Story for the Week
In my 20s and 30s, one of our regular hangouts was the bowling alley…and with that came the bowling alley bar. When I was a kid, my parents were on the church bowling league. Every Wednesday evening from September to May, they would pack us all into the car, and my sister, brother, and I would have to keep ourselves occupied while they bowled. I would do homework, read a book (shocker, I know).
When we reached high school, we stayed home. But once I finished college, I joined the league myself. I enjoyed bowling, and I even got my best friend Stephanie and a couple other friends to join over time. A typical Wednesday included at least one round of drinks for each of the three games. And more often than not, everyone on the team bought a round over the course of the evening.
In fact, if everyone on your team rolled a strike in a single frame, the house bought a round of drinks for your team. So the rule that went hand-in-hand with that was that if everyone on your team rolled a strike except for you, you bought a round of drinks for your team. I mean, it was only fair since you were the one who deprived your team of the free drink.
Sometimes when we didn’t have to work the next morning, we’d stay after. The bartenders knew our orders because that’s what happens when you’re a regular. It’s like on the show Cheers…everybody knows your name.
I stopped bowling the year Corinne was born. Back then, people could still smoke inside buildings, and I wasn’t about to expose my newborn to all that cigarette smoke. A babysitter every week on top of the cost of bowling was also never going to happen.
Stephanie still bowls on a new league…ironically enough with some people from the old church league which disbanded a couple decades ago. Sometimes I miss the camaraderie. Sometimes I miss just sitting around shooting the breeze at the bar. But my circle is smaller now. I’m more comfortable hanging out at home (book club! Do We Need a Name for Our New Book Club?) with a couple of friends and a couple (few) bottles of wine.
A lot has changed since our days at the bowling alley bar. We don’t drink nearly as much as we used to, and we’re way more responsible when we do. We’ve all gained a few pounds, some of us more than others. There are no more White Castle runs at 1:00 a.m. And the only place I frequent where everyone knows my name is my living room. 🤷🏼♀️
As you work through your reading list (and especially if you’re already behind on your reading goal for the year 😉), consider picking up the short story below. It’s part of Amazon Original Stories included free with Prime. It takes place in a local dive bar in Brooklyn where the bartender knows the neighborhood and all the regulars. Everyone also knows the owner, who is looking to retire to Florida. Before he does, he has a story to tell the bartender. Let’s just say I don’t think I’d want to be a regular at that bar.
Book Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4 Stars for Eerie Basin by Ivy Pochoda
72 pages
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Publication Date: October 1, 2025
This title was an Amazon First Reads bonus short selection.
Publisher’s Description
Erin tends bar at the last dive left in gentrified Red Hook, Brooklyn, where old-timers spin tales of the bar’s legacy and the waterfront’s crime-ridden past. Her boss, Jimmy, a real estate magnate responsible for much of the neighborhood’s shiny transformation, also has a story to share. Back when he was a struggling beat cop, two neglected boys introduced him to an ancient creature that made Jimmy’s dreams come true. Nightmares too. Erin doesn’t believe a word. The bar is her life. But this bar at the end of the world is also home to a deadly stowaway. And it’s looking for a new host.
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Main Characters:
- Erin – runs a bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn; the owner is planning to retire to Florida, and Erin wants to buy the bar from him
- Jimmy – retired cop turned real estate investor who owns the bar Erin manages, he keeps an apartment above the bar and plans to demolish the bar when he retires to Florida
What I love about the Amazon First Reads bonus shorts is they’re a good way to quickly get a feel for a new-to-you author without a huge investment of time. If Eerie Basin is any indication, Ivy Pochoda will move into the list of authors who take up way more of my time if this short story is anything like her full-length novels.
I won’t expound on the description since the story only takes about an hour to read. And this really won’t be a long review because…the story only takes about an hour to read. 🤷🏼♀️
The point of view alternates between Erin talking to Jimmy and some of the regulars about wanting to buy the bar and Jimmy telling Erin why he won’t sell to her. Over the course of the story, I got a couple different vibes—the mythical creature aspect of Gremlins (the ancient creature and what not to do) mixed with a little bit of the increasing temptation and power grab of, say, Macbeth.
And it’s always nice when a horror story ends with a bit of a twist. This was a great short story and a nice introduction to this author.
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