'Shindig'
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Hell, even in the left canon there are non bleak choices. Tent of Miracles. Or if that has too much reality, Dona Flora and her two husbands. And Amado has to have enough heft!
Also, talking of magical realism how about the Palm Wine Drinkard! Been a long time since I read it, so don't know if it is depressing - aside from being about a drunk who ends up in the land of the dead. I actually don't remember the details, but remember laughing a lot. Should read it again.
Anything with phonebooths, Dana. Jim Rockford spent half of his working life in one, and now?
What other old standbys of mysteries are useless these days?
Most methods of travelling under a false name (hotels, airplanes at least). All kinds of things related to phones, what with cell phones.
Yeah, Paul Drake's operative's always had to find a phone booth to call in. So did Archie Goodwin.
In the Perry Mason books, they're always hopping on planes at a minute's notice.
Pretty much anything where the plot hinges on two people in different places not knowing what each other are doing. They can call or text each other now.
And finding information: wikipedia and google have solved a lot of problems, but complicated mystery plotting.
How many hotels still hang up the old-fashioned keys behind the desk?
I've stayed in one, but it's a late 19th century resort restoration. They had clawfoot tubs, and carpeting that's older than I am.
Some, but mostly older hotels, non-chains.
Emmett assures me the guy dies of orgasm
You could tell him there are worse ways to go. Many. Varied. Like most other.
We did a lot of Shakespeare in high school, which I did enjoy, but my favorite was the existentialism section we did in AP senior "English", in quotes because it included Camus and Kafka.
The stuff I hated was Hardy, Dickens and the ex-hippie teacher who tried to stuff Walden and Annie Dillard down my throat. Absolutely loathed the stuff at the time (and as far as I know still do - have had no desire to revisit).
Which is funny because I LOVED my blatantly hippie American history teacher. But, then again, he was telling us all about the various president's failings along with their successes.