Just in time for Halloween – This House Is Haunted
I blame Charles Dickens for the death of my father.
So begins This House is Haunted by John Boyne. While the novel isn’t about Dickens, his name comes up frequently. And those of you that like Dickens’s style of writing are sure to adore this scary tale.
In this novel, reminiscent of Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw, Eliza Caine accepts the position of governess at Gaudline Hall. But things are a little off at Gaudline Hall. The children seem to be all on their own. The people in town seem to know a lot more than they’re telling. What is it exactly that they’re afraid to say? Could it relate to the odd feeling that Eliza has about Gaudline Hall?
This is the perfect book for this spooky time of year.
From the moment Eliza rises the following morning, her every step seems dogged by a malign presence that lives within Gaudlin’s walls. Eliza realizes that if she and the children are to survive its violent attentions, she must first uncover the hall’s long-buried secrets and confront the demons of its past. Clever, captivating, and witty, This House Is Haunted is pure entertainment with a catch.
New Quotes Added – Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, George Orwell and More
I hope you all had a nice weekend. I spent some of my spare time adding new quotes to the database. Here are some of my favorites, but if you’d like to see all the new quotes, visit the new quotes page. AND if you have a quote that you’d like to see added, feel free to contribute a quote.
The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast. ~ Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime by Oscar Wilde
History, like love, is so apt to surround her heroes with an atmosphere of imaginary brightness. ~ The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. ~ Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
What is the meaning of life? That was all–a simple question; one that tended to close in on one with years. The great revelation had never come. The great revelation perhaps never did come. Instead there were little daily miracles, illuminations, matches struck unexpectedly in the dark. ~ To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
New Dracula TV Show
Just in time for Halloween comes a new TV show based on Dracula by Bram Stoker. Dracula debuts October 25th.
In the NBC series Dracula comes to Victorian London, posing as an American entrepreneur with an interest in modern science. (Electricity must have been very popular with the living dead crowd.) However our favorite vamp has a darker goal in mind. He’s seeking revenge on those who betrayed him long ago.
The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Limited Collector’s Edition
If you’re a fan of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, then this is for you! The Wizard of Oz: 75th Anniversary Limited Collector’s Edition is here and it has a lot of special features for the collector of all things Oz.
Hours of extra content including:
-Sing-a-long feature with the film
-Complete Magic Cloak of Oz silent shorts (60 min)
-All-New Feature Length Documentary The Making of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz
-The Dreamer of Oz TV Special (101 min)
-Munchkins at the Hollywood Walk of Fame Featurette (20 min)
-Patchwork Girl of Oz (60 min)
-6 hr. MGM Documentary When the Lion Roars (exclusive to Blu-Ray)
…and moreExclusive Promotional Items:
-52 pg Hardcover Photo Book
-Ruby Slippers Sparkle Globe
-Collectible Award Pin Set by The Noble Collection
-Journal
-Frameable Map of OzAmazon exclusive Promotional Item:
-4 GB “Wicked Witch of the East” flash drive
New Romeo and Juliet Movie
A new movie about the most famous star-crossed lovers is coming to the UK and the US. Romeo & Juliet has a release date of October 11, 2013 in both countries. As you can see by the below trailer, the movie is lush with wonderful production values. However the film has caused a controversy as the dialogue isn’t true to the work of William Shakespeare. Julian Fellowes, of Downton Abbey fame, is credited as the writer.
I’m Not Afraid of Storms Quote Photo
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” ~ Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I’ve posted this on the LitQuotes Facebook page as well as the LitQuotes Google Plus page for easier sharing.
Spooky Quotes Every Day in October!
I love Halloween. In honour of the upcoming holiday I’ve scheduled spooky quotes every day of October on the LitQuotes Facebook page and Twitter feed. Check it out . . . if you dare!
By the way, you can see the entire collection of spooky quotes from literature here.
Five Quotes About Rain From Literature
I woke up this morning to a forecast of rain. It looks like it’s going to rain through the whole weekend and the sun won’t be out until Monday. So in honor of the rainy weekend I’ll probably be having, here are some quotes about rain from literature.
“Ah,” said Dolly, with soothing gravity, “it’s like the night and the morning, and the sleeping and the waking, and the rain and the harvest–one goes and the other comes, and we know nothing how nor where. We may strive and scrat and fend, but it’s little we can do arter all–the big things come and go wi’ no striving o’ our’n–they do, that they do.” ~ Silas Marner by George Eliot
All day the wind had screamed and the rain had beaten against the windows, so that even here in the heart of great, hand-made London we were forced to raise our minds for the instant from the routine of life and to recognise the presence of those great elemental forces which shriek at mankind through the bars of his civilisation, like untamed beasts in a cage. ~ The Five Orange Pips by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I wish I were not quite so lonely—and so poor. And yet I love both my loneliness and my poverty. The former makes me appreciate the companionship of the wind and rain, while the latter preserves my liver and prevents me wasting time in dancing attendance upon women. ~ The Listener by Algernon Blackwood
Love comforteth like sunshine after rain.” ~ Venus and Adonis by William Shakespeare
The sky was dark and gloomy, the air was damp and raw, the streets were wet and sloppy. The smoke hung sluggishly above the chimney-tops as if it lacked the courage to rise, and the rain came slowly and doggedly down, as if it had not even the spirit to pour. ~ The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
More Rain Quotes From Literature
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Quiz
Our partner site, The Chronicles of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, has as great quiz for the true Sherlockian. Yes, I hear you scoff, “How hard can that be?” Let me tell you, it’s pretty challenging! In this multiple choice game you’re given the first line to 10 of the stories in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Select the title that matches the first line from the drop down menu. I hope you enjoy The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Matching Quiz.
Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes
This is a book that I could really use! In Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes author Maria Konnikova combines the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with neuroscience and psychology. The result makes for interesting reading. It may also show us a way that we can improve our own thinking.
For Holmes aficionados and casual readers alike, Konnikova reveals how the world’s most keen-eyed detective can serve as an unparalleled guide to upgrading the mind.
