Masked edited by Lou Anders

by Carol5 Comments
Masked edited by Lou Anders I loved this collection of superhero fiction. Some of the stories are flat out superhero versus evil villain, yes you know who's going to win, but how does it all happen. Others are not so black and white, the moral line between hero and villain is not always that clear cut. Still other pieces are about people with super powers who are really still dealing with the same issues we all face. In the intro Anders says: The anthology you have before you is just that - an attempt to explore the superhero genre in prose form; not as a pastiche or a parody, or a bunch of writer slujmming it and having a lark at the genre's expense,. but an honest exploration, with the integrity and level of storytelling that contemporary readers of comic books and graphic novesl, as well as fans of films like Iron Man and The Dark Knight, appreciate and demand. You know, "real"...
Read More

My Favorite Man – Made from Gingerbread

by Carol5 Comments
Once your man has come out of your oven, you may have trouble hanging on to him. Men made this war are apt to take off down the road, on motorcycles or off them, robbing convenience stores, getting themselves tattooed, and hopping up and down and singing, "Run, run, as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" Attaching a string to his leg before the oven procedure may help, but — alas — in our experience, not for long. (pg. 40, Good Bones and Simple Murders by Margaret Atwood) This collection is a reread for me, but one I always enjoy. The brief stories, poems and essays are always quirky, often funny. 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 random page, and give us...
Read More

The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb

by Carol27 Comments
The Devil Amongst the Lawyers by Sharyn McCrumb This was a good story, although not the story I expected. In 1935, a young school teacher in the remote mountains of Virginia is charged with murdering her father. Because she is beautiful and the story sensational, national reporters are sent to cover the trial, and the young woman's brother seeks exclusive rights to her story, with the money supposedly going to her defense fund. The national reporters don't find the hillbillies living in run down shacks that they expect, so they fabricate them.  Carl Jenkins, a recent college-graduate, is a reporter from Tennessee, who realizes that the star reporters are not actually reporting the truth, more perpetuating myths about Appalachian life. Truth is the main issue here. Reporters shape what they know and see into a story their audience wants. But what is the truth? Is there a truth? The commonwealth's attorney warmed to his topic. "I had one of those reporters ask me...
Read More

The Lion, the Hare, and the Hyena

by Carol6 Comments
"The Lion , the Hare, and the Hyena" "The Lion, the Hare, and the Hyena" is a story from Kenya. The version I read in Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales was told to Phyllis Savory by Gwido Mariko and illustrated by Tamsin Hinrichsen. A lion who lives alone in a cave has an injured leg and cannot hunt for good, but luckily for him a hare, Sunguru, who was passing by realized the lion need his help and stayed to take care of him. The lion gained strength and was soon well enough to catch food for them to eat. One day a hyena smells the bones that are left from the two friends' meal. The hyena, wanting the delicious bones tries to convince the lion that he had been truly concerned about the lion while he was injures. The lion, being fairly smart, doesn't buy it and the hyena  shuffles away. The hyena, though can't forget about the bones, so he comes...
Read More

My Favorite Genres

by Carol8 Comments
The Book List Meme at Lost in Books asks a simple question this week, "What are your favorite genres?" Actually it's not that easy to answer. First there's the "favorite" word. How do I pick my "favorites?" How can I choose when I love them all? And then "genres." There are so many genres and sub-genres and books that cross categories that it's tough, but I finally came up with a rather broad list. Mystery - "Human nature doesn't change. Our clothiers change, our technology changes, but the passions that drive people to commit a crime, which is what these books are all about, doesn't change, and that's endlessly fascinating." ~Miner Romance - "Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze." ~Amanda Cross Fantasy - "Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can. Of course, I could be wrong."...
Read More