Hauser enthusiastically embraces historical fiction – 1892 New England style – with title character Jackaby, who is an investigator of peculiar events with the added talent of supernatural detection.  Abigail, who just happens to have an uncanny knack for noticing the details of importance, becomes his assistant in the investigation of a serial killer who Jackaby suspects is not of this world.  The debut author is William Ritter.

McElroy shares her Taschen fascination with the publisher’s edition of The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Editor Noel Daniel has amassed 23 of Andersen’s tales together with vintage art from the 1840s to the 1980s with biographical information about the artists. The introduction by Daniel gives a wonderful frame for beginning the tales.  It will bring “sparks” to your ears.

Mauser delightfully reviews Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard.  A bureaucracy-hating, soulless anti-hero?  Let Mauser tell you in her own words: “…he has hidden motives that you do not know until the very end of the book, but Johannes is the quintessential anti-hero: he sold his soul to the devil a long while back…”   In Johannes’ scheme to recover his soul, he lets Satan set him up with travelling circus. And then there is Horst, Johannes’ vampiric brother, who he hasn’t seen in eight years and who’s none too happy, either.

The discussion is about the tangible benefits of reading a paper book, including improving memory, comprehension and writing.  There was no bad-mouthing of e-readers.