September 2024 – Damaged Skull Writer

H.P. LOVECRAFT’S COMMONPLACE BOOK
Illustrated by Michael Bukowski
Lethe Press
8/3/2024
Reviewed by Brian “Skull” Lewis

Hello awesome readers, it’s your old pal Skull with a book that I’m honestly, kind of in love with: H.P. Lovecraft’s Commonplace Book recently released by the rather awesome Lethe Press! Serious Lovecraft fans may be familiar with this little volume of his collected thoughts and ideas, but I’m willing to bet you haven’t seen it looking like this edition that is wonderfully illustrated by Michael Bukowski. I mean, when I opened the package and this purple-skinned beauty slid out, I immediately sat down and gave it my full attention. Check out the cover pic and the Odd nocturnal ritual. Beasts dance & march to musick image! The book is like this ALL the way through!

As a writer myself, I enjoy books like this that give readers a peek behind the wizard’s curtain. They let readers see story ideas, what interested their favorite author, and maybe offer some memorable quotes. But, let’s be honest, most of those books are exceptionally dry, which means that only diehard fans are going to work their way through them. Bukowski’s art pulls you into the Lethe Press edition of H.P. Lovecraft’s Commonplace Book and makes you want to see what’s on the next page, and the next one after that. There’s a perfect balance between the illustrations and Lovecraft’s words that drives things forward nicely. Speaking of which, the font and colorful ink choice really make the words pop. I love that Lovecraft’s original introduction has been included and that he’d just like an “admirably neat typed copy” from R.H. Barlow, Esq. Also included is a nifty little piece of artwork by Lovecraft: a sketch showing a side profile of the mighty CTHULU for a possible future sculpture. How about that for coolness?

H.P. Lovecraft’s Commonplace Book from Lethe Press is a treasure trove of ideas, quotes, and notes about unique happenings and other writers. Lovecraft also included a cool reading list of weird fiction that he was collecting for an article. It contains familiar names like H.G. Wells and Algernon Blackwood and many others that I will be looking into. One of Lovecraft’s quotes that stood out to me was: “Life is more horrible than death.” While folks who read those insanely cheerful self-help books that spew paragraphs about what “super-duper great people” they are might disagree, they need to realize that these words came from a man who was plagued by nightmares, insomnia, and poor health for the majority of his life. Yes, that’s what fueled much of his work, but it wasn’t any picnic for Lovecraft who died early and only realized fame posthumously.

What does your old pal Skull think? I don’t think it’ll surprise anyone that Damaged Skull Writer and Reviewer rates H.P. Lovecraft’s Commonplace Book, the Lethe Press edition illustrated by Michael Bukowski a cosmic 5 STARS! It is a wonderful volume that both celebrates its creator and the fantastic art of Michael Bukowski who also included a little Dungeons & Dragons magic in some of these illustrations. Bukowski also took time to edit out offensive material that Lovecraft unfortunately included in some of his work. It is a new day and one to celebrate our diversity, not be afraid of what we don’t understand.

For more information about Lethe Press or to purchase a copy of this book, please go to: www.lethepressbooks.com

For more information about Michael Bukowski, you can check out his detailed profile on the Lethe Press site or go right over to: www.lastchanceillustrations.wordpress.com
or visit: www.yog.blogsoth.blogspot.com

About the reviewer:

When darkness falls Brian James Lewis becomes his alter ego, Skull, and burns the midnight oil reading and reviewing recent arrivals to his lair, the Skullcave! You can catch up with him on social media at: https://facebook.com/DamagedSkullWriterandReviewer where he’d really appreciate some follows to get more exposure for Indy horror writers and presses!

You can also find him on: X/Twitter@skullsnflames76

And we’re also on Goodreads and leave reviews on Amazon under the mortal’s name Brian James Lewis

Hello horror fans, it’s your old pal Skull with some cool news in the horror writing and reading community! I was lucky enough to be invited to the virtual release party for the new themed horror anthology, The Rack and a good time was had by all. Editor Tom Deady and Parasite Steve were the masters of ceremonies and many of the contributors spoke about their stories as well as the books that inspired them when they were spinning those creaky, squeaky wire racks at their local newsstands, drugstores, or libraries during the 1980’s. Stephen King and Ray Bradbury were frequently mentioned, but so were some less famous names. It was great to hear from the authors which included Christa Carmen, Tom Deady, Kristin Dearborn, Candace Nola, Errick Nunnally, Cynthia Pelayo, and Mercedes Yardley. While I’d love to go into serious detail about what each author had to say, this article would be very long and not ready for quite some time. The main takeaway is that The Rack is a richly diverse collection of stories both in contributing authors and the wide variety of their stories

Other features of the evening were the swag giveaway opportunities for non-authors to win nifty prizes like pens, journals, stickers, and even t-shirts with The Rack cover art on them. These mega-cool items were awarded to attendees who were able to name the author of The Rack story that Tom read aloud. The first person to do so won some great stuff! There was also a fun show and tell of favorite and unique books in the authors’ personal collections, featuring the funky, pulpy paperback covers of the 80’s along with a few books that never made it back to the library, presented by Errick Nunnally, that had a great story of their own. As the evening wound down, there were reading suggestions from many of the authors, and a discussion about who delivered and who just had nifty covers. We wrapped with a round up of what each contributing author was also doing. Overall, a great evening!

While your old pal Skull wasn’t an active participant, I truly enjoyed putting voices and faces to authors whose work I’ve read previously such Christa Carmen, Candace Nola, and Mercedes Yardley. I also dug meeting authors I wasn’t as familiar with, like Errick Nunnally. Can’t wait to read his story! Tom Deady is a very cool guy, and I’m cheered and inspired to know that he didn’t really get into writing horror until his 50’s because that’s where I am, working on making a comeback after mental health issues and disabilities crushed me like a bug in 2019. But this isn’t about me, it’s about a brand-new horror anthology with retro vibes that kicks ass. Damaged Skull Writer and Reviewer will be doing a review ASAP, but until then go get yourself a copy of THE RACK and start reading!