Notices by Quasit (quasit@beige.party)

@Beggarmidas @selzero

You seem to be saying that we should support any Democrat, no matter their policies, because you feel that the threat to democracy posed by Trump negates all other considerations. Would that be fair to say?

Quasit's Daily Book Recommendations: "The Compleat Werewolf and Other Stories of Fantasy and Science Fiction" (1942) by Anthony Boucher

Ages: 14 to adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Humor

Anthony Boucher was a renowned critic, editor, and author in the fields of science fiction/fantasy and mystery–so much so that the original mystery convention was named after him, BoucherCon.

"The Compleat Werewolf and Other Stories of Fantasy and Science Fiction" is one of three collections of his science fiction and fantasy, and it seems to be the most common of the three. It begins with "The Compleat Werewolf", a light and very humorous story of Wolfe Wolf–a professor of German in California during World War II–who's in love with one of his former students who appears to be an expy of Marilyn Monroe. She's a movie star, and turns him down flat.

But on a drunken bender he meets an unusual man named Ozymandias who unleashes his hidden potential, which turns out to be that he's a werewolf.

[Ozymandias once more contemplated that long index finger. He looked at the professor's dark brows that met in a straight line over his nose. He picked his companion's limpish hand off the bar and scrutinized the palm. The growth of hair was not marked, but it was perceptible.

The magician chortled. "And you sneer at magic!"

"Whasso funny about me sneering at magic?"

Ozymandias lowered his voice. "Because, my fine furry friend, you are a werewolf."]

But he's a white-magic werewolf, which involves a number of inconvenient restrictions on his wolfly abilities. The story moves along briskly from there, with Nazis and FBI men shooting it out in the streets. It's a fun story with a satisfying ending.

"The Pink Caterpillar" is horror, and it's very memorable indeed.

"Q.U.R." and "Robinc" are straight science fiction stories about robots; one is a sequel to the other. Again, well-written and relatively light but in the best sense of the word.

"Mr. Lupescu" and "They Bite" are both horror, but of different sorts; the first rather reminds me of the works of James Thurber, while the second is simply bone-chilling. Both are memorable.

"Expedition" is science fiction again, although it may be a little dated in one respect: it relies on a fact that is no longer true. But it's still a good story.

"We Print the Truth" is a top-notch fantasy which could have easily been an outstanding episode of "The Twilight Zone". A man gets a wish, and the results are...interesting. One point worth mentioning: FDR (I hope you know who he was) had a little dog named Fala. He was the only Presidential pet who was honored with a statue.

"The Ghost of Me" is another memorable horror story. Let's leave it at that. I don't want to spoil it for you!

"The Compleat Werewolf and Other Stories of Fantasy and Science Fiction" has gone in and out of print several times over the years; it seems to be in print now, and it's available to buy as an ebook. And you can also borrow it for free from the Internet Archive, at:

https://archive.org/details/compleatwerewolf00bouc

Happy reading! 🤓📖

#Books #Bookstodon #ScienceFiction #Fantasy #Horror #ShortStories #BookRecs #BookRecommendations #QuasitBookRecs

Tomorrow I'm going to go buy tomato plants to plant in my new garden, and I'm looking for suggestions on what to buy.

It's a 14 square foot rectangular bed. I'm thinking of six plants, plus a marigold plant at each end.

The garden center has San Marzano tomatoes, and unless there's a reason not to I would definitely want to plant at least a couple of those. I use them to cook. But what other tomatoes might be good? Is it okay to have different types in the same bed?

I generally prefer red tomatoes. I've eaten other colors, and haven't enjoyed them as much. That might just be because of the color, I suppose.

Anyway, I'd appreciate any suggestions!

#garden #tomatoes #gardening #Advice

@hellomiakoda

They're crooks. I used to have to work with them. Very sleazy company!