About Her

Elle E. is 25 and teaches in a state overrun by the spawn of yuppies. Therefore she is a full-time heretic much afflicted by spleen.

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What I'm Reading Now

Classic Victorian and Edwardian Ghost Stories
Various

This is a book to be read by a blazing fire on a winter's night, with the curtains drawn close and the doors securely locked. The unquiet souls of the dead, both as fictional creations and as 'real' apparitions, roam the pages of this haunting new selection of ghost stories by Rex Collings.

Reviewed

Book

The Black Veil & Other Tales of Supernatural Sleuths
Various
Rating

Some really good stories share the pages with a few indifferent supernatural detective stories. I especially liked the Carnacki stories and Arthur Machen's 'The Red Hand'. Vintage sleuthing at its best. I'll definitely look for more works by Machen and Hodgson.

The Temple of Death
A.C. & R.H. Benson
Rating

I totally disagree with the editor of this collection that R.H. Benson's works are more religious in tone than A.C. Benson's. I find it the opposite. I sometimes had to resist flipping through the pages for almost every story written by A.C. Benson as they were all so predictable. I found some of the stories laughable. But I was surprised that there were only 7 stories of R.H. Benson included - but they were all good and I even cried when I read one of them... No, it wasn't a ghost story but a Catholic weepie. And I was delightfully chilled by his 'The Traveller'. Excellent and effective.

The Vesuvius Club
Mark Gatiss
Rating

Someone said I'd love the new rogue of British literature, Lucifer Box, after I confessed my liking for the classic Flashman Papers series. I get the point that Lucifer must love himself, but I'd prefer it if he didn't always make me feel so impatient with him. I think I'm going to read the second book some other time...

The Bloody Chamber
Angela Carter
Rating

I'm reading this again after almost 10 years... The thing that many reviewers forget is Carter's humour. She's so funny at times that you have to laugh in a crowded train. If you have never picked up a book by this fearless authoress, this would be a good starting point. I promise you, you will love her works.

Shoot Sir! Or Be Damned!

Tuesday, September 04, 2007 - 5:15 PM

I'm spending too much time in front of the comp, listening to mainstream pop artistes like Mika and watching too many sappy fanvids of Paul McGann. I think I'm going temporarily crazy over him. It's been such a long time since I last watched Hornblawer- the first instance of my McGann madness. ~~If any man could look so utterly beautiful~~ *cough* See? I was going to write a frickin essay...

But it's not all that bad, this crazy juvenility. Anyway, nevermind.

I thought I should share with you lot my very favourite clip from Lenny Henry in Pieces. It takes a while to load in my laptop, so I dunno if it's my connection of the site. It's worth checking out. Therefore, go you there.