Thrilling Tales
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What’s so special about Hemingway?
Last week we shared a some of the many authors who’ve been influenced by Ernest Hemingway, whose seminal role in American literature was highlighted in Lynn Novick and Ken Burns’ recent documentary Hemingway. Yet viewers of that show may have noted the intriguing fact that those interviewed often didn’t agree upon which of his works… Continue reading
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13 Tales for 13 Nights of Halloween
It’s that time of year again: time to gather round for a bone-chilling storytime. I’m so sad not to be joining you all at Lotties’ Lounge, Tippe & Drague, Floating Bridge, The Palace Theatre, Capitol Cider, The Pine Box, or any of the other wonderful venues where we’ve done ‘Ales from the Crypt over the… Continue reading
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The Haunted Podcasts of Autumn
Well, we’ve definitely turned the corner into the spookiest time of year. No, I don’t mean election season: I’m talking about the lead up to Hallowe’en. This time last year – and for the past five years – I’d be stepping out into the chill winds of Autumn to go read haunting ‘Ales from the… Continue reading
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Pandemic Post-Apocalyptic Podcast
It was amazing, astounding, this loss of communication with the world. It was exactly as if the world had ceased, been blotted out. …With the coming of the Scarlet Death the world fell apart, absolutely, irretrievably. – The Scarlet Plague, by Jack London Just a handful of years after the novella quoted above came out,… Continue reading
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Panic on the Rails in our Thrilling Tales podcast
Two trains speed toward each other in a blizzard, as a killer wanders the night! Melodrama on the rails, in this week’s Thrilling Tales: Storytime for Grownups, available now! On May 20, 1920 the readers opening the new issue of Metropolitan magazine were captivated by a heart-stopping tale entitled The Signal Tower, by Wadsworth Camp.… Continue reading
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Spring into Suspense with these Thrilling Tales!
This Spring, Thrilling Tales – our regular lunch hour Story Time for Grown Ups – will transport you from the psychoanalyst’s couch to the funeral parlor, from suburbia to death row, from the swamp to a magical realm where dragons fly overhead. Join us, won’t you? Admission is free, and brown bag lunches are welcome!… Continue reading
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Spooky Stories, Coming to a Bar Near You!
Shadows lengthen, leaves crisp and fall, and a presage of winter’s chill runs down your spine. Its the perfect time to gather for some spooky stories, and we have several opportunities coming up in the weeks ahead, as our Booktoberfest celebration nears its close. First up, two storytimes at the Central Library this coming Monday: Continue reading
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Thrilling Tales is Off to the Races!
This summer, Thrilling Tales (the Library’s Story Time for Grown Ups) takes listeners off to the races with a pair of horse racing tales, and then out into the rose garden with Shirley Jackson to dig into dark underside suburbia, before heading to the seashore to grapple with aliens from another world, and from the… Continue reading
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Don’t be afraid of the dark: Thrilling Tales just for you!
For several years now, audiences have been flocking to our twice monthly lunch hour program Thrilling Tales: A Storytime for Grownups, and every so often someone tells us they wish there were an evening version of these readings. Well, it’s finally happening! Staring on June 18, we’ll be sharing some of our favorite suspenseful tales in… Continue reading
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The Feminist and the Axe Murderer
Susan Glaspell was just 24, working her first job out of college as a reporter for the Des Moines Daily News when she was called to the scene of a grisly crime that would shape her artistic destiny. Late on the night of December 1, 1900, John Hossack had been bludgeoned to death with an… Continue reading