The Bibliophile's Compass

This short story is a delightful treat about a philosopher who makes the ultimate blunder by trying to sell his soul to the Devil—talk about a bad deal! I mean, who knew you could trade your soul like a bonbon for a sweet tooth?  I remember reading this gem ages ago and cringing through the first few paragraphs. Seriously, it felt like Edgar Allan Poe was pulling some French language stunt to show off his fancy vocabulary again. But it turned out to be not as French as I thought, and I found myself laughing over my favorite character type: a genius philosopher with a penchant for books and a talent for being, well, a bit of a jerk. And, plot twist: he’s also a star restaurateur. Also, what’s up with Poe’s obsession with omelettes? He either names his characters Omelette or includes omelettes for breakfast. Did he have a bad experience with a breakfast order gone wrong?  I would give this confection of a story 4 stars for its humor, parody, and enough satire to make even the gr...

1749 1st edition of Henry Fielding's novel "Tom Jones" published 1893 Stephen Crane's first novel "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets" is published under the pseudonym "Johnston Smith" 1940 Richard Wright's "Native Son" published 2023 Elizabeth Gonzalez James’s Five Conversations About Peter Sellers: Hybrid Play/Essay published

1693 The first women's magazine "Ladies' Mercury", is published in London 1907 Psychiatrists Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud meet for the first time in Vienna 1922 George Bernard Shaw's largest-scale play "Back to Methusaleh" premieres at Garrick Theatre in NYC 1933 Jean Genet's play "Intermezzo" premieres in Paris 1991 Ben Elton's "Silly Cow" premieres in London

I usually avoid stories heavily focused on romance—especially those that make you want to roll your eyes so hard they might get stuck. Imagine this: our damsel in distress falls head over heels for the very villain who destroyed her family. And here's the plot twist: he's not exactly bringing roses and chocolates to the family dinner table! Despite her attempts to join a convent and forget all worldly concerns, she finds herself making excuses to get closer to her family's arch-nemesis. To add to the absurdity, she consults a saint for advice—yes, a saint! Because when you're developing feelings for the guy who brought ruin to your family, what better decision-making tool could you find than divine approval? Spoiler alert: the saint gives her the green light, and suddenly, love conquers all—guilt, shame, and a dash of questionable morality are all forgotten! This isn't quite my style, but if you enjoy the idea of mixing love and tragedy like it's a cocktail gone...

1891 Henrik Ibsen's play "Hedda Gabler" premieres in Oslo, Norway 1956 Writers and poets Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes meet at a party in Cambridge 1962 Arthur Kopit's play "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad" premieres in NYC 1978 Ira Levin's "Deathtrap" premieres in NYC 1984 Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Penn Warren is named the 1st US poet laureate

1830 Victor Hugo's play "Hernani" premieres in Paris 1892 J. M. Barrie's stage play "Walker London" premieres in London 1904 J M Synge's "Riders to the Sea" opens at Irish National Theater Society 1907 George Bernard Shaw's play "The Philanderer" premieres in London 1960 Lillian Hellman's "Toys in the Attic" premieres in NYC 2020 Hannah Richell’s The River Home published

Oh, dear Edgar Allan Poe, why are you strutting around like a raven in a French café, sipping espresso while reciting German horror tales? I understand that Germans have a flair for the macabre, but come on, let’s leave some originality for the rest of us, shall we? "Metzengerstein" is a bizarre story of vicious cycle of revenge, driven by an unquenchable obsession with horses. Seriously, I get it; they’re noble creatures, but were they really necessary for this ghostly duel? Picture this: two families are so consumed by their grudges that they’d probably swat flies with a crossbow if it meant getting even. This isn’t a love story like Romeo and Juliet; in fact, there are no female characters at all. Neither family is willing to play nice, even in the afterlife! What’s more Gothic than hunting down your nemesis while transformed into a horse? It’s like a gruesome version of “Last Horse Standing.” The last representatives of these feuding clans are doing their best to impress...

1804 London's Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute 1876 Henrik Ibsen's play "Peer Gynt" premieres in Oslo 1914 Frank Craven's "Too Many Cooks" premieres in NYC

Once upon a time in Boston, a young man named Robin set out on a quest to find his elusive kinsman, a British Colonial Government official. Spoiler alert: he asked everyone in town for help, and his efforts yielded about as much assistance as one might expect from a group of colonial townsfolk debating whether to pay the tea tax. Hawthorne takes this straightforward premise and transforms it into something intriguing. You might think you’re reading a supernatural tale with the Devil lurking about, but surprise! There’s no devil—just ordinary people in colonial America teaching lessons to British officers. Robin’s reaction at the end is priceless. When he finally spots his kinsman, he behaves as if he’s just encountered an old acquaintance he is trying to avoid, saying, “Who, me? Never seen him before!” So that’s the story—no major twists, just a simple narrative that cleverly explores Americans and their relationship with British colonial government.

1455 Johannes Gutenberg prints his first Bible (estimated date) 1898 Emile Zola is imprisoned in France for writing his "J'accuse" letter which accused the government of anti-Semitism and of wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus 1910 George Bernard Shaw's play "Misalliance" premieres in London 1967 John Herbert's "Fortune & Men's Eyes" premieres in NYC 1967 Noam Chomsky's anti-Vietnam war essay "The Responsibility of Intellectuals" is published by the New York Review of Books 2010 Danielle Steel’s novel “Big Girl” is published

  1 |   3 weeks on the list ONYX STORM  by Rebecca Yarros | Red Tower The third book in the Empyrean series. As enemies gain traction, Violet Sorrengail goes beyond the Aretian wards in search of allies. 2 |  new this week DEEP END   by Ali Hazelwood |  Berkley As the pressure leading up to the Olympics builds so do the feelings Lukas and Scarlett have for each other. 3 |  new this week BONDED IN DEATH   by J.D. Robb |  St. Martin's  (TBR) The 60th book of the In Death series. Eve Dallas investigates the mysterious death of someone who was in a secret organization. 4 | 81  weeks on the list FOURTH WING  by Rebecca Yarros |  Red Tower Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders. 5 |  2 weeks on the list THE CRASH   by Freida McFadden |  Poisoned Pen  (TBR) A pregnant woman, who suffers an injury during a blizzard, i...

1858  Dion Boucicault's play "Jessie Brown" premieres in NYC

1764 English House of Commons tries John Wilkes in absentia and finds him guilty of publishing a seditious libel for his "Essay on Women," an obscene parody of Alexander Pope’s "Essay on Man" 1909 John Galsworthy's "Strife" premieres in London 1910 John Galsworthy's "Justice" premieres in London 1930 Marc Connelly's play "Green Pastures" premieres in NYC 1961 Friedrich Durrenmatt's "Die Physiker" premieres in Zurich 1972 Michael Weller's "Moonchildren" premieres in NYC 2023 Julia Bartz’s The Writing Retreat published

Let me tell you, without Wikipedia, I would have thought I had accidentally picked up a menu from a French bistro instead of an Edgar Allan Poe short story! Seriously, what was Poe thinking? A story that’s half in French? Am I supposed to be reading literature or planning my next trip to Paris? I tackled those French portions as if I were deciphering ancient hieroglyphs, and all I got was a headache and a feeling of insecurity. Congratulations, Poe! You’ve officially crushed my self-esteem and my hopes of being an elite reader. If this tale had been written in just one language, I might have laughed and enjoyed it. But no! Instead, I finished it feeling like I had just survived a mental obstacle course, only to cross the finish line and ask myself, “What on Earth did I just read?”

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Roger Malvin's Burial" is an intriguing tale that balances moments of tension with mundane reality. At its surface, one could summarize the lesson as "don't trust your future son-in-law," a sentiment that might resonate during family Thanksgiving. However, the deeper message revolves around the importance of keeping promises—especially those made to a future father-in-law who is literally dying for a proper burial.  This story doesn't feature ghosts or goblins; instead, it focuses on two characters escaping the battlefield after sustaining fatal injuries while trying to return home. The older chap, Roger, pulls a classic "you go on without me" move, then whips out a guilt trip to end all guilt trips, insisting the younger fellow promises to come back and either save him or, at the very least, dig a hole. No pressure, right? The younger man makes the promise, but when it comes time to act, he finds that playing the her...

1 |  2 weeks on the list ONYX STORM  by Rebecca Yarros | Red Tower The third book in the Empyrean series. As enemies gain traction, Violet Sorrengail goes beyond the Aretian wards in search of allies. 2 |  new this week THE CRASH  by Freida McFadden | Poisoned Pen A pregnant woman, who suffers an injury during a blizzard, is taken in by a couple who might put her life in further jeopardy. 3 |  80 weeks on the list FOURTH WING  by Rebecca Yarros | Red Tower Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders. 4 |  54 weeks on the list IRON FLAME  by Rebecca Yarros | Red Tower The second book in the Empyrean series. Violet Sorrengail’s next round of training under the new vice commandant might require her to betray the man she loves. 5 |  82 weeks on the list THE HOUSEMAID  by Freida McFadden | Grand Central   ( Currently reading)...

Oh, Mary! You’ve truly outdone yourself this time. After the epic letdown that was “The Evil Eye,” you bounced back with “Transformation,” a tale that gives off serious transformer vibes—if the Transformers had existential crises rooted in Gothic literature, that is! Honestly, I felt like I was reading a mash-up of your own “Frankenstein.” I couldn’t help but think that the fiend in this story is basically Frankenstein’s monster or his cousin. Now, let’s talk about our protagonist, Guido—an insufferably spoiled brat from Genoa, Italy. I mean, come on, give me one more reason to roll my eyes! This guy has been a bully since childhood and harbors some truly misguided notions about romance, especially when it comes to Juliet, his childhood playmate. Spoiler alert: this is not your typical “Romeo and Juliet” story. In a plot that feels like a hangnail with a twist of Gothic flair, Guido forces Juliet to promise that she’ll marry him—at the tender age of eight! Nothing says true love like a...

Ah, the brilliant Mary Shelley—our beloved creator of Frankenstein ! I approached her short story, "The Evil Eye", with expectations as high as a pirate's flag atop the mast. But instead of a thrilling tale, I found myself shipwrecked on the rocky shores of disappointment. Sorry, Mary, I came for electrifying prose and spine-tingling supernatural or SiFi shenanigans, not a casual stroll through a bandit-infested beach! From the get-go, I was ready for an epic saga, perhaps a dramatic showdown in the Ottoman Empire or, at the very least, a sumptuous slice of Turkish delight! But nope! Our adventure unfurls in Greece, and let's say I'm left more confused than a goat on a hiking trail. Seriously, I questioned whether I needed a GPS or a crash course in geography to understand this cultural mash-up! Enter Dmitri, our tragically afflicted protagonist. His life reads like a Greek tragedy written by a particularly gloomy soap opera writer. Wife killed, daughter kidnapped...

On the day (February 10, exactly today) Pushkin was fatally injured in a duel (apparently, his preferred method for resolving conflicts—just look where that got him), it feels fitting to review his short story, "The Shot" (1831), which centres around the theme of duelling. First things first: I am not a fan of Russian literature. Once, a student asked me why, and I answered simply that it often feels too dark. However, I find myself increasingly captivated by Pushkin’s unique blend of darkness and storytelling. As always, he did not disappoint me, even though I’m not a fan of men proving their masculinity by brandishing larger pistols or longer swords. You get what I mean! As you might expect, the story features a military character named Silvio, whom our narrator initially praises but ultimately views as somewhat cowardly for refusing to duel another soldier over a gambling dispute and to defend his honour. In Russia, it seems, conflicts are settled by duelling, ...

I enjoy humorously reviewing supernatural short stories, even if they tend to be dark and disturbing. However, when it comes to narratives involving ordinary people committing unimaginable atrocities, I struggle to keep the tone light. Enter William Mudford’s “The Iron Shroud” (1830), a tale that had me chuckling less and squirming more. Why? Because it revolves around an ordinary person—a member of the nobility—who engages in truly dastardly deeds that would make even the most hardened horror fans raise an eyebrow and murmur, “Yikes!” Imagine this: You and I are spending a cozy Saturday night reading about our unfortunate victim, who finds himself trapped in a literal iron torture chamber. Fun times, right? The twist? We have no idea who the villain is! It feels like a mystery dinner party where the only dish served is Pure Existential Dread , accompanied by a side of “I really should have chosen a different story.” The premise is both simple and excruciating: we are stuck with a p...

1 |  New this week ONYX STORM  by Rebecca Yarros | Red Tower The third book in the Empyrean series. As enemies gain traction, Violet Sorrengail goes beyond the Aretian wards in search of allies. 2 | 79 weeks on the list FOURTH WING  by Rebecca Yarros | Red Tower Violet Sorrengail is urged by the commanding general, who also is her mother, to become a candidate for the elite dragon riders. 3 | 53 weeks on the list IRON FLAME  by Rebecca Yarros | Red Tower The second book in the Empyrean series. Violet Sorrengail’s next round of training under the new vice commandant might require her to betray the man she loves. 4 | 81 weeks on the list THE HOUSEMAID  by Freida McFadden | Grand Central ( Currently reading) Troubles surface when a woman looking to make a fresh start takes a job in the home of the Winchesters 5 | 14 weeks on the list JAMES  by Percival Everett | Doubleday ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A reimagining of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” shine...