Shel Graves' Sensorium

Taste: Miyoko's Aged English Smoked Farmhouse ; coconut mojito, buffalo tofu, hula pie with macadamia nut sauce — at No Bones Beach Club Sight: Earth's Indonesian isle of Ternate, North Maluku, Dark Sun Over Ternate  Sound:   Death & the Maiden playlist; howling wind Smell: a burning candle - candle flame, burning wax Touch:  blustery Extra: "My reasons for hope are fourfold: (1) the human brain; (2) the resilience of nature (3) the energy and enthusiasm that is found or can be kindled among young people worldwide; and (4) the indomitable human spirit." — Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope a Spiritual Journey, the Jane Goodall Institute, janegoodall.org Grateful for: the car starting

Taste: dates Sight: morning sunlight on headstones Sound: clapping, cheering — "And the women, the women, the women!"; feet together on pavement Smell: cardamom; Tiger Balm; sweat Touch: swelling feet; tight thighs; easy stride Extra:  " Eudaemonic ” well-being — feelings of engagement, creativity, meaning, and purpose in life; to explore the world, to participate, to live; "It is these undeniable qualities of human love and compassion and self-sacrifice that give me hope for the future...we fight, we kill. But we are also capable of the most noble, generous, and heroic behavior." — Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope: A Spiritual Journey Grateful for: new experiences

This awesome cover is by Jarrod Taylor . Reviewing this here as well as on Goodreads and Amazon , 'cause this book may well be in the running for my (coveted!) 2016 Book of the Year pick (I do love it when I've got an early candidate and bonus points when it's a book published that year — last year a lot of my favorites were from the 60s and 70s). Oh, Lovecraft! Who hasn't loved a good game of Call of Cthulhu , enjoyed going to Portland's The Lovecraft Bar , had fun at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival ? The mythos, the silly fun. And, why not? Lovecraft's novel  At the Mountains of Madness is a worthy read despite (because of?) the myriad descriptions of grotesque penguins. Although, those short stories come packed with verbiage. Admittedly, some of them read like word quicksand studded with gemstones. But then there's "The Cats of Ulthar" (Cats!). But, can we get serious here, while we're having fun? Matt Ruff does, and it's...