Why is it that when I find a book worthy of five stars I'm at a loss for words, and can't write anything sensible about it? Well, let's just say that I fell head over heels with Capote after this one. One hundred percent more skill than his friend Harper Lee. The way Capote uses words is simple yet it creates a strong sense of place. The lack of plot doesn't really matter for me personally, because there's everything I could ever need from a Southern Gothic novel. Eccentric characters, ambiguous sexuality, abandoned houses, weird stories told by even weirder people, suffocating sense of alienation, dream-like sequences and overall cigarette and brandy fumed melancholia.

In the eyes of the Mississippi town she lived in, Miss Emily Grierson, living in isolation with her butler, was the embodiment of the decaying South, an object of gossip and ridicule, the town's communal obligation, and the symbol of the rigid past of Southern aristocracies. After her death, her secret is revealed, and it looks like it had been a desperate attempt to gain some control over her life.

Faulkner cloaks Emily in a mysterious and musty Southern Gothic aura, but still manages to create a fully-fledged character whose motives and position as a representation of the past could be discussed endlessly. Because her years as a typical puppet of old-fashioned values, rigid social codes, and her controlling father (whose motives for over-protection aren't explained either) contributed to her struggles, Emily comes across as a tragic (and possibly mentally unstable) figure rather than someone who should be despised or judged.

The story of Harris's list, a directory of London prostitutes, is fascinating and a non-fiction book about it exists, but I was curious about the actual thing. Obviously, it's for reference purposes and not meant for normal consumption (unless you treat it as erotica), but it's an interesting florid glimpse to a bygone era. Which of these entries are actually true, though? How many had been in a personal encounter with the author who then scribbled down either a good or bad entry, and how did the writing process actually work? Did he do research? I'm probably better off reading Rubenhold's book, so I'll get back to this at a later date.

"The Elysian font, in the centre of a black be-witching grove, supported by two pyramids white as alabaster, very delicate, and soft as turtle's down. At the approach of their favourite lord unfold, and for three guineas he is conducted to this harbour of never failing delight."

Wow. Not the ending Dark Horse's Buffyverse needed or deserved. I agree with others that everything felt way too rushed. It seems like in his cockiness Whedon brought characters back and changed character relationships without rhyme or reason and slapped a completely lackluster plot on the whole thing to get some kind of a conclusion, and all because he wanted to be the one to finish the series. It honestly felt like he either didn't care about his characters anymore or that he just didn't bother thinking things through.

I'm probably not the target audience for this, because I never cared much about the past slayers, but Tales is a pretty decent collection of stories. They're short, but they still reveal something essential about the slayer in question or something about the human condition and nature of evil.

The "a beautiful woman enters into the life of a man who ends up getting into trouble because of said woman" thing is reminiscent of Clemence Housman's The Werewolf, but the result is not as atmospheric as that or Erckmann-Chatrian's The Man-Wolf. It is, however, more brutal (think Lucas Cranach's woodcut).

The awkward structure stems from being an excerpt from Marryat's The Phantom Ship. With a bit of editing it would have been fine, but the frame story adds unnecessary padding (the ending especially takes you away from the mood of the mountain cabin).

Which reminds me: I added Harz Mountains to my list of places to visit. Strange rock formations, witches, Walpurgisnacht celebrations, fairy tale houses, magical forests... Yes. Thank you.

I'll share my thoughts about this and a couple of others after my Vienna/Germany trip this month.

An interesting Native American twist to an otherwise unremarkable yet atmospheric story. Not really full-blown horror, more like suspense. Oh, and I still have no desire for solitary camping.

"Ice in her veins... Icicles on her heart... Her warm lips mastered men's souls..."

The Art of Noir, an explosion of color and talent, is a great poster collection that every noir fan should at least browse through. My personal favorites are the simple hand-painted ones (like the ones in the cover), with either a lurid yellow / dark blue-ish background or a two-toned overall look.

The overview of international posters is greatly appreciated. I was already aware that Europeans seemed to understand noir better than American critics and audiences, but that it also extended to the poster art was a surprise. Artists received credit, hand-painted images were still being created after American posters had moved on to photographic illustrations (precursors of modern boring-as-hell movie posters) etc. The interesting and genuinely artistic interpretations in the international section make you interested in the movie itself, which is obviously the point. I have a lot of new movies in my watchlist now.