Bill's Friend Comments

Thanks for accepting my invite!

Thanks for accepting my friend request.

Hello! Thank you for accepting my friendship request.

Erin ☕ *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Merry Christmas!

"
A belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you Too!

Merry Christmas!

Scott wrote: "Merry Christmas"

Merry Christmas to you too!

Merry Christmas

Thanks for the add!

Alissa wrote: "Hey Bill, I just wanted to say hi and thank you for accepting my friend request. And I'm a fan of your reviews, they're usually rather enlightening. Anyway, thanks and have a great evening."

I am happy to have you as a friend.

Hey Bill, I just wanted to say hi and thank you for accepting my friend request. And I'm a fan of your reviews, they're usually rather enlightening. Anyway, thanks and have a great evening.

Thanks for the friendship! I really liked your thoughts on Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis.

Really great to meet you at the Goodreads Summit, Bill!

Thank you for accepting my friend request. image:

Thank you Bill! Just read your review for The Moonstone. Your reviews are great!

can you please add me I am really nice

Evan wrote: "You haven't read Zuleika Dobson yet? :)"

Nope. But your mention of it in the Sedgwick review reminded me once again that I should.

You haven't read Zuleika Dobson yet? :)

I could use help, since I think the only two Dutch books I've read are "Homo Ludens" and Van Gogh's "Letters to Theo."

I like mysteries, ghosts, and dark fantasies. Any Dutch suggestions? (Have to be translated into English).

Hey Bill, thank you for the friend invite! If you ever want to know more about Dutch books, just let me know :)

Ilse wrote: "Thanks a lot for the friend invite, Bill! I love your inspiring reviews and am going to peek further in your very tempting shelves:). Looking forward to future bookish exchanges."

Me too!

Thanks a lot for the friend invite, Bill! I love your inspiring reviews and am going to peek further in your very tempting shelves:). Looking forward to future bookish exchanges.

Hey Bill! Thanks for the friend invite! I hope we get to talk about more books together!

Hah! yes. As a 40-year old trapped in the body of a 22-year old, I know the origins of the phrase. But I loved the context; it was a wise thing to say. :P

And might I say your reviews are mighty powerful! :D

Anuradha wrote: "Hello Bill! Many thanks for the friendvite. I love seeing how creative people get with answering my challenge question, and your reply was pretty impressive.

I look forward to chatting books with ..."

Impressive, maybe, but not original. It was a "wise old saying" invented by Jackie Vernon, a stand-up comic: a wise saying that seems to say something important, but means absolutely nothing.

Hello Bill! Many thanks for the friendvite. I love seeing how creative people get with answering my challenge question, and your reply was pretty impressive.

I look forward to chatting books with you.
Cheers, and hope you have a great weekend! :D

Thanks for the invite! When I saw that review, I thought, "Wow, someone wrote a book about this!?" I was telling a young college student in Argentina a few years ago, when asked about how people had received Obama: "Well, I voted for him, but wasn't one of those people applauding whenever he blew his nose. My expectations weren't as high as theirs, because I knew he couldn't achieve all he'd promised without the help of the other side. But at the very least, he's got young people voting again-and once again, it's okay for the American president to be smart!"

Hi, Mr Kerwin!

Thank you for accepting, I'm glad to meet you here. I've been following your reviews for a while, and I hope that from now on we'll have also opportunities to share over books as well. :)

Thanks for the friend invite,Bill. I enjoyed reading your review of The Book of Disquiet which is also one of my favorites :) Looking forward to more of your updates and reviews.

Hi Bill! Thanks for the friend invite. It looks like you read some very interesting books. Look forward to chatting and seeing your reviews.

Ethan wrote: "I've been reading some of M.R. James ghost stories the past couple of months, absolutely wonderful stuff. I have also grabbed myself a copy of Robert Aickman's collection The Wine-Dark Sea, after r..."

First of all, the Aickman book is great. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Algernon Blackwood, Edith Wharton and E.F.Benson are worth checking out too.

I've been reading some of M.R. James ghost stories the past couple of months, absolutely wonderful stuff. I have also grabbed myself a copy of Robert Aickman's collection The Wine-Dark Sea, after reading his story The Hospice and being absolutely haunted by it. After reading M.R. James and Aickman, what other ghost stories should I read?

Thanks for the friend request! I'm looking forward to chatting books with you.

Thanks Bill!

Thank you for friending. I've actually lived 1-2 years in Columbus back in late 1970s :)

Thanks for the FR, Bill. You have some intriguing bookshelves! :)

Vinnie wrote: "Bill, are you reading this series?
http://io9.com/the-victorian-hugos-18...
It strikes me as Relevant to your Interests."

Thanks. It's new to me. Looks interesting.

Bill, are you reading this series?
http://io9.com/the-victorian-hugos-18...
It strikes me as Relevant to your Interests.

Ethan wrote: "Hippocampus Press released his complete poems, which I have been reading through recently. His poems, far better than his prose poems in my opinion, are pretty unique, I find. My impressions is tha..."

I'll keep Smith in mind. I think, though, before I get to the poetry, I'll read some more of his tales.

Hippocampus Press released his complete poems, which I have been reading through recently. His poems, far better than his prose poems in my opinion, are pretty unique, I find. My impressions is that his poetry is a bit like an amalgam of decadent, romantic and symbolist aesthetics, full of references to classic antiquity and mythology, as well as fantasy themes and cosmic wonder a la Lovecraft. His vocabulary is equally lush and archaic, though still not too hard to follow. In short, its "fantastic" poetry. I absolutely love it. Not every poem is gold (naturally, considering there are three volumes that span the entire life of the poet's output), but his best poems are truly something special, and invoke a sense of wonder in me unlike any poem I've read. Some poems I'd recommend: Nero, Satan Unrepentant, Resurrection, The Kingdom of Shadows, The Castle of Dreams, or the Crucifixion of Eros. I'm sure you can read those online somewhere.

I've read a handful. My memory is that they were a lot like the late Victorians--Wilde, Johnson, Dowson, early Yeats--but creepier and not as good.

How about you? Have you read any? What's you're impression?

Very informative reviews! Have you read the poems of Clark Ashton Smith by any chance?

Hana wrote: "Gosh Bill, I've loved your reviews forever but I never visited your quote section before. You have some real gems flagged!"


Glad you like them. It's how I like my quotations: mystical, anarchic, and brief!

Gosh Bill, I've loved your reviews forever but I never visited your quote section before. You have some real gems flagged!

Thank you for making the admiration mutual, Bill. I look forward to some wonderful times over books.

Thank you for the friend invite Bill. I'm looking forward to your updates and reviews

Horrorshow wrote: "Thank you for reading and "liking" so many of the short stories in the writing section of my profile page, Bill. I'm in your debt. I'm really encouraged that a gentleman with your impeccable taste..."

You're welcome. I like your work. I've always enjoyed prose poems, particularly when they are short and disturbing and strive for a certain elegance as well. And yours qualify.

Shayan wrote: "I'm very honored to have as my friend Bill. I very much like your reviews. They're fantastic :)"

Thanks. I look forward to sharing knowledge about books with you.

I'm very honored to have you as my friend Bill. I very much like your reviews. They're fantastic :)

Thank you for accepting my friend request, Bill. Have a great weekend!

Thank you for the friend invite, Bill. Great reviews you have there. Looking forward to having bookish discussions with you sir :)