I've just finished "Switch Bitch" by Roald Dahl and although only 140 pages it was difficult going. Like going back fifty years, full of racism and misogyny and yes some unexpected twists but not a nice read at all.
Then I picked up one I bought from Pandemonium in Whitby by Fiona MacDonald "Vampires, A Very Peculiar History" and I thought it would be something I would dip in and out of, but it is both a fun and interesting read, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Lots of anecdotes and explanations and some great archaic fonts used in my copy.
So music has to be Blue Oyster Cults "Nosferatu", though I am sure there are lots more vampire and bloodsucker based songs.
I am not sure if you are aware of my writing on Vocal but these are a few of my stories if you would like to sample them:
After finishing "The House on the Borderland" by William Hope Hodgson with I still found an incredible ride through a cosmic horror in an Irish ruin.
I then picked up "LIGHT and Darkness" by friend Ana Radulescu which is an excellent easy to read contemporary fantasy. It was 160 pages and I went through in three days which is fairly fast for me. If you like fantasy with lots of contemporary hooks you should buy it , link at the bottom.
I also started "Switch Bitch" by Roald Dahl , and while it is sort of clever , it is very much of it's time and consists of four stories and I have only just reached the third one. It is only 140 pages long and plays on the final twist to the story , but actually getting there is an awful pain. This is no "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" but I will finish it and probably never pick it up again though I think I had read it before.
Also this week I published my first book , as a result of checking out how easy it would be to self publish an ebook for my good friend Lesley Leatherdale(who wrote The Owl In The Towel (see below), so we will work to get her new book published when she gets some free time,
All the important links are down below.
I am gonna lead with the Heptones "Book of Rules" because I like it and it is semi appropriate.
I am not sure if you are aware of my writing on Vocal but these are a few of my stories if you would like to sample them:
Today I have been remarkably tired , although I've been out a bit and done more than my normal 11K step target. This morning I fixed a picture that had been disconnected from it's frame (a little sellotape fixed that) , and posted a CD off to the USA, so it's not as though I have been doing a lot or a little, but on the way back from town had an idea for a short story, which may not be to everyone's taste but every story needs an idea, and this is just a straight draft , no editing , just coming out of my mind.
So a 300 word black humoured short story (probably influenced by Roald Dahl) for you
All my posts these days have an accompanying video, I think "Free" by VAST is sort of suitable.
A Cautionary Covid-19 Tale
The takeaway had a sign in the window (which was fully covered in advertisements and the takeaway menu) , "only one customer in the shop at any one time, wait til the ENTER sign lights". The ENTER sign was lit so he opened the door went in and checked the menu on the wall.
After perusing the menu he placed his order and pulled out his card.
"Cash Only , we don't take cards, there is a cash machine next door"
He checked his wallet and had enough to pay for his meal, so handed over the notes and took the change.
"Thanks it'll be about twenty minutes, are you OK waiting"
"Yeah , no problem"
There were a few magazines on a small table in the seating area, mostly supermarket periodicals advertising food and meals to make, but he decided to see what was happening on his phone, the internet and news sites held a little more interest than the magazines.
He heard a noise but didn't take any notice, the BBC site had an article on Liverpool's lifting of the Premiership , and that now had all his attention.
The person who had served him had disappeared in the back, presumably getting his order together.
There were some more noises, like something scurrying on the floor and behind the seating .
"Maybe it's the heating"
His phone had his attention.
Then there was a bite on his ankle, it felt like a bite , he grabbed his ankle (he had come into the shop wearing a T-shirt , tracksuit bottoms and slippers , nothing else...
There was blood on his hands .
"What the .... "
He didn't finish the sentence .........
The server came back behind the counter, with the owner and looked at what was left of their customer.
"Are they all back in the box?"
"Yes"
"Well that looks look like enough mince to keep us going for the next fortnight......."
I have finished the Jordan Ellenberg book , and it was worth reading although hard going for the second half. It seems that maths encompasses a lot more than just addition , subtraction, multiplication and division. Although these are the basics and starting points there is a whole world of concepts out there that are beyond my limited intellect, but I do now know about all these things.
I've now picked up Alexei Sayle's "The Weeping Women Hotel", which is the first novel I've picked up in a long time (I've been reading mostly factual stuff), and Alexei Sayle is an intelligent person, a great comedian and a Marxist (see the last but one post). It's funny how you get these unusual and unexpected connections in writing.
The weird thing about this blog is that you go to log in , then you are presented with a screen inviting you to start a new blog, even though you are logging in to update your blog. It's just a slight annoyance, probably caused by the fact I clear out cookies on a regular basis.
Today is wet and grey but brightening up. I am hoping to listen to "The Use Of Ashes" by Pearls Before Swine (see last post if you want to listen) on the walk to work although if it raining I may have to take the bus then I will dig out a TED talk.
It is the 13th today and I have written about the number 13 several times, and everyone has their own opinions , but 13 being unlucky belongs in the realms of astrology and superstition. It is a prime number so does not fit into many boxes, but that's about it. And remeber a Baker's Dozen where you would can an extra loaf or cake just in case one wasn't up to scratch so that is a case of 13 being lucky for the recipient an dgenerating good will for the supplier.
And today is apparently Roald Dahl day, an author who my girls always loved and wrote some wonderfully subversive children;'s books as well as a lot of great adult books too. If you haven't read any, do something abit it NOW.
I think a sensible music choice would be Terrorvision's "Tom Petty Loves Veruca Salt" and you know why that is ......
....have a brilliant Wednesday
I was just mentioning the 13 wasn't unlucky and my internet went down so I couldn't publish this. So I've just taken this draft and published it on a public computer. C'est La Vie.