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A LITERARY
BLOG ABOUT BOOKS How they affect us. How they shape our lives.
Note: Postings
made when muses strike. Watch for blog alert notices via email, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. "We read to know we are not alone." C.S. Lewis Copyright 2011-2018
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12 Reading Recommendations Please click a book image to purchase it on Amazon.
Novels, books, and musicals June has written and published: Click a book image to purchase it on www.amazon.com
"Meditations
for New Members is a beautifully written little book...a gem. The thoughts are striking and orginal--a
few are quite profound." --Fiona Hodgkin, author of The Tennis Player from Bermuda
Sponsored in part by Dani's Pantry Fine authentic Italian food. Cucina con Amore! https://amzn.to/2HdlA
B'Seti Pup Publishing Editorial
Services Proofreading, Editing, Rewites, Assistance with Self-publishing. "It's the write thing to do."
"I like what you've done with my
book. Makes me fall in love with it all over again." --Olajuwon Dare, author of Eleven Eleven
Contact
June at JuneJ@JuneJMcInerney.com on Facebook.com, or at www.BSetiPupPublising.com
Please support this Literary Blog by buying on Amazon. Thank you.
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Friday, October 31, 2014
Boo Who I
am cancelling Halloween this year at our house for a number of reasons. One, I am slowly recuperating form the daddy of all
colds and I am too selfish to pass out my lingering, contagious germs along with the candy (although I had planned on being
more health-conscious and doling out juicy, red apples, a la Regina, the Evil Queen from Once...).
And with my immune system unable at this point to fight back, I am afraid of what the little runny-nosed tricky-treaters
will pass on to me. For two, I had a sneak peek at some of the neighborhood children's costumes and, frankly, I was insultingly
appalled at what a number of kids – and a few adults – will come dressed as. Among other things: fake Ebola hazmat
suits and pseudo ISIS combat outfits. Ah, um, uh? Whatever happened to cutesy Disney characters, ghastly ghosts in white sheets,
hobos with charcoal beards, and cowboys flashing plastic lariats? This prelude to the Holiday season is one of the few entertaining nights of the year. It’s supposed to be fun for
kiddilings and adults alike, but I don't find the threat of a global pandemic (read: pestilence and plague) and the senseless
slaughter of people just ‘cause they don’t believe what you believe anything to emulate, celebrate, or poke fun
at, even if you are parading around in fake costumes begging for treats. This is not the time nor will it be my place when
and where anyone thus attired will be rewarded for such crass, non-politically correct display of downright rude insensitivity.
It's bad enough we daily read and hear about doom and gloom and genocide in the media where pundits just for the sake of sensationalism
endlessly spread and spout hysterical fear and misinformation. Please do NOT bring any of this to my door tonight,
folks, because, despite the fact this is one of my favorite events of the fall season, I will not answer. Instead,
after taking FrankieB for an early romp in the back through a previously planned secret "escape" route, bolting
all my doors, and turning out all the outside lights, I am holing myself up in front a warm fire with a stiff drink and a
copy of one of the most intriguing and mesmerizing books I've read in a long time: Fourth of July Creek, the debut novel of Smith Henderson, a very talented young author who hails from Portland, Oregon via the hills of Montana
and who knows more than just a bit about the horrors of misinformed fanatics – religious, political, and/or otherwise.
Highly touted on the New York Times bestseller list a few months ago, I couldn't wait to add a copy of it in my semi-annual
splurge on books. But, alas, with all my other time-consuming literary endeavors, it sat in the middle of my to-read stack
until last weekend when I became ill and finally found the time for it. Nearly flat on one's back with a cold
verging on the flu with no energy to do anything else but read and nap (binge episodes of Once...,
Parenthood, and The Paradise notwithstanding), I had huge chunks
of time to devour the mis-adventures of one Pete Snow, a Department of Family Services social worker who finds himself in
the mountain towns of Montana embroiled in the lives of disenfranchised children; one really scary, but often kindly, religious
fanatic who is convinced we are on the edge of Armageddon; and a massive FBI dragnet that threatens to destroy our plucky,
yet unlucky hero. I am so engrossed in this narrative, told with a quirky and very masculine, yet sensitive and uniquely descriptive
writing style (I am piqued and delighted with this author’s individualistic and quite creative phasing and word choices),
that I woke up at 3:30 this morning to read yet another two or three chapters – I am now about two-thirds through –
before falling asleep planning today's (non)activities in order to see what happens next...Yes, dear followers, it is THAT
good. One author/reviewer (Phillip Meyer, as a matter of fact) boasted that this novel "...seems to encompass
and address all of America’s problems." In the light – or is that dark? – of all that is happening
in today's world, I can easily see the perturbing parallels. Yet, in the midst of his awesomely horrendous tale, Henderson
writes with hope between his starkly realistic lines, a bit of humor in his prose, and true-to-life honesty in his characters.
This is in many senses of the word a tale that had to be truly told. It is must read for everyone who dares to venture
into the seedier, underside of what life for far too many is really all about. And, for tonight, that is scary
enough for me.
1:33 pm edt
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June
J. McInerney, the host of this Literary Blog, is
an author, poet, and librettist. Her currently published works include a novel, a book of spiritual inspirations,
two
volumes of poetry, stories
for children (of all ages) and
a variety of children's musicals. Her titles include: Miss Elmira's Secret Treasure:
A Novel of Phoenixville during the Early 1900s Colonial Theatre: A Novel of Phoenixville
during the Roarin' 20s Phoenix Hose, Hook & Ladder: A Novel of Phoenixville during
World War I Columbia Hotel: A Novel of Phoenixville during the Early 1900s the Schuylkill Monster: A Novel of Phoenixville in 1978
The Prisoner's
Portrait: A Novel of Phoenxville during World War II
Forty-Thirty Rainbow in the Sky Meditations for New Members
Adventures
of Oreigh Ogglefont The Basset Chronicles. Cats of Nine Tales Spinach
Water: A Collection of Poems Exodus Ending: A
Collection of More Spiritual Poems
We Three Kings Beauty and the Beast Bethlehem Noah's
Rainbow Peter, Wolf, and Red Riding
Hood
Originally from the New York metropolitan area, June currently lives near Valley Forge Park in Pennsylvania with her constant and loving companions, FrankieBernard and Sebastian Cat. She
is currently working on her sixth novel.
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