It's October, and thoughts often turn to skeletons, ghosts, zombies, vampires, and other things that go bump in the night. To prepare, I've been reading (or re-reading) some of the creepiest books out there, and I'm sharing some of my favorites with you. Scary stories have been around for a long time. The 19th century … Continue reading The Creepiest Month
Kind of Scary
National Parks and Recreation Month
Hi Shelf Life Readers! Happy National Parks and Recreation month! I am writing to you from the Jackson County Public Library but if you tried to find me during the summer months from 2012 to 2015, you would’ve had to look deep in the wilderness of either the Sumter or Chattahoochee National Forest, where I … Continue reading National Parks and Recreation Month
Number 18 in ‘18
This blog is my eighteenth. It’s also my last one for Shelf Life in the Mountains. (Long story short: moving out of state) I did my first one almost exactly 2 years ago, so I’ve done about nine a year since then. Rather than tout some favorite books or videos or music, as I’m wont … Continue reading Number 18 in ‘18
Murder in Strange Places
When I am not reading non-fiction, I tend to relax with two or three good mysteries. The past few months I've reading Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher mysteries set in Australia in the 1920s, and watching the show on PBS. Deborah Crombie writes a series of books starring a couple of London detective inspectors and their … Continue reading Murder in Strange Places
Keep moving forward
Many folks have heard of or seen True Blood, an HBO series that ran seven seasons and garnered both an Emmy and a Golden Globe. Not me, never saw an episode. But the creator of the books behind the series, Charlaine Harris, spoke at a conference I went to last year, so I decided to read some of her titles. Although she's written SIX series including the one "True Blood" was based on, I picked her most recent series on which to cut my teeth (no vampire pun intended).
They Ate My Brain: 15 Top Zombie Reads
By Chris Zombies! They just won’t go away, both in the stories featuring them and in popular culture. Now we could engage in a long discussion as to why zombies strike a chord with us, how they reach a primal part of our psyche, how an unrelenting, implacable, remorseless enemy that cannot be reasoned with … Continue reading They Ate My Brain: 15 Top Zombie Reads
Ancient Ancestors
By Stephen A few years ago GEICO, famous for their funny commercials, embarked a series that labeled getting insurance from their company was "So easy a caveman could do it." While America was laughing, scientists were trying to figure out what happened to the real cave men, the Neandertals (Homo neanderthalensis), and determine if are … Continue reading Ancient Ancestors
Just because you’re paranoid…
... doesn't mean they aren't watching you! This blog post may get me added to a list somewhere, but it is chock full of information everyone should know (quick shout out to my buddies at the NSA!). Recent events have spurred a renewed interest in privacy: Government data mining from U.S. Internet Companies, Arrest Caught on … Continue reading Just because you’re paranoid…
There Were Two Trains…
By Loretta My friend carved out a trail through a tangled bog once and allowed me the pleasure of walking it when I had time and good weather. For the privilege, I would take along my cutters and clip back the encroachments. There were places along the trail where Multiflora Rose had taken over and … Continue reading There Were Two Trains…
“He’s calling from inside the house!” — Scary Things for Halloween
By Luke As far as I'm concerned, this is the best time of year. Some of us are suckers for those first days of spring. Some of us live for the languid days of summer. A lot of us love the cozy season of Hannukah/Christmas/Kwanzaa/New Year with its deeply personal spiritual meanings and joyous celebrations. … Continue reading “He’s calling from inside the house!” — Scary Things for Halloween
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