tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post1455890527909182098..comments2024-03-28T19:52:07.635-04:00Comments on Sweet Freedom: "Friday Forgotten Books:" STORIES OF SUSPENSE edited by Mary E. MacEwen (Scholastic Book Services, 1963) (for those who think young...Todd Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-77423486682254861232009-01-12T14:47:00.000-05:002009-01-12T14:47:00.000-05:00Glad you were reunited with the giant spiders of c...Glad you were reunited with the giant spiders of childhood, Jerry. Somehow, I've managed to forget that story in the Bennett (while such chestnuts as "Leiningen versus the Ants" and Arthur Clarke's "Rescue Party" stuck with me...I know I read "The Most Dangerous Game" beforehand.<BR/><BR/>But it is remarkable what went and I hope still goes into younger readers' anthologies, in terms of quality (which could range widely even in good anthologies, where nostalgia and other factors might be overindulged). <BR/><BR/>Yes, Patti, I was more than willing to blow a buck on this volume for the stories I hadn't read.<BR/><BR/>Kate, that might be the least forgotten Dunsany, and oddly so, perhaps, given that it's at best a borderline fantasy...and was definitely widely reprinted in the 1950s, at least, and was then a chestnut. Perhaps less so now (when ALIVE, CSI and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS might or might not dissuade the reader of the probability of the central situation...as might such stories as John Collier's "A Touch of Nutmeg Makes It." A meal at the Alfred Packer Grill, anyone?Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01815516018079824802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-7989240596981165162009-01-11T20:00:00.000-05:002009-01-11T20:00:00.000-05:00Nice that it included some Dunsany, too -- I kind ...Nice that it included some Dunsany, too -- I kind of had the impression that he had already been booted somewhat from popular consciousness by then and in need of advocacy.<BR/><BR/>(says another Saturday child)C. Margery Kempehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15910282257993793334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-22594235976953247422009-01-11T15:40:00.000-05:002009-01-11T15:40:00.000-05:00I have read most of these and they are a sterling ...I have read most of these and they are a sterling group. Nice collection.pattinase (abbott)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02916037185235335846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-82010176058992613552009-01-10T22:20:00.000-05:002009-01-10T22:20:00.000-05:00And also a head's up for the others anthos you men...And also a head's up for the others anthos you mentioned. I read the Bennett antho in the seventh grade and was wowed by the story of the giant spiders. Later, my swiss-cheese mind went into overdrive and I forgot Bennett, his book, and the title and author of the spider story -- remembering only, of course, that it was a cool, balls-up giant spider story. I got a copy of the Bennett last year and - Frabjous Day! Caloo! Calay! -the giant spiders finally came home to Daddy and happiness reigned and little sweet melodious bluebirds sang (until the spiders ate them, that is).<BR/><BR/>Life is now good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8525415828746712027.post-60214196066981667182009-01-10T22:06:00.000-05:002009-01-10T22:06:00.000-05:00Great stories all. "Charles", in particular was i...Great stories all. "Charles", in particular was important to me. I first read it one of her humorous books (Raising Demons, perhaps) and thought it was the funniest part of the book. I later read it in her collection The Lottery and was totally creeped out. It was only then that I REALIZED how magical writing could be; that Shirley Jackson could elicit two opposing reactions from me with the same story simply staggered me. She was one of the best and taught me to look for the magic behind the words.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com