Favorite Letters

by Carol8 Comments
U in the title Ulysses has the look of a sacred vessel, a Grecian urn, and James Joyce's novel begins with the phrase "Stately, plump Buck Mulligan..." Lots of U-ness there. The letter o suggests an alluring or erotic roundness, orifices waiting to be filled, hence the infamous Story of O, but two of them together (OO) look like fake boobs on an exotic dancer or two fat men fighting for a seat on the bus: zoot, moot, booze, tattoo, kangaroo. (pg. 19, The Glamour of Grammar by Roy Peter Clark) This one keeps yelling at me from the shelf, "Read me! You'll fall in love with me!" In the meantime, though, if this teaser has caught your attention, I'm giving away three copies here. Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Play along. The rules are easy and I only cheated a little. Grab your current read, open to a...
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Near Grenoble by Felix Feneon

by Carol2 Comments
"Near Grenoble" by Félix Fénéon Murder, affairs, secrets all come together in this incredibly short piece. Bones have been discovered in a villa on Ile Verte, near Grenoble, those—she admits it—of the clandestine offspring of Mme P. I marvel at how much drama is packed in those few words. It's from Novels in Three Lines, and I can totally see how completely flushing out the plot, the characters, telling the events behind this discovery and the consequences of the bones being found could result in a full-fledged novel. I love this distilled version though, this condensed new story. Not a single word is wasted, each has to sparkle. John hosts Short Story Monday at The Book Mine Set. Head over there to see what he and others have been reading....
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Game Night – Priests of Ra

by Carol2 Comments
Priests of Ra Designer: Reiner Knizia Manufacturer: Rio Grande Games Artist: Franz Vohwinkel Year: 2009 Players: 2 - 5 Time: 60 minutes Ages: 12 and up A challenging game of Gods, men, and their monuments from Reiner Knizia! The game spans 1500 years of Egyptian history. The priests of Ra seek to extend their power and fame. They do this by directing farmers, warriors, merchants, and scribes. They cause others to build granaries, fortresses, markets, and libraries. And they erect a gigantic pyramid for the glory of the Sun God Ra! The thing that sets this one apart from the games we usually play is it boils down to being an auction game. As a quick overview, each player has three bidding stones with a number on them. The stones are used to bid on groups of tiles that are placed on the auction track. Collecting these tiles are how you earn points. There are people, building, pyramid pieces and plagues.  The...
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The Story of the Two Devils

by Carol5 Comments
"The Story of the Two Devils" Today's folk tale comes from Tibet, a land whose stories I am completely unfamiliar with. A long time ago, there was a plateau high in the mountains on which were situated several cites, all ruled over by a king with seven sons. One day, when the sons were playing in the forest, they found a beautiful girl who was herding a yak. "The seven sons thought that she was very pretty to look at, so they proposed to her that she become the wife of the seven, which was the custom of the country." (pg. 70) The girl consented and went home with the brothers, bringing her yak along. Every year, one of the brothers died, starting with the oldest until only the youngest was left. He of course became very ill and the head-men of the villages decided to send for a fortune teller. The fortune teller they chose may have been a fake,...
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