Sort of on-topic

Burl Veneer wrote:
> [...] as I prepare to move my family from Maryland (with
> its miserable, steamy summers) to Ithaca, New York (with its
> miserable, snowy winters).

AND miserable, steamy summers. You're getting the best of the worst of
both worlds.

But it's still not as snowy as Syracuse.

Usually.

If you're a wine fancier, that's N.Y. wine country, and some very nice
scenery, too. I wish I knew the area better so I could point out some of
the best places -- Watkins Glen, for instance, has a terrific gorge to
walk through. Though I'd suggest doing so in less than 90-degree
weather. WG also had, last time I was there, The Professor's Place
(think that's right) that sold both used bookst and wine.


Randy M.
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

> So, has anyone else read any tangentially ghostly fiction lately that
> they would recommend to others?
>
> Bill B.

Thanks for your post, one of the few I was inclined to read - life's
too short to be wading through flamewars. I noted the book title -
seems interesting.

I have been reading in "The last witchfinder" by James Morrow. Really a
quite interesting book, even if I have not yet progressed as far as I
hoped.

I also discovered the classic Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo. This is a
pseudonym, and chosen because it sounds like the writer's literary
hero: Edgar Allan Poe. I read most of the stories in "Japanese Tales of
Mystery and Imagination" and it is really, really good.
The best story in it is the deliciously twisted "The chair". It's
totally original and it seems like something that only Kafka or David
Lynch could come up with. Not only is the concept great, it is also
well written. There is another nice story about a young man with an
unhealthy interest in lenses and mirrors. I like this kind of bizarre
story. Since then I ordered his recently published "The black lizard
and beast in the shadows", which is probably more detective-like. To be
read soon. and I also bought Shinya Tsukamoto's movie "Gemini" on DVd,
which is a Rampo adaptation. Can't wait to see it, and it is also said
to be Tsukamoto's best movie.

I also just received "The Ruins" by Scott Smith. I was tempted by Rick
Kleffel 's review. I only browsed the first few pages, and it seems
like well-written pulp. I only know that it's about a group of tourists
trekking to a deserted mayan temple. Which is probably a big mistake.
You know, sometimes my literary tastes don't aim higher. It seems fun.
Scott Smith is in fact the writer of "A simple plan" and a really good
thriller was made of it, so I am curious.

I hope that this was useful or interesting...

Tom
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

Tom A. wrote:
>> So, has anyone else read any tangentially ghostly fiction lately that
>> they would recommend to others?
>>
>> Bill B.
>
>
> Thanks for your post, one of the few I was inclined to read - life's too
> short to be wading through flamewars. I noted the book title - seems
> interesting.
>
> I have been reading in "The last witchfinder" by James Morrow. Really a
> quite interesting book, even if I have not yet progressed as far as I
> hoped.
>
> I also discovered the classic Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo. This is a
> pseudonym, and chosen because it sounds like the writer's literary hero:
> Edgar Allan Poe. I read most of the stories in "Japanese Tales of
> Mystery and Imagination" and it is really, really good.
> The best story in it is the deliciously twisted "The chair". It's
> totally original and it seems like something that only Kafka or David
> Lynch could come up with. Not only is the concept great, it is also well
> written. There is another nice story about a young man with an unhealthy
> interest in lenses and mirrors. I like this kind of bizarre story. Since
> then I ordered his recently published "The black lizard and beast in the
> shadows", which is probably more detective-like. To be read soon. and I
> also bought Shinya Tsukamoto's movie "Gemini" on DVd, which is a Rampo
> adaptation. Can't wait to see it, and it is also said to be Tsukamoto's
> best movie.
>
> I also just received "The Ruins" by Scott Smith. I was tempted by Rick
> Kleffel 's review. I only browsed the first few pages, and it seems like
> well-written pulp. I only know that it's about a group of tourists
> trekking to a deserted mayan temple. Which is probably a big mistake.
> You know, sometimes my literary tastes don't aim higher. It seems fun.
> Scott Smith is in fact the writer of "A simple plan" and a really good
> thriller was made of it, so I am curious.
>
> I hope that this was useful or interesting...
>
> Tom
>

Definitely of interest, Tom. I wish I could offer something of equal
interest, but my spring and summer reading have been sporadic at best
and no where near as extensive as I'd hoped, so beyond what I've already
mentioned in previous posts ...

_Best Science Fiction_ by H.G. Wells: re/read four stories by Wells,
"The Sea-Raiders," "The Crystal Egg," "The Plattner Story," and "The
Strange Orchid." All fun. "The Sea Raiders" is an especial favorite
because, I believe, it was the first Wells I ever read.

_Fifty-One Tales_ by Lord Dunsany: I enjoyed this quite a bit and will
probably enjoy it again in a few years, once I've forgotten all 51, as I
invariably do with a large number of Dunsany's stories. I can't think of
any other writer I enjoy as much whose stories seem to expunge
themselves from my memory rather like those taped instructions in the
old Mission: Impossible TV show. Then again ...

Short stories by Stephen King: "Battleground," "Crouch End," "Umney's
Last Case," "The End of the Whole Mess," "The Fifth Quarter," "Autopsy
Room 4," "You Know They Have a Hell of a Band": Okay, these are
candidates for the Lord Dunsany Short-Story-Self-Immolation Award. I
expect a lot of King's fans would argue these are fine stories. I'd
argue they are entertaining while being read but leave little echo after
reading. I read them because TNT (a U.S. cable station) dramatized and
aired them through July. Oddly the story I thought the slightest,
"Battleground," a workman-like Richard Matheson retread, was the best
written (by R. C. Matheson, including a visual tip of the hat to his
father), directed (by Rob Bowman of The X-Files) and acted (by William
Hurt) of the lot. "The End of the Whole Mess" was also quite well done,
rather better dramatized, I thought, than King's original story, and I
expect the expanded DVD version of "Umney's..." will be better than it
was. "Crouch End," one of my favorite King stories, was not well-served.

_Mischief_ by Douglas Clegg: Interesting haunted house / bad place
novel, that nearly lost me early on. Maybe not the place to start
reading Clegg. At first I couldn't distinguish whether it was Clegg's
level of prose or his tight focus on a 15-year-old boy's perspective
that made for awkward phrasing and many too many cliched phrasings. The
latter appeared to be the case about the mid-way point, and it turned
into a decent supernatural thriller -- not on a par with Jackson's or
Hill's or Straub's or even Matheson's ghost novels, but entertaining
vacation reading.

Otherwise, I've been dipping into Peter Beagle's _The Rhinoceros Who
Quoted Nietzsche_, but reading the essays, not the stories yet.


And that's it. I hope before the end of the month to start Christopher
Priest's _The Prestige_. We'll see. My reading plans have gone sorely
awry so far this summer.


Randy M.
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

burlveneer.RemoveThis@mailinator.com wrote to ask me if I'd read anything in the
supernatural vain.

I recently read just over half of The Exorcist (I never did see the movie so
was only vaguely aware of the story).
Only half because I found it, to be honest, not very well written, and relied
heavily on graphic descriptions of somewhat disgusting things. I want more
from a book thaN that.
But, to balance this disappointment, I also got a novel which was so
atmospheric it came close to being in the convincingly horrible region.
It's gone back to the library and I've alreaDy forgotten the (American)
author's name, but the title was Where There Be Thorns.


spoiler
scroll down a bit for synopsis































Happily married couple wit 2 sons, ages 10 and 15 living in isolated house;
Very wealthy old lady takes the long empty house next door, accompanied by a
"creepy old butler", and soon begins to entice the youngest boy to climb over
the wall and visit her. Feeds him goodies, buys him anything he asks for,
wins him over.
Creepy old butler gives him a journal written by the boy's great-grandfather,
who was a right bastard but redeemed - in my view anyway - by an enviable
ability to accumulate a large fortune.
Kid, confused, begins to think and act like his unpleasant ancestor, ends
up being treated by a psychiatrist, while his parents show uneasiness about
having a neighbor who might discover their rather unusual relationship.
There are no shortage of hints and clues to this secret, too many for my
liking aNyway, so I was able to foresee it quite early on. They are,in fact,
brother and sister (the 2 kids are the offspring of her two earlier
marriages, so no mental or physical deficiencies).
The old lady is the couple's mother, who has been in a mental asylum for ages
following a house fire in which her husband died; she has also been found
guilty of poisoning another daughter. Lots more family skeletons come out of
cupboards, and more than once I found myself becoming confused at to which
generation someone belonged in, or who had been married to who. But, an
excellent story with enough of the outre and the disturbing to suit me.
--
Ian
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

> Rampo Noir... I must check that one out. Yes Huw: please keep me
> informed what you think about it at tom dot alaerts at belgacom dot net
> Have you meanwhile been able to see "The Host" in the local cinema? And
> the best movie from 2004: "Old Boy"?
>
> Tom

I'll be sure to let you know what I think of RAMPO NOIR, Tom. There's
at least one other film adapted from Rampo's work: RAMPO (aka MYSTERY
OF RAMPO, 1994).

I haven't seen THE HOST yet, but I've been hearing some pretty good
things about it. If it's as good as the director's earlier film
MEMORIES OF MURDER, then it should definitely be worth hunting down.
I'm still hoping it'll be shown here in Taiwan, once the big summer
blockbusters have gone. Takashi Shimizu's latest RINNE (REINCARNATION)
and the Pang Brothers RE-CYCLE (about a writer who finds herslf plunged
into the world of her discarded story ideas) were on at the theatres
here recently but both came and went so quickly that I missed them!

I liked OLDBOY, but my favourite for that year (actually 2003, I think)
would have to be A TALE OF TWO SISTERS.

Have you seen ANTARCTIC JOURNAL? It had some nice supernatural elements
and a terrific atmosphere, I thought. It brought to mind that polar
story by Arthur Quiller-Couch, THE SEVENTH MAN, as well as that part in
T.S. Eliot's THE WASTE LAND about the 'extra man'. Spooky...

Cheers,
Huw
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

> I haven't seen THE HOST yet, but I've been hearing some pretty good
> things about it. If it's as good as the director's earlier film
> MEMORIES OF MURDER, then it should definitely be worth hunting down.

Yes, Memories of Murder was excellent. And The Host has great reviews.
I read that Hollywood already approached the director for a US remake
(I wonder why Americans find it so unpleasant to watch a subtitled
foreign movie). The consensus in the reviews is that it's a very
entertaining monster movie that's actually a lot better than most since
much more attention is given to the character development.

> I'm still hoping it'll be shown here in Taiwan, once the big summer
> blockbusters have gone. Takashi Shimizu's latest RINNE (REINCARNATION)
> and the Pang Brothers RE-CYCLE (about a writer who finds herslf plunged
> into the world of her discarded story ideas) were on at the theatres
> here recently but both came and went so quickly that I missed them!

I must keep an eye on these.

> I liked OLDBOY, but my favourite for that year (actually 2003, I think)
> would have to be A TALE OF TWO SISTERS.

I have ATOTS on dvd, and since you mention, I realise with a shockl
that I haven't watched it yet. Must do soon. Actually I watched the
first 5 minutes but I wasn't in the mood.

> Have you seen ANTARCTIC JOURNAL? It had some nice supernatural elements
> and a terrific atmosphere, I thought. It brought to mind that polar

I hoped to see it at the Brussels fantasy film fest this year but I
couldn't make. I hope to see it one day though.

Personally I think that Korea is these days the place with the most
interesting cinema.

Tom
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

On 2006-08-09 23:13:15 +0200, huw.lines RemoveThis @gmail.com said:

>> I also discovered the classic Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo. This is a
>> pseudonym, and chosen because it sounds like the writer's literary
>> hero: Edgar Allan Poe. I read most of the stories in "Japanese Tales of
>> Mystery and Imagination" and it is really, really good.
>> The best story in it is the deliciously twisted "The chair". It's
>> totally original and it seems like something that only Kafka or David
>> Lynch could come up with. Not only is the concept great, it is also
>> well written. There is another nice story about a young man with an
>> unhealthy interest in lenses and mirrors. I like this kind of bizarre
>> story. Since then I ordered his recently published "The black lizard
>> and beast in the shadows", which is probably more detective-like. To be
>> read soon. and I also bought Shinya Tsukamoto's movie "Gemini" on DVd,
>> which is a Rampo adaptation. Can't wait to see it, and it is also said
>> to be Tsukamoto's best movie.
>
>
> Tom, GEMINI is a great little film. There is a new film called RAMPO
> NOIR which adapts several of his tales, including 'The Hell of Mirrors'
> and 'The Caterpillar' from the collection you've just been reading
> (which is one of my favourites too). I haven't seen it yet, but I've
> ordered it. I'll let you know if it's any good...
>
> Huw

Rampo Noir... I must check that one out. Yes Huw: please keep me
informed what you think about it at tom dot alaerts at belgacom dot net
Have you meanwhile been able to see "The Host" in the local cinema? And
the best movie from 2004: "Old Boy"?

Tom
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

Burl Veneer wrote:
> On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 21:57:42 +0200, Tom A. <camembert DeleteThis @eudoramail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >I also discovered the classic Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo. This is a
> >pseudonym, and chosen because it sounds like the writer's literary
> >hero: Edgar Allan Poe. I read most of the stories in "Japanese Tales of
> >Mystery and Imagination" and it is really, really good.
> >The best story in it is the deliciously twisted "The chair". It's
> >totally original and it seems like something that only Kafka or David
> >Lynch could come up with. Not only is the concept great, it is also
> >well written. There is another nice story about a young man with an
> >unhealthy interest in lenses and mirrors. I like this kind of bizarre
> >story.
>
> Oh yes! I read some Rampo stories several years ago, and "The Chair"
> is the one that has stuck in my mind. Was there also a story about a
> thumbprint? I vaguely remember the mirrors one too. ( Hey, how about a
> list of weird mirror/lens tales? Ligotti's "The Spectacles in the
> Drawer;" John Kendrick Bangs's story about a telescope in The Water
> Ghost and Others; Gerald Durrell's "The Entrance;" there was one about
> a waterfall which acted as a magnifying lens enabling one to see the
> true nature of the moon, was that by Bernard Capes?; Martin
> Armstrong's "The Pipe Smoker"; and filmwise, there's John Carpenter's
> Prince of Darkness.) My favorite collection of Japanese weird tales
> is not actually Japanese, but is set in Japan: Manly P. Hall's "Very
> Unusual"--The Wonderful World of Mr. K. Nakamura.
>
> >
> >I hope that this was useful or interesting...
> >
> >Tom
>
> Yes, it was, thanks Tom!
>
> Bill B.

Regarding weird mirror/lens tales: for me, the ones that spring
immediately to mind are E.T.A. Hoffmann's classic 'The Sandman',
Aickman's 'Choice of Weapons', and Fritz Leiber's 'Midnight in the
Mirror World'. In film there were the 'mirror' episodes in 'Dead of
Night' and 'From Beyond the Grave'.

Huw
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

The Lord Of The Flies wrote:
> Randy Money wrote:
>
> "My reading plans have gone sorely awry so far this summer."
>
>>
>>Randy M.
>
>
> I have an absurd prejudice against new authors and new books and often
> find myself overlooking them in favour of the tried-and-tested classics
> e.g. Aickman, Blackwood, Le Fanu, Machen. As a result my pile of books
> to read keeps growing in size in direct proportions to my guilty
> conscience. However, I console with the fact that the vast majority of
> new books and new writers aren't a patch on the collosuses of the
> genre.

I have a friend who never read anything that wasn't still being
discussed ten years after publication. He's more a mainstream literary
reader, so when he hit a streak in the mid-1980s where several major
novels appealed to him he changed his mind.

> Didn't someone once say something witty and clever about the fact that
> reading poorly authored prose was bad for the brain?
>
> Chris Barker

Maybe. But I bet all of the writers you mentioned lived at a time where
someone said, "I never read books by these young posers! Where is the
richness of language of Eliot, the breadth of Thackery, the scope of
Dickens?" (Or words to that effect.)

And, too, I wager I could name one new author you've read and,
apparently, with less than ill effect.


Randy M.
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

Randy Money wrote:
> The Lord Of The Flies wrote:
> > Randy Money wrote:
> >
> > "My reading plans have gone sorely awry so far this summer."
> >
> >>
> >>Randy M.
> >
> >
> > I have an absurd prejudice against new authors and new books and often
> > find myself overlooking them in favour of the tried-and-tested classics
> > e.g. Aickman, Blackwood, Le Fanu, Machen. As a result my pile of books
> > to read keeps growing in size in direct proportions to my guilty
> > conscience. However, I console with the fact that the vast majority of
> > new books and new writers aren't a patch on the collosuses of the
> > genre.
>
> I have a friend who never read anything that wasn't still being
> discussed ten years after publication. He's more a mainstream literary
> reader, so when he hit a streak in the mid-1980s where several major
> novels appealed to him he changed his mind.
>
> > Didn't someone once say something witty and clever about the fact that
> > reading poorly authored prose was bad for the brain?
> >
> > Chris Barker
>
> Maybe. But I bet all of the writers you mentioned lived at a time where
> someone said, "I never read books by these young posers! Where is the
> richness of language of Eliot, the breadth of Thackery, the scope of
> Dickens?" (Or words to that effect.)
>
> And, too, I wager I could name one new author you've read and,
> apparently, with less than ill effect.
>
>
> Randy M.

Hey, that's hitting below the intellect!
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

On Wed, 9 Aug 2006 21:57:42 +0200, Tom A. <camembert.TakeThisOut@eudoramail.com>
wrote:

>I also discovered the classic Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo. This is a
>pseudonym, and chosen because it sounds like the writer's literary
>hero: Edgar Allan Poe. I read most of the stories in "Japanese Tales of
>Mystery and Imagination" and it is really, really good.
>The best story in it is the deliciously twisted "The chair". It's
>totally original and it seems like something that only Kafka or David
>Lynch could come up with. Not only is the concept great, it is also
>well written. There is another nice story about a young man with an
>unhealthy interest in lenses and mirrors. I like this kind of bizarre
>story.

Oh yes! I read some Rampo stories several years ago, and "The Chair"
is the one that has stuck in my mind. Was there also a story about a
thumbprint? I vaguely remember the mirrors one too. ( Hey, how about a
list of weird mirror/lens tales? Ligotti's "The Spectacles in the
Drawer;" John Kendrick Bangs's story about a telescope in The Water
Ghost and Others; Gerald Durrell's "The Entrance;" there was one about
a waterfall which acted as a magnifying lens enabling one to see the
true nature of the moon, was that by Bernard Capes?; Martin
Armstrong's "The Pipe Smoker"; and filmwise, there's John Carpenter's
Prince of Darkness.) My favorite collection of Japanese weird tales
is not actually Japanese, but is set in Japan: Manly P. Hall's "Very
Unusual"--The Wonderful World of Mr. K. Nakamura.

>
>I hope that this was useful or interesting...
>
>Tom

Yes, it was, thanks Tom!

Bill B.
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

Tom A. wrote:
> I also discovered the classic Japanese writer Edogawa Rampo. This is a
> pseudonym, and chosen because it sounds like the writer's literary
> hero: Edgar Allan Poe. I read most of the stories in "Japanese Tales of
> Mystery and Imagination" and it is really, really good.
> The best story in it is the deliciously twisted "The chair".

I read that a long time ago. Unfortunately, it was one of those books
that was in a box in my parents' garage... I remember The Chair very
well. Great story - the creepiness level was really perfect. I
haven't thought about that book in a long time; I'll have to see if
there's a copy on Amazon.
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic 

Burl Veneer wrote:
> So, has anyone else read any tangentially ghostly fiction lately that
> they would recommend to others?

What about Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles? A few of the stories are
ghostly. Bradbury plays around with the idea of future humans
"haunting" Martians...or are the Martians dead ghosts being haunted by
the living? It's interesting. In any case, it's a great book. I
haven't read it recently, but it's been on my "I think I ought to
re-read that" list for a while now.
 >> Stay informed about: Sort of on-topic