Derek Strange's Wisdom

As you know, I have been reading The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos for Noirvember. So far, so great. I have been happy to renew with his protagonist, PI Derek Strange, who is now older and even wiser than he used to be. An old man, but he still has a sharp mind. One passage in particular struck me about his keen sense of character, and I wanted to share it here: So here it goes: "But Lennox had inadvertently told Strange something about himself. Anyone who read a newspaper, didn't have to be the New York Times, shoot, anyone who read anything these days, even a bad airport novel, was smarter than the average American." Nice observation, and nice subtle bit of meta too.

Bingo Bouquin

Petite nouvelle apprise sur la page Facebook des Bouquinistes: ils organisent un "Bingo Bouquin." Qu'est-ce que ça mange en hiver? C'est simple: vous demandez votre carte de bingo à la librairie, vous participez aux activités sur les cases, vous faites poinçonner la carte par un des libraires, puis vous la donnez à la fin de l'année pour un tirage final. Grosso modo. J'aimerais pouvoir y participer, juste parce que j'aime les activités ludiques et littéraires.

Bonfire Night

 "Remember, remember the fifth of November
The gunpowder treason and plot.
I see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot."

So today (tonight, rather) is Bonfire Night. I always mention it on the blog. This year, to mark the date, I am sharing a picture from the Ladybird childhood classic Stories of Special Days and Customs. I found it a few weeks ago in a charity shop, and I regret nothing. It's a very dramatic image of the historical origins of the night, the (in)famous Gunpowder Plot. Otherwise, if you live in the UK, tell me if you celebrate.

Feu de foyer au sous-sol

Mon père m'a envoyé une photo d'un feu de foyer, qu'il a fait dans le foyer du sous-sol. Ce qui est rare. Je me demande ce qu'il y a de mieux qu'un feu de foyer en automne. À part, peut-être, un feu de foyer en hiver. Mais je crois qu'en automne, c'est encore mieux.

The Night Agent Will Return

A bit of news for those who love spy thrillers. In recent years, I have increased my consumption of this particular genre, as you can witness if you have been reading this blog. Anyway, as you may know, I really enjoyed the Netflix series The Night Agent, based on a novel by Matthew Quirk, which I haven't read yet (but I have promised to get my hands on it). Anyway, while the TV series is far from perfect, it's still solid entertainment and it is quite suspenseful. And I'm a sucker for a good spy thriller, even when it gets a bit cliché at times. So I learned that the fourth and last season is in preparation, filming has started and will be released at some point in 2027. Something to look forward to next year.

Le s'quatre novembre au soir!

Bon, on n'est pas le soir, mais nous sommes le quatre novembre, donc, il faut se rappeler, que... Vous connaissez le reste. Petite page d'humour et classique instantané.

What to Love in November

If you read old posts from this blog, I mean really old ones, like dating back to 2008 or 2010, you might be surprised to see that I did not like November one bit back then. Or at least I stated that I did not like the month. Too close after Halloween, to far away still from Christmas. Maybe it's maturity kicking in, maybe it's because I worked a lot on it, but I now love the month. Sure, I still have the blues early on, but even I learned to appreciate it. Anyway, here's a list of what to love in November:

• It's still autumn, and it might be the most autumnal month.
• November tends to be quieter than any other month of the year. It's time to slow down, to appreciate things more. It's the month of comfort.
• The smell of bonfire here. I'm not too keen on fireworks, but there's just something about bonfire in autumn, and the smell is everywhere this time of year.
• It's also Noirvember. Time to watch and read a lot of crime fiction. 
•  Even boredom and melancholy has its use. I tend to be melancholic all year round, but in November, it's a comfortable feeling.

Anyway, that's my list. Do you enjoy November? If so, why? 

Attendre la "première" première neige

Photo prise par mon père en... octobre. Parce que, bien entendu, il a déjà neigé au Saguenay. Mais je crois comprendre que la neige n'a pas duré. Alors j'attends avec impatience, ici comme de l'autre côté de l'Atlantique, lordque tombera notre "première" première neige, celle qui restera pour indiquer le passage de l'automne à l'hiver. Ici, ça ne risque pas d'arriver tout de suite, peut-être même que l'on n'en aura aucune. Mais au Québec, j'espère qu'elle arrivera plus tôt que tard.

The Blue Flame (#Noirvember)

One of the reasons why I manage to finally love November, a month I used to dread, is thanks to #Noirvember. It has its own Wikipedia entry now. If October is the month of horror, November is for me the month of crime fiction, whether it is in movies, TV series or books. And I am starting this literary November with The Blue Flame by George Pelecanos. It marks the return of his PI Derek Strange. About time. I think it should deliver: Pelecanos can be quite dark at times, although his characters have a warmth and humanity that you don't always see in crime fiction. Anyway, I encourage you to embrace #Noirvember. If you have any reading or viewing suggestions, let me know in the comments. I will of course blog more about it.

Colchique/Colchicine

Il y a quelques semaines, mon père m'a envoyé des photos de fleurs, avec pour sujet de courriel "colchicine". Je crois qu'il voulait dire colchique. C'est une fleur automnale et notre mot du jour.

Post. Halloween. Blues.

So we are the first of November, All Saints' Day, also known as the day after Halloween.The one day in autumn that always makes me sad. I used to dislike the month of November just because of this. Now I changed my tune, I made peace with it and you will see how and why in the coming days, if you are not familiar with my blog. Nevertheless, while I should get better, today is a day of melancholy, it is my post-Halloween blues. And it also falls on a Sunday. The good thing is that it's still the weekend, so I have plenty of free time to grieve the end of my favourite holiday. But it doesn't help my usual Sunday feeling. Anyway, stay tuned, watch this space, when I will get over my post-Halloween blues, I promise you will discover ways to appreciate November too.

"Tarowean" (la Toussaint)

 

"Je suis l'océan Pacifique et je suis le plus grand. On m'appelle ainsi depuis très longtemps, mais ce n'est pas vrai que je suis toujours pacifique. Je me fâche parfois, et alors je donne une raclée à tous et à tout. Aujourd'hui par exemple, je viens de me calmer mais hier, je dois avoir tout raflé sur trois ou quatre îles et autant de coquilles de noix que les hommes appellent bateaux... Celle-ci... Oui, celle que vous voyez ici, je ne sais pas comment elle a pu s'en sortir. C'est peut-être parce que le capitaine Raspoutine connaît son métier et que ses marins viennent des îles Fidji. Ou bien parce qu'ils ont fait un pacte avec le Diable. Mais cela n'a pas d'importance, aujourd'hui c'est "Tarowean", le jour des surprises, le jour de tous les Saints, le 1er novemvre 1913."

 C'est une tradition chaque Toussaint, je cite l'incipit de La ballade de la mer salée d'Hugo Pratt. Avec la première illustration, absolument magnifique. C'est aussi la première apparition de Corto Maltese. Si vous cherchez de la grande lecture pour aujourd'hui, vous ne pouvez pas vous tromper avec Hugo Pratt.

THE Jack O'Lantern

I didn't want Halloween to go without sharing the last Jack O'Lantern we carved, Wolfie and I. A very traditional design, with a grinning mouth which teeth look like flames. I love it. Happy Halloween again. I hope you are having a spooky one.

Tarte à la citrouille

 C'est le temps de la tarte à la citrouille: mon frère PJ en a fait une. Ma femme a fait de même récemment, mais je n'en ai pas eu le temps de la prendre en photo (la tarte, pas ma femme) avant qu'elle soit mangée (encore une fois, je parle de la tarte).

Happy Halloween 2026!

This is the witching hour, so happy Halloween 2026 everyone! I took this picture on Halloween 2024, when evening was falling, so these are not the Jack O'Lanterns for this year. I will try to blog more today, but I might be too busy preparing the big night and trick or treat. So let me say a few things now. To my fellow Cryptkeepers, I will try to visit your blog and webpages today and comment. To all, I hope you enjoy this Halloween. It comes way too quickly, but there is still one day, and one night, to go. Wolfie is very excited about it and we had lots of fun designing the Jack O'Lanterns and carving them. It has been for me one of the most exciting, horror and macabre filled, atmospheric countdown to Halloween I have lived. And I am so blessed to I have a son who fully embraced the spooky holiday.

Des fantômes et des citrouilles

Bon, nous sommes officiellement l'Halloween. Joyeuse Halloween à tous. Cette photo a été prise par mon père il y a quelques années. Je ne suis pas un fan des décorations gonflables en général, cela dit celle-ci avec les fantômes sortant en hurlant des citrouilles, c'est plutôt bien. En espérant que l'on va passer l'Halloween chez vous aujourd'hui, comme il se doit. Certains pensent que l'Halloween, on pouvait la faire hier. Non mais...

Goofy Jack

Wolfie and I have started carving the Jack O'Lanterns. He chooses most of the designs and he insisted that we made this one. To be honest, I prefer creepier pumpkins, proper ones with a spectral face and sinister smile. But Wolfie is the leading designer now, or rather the manager of the pumpkin carving business. And he is taking more and more initiatives: not only does he chooses the designs, but he does more and more carving, and actually insists on doing it. Anyway, so we have this Jack O'Lantern. What do you think?

"J'ai pris une citrouille..."

J'ai pris une citrouille,

J'en ai fait un lampion

Lampion couleur de rouille,

Le nez en tire-bouchon 

C'est le début d'un poème datant de ma troisième année, appris durant le temps de l'Halloween. Le reste, je ne m'en rappelle plus, sauf pour les derniers vers: "De gros yeux immobiles/et le sourire fade." J'ai quand même une bonne mémoire. Enfin bref, petit loup et moi avons commencé à creuser les citrouilles hier soir. Trois de terminées, il va nous en rester trois pour aujourd'hui, peut-être quatre. La quatrième est une citrouille si petite que l'on va peut-être seulement lui dessiner un visage. Enfin bref, on se débrouille pas mal.

Reese's for Halloween

It wouldn't be Halloween without Reese's. I love their peanut butter chocolates, but I always think they taste better this time of year. And every year, I get more and more desperate: I have a hard time finding their classic Jack O'Lantern edition. They used to be everywhere, in many supermarkets and in the local sweet shop as well. Now it's like they disappeared. Thankfully, like last year, I found a pack at the nearest Aldi. Which has some great range of Halloween food, by the way. Anyway, it also has bats and ghosts as well as the more classic Jack O`Lanterns. I have to share them with Wolfie of course, but not my wife, as she doesn't like peanut butter. And we don't give them away for trick or treat of course, because, you know, allergies.

La citrouille des grand-parents

Mon père a creusé sa citrouille il y a quelques jours et m'a envoyé une photo. Un superbe design, très classique. Il n'y a personne qui creuse des citrouilles comme mon père. À part moi, peut-être.