Macbeth Monday: STICK-FIGURE MACBETH

Shakespeare’s Macbeth is not a comedy. (Despite what one might think of some productions’ choices.) It is a dark tragedy, full of blood and murder and the supernatural. Which, of course, makes it ripe for comedic parody. Earlier this year, I saw the New York City company of Drunk Shakespeare perform their rendition of Macbeth, and it was one of the funniest theatrical experiences I have had (right up there with the various Mischief Theatre productions I’ve seen).

I can confidently report that Mya L. Golding’s A Stick-Figure Macbeth (published by GoodTickleBrain.com) made me laugh just as hard. I picked it up during a visit to the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival last month and finally read it a few days ago. It is a fast, funny read.

Presenting chapbook style in black-and-white, the art is not truly stick-figure (the way the webcomic xkcd is), because how would you tell the characters apart? But there’s just enough detail to distinguish between Macbeth and Macduff, etc. The slightly more than stick-figure art allows for facial expressions that enhance the dialogue jokes. I particularly loved the long, straight lines representing Macbeth’s beard versus the goatee of Banquo and the full-bodied fluff of Macduff. Dueling facial hair for the win!

The introduction explains that this version of the story contains and the action and blood but omits most of the “richness and vibrancy of Shakespeare’s language.” There are plenty of direct quotes from the play, but most of the dialogue is paraphrased and played on, which is where the humor and charm of the book really click. There’s a running joke of everyone mangling “Thane of Cawdor,” for instance (calling him everything from Thane of Candor to Hodor. I half-expected a Superman reference (to the Kryptonian “Bottle City” of Kandor), and one about Macbeth trying to hard not to think of murdering Duncan that he says “casket” instead of “castle” and “knife” instead of “wife.” (The Introduction is extremely funny for other reasons. Don’t skip it.)

Golding even riffs on the famous “Hecate” scenes (including song-and-dance numbers) that don’t fit tonally with the rest of the play and are usually cut (belief is that they were added by another playwright, Thomas Middleton, after Shakespeare’s death), and on the awkward scene between Macduff and Prince Malcolm (where somehow Malcolm thinks that convincing Macduff he would be a worse king than Macbeth is the way to win Macduff’s support).

Some pages have the action interrupted by a note explaining historical context or some controversy related to the show (is it cursed? What was Lady Macbeth’s first name? and one of my favorites: a panel explaining how the Murderers are just called “First Murderer” and “Second Murderer,” and that Murderers traditionally come in pairs, and positing that these are the same murderers who appear in Richard III and Henry the Sixth Part II.)

I really don’t want to spoil every joke, so I won’t quote any more of them. I considered including a short excerpt of a few panels (with copyright info, of course), but I’m unsure if that would violate proper use laws. So just take my word for it: go find the book!

Perhaps I should note here: I know a lot of people get offended when their “favorite thing” (whatever it is) is parodied or turned comedic. I’m not one of those folks, as long as the parody is actually funny (which this is). If you are, and Macbeth is that “favorite thing” for you --- maybe this isn’t the book for you.

Macbeth is not the only “Stick-Figure” print adaptation Mya Golding has produced. Golding, and Good Tickle Brain, can be found at their website (linked to near the top of this review) and on Facebook (fb.com/goodticklebrain) and Instagram (Instagram.com/goodticklebrain).

It is no secret that my favorite Shakespeare play is Macbeth. I’ve lost count of how many live productions of it I’ve seen, plus movie and TV versions I own in various formats, not to mention all the novels, graphic novels, and non-fiction books. Macbeth Monday is intended to be an occasional feature on the blog where I discuss whatever version or aspect of the story catches my attention at a particular moment.

Book Review: CAESAR NOW BE STILL

TITLE: Caesar Now Be Still

AUTHOR: Frank Schildiner

253 pages, Belanger Books, ISBN 9798326602428 (hardcover, paperback, e-book)

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

Frank Schildiner’s Caesar Now Be Still is the first book of what I hope will be many novels and stories featuring New York City Detective Wilson Hargreave. If the character’s name sounds familiar, you are probably an avid Sherlock Holmes reader. Hargreave is mentioned in the Holmes canon just once, referenced by the Great Detective in “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” as a friend of Holmes among the police in New York City. No details of Hargreave’s career or life, no hint of how he became friends with the world’s most famous consulting detective, just a mention that Hargreave had often made use of Holmes’ knowledge of London crime and had now returned the favor. From this small mention, Schildiner crafts a character with a background that spans the US, the UK, and France, with time spent on both sides of the law, who has a moral code that invites mockery mixed with grudging respect from his peers and enemies alike. And while he doesn’t seem to have many friends, he does have obnoxious coworkers and dangerous enemies to spare. Hargreave’s history is revealed slowly throughout the course of the book – it’s not always pleasant but it explains a lot about the man he is when this book takes place. I found him an intriguing and personable main character (the first-person narration may have helped with that), flawed and scarred and tragic in some ways, but also noble and hopeful.

Fans of Sexton Blake, Sherlock Holmes, and Solar Pons, as well as fans of historical crime novels are sure to enjoy this book as much as I did. Grittier than the standard Holmes or Pons fare but with the same sense of justice the Great Detective’s adventures usually possess. The author seamlessly melds several mystery/crime sub-genres in this book: there’s the Holmesian mystery aspect (while Hargreave may work for the NYC police department, he is clearly treated as more of a consultant by peers and higher-ups who disdain the methods Hargreave learned from Holmes), the brutal crime aspect (so much blood and viscera at the crime scenes), the noir aspect (complete with instigating rich female client and various femme fatales), and the historical aspect (1890s New York City on full display, including all of the gang fighting and corruption). Other hands attempting such a mash-up of tones might have been less successful, but Schildiner knows his genres and knows this period of NYC history very well. It all comes together smoothly and to a highly satisfactory conclusion that leaves the way open for future adventures.

Long-time Schildiner readers will not be surprised there are also tons of easter eggs involving a plethora of literary and historical figures of the time. Schildiner weaves these references throughout the book effortlessly, never marring the pace or tone of the book. With as many as I recognized, I’m sure I still missed some that more astute readers will have picked on.

I am an enthusiastic fan of Frank Schildiner’s work across genres, and I do think this might be the best book he’s written yet. Belanger Books should be commended for bringing it out, and are encouraged to continue the series. Highly recommended.

Theater Thursday: N/A

I got to check another name off my “actors I’d love to finally see live on stage” list at the end of June: Holland Taylor. I was trying to fit one more show in in June, knowing that July would be hectic with work travel, and N/A was in previews at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center.

In N/A, Holland Taylor plays “N” and Ana Villafañe plays “A.” “N” is a life-long member of the House of Representatives, a former Speaker of the House and now Minority Leader. “A” is a newly elected Representative (“of the Bronx and Queens!”), the youngest woman ever elected to the House. While they are part of the same political party, and share many goals and ideals, their philosophical and strategic disagreements place them at odds even on common ground. The characters are clearly based on Nancy Pelosi and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, although neither woman’s name is spoken during the roughly 90-minute performance (nor is any other politician’s name, although when they discuss “that man” it is equally clear who they are referring to). Taylor and Villafañe both delivered powerhouse performances during the preview I saw. There were a few small gaffes, but hey – that’s what previews are for. Reviews I’ve seen online since the show officially opened have all been positive, regardless of the age of the reviewer (I’ve seen reviews from a 13-year-old actor to a 70-year-old frequent theatregoer).

Taylor’s “N” is all quiet control, occasionally condescending (and quite aware of when she’s doing it, and to who) but also willing to acknowledge when that condescension is misplaced, leveraging decades of compromise and slow progress to institute positive change. She moves carefully across the stage at all times, regardless of her emotions. Villafañe’s “A” is boundless energy, also occasionally condescending (in that “youth knows better than age” way), striving to do the Right Thing even when it’s not the most politically expedient thing, swinging for the substantial changes over the incremental. At times, she veritably ricochets from one end of the small set to the other, and in one highly effective moment she conveys movement without moving or speaking, trembling in place. They balance each other very well – or perhaps I should say, in the playwright’s words, they orbit one another well, literally and figuratively dancing around each other and the issues that concern them. Most of their scenes are together, although each gets at least a few moments on stage alone. Those moments are as telling, as informative about the characters, as when they are verbally sparring.

Mario Correa’s script mixes actual conversations and sound bites from the real “N” and “A” with conjecture about what they may have said to each other in private in various meetings between 2018 and 2022. The playwright gives each woman equal weight, neither idolizing nor vilifying either one. The audience the night I saw the show seemed evenly distributed age-wise, obvious in the response to N’s lines about disaffected youth who spend all their time trying to raise their social media cachet and A’s lines about older people who think “close enough” is “good enough.” (I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the point.) I personally came out of the show with a greater appreciation of what it takes to accomplish anything in Washington, playing what Otto Von Bismark called “the art of the possible” (a quote I have to admit I mostly know because Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice based a song around it in Evita), a greater appreciation for how even people who broadly want the same thing can have very specifically different ways of attaining it.

N/A is a classic two-person show, perfect for the more intimate Newhouse space where the audience surrounds three-quarters of the stage. The set is minimalistic, the few pieces of furniture see-through plexiglass, allowing the focus to stay on the actors. The passage of time and change of locations is indicated through photos and words projected on the rear wall, including some well-known photos from our recent history. Fair warning: there are some fast-flashing lights and loud sound cues, especially in the scene that takes place on January 6th.

N/A runs at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center through September 1st (the run was recently extended). I highly recommend seeing it.

I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is an occasional series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.

READING ROUND-UP: June 2024

A little late in the month, here’s what I read, listened to, and watched in June 2024!

BOOKS

I read 9 books in June: 4 in print, 4 in e-book format, and 1 in audio format. They were:

1.       Next of Kin (Stardust and Ashes Book 1) by Melinda Mitchell (PRINT, Sparta Books Book Club pick)

2.       Losing Hit Points by Kristopher Mielke (E-BOOK)

3.       The Unwanted by Jeffrey Ricker (E-BOOK, To Be Read Challenge)

4.       Fever by Jordan L. Hawk (E-BOOK)

5.       The Deep Dark by Molly Knox Ostertag (PRINT, Graphic Novel Challenge)

6.       You Like It Darker: Stories by Stephen King (PRINT)

7.       Captain Kid Volume 1 by Mark Waid, Tom Peyer, Wilfredo Torres, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and A Larger World (PRINT, Graphic Novel Challenge)

8.       Pangs by Jerry Wheeler (E-BOOK, To Be Read Challenge)

9.       Indexing (Indexing #1) by Seanan McGuire (AUDIO)

STORIES

Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “The Waking Sleep of a Seething Wound” by dave ring in Lightspeed Magazine #169, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “Udo Gehler and the Virgin Bitch of the Resistance” by Andrea Kriz

3.       “The Help Hotline” by Dominica Phettleplace

4.       “Warning Notes from an Annihilator Machine” by Oyedotun Damilola Muess

5.       “Sparrow and the Parasol” by Varsha Dinesh

6.       “An Otherworldly Cat Tells You the Secrets of the Universe” by Megan Chee

7.       “In the Hands of the Mountain God” by Deborah L. Davitt

8.       “The Weight of Salt” by Shanna Germain

9.       “No One Leaves for Good” by Seanan McGuire, from the Author’s Patreon

10.   “Two Talented Bastids” by Stephen King, from You Like It Darker: Stories

11.   “The Fifth Step” by Stephen King

12.   “Willie the Weirdo” by Stephen King

13.   “Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream” by Stephen King

14.   “Finn” by Stephen King

15.   “On Slide Inn Road” by Stephen King

16.   “Red Screen” by Stephen King

17.   “The Turbulence Expert” by Stephen King

18.   “Laurie” by Stephen King

19.   “Rattlesnakes” by Stephen King

20.   “The Dreamers” by Stephen King

21.   “The Answer Man” by Stephen King

So that’s 21 short stories in June. Less than “1 per day” again, which puts me slightly behind again for the year! (June 30th was the 182nd day of 2024.)

MOVIES

I watched five movies in June:

1.       Beautiful Thing (1996)

2.       Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)

3.       Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)

4.       Gamera: Super Monster (1980)

5.       Jim Henson Idea Man (2024)

The week ending June 30th was the 26th week of the year, so I’m still way behind on the “1 movie per week” challenge.

TELEVISION

·       Shoresy Season 3, Episodes 1 – 6 (6 episodes)

·       Doctor Who (2024) Season 1, Episodes 6-8 (3 episodes)

·       Dead Boy Detectives Season 1, Episodes 1 – 8 (8 episodes)

·       The 77th Annual Tony Awards (1 episode)

That’s 18 episodes of television, which is well below the “1 per day” I was shooting for and keeps me behind the pace for this challenge.

LIVE THEATER

·       The Play That Goes Wrong Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Central Valley PA

·       N/A, Mitzi Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center, NYC

Summary of Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 2 read; YTD: 6 of 15 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  21 read; YTD: 179 of 366 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 9 read; YTD: 60 of 120 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 2 read; YTD: 13 of 52 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 0 read; YTD: 9 of 12 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 1 read/watched.

Movie Challenge: This month: 5 watched; YTD: 16 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 18 episodes watched; YTD: 129 of 366 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 2 shows attended; YTD: 9 of 12 attended.

SUNDAY SHORTS: Mercedes General

TITLE: Mercedes General

AUTHOR: Jerry L. Wheeler

196 pages, Queer Mojo/Rebel Satori, ISBN 9781608642991 (Paperback, e-book)

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

MY THOUGHTS: Nominally a short story collection, Jerry L. Wheeler’s Mercedes General might better be described as a “mosaic novel” – the stories are all linked, presenting in chronological order the events of the lives of two extraordinarily ordinary gay men from 1966 to 2006. But whatever you call it, this is a book everyone needs to read. It is a history of the gay rights movement, the advances and the setbacks, the acceptances and the discrimination, the love and the hate. It is also an intimate story of lifelong love, the kind of love that roots early and permanently and never looks back.

Kent Mortensen meets Spencer Michalek when they are ten years old. Kent is firmly under the control of his bully of a big sister, who sees the “new kid” in town at the bus stop and absolutely must try to torment him. It doesn’t work, and a bond forms between Kent and Spencer that will stand the test of time. Per the back cover copy, “Defying anyone who steps between them, they take on the challenges of growing up a couple – including battles with their families, pedophiles, protestors at their senior prom, and unwanted attention for starting an AIDS hospice during the early part of the epidemic.” And through almost all of it, they have the love and support of Kent’s grandmother, Miss Lee, who owns the big house at the top of the mountain and who is a force to be reckoned with in her own right.

While Kent is the first-person narrator of each story (for reasons that become clear at the end of the book and which I will not spoil), we get to know Spencer, Miss Lee, and the found family they build around themselves as well as we get to know Kent. And what I love about all three is – they are none of them “perfect.” They make mistakes. They make bad decisions that affect their loved ones in ways they don’t anticipate. But they also more often than not make good choices, often tough choices, that echo just as much, if not more, into the lives of those around them. They are all three secure in who they are, even when the world wants them to be different.

Found family is a core tenet of LGBTQIA+ culture, and especially so for men of Kent and Spencer’s generation, dismissed, ignored or downright disowned by their biological families (this is not to say such things don’t happen to today’s LGBTQIA+ youth – of course it does, I’ve seen it; but I’ve also seen a lot more supportive parents than Kent and Spencer’s generation would have, or even my own generation). While we get to watch Kent and Spencer’s romance bloom and deepen, we also get to watch them build a family that fills the voids left by biological parents and siblings who are unwilling or unable to understand and love them, a family that adds new generations to the mix. And these supporting characters are as well-drawn and interesting as the three lead characters.

One of the things I struggle with when it comes to reading historical fiction is the tendency for authors to place their fictional characters at the center of every single major cultural event that happens in that character’s lifetime. Wheeler neatly sidesteps this, and the book is all the better for it. Spencer and Kent have the kinds of experiences that made the news in the decades the book covers (waging a public fight  to go to prom as a couple in the 1970s; taking into their New York brownstone men whose families have disowned them, and whom the hospitals won’t treat, during the early days of the AIDS epidemic), but they are never at any of the cultural hot-spots of those periods (attending drug-filled nights at Studio 54 or encountering Bette Midler performing at the Continental Baths, or somehow making it to NYC at age 13 to be present during the Stonewall Riots). This adds a level of realism to the book, a level of “lived experience,” that a lot of historical novels lack in my opinion.

The book is as much a meditation on grief and loss as it is on love. Another place Wheeler excels is in teasing through the complicated web of emotions that accompany the passing of family members who were at best cold and distant and usually hateful/dismissive. These scenes spoke to me in a way I didn’t know I needed to see laid out on a page and invoked tears I didn’t know I needed to shed (some from sadness, some from anger).

Love, loss, family, friendship, grief, laughter – Mercedes General is a tour through a pair of very real lives, with recognizable moments regardless of your sexual orientation. It’s a book I will be thinking about for a long time. It’s a book I will certainly be rereading in the future and one I suspect will speak to me differently each time I do.

Series Saturday: Three by Rosalie and Hunter Mastaler

July is Disability Pride Month (celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 1990) so I thought I’d use the first Series Saturday post of the month to feature three books that, while not a “series” in the truest sense of the word, all focus on disability awareness and pride written by the same mother-son pair: Rosalie and Hunter Mastaler.

A little background is probably appropriate here. I created an Instagram account back in 2017. I didn’t do much with it for the first few years, but once I started posting more regularly, of course the platform started making recommendations about accounts to follow and started popping Reels and posts into my feed. Somewhere along the way, it started showing me posts by @mastalerpartyof5, many of which focused on the Mastalers’ son Hunter (then 11 or maybe early 12 years old) and his recommendations on how to approach a child who has a visible disability. Hunter is an amputee (missing one leg below the knee) and is also partially deaf. These posts were informative and also light-hearted, and I found myself paying more attention to how I reacted to seeing disabled people out in public and taking much of the Mastalers’ advice to heart. Following the Mastaler account led me to follow quite a few other accounts focused on disability awareness and inclusion.

In the past couple of years, mom Rosalie and son Hunter (now 14 years old) have written and published three books that take the message from their Instagram presence and expand upon it in print form. I highly recommend all three books.

HUNTER’S TALL TALES

Illustrated by Danelle Prestwich, Hunter’s Tall Tales is a children’s picture book based on Hunter’s real-live encounters with other children who would ask what happened to his leg and focus on that more than just wanting to play. The tall tales the fictional Hunter tells range from being half-robot to not eating enough veggies as a baby and having pet piranhas he forgot to feed. The stories, and the other kids’ reactions to them, are humorous and set the stage for Hunter encountering a boy whose first question is not “what happened to your leg,” but rather “what’s your name” followed by “can you play soccer?” The focus on who he is rather than “what’s wrong with him” changes Hunter’s mood and his entire day. The book makes a crucial point about inclusion and respect, in language young kids can understand and follow. Danelle Prestwich’s art is beautifully simple and expressive, especially in the characters’ eyes and body language.

REPRESENT! 30 True Stories of trailblazers, artists, athletes, and adventurers with disabilities, Volume 1

With artwork by Brant Day, Represent! provides exactly what the title advertises: short biographies of 30 individuals who have been successful in their chosen endeavors despite, and often because of, their disabilities. In the introduction, Hunter and Rosalie both express their admiration for the people they profile, and how many have become Hunter’s heroes and inspirations. The folks profiled range from blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer, who has climbed all of the world’s seven highest mountains, to Iron Man triathlon athlete Chris Nikic, who has Down Syndrome, to deaf singer/songwriter Mandy Harvey, paraplegic Tony Award winner Ali Stoker, and more. What shines through each entry is the perseverance and commitment of each person to test, and surpass, the boundaries society would place on those who are blind, deaf, paralyzed or otherwise disabled. The authors say they had a challenging time whittling the book down to just 30 entries, and a second volume is planned. I was happy to see profiles of people I was already familiar with (like Ali Stoker, whose Tony Award win had me cheering and crying) alongside profiles of people I’m eager to learn more about.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN

The Mastalers’ most recent publication is Let the Games Begin, another children's picture book focused on the plethora of adaptive sports available to the disability community. The book gives a full-page spread to each sport, ranging from alpine skiing to beep baseball to sled hockey, wheelchair basketball and swimming (the latter two of which Hunter participates in; his wheelchair basketball team won a National Championship in June, and he made the all-tournament team). The art by Betty Yuku is bubbly and adorable. Each sport has fun text easy for younger kids to sound out and read, accompanied by more detailed text appropriate for older readers that explains the history of the sport and how it works.

READING ROUND-UP: May 2024

Here’s what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in May 2024!

BOOKS

I read 14 books in May: 4 in print, 1 in e-book format, and 4 in audio format. They were:

1.       Mercedes General by Jerry L. Wheeler (PRINT, short story collection)

2.       All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks (AUDIO, Non-Fiction Challenge, To Be Read Challenge (audio alternate title))

3.       Or by Liz Duffy Adams (PRINT) (also saw staged reading live performance)

4.       Tommy's Tale by Alan Cumming (AUDIO)

5.       The Women by Kristin Hannah (PRINT, Sparta Books Book Club June selection)

6.       Merlin's Booke by Jane Yolen (PRINT, To Be Read Challenge (print alternate title)

7.       Rita Moreno: A Memoir by Rita Moreno (AUDIO, Non-Fiction Challenge)

8.       You Can Thank Me Later by Kelly Harms (AUDIO)

9.       Tidal Creatures (Alchemical Journeys #3) by Seanan McGuire (E-BOOK, ARC)

STORIES

Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “We Will Teach You How to Read | We Will Teach You How to Read” by Caroline M. Yoachim in Lightspeed Magazine #168, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “The Last Thing They See Is Laika” by Stephen Geigen-Miller

3.       “Over A Long Time Ago” by Nisi Shawl

4.       “Chaos Theory” by Ash Howell

5.       “Done Deal” by Rory Harper

6.       “Exit Interview” by Ben Peek

7.       “And the Dreams That You Dare to Dream” by Marissa Lingen

8.       “Richard Nixon and the Princess of Crows” by P H Lee

9.       “A Pilgrimage to the God of High Places” by Marissa Lingen, from Beneath Ceaseless Skies #406 edited by Scott H. Andrews

10.   “A Series of Accounts Surrounding the Risen Lady of the Orun-Alai and Other Alleged Miracles in the Final Days of the Riverlands War” by Aimee Ogden

11.   “Fishy” by Alice Towey, from Clarkesworld #212, edited by Neil Clarke

12.   “The Portmeirion Road” by Fiona Moore

13.   “In Which Caruth is Correct” by Carolyn Zhao

14.   “The Brotherhood of Montague St. Video” by Thomas Ha

15.   “An Offering from the Void” by Daniel David Froid, from Nightmare Magazine #140, edited by Wendy N. Wagner

16.   “Solve This One, Mrs. Miller” by Carlie St. George

17.   “like blood on the mouths of death” by Victor Forna

18.   “The Girl with No Hands” by Jordan Taylor, from Kaleidotrope Spring 2024, edited by Fred Coppersmith

19.   “The Blood of Raizor” by Jason Scott Aiken, from Strange Incursions

20.   “Galazi in the Enchanted City” by Jason Scott Aiken

21.   “The Confession of Brother Blaise” by Jane Yolen, from Merlin’s Booke

22.   “The Wild Child” by Jane Yolen

23.   “Dream Reader” by Jane Yolen

24.   “The Gwynhfar” by Jane Yolen

25.   “The Dragon's Boy” by Jane Yolen

26.   “The Sword and the Stone” by Jane Yolen

27.   “Evian Steel” by Jane Yolen

28.   “In the Whitethorn Wood” by Jane Yolen

29.   “Epitaph” by Jane Yolen

30.   “Fringe” by Jerry L. Wheeler, from Mercedes General

31.   “The Circus” by Jerry L. Wheeler

32.   “The 12:40 to Chicago” by Jerry L. Wheeler

33.   “The Incident” by Jerry L. Wheeler

34.   “Senior Prom for a Mob” by Jerry L. Wheeler

35.   “Pavane for Three Dead Women” by Jerry L. Wheeler

36.   “Mercedes General” by Jerry L. Wheeler

37.   “Another Death, Another Path” by Jerry L. Wheeler

So that’s 37 short stories in May. More than “1 per day” for the first time this year, which puts me back on pace, and slightly ahead, for the year! (May 31st was the 152nd day of 2024.)

MOVIES

I only watched two movies in May:

1.       Baby Driver (2017)

2.       Gamera Vs. Guiron (1969)

The week ending May 26th was the 21st week of the year, so I’m still way behind on the “1 movie per week” challenge.

TELEVISION

·       Shoresy Season 2, Episodes 1 – 6 (6 episodes)

·       Doctor Who (2024) Season 1, Episodes 1-5 (5 episodes)

·       Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episodes 1 – 10 (10 episodes)

·       Star Trek: Short Treks Season 1, Episode 2 (1 episode)

·       The Ready Room Season 14, Episodes 2 – 10 (9 episodes)

·       Larry Dean: Fandan Comedy Special (1 episode)

That’s 32 episodes of television, which surpasses the “1 per day” I was shooting for but still puts me behind the pace for this challenge.

LIVE THEATER

·       Or, What She Will Red Bull Theatre, NYC

Summary of Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 2 read (both from the “alternates” list); YTD: 4 of 15 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  37 read; YTD: 158 of 366 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 10 read; YTD: 51 of 120 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 0 read; YTD: 11 of 52 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 2 read; YTD: 9 of 12 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 1 read/watched.

Movie Challenge: This month: 2 watched; YTD: 11 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 32 episodes watched; YTD: 111 of 366 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 1 show attended; YTD: 7 of 12 attended.

READING ROUNDUP: April 2024

Here’s what I’ve been reading, listening to, and watching in April 2024!

BOOKS

I read 14 books in April: 7 in print, 3 in e-book format, and 4 in audio format. They were:

1.       Triad Blood (Triad #1) by ‘Nathan Burgoine (PRINT)

2.       The Brides of High Hill (Singing Hills Cycle #5) by Nghi Vo (E-BOOK)

3.       Macbeth (an undoing) by Zinnie Harris (PRINT) (also saw a live production)

4.       Triad Soul (Triad #2) by ‘Nathan Burgoine (PRINT)

5.       Becoming by Michelle Obama (AUDIOBOOK, Non-Fiction Challenge, 2024 TBR Challenge)

6.       Stories of a Lifetime by Dan Rather (AUDIOBOOK, Non-Fiction Challenge)

7.       Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes Book 1) by Travis Baldree (E-BOOK)

8.       The Champions Classic: The Complete Collection by Tony Isabella, Bill Mantlo, Don Heck, John Byrne and others. (PRINT, Graphic Novel Challenge)

9.       House of Slaughter Volume 3: The Butcher's Return by James Tynion IV, Tate Brombal, Werther Dell’Edera, Antonio Fuso and Miquel Muerto (PRINT, Graphic Novel Challenge)

10.   House of Slaughter Volume 4: Alabaster by James Tynion IV, Sam Johns, Werther Dell’Edera, Letizia Cadonici and Francesco Segala (PRINT, Graphic Novel Challenge)

11.   All The Names They Used for God: Stories by Anjali Sachdeva (AUDIOBOOK, short story challenge)

12.   Paradox Lost by Roberta Pescow (E-BOOK, short story challenge)

13.   Breaking Bold and Brave: A Fan's Journey Through One of Comics' Greatest Titles by Jim Beard (introduction by Paul Kupperberg) (PRINT, Non-Fiction Challenge)

14.   Harry Clarke by David Cale (AUDIOBOOK)

STORIES

Here’s what I read this month and where you can find them if you’re interested in reading them too. If no source is noted, the story is from the same magazine or book as the story(ies) that precede(s) it.

1.       “A Pedra” by Endria Isa Richardson, in Lightspeed Magazine #167, edited by John Joseph Adams

2.       “Under a Star, Bright as Morning” by David Anaxagoras

3.       “Mother's Day, After Everything” by Susan Palwick

4.       “Limping Towards Sunrise” by Rich Larson

5.       “a testament to indirection, an enigma, the sun above” by Mitchell Shanklin

6.       “How To Know Your Father Is a God” by Modepeoluwa Shelle

7.       “Salemo” by David Marino

8.       “Travelers' Tales from the Ends of the World” by Vandana Singh

9.       “A Traveler's Guide to Fantastical Countries” by Seanan McGuire, on the Author’s Patreon

10.   “Vivisepulture” by James Bennett, from The Dark #107, edited by Sean Wallace

11.   “Water Like Broken Glass” by Carina Bissett

12.   “Imago” by Steve Rasnic Tem

13.   “Dead But Dreaming Still” by Michael Kelly

14.   “The Coffee of Torcat” by Devin Miller, from Beneath Ceaseless Skies #404 edited by Scott H. Andrews

15.   “The Lark Ascending” by Eleanna Castroianni, from Clarkesworld #211, edited by Neil Clarke

16.   “An Intergalactic Smuggler's Guide to Homecoming” by Tia Tashiro

17.   “Stitched to Skin Like Family Is” by Nghi Vo, from Uncanny Magazine #57, edited by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas

18.   “The Best Ever Cosplay of Whistle and Midnight” by Annalee Newitz

19.   “Three” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Blood Sacraments: Gay Vampire Erotica, edited by Todd Gregory

20.   “Possession” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Erotica Exotica: Tales of Sex, Magic, and the Supernatural, edited by Richard LaBonté

21.   “Bound” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Not Just Another Pretty Face, edited by Louis Flint Ceci

22.   “The World by Night” by Anjali Sachdeva, from All the Names They Used for God

23.   “Glass-Lung” by Anjali Sachdeva

24.   “Logging Lake” by Anjali Sachdeva

25.   “Killer of Kings” by Anjali Sachdeva

26.   “All the Names They Used for God” by Anjali Sachdeva

27.   “Robert Greenman and the Mermaid” by Anjali Sachdeva

28.   “Anything You Might Want” by Anjali Sachdeva

29.   “Manus” by Anjali Sachdeva

30.   “Pleiades” by Anjali Sachdeva

31.   “A Life in the Service” by Roberta Pescow, from Paradox Lost

32.   “Bad Left Turns” by Roberta Pescow

33.   “A Monster's Tears” by Roberta Pescow

34.   “Be Right Back” by Roberta Pescow

35.   “A Presence Beyond the Shadows” by David Lee Summers, from Arithmophobia: An Anthology of Mathematical Horror, edited by Robert Lewis

36.   “The Artful Eagle” By Barbara Krasnoff, from Kaleidotrope Magazine, Spring 2024, edited by Fred Coppersmith

37.   “Where the Girls Who Were Eaten Alive Live” by R.K. Duncan

38.   “Pillow Fort” by Alexandra Munck

39.   “Harry Clarke” by David Cale, from Harry Clarke

40.   “Lillian” by David Cale

41.   “Necessary Evils” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Raising Hell: Demonic Gay Erotica, edited by Todd Gregory

42.   “Intercession” by ‘Nathan Burgoine, from Wings: Subsersive Gay Angel Erotica, edited by Todd Gregory

So that’s 42 short stories in April. More than “1 per day” for the first time this year, which puts me back on pace for the year! (April 30th was the 121st day of 2024.)

MOVIES

April was an improvement over March because I managed to watch four movies in April:

1.       Knock at the Cabin (2023)

2.       Gamera vs. Viras (1968)

3.       Just What the Doctor Ordered (2021)

4.       Doctor Who: The Movie (1996)

TELEVISION

·       Heartstopper Season 1, Episodes 1-8 (8 episodes)

·       Heartstopper Season 2, Episodes 1 – 8 (8 episodes)

That’s 16 episodes of television, again not the “1 per day” I was shooting for, and slightly worse than February’s total.

LIVE THEATER

It was another good month for live theater:

·       Macbeth (an undoing), Polonsky Shakespeare Center, Brooklyn, NYC

·       Water For Elephants, Imperial Theatre, NYC

Summary of Challenges:

“To Be Read” Challenge: This month: 1 read; YTD: 2 of 14 read.

366 Short Stories Challenge: This month:  42 read; YTD: 121 of 366 read.

Goodreads Challenge: This month: 14 read; YTD: 41 of 120 read.

Graphic Novels Challenge:  This month: 3 read; YTD: 11 of 52 read.

Non-Fiction Challenge: This month: 3 read; YTD: 7 of 12 read.

Read the Book / Watch the Movie Challenge: This month: 0 read/watched; YTD: 1 read/watched.

Movie Challenge: This month: 4 watched; YTD: 9 of 52 watched.

TV Shows Challenge: This month: 16 episodes watched; YTD: 79 of 366 watched.

Live Theater Challenge: This month: 2 shows attended; YTD: 6 of 12 attended.

Book Review: A VOICE CALLING

TITLE: A Voice Calling

AUTHOR: Christopher Barzak

103 pages, Psychopomp, ISBN 9798891160019 (softcover, also in e-book)

MY RATING: 5 stars out of 5

Christopher Barzak’s new novella A Voice Calling is ostensibly a haunted house story, but it is also very much a haunted community story, an elegiacally written and unsparing look at the way secrets and violence can permeate and shape both places and people (individually and collectively).

In Barzak’s hands, Button House takes a rightful place alongside Shirley Jackson’s Hill House, Poe’s House of Usher, King’s Marsten House, and Elizabeth Hand’s Wylding Hall as iconic haunted houses (each of those listed left an indelible mark on my imagination; your list may be different). Button House has a mood I can only describe as “habitable desolation,” thanks to its history. That history, revealed through flashbacks of varying lengths throughout the narrative, starts with an unsurety as to whether the house or the orchards that surround it came first. One way or the other, the property has roots that are more than one hundred years old, and most of that history is sordid and bloody. House and orchard together are fixed in my mind as someplace I wouldn’t want to be alone in at any time of day – and Barzak works this magic with very few detailed descriptions of the house and grounds. It is largely through mood and inference that a picture of the property forms in the reader’s mind, which I think is far more effective than overly detailed descriptions of the furniture in every room.

But as I said, it’s not just the house that is haunted. It is the nearby community as well. This community narrates the story with a collective “we.” These faceless, and mostly nameless, voices are at times judgmental, speculative, defensive, infuriated, occasionally even concerned – but they are never warm, never really welcoming or hospitable. And thus they are also blind both to how complicit they are in the events that occur (by turning a blind eye to the house and its inhabitants when attention might have swayed matters) and to how haunted they are by those events. The fear of a community is a palpable thing, self-perpetuating and uncontrollable. As the book progressed, I found myself increasingly picturing the narrators as one of the angry mobs from the early Universal monster films. Like those mobs, Barzak’s narrators never really gain any sense of individuality. Sure, we get a townsperson’s name here and there, for color. But we never get to know them.

We do get to know the focal character of the present day portions of the novel, the character the nameless narrators are most concerned about because she used to be one of their own: Rose Billings (the narrators never really accept her marriage to Button House’s last living resident, Jonas Addleson, and thus never refer to her by her married name, another manifestation of their fear and mistrust). Caught out near Button House during a bad storm, Rose, who has heard voices in her head all her life, feels called to the House. But did the House call to Rose because Jonas needed rescue, or because something else did? Barzak neatly conjoins this mystery with the bloody history of the house in prose that is compelling and engrossing, with not a superfluous word in the work. Even with chapter breaks, the story has so much momentum that it qualifies as my first “couldn’t put it down until I was done” read of 2024.

Throughout my reading, I kept feeling like the story was familiar, like I’d read it before. I chalked it up to Barzak being one of my favorite writers and just feeling at home in his style, because this is the first publication in any form of A Voice Calling. My feeling was correct, though. This novella grew out of a short story “What We Know About the Lost Families of –House,” which I’ve read at least once. The original story is great, but the novella format gives the story a bit more room to breath and to suck the reader into Button House’s history.

This book is also the first release from small press publisher Psychopomp (previously known for The Deadlands magazine). It is an excellent start to what I am confident will be a lengthy line of eerie books that explore our relationship with death in all its myriad facets, as well as what may or may not come after.

Theater Thursday: WITHOUT YOU

Based on his memoir of the same name, Anthony Rapp’s “one man with a band” show Without You is a tour-de-force look at grief, chronicling Rapp’s friendship with playwright/composer/lyricist Jonathan Larson, Larson’s unexpected death just as RENT was opening, and the slow decline and death from cancer of Rapp’s mother. It’s an emotional 90 minutes of theater, filled with a combination of Larson’s music and original songs written by Anthony Rapp with David Matos, Joe Pisapia, and Daniel A. Weiss, and Rapp holds nothing back emotionally. It’s clear throughout that he is still in touch with the raw emotions of the highs and lows of that period of his life, even if he has made peace with it.

The show is not all doom and gloom. There are cathartic moments of humor spread throughout, and lots of joy at the happier moments. Rapp’s warmth, and his love for his family and friends, shines through even the darkest moments, and he is a fantastic storyteller. From the start, his voice and his body language draw you in – you want to hear his story, and you want to hear it from him. Still, as a cancer survivor myself and as someone who was primary caregiver to my mother during the final three months of her battle with cancer, some moments hit hard. But those moments also allowed me to accept that grief is never-ending, to shed some of my own long-pent-up tears … and also to celebrate my mother as Rapp was celebrating his.

The set is minimal: a few chairs and rolling tables that Rapp moves around throughout the show stand in for his New York City apartment, the RENT audition/rehearsal/performance spaces, his mother’s home and hospital room, and other sundry locations. Photos are projected onto the walls of the set (which evoked memories of the RENT set) at key moments, and the lighting and sound design perfectly complement and support the story Rapp is telling without overwhelming the actor himself.

The band is on-stage throughout. For the off-Broadway run at New World Stages, which I saw in May of 2023, that band was composed of Daniel A. Weiss on keyboards, Clérida Eltimé on cello, Paul Gil on the bass, Jerry Marotta on drums, and Lee Moretti on guitar. They were terrific, very well meshed.

During the run at New World Stages, most performances concluded (after the bows) with Rapp being joined on stage by a friend or industry peer for a duet of a number from RENT. The night I saw the show, the effervescent Jessica Vosk joined Rapp for a high-energy, incredibly funny rendition of “Tango Maureen.”

Since closing off-Broadway, Anthony Rapp has been intermittently touring the show. He had some dates in Japan in March and is playing at the Wimberly Theatre in Boston through April 14th. If you can get to Boston to see the show, I highly recommend it! (I have no idea if the post-bow duets happen during the tour, but how awesome if they do!)

Side Note: I saw the evening performance of Without You at New World Stages the same day I saw the matinee performance of Oliver! at New York City Center (My review of Oliver! can be found HERE). That was quite the heavy day of theater!

I’ve always loved live theater, and in the past couple of years I’ve been making a stronger effort to see more of it. Theater Thursday is a new occasionally series where I talk about live theater, both shows I’ve seen recently and shows I’ve loved in the past.