Tag Archives: amreading

Whispered Wisdom’s of the Wise

Posted on October 4, 2023 by Mark Hayes

According to Pliny the Elder, ‘The only certainty is that nothing is certain’ I’m not sure about that… But it is a philosophical quote of which I am somewhat fond. Here then are some more. Life is really simple, but … Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, big questions, pointless things of wonderfulness, quotes, writing | Tagged amreading, philosophy, quotes, reads | 2 Comments

The Kraken’s of Venice…

Posted on September 20, 2023 by Mark Hayes

A review of the Clockwork City by Shelley Adina

This is a delightful read, it keeps you turning pages, as it gently moves along, and then makes you turn them as things start to go badly for our two heroines. Because when things go bad, they go down hill quickly. And once that starts happening it hard to put the book down as you care about the characters, which is the real strength of the novel. It makes you care. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, book reviews, books, steampunk, writing | Tagged amreading, books, newbooks, newreads, reads, sciencefiction, steampunk, writers, writerslife | 1 Comment

Dear Edgar #13 Shadow – A Parable

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Mark Hayes

YE who read are still among the living; but I who write shall have long since gone my way into the region of shadows. For indeed strange things shall happen, and secret things be known, and many centuries shall pass away, ere these memorials be seen of men. And, when seen, there will be some to disbelieve, and some to doubt, and yet a few who will find much to ponder upon in the characters here graven with a stylus of iron. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, fiction, goodreads, Goth, opinion, Poe, quotes, reads | Tagged amreading, amreadinghorror, books, classic reads, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, read, reads | 3 Comments

Dear Edgar #12 King Pest

Posted on August 9, 2023 by Mark Hayes

King Pest is also a bit of an odd ball, even amongst other Poe stories. It reveals in description and the grotesque to a far greater extent than even Poe’s usual work. While the story is something akin to a nightmarish romp through a plague ridden London. Think of it as the literary equivalent of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, horror, humour, opinion, Poe, reads, retro book reviews | Tagged amreading, amreadinghorror, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, horror, Poe | Leave a comment

It…

Posted on August 3, 2023 by Mark Hayes

It watches…
It would be wrong to say it is waiting.
Waiting would imply it was waiting for something. That it desired something. Desire is an emotion, want is an emotion. Emotions are not something it experiences. To have emotions requires a frame of reference for emotion is a reaction.
It does not react.
It does not desire.
It does not want… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, amwriting, big questions, fiction, Passing Place, reads, sci-fi, supernatural, writes, writing | Tagged amreading, books, fiction, Passing Place, reads, sciencefiction, writerslife, writing | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar #11 The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Edgar Allen Poe remains one to the most influential writers of the western cannon. His Horror stories inspired many writers, not least those of HP Lovecraft’s generation a hundred years later and by extension Steven King generation were inspired by both Poe and the previous generations he had inspired. Without Poe there may never have been a Cthulhu or a Pennywise the clown. Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, fiction, Poe, reads, sci-fi, steampunk | Tagged amreading, amreadingscifi, books, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, Poe, reading, reads, sciencefiction | Leave a comment

Book reviews beyond the paradigm

Posted on July 23, 2023 by Mark Hayes

What it it was easy to change our lives? What if happiness wasn’t an impossible dream to chase after? What if we could have nice things?

or something like that Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, big questions, depression, fiction, indie writers, pagan, reads | Tagged amreading, books, pagan, reads, writerslife, writing | 3 Comments

Dear Edgar #10 Lionizing

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Mark Hayes

We are eight billion lost souls, seeking to be celebrated for our celebrity, rather than our achievements. All seeking to be lionised, to become the in thing, that which is, rather than that which never will be or never was… Continue reading →

Posted in amreading, Dear Edgar, goodreads, Goth, humour, opinion, Poe, rant | Tagged amreading, classic reads, Dear Edgar, Edgar Alan Poe, goodreads, humour, Poe, reads, satire | 1 Comment

Quote the darkness, Evermore

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Mark Hayes

We are in the midst of summer, darkness is hard to find when the nights are short and the days are long. Sleep is hard to come by, the rhythms of the body match the seasons. Now is not the time to sleep, now is the time to hunt, to gather, to partake of the rich bounty of the summer and prepare for the what will inevitably come once more.. This is not a time to think of darkness, this is the time to celebrate the light… So here are some quotes about darkness, in all its many forms. Continue reading →

Posted in 2020 quotes, amreading, humour, mental-health, opinion, quotes, reads | Tagged amreading, quotes, quoting, reads, writerslife | Leave a comment

Dear Edgar #9 Morella

Posted on July 6, 2023 by Mark Hayes

Our own Dear Edgar is, as you are probably aware, much beloved by those who favour clothing themselves in black, wearing dark eye-shadow and catching moon moths while they dance to ‘This Corrosion’. Some might say this is because he and his story’s have a reputation for more than a fleeting obsession with tragedy, love and death. That and his poetry, obsessed with tragedy, love and death…

This is of course an unfair summing up of Poe’s body of work, in some stories no one comes to a tragic appalling end… Continue reading →