports about his bloody escape from captivity, Larry is intelligent and attentive. He appreciates all the things that Dorothy does for him. But…is Larry real?

This is definitely a literary novella, not a horror novella. Larry could easily be wish-fulfillment on Dorothy’s part. In addition to the relationship he offers Dorothy, he punishes those who have been wicked and tells of the simple society that he is from where females choose the males and there is total acceptance for the female’s decision. By the end of the story, we see this played out with the humans in Dorothy’s life, but it doesn’t work out as idealistically. The name of the novel obviously refers to the character from The Tempest, the misshapen minion of Prospero, who is resentful of his master, but also bound to him. Dorothy, is both Caliban and the wife of Caliban.

Publishing info, my copy: trade paperback, Laurel/Dell Publishing, 1988

Acquired: in 2015 from Paperback Swap

Genre: literary

Magic Monday ~ Principles of Magic

I like Mondays. On Monday, I am refreshed from the weekend and exhilarated by the possibilities of the week ahead. I also like magic. I like its history, its intersection with technology, and its crafty use of human nature. I figured I’d combine the two and make a Monday feature that is truly me: a little bit of magic and a look at the week ahead.

Tricks with smoking two weeks in a row? Yes, but this is one of my favorite bits of Penn & Teller magic. I’m pretty sure I’ve shared a version in the past, but it’s a good repeat.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

I finished both Territory and Mrs. Caliban last week. I’ll have a review of the latter tomorrow.

Despite the TBR stack I’d already picked out for Weirdathon, I was in the mood for something

with a contemporary setting,
lighter than Bret Easton Ellis’s Lunar Park,
still weird,
that I already owned.

I checked my Kindle and realized I had purchased Tim Pratt’s Heirs of Grace last summer. It fits the bill, but the main character is a little annoying to me.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, hosted by Book Date!

What Am I Writing?

As of last night, Bounded in a Nutshell is part of the world. I haven’t officially “launched” it (I’m not even sure what that entails), but it’ll be on sale (as in FREE) in couple weeks.

Next project, the Abbott stories. I plan to reread the first one today, then gather up my notes and decide where to continue from there. Penn & Teller’s principles of magic didn’t come to mind this morning for no reason.

Deal Me In, Week 9 ~ “Like Mother Used to Make”

Hosted by Jay @ Bibliophilopolis

“Like Mother Used to Make” by Shirley Jackson

Card picked: Six of Spades

From: The Lottery and Other Stories

Thoughts: David Turner is a meticulous young man. He has a neat three-room apartment which he is endeavoring to decorate in just the right manner. (The only thing lacking is a specific green glass bowl for the end table.) He’s a good cook and has been gradually acquiring full services of silver flatware which he keeps in a tarnish-proof box when not in use. Marcia is his neighbor. While he seems to somewhat fancy her, she is his opposite. Her apartment (which he has a key for, to let in repairmen and the like) is messy and haphazard.

On the evening in which our story takes place, David has invited Marcia for dinner. She’s a bit late, a bit untidy, and doesn’t seem to show proper interest in David’s flatware. During dessert, someone buzzes Marcia’s apartment and Marcia lets the someone in from David’s apartment. “Landlord, most likely,” [says Marcia]. “I didn’t pay my rent again.” But it isn’t the landlord, it’s a friend from where Marcia works, Mr. Harris. Marcia thinks nothing of inviting Mr. Harris into David’s apartment and offering him coffee and cherry pie.

[David’s] plan for the evening had been vague; they had involved perhaps a movie if it were not too cold out, and at least a short talk with Marcia about the state of her home…

If it wasn’t obvious before, David is not a party animal. As Marcia and Mr. Harris converse, David is pretty much left out. Marcia claims that she made the cherry pie, and David doesn’t object. Through omission, Marcia implies that the apartment is hers, and David doesn’t object to that either. In fact, after doing the dishes, he excuses himself–and goes “home” to Marcia’s apartment.

I liked all the details about David’s apartment. Generally, I find that I enjoy reading about the insides of rooms, which make Steven Millhauser and Bret Easton Ellis fun for me.

There is definitely a gender role flip going on in this story. David is the conscientious homemaker. The story starts with him coming home in the evening, but nothing is said about his job. His first concern is not forgetting to buy butter and then leaving a note to remind Marcia of their dinner plans. Marcia arrives tired from work. While she comments on all of David’s nice things, her appreciation doesn’t seem to go beyond that. And, as Marcia entertains her co-worker, David is marginalized. The question is: would I have particularly noticed what was going on with David if the names David and Marcia were reversed?

While there is a concerned wife/careless husband vibe going on, David and Marcia aren’t married, nor does he seem to be interested in marriage. He’s buying his own flatware, something that has wedding gift connotations for me. Is this 40’s/50’s code for “David’s gay”? David’s interest in Marcia seems to take a backseat to trying to make her a better person, even if it’s at a sacrifice.

What Else in February

Writing Work

Bounded in a Nutshell is nearly ready for release. I’d like to have Eric give it a read-through, and I’m still working on the blurb, but it has a cover!

My current blurb:

Bargains with witches. The adventures of two cherubs. Greek gods and the Vatican’s tech department. All this and more!

Bounded in a Nutshell is a collection of short (sometimes very short) pieces, never before collected, some of which have never been published!

My next project will be working on the Abbott stories again. I want to have three or four written before I decide on any publishing paradigm.

Classes

I survived “Interactivity with JavaScript.” Okay, that’s a little over dramatic. It wasn’t the most difficult programming class I’ve taken, but for a four week class with only two assignments, I felt at sea much of the time. According to Eric, who has experience with multiple programming languages, JavaScript is not the most awesome language ever. I’ll be happy to get back to Python eventually. The next class the web development stack is “Advanced Styling with Responsive Design.” I’ve used Bootstrap, but it’ll be nice to understand it better.

Art journal bunny.

I’m also in the last week of “Fundamentals of Graphic Design.” It’s been an interesting class. I like doing art, but know little about it. (This seems to be a theme in my life.) The next class in the series is “Introduction to Typography.” I figure these classes will help when designing book covers. I also remembered how much I really do like fiddling around with non-computer-based art. I bought some new pads (my sketchbook and larger drawing pad were purchased in collage) and found some journals on half price at Michael’s. Since my office has moved to the back room, I have a desk in the front room that is a perfect spot for messing around with pastels and watercolors.

Other Life Stuff

February seems to be a haze. I started out sick. Our next-door neighbors have been annoying…at 2am-10am on random mornings. And, then the warm weather started allergy season early. So, yeah. A haze.

Playing in the B division league was a lot of fun. It was more relaxed and the opposition was more my speed, literally and figuratively. Playoffs were Saturday. We played two games in the sun. It was good, even though we lost in finals.

Yesterday, I may or may not have started The Adventures of Faleigh. I guess, if I’m going to play Minecraft, I might as well put a writing spin on it. We’ll see if it lasts more than a couple entries.

Review ~ Ghostwriter Anonymous

This book was provided to me by Henery Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ghostwriter Anonymous by Noreen Wald

With her books sporting other people’s names, ghostwriter Jake O’Hara works behind the scenes. But she never expected a séance at a New York apartment to be part of her job. Jake had signed on as a ghostwriter, secretly writing for a grande dame of mystery fiction whose talent died before she did. The author’s East Side residence was impressive. But her entourage—from a Mrs. Danvers-like housekeeper to a lurking hypnotherapist—was creepy.

Still, it was all in a day’s work, until a killer started going after ghostwriters, and Jake suspected she was chillingly close to the culprit. Attending a séance and asking the dead for spiritual help was one option. Some brilliant sleuthing was another-before Jake’s next deadline turns out to be her own funeral.

(via NetGalley)

I’ve been sampling cozy mysteries. With seances mentioned in the blurb and ‘ghostwriter’ in the title, I was intrigued by Ghostwriter Anonymous.

Via Goodreads, I learned that this book was first published in 1999, and I think that maybe Ghostwriter Anonymous was shooting for a Sex in the City vibe. Jake has a circle of somewhat eclectic, fashionable friends, and all the men are attracted to her. Most of the scenes seem to take place over drinks-at-lunch or over drink-at-a-club. To recuse myself, that type of thing may not be Sex in the City at all. While I am of the generation that watched that show, it never appealed to me and I’ve never watched an episode.

One aspect of this book that didn’t work for me was the amount of status checks and name dropping that passed as description. Not people names, but street names, business names, and brand names. I suppose if one knows more about these places and things, they would imply a certain amount of detail. For me, personally? Not so much.

Also in very 1999 style, when emails are used to send threats, the details of how emails might be traced or sent anonymously are really muddled. Yes, a person can send an email from a computer at Kinko’s, but they wouldn’t be using Kinko’s account.  Another reality check fail was when a character is hit by a car, enough to send her flying a few feet and bruise her up. She manages the rest of the book on a few Tylenol.

The mystery itself is resolved, more or less, though it’s nearly lost in a muddle of seances and hypnotism and some other strange body-part focused psychotherapy.

Unfortunately, something I’m learning about cozies is that there are many different types and, some of them, I’m probably not going to like. It’s sort of like ice cream. I like ice cream, but not really ice creams flavored like bubblegum or cotton candy. Had I known this was going to be bubblegum flavored ice cream, I wouldn’t have tried it.

Publishing info, my copy: Kindle, Henery Press, Mar. 1, 2016

Acquired: NetGalley

Genre: cozy mystery

Magic Monday ~ Review – Mrs. Houdini

I like Mondays. On Monday, I am refreshed from the weekend and exhilarated by the possibilities of the week ahead. I also like magic. I like its history, its intersection with technology, and its crafty use of human nature. I figured I’d combine the two and make a Monday feature that is truly me: a little bit of magic and a look at the week ahead.

This book was provided to me by Atria Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mrs. Houdini by Victoria Kelly

A captivating debut novel, meticulously researched and beautifully imagined, about the passionate marriage of Harry and Bess Houdini—a love story that defied death itself.

Before escape artist Harry Houdini died, he vowed he would find a way to speak to his beloved wife Bess from beyond the grave using a coded message known only to the two of them. When a widowed Bess begins seeing this code in seemingly impossible places, it becomes clear that Harry has an urgent message to convey. Unlocking the puzzle will set Bess on a course back through the pair’s extraordinary romance, which swept the illusionist and his bride from the beaches of Coney Island, to the palaces of Budapest, to the back lots of Hollywood. When the mystery finally leads Bess to the doorstep of a mysterious young photographer, she realizes that her husband’s magic may have been more than just illusion.

In surprising turns that weave through the uncertain days of the dawn of the twentieth century and continue into the dazzling 1920s, Mrs. Houdini is a thrilling tale that will take you deep into the heart of one of history’s greatest love stories—asking what drives people to believe in something bigger than themselves—even as it reveals the famous magician’s most remarkable feat of all. (via Goodreads)

I had to be careful when reading Mrs. Houdini to let it be the book it was and not the book I wanted it to be. I’d love to read a book from the perspective of a magician’s wife/assistant that emphasizes her part in magic performances. One of the things I’ve realized about David and Fannie Abbott is that Fannie knew *everything* and was generally more complicit in his performances than their guests would have realized. Mrs. Houdini isn’t about Bess Houdini’s involvement in Harry’s tricks. I’d also love to read a book that places Houdini more solidly among his peers. On one hand, Harry Houdini did a lot to consolidate magicians in the early 20th century. He also constantly picked fights and feuded with…nearly everyone. Mrs. Houdini is not a book about those relationships either.

Mrs. Houdini alternates between Bess Houdini after Harry’s untimely death, and their evolving relationship, told in chronological order, before his death. The “past” sections hit some of the major beats in Houdini’s career: starting out at Coney Island and struggling in the vaudeville and circus circuits, the cuff escapes and jail breaks that made Houdini famous in Europe, bridge jumps that extended his fame in the US, Houdini’s forays into movie-making, and of course the Houdini’s relationship with Arthur Conan Doyle and spiritualism. I was surprised that the whole investigation of Margery Crandon didn’t get more time, considering that Crandon took a shot at seducing Houdini. But honestly, I felt the best parts of Mrs. Houdini were the chapters that featured Bess after Harry’s death–when the narrative wasn’t burdened by the weight of the magician.

The post-Houdini chapters focus on a woman who has been left behind. Her husband has died, leaving her with a goodly amount of debt and seemingly shackled to his legacy, and she is childless. Bess is an interesting character in a tough situation which provides a lot of room for drama. The book obviously takes a fanciful turn as Bess comes to believe that Harry is leaving her a series of messages in a code that absolutely no one else knew. Not only are there fictional stretches, but also a small slice of absolute fantasy. All in all, the story is not really my thing. It didn’t really elicit in me the poignancy I think it was shooting for.

I have to take umbrage with the blurb’s claim that Mrs. Houdini is meticulously researched. The two books that Kelly mentions in her end note, Harold Kellock’s Houdini: His Life Story and Kalush and Sloman’s The Secret Life of Houdini, are considered by Houdini scholars to be the most controversial. Doubtless, Kelly read more than two books and, obviously, liberties were taken in the name of fiction, but there are some oddities. Like mention of an escape “hanging upside down, from a giant milk jug filled with water” which seems like a mash-up of two separate tricks. Chapter dates for some events (Young’s Pier, meeting Roosevelt, the Doyle seance) seem to have been shifted by a couple years one way or the other, which I don’t think would have mattered in the narrative. It’s possible that these inaccuracies were due to my ARC and were fixed upon publication.

Publishing info, my copy: Kindle ebook, Atria Books, ARC, pub date: March 1, 2016

Acquired: NetGalley

Genre: literary, historical fiction