From One Book Lover

This isn't really a scary poem, but spiders have a rep to uphold. Therefore, I will glorify spiders and E.B. White today on this, the sixtieth year since Charlotte's Web was published ( listen t o th e NPR radio story about it ) . Happy Halloween. The Spider’s Web (A Natural History) The spider, dropping down from twig, Unfolds a plan of her devising, A thin premeditated rig To use in rising. And all that journey down through space, In cool descent and loyal hearted, She spins a ladder to the place From where she started. Thus I, gone forth as spiders do In spider’s web a truth discerning, Attach one silken thread to you For my returning. by E.B. White with thanks to Gregory Maguire , for reminding me about this gem

Neil Gaiman had a great idea: give a scary book for Halloween. Here, let me let him tell you himself: I fully support All Hallow's Read , but I'm a little different: I give poems with the candy.  This year, Halloween falls on Poetry Wednesday, so you can get your poetry fix right here. Feel free to print out the poem I post October 31 and give it to the trick-or-treaters who come to your door. (If you need the title early so you can better prepare, let me know .) Other poems I've shared in years past include "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe and " The Little Ghost " by Edna St. Vincent Millay. So, what are you reading this All Hallow's Read? If you're looking for a novel, I suggest John Dies at the End by David Wong. I just finished it and if I could explain it, I would get a medal. It was wild, freaky and very, very good. I also will be reading Shadow of Night (and re-reading A Discovery of Witches , which is totally worthy...

Late in his life, Johnny Mercer grew close to Barry Manilow — and asked his widow to give Manilow his unfinished lyrics. Manilow set at least one to music. The result is one of my favorite songs, When October Goes. A number of people have recorded the song, but Manilow's version seems the most haunted. When October Goes And when October goes   The snow begins to fly   Above the smokey roofs   I watch the planes go by The children running home   Beneath a twilight sky   Oh, for the fun of them   When I was one of them   And when October goes   The same old dream appears   And you are in my arms   To share the happy years I turn my head away   To hide the helpless tears   Oh, how I hate   To see October go   And when October goes   The same old dream appears   And you are in my arms   To share the happy years I turn my head away   To hide the helpl...

Note: this is a review of a trilogy — and, as a result, contains spoilers. If you haven't read all three books, proceed with caution. Dystopian literature can be tough to read, and Suzanne Collins doesn't sugar-coat the life of a hungry, angry teen in her very successful Hunger Games trilogy. I wasn't able to get past the first chapter the first time I tried to read it, but I was able to get through the entire trilogy after seeing the first movie. I emerged at the end, exhausted, wrung out — but glad I read it. Life is tough enough for teens without showing them a terrible, depressing world. And Panem is about as bad as it can get for people of any age: after an uprising that nearly destroyed the central government, rulers did the best they could to divide and conquer. After obliterating those in the area of the country that led the uprising, the rest of the country was divided into districts. To keep the districts at odds, the government created a competition, ...

Courtesy Tumblr .

Shifting the Sun When your father dies, say the Irish, you lose your umbrella against bad weather. May his sun be your light, say the Armenians. When your father dies, say the Welsh, you sink a foot deeper into the earth. May you inherit his light, say the Armenians. When your father dies, say the Canadians, you run out of excuses. May you inherit his sun, say the Armenians. When your father dies, say the French, you become your own father. May you stand up in his light, say the Armenians. When your father dies, say the Indians, he comes back as the thunder. May you inherit his light, say the Armenians. When your father dies, say the Russians, he takes your childhood with him. May you inherit his light, say the Armenians. When your father dies, say the English, you join his club you vowed you wouldn't. May you inherit his sun, say the Armenians. When your father dies, say the Armenians, your sun shifts forever. by Diana Der-Hovanessian from S...