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13 Diverting Books for Dreary Days

Posted by Penelope O'Gara on February 17, 2025 |

I suspect that I am not alone in feeling that the best way to spend a dank February day is curled up under a cosy blanket, clutching a hot mug of tea in one hand & a suitably distracting tome in the other.  So here are some of my favoured titles which may assist you in escaping the dreariness of the season:

 

 

Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner

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13 Words beginning with "A"

Posted by Penelope O'Gara on November 18, 2024 |

I do love digging through dictionaries of curious, rare, obselete & otherwise forgotten words - so many gems to unearth!  Hence I thought I m ight make a record of some of them, both for my own reference & in the hopes that someone else may also find amusement therein.

Let us begin with A...

 

Addlepated - Eccentric, first recorded in 1614.  A simple conflation of addled (confused) & pate (head).

Aeromancy - Divination according to the condition of the air/atmosphere, first recorded in 1594. 

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13 Books of Bloodsucking Beasts - Vampire Lore & Stories

Posted by Penelope O'Gara on October 11, 2024 |

Any new themed collection of work is an excuse for yours truly to make a trip to the bookstore.  This time I have been immersed in the realm of Nosferatu's kin, & what follows is - in no particular order - a mixture of "fact" & fiction that has kept me occupied as the nights draw in.

Vampire bat sketch, October 2024

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13 Graves of Edinburgh, a collection for October

Posted by Penelope O'Gara on October 04, 2024 |

My every trip to the Scottish capital seems to include a jolly ramble around a cemetery or two, so I thought I should compile a little list of some of my favourite graves.  (Surely I'm not the only one who has such things?)

 

Sir George MacKenzie of Rosehaugh (Greyfriars) 1691

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