Our first post!

So here I am, building the web page for my new project, “Old Time Tales” and I need to start a reading journal.

Starting one is not difficult. I’ve STARTED dozens of journals. It’s the daily doing that’s difficult. Wish me luck! At least it’s close enough to New Years to still officially start something like this.

What I am reading now:

I’ve got several things going. I am in the middle of John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row” which is fun for me, since we used to be stationed in that part of California while I went through the language school there for Russian and German. Steinbeck was a HUIGE part of the local culture and we felt like we got to know him pretty well. Reading “Cannery Row” is almost like visiting your old home.

I am also reading “What Moves the Dead” by T. Kingfisher. I was at Barnes and Noble yesterday and it was on display at the coffee shop. The lady who works there was excited about it and said that it was a strong retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher”.
I have to admit, I enjoy Poe, but Usher never really spoke to me. It was written at a time when “melancholia” was a fit subject for a horror story and that just does not fit my modern need for something stronger in my horror library.

Anyway, the coffee shop lady has never been wrong so far with her recommendations so I picked it up. I’m only on chapter 4 so far and it has been very interesting and fun.

I should mention, there was a brief passage where the main character discusses pronouns. This surprised me in a book based on the famous Usher story and I’m interested to see where the author is going with it. It was done in a clever way and not awkward at all.

Oh, by the way. T. Kingfisher is a pseudonym for Ursula Vernon who is a well known children’s author. The Kingfisher name is one she will use for older audiences.

“Read everyday and read for fun!”

9 January, 2024