Mstrust's Year of Swell Stuff- #2

Welcome to my Category Challenge of Swell Stuff, which has about the loosest theme I could come up with. It's really just "stuff I like". As the year goes on, I imagine the category toppers will switch out.

I'm Jennifer and I live in Phoenix with husband Mike and frantic Boxer Coral. I'm in Vegas a lot because Mom lives there, and my sister, brother and nephew live in California, while my niece moved to Texas recently.
I write a weekly Substack called Autumn Lives Here that covers horror, true crime and Halloween all year long. I do book reviews, cocktail recipes, spooky travels, and weird true stories. I drop in an original short story sometimes too, and my story "Sitting Up with Granny" was featured in Season 5 of the Full Body Chills podcast.

Hosting duties: October's ScaredyKit will be Contemporary Horror.
I considered having a theme of slow things like molasses and turtles to depict what a slow reader I am, but then people would stop by just once a month to see if I'd made any progress and find that there had been little. I used to read a minimum of 100 books a year, but since I'm researching and writing so much now, my totals have gone way down. Drop in and say hi when you pass by.

Paul Holes! Hooray!

True Crime

1. Murder in Hollywood: Solving a Silent Screen Mystery- 3.5
2. The Devil's Rooming House-4
3. Little, Crazy Children-4
4. Kiss Me, Kill Me-4
5. There Is No Ethan-3

Non-Fiction

1. Living Like A Runaway- 3.5
2. Joe Gould's Teeth- 4
3. Art Hiding in New York-4
4. The Sugar Season-3
5. The Inheritor's Powder- 3
6. Back from the Dead: and 350 Other Stories of Amazing Luck- 3
7. Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany-3.5
8. Norwich-3.5

Favorite Authors

1. The Seventh Bride- 4
2. Lost Hills-4
3. Cut & Thirst-3
4. Dearly Devoted Dexter- 4.5
5. The Black Slide- 2.5
6. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches- 4
7. Ushers: A Short Story-4

New To Me Authors

1. Muckross Abbey-4.5
2. My Year of Rest and Relaxation- 4.5
3. The Dinner- 4.5
4. Last Night at the Lobster-3.5
5. Famous Writers School- 4.5
6. The Nightmare House- 3
7. Before You Sleep
8. Diary of an Oxygen Thief-4
9. Lenny Among Ghosts-3.5

Mystery, Thriller, Noir

1. Phoenix Noir- 3
2. The Christmas Guest- 4.5
3. Death in the Sunshine- 3.5
4. The Rising of the Moon-3.5
5. The Gutter and the Grave-4
6. Cold in July-4
7. Nowhere USA- 3
8. Nightmare in Pink- 3.5
9. Death by Darjeeling-3.5

Black Nebula carrots

ROOTs

1. The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread- 3.5
2. The Bookshop-4
3. Homesick For Another World-4
4. The Pallbearers Club- 2.5
5. The Last Kids on Earth: Zombie Parade- 3.5
6. Guest: A Changeling Tale-2.5
7. The Woman in the Library-3.5

Hot Weather Reads

1. Wild- 4
2. Hell- 3

Horror & Halloween

1. Vexed To Nightmare- 3.5
2. H.P. Lovecraft: Great Tales of Horror-4
3. Nightbitch-3
4. A Certain Hunger-4.5
5. The House on the Borderland-4
6. The Troop- 4.5
7. The Best Halloween Ever- 4
8. Off Season- 4
9. If It Bleeds- 4
10. Dark Harvest- 4.5
11. The Spite House- 4.5
12. Monster Blood-3.5
13. Halloween Treats-3.5
14. Winnebago Graveyard- 3.5

The adorable "powder puff" cactus

Cookbooks, Travel & Other Things

1. Killer Plants-3.5
2. Recipes from the World of H.P. Lovecraft- 4.5
3. The Mysteries- 3
4. I Must Be Dreaming- 3
5. Edible Houseplants-4
6. Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs & Juice-5
7. Mod Cocktails- 4
8. A Treasury of Great Recipes-5
9. Haunted Hotels-3.5

Finally: The Books I've Been Meaning To Get To

1. Starter Villain- 4
2. The Eyeball Collector- 4
3. Don't Point That Thing At Me-4
4. A Skeleton at the Helm-5
5. George Jones: Why Baby Why- 3.5
6. The Fran Lebowitz Reader-2.5
7. I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf-3.5

Next one's yours. Welcome!

Happy new thread! I like your pictures, especially the Anne Taintor -- she's hilarious.

Thanks, Christina! I adore Taintor. She always has the right snarkiness.

Happy new thread.

Happy New Thread! We were just outside Tucson visiting friends a couple of weeks ago and went at this time of year so we could see some cacti blooming. Didn't see a powder puff and the saguaros were mostly in bud, but we did see some.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

>15 lowelibrary: Thank you!
>16 dudes22: Thanks! I have a prickly pear in my front yard that is covered in both fruit and beautiful yellow blooms that the bees love.
I didn't think you'd find a powder puff in the wild, but I looked up their habitat and they're native to North Central Mexico, so I guess they do grow wild. They look so dainty.
>17 MissWatson: Thanks!
>18 DeltaQueen50: Hello, Judy!

Here's something swell:

I've mentioned before that I love dried mango slices. Well, Langer's Mango Nectar, available at Costco, is very delicious and they remove those annoying mango strings that get caught in your teeth. It's just smooooth mango nectar.

31. Famous Writers School: A Novel by Steven Carter

Wendell Newton advertises his writing course in the back of a literary magazine, stating that he will help aspiring writers through his structured lessons. He begins working with a small collection of writers, sending out assignments that are explained through personal stories, such as the time when he was a young soldier working as a secretary to a general and was able to blackmail his superior into giving him a European vacation. In turn, his students send him whatever writing they want to, such as the ex-model and stripper who writes about the people who become obsessed with her, which quickly includes Wendell. Or Linda, who sends Wendell essays about stalking him and breaking into his house. The only student who is actually writing fiction, a tense crime novel that he sends in chapters, is the one who receives Wendell's strangest replies. Over weeks of correspondence, we find Wendell to be shadier than his early professionalism let on.

A satire of the snail mail writing schools of the past, the reader is plunged into slice-of-life stories from each character that may last a few paragraphs or ten pages. It may be a kidnapping, a romance, or a snotty reply from Wendell. Expertly woven together, it's both fun and remarkably well-written. I've never heard of this book or the author. I think I picked this up at the giant booksale one year. 4.5

>21 mstrust: A BB for me, for sure! Happy new thread---love your cat pics!

Thanks, Tess! Glad you found me!

It's a free week at Autumn Lives Here. We're making a gingersnap crisp and talking about crazy Lifetime movies. Drop in!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

Happy new thread! Always entertaining!

Thanks, good to see you!

32. The Rising of the Moon by Gladys Mitchell

Young brothers Simon and Keith live with their older brother Jack and his wife June, a couple who are barely staying together. Their village is shocked when a performer in a traveling circus is murdered, quickly followed by another dead woman and another. The brothers begin their own investigation into these Ripper murders because much of the evidence points to Jack, but Scotland Yard sends a detective, Mrs. Bradley, who is surprised to find two young boys who can be so helpful to the investigation.

This is my first finished Mitchell, as I attempted Death at the Opera first but didn't make it past the first chapter. Going into this one, I assumed that it being a British mystery published in 1945, taking place in a village with an elderly female detective, that it would have a passing resemblance to an Agatha Christie. It really doesn't, as this village is peopled with characters who are far more broken than what you'd find in Christie. Jack and June are constantly barking at each other, miserable but unable to part. Jack, Simon and Keith are all in love with their pretty lodger Christina, who is portrayed as both intelligent and kind, yet wrestles around on her bed with the two young boys and allows them to grope and kiss her. Keith is just eleven. Mitchell's village is populated with people who are sometimes sad, angry, or jealous, so this sets it apart from the polite mysteries usually found in this era. 3.5

Something swell! My sister sent me a Louie's Derby Cake from Mertz's this week. Created for the Kentucky Derby, Mertz's is in Louisville but ships through Goldbelly. It's a sturdy, yet fluffy, butter cake that has a bourbon soak and is covered in a pecan streusel and drizzled in chocolate. It's delicious, and I really like the bourbon that mixes with the buttery cake.
My only complaint is that it is delivered without cold packs. The chocolate was melted when it arrived, but a few hours in the fridge and it was fine.
Sorry the pic is blurry but there are surprisingly few pictures of this cake online.

>28 mstrust: That cake looks and sounds delicious!

It is! There isn't much of it left :-D

>27 mstrust: I've read at least eight books by Gladys Mitchell (not including some before LT). The Rising of the Moon and Tom Brown's Body are my favourites. The screeching Mrs Bradley can become wearing after a while.

Hi Jennifer, that cake looks amazing! I am also slowly working my way through the Gladys Mitchell mysteries and I am finding them quite varied. Some I like - some not so much. The Rising of the Moon sounds like a good one, my next one will be The Devil at Saxon Wall which is the 6th book in the series.

>31 pamelad: >32 DeltaQueen50: I don't know how long I've had this particular Mitchell on the shelf, but probably around five years. It's one that I kept saying I'd get to because of the Ripper-like plot. Do you both find that she's writing a grittier version of the eras than Christie?
>32 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy! I think I've decided that I quite like a bourbon soak.

>33 mstrust: Yes, I think Gladys Mitchell's books are much more grittier than Agatha Christie although I also find that some of her books work better than others. Although Christie always has a corpse or two, they are usually neat and tidy - no blood and gore to mess up the country house.

"Bourbon Soak" does have a nice ring to it!

>33 mstrust: Gladys Mitchell worked as a teacher throughout her writing career, so perhaps she had a more jaded view of humanity than Agatha Christie!

>34 DeltaQueen50: I put down Mitchell's Death at the Opera because it seemed so prim, with the teachers at a boarding school all atwitter because they were assigning themselves the roles to perform The Mikado. To be clear, they were going to perform the school musical, not the students.
I was thinking that a bourbon soak should be offered at spas!

>35 pamelad: Interesting! I know nothing about her, and had never heard her name until just a few years ago. Thanks!

Just noting that I bought Ring by Koji Suzuki today. And I saw three, THREE, different brands of pumpkin spice liqueurs at the store.

This week's Autumn Lives Here, we're making blood orange cocktails on our Picnic at Hanging Rock. Expect to get dirty.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

33. Homesick For Another World by Ottessa Moshfegh

A collection of short stories that focuses on strange people, or people who have lived safe lives but suddenly do something totally out of character. There are a few stories about widowers who are discovering that they had spent years living in their wife's shadow, while 'An Honest Woman' is about an older man who turns predatory when a young woman moves next door. 'The Weirdos' is hilariously told by a woman who is likely a sociopath, but a lazy unambitious one, and 'Slumming' is the story of a high school teacher who buys a summer cottage in a low-income river town that has been hit hard by the drug crisis. While describing the locals with disgust, she's unaware that she's quickly turning into one of them.
I've read My Year of Rest and Relaxation from the author and enjoy her strange plots, the characters who do the oddest things without a thought, but I have learned that Moshfegh clearly revels in writing absolutely disgusting passages meant to make the reader cringe. There are just a couple of stories here that don't have that trademark, but most do, and I don't know what to make of it, but to say that she's an excellent writer despite it. 4 stars

This week at Autumn Lives Here, we're making zombie head chocolates and pretending summer doesn't exist. Also, let's buy everything from Vincent Price. He was so great at moving stock.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

34. A Skeleton at the Helm edited by John Richard Stephens

A collection of short stories and poems that marry tales of the sea with the spooky and deadly. The editor has an extensive introduction that explains piracy, phantom ships, funerals at sea, sea monsters and just about anything dangerous or disturbing that is rumored to happen at sea. It's a very interesting discussion on its own, but then the reader then gets the spooky sea stories of Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, F. Marion Crawford, Bram Stoker, and many others, but best of all, several from William Hope Hodgson. His stories are 'The Voice in the Night', 'The Thing in the Weeds' (in my Top Ten for story titles), and 'The Derelict', a story first published in 1912 that must have been read by the screenwriters of The Blob because the creature found aboard the seemingly abandoned ship is so similar.
This book has a fabric cover with an inset showing a skeleton pirate, which you'll find plenty of in the stories. The paper is thick with an aged appearance and there are some illustration and woodcuts throughout. Highly recommended if the subject interests you. 5 stars

Summer is not my season, I hate it, you all know that. The good things about it would be a very short list for me, but here's something swell:

Trader Joe's key lime pie returns. It's creamy and tangy, and I even eat the graham cracker crust, which I'd usually leave. I do look forward to this each year.

>41 mstrust: Thanks for the tip! I'll look for this next time I'm at TJ's.

I hope you like it as much as I do!

35. Throttle by Joe Hill and Stephen King

This novella/long short story was inspired by Richard Matheson's Duel. Here, King and Hill have a biker gang called The Tribe who have just committed a double homicide over drug money. Led by Vince and made up of Vietnam vets, including Lemmy from Motorhead recreated here as an American, The Tribe has never gotten into murder or meth, but Vince was persuaded by his son, the newest member of the gang. Now they are riding the backroads of Arizona trying to put distance between themselves and the crime scene, but the semi barreling down the highway with them is the more immediate problem. 4 stars
This is available on Kindle.

This week at Autumn Lives Here, I have a whole buncha little known horror gems, and the pointless murder of Dr. Bartels.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

36. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

A memoir of Strayed's largely solo hike along California's Pacific Crest Trail, which she began in the Mojave Desert, skipped the unpassable snow in the High Sierras, picking it up north of the mountains and continuing to the edge of Washington. Along the way, she met fellow hikers that she traveled and camped with for short periods, gaining much needed knowledge about how to survive this hike that she was unprepared for, having bought boots that were too small and destroyed her feet, and packing so much that she carried a pack that was too heavy.
Throughout the thousands of miles, she recalls memories of her abusive childhood, her recently ended marriage and her ex-husband, the death of her mother, her drug use, and if that isn't hard enough, a horrifying couple of pages that cover the family's neglect of their horses, which resulted in the ham-fisted euthanizing of one. I admit she lost my sympathy for her thirst and torn-up feet. I continued reading because it's an interesting, well written first-hand account of the hike, the people, and the hardships. 4 stars

I liked the King book. I love key lime pie and make it a several times a year, usually in the summer, which is my favorite season!

>48 Tess_W: I love key lime pie too, but I know that if I make one or buy it, I'll be stuck with the whole thing because Mike won't touch it. Or lemon meringue. He must be crazy.

>50 mstrust: Definitely cray-cray! I love to make lemon meringue pie in the summer. So tart!

I like a tart lemon or lime dessert. The man was drinking mushroom coffee this morning but won't eat a citrus pie. *eye roll*

Just a heads up to my Autumn Lives Here readers, you may not see the new post for several days as my drafts are disappearing from Substack. Poof, gone like the wind when I try to post them!
I have a tech guy that I'm trying to get hold of, but since I'm leaving for Vegas very soon, it may be days before I can address this.

After fighting with it all day, the new Autumn Lives Here is up! It's my 2nd anniversary.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

37. The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay

Art comes up with the Pallbearers Club in high school as a way for him, an introvert with scoliosis, to pad his college applications. Through their weekly visits to the funeral home to witness services, he meets Mercy, a woman who introduces Art to punk music. Little by little, Art builds up the idea that Mercy is a vampire. Or a long-dead witch. Or it maybe it's all the meds he's on because of his back pain.
The plot sounds like a horror and I believe it's listed as one. Look at that creepy cover. But this is actually a coming of age memoir with brief creepy interludes. You'll find a lot more talk about the local music scene and scoliosis, Art's school years and his severe acne. The dialogue is sometimes so clunky that it's remarkably unrealistic and it seems like the author was working through an 'obscure word of the day' calendar. It's less than 300 pages but took me so long to get through because it repeatedly bored me to sleep after a few pages.
I've read several works by Tremblay now and he's 50/50 for me, with his earlier stuff being more to my taste. 2.5

38. Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs & Juice by Toni Tipton-Martin

If you watch Cook's Country on PBS, you're familiar with Tipton-Martin's spots on food history. Here, she relays the history of alcoholic libations in the African-American community, providing the background and recipes for varieties of alcohol and the cocktails that have long ties to the community, such as homemade ginger beer and sorrel, and the use of ingredients such as coconut and hibiscus. You'll find classic recipes here, but the author often provides a second recipe, like making a non-alcoholic version or a fruity version.
Throughout the book, the author discusses the history of African-American bartenders and African-American cookbooks.
This is a beautifully done book on heavy paper with full page photos. It's a good choice as a bartender's guide because of it's mix of classic and lesser known cocktails, with the history behind them. 5 stars

39. The Gutter and the Grave by Ed McBain

Matt Cordell is a Bowery drunk sitting in the park when an old friend finds him and begs for help. Until a few years ago, Cordell had been a good private detective, but then he lost his wife and his license and is spending his life in a stupor until the old friend drags him to his tailoring shop and they discover the business partner dead. All the evidence is pointing to the man Cordell was trying to shake off. Because Cordell is involved in a murder now, he has to prove that the evidence is a red herring.
First published in 1958, this is a pulpy gumshoe detective story, and a good one. There's jazz music, snarling police and every woman Cordell meets throws herself at him. 4 stars

I read this for this month's MysteryKit.

40. Fancy AF Cocktails by Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval

It wasn't until I started reading the cocktail backstories that I learned that the authors are from the Vanderpump Rules show, which I've never seen so their names meant nothing to me. But this is a fun cocktail book full of original recipes and a few classics. The most unusual ones are definitely in the "Trashy" section, because they cocktails call for things like packets of McDonald's bbq sauce or a Bloody Mary that uses fast food ketchup packets. All the cocktails are beautifully photographed, many pics are pretty funny, and most of the recipes look like something I'd try. 4 stars

Carrot Mule Variation

2 oz vodka
3/4 oz carrot juice
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 c ginger beer

In a copper mug, add the vodka and juices and stir. Fill the mug with crushed or pebble ice, then add the ginger beer. Garnish with a baby carrot.

Autumn Lives Here is back from break with the story of RadiThor, the energy drink that contained real radium!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

41. The Black Slide by J.W. Ocker

Ten year-old Griffin and his classmates are surprised when the plastic slide on the playground is suddenly replaced by a black slide that looks like it's made of leather. No one will use it, but Griffin is forced to by the class bully, and comes out with a broken arm and lacerations and the trauma of the bizarre ride. After that, Griffin's classmates seem hypnotized by the slide, but when they go down, they never come out. When his best friend begins to descend into the black slide, Griffin goes with her and they discover the horrible world all the kids are being held in and used as experiments.

Ocker is one of my favorites, but this book, targeted at 8-12 year-olds, is way too violent for children. Griffin is physically abused by his father and the school bully, where significant damage is done, then he enters an underworld that is all about physical pain being inflicted on children. The descriptions are graphic. I can't imagine what child would want to finish a book about another child suffering so unrelentingly. 2.5

42. Mod Cocktails by Natalie Jacob

Nice photography in this book of revisions of classic cocktails from decades past, including tiki drinks. Many of these variations involve ingredients that have become more popular recently, such as ginger syrup. I made the "Army & Navy" recipe from this book and it was very good. This would be a good addition to a bar library as the ingredients lists don't get too long or complicated. 4 stars

Army & Navy

2 oz gin
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Luxardo cherries

Put the first three ingredients in an ice-filled shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into a coupe glass and drop one cherry in. Float the bitters on top.

43. Art Hiding in New York by Lori Zimmer, illustrated by Maria Krasinski

An exploration of all the secret or overlooked artwork in NYC, along with a few very famous works that can be viewed for free because they are technically public art. In this category, you'll find Maxfield Parrish's "Old King Cole" artwork at the St. Regis. A lesser known art installation is found at the 34th Street subway station, a row of sensors that play musical instruments, or the sound of rain and birds when you stand in front of them.
Famous art locations are included, such as all the addresses of Andy Warhol's Factories. or Diane Arbus' apartment, but most of the artworks included can be sought out on the streets, in subway stations and hotel lobbies. It's a thick book, so not handy for carrying, but it does point out that art is everywhere in NYC, you just have to pay attention. Each entry has the backstory and an illustration. 4

44. Kiss Me, Kill Me by Ann Rule

An anthology of her Crime Files, Rule recounts many true crime stories she wrote up over the years, some solved and some not. She discusses the detectives who worked each case. This one runs to nearly 400 pages and includes a section of photos. These tend to be forgotten or lesser-known cases from decades past. My one gripe is that she has changed the names of so many people involved, including some of the convicted murderers. Why? 4

This week at Autumn Lives Here is free. It's "Teen Idol", a short story that asks the question: how bad is bad enough?
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

45. The Last Kids on Earth: Zombie Parade by Max Brallier

Pre-teen Jack was left behind by his foster family when Earth's atmosphere was ripped open and all the monsters of space fell through. Now Jack lives in the family's huge treehouse, along with three other kids, the only humans that may be left. Not only do they have to fight to survive the monsters, but all the people who died are now flesh-eating zombies.
In this volume of the series, the kids find a monster named Thrull who is willing to help them out. They also discover what is shrieking all through the night, a piercing sound that creates the zombie parade. 3.5

>54 mstrust: Congrats!

Thanks!

Do you like spicy and sweet together? Here's something swell:

Pick these up in markets that have large Hispanic sections, like 99 Ranch, or you might find them as you leave a Mexican restaurant. They are an authentic pineapple flavor with chili powder mixed in. It's sweet with a kick.

I bought Haunted Hotels today.

This week's Autumn Lives Here:You're never too old to be terrifying.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

46. The Nightmare House by Sarah Allen

Ten year old Penny is living in terror, hearing and seeing The Fear Maker everywhere. Her grandmother was always the one who could calm her, when she lived at home with Penny and her parents, but she had to move into a care home because of health problems. Penny believes The Fear Maker is coming for her.
This is the second recently published children's book I've read in a few weeks in which the main character, a young child, is put in situations that seem way too intense for the age group the book is intended for. In The Black Slide (>60 mstrust:), it was non-stop physical pain, and here, Penny's constant terror of everything around her is present from the first page to the last. It actually comes off as mental illness, as if she's deep in schizophrenia. To have a child this frightened is oppressively bleak, and I have to wonder if any child would want to read this. Perhaps if the character's age was bumped up to the teens, an age that could handle the intensity. 3 stars

47. The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson

Two buddies go on a fishing trip in a fairly isolated location in Ireland. They find the village locals a little odd but friendly, but both men can't shake a sense of something strange about the area. While exploring an old ruin, they find a diary, which becomes the majority of the story, as they read the words of the resident of the house. He recorded the terror of a passageway in the Earth opening up at the base of his house, allowing vicious creatures to invade our world.
The story delivers on chills, as the pig creatures are truly horrifying, but it's also likely that this book is the first instance of "cosmic horror" involving the planets and solar system and a millennium passing in the blink of an eye. It gets pretty deep. 4 stars

>63 mstrust: Usually not like her!

Hard to understand why, but she must have had a reason. One that I don't get ;-D

The newest Autumn Lives Here happens to dig into W.H. Hodgson and his very active life. We're also making a pumpkin pie cocktail and going over upcoming book releases.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

This week at Autumn Lives Here, we're looking into a long-forgotten theater disaster, and checking into a year-round Halloween suite. Plus, let's talk about Dexter.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

48. The Troop by Nick Cutter

A small boy scout troop of fourteen year-olds, led by their longtime Scoutmaster, take their yearly excursion to isolated Falstaff Island, off the coast of Prince Edward. A few days of hiking and boating turns into a nightmare as a starving stranger arrives, and he is both aggressive and sick. Scoutmaster Tim does his best to help the man, but it's soon clear that this illness is highly contagious.
A story about gain-of-function research in the hands of a psychopath and the people who have to deal with the results. This is both a gripping read and a shockingly brutal one. It's more disturbing that what I usually read, but the writing is strong. 4.5 stars

This week at Autumn Lives Here, it's a new short story about a job interview that goes well, and then bad. Really, really bad.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

Hot enough to melt your face?

We're talking about gross Summer this week at Autumn Lives Here. Also, the deadliest game of catch ever.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

49. Cold in July by Joe R. Lansdale

Richard Dane wakes in the middle of the night and confronts a burglar in his home. Dane kills the man, who is known to the police as a career criminal, and Dane's already traumatic event gets worse when he's told that the burglar's father has just been released after 20 years in prison. Now, Dane and his family are targets for a man who has nothing to lose.
This being a Lansdale crime novel, there is humor and twists you don't see coming, but also the crimes committed get really dark. 4 stars

50. A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price

Vincent Price was a famous gourmand, and with his first wife Mary, he traveled the world eating at the best restaurants and begging recipes off the chefs. He managed to get a surprising number of recipes for signature dishes, and they are in this thick coffee table book, along with many photos of the Prices and their friends gathered round the table.
Published in 1965 and now a collectible, this book contains recipes from the highest-brow restaurants of France, Italy, Holland, Mexico, Scandinavia, England, Spain and the U.S. It's a time capsule of both the delicacies of the period, and world travel, as the Prices include introductions to each country and nearly every recipe. 5 stars

This week at Autumn Lives Here, I've got the new candy for Halloween and the cursed backstory of The Omen. It's a free-for-all week!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

51. Hell by Kathryn Davis

The lives of three families at three different time periods in the same house. One family lives during the Civil War, the wife being a famous home economist, the eldest daughter is bed-ridden and being starved. The second family is here during the 1950s, an unhappy family with marital strife and unhappy daughters, the third family being the inhabitants of a dollhouse that has been passed down for generations and is now relegated to the basement. This family is also unhappy and aware that they are dolls who can be placed anywhere and forgotten.

This is a strange one, listed by some as experimental. Though a lot of it is really interesting, especially the doll family, it can be difficult to figure out which of the three mothers, two fathers, or many daughters are speaking. The reader also has to dig through some densely written sentences to parcel out what information is given, making the book swing between being fun and being a slog. 3

>79 mstrust: pretty gruesome!

>81 mstrust: Oh wow, what a book!

>84 Tess_W: It sure is! But do you recognize the young actor smearing wax all over his face? It was so early in his career that he didn't even have a line in the movie.
>85 Tess_W: It's great for a number of reasons: these fancy old recipes, the snapshot of the well-heeled life, and the Price's reminiscing about their meal at that particular restaurant, the people they shared it with, and their general hobnobbing.

>86 mstrust: No, to the actor. Who is he? And I just purchased the Price's cookbook! However, I purchased a slightly different one, Mary and Vincent Price's Come into the Kitchen Cook Book

ETA: I'm very disappointed with my Price cookbook, it's mainly early American recipes, really nothing much I would really try. Going to try to resell it.

The melting actor is John Travolta.
Ooh, I didn't know there was a second Price cookbook! Since it's for the home cook, maybe the recipes are their own.

>88 mstrust: Wow to Travolta! The Price cookbook contains recipes they most often made at home. I thought that was more applicable to me in case I might want to recreate something!

Definitely. The recipes in my Price book are almost quaint in how la-di-da they are 😁

Book shopping yesterday: Dark Harvest and Little Eve. Also, we attended the fantastic Redd Kross show last night!

This week at Autumn Lives Here, it's Shaun of the Dead's 20th anniversary!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

>92 mstrust: 20 Years - Wow! I love that film.

Me too, it's one of the best!

52. Guest: A Changeling Tale by Mary Downing Hahn

I don't think the main character's age is ever mentioned, but I'd place her as 10-12 years old. After she accidentally calls the attention of the evil Kinde Folke to her beautiful baby brother, he's stolen and replaced with their ugly, bad-tempered changeling, which causes her family to fall apart. After a year, Mollie sees it as her responsibility to go to the Dark Lands and get her brother back while leaving the changeling behind.
It dragged in parts and isn't the best from Hahn. 2.5

It's a free week at Autumn Lives Here!
This week is a new short story, a foray into Western horror titled "Call Me Tex". Drop in for a good scare.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

53. The Sugar Season: A Year in the Life of Maple Syrup and One Family's Quest for the Sweetest Harvest by Douglas Whynott

The title gives the impression of a small family maple business, something that involves buckets and kids. The real story is about the big business of supplying the world with syrup, the business of sap boils and selling tubing (the modern way of gathering sap), and keeping thousands of gallons in reserve. The kids are involved, but they are adults who are in charge of important branches of the business.
The author shadowed the owners of Bascom's in Vermont, one of the largest syrup buyers in the country, and he also visited with Butternut Mountain, the other high-volume syrup buyer and Bascom's competitor.
A lot of this book would be interesting only to people in the business. The talk of evaporators and tubing wouldn't hold most readers, but the inside look at the big business of maple syrup is interesting, and the family dynamics of the Bascom family is too.
3 stars

This week at Autumn Lives Here, we're looking at horror books and movies of the 1920s. Also, actor/writer/producer/scary guy Larry Fessenden.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

54. The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

Just before her twelfth birthday, Flavia's long missing mother, Harriet, is found frozen on the mountain she had been climbing. The British government sends the body home to Buckshaw with much fanfare, and she's even accompanied by Winston Churchill. It's clear to child genius Flavia that her mother was much more than just an adventurer.
Determined to have a better idea of who her mother was, Flavia makes a plan to raise her mother from the dead. She also needs to unravel why it seems that her parents, and practically every adult she knows, are involved in espionage.
This is the sixth book in the series, and we see that Flavia is maturing. While she's still full of outlandish "science will solve everything" ideas, she shows empathy where she hadn't before. 4 stars

55. The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson

The six Herdmans are the local family of kids that are just set loose like wild dogs, and every year they find a way to ruin Halloween for everyone. To combat this, the school decides to prohibit Halloween during school hours and have a parent-organized event that night in the hopes that the Herdmans will stay away.
Featuring the build up to Halloween and the excitement and disappointment of that one night, this is a fun story. 4

It's a free week at Autumn Lives Here! I've got scary stuff for kids and teens, and my September to-do list.

56. Off Season by Jack Ketchum

Three couple go to a rental cabin in Maine for sexy time, unaware that they are being stalked by a family of cannibals. When the attack comes, the people in the cabin can only fight with makeshift weapons, but they are outnumbered by the inbred clan where even the children are homicidal.
This story was based on the Sawney Bean clan, and it's bloody and brutal. Don't read at night. 4 stars

57. Nowhere, USA by Ninie Hammon

In a small mountain town in Kentucky, citizens find themselves landing at the old bus stop in the center of town, either vomiting their guts out or bleeding from the nose and ears. Enough people materialize at the bus stop that they begin helping each other, trying to piece together what happened, and they realize that people are ending up at the bus stop when they try to leave town.

A good dark mystery when it sticks to the storyline of the town being cut-off from the outside, but the whole angle with one of the locals going nuts and taking a hostage was an eyeroll.3 stars

This week at Autumn Lives Here is for The Creep Club! We're delving into horror from the 1930s with the many monsters who became popular in this era. Plus, we're looking at the apple varieties being developed right now. You'll find them in the stores in a few years and some of them will really surprise you.
Fall and Halloween are going on here and you can read any post for free by just adding your email.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

I'm hosting October's ScaredyKit!
https://www.librarything.com/topic/363364

It's a free week at Autumn Lives Here, and have I got a creepy story for you.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

58. If It Bleeds by Stephen King

A 2020 collection of short stories, the best known being "Mr. Harrigan's Phone", which was quickly turned into a Netflix movie. Other stories are "Rat", with King returning to the "struggling writer in a cabin in the woods" trope, this time, a writer who has caught a vicious virus while a terrible storm is coming. He makes things worse by saving an injured rat.
In the title story, Holly Gibney and the crew from Finders Keepers have plenty of cases, but she becomes intrigued by a local tv reporter who seems to always be first at disasters. This one dragged a bit and could have been shorter. The reader should also have read the previous works of Holly, as they are referred to quite a bit.
"The Life of Chuck" is told backwards and in three parts, and I liked this strange story of a world that is reverting back to pre-cell, pre-internet and tv days, all because of regular ol' Chuck.
Has King always made his characters spew his political views? He's really turned into an angry old man in the last few years and I think his politics showed up in each of these stories, wedged in because he can't help himself. Otherwise, an enjoyable collection of stories. 4 stars

>107 mstrust: LOL to angry old man. Will have to look for that in my next read of his!

:-D And I have to wonder what he has to be so angry about, he has everything he could ever want.

59. The Inheritor's Powder: A Cautionary Tale of Poison, Betrayal and Greed by Sandra Hempel

This is the story of the infancy of forensic science in England during the first half of the 19th Century. Within this research is the true crime story of three generations of farmers, a family where the men were at odds with one another. Older, hardworking George became violently ill and died, while his son-in-law and grandson, both shady beneficiaries, became suspects.

There's so much interesting information here about where both medicine and police work were in 1833, at the time of the crime, and who was instrumental in advancing the sciences. However, the writing style keeps this from being a page-turner. The author goes down so many winding diversions, and much of these were unnecessary. I think it would have been a better read to give us the account of George Bodle's horrible family and his death, then launch into the wider world of science and police work. 3 stars

This week at Autumn Lives Here, The Creep Club is joining me for a who's who through The Haunted Mansion, then we watch one of the most infamous mockumentaries ever. I have lots of ghosts.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

60. Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge

Set at Halloween 1963, in a small town with a strange ritual. For five days, parents lock their teenage sons up and starve them so that when they are let out Halloween night, the boys are so hungry that they'll hunt down the candy-filled October Boy. The one who kills him is the winner, the only person allowed to leave town. 4.5 stars

Drop in at Autumn Lives Here this week for my October To Do list, pumpkin spice rolls and the true story of a trunk murderess.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

This week, Autumn Lives Here is getting super Halloweenie with morgue movies and reads. Also, new and upcoming book releases and "Dear ALH" is back with life advice.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

Just dropping in for a dose of horror! Thank you, very entertaining. Adding If It Bleeds to the BB list.

I'm glad you're getting your horror fix here, even if I didn't do my normal Halloween/Autumn on LT this year. I hope you like If It Bleeds, and you might want to drop in at the October ScaredyKit to tell us what you thought.

>116 mstrust: That was my thought too when I saw it on your thread! And I really like Holly Gibney from Finders Keepers.

Sure, drop by and tell us what Contemporary horrors you're reading!
The Holly in this particular story has really made strides in her social skills!

The Halloween Witch just struck! If it Bleeds is now listed as "no longer available" in the e-book collection at the library. I'll keep looking but with my meagre non-existent collection of horror, I don't expect much.

Weird, I would have expected that one to be widely available. You may find it at a good price in Amazon's e-books, or a physical copy at the library?

Weird, I would have expected that to be widely available. Maybe you can get a good price through Amazon's e-books, or the physical copy at the library.

61. The Spite House by Johnny Compton
A mystery within a mystery, this is the story of dad Eric and his two daughters. We know they've been driving around the country, living in motels for over a year. With money running low, Eric answers an ad for someone to live in a haunted house in Texas. The Spite House has an extensive reputation for paranormal happenings, but now the elderly owner wants more concrete proof, and it seems that she doesn't care if her tenants are in danger.
This is a haunted house story, and it also looks into family histories, race and economic status. 4.5

Looking for a scare? "There's Something in the Basement" is a free read this week.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

62. Monster Blood by R.L. Stine

Evan has been dumped on a very elderly, deaf great-aunt whom he doesn't know while his parents house hunt in a new city. That she's mean, doesn't have a tv and doesn't like Evan's dog sends him outdoors looking for something to do, where he meets a new friend and the neighborhood bullies. He also buys a can of something labeled "monster blood", which is a bad decision. 3.5

Ushers: A Short Story by Joe Hill

Martin has a series of interviews with Detectives Duvall and Oates concerning the fact that Martin had a ticket for a train that crashed, killing many passengers. Martin had refused to board, just like he had gone home sick on the day of a massacre at his high school. The police think that's too much of a coincidence.
A Kindle exclusive. 4

>125 mstrust: Like Joe Hill. Going off in search of this one!

Hope you like it too!

>126 Tess_W: It is one of his better ones.

63. Before You Sleep: Three Horrors by Adam L.G. Nevill
Each of these stories has a house at the center. In one, three schoolboys think they'll gain reputations as tough guys if they break into the notoriously haunted local house. In another, a Japanese family settle into a house so the father, who seems to be having a nervous breakdown, can relax. The little girl quickly makes friends with all the toys left behind by previous children.
The last story involves a young man who has bought his first home. The interior had never been updated past the 1970s, and he quickly finds himself putting off the renovation and becoming comfortable in the old lady vibe.
These are spooky, atmospheric stories from the author whose work inspired the movies "The Ritual" and "No One Gets Out Alive". 4.5

This week, The Creep Club at Autumn Lives Here is digging into the Bloody Mary myth, and we're looking into a very, very cold case that was recently solved.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

It's Halloween week and Autumn Lives Here is celebrating hard!
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

If anyone's here, Happy Halloween!



Here's a Halloween story from Autumn Lives Here, "Ashley's Spooktacular Party". Ashley throws a Halloween party for her coworkers and everything will be great! Right?
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

64. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill.
Four strangers, two men and two women, are sharing a table in the reading room of the Boston Public Library when a scream rings out. The body of a murdered woman is found in an adjacent room, and this experience, and the ensuing theories each shares, bonds the four. They become joined at the hips as they think about the murder, but the more they learn about each other, the more they question each other's motives for being in the library.
The reader is actually reading chapters written by a famous Australian mystery writer who has enlisted a fan from Boston to help with getting the details of the city correct, a fan who feels that he and the author have a deep connection.

I liked the first half of the book, which centered on the original murder, more than the second, which was so bogged down by the two women, Freddie and Marigold, having fallen in love with the two men to the point that they are willing to risk their lives to prove their devotion. But overall, a not-too-scary mystery set in Boston that travels all over the city. 3.5

>133 mstrust: I have this one on my e-reader...sounds like I should nudge it up the list!

If you like a hefty dose of romance with your murder, nudge away!

>135 mstrust: Haha, sure, I'm up for that!

65. Diary of An Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

A loutish Irishman recalls his life in London, when he was an alcoholic in his twenties who truly enjoyed crushing the happiness of women.
He discovers AA and becomes sober with equal enthusiasm, building a career and ending up in Minnesota. That job takes him on a business trip to Manhattan, where he meets a woman from his hometown, someone who is just as adept of destroying happiness as he used to be.
Funny and infuriating, these are the memories of an unnamed self-centered, but honest, narrator. 4 stars

Autumn Lives Here is for my Creep Club this week. We're going over some "horror-lite" movies, and finding out about a doctor who was allowed to poison dozens of people.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

66. Back From the Dead: And 350 Other Stories of Amazing Luck by Steve Moore

The title says it all. This British book collects incredible tales of survival against the odds. Babies that fall from apartment windows to have their falls broken by clotheslines, people who feel the urge to walk out of the house seconds before it collapses, and people who have been shot in the head with little damage afterwards. Almost every story here has a happy ending. 3

67. Haunted Hotels: Eerie Inns, Ghoulish Guests and Creepy Caretakers by Tom Ogden

Divided by regions, you'll find the most infamously haunted hotels in America here. The stories include the hotel's history and amenities, along with a rundown of otherworldly guests and employees who never clock out. The reader gets a lot of ghosts who loom over beds in the middle of the night and old men who bring the scent of cigars when they appear, but there are some who like to get their hands on people, such as the spirit at the Chateau Bourbon Hotel in New Orleans who slaps men, or one at the Hotel Colorado who kept pulling off the new wallpaper until a pattern was offered that the spirit approved of.

I bought this book at the Cracker Barrel a few months ago when they had all their Halloween stuff in. It could have used a closer proofreading as there are dropped words here and there, and a couple of pages are almost too faded to read. Otherwise, a fun book of ghostly travels. 3.5

It's a free week at Autumn Lives Here! Come over and grab a fantastic apple brownie recipe, and stay to meet one of the most infamous doctors ever. He really didn't help.

68. Nightmare in Pink by John D. Macdonald

The second in the Travis McGee series, this sees Trav going to NYC as a favor to his best friend. Blind and damaged, Mike is worried about his younger sister, whose fiancée has recently died and left her with a ten thousand dollar payout. Nina is young, talented and sure that there was more to her fiancée's death than an accident. When Trav investigates, just to ease her mind, he becomes suspicious too.

I didn't like this one quite as much as I liked The Deep Blue Good-Bye, but you still get snappy dialogue, cougars, and those so-vague-but-you-still-get-the-picture 60s sex scenes. 3.5

>142 mstrust: The noble Travis. Curing sad young women with his magic member.

Ha! He has an incredible power over women of all ages with just the lift of a cocktail.

69. George Jones: Why Baby Why by Jim Brown

A bio about the country music legend that draws on many previously published and filmed sources, including Jones' autobiography.
It covers his whole complicated life, up to its 2001 publication, which includes the combative marriage to Tammy Wynette and Jones' years of addiction.
I bought this, I believe, at the Summerlin, NV library, two or three years ago. Jones was my dad's favorite, and we often teased him that George Jones was his hero. I was very surprised when I finally pulled this from the shelf a few days ago and saw that it had been signed by Jones. 3.5

Here's one I forgot about:
70. Halloween Treats: Recipes and Crafts for the Whole Family by Donata Maggipinto

A hardcover book of recipes and unusual crafting ideas, such as making decorated masks, lantern attachments for flashlights and flying ghosts. Their are both alcoholic and virgin cocktails and a how-to section for pumpkin or squash carving. 3.5

This week's Autumn Lives Here includes low-budget horror and a truly horrible tale from the bakery.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

71. Schott's Food & Drink Miscellany by Ben Schott

A book of facts and trivia, with lots of stuff most of us wouldn't know: the wages of household servants in the Victorian era, the ingredients of various sauces every French chef would know, George Washington's rules for civility at the table, and the meaning of unusual pub names in the U.K. It's the little bits of info that you've gotten by without, but I love this type of trivia. 3.5

I've put up my 2025 Category Challenge: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365901

>145 mstrust: Loved him as a performer, but wouldn't want to be his wife (wives)! My uncle was at one of his shows where he was so drunk that he passed out on stage.

...wouldn't want to be his wife (wives)!
You got that right. Except that, according to this author, Wynette was even more dramatic than Jones and they were each too much for the other. Which exhausts me just to think about.
My dad never stopped giggling about the lawnmower incident!

72. Lenny Among Ghosts by Frank Maria Reifenberg, translated from German

His distracted parents quickly enroll Lenny at a new school on their way to a scientific expedition, dropping him off one night at the castle he'll live and attend school in until they're finished with their discoveries. Somehow, they put Lenny in a school that only exists at night, and where he is the only living student, something that scandalizes the teachers.
Not only does Lenny have to prove that he can make it in ghost school, he has to fight for the castle to remain standing after a new property owner decides to bulldoze everything, which would leave the ghosts homeless.

It's a fun story, mixing Lenny with ghosts from the Dark Ages and Victorian era, with a snarling butler who is described as looking like Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. 3.5

It's a new short story at Autumn Lives Here this week, "Zoms Invade!" Well, they wanted to meet us.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

And since I have a couple dozen LTers visiting every week (thanks!), do me a solid and subscribe to Autumn Lives Here. It's free and you're just adding your e-mail to my specific Substack. Your email isn't used elsewhere, it just sends you that week's post.

Happy Thanksgiving to all American LTers, and Happy Thursday to everyone else!

73. The Fran Lebowitz Reader

I've wanted to read Lebowitz's work for a few years since seeing the Netflix doc series about her, Pretend It's A City, which is so funny that I watched it twice. She's quick-witted and curmudgeonly, yet so active with friends and speaking engagements. This is a collection of published columns from Lebowitz's early career, spanning her twenties and thirties. The publications run from 1974 to 1994, the year this collection came out.
I suppose the writing is of the style of newspaper columnists of that period. What we would likely call "wordy" and "esoteric", as much of her observations are specific the NYC and she was writing for the Manhattanites who saw themselves in her complaints about people. She's funny and willing to call out annoying people, though there are some columns that I'm surprised were included here as they represent a very different time.
Anyway, I think I prefer listening to her grumpiness than reading it. 2.5

This week, Autumn Lives Here is visiting the infamous Stanley Hotel, meeting a woman who we will Not accept drinks from, and talking about one of Ray Bradbury's scariest books.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

74. Death by Darjeeling by Laura Childs

The first in the Tea Shop Mysteries series, this introduces Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop in old Charleston. She has a thriving business with locals and tourists, and a staff of loyal employees. With her tea blends included in "The Lamplighter Tour", a historical event, the tea shop can expect even more sales, but a hated land developer attends and is found dead with one of Theodosia's tea cups in his hand. With the news that his tea was poisoned getting out, Theodosia begins investigating herself in order to save her business.
In this murder mystery you get a hefty amount of Charleston's layout and architectural history, and lots of tea talk. It can be silly at times, but it's mostly a complete look at Theodosia's life, from trying to clear her professional name from suspicion to employee issues and trying to build a brand. 3.5

Come by Autumn Lives Here this week and meet "Shelly the Belly".
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

75. I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider

A hardcover of book related comics by Snider, such as the many reasons for reader's block, or writer's block, the guilt of leaving a book unfinished, and the ways to procrastinate in your own writing.
This had been on my WL for a long time and I happened to come across it at the library. 3.5

76. There Is No Ethan by Anna Akbari

The true story of multiple catfishing by a man who never existed. The author spent months in an online relationship with Ethan Schuman, an intense, quick-witted guy who worked long hours for Morgan Stanley. Over the months, they made many plans to meet for dinner, an airport pick-up, a vacation, even just coffee, but Ethan always broke their plans at the last minute. He refused to Skype or speak on the phone. Meanwhile, he had an amazing ability to keep Akbari hooked, one of them revealing that he had cancer and couldn't speak or travel.
When she finally had enough, she began researching the names of past girlfriends he had sprinkled in their communications. Not only did she find other women that felt manipulated by Ethan, together they were able to root out the person behind 'Ethan', and it turned out to be the most unlikely catfisher. 3

77. Winnebago Graveyard by Steve Niles

Newly married Dan and Chrissie, with Chrissie's thirteen year old son, stop at a little desert carnival for an hour or two but find that their Winnebago has been stolen from the lot. Getting no help from the carnies or the local police, they take a room at a hotel, making it easy for the local Satanists to find them.
Written by the guy who wrote 30 Days of Night and artwork by Alison Sampson. 3.5

This week's Autumn Lives Here is a free-for-all for Christmas! I've got book reviews and one infamously clumsy Victorian murder.
https://jennifermorrow.substack.com/

78. Norwich by Karen Crouse

The story of Norwich, Vermont, a town of about 3000 residents that has been extremely prolific in producing Olympians. They've had at least one athlete in the Winter Olympics for over 30 years, mostly in skiing, though some athletes have dual sports.
The author was able to interview many of the Olympians and their parents, coaches and schoolmates. While some of the athletes are the Type-A personalities that pushed themselves, most came from families that participated in the sport because they enjoyed it.
Then there is the sad story of the Snite sisters, Sunny and Betsy, who were pushed mercilessly to become Olympic skiers by their father in the 50s.
I really have no interest in sports and I've never skied, but a town this small that has produced so many world-class athletes is something unusual. 3.5

No posts since Dec 18?? I hope you are away partying and enjoying the season. Happy New Year, Jennifer.

I have just come back from four days with my family in Vegas, but I've been so busy that my reading has suffered. I'm glad you dropped in to see me though!