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Craig Conley
"Some kind of quirky genius of unlikely scholarship" -Geof Huth
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I was gifted this a decade ago and cherish it. A favorite quotation from the book: "We carry within us the wonders we seek without us. There is all Africa and her prodigies in us." —Sir Thomas Browne
Book Review: Dictionary of Imaginary Places
How does one write a “review” of a dictionary? I’m not certain, but that hasn’t prevented me from trying to do so previously. (And if you’re not already familiar with Magic Words: A Dictionary, be sure to remedy that gap in your knowledge.) I’ve been wanting a copy of Dictionary of Imaginary Pla...
Fascinating set of tidbits you collected from this book!
Book Review: Over My Dead Body
This 2022 book by Greg Melville is subtitled “Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries.” It’s both a travelogue and a history of burial practices. Overall, it provides a fascinating look into the culture and the American-style business of corpse disposal and, if you’ll pardon the ex...
Refuting the Amazing Kreskin on time travel.
Refuting the Amazing Kreskin on time travel. Continue reading
Posted Jan 19, 2023 at Magic Words & Symbols Spotted in the Wild
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What a really great bullet list of notes you took!
Book Review: Existential Physics
This book by Sabine Hossenfelder is subtitled “A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions.” It’s an interesting and refreshing approach to the seemingly impossible “facts” that others are offering about quantum mechanics. One of the great characteristics about this book is that Hossenfelder...
"Sneaky Feats" is a charming title, and maybe it's just nostalgia, but the 70s art style and sensibilities engender some good feelings. Yes, finding a phone book to rip would be a stunt in itself, eh?
Book Review: More Sneaky Feats
This book by Tom Ferrell and Lee Eisenberg is subtitled “The Art of Showing Off and 49 New Ways to Do It.” Published in 1976, the audience is clearly teenage boys, which I still consider myself to be. There are several great little stunts described in this book, most of which are accompanied by...
Great list of tidbits! (I really appreciate this aspect of your book reviews.)
Book Review: Creative, Not Famous
This charming and inspirational book by Ayun Halliday is subtitled “The Small Potato Manifesto.” That’s because it’s about pursuing creative endeavors for joy and personal edification, not for mainstream success. This book is inspiring, insightful, and clever. It’s filled with stories and advi...
Yes, that's a very clever subtitle, indeed! Gotta love the Victorian period, but as my grandma always said, "The good old days -- they were awful!"
Book Review: Enquire Within Upon Everything
This book is a Victorian-era “miscellany” — a household manual of useful information and processes. This particular edition is a reprint of the 100th version, which was originally published in 1903. The publishers have cleverly subtitled this edition “The Victorian’s Answer to the Internet.” A ...
Imaginary streets are “facts” and can’t be copyrighted‽‽‽
Book Review: How to Lie with Maps
I read this book as part of my research for a forthcoming edition of my Bizarre Fact Files series. The book is a well-written, deep exploration into the techniques and politics of cartography. By the time I finished this technical exploration — learning about things I didn’t even know existed — ...
"Your local woo-woo shop"! I'm now picturing a brick-and-mortar storefront with the sign identifying it as "Your Local Woo-Woo Shop." I'd shop there! I'm actually there now, in a parallel universe.
Book Review: Sidewalk Oracles
This 2015 book by Robert Moss is subtitled “Playing With Signs, Symbols, and Synchronicity in Everyday Life.” It’s an easy, first-person read built upon the premise that “the world speaks to us through coincidence and chance encounters.” But only if we are listening. I’m not typically hooked by...
This sounds amazing ... and The Library of the Dead is such a fantastic title, too!
Book Review: The Library of the Dead
This is one of the most fun and entertaining novels that I’ve ever read! (Well, technically, I listened to the unabridged Audible audiobook.) The setting is one of my favorite places in the world — Edinburgh — and the many geographical references stirred warm memories and a true sense of place. ...
Great review, and what a weird accidental excursion into Galena, Missouri!
Book Review: Secret Route 66
Earlier this year, my wife and I decided to take advantage of an apparent lull in the plague by hitting the road. Specifically, “the mother road.” Route 66 begins in Chicago, just a few blocks away from our home, and ends somewhere in California. (Where, exactly? Figure it out. Have you confused...
I wonder if the color-coding is possibly an homage to Andrew Lang's color-coded fairy series: The Blue Fairy Book (1889), The Red Fairy Book (1890), The Green Fairy Book (1892), The Yellow Fairy Book (1894), The Pink Fairy Book (1897), The Grey Fairy Book (1900), The Violet Fairy Book (1901), The Crimson Fairy Book (1903), The Brown Fairy Book (1904), The Orange Fairy Book (1906), The Olive Fairy Book (1907), and The Lilac Fairy Book (1910).
Book Review: The Fairy Tale Review
This journal, published by Wayne State University, is the pre-eminent publication for contemporary fiction in the style of fairy tales. (Yes, that’s actually a thing.) This is the first issue that I’ve read. It’s from 2021, but the annual publication is cataloged by color (for some reason) so th...
Translating the Radio Shack part numbers to modern components sounds like a very worthwhile project. Looking forward to an update on this, if/when you're able to build one of the gadgets.
Book Review: How to Build A Lie Detector, Brain Wave Monitor & Other Secret Paraphsychological Electronics Projects
The authors, Mike and Ruth Wolverton, not content with the world’s longest book title, add the subtitle “Your passport to the world of the paranormal using everyday electronics!” (Exclamation point in original.) Whew! (Exclamation point, mine.) I’ve been searching for this 1981 paperback book f...
Decoding Words' Secret Meanings
Here's a fascinating way to decode the hidden meanings of words, using the Mantong alphabet code or the Christopher Smart alphabet code. Continue reading
Posted Jan 6, 2022 at Magic Words & Symbols Spotted in the Wild
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Craig Conley added a favorite at Gordon Meyer
Nov 2, 2021
Great -- love all your bulleted notes! Really nifty that the author includes details on where all the clues were hidden throughout the story!
Book Review: Death From a Top Hat
First published in 1938, this novel by Clayton Rawson is considered to be one of the finest “locked room mysteries” of the Golden Age. It’s also a “fair play” mystery, in that the reader receives with every bit of information necessary to solve the whodunit, provided that they have their wits ab...
People dove into open graves to escape the flames!
This documentary is on fire
Historian and public speaker William Pack has produced a nice documentary about The Great Chicago Fire. (This year being the 150th anniversary of the event.) He was nice enough to cast me as one of commentators, but aside from that, you'll enjoy it. It's available on YouTube for a limited time. T...
A rainbow string is a brilliant hack, especially because sometimes the electrical outlet can be the same color as what you've plugged in (in my case of leaving something behind, the compact black charger for a cordless electric razor, left plugged into a black outlet), thus making it practically invisible. The drag queen Alaska Thunderf*ck has a song called "Everything Must Be Leopard Print," but I'm now hearing it as, "Everything must be rainbow string." :-)
Hotel Room Nightlight Hack
While some hotel rooms provide a night light in the bathroom, most do not. And for me, a nightlight is a necessity. Not just for late-night micturition, but also to help quickly resolve the feeling of “where the hell am I?” that sometimes happens when I wake up in the middle of the night. So, I ...
26 [Coffin Stone] Letters
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Posted Jul 26, 2021 at Magic Words & Symbols Spotted in the Wild
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I love your zinger, "If you’re not lucky enough to receive a copy by divine intervention..." In one of my upcoming videos, I review a book without ever mentioning its title, noting how the best books have a knack for finding you on their own. :-)
Book Review: We Have Always Lived in the Castle
I’ve been hearing about this book for decades. I think the first reference I came across was when I was reading the book club (remember those?) edition of Stephen King’s Danse Macabre. I’ve encountered other references to Shirley Jackson’s work, too — sometimes in discussions about The Twilight ...
"My job is to follow the trail wherever leads, even if that’s right into the gaping maw of the impossible" !!! What a fantastic line!
Book Review: The Lake Michigan Mothman
Having grown up in the land of the Bear Lake Monster, Skin Walkers, and Bigfoot, I simply can’t deny that, for me, there’s no lore like cryptid lore. So for that reason alone, this book by Tobias Wayland was a no-brainer addition to my library. When you add that it’s centered in my hometown — ev...
Magic Words in the Wilds of Old Literature
When we encounter fun and intriguing examples of magic words in the wilds of old literature and magazines, we post them here: https://www.oneletterwords.com/weblog/?tag=magic+word Continue reading
Posted Jun 12, 2021 at Magic Words & Symbols Spotted in the Wild
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I really like how your photo shows the number of page markers you added -- there's major visual impact, showing how you found valuable information throughout the book. Too many books have a strong beginning but then fizzle out (at least with fiction; I rarely read non-fiction, so I don't know if that genre suffers the way fiction does).
Book Review: The Elements of Eloquence
It’s intimidating to write about this book for two reasons: Firstly, after reading a book subtitled “Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase,” you might have a high expectation for my recap. If the book was so damned good, why isn’t Gordon’s writing any better? Secondly, when I reached the end of...
I was unaware of this book! Gene Wolfe's /Book of the New Sun/ is an all-time favorite around here.
Book Review: A Walking Tour of the Shambles
This slim, pocket-sized volume by Neil Gaiman and Gene Wolfe is sixteenth in the Little Walks for Sightseers series, published by American Fantasy Press of Woodstock, Illinois. I have the third printing, which features a cover by the legendary Gahan Wilson. I was drawn to this book because the ...
Philip K. Dick confirmed that this is the age of iron. He called our present universe "the black iron prison."
Book Review: Urban Faery Magick
This book is subtitled “Connecting to the Fae in the Modern World.” And let’s get one thing out of the way now—to get any enjoyment from this charming book by Tara Sanchez you have to be inclined to agree with her statement: “The skill of imagination is one we have in abundance as children. Yet...
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