Yeah, the classified ads in the newspaper are traditionally called WANT Ads, not WANTED Ads. Reverse engineering this, perhaps people are leaving out a larger sentence in passive voice: "[This is what is] wanted [by me] to buy." ???

I got back on! And there was a new review! Favorite tidbit here: “When the modern mind is starved of its nourishment, sometimes it tries to nurse in uncanny places where no milk can be found.”

This is such an interesting phenomenon -- a franchise tie-in that is more of its own universe. I mean, Barnabas not living at the Old House? That makes this a parallel universe Dark Shadows. Which is ... sort of weird, right? You'd think the franchise would wish for some continuity. The very, very, very marvelous and highly recommended Addams Family novel by Jack Sharkey came out just before the tv series did, and Sharkey obviously was privy to *most* of the important details that would be in the tv series. There are a handful of things that veer slightly from the tv show, but for the most part the chapters of the novel read as sort of lost episodes from the tv series. I would have thought Dark Shadows novels would have been rooted in the universe of the tv series, too. I suppose that Barnabas living in a pub is technically more interesting and makes this novel more like a window into an alternate reality.

I asked Gogol, and your phrase "venerable and byzantine" delivers exactly one result -- yours! Congrats on that and on coiing the great phrase. It's one I can picture adopting for my own bio. ;-) Heck, let folks interpret 'byzantine' as they will -- excessively complicated, devious, or ornately artistic.

Yay! We're nearing the very end of our fourth watch-through of the entire Dark Shadows series. I guess it's a way of life at this point. :-) Speaking of fun old novelizations, I very, very, very highly recommend Jack Sharkey's Addams Family novel. It, too, veers off the plot lines of the TV series, and it's utterly amazing -- hilarious, diabolically clever, and staggeringly original.

Great bio! I, for one, stopped for the handsomeness and stayed for the humility. ;-)

"The Vatican of Excess"!!! Great phrase!

Great review -- thanks for the tip! Locked-room mysteries are such a fun genre!

Aldi is invariably a slightly surreal experience for me, as if a parallel universe has bled into ours ... very similar, but uncannily different. The first Aldi I encountered was in the U.K., so I didn't think much about the weirdness. But then the ones in the U.S. were just as strange. They stock some imported items that I like and don't see elsewhere, yet I find myself not going there very often. Anyway, your anecdote sounds about right. By the way, I actually do like self-checkout, for exactly the reason you mentioned that led you to that kiosk -- I don't want strangers touching my things. :-)

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

Fascinating set of tidbits you collected from this book!

What a really great bullet list of notes you took!

"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?

Great list of tidbits! (I really appreciate this aspect of your book reviews.)

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!"

Imaginary streets are “facts” and can’t be copyrighted‽‽‽

"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.

This sounds amazing ... and The Library of the Dead is such a fantastic title, too!

Great review, and what a weird accidental excursion into Galena, Missouri!

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).

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.