Diane Plumley Parties with a central theme have been making a comeback, assuming they ever went away. I don’t remember birthday parties as a child having a big bash mentality of a particular Disney character, or something like Sponge Bob Squarepants paper plates, streamers and prizes. I, myself, had very few parties. My upper crusty pals did … Read more
The Parachute Murder–Lebbeus Mitchell 1933 I know, you’re thinking, oh that Lebbeus Mitchell! The one who wrote a single mystery and then either stopped writing, or readers politely declined buying the book. I was bummed to learn that no where on the internet was an image of the dust jacket that once covered the boards. … Read more
On a visit to Logee’s greenhouses in Connecticut, we happened across a bookstore called Wonderland. It was night, we were looking for a place to eat, so only glanced at the window and its shadows within, deciding we would make a trip back into town the next morning to check it out. We did. It … Read more
When ever I’d ask my father what he was doing, he’d answer, ‘writing How to Win Friends and Influence People.’ As a kid, I’d no concept of what that meant–the entire idea of winning friends was beyond me–didn’t they just show up? And how did you ‘win’ them anyway? Like at a carnival game–shoot enough … Read more
I couldn’t resist the costumes and pomp the trailers promised. So myself and a group of women of a certain age gathered to view the newest incarnation of the novel, The Great Gatsby. I wrote about my trepidation regarding this version when viewing the coming attractions. I saw how gaudy and overblown the production … Read more
I was adding a book to my pile of ‘get rid ofs’ when I glanced at its name. Strange People by Frank Edwards. I realized right then I couldn’t give away anything with that alluring of title. Even if I’d read it. So, I put it aside. Which means it went into a heap or … Read more
I’ve not attended an Mystery Writers Of American Edgar A. Poe awards dinner in over a decade. So this article will be strictly about those years when I did attend–from 1994 to 2001. As I’ve written before, the Edgars are the highest honor given to a crime fiction author, like the Oscars, but with far … Read more
While perusing the New York Antiquarian Book Show, I came across a seller, Yesterday’s Gallery & Babylon Revisited, whose inventory almost exclusively deals in the period between the wars. The dust jackets of that span reflected the artistic craze now known as Art Deco. I’ve collected many books with the Deco motif, and would have grabbed one … Read more
