BookClub

Finnegans...Awake?. Top Story - October 2026.

“If you think I’m going to review it, you’re crazy. But I am going to swim in it.” * Oh, Lester, you great demon of the dirty noise; you critic of the cringe. How far ahead could one man be who died when I was child and yet seems to haunt me in my old age? I read this many a day ago, and it comes from the anger and disappointment that anyone would feel watching one of their favourite bands slip from a great high into a lethargic trough of clichés and uninspired poses. The Rolling Stones had finished an incredible run with “Exile on Main Street” and “Sticky Fingers” , and then…they lost their way. “Goat’s Head Soup” was the first sign that maybe the boys from South London were a little tired and could not possibly live up to the anti-establishment stance they were believed to hold. Money, fame, drugs, sex and the general malaise of the seventies got to them and every other band that survived the rollback at the end of the sixties, and they threw their hands up and said, “We are done…but we still are who we are.” The Rolling Stones had to go on, and Mick and Keith, those notorious Glimmering Twins, had to keep the ball rolling and the money pumping in.

Winging It on the Iron Tangle. Top Story - October 2026.

Carl, Princess Donut, and Mongo are joined by their new teammate, Katia, on the fourth floor. The Iron Tangle is a maze of subways and railroad stations underground. Not only do Carl and the gang have to figure out which stop leads to the exit, but they now have targets on their back. What’s worse is that Mordecai got put in time-out for his violent behavior, which leaves the gang without a source of information for most of the game. How are Carl and the gang going to survive without Mordecai’s help?

So, You've Just Published a Book. Top Story - October 2026.

It’s actually been about four months since I published my first book, The Gragon. I originally planned on writing this article three months ago, but work got in the way. That’s actually a recurring theme in my life for the last few years. Too much work, not enough time to write. But I do my best to strike when the iron’s hot. Or at least lukewarm.

Rachel Reviews: Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson. Top Story - October 2026.

It's a great idea for a story. Christine is a woman who cannot remember her life once she has fallen asleep. Every day, she wakes up and is reintroduced to the people who inhabit her world and every night, she forgets them. It's a difficult thing to get your head round and from a writer's viewpoint, a tricky thing to write about, I would think, but Watson has it all figured out and this is a well-crafted book which is tense and bewildering, leaving you, like Christine, wondering what the hell is going on.

Poetry Talk. Top Story - October 2026.

Alison Prine I really don't know who Alison Prine is and gravitated to this poem of hers titled Yellow shortly after I wrote my poem with the same title. I have now idea where this poem has come from, only that I had found it on the internet and filed a screen shot of it.

Mississippi Wizards . Top Story - October 2026.

What better way to start off spooky season than a little horror book review from one of our very own! You know those trope boards? Those ones all over booktok? I despise, no I abhor those things because if you only ever pick books like you're ordering at Chipotle, you might never pick up a book like this.

Not All Monsters Look The Part. Top Story - September 2026.

Spoilers below! Broke and homeless, Riley accepts the caretaker position for an elderly woman named Betty. When Riley entered Betty’s home, it was like stepping into another era. Everything in the house is from the 1960s and doesn’t have modern technology like a microwave, television, cell phone, or wifi. Riley also notices that even though Betty is in a wheelchair, she can move herself pretty well without any assistance. The new surroundings make Riley wonder why Betty has lived in isolation for so long, and why Betty needs a caretaker when she can obviously do things on her own.

Rachel Reviews: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Top Story - September 2026.

Caro Claire Burke's book Yesteryear is one of those books which for me, I am glad that I can say that I've read but it was a world that I was glad to leave at the end. In fact, to totally unpack what's in it, I might have to do a separate more indepth analysis. This was the second choice for the book club I recently joined so there will be, I think, much for us to discuss.

Monster Hunting, Management Style

Rachel Reviews: Thicker Than Water by J.D. Kirk

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